Search - Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians :: Fegmania!

RH & the Egyptians' Finest Moment

Sherringford Clark | Mayor's Income, Tennessee | 08/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Fegmania!" is probably Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians' finest album. It may even be Robyn's finest album period. While "I Often Dream of Trains" has more great songs, the second side drags with a lot of filler. "Element of Light" is overproduced, which is why the stripped-down demos (included as bonus tracks with that album) are better than the album versions.



"Fegmania!" is a great collection of songs, and filler is kept to a minimum. The album really flows well, with a great second side, which features "The Man With the Lightbulb Head" and one of Hitchock's most beautiful compositions, "Glass," the absolute highlight of the album for me. In fact, the album is worth owning just for this song.



The other great tracks: "Egyptian Cream," "My Wife and My Dead Wife," "Insect Mother," "The Fly," and "Heaven."



The bonus tracks are very good as well, including a wonderful version of "Bells of Rhymney" (sounds just like the Byrds with British accents) and a really great live acoustic rendition of "Heaven" from 1992, with one of Robyn's famous nonsensical intros.



All of the bonus tracks are strong, and even the instrumental version of "Man with the Lightbulb Head" is worth having, really bringing the great psychedelic guitar to the forefront. "The Pit of Souls," a 10-minute instrumental, shows the broadness of Robyn's musical experimentation, at least, even is it's not the kind of piece that one will listen to often.



In short, "Fegmania!" is the strongest, least uneven of Robyn Hitchcock's albums and probably the best place to start for the uninitiated."