Review by Steve McGowan from Zub RecordsI’ve really come to look forward to these streaming sessions from Robyn and Emma’s couch in Nashville, and they never seem to disappoint. After the Friday afternoon Syd Barrett show, they were back on schedule for Wednesday night and a special, all-request David Bowie show. Our hosts seemed to be in a good mood months into lockdown. By way of an intro, Emma noted of her floppy-haired, home-shorn companion, “Robyn’s brought (Andy) Warhol’s hair.” They started off with a great version of ‘Soul Love’ from Ziggy Stardust, but the mic levels were way too hot, distorted and distracting. The commenters on the feed, which Emma keeps an eye on, alerted her and the levels were set properly for the second song.
Emma Swift sang a solo, gorgeous version of ‘Moonage Daydream’ which was really stunning. Afterwards, Robyn spoke of Bowie as a genius, along with “Virginia Woolf, Willian Shakespeare, and...Tubby (the Cat).” The two of them did ‘Starman,’ these stripped down versions really showing off how great Bowie’s melodic gifts were. This was followed by a terrific version of ‘Quicksand’ from Hunky Dory, as the the lonely lyrics go:
I ain’t got the power anymore
Knowledge comes with death’s release
Robyn switched to his electric guitar (a Fender Telecaster) and beautifully picked ‘Life On Mars?’ Emma sang alone again, her voice is a wonderful thing, we need to hear her on more recordings. In introducing ‘Heroes’ Robyn said this song was “Bowie and Eno’s take on a Velvet Underground song … so this is how I imagined Lou Reed playing it.” Reg rolled out a slow, stately, very ‘Perfect Day’ type version of ‘Heroes,’ and it truly gave me chills. I hope he will record this version sometime.
Robyn mentioned that Syd Barrett was a big influence on Bowie, and he did ‘Sons Of The Silent Age’ (from Heroes) which would not have sounded out of place on the Syd Barrett covers show. Emma mentioned learning and playing these songs was “very emotional” and that ‘these songs go way back.” It was obvious that both Reg and Em are big, big Bowie fans. They did a great, bouncy version of ‘Drive-In Saturday’ from Aladdin Sane, Em remarking “It’s so catchy, that one.” This was followed by what I could only describe as the ‘jaunty pop’ of ‘The Prettiest Star.’ When the duo did ‘Kooks’ from Hunky Dory I was struck at the inherent folkiness of these early Bowie songs. I always associate Bowie with weird synths, big bands, and time-stretching Eno and Visconti production, but most of his songs were written with an acoustic and can be played that way without losing their essence. Robyn and Emma get that.
They finished up with a pretty funny version of ‘Golden Years,’ Reg vamping it up a bit, and were able to do about half of ‘Wild Is The Wind,’ Nina Simone style with Emma singing solo before the feed cut off for time.
Another great show, David and Robyn and Emma. A special trio.
Online review by Mark My WordsSince the quarantine began, singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock and his partner Emma Swift have been performing concerts live from their couch in Nashville. You can view the concerts through the Stageit website on Wednesday evenings, 8PM in the Central Time Zone. I’ve watched about 4 or 5 of the shows, which Robyn and Emma have titled “Sweet Home Quarantine,” and they’re all very entertaining.
Last night’s show, which was week 9, was David Bowie-themed. As a huge Bowie fan, I was excited for this. Robyn has covered Bowie in concert fairly regularly, although I don’t believe he’s done any Bowie covers on his records.
The show last night began with “Soul Love,” from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It’s a cool song that is probably one of the lesser-known tracks on that classic album. Robyn said that the saxophone solo is one of the few saxophone solos he enjoys. Next up was “Moonage Daydream,” with Emma taking the lead vocal, and it showed just what a fantastic song that is. One of the great things about Sweet Home Quarantine has been seeing and hearing Robyn and Emma sing together—their voices blend very well, and the harmonies really give his songs a different sound. Robyn and Emma have recorded a few songs together, but they haven’t made an album together, and I’ve still never seen Robyn and Emma sing together live. (At the last Robyn show I was at in 2018, Emma was handling the merch table, but didn’t sing with him.)
Up next was another Ziggy Stardust track, “Starman,” which was a lot of fun to hear. “Starman” is just a great Bowie song, with that sing a long chorus. Then came two songs from Bowie’s 1971 LP Hunky Dory, “Quicksand” and “Life on Mars?” “Mars” featured Emma again singing the lead vocal, and she did a fantastic job on it. Robyn accompanied on his Fender Telecaster. Robyn then sang the iconic “Heroes,” but he gave it more of a Velvet Underground vibe, which was very cool, and very different from Bowie’s version. Robyn also sang “Sons of the Silent Age,” which has a very odd melody and is a hard song to sing.
Robyn and Emma were back harmonizing together on the underrated “Drive-In Saturday,” and the lovely “The Prettiest Star,” both off Aladdin Sane. Robyn sang “Kooks,” Bowie’s sweet ode to his son Duncan, and “Golden Years,” another tricky one to sing, but they pulled it off quite well. Robyn and Emma got a verse or two into “Wild is the Wind,” with Emma on lead vocals, before they got cut off. (The Stageit concerts are 30 minutes, plus a 20-minute encore, but they cut you off right at 50 minutes, no matter where you are!)
It was lovely to hear some great Bowie songs again, in the hands of two artists who clearly love Bowie’s music.