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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9876 Posts |
 Posted - 15/12/2015 : 19:59:58
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The aural connections and production by legendary Nick Drake and Fairport Convention helmsman Joe Boyd are unmistakable. The cello and acoustic touches, the spare, elegant production...delicately interwoven to highlight Robyn's subtle touch covering five song faves chosen by Robyn himself... and five thoughtful & beautiful Robyn-penned songs, all forming a completely satisfying experience. Love it. -lk
Robyn Hitchcock: The Man Upstairs Review
By Eric Swedlund / August 26, 2014 / 4:14pm / Paste magazine
Listen and read on...full album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpIZNZjr7w4&list=PL6ocpUdS0fXnioMixUChsrHRmdAybFb5r
So many of Robyn HitchcockÕs songs owe their greatness to his wit and worldview.
Over 35 yearsÑfirst with the Soft Boys and then with the Egyptians, Venus 3 and soloÑHitchcock carved out his niche as a songwriter: clever, surreal, imaginative and poignant. So when his 20th solo album was announced as a folk record, mixing covers (both well-known and obscure) with a few originals, the first question became how HitchcockÕs singular artistic voice would show itself in the project.
The title The Man Upstairs suggests that this record comes from a side of Hitchcock thatÕs always been there but is seldom seen. Hanging around, alongside his genius songwriting, is the voice of an enthusiastic yet reverent interpreter, one with a sharp sense of what songs to choose and how best to transform them.
HitchcockÕs most formative influences have been starkly clear in past projectsÑthe 2002 Robyn Sings album of Bob Dylan covers and a 2006 Soft Boys reunion concert performance of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd songs. But thereÕs nothing so cut-and-dried on The Man Upstairs. Instead, the covers are chosen out of a vault of personal favorites (and, as he says in Yep RocÕs press release, Òsongs I wished IÕd writtenÓ) collected over the years.
The album starts with ÒThe Ghost In You,Ó the 1984 Psychedelic Furs hit, and immediately HitchcockÕs skill as a recontextualist takes over. Instead of the romantic bounce of new wave synths, Hitchcock strums an acoustic guitar through the chords, with cello and piano coloring the edges. ItÕs an approach that puts a direct emphasis on the lyrics, and suddenly itÕs clear why Hitchcock is drawn to the song. With lines like Òangels fall like rainÓ and Òstars come down in you,Ó the lyrics inhabit the same exaltedly strange realm as many of his own songs.
Similarly, when Hitchcock plucks Roxy MusicÕs ÒTo Turn You OnÓ out of 1982, he clears away the shiny production to lock onto the yearning at the songÕs timeless core. Bryan FerryÕs commercial peak Avalon came two years after the Soft Boys disbanded, and while the albumÕs smooth synth-rock was miles from the psychedelia of Underwater Moonlight, ÒTo Turn You OnÓ has a lyrical semblance thatÕs clearly enchanted Hitchcock for decades. But by stripping the instrumentation bare, Hitchcock renders the songÕs melody and lyrics with a more direct emotional punch.
Sandwiched between those two new wave classics at the albumÕs front end is ÒSan Francisco Patrol,Ó a Hitchcock original written in that city. ItÕs an aching, vulnerable song, and, his voice thick with longing, Hitchcock name-checks a series of streets (Haight, Fillmore, Geary) with a cadence that mimicing an aimless stroll. For anyone who knows the streets of the Lower Haight and Hayes Valley, itÕs easy to imagine a heartbroken walk through those neighborhoods, the city coming alive with every step.
Like ÒSan Francisco Patrol,Ó HitchcockÕs other original compositions on The Man Upstairs are strays, songs that took their own paths, evolving slowly, never quite fitting in with other albums along the way. Coming from different periods in HitchcockÕs life, from different Hitchcocks in a sense, they parallel and complement the covers remarkably well.
ÒSomebody To Break Your HeartÓ is jaunty and bluesy, with HitchcockÕs harmonica bursts a lively addition to the acoustic guitar. ÒTrouble In Your BloodÓ and ÒComme ToujoursÓ are stark and fragile, revealing a different side of the songwriter compared to most of HitchcockÕs more recent workÑ2012Õs spacey, psychedelic Love From London and his creatively restless trio of albums with The Venus 3 (Peter Buck of R.E.M., Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows and Bill Rieflin of Ministry), OlŽ! Tarantula, Goodnight Oslo and Propellor Time.
The record hits its lone soggy patch on ÒThe Crystal Ship,Ó a slightly rote and incongruous version of the DoorsÕ hit amid an otherwise brilliantly selected batch of covers.
[I actually really like Robyn's cover of "The Crystal Ship" -lk]
At the reins beside Hitchcock is legendary British folk producer Joe Boyd, whose resume of work on Nick Drake and Richard Thompson records, as well as R.E.M.Õs Fables of the Reconstruction and Billy BraggÕs Workers Playtime, perfectly encapsulates the sound of The Man Upstairs.
Overall, The Man Upstairs is an exceptionally well-conceived and well-executed project from Hitchcock and Boyd. Everything on the album is stronger for its simple and unadorned arrangements, the sparse backing from Jenny Adejayan on cello and Charlie Francis on piano delivering thoughtful, emotional augmentation to HitchcockÕs acoustic guitar. Ultimately, Hitchcock knows how to find and deliver the simple essence of a beautiful song.
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So much music, so little time. |
Edited by - lemonade kid on 15/12/2015 20:12:59 |
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Joe Morris
Old Love
3492 Posts |
Posted - 17/12/2015 : 01:08:21
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"Viva Sea-Tac" lyrics:
People flocked like cattle to Seattle
After Kurt Cobain
And before him the rain
Hendrix played guitar just like an animal
Who's trapped inside a cage
And one day he escaped
Do you want to pay for this in cash?
Viva! Seattle Tacoma, viva viva Sea-Tac
Viva! Seattle Tacoma, viva viva Sea-Tac
Viva viva viva viva viva Sea-Tac—
They've got the best computers and coffee and smack
Coming and going it has to be Boeing
The best form of defense is blow them up
In a regular cup
Have an espresso.
You will? Oh, I guess so
I feel my heart is gonna start to jump
'Cause it's wired to a pump
And the Space Needle points to the sky
The Space Needle's such a nice guy
But he never knows...
CHORUS
All the Norwegians, man, you should see them
Out in Ballard looking soulful at the pines;
And also the Swedes
All of the groovers came from Vancouver
And some of them came up from Oregon
In case you don't know
But the Space Needle points to the sky
The Space Needle's such a nice guy
But you never know...
CHORUS (repeats)
end rant bit:
Long live everything in Washington state
Including everybody
May they live to a million years
May they reproduce until there's no room to go anywhere
Clustered under the Space Needle
Like walking eggs with arms and legs |
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Robyn Hitchcock-reup The Man Upstairs-Boyd & Drake
