Six years after his superb
I Often Dream of Trains,
Robyn Hitchcock returned to the acoustic format of that album with
Eye, and while the surfaces of the two albums are similar and
Eye was eagerly embraced by fans, the tone of the two discs is considerably different.
I Often Dream of Trains was a collection of songs written as
Hitchcock was slowly returning to a career in music after a two-year layoff, and there's a striking if subtle power in the occasional tentative moments and understated tone.
Eye, on the other hand, is a far more confident album, and
Hitchcock's performances boast a precision that befits a musician who had been recording and touring at a steady clip for the past six years, especially in his splendid guitar work. The surreal whimsy of
I Often Dream of Trains also takes a backseat on
Eye, replaced by the relative clarity of "Cynthia Mask," an idiosyncratic but unblinking condemnation of Britain's failings during World War II, "Raining Twilight Coast," a point-of-view profile of various emotional hurts, and "Queen Elvis," a meditation on the effects of fame; the most
Eye can offer in the way of humor is "Clean Steve" and "Certainly Clickot." But if
Eye isn't the understated masterpiece
I Often Dream of Trains was, it's
Hitchcock's most consistent and satisfying album of the '80s; the songs are intelligent, effective and don't rely on his eccentricities to work, while the melodies are winning and his vocals are beautifully modulated. While
Eye lacks
Hitchcock's exciting electric guitar work, it's still the best representation of his music from a period when he made plenty of good records but few great ones. [In 2007, Yep Roc records released a new edition of
Eye. The album's original 18 songs are accompanied by three bonus tracks, through they're different than the three bonus tracks that appeared on Rhino's 1995 reissue of
Eye; while Rhino' s disc featured demos of three of
Eye's selections, Yep Roc offers a trio of unreleased songs, all of which are fine if not outstanding, though "The Beauty of Earl's Court" is a real find. The short story "The Glass Hotel" that accompanied Twin/Tone's original CD release of
Eye also fails to make the cut, replaced by a collection of
Hitchcock's poetry. Still, this new release of
Eye looks and sounds very good indeed, and should please fans looking to replace older copies of the album or newer fans who haven't caught up with this set.] ~ Mark Deming