During his brief stay with A&M, Robyn Hitchcock produced a couple of highly sought after B-side covers. One was a stripped-down take of Roxy Music's "More Than This," which appeared on his "Madonna of the Wasps" single in 1989. The other, a fairly faithful version of the Byrds' "Eight Miles High," could be found on the "So You Think You're in Love" single in 1991. Some fans find this era a low point in Hitchcock's illustrious career, but I'm a huge admirer of both sides of these singles. These are worth digging up at your local mom and pop shop.
...And while I'm on the subject, Hitchcock continues to be on top of his game. I give high marks to these more recent releases:
'Goodnight Oslo' (2009)
'Tromsø, Kaptein' (2011)
'Love From London' (2013)
For those of you who expected this post to be on Husker Du's fine cover of this song, I apologize. Perhaps I'll get to that one soon.
Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians - Eight Miles High (mp3)
4 comments:
I have to listen to the latest album. I agree his recent output has been engaging and pretty impressive. My interest in Hitchock has ebbed and flowed over the years, but he is pretty much a mad genius of pop. Syd Barrett with more lucid days...
Well said, Echorich. I don't like every record Hitchcock has recorded either, but I'm impressed at the quality of his recent work, including the new one.
I have yet to meet a Hitchcock album I didn't like. These covers you speak of, sounds interesting. One of my favorite covers of his is from one of the Mojo Covers series. He did "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" for the Abbey Road comp, and I just love it! Worth seeking out, if you're a Hitchcock fan. One of the most natural sounding of all Beatles covers but Hitchcock, as he does, stamps it with his trademark strangitude.
Hey Uncle E. I have never heard that cover, but I can imagine it. I'm going to track that one down for sure. Thanks for the mention.
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