Customer Reviews

Robyn Hitchcock - Greatest Hits

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I don't why Robyn Hitchcock is relegated to the left end of the radio dial. I guess people are too busy paying attention to Michael Jackson to follow a weirdo. If I were introducing somebody to Hitchcock, I'd give them this and point them to Perspex Island. There's also a chilling new addition, "Legalized Murder".

This collections gives you three tracks from "Globe of Frogs," three from "Queen Elvis," four from "Perspex Island," and two from "Respect." Looking back over Hitchcock's recordings for A & M (1989-1993), this "greatest hits" format provides a more-than-adequate summation of what-in retrospect-seems to have been a dry spell in Hitchcock's career. Pulling most of the best album material free from the surrounding dross gives some of these songs a new lease on life. It's not that these are bad songs, but 1990's stellar "Eye" (released on Twin Tone and not represented on his collection) proved pretty conclusively that Hitchcock wasn't firing on all cylinders during these band sessions for A & M.

In any case, as these records are now out of print, this is all that's currently available. "Perspex Island" is worth picking up if you can find it used, but as for the other records-this collection really gives you all you need. (In the case of "Respect," it gives you more than you need: "The Yip Song" was annoying in `93 and is even more so today.

The nine non-album tracks are b-sides and live material-highlights include a solo acoustic reading of Bryan Ferry's "More Than This" and a live band take on The Byrds' "Eight Miles High." Other tracks range from ho-hum ("Legalized Murder") to great ("Bright Fresh Flower")

Hitchcock's move to Warner Brothers seems to have done him good: both "Moss Elixir" (1996) and "Jewels for Sophia" (1999) are excellent.

I have decided to write reviews for my top 10 CD's. I have a CD collection approaching 1000, and obviously I am an avid music fan (I call my tastes post-neo-modern alternative). This didn't quite work out the way I had hoped. My actual #5 would be "Underwater Moonlight" by The Soft Boys. But the Soft Boys' collection is now out of print. In its place I planned to put "Respect" by Robyn Hitchcock, but it doesn't seem to be available at Amazon.com. So, here we have his greatest hits. Nonetheless, just about everything Robyn Hitchcock has put out has found its way to my CD collection. I presonally feel "Respect" (and in particular the song "Arms of Love") was his greatest solo work... and "Underwater Moonlight" was his best as part of The Soft Boys. Good luck in finding it. It was put out recently by Rykodisc, albeit only for a short time.