8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Pop For Abnormal People, December 1, 1999
This review is from: Fegmania (Audio CD)
Pop Kulcher Review: While Robyn Hitchcock has been plugging away in relative obscurity for over two decades (both with the groundbreaking pop/punk outfit the Soft Boys and as a solo artist), this album remains the highlight of a career which has seen tremendous variations in quality. This is probably his most mainstream-sounding album, but that makes it no less compelling than his more eccentric work. Robyn manages to combine his Syd Barrett/John Lennon-esque oh-so-British vocals, Byrds-y guitar jangle, and lyrics which run the gamut from Monty Python-like absurdity to late '60's psychedelic pop into an utterly original (but oddly addictive) package. Songs like "Heaven" and "Egyptian Cream" are pure, unadulterated pop (with a dose of weirdness thrown in), while even the more offbeat tunes like "My Wife & My Dead Wife" and "The Man With The Lightbulb Head" are incredibly infectious and charming. And the ever-solid Egyptians (mostly holdovers from his Soft Boys days) provide the sort of supple rhythm section all too rare in the indie music scene. Every Robyn fan will already own this; but listeners of everything from R.E.M. to the Byrds to Matthew Sweet will be charmed by this confection. Now if only they'd put his Soft Boys masterpiece Underwater Moonlight back in print...
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Robyn and The Egyptians find summer psychedelia., April 29, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Fegmania (Audio CD)
Robyn and The Egyptians blend beautifully on this record. Light, byzantine-patterned psyacadelic pop. Whispery spider-woven melody lines, inverted guitar and simple beauty. Catchy and wonderful.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hitchcock's Sgt. Pepper, January 5, 2006
This review is from: Fegmania (Audio CD)
Despite having numerous records by the British madcap, this is the music I return to, the music I most associate with Hitchcock. Everything gelled for him on this record, as if he were emerging from a long, dark, acoustic trip through the forest. Perhaps it is the maturation of the artist, or the presence of the Egyptians that coalesced Hitchcock's pop sensibilities. Whatever the case, the fact that this record languishes in obscurity is a total mystery to me; Hitchcock is among a dozen artists of the eighties that will be referenced time and again for their musical brilliance.
That said, there is a downside to this recording; it's a bit too long, especially considering the last few tracks might have worked better as b-sides rather than stretch an already brilliant album to the point of being merely good. In any case, I usually let 'Heaven' serve as the closer whenever making a cassette or burning a cd, although I am working on a remix that will let 'Goodnight, I say' close things out. Mixing is not my specialitiy, however, so until that happens, I merely snip.
Beg, borrow, or steal this record asap, and enjoy the goodness.
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