Gotta Let This Hen Out [Live]

Robyn Hitchcock, Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 28, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000033FK
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,377 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl

2. Kingdom of Love

3. Acid Bird

4. The Cars She Used to Drive

5. My Wife and My Dead Wife

6. Brenda's Iron Sledge

7. The Fly

8. Only the Stones Remain

9. Egyptian Cream

10. Leppo and the Jooves

11. America

12. Heaven

13. Listening to the Higsons

14. The Face of Death

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rockin' Robyn's hardest post-Soft Boys album, June 20, 1999

By 

John O'Hara (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gotta Let This Hen Out (Audio CD)

Recorded in April of 1985 at the Marquee, "Gotta Let this Hen Out" is a masterpiece of live rock. Unlike many live albums of the era, "Gotta Let this Hen Out," which is a combination of early solo work and Soft Boys (Hitchcock's previous band) classics, is recorded extremely well. Hitchcock's performance, while maintaining the grit and looseness that is live rock, is near-flawless, and the set list well chosen and ordered perfectly. Among the choice cuts are "America," which is performed much better than it is on the "Groovy Decay/Decoy" sessions (without horns, thank God...), a classic version of "My Wife and My Dead Wife," one of his most well known songs, a harder version of "Heaven," a song which appears on several albums, and a consummate performance of "Acid Bird," a nod to Robyn's psychadelic heroes, among them Syd Barrett. This album is truly a classic, a gem for longtime Hitchcock fans like myself, and a good album to purchase if you're curious about Robyn's ecclectic work.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, March 23, 2000

By 

Garry Messick (Boynton Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gotta Let This Hen Out (Audio CD)

The sound quality is excellent; the band is in top form and really KICKS (and by the way, the Egyptians live backing harmony vocals, unlike those of the vast majority of other bands, are always spot-on perfect); Robyn's songs are uniformly great and it's especially nice to hear two songs, "America" and "The Cars She Used To Drive" rehabilitated from the "Groovy Decay" album in MUCH superior versions. In fact, many of the tunes here cut the studio versions. Personal favorite: the exhilerating "Brenda's Iron Sledge." Pretty easily one of the best live rock albums ever.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Egyptian's Burning Down of the Marquee is a MUST HAVE, August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Gotta Let This Hen Out (Audio CD)

Perhaps being sparked by the critical success of "I Often Dream of Trains" and "Fegmania!", Robyn accepted an offer to record his new group, The Egyptians, live at the Marquee in London. The results became much more than a standard live album: it was a glorious call to arms, and a bit of a defense against years of defeat.

The songs are an interesting mish mash. Four are from the Soft Boys days, and all recreated with the love of days that never were...the glory of a band revered more in memory than when they existed. The rest recreate interesting portions of Robyn's solo career, and almost all better their studio predecessors. Of special notice are "The Cars She Used to Drive" and "America", both rescued from "Groovy Decay" an album which almost single handedly destroyed Robyn's career. These songs, perhaps because of their place of origin, seeth and spit venom.

But then,that's the spirit of this album, which kicks harder than anybody had a right to expect. Perhaps it's the sound of a band meeting its audience for the first time and celebrating in joy? Perhaps its the sound of a man rebelling against his past and railing against a music world that has no time for his strange little songs? Actually, it's both. And beyond that, it's invigorating. A must own and a perfect introduction to one of the most unique musicians this century has produced.