Customer Reviews

Gotta Let This Hen Out

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have a bias; Robyn Hitchcock is 1 of my 2 favorite songwriters AND one can only get better live recordings of RH w/the Egyptians on the Kershaw Sessions CD. If you're just starting out, try Black Snake Diamond Role, Fegmania, Invisible Hitchcock, Eye, and anything by the Soft Boys (RH's previous group if you didn't already know). Then your next wave should include this CD, but by then you'll be in love and get everything else anyway.

That aside, please ignore the gibberish and 1 star (?!?!) of the other review. Maybe 5 is about 1/2 or 1 star generous, but somebody had to step it up!

Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians / Gotta Let This Hen Out! (live CD - Rhino): This is a great live CD of early Hitchcock songs and it's a lot of fun. This may be the best ever versions of "Brenda's Iron Sledge" and "My Wife and My Dead Wife". This is a Five Star album.

This album was my first encounter with Robyn's music; my sister had just borrowed it from her boyfriend and we were listening to it in the car; something about the music and the tone, the man's madcap introductions, and in the course of an hour, I wanted to fall in love, run across the country on foot, trash Stonehenge with my bare hands and most of all, it made me want to join a rock band. I must have sat in a corner the rest of the night with my ear pressed to the speaker listening to "My Wife and My Dead Wife" over and over again trying to figure it out.

Almost ten years later, I still don't know for certain, but I do know this: some of Robyn's best moments collected onto one disc. In spite of the two different "Best Of..." albums out there, this one will give you everything he's got except the delicate moments like "Glass Hotel". A must have.