Robyn Hitchcock. Your favorite album?

Eye and Moss Elixer

 

Moss Elixer and Mossy Liquor are great collections. He approached each song differently, gathering musicians that suited each composition. I suspect that the album(s) were recorded over a longer period of time in different studios, not in one focused series of album sessions (I haven't looked at the credits in a long time). Great stuff.

 

I listened to Propellor Time today and I agree that it is one of his best albums.

But...

...the sequencing towards the end is problematic. I re-ordered the final three tracks as:

08. Born on the Wind
09. Evolove
10. Sickie Boy

And most importantly, I edited-out that long silence at the end of Born on the Wind. Why insert 40-seconds of silence at that point in the album? It was (and is) totally baffling to me.

 

Hitchcock has an amazingly large and consistent body of work, but I find myself most often going back to the 2cd Soft Boys compilation. I love the variety and the spikiness that's often lacking in his solo work.

 

Definately one of the very best songwriters ever

Queen Elvis

Ole Tarantula

Eliment of Light

 

my favorite is "adventure rocket ship." you just reminded me that it's been too long since i've listened to that one.

 

Heaven is my favorite song of him

 

Element of Light
Queen Elvis
Black Snake Diamond Role
Fegmania
Ole Tarantula
I Often Dream Of Trains

Far too many excellent albums in his discography to narrow it down to a single favorite.

 

Agree there are far too many excellent RH records to choose only a few. My favorites change with the mood of the moment. Today I'll say...
Eye, I Often Dream of Trains, Perspex Island, Robyn Hitchcock, Respect, Globe of Frogs, and the Rhino You and Oblivion comp.

 

Globe of Frogs

 

I Often Dream of Trains
Element of Light
Globe of Frogs
Fegmania
Queen Elvis
Invisible Hitchcock

 

Only the trains...

 

Yes! I had to get out my 12" of this just to reaffirm that fact.

Top album? Man...probably "Black Snake Diamond Role" for his earlier years and "Ole Tarantula" for a more recent one.

By the way, his Phantom 45 series is a pretty fantastic collection. I didn't realize until just now, but it was released as a double 12" entitled "There Goes the Ice".

 

I don't know what it is, but I find myself going back to Respect quite a bit. Its odd production has aged surprisingly well.

 

Gotta Let This Hen Out works as a great, high energy best of collection, encompassing some of the old Soft Boys material. If I were to stick with a studio album, I'd probably go with Element of Light or Fegmania, though some of his latter day albums are strong too, particularly the recent self titled effort.

 

How did I leave out Jules For Sophia? Not only a great album but one of his best sounding albums.
Anyone care to discuss sound/recording/mastering of the man's catalog? I would like to hear some opinions about best sounding versions.

 

I almost mentioned that one, "Viva Sea-Tac" is a monster track.

 

Eye is my favorite front to back, and I think it has, by far, the most consistent songwriting. Moss Elixir might be the next best. But all of his albums have like 3-4 killer songs so you've got to get them all!

 

I love them all

 

Thanks to this thread I pulled out Moss Elixir for a play, and man that is a wonderful album, top to bottom, but "The Speed Of Things" is on another level entirely.

 

I Often Dream Of Trains
Black Snake Diamond Role

 

I don't want to pick just one, but I really love Spooked.

 

Element of Light, I Often Dream of Trains, Globe of Frogs, and Queen Elvis

 

I have always loved this song. The original b-side version.