Robyn Hitchcock is an artist I discovered by accident. I was going through back issues of Rolling Stone reading "Fricke's Picks" trying to find the one that discussed Nick Cave. I couldn't find it because somehow I'd confused Nick Cave with Robyn Hitchcock, probably because I'd seen photos of both artists in black and white photos looking broody.
I find it amusing now, given how differently each artist sounds. When I'd first read the column, I dismissed it because I associated music from the 80s with hair metal and terrible sounding drums. But I decided to give Robyn Hitchcock a shot, because David Fricke described his voice as sounding like a cross between John Lennon and Syd Barrett, two of my favorite singers and songwriters. That summer I dove into Hitchcock's career, both his solo work and his efforts backed by The Egyptians.
I had some difficulty when it came to tracking down the discography of The Soft Boys, Hitchcock's first band. Their albums were long out of print, but luckily Yep Roc records has reissued their first two albums.
Musically, the group is schizophrenic, equally at home playing songs with an angular, post-punk guitar style or jangle pop with harmonies straight out of The Byrds' songbook. Their debut, A Can Of Bees leans heavily towards the former. The surreal imagery that is a hallmark of Hitchcock's career is present with the first track, "Give It Up For The Soft Boys" during which the narrator asks a tree for an autograph. It's a solid debut with an enjoyable update of psychedelic music.
The reissue sounds a lot nicer than the 1992 Rykodisc release. The packaging is great recreation of the original LP and inside the case is a coupon to download 11 bonus tracks from the album from Yep Roc's website. The tracks differ slightly from previous reissues, which is somewhat of a trend for anyone who has followed the career of Robyn Hitchcock.
Underwater Moonlight, their second album is rightly revered as a classic. The jangling guitars sound like Roger McGuinn playing cathedral bells, especially on "The Queen Of Eyes" and the closing track, "Underwater Moonlight." There's still an angular quality to the guitars, especially on "You'll Have To Go In Sideways," an instrumental track that owes a lot to lysergic freak-outs of Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd. The bonus tracks, which are thirty in number, are pretty interesting. There's a cover of "Vegetable Man", a Pink Floyd song written by Syd Barrett that went unreleased. I can't recommend The Soft Boys enough, particularly if you're looking for the missing link between Big Star and R.E.M.
Grades
A Can of Bees - B
Underwater Moonlight - A
-Andrew Crowley
