Review by Steve McGowan from Zub Records“Whatever I am, I’m something from the distant past.” Said Robyn, wearing his top hat and Lennon specs, looking like a crazy undertaker, then launching into ‘Serpent At The Gates Of Wisdom’ from 1993’s Respect, a very Lennon-esque song. Emma commented off camera after that “oh that hat makes you extra creepy” and Reg switched to his Telecaster (electric) and did ‘The Abandoned Brain’ from Invisible Hitchcock, a surprisingly sad and sweet song I’ve never heard him play live.
“Please welcome Miss Emma Swift, from the 21st century,” said Reg, and the duo did ‘The Yip Song,’ also from Respect and as Robyn explained, was about “the death of my father.” The duo sounded great on this one. Emma remarked that that one was both “poignant and inane.” Next up was a magnificent version of ‘Glass Hotel’ from EYE, played beautifully with a bit of raga guitar, this is one of Robyn’s finest songs and Emma sang marvelously on it.
Finally the top hat came off, and they did a song from Emma’s Blonde On The Tracks, her (at that time) upcoming Bob Dylan covers LP (tinyurl.com/zubblonde). She sang ‘Queen Jane Approximately’ from Highway 61 Revisited. She made this into a lovely tale, with her sweet vocal, unlike Dylan’s snarl. Robyn spoke very highly of the new Emma record, and she then left to find a cat. Robyn said he was playing a new song that he dedicated to a fan who had just lost her beloved cat. The song was vaguely positive and folkie, I think it was called ‘It’s Been Scheduled,’ and Reg dropped some of the lyrics.
Em returned with Ringo the cat, who was quite docile tonight, and the duo did ‘Mad Shelley's Letterbox’ from the recent Robyn Hitchcock, kind of a surreal Beatles mashup but obviously a Robyn Hitchcock song. This one was a real highlight. Perry the lobster appeared, and Em commented on how Reg was more and more insane each week. Reg played electric, solo on ‘Sayonara Judge’ from the same LP. It was a sad, slow meditation augmented by Emma’s singing off camera. After he asked for “Swifto” to come back, they talked about making Tiny Ghost Records guitar picks and Tubby socks. Next was ‘Airscape’ from Element Of Light, another one of Reg’s strongest tunes. Beautifully played and with wonderful lyrics:
Your perfect lover's never there
And if she was, she wouldn't be
And neither, though, would you
Save your illusions
For someone else
Save your illusions
For yourself
They mentioned the Wednesday Groovers Facebook group, and that the following week Emma will be promoting Blonde On The Tracks, so no Wednesday show then. They used the last minute or so to do Adventure Rocket Ship, for just a minute or so. Another great show from Reg and Em!
Online review by Mark My WordsWednesday night’s “Sweet Home Quarantine” show, with Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift, was another all-request show that ventured through the deep back catalogue of Robyn’s work. Robyn opened with “Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom,” from 1993’s Respect album. He then played a real rarity, “The Abandoned Brain,” a track that was first released on the 1986 compilation Invisible Hitchcock. I have it on the Yep Roc box set I Wanna Go Backwards, but I haven’t listened to that song in a very long time.
Emma then joined Robyn for another track from Respect, “The Yip Song,” which references the death of Robyn’s father, painter and novelist Raymond Hitchcock. The song also mentions Vera Lynn, the World War II singer who recently died at age 103. Emma added some lovely harmonies to “Glass Hotel,” one of my favorite tunes from 1990’s Eye album. Emma then sang “Queen Jane Approximately,” from her new album Blonde on the Tracks. I got my copy about a week ago, and I can tell you, it’s fantastic. If you’ve enjoyed hearing Emma sing Bob Dylan songs, or any kind of songs, you’ll love Blonde on the Tracks. You can order Blonde on the Tracks here from Emma’s Bandcamp page.
Robyn sang a new song, judging from the chorus, I would say it’s called “One Day,” but Robyn told us it’s actually called “It’s Been Scheduled.” Emma then joined Robyn for “Mad Shelley’s Letterbox,” from 2017’s Robyn Hitchcock album. It’s a fun song, and one that I often mis-hear as “My Chinese Letterbox.” I learned from the chat that I’m not the only person who hears it that way. Robyn and Emma also sang “Sayonara, Judge,” another song from the Robyn Hitchcock album.
The “Sweet Home Quarantine” shows have been filled with more banter between Robyn and Emma the last few weeks, and after Robyn was going on about something this week, Emma told him, “You get more and more insane each week.” Which might be the slogan of 2020.
The show ended with two terrific songs, the beautiful and haunting “Airscape,” and the fun “Adventure Rocketship.”