Monday 8 December 2008
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3: Goodnight Oslo Preview
See Music Latest for a preview and taster of the new album which is due for release on Feb 9, two days after the tour opens in Glasgow.
Monday 1 December 2008
Robyn Hitchcock & Peter Buck Photos
See Music Latest
The Clear Light site has gone, all other psych music and football links working as of today.
GET WELL SOON, KANO - HAIL HAIL
Happy Advent 2008 !!!
The Clear Light site has gone, all other psych music and football links working as of today.
GET WELL SOON, KANO - HAIL HAIL
Happy Advent 2008 !!!
Wednesday 10 September 2008
Saturday 6 September 2008
Friday 5 September 2008
John Thomson Anniversary/Luminous Groove Review
Today is the 77th anniversay of John Thomson's death. May God rest his soul.
Find below in Music Latest a sparkling Pitchfork review of Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians new boxset, Luminous Groove
Find below in Music Latest a sparkling Pitchfork review of Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians new boxset, Luminous Groove
Thursday 4 September 2008
CQN/Sgt Pepper Review
The Thinking Tim's favourite blog, Celtic Quick News (dodgy link below) seems to be having some domain issues - perhaps coming out in sympathy with our team after Sunday's disappointment.
In Music Latest a gentle deflation of Sgt Pepper's - those in the know have always known Forever Changes will forever be the greatest album of 1967.
In Music Latest a gentle deflation of Sgt Pepper's - those in the know have always known Forever Changes will forever be the greatest album of 1967.
Friday 29 August 2008
Syd - NME Article
See Music Latest for a recent article on Syd Barrett and news of an exhibition in Cambridge.
Wednesday 27 August 2008
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Luminous Groove Review
See Music Latest for the first small review of Luminous Groove - it contains a rare picture of a young Robyn who bears a disturbing similarity to Wicksy of Eastenders/Heartbeat fame. Oh dear.
Monday 25 August 2008
Blog Update
Some overdue links sorted including Robyn Hitchcock,'s Yep Roc page and some new sites - Johnny Echols' myspace site and Baby Lemonade's revamped listing.
The Soft Boys original website is now defunct so I have amended to their myspace account.
The Soft Boys original website is now defunct so I have amended to their myspace account.
Saturday 23 August 2008
Luminous Groove- Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians
Looking forward to the new box-set but, for completists, we've only really got the unheard tracks to anticipate. I'm wondering why the cover for Fegmania has been redesigned for LG - if memory serves the blurry original was a still from the motion picture that accompanied The Man With The Lightbulb Head - anyone shed any ...er....light on the change? Copyright issues perhaps ?
For non-completists the Yep Roc re-issues are a convenient way to fast-track their accumulation of the back catalogue only the re-issues rarely reflect either the content or running order of the originals. Hence fools like me buy the lot anyway.
Happy listening.
For non-completists the Yep Roc re-issues are a convenient way to fast-track their accumulation of the back catalogue only the re-issues rarely reflect either the content or running order of the originals. Hence fools like me buy the lot anyway.
Happy listening.
Wednesday 28 May 2008
Monday 11 February 2008
Robyn Hitchcock 20 Questions
Pop Matters chose Robyn to launch its new Twenty Questions feature. See Music Latest below.
Friday 8 February 2008
Robyn Hitchcock - Sex, Food, Death & Insects DVD
The Sundance documentary is due for DVD release on March 25th. Minimal extras at first glance. Could 2008 be Robyn's commercial peak so far ?Good day for an announcement !!
Sunday 3 February 2008
Robyn Hitchcock Gig Reviews
Following the great man's appearance on Friday's Jools Holland show (which I have yet to see) when Robyn was accompanied by current collaborator, Terry Edwards, I've linked a couple of reviews (see Music Latest) from two of the I Often Dream Of Trains Etc gigs which have been taking place down south. No word of a Scottish date yet but Robyn has added another - Birmingham's Glee Club on Friday, 15th February.
Gigsters were spoiled for choice yesterday with Morrissey in Edinburgh and The Pale Fountains in Liverpool. I settled for Celtic's fine win at Kilmarnock and an early night.
Gigsters were spoiled for choice yesterday with Morrissey in Edinburgh and The Pale Fountains in Liverpool. I settled for Celtic's fine win at Kilmarnock and an early night.
Sunday 13 January 2008
Shadow Cat (Robyn Hitchcock) Review
Received this from Sartorial Records last Tuesday and it's taken some time to grow on me.
Three of the tracks I had previously heard including the Hendrix cover, The Wind Cries Mary and two of Robyn's songs which were on earlier albums, Statue With A Walkman and The Green Boy.
Surprisingly The Green B(h)oy isn't my favourite track on Shadow Cat. That honour goes to the third track, Love Affair, three minutes of aching melancholia (and no-one does it better than Hitchcock).
Two of the tracks (Because You're Over and Real Dot) have synthesised vocals which take a bit of getting used to, possible 1990s experimentation on our hero's part. Sartorial guru, Terry Edwards (formerly of The Higsons ?) plays horns on Never Have To See You Again and Manzarek/House Of The Rising Sun-like organ on the Hendrix cover.
The album is dedicated to Robyn and Michele's cat Figaro.aka Figgy and the record middles and ends with two feline-centred songs The Cat Walks Her Kind Of Line and the title track. The latter is a very clever song with Moris Tepper on lead guitar and Robyn's lyrics having you checking your ankles for coiling tails.
Lovely stuff.
Three of the tracks I had previously heard including the Hendrix cover, The Wind Cries Mary and two of Robyn's songs which were on earlier albums, Statue With A Walkman and The Green Boy.
Surprisingly The Green B(h)oy isn't my favourite track on Shadow Cat. That honour goes to the third track, Love Affair, three minutes of aching melancholia (and no-one does it better than Hitchcock).
Two of the tracks (Because You're Over and Real Dot) have synthesised vocals which take a bit of getting used to, possible 1990s experimentation on our hero's part. Sartorial guru, Terry Edwards (formerly of The Higsons ?) plays horns on Never Have To See You Again and Manzarek/House Of The Rising Sun-like organ on the Hendrix cover.
The album is dedicated to Robyn and Michele's cat Figaro.aka Figgy and the record middles and ends with two feline-centred songs The Cat Walks Her Kind Of Line and the title track. The latter is a very clever song with Moris Tepper on lead guitar and Robyn's lyrics having you checking your ankles for coiling tails.
Lovely stuff.
Saturday 5 January 2008
I Wanna Go Backwards (Robyn Hitchcock) Review
I thought long and hard about purchasing this box set given that I already had copies of Black Snake Diamond Role(BSDR), I Often Dream Of Trains (IODOT) and Eye. The selling point for RH completists was, of course, the two-disc set of 'rarities' which formed the While Thatcher Mauled Britain (WTMB) package. However at least half of these tracks where/are available on 1995's compilation You & Oblivion and the harder-to-find Invisible Hitchcock.
I waited for Yep Roc's Christmas sale when IWGB was reduced from $49.99 to $32.99. Throw in the transaltantic p&p and I got the box set for twenty-two pounds. There's not much point reviewing albums from the 80s so I thought I'd highlight the changes.
BSDR
This was, of course, Robyn's first solo album and harks back to 1981 when it was originally released on the Armageddon label, as was the Soft Boys' classic Underwater Moonlight. To my knowledge there had been two previous reissues. The first (which is in my possession) included Dancing On God's Thumb (DOGT) as a bonus track and the later issue included Happy The Golden Prince, I Watch The Cars demo, It Was The Night and Grooving On An Inner Plane. Robyn drops DOGT and adds All I Wanna Do Is Fall in Love, Give Me a Spanner Ralph and the sublime A Skull, A Suitcase And A Long Red Bottle Of Wine.
IODOT
Originally released in 1984 I have the 1995 Rhino/sequel re-issue with five demos as bonus tracks. Robyn drops the by-now embarrassing Mellow Together and changes the running order of the second half of the album. He drops the 1995 bonus tracks and adds Chant/Aether, an alternative take of Heart Full Of Leaves, a demo of the title track and three unreleased songs, Not Even A Nurse, Slow Chant/That's Fantastic Mother Church (a withering attack on The Sacrament of Reconciliation) and Traveller's Fare.
Eye
I own the original 1990 Glass Fish release. Robyn drops Sweet Ghost Of Light, College Of Ice, Transparent Lover and replaces them with Century in the running order and bonus tracks Shimmering Distant Love, Lovers Turn To Skulls and the brilliant The Beauty of Earl's Court.
WTMB
Through the beauty that is Soulseek I'd heard most of the rare tracks on the double CD. The best of the previously unissued are the Barrettesque Parachutes & Jellyfish, the Oedipean Melting Arthur and the box set title track.
In summary then, a must for Hitchcock completists and now is the time to strike with prices plummeting on ebay. Nice packaging and the usual Robyn words and drawings thrown in for good measure. January will be a lot brighter this year.
WG
I waited for Yep Roc's Christmas sale when IWGB was reduced from $49.99 to $32.99. Throw in the transaltantic p&p and I got the box set for twenty-two pounds. There's not much point reviewing albums from the 80s so I thought I'd highlight the changes.
BSDR
This was, of course, Robyn's first solo album and harks back to 1981 when it was originally released on the Armageddon label, as was the Soft Boys' classic Underwater Moonlight. To my knowledge there had been two previous reissues. The first (which is in my possession) included Dancing On God's Thumb (DOGT) as a bonus track and the later issue included Happy The Golden Prince, I Watch The Cars demo, It Was The Night and Grooving On An Inner Plane. Robyn drops DOGT and adds All I Wanna Do Is Fall in Love, Give Me a Spanner Ralph and the sublime A Skull, A Suitcase And A Long Red Bottle Of Wine.
IODOT
Originally released in 1984 I have the 1995 Rhino/sequel re-issue with five demos as bonus tracks. Robyn drops the by-now embarrassing Mellow Together and changes the running order of the second half of the album. He drops the 1995 bonus tracks and adds Chant/Aether, an alternative take of Heart Full Of Leaves, a demo of the title track and three unreleased songs, Not Even A Nurse, Slow Chant/That's Fantastic Mother Church (a withering attack on The Sacrament of Reconciliation) and Traveller's Fare.
Eye
I own the original 1990 Glass Fish release. Robyn drops Sweet Ghost Of Light, College Of Ice, Transparent Lover and replaces them with Century in the running order and bonus tracks Shimmering Distant Love, Lovers Turn To Skulls and the brilliant The Beauty of Earl's Court.
WTMB
Through the beauty that is Soulseek I'd heard most of the rare tracks on the double CD. The best of the previously unissued are the Barrettesque Parachutes & Jellyfish, the Oedipean Melting Arthur and the box set title track.
In summary then, a must for Hitchcock completists and now is the time to strike with prices plummeting on ebay. Nice packaging and the usual Robyn words and drawings thrown in for good measure. January will be a lot brighter this year.
WG
Thursday 3 January 2008
Happy New Year
A sombre start to 2008 following the untimely death of Phil O'Donnell. May he rest in peace.
Sartorial Records in London are releasing, Shadow Cat (in honour of Robyn's cat Figgy), a compilation of rare Robyn Hitchcock recordings from the mid-to-late Nineties. One track Statue With A Walkman was the extra track on Robyn's eponymous sampler on Sequel from 1995. Another track, Green Boy, was on A Star For Bram, itself a series of outtakes from Jewels For Sophia. With the exception of his cover of The Wind Cries Mary the remaining tracks are all originals and unreleased. Full details of the track-listing can be had in my Music Latest section. The CD can be had for 18 pounds including p&p direct from Robyn's website but I got my copy for a tenner with free postage direct from Sartorial on ebay.
This continues Robyn's clearing of the vaults and comes hot on the heels of the 5-disc opus, I Wanna Go Backwards (IWGB), and pre-dates another Yep Roc release of material from The Egyptians era.
If you have the patience for transAtlantic shopping I would highly recommend Yep Roc as a slick, smart and modern supplier. All purchases come with the exact same in digitital download format. Look out for special offers and the occasional freebie in your package.
I intend to review IWGB over the coming Celtic-free weekend with Shadow Cat to follow on receipt. If anyone has any questions on Yep Roc or Robyn Hitchcock I will do my best to help.
God rest Phil O'Donnell, 1972-2007.
Sartorial Records in London are releasing, Shadow Cat (in honour of Robyn's cat Figgy), a compilation of rare Robyn Hitchcock recordings from the mid-to-late Nineties. One track Statue With A Walkman was the extra track on Robyn's eponymous sampler on Sequel from 1995. Another track, Green Boy, was on A Star For Bram, itself a series of outtakes from Jewels For Sophia. With the exception of his cover of The Wind Cries Mary the remaining tracks are all originals and unreleased. Full details of the track-listing can be had in my Music Latest section. The CD can be had for 18 pounds including p&p direct from Robyn's website but I got my copy for a tenner with free postage direct from Sartorial on ebay.
This continues Robyn's clearing of the vaults and comes hot on the heels of the 5-disc opus, I Wanna Go Backwards (IWGB), and pre-dates another Yep Roc release of material from The Egyptians era.
If you have the patience for transAtlantic shopping I would highly recommend Yep Roc as a slick, smart and modern supplier. All purchases come with the exact same in digitital download format. Look out for special offers and the occasional freebie in your package.
I intend to review IWGB over the coming Celtic-free weekend with Shadow Cat to follow on receipt. If anyone has any questions on Yep Roc or Robyn Hitchcock I will do my best to help.
God rest Phil O'Donnell, 1972-2007.
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