4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Robyn, Give Me A Spanner, August 9, 1999
By A Customer
I wish, really and truely, that i could call this rather slight collection a minor masterpiece or something, or an "odds and sods" type of neato throwaways which make a great album, but that's not the case. Most of this album, in fact, makes a stronger case for the old adage "there's a reason these songs weren't released..." If you aren't a huge Robyn Hitchcock fan pass this one by and pick up "Element of Light" or "Eye."
However, if you happen to be a Robyn Hitchcock fan (as i am) and want to hear and have it all, then by all means. You'll be quite pleased with a few gems that deserved a better fate. There's the putdown rockers "Trash" and "Eaten by Her Own Dinner" which kind of have to be heard to be believed. There's some neat pop on "All I Want to Do is Fall in Love" and the original version of "Listening to the Higsons." Oh, and don't forget the acoustical beauty "Give Me A Spanner, Ralph" and the weird keyboard-ness of "The Abandoned Brain." Other than that you'll find a lot of songs that sound like a lot of other Robyn songs and a few that don't sound like anything and should have been left where found. Again, if you're a fan, frolic. If not, let the search continue.
Odd PS: About ten years after the original release of this album, Robyn released ANOTHER collection of outtakes called "You and Oblivion." Given the quality of most of this recording you'd expect, well...but no! It's amazingly better and filled with many great moments. Don't pass it up. Plus, if you get that one and this one you get the complete story of "The Professor", which is worth having in whole.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic full of memories, December 19, 2001
By A Customer
I have actually owned the LP version of "Invisible Hitchcock" for many years (well before this CD version was released). It must have been 1988 or '89 when I first heard it. My then flatmate; Dave(where are you now?), and I would drink copious amounts and put this album on. By the end of side 1, munchies were setting in so it was the perfect break (just after the psychedelic jungle beat that is "Pit of Souls") and then on to the hilarious "Trash" which opened side 2. Ahhhhh....the memories! The superb bass line to "A Skull .....", the surreal lyrics to...well most of the songs here, and the twisted, hilarious brutallity of "Blues in A" all help make this album a timeless classic for this listener. Now that we have the CD version, there are many more tracks available that were/are not on my old dusty LP version. However, on the sleeve notes of my LP it does say that one day a second album of similiar demos, b-sides, and general recorded lunacy will be released at a later date. Maybe these tracks are them. However, I certainly recommend it for the 12 or so tracks that were on the original vinyl version.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
"So you want to be like Brian Jones...", January 9, 2012
Robyn Hitchcock / Invisible Hitchcock: This CD is darker than most of his albums but it contains one song that makes me laugh out loud ("Trash"). It's a crazy collection, but one of the best. I love this thing so I give it Five Stars.
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