Cargo Records

Shadow Cat

Robyn Hitchcock has taken time out from working with The Venus 3 (which features various members of REM) and John Paul Jones (who has been busy with his former band Led Zeppelin lately...) to compile an exclusive album, Shadow Cat, for London's premier oddball label Sartorial Records.

This collection of previously unreleased material from the Hitchcock vaults dates from 1993-99, providing the missing link between The Egyptians on A&M and the Warner Bros years. Shadow Cat itself features Moris Tepper, mainstay of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, on lead acoustic guitar, and all tracks are Hitchcock originals, but for the Hendrix cover The Wind Cries Mary (on which Sartorial boss Terry Edwards plays Hammond organ). Aside from Edwards making a further appearance on Never Have To See You Again, all instruments & vocals are performed by Robyn. From the concise opening cut, For Debbie Reynolds, to the concluding title track, the quality of the songwriting & performance shines through; "out-take" albums are all too often cobbled together from unreleased (unreleaseable!) material. Not so here. These 14 tracks were whittled down from around 30 contenders, carefully edited & remastered to create a cohesive album; even to the point of sequencing the songs as two sides, despite it not being manufactured on vinyl. Essential for those who have followed Robyn from his early days in The Soft Boys (with Kimberley Rew, Morris Windsor and Andy Metcalfe) to his work with film director Jonathan Demme and beyond, this release also serves as a fine introduction to the work of one of Englands most treasured songwriters. Enjoy!

Track Listing

For Debbie Reynolds
Never Have To See You Again
Love Affair
The Wind Cries Mary
High On Yourself
Because You're Over
The Cat Walks Her Kind Of Line
Statue With A Walkman
The Green Boy
Real Dot
Nothing But Time
Beautiful Shock
Baby-Doll
Shadow Cat