ROBYN HITCHCOCK AND THE EGYPTIANS ELEMENT OF LIGHT "Tell me about your drugs!" "One, two - great to be here, sure is - three, four ..." Robyn Hitchcock After years as a limited sort of cult figure - first in the Soft Boys, then as a solo artist - Robyn Hitchcock approached _Element of Light_ with his new/old band The Egyptians (ex-Soft Boys Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor), the growing confidence of rising popularity, and an ensemble, in his own words, "firing on all eight cylinders." If one seeks signposts by which to navigate Hitchcock's storied career, _Element of Light_ will do for a breaking point between his formative period and the more mature work he continues to produce. "Things had started to happen," Robyn says, slightly taken aback by the notion of maturation. "I was a little bit more out of the sort of bubble I'd been in the early '80s. I started touring America. I was being exposed to different forces. And, in a way, I was probably starting to feel more like a real person, although it's arguable whether a cult figure or a rock star is anything like a real person." He laughs. "In a way it's an extroverted form of being a demented recluse. You're in public, rather than isolated and in private, so everybody can see you being out of touch." _Element of Light_ is also the first record since the Soft Boys disbanded that Hitchcock had made with a road-tested band; while _Fegmania!_ marked the debut of The Egyptians, the recording process more closely resembled the approach that served Robyn well on his first solo effort, _Black Snake Diamond Role_: Selectively drag your friends into the studio and ask them to do what they do best. "We'd started to learn things in terms of playing and recording," Robyn agrees. "_Element Of Light_ was the first album that was made by The Egyptians, as an ensemble right the way through. Although, in fact, we started to shed Roger [Jackson], the keyboard player. Roger was good live, but he tended to overplay, and I'd been experimenting with just playing with bass and drums a lot with Morris Windsor and Chris Cox, just in little places. I think it occurred to all of us that The Egyptians could operate just as a three-piece, and that it might be more to the point. "So in fact Roger only plays on half on _Element_. Andy plays keyboards on a few of the tracks. Roger was fine, but Andy had a stronger feel for the material." And then, remembering back, Robyn settles onto what is probably most significant about _Element of Light_. "From _Element_ on, Andy played all the bass and all the keyboards, so he sort of became two players. Plus he was there for just about all the recording and overdubbing, the engineering. Andy can produce, Andy can engineer, Andy can play bass, he can play keyboards, he can do all those things very well. He can also, in a pinch, play guitar and drums. So there's probably an awful lot of Andy's influence on that record." Recording sessions took place in the familiar confines of Alaska Studios (where Robyn and the Soft Boys had been resident for years,) at the Green House, and at Berry Street. "'The President' and 'Lady Waters and the Hooded One' were done live," Robyn says. "We just couldn't get good versions of those. So, in the end we took a BBC recording, and we kept the bass and drums, and we dubbed on the guitar and vocals." The profusion of studios reflects some of the difficulty Robyn had settling on songs for _Element of Light_. "It was harder to assemble material for _Element_ than it was for _Fegmania!_ I remember after the initial session there was a lot of stuff that didn't seem that strong, whereas with _Fegmania!_ everything seemed good as it was added on, and there weren't hundreds of outtakes." With the surviving tracks bracketed by "If You Were A Priest" and "Tell Me About Your Drugs" (originally a B-side), certainly Robyn was moving past what he laughingly refers to as the "squirming sexual activity in _Fegmania!_" Set amid that lot is "The President," one of the more explicitly political songs of the Hitchcock canon. "[Ronald] Reagan had given his famous speech in Bittburg about 'Beautiful Europe, how can you think we'd ever let you down?'" Robyn recalls. "He just sounded like someone trying to reassure an old person before they're shipped off to some terminal old people's home." "Ted, Woody, and Junior" was suggested by an old, pre-gay rights, soft-core porn magazine Robyn happened on in a Cambridge junk shop. "In the '60s you couldn't have gay mags as such - they had to pose as body-building magazines. There'd be a couple of musclemen on the front page, and then you'd get inside and there were all these boys lying there with lobsters draped over their genitals, and there was one of a guy with nothing on but a Stetson hat, with his back to you. And there were these three guys covering each other with soap: Ted, Woody, and Junior. It claimed to have been shot during a water shortage in New York, about how they saved water by showering with each other." The song predates Evan Dando's "Big Gay Heart" by nearly a decade. Still, Robyn's favorite track remains "Airscape," because it concerns his favorite place. "'Airscape' is about the beach on the Isle of Wight where I want to have my ashes scattered when I'm dead," he says, sounding not the least bit morbid. "That's my favorite beach in the world, and I've been going there every summer for years, and I can just feel time passing. You can see it in the cliffs, all the different rock strata over millions of years, bits of rock with layers like cake, and what had once been the horizontal surface of the land is now jagged and tipped. Centuries and centuries of accumulations of earth and dust and sand, just tipped sideways like a slice of cake sinking into the colored sand. "You can measure infinity on that beach, and your own little moth of an existence takes place in it. Every year I can walk along that beach, a little bit grayer, a little bit fatter, just walking through the same pools. And the thing is, the sand erodes, the soil is very soft there, it crumbles away; every year a few meters of that beach is just lost into the sea. So you can imagine that where people walked three centuries ago is now far out to sea, and their ghosts are literally walking over the sand dunes." Recorded in the vinyl age, "The Black Crow Knows," "The Crawling," "The Leopard," and "Tell Me About Your Drugs" originally came to life as B-sides. "Drugs," like "Listening To The Higsons" on _Gotta Let This Hen Out!_, has The Egyptians swapping instruments, with Andy on drums, Robyn on bass, and Morris on guitar. "Someone actually came up to me the other night in a club and asked me about Morris's drug habits," Robyn says. "The reason I say, 'Tell me, Morris,' is that Morris is playing guitar. I want him to tell me like it is with his guitar. Morris never had any unsavory habits, and he's got even fewer now." The spoken-word piece, "The Can Opener," was on the B-side of the _If You Were A Priest_ EP. Robyn returns to the whole notion of maturity. "You certainly get in deeper with time," he says. "There are a lot of songs on _Element_, as usual, to an absent person. I've always had that, I think. There songs were getting less aggressive, and they were probably also getting less goofy." - Grant Alden IF YOU WERE A PRIEST If you were a priest I would wait at least Up until confession time and Crawl into your box Breathing like a fox Hunting for obsession time and I've thrown a lot of time away to be with you So please don't lock away your eyes If you were a nun I would surely run Way down to the hospital and Cover all your charts With decorated hearts A palpitating ritual and I've spent a lot of time on this to be like you So please don't lock away your eyes If you were a ghost I would treasure most Time I never spent with you and Wander through your head The words I never said Till I knew what I meant to you and I've spent a lot of time on this to be with you So please don't lock away your eyes Please don't lock away your eyes WINCHESTER One by one by one we saw the stars One by one by one they closed the bars And one by one we all went back to Mars from Winchester One by one the evening shadows fell One by one by one we heard the bell Ant I remember more than I can tell from Winchester Maybe there's no one left at all, maybe there's no-one left who cares Maybe there's no-one left but Paul, living in Shawford after all these years Standing in the Talbot in my flares Far-out Phil and Pat were always there And if you go, then baby, I don't care - Winchester Water meadows curling round the hill Bodies in the stream, I see them still Ant I don't want to hurt you, but I will - this is Winchester Maybe there's no one left at all, maybe there's no-one left who cares Maybe there's no-one left but Paul, living in Shawford after all these years ... Walking through the dark towards your door Listen to the groovers how they snore And I just didn't know what love was for - in Winchester there's nowhere at all In Winchester There's nowhere At all SOMEWHERE APART Somewhere apart Somewhere you must be dreaming Somewhere the world is screaming - -somewhere apart A space between is not a final answer I'll never ever be a dancer So get me fish eggs and a violin I'm gonna burn your bongoes tonight And let Graham have a chance 'Cause no-one ever lets him dance And all the see-through things are crawling from the sea Somewhere apart A whistle summons up the lava We must be somewhere East of Java "O shed your bags, here comes a mule!" The phantoms of the dispossessed Wander through the wilderness Crying out in mortal stress Never ever come to rest Somewhere apart You know they're always Somewhere apart Somewhere apart With flowers and a geiger-counter stumbling And for his distant keys he's fumbling Mule-headed man -somewhere apart TED, WOODY, AND JUNIOR Ted, Woody, and Junior Stand in the bath together And cover each other with soap Cover each other with soap Ted, Woody, and Junior Stand in the frosty garden They can feel their sinews harden So they cover each other with leaves Cover each other with leaves It's a wonderful world, with a log of strange men Who are standing around - and they're all wearing towels Ted, Woody, and Junior Were disappointments to their fathers But they had a way with lather And they covered each other with soap Covered each other with soap THE PRESIDENT The President is talking to us through a microphone Like he's trying to pack his mother off to an old people's home I know you're out there I know you're out there somewhere I know you're out there When I hear the word 'Democracy,' I reach for my headphones He's the president of Europe and he's talking to the dead They're the only ones who'll listen or believe a word he said You know I'm out here But you can't see me, darling You know I'm out here When I hear the word 'Security,' I reach for my shotgun He's standing in a cemetery inside the Western zone I listen on the radio, I'm glad I'm not alone I know you're out there I know you're out there somewhere God knows you're out there I can almost hear it raining RAYMOND CHANDLER EVENING It's a Raymond Chandler Evening At the end of someone's day And I'm standing in my pocket And I'm slowly turning grey I remember what I told you But I can't remember why And the yellow leaves are falling In a spiral from the sky There's a body on the railing That I can't identify And I'd like to re-assure you but I'm not that kind of guy It's a Raymond Chandler Evening And the pavements are all wet And I'm lurking in the shadows 'Cause it hasn't happened yet BASS We're overheating in a small town world We're overeating in a small town world I hear the sound of several different crimes The distant eel and the silver chimes Lieutenant Hodges often said to me I see a shoal of them far out to sea Bass ... A distant cormorant above the grey It wheels in dots and then it falls away A feather biro in a knotted clump Performs a vixen with a feline hump I wanna hold you in a solar globe The way your body is beneath a robe Bass ... The juicy flounder and the tender chub Will swim around you when you leave the pub Their mouths are open and they will not shut Unless you kiss them all behind the hut But don't go messing with a guy like Reg He'll leave you gurgling behind the hedge Bass ... The looming mullet and the wily bream Are at the window with a quiet scream The feisty barbel and the gruesome tench Are decomposing on a yellow bench There's something fluttering upon the sand And all I wanna do is hold your hand Bass ... So don't go cycling around the town He'll interfere with you and hang around I know it's nasty what the papers said But information happens to be read Now things go in and out of him like eels A bass responds to you the way he feels He'd never make love to a loaf of bread Unless of course he found one in his bed Now frogs are reproducing on your back And bubbles keep emerging from a crack It's not a cormorant it's not a shag It's only something in a plastic bag AIRSCAPE And in the element of light The sun reflected from the waves inshore it spangles The child of air is borne upon the wind that blows across the sea And in the element of summer The cliffs suspended in the heat the air in columns The tiny figures of the world are walking underneath your feet and underneath your hair Where angels wander I'll wander too Where angels wander -over you And in the element of darkness The starlight shimmers on the spray and falls toward you Your perfect lover's never there and if she was, she wouldn't be and neither would you Save your illusions For someone else Save your illusions For yourself And in the element of laughter The quick explosion and the slow release of heat The tide recedes upon the bones of something beautiful and drowned in coral and in jade Where angels hover I'll hover too Where angels hover -over you NEVER STOP BLEEDING The widows of a lifetime keep a warning in their eye The widows of a lifetime can do anything but cry They never stop bleeding The pervert in the bushes and the dope-fiend on the street They've got one thing in common; they're both crying out for meat They never stop bleeding I'm sorry for the future and I'm sorry for the past I'm sorry for the sailor who is lashed before the mast They never stop bleeding Now you can bleed internally or you can bleed outside- The groom is always edgy when he's standing with the bride You never stop bleeding LADY WATERS & THE HOODED ONE 'Will you dance with me, Lady Waters?' And a bony hand plucked her gown 'Will you dance with me', said the Hooded One 'For the plague has now reached this town' 'No I'll never dance', said Lady Waters 'For I see that your name is Death' And beneath her mask she was sweating At the Hooded One's foetid breath 'Will you dance with me, Lady Waters? For the fire dies in your grate: And your guests have gone, and your lord's asleep - and the plague has reached your estate' 'Then I'll dance with you', says Lady Waters 'For the stars grow pale with the dawn But I first must get my tiara For I left it out on the lawn' 'Oh and if you get your tiara' And his eyes like coals they did burn - 'You must give me all, and must taste my breath On the moment that you return' 'Very well', she said, from behind her mask 'You must take from me what is mine: I'll return to you, and submit to you' And the Hooded One, he said 'Fine'. She came back to him and took off her mask And the Hooded One, he recoiled - What he thought was sweat on her face and hands It turned out to be tiny boils 'You must take from me all I have', she said, 'You must take it all with good grace: For I have the plague on my body And I have the plague on my face' Oh the Hooded One took her house and lands He took every fork, every knife And he took the plague, and he left her there Without anything but her life 1. IF YOU WERE A PRIEST 2. WINCHESTER 3. SOMEWHERE APART 4. TED, WOODY, AND JUNIOR 5. THE PRESIDENT 6. RAYMOND CHANDLER EVENING 7. BASS 8. AIRSCAPE 9. NEVER STOP BLEEDING 10. LADY WATERS & THE HOODED ONE 11. THE BLACK CROW KNOWS 12. THE CRAWLING 13. THE LEOPARD 14. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DRUGS (_Element of Light_ was originally comprised of tks 1-10 and issued as Relativity/Glass Fish [UK] #MOIST 3, 10/86; Tks 12 & 14 were originally issued on the 12" EP _If You Were A Priest_, Glass Fish [UK] #OOZE IT, 10/86; Tks 11-14 were included as bonus tracks on the CD release of _Element of Light_ [same #], 12/86) Bonus Selections: 15. THE CAN OPENER (Originally issued on the 12" EP _If You Were A Priest_, Glass Fish [UK] # OOZE IT, 10/86) 16. RAYMOND CHANDLER EVENING (Demo) 17. THE PRESIDENT (Demo) 18. IF YOU WERE A PRIEST (Demo) 19. AIRSCAPE (Live) 20. THE LEOPARD (Demo) (Tracks 16-20 are previously unissued) All Songs Written by Robyn Hitchcock, except "The Can Opener" by Robyn Hitchcock & Andy Metcalfe. All Songs published by EMI Virgin Songs, Inc. (BMI)/Two Crabs Music (PRS). "The President" and "Lady Waters & The Hooded One" 1986 BBC. ROBYN HITCHCOCK TITLES AVAILABLE FROM RHINO: Black Snake Diamond Role (R2 71820) - Gravy Deco (The Complete Groovy Decay/Decoy Sessions) (R2 71821) - I Often Dream Of Trains (R2 71822) - Fegmania! (R2 71837) - Gotta Let This Hen Out! (R2 71838) - Element Of Light (R2 71839) SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE SPRING 1995: Invisible Hitchcock (R2 71840) - Eye (R2 71841) - You & Oblivion (Rarities) (R2 71842) Personnel: ROBYN HITCHCOCK: vocals, guitar (1-13,16-20), upright piano (3), bass & keyboards (14) ANDY METCALFE: bass (1-5,7-13,18,20), piano (2,4), bass keyboard (6), keyboards (9,11,13), drums (14), percussion (19), backing vocals (1,2,4,7,10-12,15,19) MORRIS WINDSOR: drums (1-8, 10-13), guitar (14), percussion (19), backing vocals (3,4,7,8,10-12,15,19) ROGER JACKSON: keyboards (1,5,7,10,12), electric piano (3), organ (4), glass harmonica (8), backing vocals (19-12,15) JAMES FLETCHER: saxes (16) CHRIS COX: string bass & muted trumpet (16), percussion (18,20) Produced by ROBYN HITCHCOCK & ANDY METCALFE Recorded by PAT COLLIER at: Alaska (1,2,4,6,7,9,11,13,14), Berry Street (3,8,12) Overdubs Recorded at Alaska by: PAUL GADD (1,3,8,10), IAIN O'HIGGINS (2,4,7), PAT COLLIER (4,5,12) Tracks 5 & 10: Backing track recorded at The Town & Country Club by STEVE ROBERTSHAW on BBC Mobile. Producer for BBC: JOHN LEONARD. Track 5: guitar overdubs were recorded by STEVE ROBERTSHAW on BBC Mobile in Manchester; vocal & bass drum were overdubbed in the studio. Track 10: vocals & guitar were overdubbed in the studio. Mixed by ANDY METCALFE & PAT COLLIER Special Thanks to ANDY KERSHAW Reissue Produced for Release by JIM NEILL A & R Assistance: RICK GERSHON Research: PATRICK MILLIGAN & GARY PETERSON Legal Assistance: JONATHAN EARP Remastering: BILL INGLOT & KEN PERRY Photography: ROSALIND KUNATH Reissue Art Direction: COCO SHINOMIYA Design: ART SLAVE Special Thanks: PAUL BRADSHAW/MOD LANG ______________________________________________________________________ GET ON THE RHINO MAILING LIST Receive our special MAIL ORDER catalog featuring over a thousand critically acclaimed Rhino compact discs and cassettes. 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