Review by Steve McGowan from Zub RecordsBack in Studio B tonight, the stream started with Robyn drinking a cup of tea. He said hello and that he would be wearing his “spectacles” to read the cheat notes for these songs. With that, he began, solo, playing R.E.M.’s ‘You Are The Everything’ from Green. After finishing he called the song “a particular, beautiful dream.” Talking to ‘producer’ Emma Swift off-camera, he explained the story of finding his jacket (the checkered one he was wearing) on his first U,S. tour in 1984, in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, where he said he was often asked “hey, aren’t you Nick Lowe?” Reg then played Don Henley’s ‘Boys Of Summer,” doing a credible folk-rock version and mentioning the “folds of summer” (a reference to their Scottish Fold cats, Tubby and Ringo) in the lyrics. Afterwards, Emma Swift appeared (with Tubby), saying she had been “yearning to hear your homoerotic take on ‘Boys Of Summer’ for years. In the spirit of the 1980’s, Emma had both big hair and an outfit with big shoulder pads!
Emma sang with Robyn on Julian Cope’s ‘Charlotte Anne,’ their voices were stellar and this one had a bit of a psychedelic folk sound. Next was The Psychedelic Furs ‘Love My Way,’ a lovely version, if a bit loose. They followed with another Psychedelic Furs song, ‘The Ghost In You,’ one that they play regularly. This sounded wonderful and again very much like a Reg song. Time for Emma to get her own song, and she said; “yes groovers this was my request.” She sang solo on Cyndi Lauper’s ‘I Drove All Night,’ using her very powerful voice to good effect. She’s always superb. Reg went solo on the next one, Roxy Music’s ‘To Turn You On’ (from Avalon) which, stripped of all it’s production, Robyn turned into a wonderful, Lennon-type declaration:
Spring Summer whenever
Winter through Fall
I'd do anything to turn you on
Anything to turn you on
I could leave you as you were
If I wanted to
Then I wonder is it fair
Now you're on your own
Who cares about you
Except me, God help me
When things go wrong
I do anything to turn you
Must phone me, you know me
When things go wrong
I do anything to turn you on
The next song was a real surprise; Emma singing the Smiths’ ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.’ One of those great songs you sometimes forget about. She flubbed a line but it was no problem. The two of them then played a neat version of a song written by Robyn’s bandmate in The Soft Boys, Kimberley Rew: ‘Walking On Sunshine’ by Rew’s band, Katrina and The Waves. It was fun and they sang the horn parts, scat-style. Donning a top hat in homage to Tom Petty, the duo ended up with The Traveling Wilburys ‘Handle With Care,'' again a strange yet satisfying cover song, its Beatley-power pop nature brought full center.
This was a strange bunch of songs, especially after last week’s show of obscure Element of Light outtakes. Emma and Robyn are trying to have good fun, and it is infectious, even when a few of the songs didn’t work as well as you’d think. But hey, how often do you hear Robyn Hitchcock sing ‘The Boys Of Summer?
Thanks to Reg and Emma!
Online review by Mark My WordsRobyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift returned to Stageit on June 10th for week 12 of their at-home concert series, “Sweet Home Quarantine.” The theme was the 1980’s. It was great fun to see and hear Robyn and Emma singing some of their favorite songs from that decade.
Robyn wore a checked jacket that he bought in San Francisco in 1984. It definitely fit the bill for an 80’s show. Robyn opened the show solo with R.E.M.’s “You Are the Everything,” which he heard them play nearly every night when he opened for them in the late 1980’s. That was followed by Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer,” which might strike you as an unlikely song for Robyn to cover. But he did a great job, and his guitar playing was outstanding. Hearing “The Boys of Summer” played with just the guitar obviously strips the song down to the marrow, and you hear the song in a different way, isolated from the 1980’s production of the hit record.
Emma Swift joined Robyn for “Charlotte Anne,” by Julian Cope, and two excellent Psychedelic Furs songs, “Love My Way,” and “The Ghost in You.” As always, Robyn and Emma’s voices blended superbly on these songs. Robyn previously covered “The Ghost in You” on his 2014 album The Man Upstairs, which I reviewed here.
Emma then got a magnificent solo turn as she sang “I Drove All Night,” made famous by Cyndi Lauper, and also sung by Roy Orbison and Celine Dion. It was fantastic and makes me hope that Robyn and Emma record some of these quarantine songs and put them on an album. Or two. Or three. The Quarantine Sessions!
Robyn sang solo on Roxy Music’s “To Turn You On,” which he also covered on The Man Upstairs. It was a beautiful version of a great song. One of the things that makes Robyn’s version so interesting is that whereas Bryan Ferry’s original sounds like the smooth pick-up line of a confident lover-man, Robyn sounds like an earnest suitor, offering a sincere token of his love.
Emma then absolutely killed it with a beautifully haunting rendition of the Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.” I’ve never really listened to much of the Smiths, and I had never heard this song before hearing Emma sing it, and I was knocked out by it. Correction—the internet tells me I heard the Smiths’ version in the movie (500) Days of Summer, with Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Oops. Well, Emma’s version was the first time the song stuck with me.
Robyn and Emma duetted on a great version of “Walking on Sunshine,” which was written by Robyn’s Soft Boys bandmate Kimberley Rew. It was odd to hear this song, one of the poppiest feel-good tunes of the 1980’s, sung by Robyn Hitchcock, but it was a fun tribute to Robyn’s friend and former bandmate. As Robyn said, “that song was brought to you with a cherry of nihilism on top—that would be self.” Thinking of Robyn as a cherry of nihilism brought a smile to my face.
The last tune of the evening was the Traveling Wilbury’s “Handle with Care,” complete with Robyn donning a top hat, ala Tom Petty. Another enjoyable evening of tunes from Nashville.