Doom and Gloom from the Tomb
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - Tipitina’s, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 29, 1992

Deeper into the 1990s on our Summer of Robyn trek. Around this time, the MTV Unplugged thing was trending — and even though Hitchcock and the Egyptians didn’t tape an official episode, I can guarantee you that this stripped-down performance is better than 99.999 percent of the genuine Unpluggeds. Of course, going acoustic wasn’t anything new for these guys. Check out the amazing Soft Boys Portland Arms release for proof.

Anyway, whatever amount of electricity Robyn and the Egyptians use here, it’s an absolutely electrifying performance, one of my longtime favorites since I heard it on cassette way back in the late 1990s. Worthy of official release almost! It’s a pristine radio broadcast, so naturally it kicks off with a storming “Driving Aloud (Radio Storm),” with the trio already sounding revved up and ready to go. The band debuts a bunch of the then in-progress Respect, and honestly, those tunes sound much sharper than on the album itself — "Railway Shoes" in particular is gorgeous, and the outtake “The Live-In Years” is stronger than some other tunes that made the cut.

Metcalfe and Windsor are exceptional throughout, providing extremely luminous harmonies, filling up the room — “Heaven” is incredible here, a true “floating cathedral song” as Robyn calls it. Metcalfe also gets a chance to shine on keyboards; his work on “One Long Pair of Eyes” and “Wax Doll” is magnificent. The manic, hilarious “Clean Steve” goes off the rails perfectly. And the intro to “My Wife and My Dead Wife” finds Hitchcock channeling Springsteen (or maybe “Coney Island Baby”) … I don’t think Bruce or Lou ever delivered a monologue about trying to turn into an owl, however.

Robyn Says: There are plants and animals that are far more attractive than humans. Until quite recently, I was quite upset that I had to be human — that I hadn’t been a crocodile or a mongoose or a rat. The good thing about humans is they can appreciate plants and animals. There are some incredibly beautiful things out there, and it’s our job to go and look at them.