Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 14 - Element Of Light (bonus tracks) 

Tonight’s stream, featuring bonus tracks from Robyn and The Egyptians’ second album, was delayed for an hour as Emma Swift was streaming a performance from her new Dylan covers record, Blonde On The Tracks (tinyurl.com/zubblonde), for Australian TV. The show started solo with Robyn and his Gibson acoustic in ‘Studio B,’ the kitchen of the couple’s East Nashville, TN home. The sound and picture were excellent as he did an almost Bluegrass sounding version of ‘The Leopard,’ an Element Of Light bonus track. Introducing the next song, Reg said “I used to live on the edge of a wood, and would prowl around looking for fossilized rats and birds caught in the barbed wire.” He then played ‘The Black Crow Knows,’ a dark tune with the chorus: 

If you want to know what the future holds, the black crow knows 

Emma Swift tardily appeared, explaining that she had been taping an Australian show called Rock Show that she had always dreamt of being on. Robyn switched to his Larrivee acoustic, and the duo sang ‘Birdshead’ (on You & Oblivion), Robyn picking the tune in a very folk-rock style. Emma went to tend the streaming tech, and Reg explained the next song was about the apocalypse in 1986, which, according to him, was Ronald Reagan. This was for ‘The Crawling,’ another disconcerting song from the Element bonus tracks.     

Emma returned, and they talked about the Isle Of Wight, where Robyn was living when composing this record, and then they sang the (surprisingly poppy) ‘Tell Me About Your Drugs:’ 

Do you believe in the Holy Ghost? 

Tell me about your drugs 

Do you like the things that hurt you most? 

Tell me about your drugs 

Do you wish you were somebody else? 

Tell me about your drugs 

But you wake up and you're still yourself 

Talkin' about your drugs 

Ah, we get messed up by forces that we just don't understand 

They then went into ‘I Used To Say I Love You’ from I Often Dream Of Trains, a simpler, more earnest song, it was very pretty. When it ended Reg said “like so many songs, it just stopped.” Robyn said “I’d love to hear Paul McCartney sing this” before he did a lovely version of ‘Vibrating’ from Globe Of Frogs.  Emma and Reg discussed (their cat) Tubby’s production skills, and mentioned they could barely afford his services anymore. Robyn said “I never play this” and did a very Dylan-ish version of ‘You’ve Got A Sweet Mouth On You, Baby’ from Jewels For Sophia. Afterwards, Emma mentioned “I’m the 21st century muse and belong in none of these songs.” 

Since they were cut off on the last show, Robyn did ‘Lady Waters And The Hooded One,’ the last track on Element Of Light, all the way through. This tale of the plague is constructed much like an old English folk song: 

"Will you dance with me, Lady Waters?" 

And a bony hand plucked her gown 

"Will you dance with me," said the Hooded One 

"For the plague has now reached this town." 

"No, I'll never dance," says Lady Waters 

"For I see that your name is Death." 

And beneath her mask she was sweating 

At the Hooded One's fetid breath 

"Will you dance with me, Lady Waters? 

For the fire dies in your grate 

And your guests have gone and your lord's asleep 

And the plague has reached your estate." 

This was just beautiful and fantastic. Announcing next week would be “80’s requests,” the duo did a funny version of ‘Victorian Squid’ from You And Oblivion, and the show was over.  

They say when you break a song down to its basic elements, such as acoustic guitar and vocals, you can really tell whether it’s quality. I was truly  impressed by many of these ‘bonus’ tracks Robyn wrote in the mid 1980’s. He obviously was on a roll - this was an amazingly good show and I can’t wait for next week. 

Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 15 - 1980’s Night 

Back in Studio B tonight, the stream started with Robyn drinking a cup of tea. He said hello and that he would be wearing his “spectacles” to read the cheat notes for these songs. With that, he began, solo, playing R.E.M.’s ‘You Are The Everything’ from Green.  After finishing he called the song “a particular, beautiful dream.”  Talking to ‘producer’ Emma Swift off-camera, he explained the story of finding his jacket (the checkered one he was wearing) on his first U,S. tour in 1984, in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, where he said he was often asked “hey, aren’t you Nick Lowe?” Reg then played Don Henley’s ‘Boys Of Summer,” doing a credible folk-rock version and mentioning the “folds of summer” (a reference to their Scottish Fold cats, Tubby and Ringo) in the lyrics. Afterwards, Emma Swift appeared (with Tubby), saying she had been “yearning to hear your homoerotic take on ‘Boys Of Summer’ for years. In the spirit of the 1980’s, Emma had both big hair and an outfit with big shoulder pads!  

Emma sang with Robyn on Julian Cope’s ‘Charlotte Anne,’ their voices were stellar and this one had a bit of a psychedelic folk sound. Next was The Psychedelic Furs ‘Love My Way,’ a lovely version, if a bit loose. They followed with another Psychedelic Furs song, ‘The Ghost In You,’ one that they play regularly. This sounded wonderful and again very much like a Reg song. Time for Emma to get her own song, and she said; “yes groovers this was my request.” She sang solo on Cyndi Lauper’s ‘I Drove All Night,’ using her very powerful voice to good effect. She’s always superb. Reg went solo on the next one, Roxy Music’s ‘To Turn You On’ (from Avalon) which, stripped of all it’s production, Robyn turned into a wonderful, Lennon-type declaration: 

Spring Summer whenever 

Winter through Fall 

I'd do anything to turn you on 

Anything to turn you on 

I could leave you as you were 

If I wanted to 

Then I wonder is it fair 

Now you're on your own 

Who cares about you 

Except me, God help me 

When things go wrong 

I do anything to turn you 

Must phone me, you know me 

When things go wrong 

I do anything to turn you on 

The next song was a real surprise; Emma singing the Smiths’ ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.’ One of those great songs you sometimes forget about. She flubbed a line but it was no problem. The two of them then played a neat version of a song written by Robyn’s bandmate in The Soft Boys, Kimberley Rew: ‘Walking On Sunshine’ by Rew’s band, Katrina and The Waves. It was fun and they sang the horn parts, scat-style. Donning a top hat in homage to Tom Petty, the duo ended up with The Traveling Wilburys ‘Handle With Care,'' again a strange yet satisfying cover song, its Beatley-power pop nature brought full center. 

This was a strange bunch of songs, especially after last week’s show of obscure Element Of Light outtakes. Emma and Robyn are trying to have good fun, and it is infectious, even when a few of the songs didn’t work as well as you’d think. But hey, how often do you hear Robyn Hitchcock sing ‘The Boys Of Summer? 

Thanks to Reg and Emma! 

Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 16 - RH Songs By Request 

Tonight’s show started off in Studio B (Reg and Em’s kitchen in Nashville) with Robyn playing his Gibson Nick Lucas model for the whole set. He started with ‘Freeze’ from Queen Elvis, one of his most surreal songs:  

There's a justice in this world 

And I know just what she's called 

She's called Elaine 

There's a dead man in your heart 

And he takes up too much room 

And I know just what he's called 

He's called Steve 

There's a farmer in the clouds 

And he's sowing golden seeds 

And he's feeding on your dreams 

That's the only thing you need 

And I know just what he's called 

He's called Ray 

I'm starting to freeze 

Freeze 

We were off to a great start. Next up was ‘Serpent At The Gates Of Wisdom’ from Respect, a song with a much poppier construction and a Beatleish descending chorus. After this was over, Robyn said: “speaking of angels, here comes Miss Emma Swift.” Emma, in a jumpsuit, (an adult onesie) appeared on screen and there was a discussion of ‘Glam’ onesies, Reg saying “I didn’t know onesies happened in Glam rock.”  

Emma sang solo on Robyn’s ‘NY Doll,’ a beautiful story based on the documentary about Arthur Kane from the same band: 

I was a New York Doll 

I was really something 

On a map that never ends 

I was the pulse of it all 

But there's always poison 

To drink alone or to share with friends 

One in a million people hit you 

Like a window pane 

Sincerely I remain, Arthur Kane 

I found myself in the church 

I needed something 

Bigger than the world I knew 

But in the library of your memory 

People live in their books 

Til the pages close 

Close on me 

Like they're gonna close on you 

This was a really beautiful and touching song, with Emma’s bright, clear vocal really making it extra-special. Introducing “an old folk song from the television era,” Robyn and Emma did ‘Balloon Man’ (tinyurl.com/zubrobyn) which was both light-hearted and funny. These two seemed very at ease and having a great time tonight. ‘Saturday Groovers’ from Goodnight Oslo was next, both Emma and Robyn singing, and they continued having a good time with this one. Then Emma went off to find Tubby the cat and Reg introduced ‘Ordinary Millionaire’ from Propeller Time as a song “Johnny Marr wrote and I wrote the words for.” Once finished, he talked about the song and mentioned “There’s nothing like a divorce.”  

Tubby’s brother Ringo appeared with Emma, and was patient on camera for a few minutes, and then Reg did ‘De Chirico Street’ from Moss Elixir, one of my personal favorite Hitchcock tunes. Emma returned and they did ‘The Wreck Of The Arthur Lee’ (again from Respect), which had a very strong David Bowie vibe. Perry the stuffed lobster appeared, and Em and Robyn talked about living in England, with Robyn saying to Em “darkness and damp bother you.” They then did ‘Madonna Of The Wasps’ from Queen Elvis, a song they play quite often and really drove it home, with some talk afterwards of Reg playing on Letterman back around that time of the album’s release.  

They then did ‘I Pray When I’m Drunk,’ a Johnny Cash pastiche from Reg’s last record, Robyn Hitchcock. Next Robyn did ‘A Globe Of Frogs’ solo, then Emma appeared again with a not so cooperative Tubby. With just a couple of minutes to go, they did a few verses of ‘The Queen Of Eyes,’ both singing, and stopped just before the time cut off. Another loose, relaxed show featuring superb songs and terrific singing.   

Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 17 - EYE (in full) 

Tonight Reg was playing songs from his 1990 release EYE, which many consider a continuation of the I Often Dream Of Trains album. The move to the kitchen (Studio B), seems permanent; that’s where we began this show with Robyn and his Nick Lucas Gibson playing ‘Flesh Cartoons’ solo. Honestly this song sounded as fresh as it did in 1990, Robyn sang wonderfully and was resplendent in his black shirt with white polka dots. Switching to his small-body mahogany guitar, he did the instrumental ‘Chinese Water Python,’ a delicately picked guitar figure running through the tune.  

Emma Swift made an appearance, while Robyn said “I try to be an unrelenting downer.” He mentioned this next song was influenced by R.E.M., and he and Em did a pretty version of ‘Cynthia Mask.’ Perry the stuffed lobster said hello at the song’s end. Next up was ‘Beautiful Girl,’ a more straightforward pop tune, which Reg played very fast. Afterwards, Emma mentioned Tubby and Ringo (their cats) had “disappeared.” Em and Reg did ‘Executioner,’ which had a distinct late era John Lennon vibe. Emma had a request, so they did ‘Queen Elvis,’ with Robyn saying to Em “This goes out to you, darling.” The song was beautiful and tender, and Emma’s voice adds a lot to the mix. She headed off camera after this. 

Robyn, solo again, did ‘Satellite,’ a song that can’t help but remind me of Lou Reed’s ‘Satellite Of Love:’ 

I lie to my eye 

The wire inside 

Don't tell me this is not the best of all disguises 

What goes around comes around to 

What comes around goes around 

What goes around comes around to 

What comes around goes around 

I tried the night 

First-hand clock time 

Don't tell me this is not the best of all devices 

Emma returned and the duo did the very surreal ‘Linctus House.’ 

I understand how everything sometimes 

Turns out to be nothing,  You say 

But I wonder if you do 

And if we understood each other 

There'd be no need to talk 

But even that, even talking is out of reach 

Should I say it with flowers or 

Should I say it with nails? 

I'm not the kind to push you around 

But I don't want to make myself vulnerable 

And if I was on my knees 

You'd have a pretty good view of my skull 

And I happen to know you're carrying a chisel 

After this one, there was a short discussion about failed relationships, Reg saying “It’s still worth having them,” and Emma asking him if EYE was his Blood On The Tracks, to which Reg responded “blood on the tram!” 

Robyn did ‘Aquarium’ solo, and Emma returned saying “I’ve got something inane,” which was an Iguana puppet. Together they did a great version of ‘Agony Of Pleasure,’ which was very Bowie-ish, and then time was up. 

One of my favorite Hitchcock records, he didn’t get to all of it tonight, but it was a great show and as usual very entertaining. 

----Steve McGowan