Customer Reviews

A Can of Bees

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Soft Boys debut A Can Of Bees is the easily the hardest album
in Hitchcock's career. It's a genuinely weird record from the school of Beefheart. "Sandra's Having Her Brain Out",
"Fatman's Son", "The Return Of The Sacred Crab", "The Pigworker" and "Do The Chisel" are all original, angular power pop.
"Human Music" sees Robyn's first great song.
Great four-part harmonies, intricate arrangements and great
jarring pop. Great guitar interplay between
Rew and Hitchcock. Crazy harmonica parts via Jim Melton.
All-in-all a great debut from a hugely influental band.

Collecting the three different versions of the immortal Soft Boy's first album on cd was quite an accomplishment... And it's a shame that Rykodisc's contract to release it are up. If you're a Hitchcock fan, it's a must. "Leppo and the Jooves", "Human Music", and many more are collected here. This was Hitchcock at his hardest, and when it works it is something to hear. Of course, not all of it works, but if this is your thing, you won't mind a bit. Hitchcock's "fishy" lyrics are both sardonic and strange, but crank it up and enjoy! And get it while you can!

Although not the band's best album (and certainly not Robyn's favorite for that matter), Can of Bees is classic Soft Boys. All the elements are here; Kimberly Rew's masterful guitar playing, Morris Windsor's powerful drumming and, of course, Robyn's eccentric songwriting.

This import has all the songs found on the Rykodisc release from 5 or 6 years ago but with a much heftier price tag. I'd probably wait for Matador to reissue this (they've done a great job with Underwater Moonlight)as it'll probably come with more extras.

Still fresh after all these years, Can of Bees demonstrates Robyn's finding his "voice" as a songwriter. Highly recommended.

I ordered this along with the YepRoc vinyl reissue of UNDERWATER MOONLIGHT. I've been a Soft Boys/Hitchcock fan for many years and have never had the chance to enjoy these masterworks on vinyl, much less in a restored/remastered form, so these were quite welcome additions to my vinyl collection. The packaging, pressing and added value material (i. e. downloads) from YepRoc are first-rate, as usual. The release history of this album is quite patchy - over the years there have been several variations with numerous track listings and sequences. Here, much to my delight, the album is restored to its original state in terms of track selection and sequencing. Apparently, this LP was mastered from an original vinyl pressing as the master tape is MIA and the DAT from which the Ryko CD was mastered was deemed substandard. In many cases of vinyl mastered from vinyl, the sonic results range from disappointing to maddening. In this case, the results are nothing short of miraculous. Considering the technology of the time, the Ryko CD (mastered from a DAT of the original analog master) sounds pretty decent (I've also heard a UK CD on Armageddon that sounds like it was dubbed from a worn-out cassette). The YepRoc vinyl has an in-your-face quality (in a good way) that the Ryko CD sorely lacks. It seems punchier, more immediate and somehow better blended than the Ryko CD version. Also, the bass and the high end so lacking on the Ryko CD (leaving only muddy low midrange and shrill high midrange) are restored on the YepRoc LP - suddenly, the mixes make sense. The best improvement over previous versions, however, has to be "Cold Turkey". On the Ryko CD, a minute or so into the track, a rather obvious edit can be heard. At the edit point, the mix seems to change completely. I assumed it was a case of Hitchcock liking the first part of one mix and the latter part of another (radically different) mix and splicing them together to get a "composite" of the two - a fairly common practice in rock recording for years, what're ya gonna do? I listened to the new YepRoc pressing fully expecting that dreadful edit to be there...but it wasn't. The mix remains the same throughout - to these ears a much more satisfying listen. All in all, a cracking good slab o' wax.

[Newbies to the world of Soft Boys/Robyn Hitchcock who particularly dig the live tracks that make up the latter half of side 2 ('Cold Turkey', 'Skool Dinner Blues', 'Wading Through a Ventilator') may want to seek out ROUT OF THE CLONES, a full LP/CD from that show. It contains the CAN OF BEES tracks, and many others, along with some of Hitchcock's inimitable between-song banter, all with a mix different from A CAN OF BEES. ROUT OF THE CLONES was a scarcity on vinyl for years until it was reissued on a small UK label on both vinyl and CD, the latter featuring more material than the LP.]

I bought this album simply to complete my Soft Boys collection - the painfully high price had kept me away for long enough, and I finally gave in. And it does not disappoint. If you love The Soft Boys, and if you enjoy Hitchcock's absurd lyrics, this is worth the price. "Sandra's Having Her Brains Out" is such a great song - heavier than most of Robyn's material, with delightful variances in the feel and texture throughout the song. "Human Music" is a softer song, which is lyrically and musically much more mature feeling than many of the other tracks on this album - a great song which really foreshadows much of Hitchock's music to come. Other favorites for this disc include "Leppo and the Jooves," along with "Skool Dinner Blues" which never fails to get me dancing or at the very least toe tapping. The Soft Boys harmonies are always lovely, and this first album really puts them to good use. For anyone else who, like me, shies away from buying this because of price and only OK reviews, just GO FOR IT. It's really very good. Hell, I even enjoy the live bonus material... a lot! It's not Underwater Moonlight, but really, nothing is up to that standard.

Have been looking for this cd to replace a tape I had gotten years ago.Love the music and this is a great one.

This is an awesome album, they rock very hard, highly venerable band from the U.K....