Thursday, September 9, 2021

The 1981 Listening Post - Robyn Hitchcock - Black Snake Diamond Role

 Robyn Hitchcock - Black Snake Diamond Role


#167

May 1981

Robyn Hitchcock

Black Snake Diamond Role

Genre: Robyn Hitchcock

4 out of 5


Highlights:

Brenda’s Iron Sledge

Do Policemen Sing?

Acid Bird

I Watch the Cars



The debut record from Robyn, the single most lauded musician that made zero impact on me as a youth and, upon rediscovery, did nothing on his own to warrant the great press. 

Now, with the Egyptians? Terrific.

As one of the Soft Boys? Magical.

Solo?

A bit of a hit or miss. I feel like Robyn is the Andy Partridge to Rew’s Colin Moullding. In that I really like Moulding’s work more than Andy’s but when Andy hits, he smacks it out of the park. 

Some tunes are terrific, some are just freaking weird as all hell (“Do Policemen Sing?”, which is also hilarious, “The Lizard” and the mind bender “Acid Bird”).



What comes across is an artist who is trying to stretch while remaining true to himself and not being beholden to anyone else. Some of it falls flat but the rest of the album is rich and rewarding, like if a metro busker was give a record deal, a band and a LOT of drugs. 




https://music.apple.com/us/album/black-snake-diamond-role/264438952

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