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Customer Rating:  
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List Price: $49.98
Our Price: $34.53
Your Save: $ 15.45 ( 31% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Yep Roc Records
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Product Description
The second in a series of Robyn Hitchcock retrospective box sets from Yep Roc, the five-disc ''Luminous Groove'' box set shines a light on Robyn's rock & roll renaissance with the Egyptians. In 1985 Robyn's newest group, with ex-Soft Boys Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor plus keyboardist Roger Jackson, marked the next stage in the career of one of popular music's most unique creators. ''Fegmania!'' is a return to band format, showcasing the new outfit through sonic tapestries around Hitchcock's signature skittered melodies and private lyrics. On ''Element of Light,'' The Egyptians glide between regal pop and driving psychedelia, resulting in one of the most deliberate and nuanced rock records of the decade. ''Gotta Let This Hen Out!'' captures a blazing live set by the Egyptians from London's Marquee club in early 1985. The band blasts through new and old Hitchcock classics, effortlessly blending the show into what amounts to a live best-of collection and reminding fans that Robyn's legend is built as much on loud guitars as it is on eerie metaphors and jagged melodies. All three albums contain new bonus tracks exclusive to ''Luminous Groove.'' In addition to these three seminal albums, the set also includes two exclusive bonus discs entitled ''Bad Case of History'' which features previously unreleased studio recordings, including the final 1994 sessions, and a CD of unheard live material. Just as with Yep Roc's first box set collection ''I Wanna Go Backwards,'' the curation of ''Fegmania!,'' ''Element of Light,'' and ''Gotta Let This Hen Out!'' into one box set encapsulates a critical portion of the creative life of Britain's Mad Hatter of pop and further illuminates Hitchcock's gloriously mysterious ''Luminous Groove.'' ''Luminous Groove'' is also available as an eight-LP vinyl set.
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Customer Review(s)
Customer Rating:  Summary: How many times will the fans pay? Comment: The three previously released albums here are among the strongest of Hitchcock's long career: those who love anglo-american guitar rock, eccentric songwriters, and indie music in general, and who don't already have these albums should consider picking this up.
However, I have to question whether it makes sense for the longtime fan to purchase this set. Some of us have already spent good money for the original vinyl LPs and singles, the 1980s UK-issued CDs with bonus tracks (which already featured excellent sound, incidentally), and the early-1990s Rhino remastered CDs (with a slightly hotter mix and a minimally altered set of bonus tracks).
Now, the latest repackaging gives us those same three classic albums in yet another mastering, with yet another variation on the bonus tracks, and a different set of notes. To ensure that longtime fans plunk down their cash for the box set, two discs of demos, outtakes and live tracks are included, which are not being sold separately.
Given that Hitchcock authorizes free distribution of live recordings via archive.org, I have to wonder whether the unreleased material will really incentivize fans to buy a full box set. Major labels have done this sort of thing for years, but it's disappointing to see an indie heading down the same path. As much as I respect Hitchcok and admire his art, I have some real problems with his latest record company's marketing tactics here.
But, hey, it's your money. Customer Rating: Summary: His throwaways are better than most artists' greatest hits. Comment: More songs about cathedrals and food.
The sticker on this box advertises 54 bonus tracks. To me, however, the reissued LPs ARE the bonus tracks to another great set of Robyn Hitchcock previously unreleased recordings. RH is one of the very rare artists who's throwaways are better than a lot of other artists' greatest hits records.
I used to listen to Soft Boys and RH records in the 80s and in the past few years, I've rediscovered him. He quickly became one of my very favorite songwriters, as well as a favorite singer and musician. One thing that I think makes him great is that his outtakes are as good or better than songs on his 'official' releases. Two of his recent records, Jewels for Sophia and Moss Elixer, were immediately followed by full length outtakes records: A Star for Bram and Mossy Liquor. All four records are equally good, to my ears.
I was thrilled, therefore, to hear last year's boxset "I Want To Go Backwards". It had three of my favorite RH records, each with extra tracks like singles, bsides and outtakes. It also had two extra cds full of more bonus tracks. Again, it seemed like RH's creativity is endless: I have all the old records and most singles, but he keeps releasing older recordings of perfectly brilliant songs.
This new release has nearly the same format as "...Backwards" and every fan of RH will find plenty to love. The three LPs reissued here are were recorded with the Egyptians, so they are more pop-oriented and have plenty of trebly guitar and fretless bass. These are three records that I listen to a lot less than the folkier ones, but hearing them here reminded me how terrific they are.
I bought this boxset for the extra tracks, of course. fegMANIA has a few from singles that I have, a recent live "heaven", which is interesting and different than the record's version. The disc also features a few tracks that are related to fegMANIA, but seem to have been recorded recently. Whatever the case, they are good songs. "Gotta Let This Hen Out!" has more live songs than the original LP, but they might have also been on the Rhino reissue. The extra tracks are a handful of Egyptian live songs from a 1989 show that sound like board recordings; they're not altogether bad, but they are a sort of anticlimax after the high energy sound of "...Hen...". "Element of Light" is the record that features the best and most extra tracks: a few singles and outtakes that are all excellent.
The double bonus cd, "Bad Case of History", is the reason that this set gets only four stars. The first disc is nearly flawless, full of interesting songs that I've never heard. Disc two is a live Egyptians set that is only marginally interesting. None of the versions approach the quality of the studio records, and there is plenty of out of tune harmony singing that is distracting. I can't imagine wanting to listen to it again, though there are a few covers that I haven't heard them do elsewhere.
RH fans will find this box indispensable. This is not a 'completist only' release, though. People who want more of a great singer and songwriter will get quite a lot of great songs for $50. Customer Rating: Summary: A Must-Have for Hitchcock Fans Comment: I already had most of the original albums that made up the previous "I Wanna Go Backwards" Hitchcock box set, so I gave that one a miss. But "Luminous Groove" contains three albums that have been out of print for a long time and hard to find even used. So as soon as I heard it was coming out, I pre-ordered, on the basis of just the three re-issued albums. I didn't know that there would be two additional bonus disks! So, between three excellent re-issues, the bonus tracks on those disks, and the "live" and "studio" bonus disks, I am absolutely delighted. Whether you like the sparse, quirky Hitchcock of "I Often Dream of Trains" or the more slick and elaborate wierdness of the A&M albums, you'll find this set, which occupies the middle ground historically and musically, enjoyable.
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