Although a lot of longtime Robyn Hitchcock fans turned up their noses at 1991's Perspex Island, due to Paul Fox' slick production and the fact that it contains Hitchcock's biggest U.S.
hit to date (the uncharacteristically bubblegummy "So You Think You're in Love," a song old enough that the Soft Boys had actually recorded a demo of it back in the '70s), the record doesn't deserve its bad reputation.
(Perhaps coming after the stripped-down solo acoustic album Eye, Perspex Island seemed like a cynical bid for mainstream attention, a charge the songs don't support.) Fox' glossy sound doesn't obscure the typically high quality of Hitchcock's songs, and there are times, as on the churning opener "Oceanside" and the dreamy psych-pop "Birds in Perspex," where the two complement each other perfectly.
Not everything works -- "Nail It Down," other than the brief Beach Boys pastiche on the bridge, is entirely undistinguished -- but Perspex Island is a much better record than its reputation might suggest.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OceansideRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | So You Think You're in LoveRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 02:34 | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| 3 | Birds in PerspexRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Ultra Unbelievable LoveRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Vegetation and DimesRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 04:58 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | LysanderRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | Child of the UniverseRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | She Doesn't ExistRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | RideRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 05:04 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 10 | If You Go AwayRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 11 | Earthly ParadiseRobyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Play | 06:33 | 15 MB | 38 MB |
| 48 mins | 112 MB | |||||
| 48 mins | 317 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Buck | Guest Artist, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 2 | Tim Crich | Overdub Engineer |
| 3 | Paul Fox | Producer |
| 4 | Robyn Hitchcock | Composer, Drawing, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Paintings, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 5 | Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians | Primary Artist |
| 6 | Mark Isham | Trumpet |
| 7 | John Keane | Engineer |
| 8 | Stephen Marcussen | Mastering |
| 9 | Pat Mastelotto | Percussion |
| 10 | Andy Metcalfe | Bass, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Mandolin, Shruti Box, Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Len Peltier | Art Direction |
| 12 | Michael Stipe | Guest Artist, Vocals, Voices |
| 13 | Ed Thacker | Engineer, Mixing |
| 14 | Morris Windsor | Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |