Now up to his umpteenth recording, Hitchcock remains the type of musician fans scurry to obtain the latest recording of. Hitchcock remains prolific in adversity and continues his quest for cosmic thrills in the way you would expect a left of centre folkie troubadour to do.
The Man Upstairs sees Hitchcock mutter and croon his peculiar way through some originals and cover versions of the likes of Roxy Music, The Doors and The Psychedelic Furs. Producer Joe Boyd, of Fairport Convention and Nick Drake fame, ensures that the recording is a meeting of peculiar minds on the same plane.
On a pure sales scale, the Hitchcock career has been quite catastrophic. But he remains resolutely obstinate to sales figures and occupies his own comfortable space on the musical landscape. The Ghost in You is unlike the original post-punk carnival and San Francisco Patrol is a head held low lament of an introvert awaiting the sunset. It is the type of song that sits well within the cover painted by Gillian Welch of a skeleton in a blue room staring at the ceiling.
The drawl of Trouble in Your Blood and Somebody to Break your Heart sees our hero laying like a knight on his bed, hands folded across his chest. He fought the good fight and gave it his best shot. The cover versions are stubbornly iconoclastic and eccentric. And, unlike his recent tour, this recording is augmented by cello and piano. A winsome combination.
A well developed tunesmith, Hitchcock is prolific in his cottage industry methods and has evolved over the decades. The Man Upstairs is exquisite in many ways and topical in others leading to the assumption that Hitchcock should be regarded not so much as an influence but an inspiration.
BY BRONIUS ZUMERIS
Best Track: Trouble in Your Blood
If You Like These You’ll Like This: BOB DYLAN, STEPHEN CUMMINGS, NICK DRAKE, ROKY ERICKSON
In A Word: Industrious
