San Diego Union Tribune
October 29, 1998
Robyn Hitchcock, Storefront Hitchcock
Warner Bros.
***
by David L. Coddon
Robyn Hitchcock sounds as if he's comfortably ensconced on one of your living-room stereo speakers, guitar in hand, on this soundtrack to the upcoming Jonathan Demme film, Storefront Hitchcock. This live performance was actually recorded (and filmed) in an abandoned building in Greenwich Village. Intimate and involving, it's Hitchcock at his best.
Besides four new songs written for the movie, there are mostly acoustic covers of Hitchcock chestnuts from his Egyptians days ("I'm Only You", "The Yip Song") and songs from his last studio album, Moss Elixir ("Alright, Yeah", "Beautiful Queen"). Also featured is a Hitchcock concert staple, his
sublime rendering of Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary".
Two of the new tunes shine: "1974", which wryly references the likes of Richard Nixon, Syd Barrett, David Crosby, denim, and "ghastly mellow saxophones"; and "No, I Don't Remember Guildford", a thoughtful, lengthy ballad at once lovely and gruesome. Hitchcock's guitar playing, absolutely his strength over the years, is displayed in all its virtuosity on this recording, so much so that we can forgive him the tiresome nattering between songs.
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