[Element of Psychedelic Rock] -- One of my favorite reviews of Robyn Hitchcock's work is this comment on Bandcamp's listing for Element of Light: "Some may say that the [Psychedelic Rock] genre died when Syd Barrett stopped making records, and I would point those folks to Robyn's huge catalog of work."
Element of Light is the second album by Robyn Hitchcock with his backing band, the Egyptians, but his fifth studio album overall. Released forty years ago on October 3, 1986, it received largely positive reviews. AllMusic calls it "one of his finest moments" and "a convincing argument for his talents as a pop craftsman." To the best of my research, the album did not chart in either the US or the UK. And I'm not certain any of the tracks were even released as singles. Maybe only true fans like me remember it. Though I must admit that I found the album in reverse chronological order; that means I came across it only after becoming fully obsessed with their 1988 release, Globe of Frogs.
Enjoy: "The President" (a scathing rebuke of 1980s politics that Hitchcock re-recorded with new lyrics in 2020), "Airscape", "Never Stop Bleeding", "Lady Waters and the Hooded One", and "Raymond Chandler Evening" (an homage to the mystery novels by ... Raymond Chandler, of course).
Flashback: Element of Light (October 3, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
See you in seven!
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