The Associated Press
October 6, 1997
Uncorrected Personality Traits (Rhino) -- Robyn Hitchcock
by Steven Wine
This collection captures the essence of Robyn Hitchcock -- which is to say it's whimsical, melodic, eccentric, surreal and just plain weird.
With Hitchcock's help, Rhino culled the 20 tunes on Uncorrected Personality Traits from his 1980s catalog. The liner notes include comments by Hitchcock and hilarious testimonials by his fans.
As for the music, he builds an entire song around one chord ("She Reached For A Light"). He imitates Bob Dylan imitating Jim Morrison ("Nightride To Trinidad"). He segues from an a capella tune (the title cut) to an instrumental ("Heart Full Of Leaves"). He sings about "The Man With The Lightbulb Head", "Queen Elvis II", and "Egyptian Cream" ("She loves to smear it everywhere").
Then there's a live version of Hitchcock's best-known song, "My Wife And My Dead Wife" (that's right -- he sings live about a dead wife). It's no wonder Jonathan Demme is one of Hitchcock's biggest fans.
About the time you're convinced that this daft Brit is a full Monty (Python, that is), he cranks out something like "Airscape", an irresistible slice of Beatlesque Pop that leaves the listener craving for more. That's what a good sampler does.
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