Welcome to Ten For, a feature where I take a look at the discographies of artists who tend to be known in the mainstream for only a few songs (if that), offering up a collection of tracks that will either serve as the start of an education or a squabble, depending on how you feel about the artist’s catalog.
Yesterday, I offered up Pt. 1 of my look into the work of Robyn Hitchcock, and when I sat down to start Pt. 2, I realized something: I am such a huge fan of Robyn’s work that I’m going to have to divide this into several parts, each for different eras. The first one is what we’re going to call the pre-A&M era, so we’re going to be referring to this one as - you guessed it - the A&M era. That said, Robyn did one indie album in the midst of his A&M era (Eye), so we’re going to incorporate that into this mix as well, just to keep things properly chronological.
One other thing…or, really, two other things: since I spotlighted “Balloon Man” last time around as my gateway drug into the world of Robyn Hitchcock, I feel like I should also spotlight the two other singles that Robyn released during his A&M tenure that made a decent dent on the college-rock charts, and by doing so, I therefore don’t have to worry about including them within my actual list of 10 songs. Hooray for loopholes!
That said, do you remember these ditties?
Classics, both of them, to be sure…
Okay, that said, we now move onward into the proper list of 10 songs from within Robyn’s A&M era - we’re defining that as being from 1988-1993, by the way - that are among my favorites. They ain’t all of my favorites, obviously, because I’ve got quite a lot of ‘em, but they’re the ones that I hope will serve as a continuing source of proof as to just how great his music can be.
1. “Vibrating” (1988 - A Globe of Frogs)
2. “Flesh Number One (Beatle Dennis)” (1988 - A Globe of Frogs)
3. “One Long Pair of Eyes” (1989 - Queen Elvis)
4. “Veins of the Queen” (1989 - Queen Elvis)
5. “Cynthia Mask” (1990 - Eye)
6. “Beautiful Girl” (1990 - Eye)
7. “Glass Hotel” (1990 - Eye)
8. “She Doesn’t Exist” (1991 - Perspex Island)
9. “The Yip Song” (1993 - Respect)
10. “Arms of Love” (1993 - Respect)
So there you have it: 10 songs from the era that includes all of Robyn Hitchcock’s A&M era, plus that one indie album he did during the same period. Next up we’ll be covering the Warner Bros. years, but before we go, it’s time for the inevitable bonus track.
This one comes from a 1990 compilation called Alvin Lives in Leeds, a collection of covers songs put together as an effort to stand against the poll tax. I found my copy on CD when I was over in the UK in ‘92 after I graduated from college, and although there were plenty of reasons to pick it up - Lush doing a version of “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep,” the Wedding Present covering “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me),” and 14 Iced Bears tackling “Summer Loving” among them - this is without a doubt the track that sold me: Robyn Hitchcock covering “Kung Fu Fighting.”
Enjoy!
I didn’t discover the wonders of 120 Minutes until a new friend opened my freshman ears to the panoply of college music, so “Madonna of the Wasps” was my intro to Robyn. Until now I’d forgotten how much I listened to ‘Perspex Island’ back in the day (thanks in part to its R.E.M. DNA), and I think I still have the ‘In Defense of Animals’ compilation that includes Michael’s cover of “Arms of Love.” Since I do lean towards a poppier sheen, this period is my favorite Hitchcock era.