Fegmania!

Robyn Hitchcock | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 19, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: BELLE SOUND
• ASIN: B001AI6ZLO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,746 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Fegmania! is a return to band format, showcasing new band The Egyptians through thick sonic tapestries wrapped around Hitchcock's signature skittered melodies and private lyrics. The first album by The Egyptians, the album is a departure from Robyn's more stripped down work on I Often Dream of Trains. The album also features period bonus tracks hand-picked by Hitchcock that do not appear on the original album.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RH & the Egyptians' Finest Moment, August 19, 2008

By 

Sherringford Clark (Mayor's Income, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fegmania! (Audio CD)

"Fegmania!" is probably Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians' finest album. It may even be Robyn's finest album period. While "I Often Dream of Trains" has more great songs, the second side drags with a lot of filler. "Element of Light" is overproduced, which is why the stripped-down demos (included as bonus tracks with that album) are better than the album versions.

"Fegmania!" is a great collection of songs, and filler is kept to a minimum. The album really flows well, with a great second side, which features "The Man With the Lightbulb Head" and one of Hitchock's most beautiful compositions, "Glass," the absolute highlight of the album for me. In fact, the album is worth owning just for this song.

The other great tracks: "Egyptian Cream," "My Wife and My Dead Wife," "Insect Mother," "The Fly," and "Heaven."

The bonus tracks are very good as well, including a wonderful version of "Bells of Rhymney" (sounds just like the Byrds with British accents) and a really great live acoustic rendition of "Heaven" from 1992, with one of Robyn's famous nonsensical intros.

All of the bonus tracks are strong, and even the instrumental version of "Man with the Lightbulb Head" is worth having, really bringing the great psychedelic guitar to the forefront. "The Pit of Souls," a 10-minute instrumental, shows the broadness of Robyn's musical experimentation, at least, even is it's not the kind of piece that one will listen to often.

In short, "Fegmania!" is the strongest, least uneven of Robyn Hitchcock's albums and probably the best place to start for the uninitiated.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Always Worth Your Time, November 2, 2010

By 

XraySpex - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fegmania! (Audio CD)

Out of my vast music catalog Robyn Hitchcok is the artist I return to the most. His solo work, songs with the Soft Boys, with the Egyptians and with the Venus 3 are filled with iconclastic lyrics that say with wit, insight, and erudite, entertaining rhymes, many non-sequitur, what many are afraid to say or ignore. His lyrics are a treasure and his guitar work is stunning. Fegmania! is another highlight.

Of course tastes are subjective. I prefer Eye as my favorite Hitchcock offering with Element Of Light, Groovy Decoy, Black Snake Diamond Role, Gotta Let This Hen Out!, and Globe Of Frogs as other personal favorites, but every Hitchcock release has songs that I wouldn't want to live without and this realease is no different. Over all this is a very consistent release and the song, "My Wife And My Dead Wife" is a highlight for many. Ironically this song led our most celebrated rock critic Robert Christgau to dismiss Hitchcock, citing the title as too gruesome. What a tool. The song is about how when a wife dies the memory stays with us and even if we remarry sometimes the memory can be more vivid then reality. Like many Hitchcock songs the provocative character studies of Robyn Hitchcock which should be celebrated are instead ignored and we continue to make popular and glorify incompetence like Robert Christgau. A sad comment on our culture, but if you would like to make up for this travesty, buy every Hitchcock release and enjoy the beauty of this one, Goodnight I Say and Glass are highlights for me, everybody else should enjoy the rest. Fegmania! is another highlight from a songwriter that will enrich the lives of anyone that appreciates music.