Review by Steve McGowan from Zub Records
After their triumphant all-Beatles show from last week, Robyn and Emma were back on their couch at their home in Nashville to stream the 7th show of their Wednesday night series. The introductions were pleasant, and Perry the stuffed lobster made an appearance, Robyn wondering “What furry crustacean reminds you of Rod Stewart?” They launched into ‘Uncorrected Personality Traits’ from I Often Dream Of Trains, with more than a little giggling between the duo.

Speaking about the quarantine, Robyn mentioned “by the Socratic method we are furniture.” They explained they would do a Beatles cover that was not requested last week, and then did a stirring version of ‘Help!’ Emma described Robyn as “The Beatle no one asked for,” and Robyn laughed out loud. They then did ‘So You Think You’re In Love’ from Perspex Island, one of Reg’s poppier songs, and the duo killed it, with Emma showing a 1977 Australian tea towel used to wipe Robyn’s brow. Next up was ‘Madonna Of The Wasps,’ a staple of their live set, beautifully done, followed by ‘Balloon Man’ (see our SGS Podcast on this single at tinyurl.com/zubrobyn) which he admitted was not a favorite among his own songs but he did mention it had made him the most money.

The next ‘dismalia’ tune was introduced as “from one of my recent divorces” and they did ‘Trouble In Your Blood‘ from The Man Upstairs, a very Dylan-like tune. The Beatles showed up again with ‘Rain,’ where Em and Reg turned this psychedelia into a sunny, sweet pop song. Lovely. Robyn seemed very relaxed and Emma was great, looking especially beautiful with her hair up, like an early 1960’s film star. They continued to sing wonderfully together, but Reg went solo for the alternately tuned and carefully picked ‘Heliotrope’ from Moss Elixir, a wonderful little tune. Tubby the cat made an appearance and they discussed his love for romantic comedies “Tubs turns out to be a rom-com freak...who knew?”

They had a bit of a dodgy time with The Soft Boys’ ‘Brenda’s Iron Sledge’ (“please don’t call me Reg...that’s not my name”), with an extended middle discussing Waiting For Godot, but it was all good fun. They ended up with ‘I Want To Tell You About What I Want,’ a truly great tune from the recent Robyn Hitchcock record on Yep Roc, and, after Robyn showed off his impressive Dalek voice (from the BBC’ s Doctor Who), they finished up with about half of ‘You & Oblivion’ before the stream cut off for time. Another wonderful show. I would have liked to hear Emma get her own song, but these two are so charming and entertaining, I will happily wait until next time. They are holding shows Wednesday evenings at 9 Eastern via StageIt, with a Friday afternoon quasi-encore (some songs may differ) geared to the European audience.


Online review by Mark My Words
The 7th week of Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift’s at home concert series, titled “Sweet Home Quarantine,” aired through the Stageit website on April 29, 2020. This week didn’t have a theme, it was just the songs of Robyn Hitchcock. The show opened with “Uncorrected Personality Traits,” one of Robyn’s most humorous songs, from his 1984 album I Often Dream of Trains. I’ve been a fan of Robyn Hitchcock’s music since I first discovered him in 2007/2008, and I really love hearing him sing with Emma Swift—she brings something slightly different out of his music. It’s fun to hear Robyn vocally paired with someone else, and it brings more variety to his songs.

Continuing with the Beatles theme of week 6’s show, Robyn and Emma sang “Help!” which of course really needs two vocalists to work as a song. The next tune was “So You Think You’re in Love,” which I don’t think I’ve ever heard Robyn sing in concert. “So You Think You’re in Love” might not be Robyn’s most famous song, but it’s the closest he’s come to having a hit single, as the song made it to number one on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart. (It didn’t make the Hot 100, though.) It was fun to hear, and a reminder of how catchy Robyn’s songs can be. After that, Robyn played two of his most well-known songs, “Madonna of the Wasps,” and “Balloon Man.” Robyn commented that “Balloon Man” was a satire of capitalism, and he noted the irony that it’s made more money for him than any other song. “Balloon Man” is a catchy, surreal pop song that was many people’s gateway into the universe of Robyn Hitchcock.

Next up was “Trouble in Your Blood,” a track from 2014’s The Man Upstairs. Robyn joked that it was about his most recent divorce. Well, I’m not sure if he was joking or not. See, that’s the problem with getting into any musical artists after the Beatles. Because we know so much about the Beatles, I can practically tell you, “Oh yes, John Lennon had a roasted turkey sandwich right before he did the lead vocal on ‘A Day in the Life’!” But that spoils you, because then you expect to know EVERYTHING! “But what kind of hair gel was Nick Lowe using when he was producing Elvis Costello’s High Fidelity??? I need to know!” So then things like, “How many times has Robyn Hitchcock been married?” become difficult questions to answer.

Robyn reached way back for the next song, “Rain,” from 1982’s Groovy Decay. He then played “Heliotrope,” from one of my favorite albums of his, 1996’s Moss Elixir, which was definitely one of my own gateways into Robyn Hitchcock. Next up was “Brenda’s Iron Sledge,” from his very first solo album, Black Snake Diamond Role, released in May 1981, just a month after I was born. Robyn followed that with “I Want to Tell You About What I Want,” from his most recent album, released in 2017. Then we got a minute or so of “You and Oblivion” as the time ran out.