Robyn Hitchcock
Being a 'musician's musician' or a 'cult favorite' is the kiss of death. The former means you're playing music that other musician's appreciate but is lost on the general public. The latter limits your audience to a select few with little chance of breaking into the mainstream (if that's desired). Robyn Hitchcock is both.
The good thing about being a 'musician's musician' is that your musical admirers will help out. The upside of cult status is your fans are loyal (as opposed to pop-star fickle).
Lyrically, Hitchcock favors surrealism, a nod toward eccentrics and depictions of the mundane nature of everyday life - often delivered with an irreverent dash of humor. "At heart I'm a frightened angry person," said Hitchcock reflecting on his work. "That's probably why my stuff isn't totally insubstantial. I'm constantly, deep down inside, in a kind of rage." That's not the sort of attitude that finds its way to the top of the Billboard 200.
Over his career, which began with the Psychedelic-Punk Soft Boys in the early 80s, the singer/guitarist has received critical acclaim and studio help from the likes of Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Nick Lowe, John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and Andy Partridge (XTC), to name but a few. Though never a major star, Hitchcock released over a dozen studio albums and a handful of live sets since making his '81 solo debut, "Black Snake Diamond Role."
Hitchcock was backed throughout the '80s and early '90s by The Egyptians, which often included ex-Soft Boys. Though Hitchcock disbanded The Egyptians in '94, he didn't pick up another back-up band for over a decade. In '06 "Ole Tarantula" had backing from The Venus 3 - Buck, Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows) and Bill Rieflin (Ministry). In between, Hitchcock participated in a Soft Boys reunion and was the subject of Jonathan Demme's '98 concert film Storefront Hitchcock.
Nearly a decade later ('07), Hitchcock was again the subject of a documentary, Robyn Hitchcock: Sex Food, Death… and Insects." "Food, sex and death are all corridors to life if you like," said Hitchcock. You need sex to get you here, you need food to keep you here and you need death to get you out and they're the entry and exit signs."
The following year, Hitchcock released another album with The Venus 3 (Buck, McCaughey and Rieflin), "Goodnight Oslo."
Hitchcock had a cameo in Jonathan Demme's film Getting Married. That created some renewed interest in Hitchcock but his time was better spent producing the Young Fresh Fellows' "I Think This Is." Hitchcock, a friend of the 'almost-famous' pre-Grunge Seattle band, pushed the group to reinvent themselves. "He would make us try to do something different and then would find new arrangements for some of the songs," said (YFF frontman) McCaughey. "We would have never come upon it on our own." The '09 album was the group's first in eight years.
Robyn Hitchcock may be an acquired taste but he's one worth picking up. He has an eccentric, self-directed approach. His songs possess intelligent lyrics and lean arrangements. Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd) influences have clearly seeped into his work. He can take the common and turn it quirky - sometimes he seems to be looking at life through a prism.
Hitchcock's cover of "The Bells Of Rhymney" shows he could have run with The Byrds had he been born a decade earlier. But his own material better serves him.
Hitchcock doesn't have hits, or even near misses, but he does have a captivating manner. Jumping in at just about any point in his career will yield treasures. That includes "Goodnight Oslo." This set has a good old fashioned romp in the aptly titled "Saturday Groovers." Using horns, "Intricate Thing," takes on the relationship dynamics between a man and a woman -with depth and wit.