Robyn Hitchcock is established in the pantheon of British Rock
Eccentrics, which includes Kevin Ayers and late wizards Syd Barrett and
Kevin Coyne. All four share a cheerily skewed and irreverent —
and often harrowing — worldview and a knack for surreal, catchy
melodies. I Often Dream of Trains in New York consists of a 2008
NYC live performance of his 1984 (not-quite-entire) classic album I
Often Dream of Trains and a semi-documentary of Hitchcock’s career
as it relates to that album. The original Trains album presented
Hitchcock playing all instruments and a muted, vaguely eerie
ambiance.
This live Dream features him on acoustic and electric guitars
with minimal accompaniment (guitar, sax, piano, an occasional female
singer), the tone somewhat warmer and even faintly nostalgic.
Interspersed throughout (between tunes, fortunately) are interview
snippets where Hitchcock reveals (in typically oblique fashion) the
inspiration and mindset behind the original set. In the onstage
portions, Hitchcock is personable, wry, likeably loopy and in fine
voice. As a bonus, there’s a 12-minute short, “Beyond Basingstoke,”
presenting Hitchcock in his dark electric/psychedelic mode. For RH
fans, this DVD is a momentous Dream made real. — Mark
Keresman
This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2009.
