Fegmania!

Last updated

Fegmania!
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians-Fegmania! (album cover).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1985
RecordedAlaska Studios, Waterloo, London
Genre
Length73:54
Label Midnight Music
Slash
Rhino
YepRoc
Producer Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians
Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians chronology
I Often Dream of Trains
(1984)
Fegmania!
(1985)
Gotta Let This Hen Out!
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Fegmania! is the fourth studio album by Robyn Hitchcock and his first with his backing band The Egyptians.

Contents

The Egyptians included the former Soft Boys Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor.

"The Man with the Lightbulb Head" was conceived on Archway Road in London and provided a springboard for Hitchcock's first attempt at film making for a promotional video. Stills from the video were reproduced as cover art for the front and back of the LP sleeve.

The album was quickly followed by the live album, Gotta Let This Hen Out!, recorded at one gig at The Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London.

Eight bonus tracks were added to the subsequent Rhino CD reissue of the album, including an acoustic demo of "Insect Mother" which had been recorded for possible inclusion in the earlier I Often Dream of Trains , and "The Pit of Souls", a lengthy psychedelic instrumental in four 'movements'. Two alternative versions of "Egyptian Cream" appear as bonus tracks.

The 2008 YepRoc reissue added seven bonus track to the original album. The outro which previously appeared as a hidden track after "Heaven" is now included as a separate, twelfth untitled song. This reissue was also included in the retrospective Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians boxset Luminous Groove .

Track listing

All songs written by Robyn Hitchcock except as indicated.

Side one

  1. "Egyptian Cream" – 3:33
  2. "Another Bubble" – 2:46
  3. "I'm Only You" – 4:28
  4. "My Wife & My Dead Wife" – 4:19
  5. "Goodnight I Say" – 3:14

Side two

  1. "The Man with the Lightbulb Head" – 3:05
  2. "Insect Mother" – 1:54
  3. "Strawberry Mind" – 2:50
  4. "Glass" – 3:12
  5. "The Fly" – 3:50
  6. "Heaven" – 4:41

Midnight CD bonus tracks

  1. "Bells of Rhymney" (Idris Davies, Pete Seeger; arranged by Roger McGuinn)) – 3:30 (single)
  2. "Dwarfbeat" – 3:00 (B-side from "Heaven" single)
  3. "Some Body" – 3:24 (B-side from "Heaven" single)

Rhino CD reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Bells of Rhymney" (Idris Davies, Pete Seeger) – 3:30
  2. "Dwarfbeat" – 3:00
  3. "Some Body" – 3:24
  4. "Egyptian Cream" [Demo] – 4:35
  5. "Heaven" [Live]
  6. "Insect Mother" [Demo] – 4:53
  7. "Egyptian Cream" [Live]
  8. "The Pit of Souls [Parts I-IV]" – 9:57

YepRoc CD reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Bells of Rhymney" (Idris Davies, Pete Seeger) – 3:30
  2. "Some Body" – 3:20
  3. "Heaven" [Live] – 4:55
  4. "The Pit of Souls [I-IV]" – 9:59
  5. "The Drowning Church" – 3:12
  6. "The Man with the Lightbulb Head" [Instrumental] – 2:52
  7. "Lady Obvious" – 3:21

Note: "Dwarfbeat" was dropped from this release.

Personnel

Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians

with:

Technical

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References

  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Fegmania! – Robyn Hitchcock / Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians". AllMusic . Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  2. Kot, Greg (23 February 1992). "Rating The Robyn Hitchcock Solo And Group Releases". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  3. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Robyn Hitchcock". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  378–380. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.