Moss Elixir

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Moss Elixir
MossElixir-cover-RobynHitchcock.jpg
Studio album by
Robyn Hitchcock
Released1996
Genre Folk rock, folk pop, alternative rock
Label Warner Bros. [1]
Producer Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock chronology
Respect
(1993)		Moss Elixir
(1996)		 Jewels for Sophia
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Moss Elixir is an album by English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, released in 1996. [5] [6] It contains twelve original compositions, predominantly acoustic.

Contents

Moss Elixir came packaged in green and gold, continuing the theme of his earlier solo acoustic albums, I Often Dream of Trains and Eye. The CD insert includes a short story: a vaguely autobiographical, surrealist account of Hitchcock in the afterlife, which weaves several images and titles from the album's contents into its storyline, including the elixir of the album's title.

"De Chirico Street" alludes to metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. The album's first single was "Alright, Yeah". [7]

Production

Following the loss of his father, Hitchcock had recorded little in the preceding five years. When he re-emerged, he had dispensed with old group the Egyptians and begun working with new musicians, including Deni Bonet, a violinist with whom Hitchcock would collaborate several times in the years following.

"Man with a Woman's Shadow" was coproduced by Calvin Johnson. [8]

Critical reception

The Chicago Reader wrote that Hitchcock's "ringing guitar and gently Lennon-influenced singing are right up front, and other instruments appear only when the songs really ask for them ... Hitchcock hasn't sounded so engaged since 1990's Eye." [9]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Robyn Hitchcock

  1. "Sinister but She Was Happy"
  2. "The Devil's Radio"
  3. "Heliotrope"
  4. "Alright, Yeah"
  5. "Filthy Bird"
  6. "The Speed of Things"
  7. "Beautiful Queen"
  8. "Man with a Woman's Shadow"
  9. "I Am Not Me"
  10. "De Chirico Street"
  11. "You and Oblivion"
  12. "This Is How It Feels"

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References

  1. ↑ "Music Reviews". www.austinchronicle.com.
  2. ↑ "Moss Elixir - Robyn Hitchcock | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Rolling Stone : Robyn Hitchcock: Moss Elixir : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone . 24 February 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2007.
  5. ↑ "Robyn Hitchcock Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  6. ↑ Thompson, Dave (6 April 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN   9780879306076 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "ROBYN HITCHCOCK'S ECCENTRIC ELIXIR'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Young, Michael Roberts, Linda Gruno, John. "Playlist". Westword.
  9. ↑ Meyer, Bill (24 October 1996). "Robyn Hitchcock". Chicago Reader.
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