A couple of folks have risen up in defense of Queen Elvis, so I'm probably going to upset a few more by saying that I consider Perspex Island the the weakest link in the Robyn Hitchcock + the Egyptians oeuvre. It doesn't seem as forced as Queen Elvis, but it's every bit as busy and glossy, with production (by Paul Fox, who also produced XTC's Oranges and Lemons) that doesn't really fit the songs.
With that said, "So You Think You're In Love" is a wonderful single that should have been a hit. Probably the most accessible song of Robyn Hitchcock's career. Here's a clip of the Egyptians performing the song on CNBC of all places!
The "yeah" at the end of this song is one of my favorite musical moments ever! Notice how the clueless host introduces them as "Robert Hitchcock & the Egyptians".
At least he didn't call them "losers" for overextending their mortgage or encourage them to double down on Bear Sterns just before they went under -- it might not even be one of the top ten stupidest things ever broadcast on CNBC!
4 comments:
I love "Oceanside" too!
Definitely an album that's not sure what it wants to be. "Birds In Perspex" is really great, I think, and "So You Think..." and "Oceanside" are top notch Hitchcock pop songs. Some of the moodier stuff is kind of cool --"Vegetation and Dimes" for instance. But, yeah, Paul Fox was a poor choice. Someone was thinking "hit" with this one. Is "Balloon Man" Hitchcock's biggest radio hit?
It was either "Balloon Man" or "So You Think You're In Love".
For the first two listens, I was bitterly disapointed with PI, but on the third one, something clicked, and I've loved it ever since. I don't think it's wan or confused or too glossy or anything bad. Instead, it seems like it's a mature, graceful record that, by the same token, doesn't settle for midtempoitis or complacency. When people were going on about Luxor and Spooked (*my* weakest Hitchcock choices) representing a new Robyn maturity, I thought "He's already done that, and done it a dozen times better, on Perspex Island."
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