Robyn Hitchcock 36: The Confuser

Another memoir composed on his phone coincided with a fresh batch of Robyn Hitchcock songs. The events of Stranded In The Future cover his path to becoming a songwriter and recording artist, and in many ways, his approach to the craft hasn’t really changed in the decades since. The Confuser is right in line with his brand, but something about the combination of words, melody, and performance make this one of his most satisfying albums of the century.

Right out of the gate “I Am This Thing” has a provocative opening line and the usual surprising rhymes as befit a statement of purpose. We’re not sure if the music he says he loves is supposed to “the birds” or “the Byrds”, but it’s damn catchy. The band infuses “My Dead Astronaut”—another familiar theme—with wacky space effects for another toe-tapper. Disembodied voices appear now and then, and it’s probably not best to search for meaning. The same could be said for “Yesterday’s Rain”, except that it’s the most developed of the opening three rockers, and the best track yet, but we’ve barely gotten started. Things quiet down for “Breathless”, with a sinewy arpeggiated guitar part that’s another one of his trademarks, and the band subtly comes in to fill in the borders, with Kimberley Rew presumably adding those sitar-like parts. But it’s just a setup for the haunting “Ghost In Sunlight”, wherein Robyn channels John Lennon playing electric piano. A Mellotron and what sounds like a cello are wonderful touches, and Gillian Welch provides harmonies and her own disembodied voices in both channels over the end before everything resolves.

A funky wah-wah boogie drives “Building From The Ruins”, which mostly sits on one chord but sports lots of surrealism hiding lines like “I miss democracy like my wisdom teeth.” “The Vanishing Kind” is a sweet and simple love song that features a nice wandering bass line and eventually layered vocals, while “How To Feel Alright” is more skewed, with warped imagery and Oedipal undertones over a brisk Bo Diddley beat and lots of Kimberly Rew guitar. At first we thought “Monday For Me” was resonant of Tom Petty’s “Wake Up Time”, but since that was also based on the structure of “Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands”, all is fair. This one still has a great chorus with good use of the days of the week. Rather than go out on something profound, “Wasted” flirts with honky tonk while exploring the different possibilities of the meaning of the title.

The band is consistent throughout The Confuser, and it sounds like they were all playing in the same room. That gives the album a unity that ranks with the best of the albums he did with the Egyptians way back when, and makes it all worth it.

Robyn Hitchcock The Confuser (2026)—4

Ringo Starr 13: Vertical Man

Just like Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr had more time on his hands in the wake of the Beatles Anthology promotion wave, so why not do any album? While Vertical Man was still something of an all-star project, he took a more active role in the songwriting, co-writing all but two tracks, playing drums throughout and even some other instruments. His right-hand for the proceedings was Mark Hudson, who’d graduated from a Beatlemaniac in a band with his brothers on Saturday morning TV to become something of a hit songwriter and producer. Besides playing and writing for the album, he added lots of backing vocals and harmonies that had listeners checking the credits to see who was singing. The results were probably his most consistent album in, well, decades.

“One” is power pop filtered through country, thanks to Jeff “Skunk” Baxter on pedal steel, which sounds enough like George Harrison among the 12-strings. Paul provides harmonies as well as bass on the enjoyable “What In The… World”, returning the favor from Ringo’s help with Flaming Pie. But then “Mindfield” puts Ringo’s voice through a speaker for a wacky effect and comes this close to being rap. Joe Walsh’s solo is suitably loud, and the explosion at the end is stupid. The wistful “King Of Broken Hearts” also resembles George Harrison to warrant lovely guitar parts weaved through, with subtle strings and even Mellotron to help it along. Two tracks later, the title track has a “When We Was Fab” vibe and Hudson quirks to be yet another Beatlesque knockoff that’s starting to push its luck. (Ozzy Osbourne sings on this one.) But in between there’s “Love Me Do”. While his reasons for remaking it are understandable—he was relegated to tambourine for the Beatles’ original single—it’s extraneous, notable only for Steven Tyler on harmonica, who likely found his way there via Hudson. Nobody needed another version of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” either, and Steven Tyler’s vocal was nixed by his label, so his part was replaced by Tom Petty. Alanis Morissette’s contribution stood, and if you listen close you can hear Rose of the Family Stone in there somewhere.

Alanis and Paul sing along with “I Was Walkin’”, and Steve Cropper adds a guitar solo, so the mid-‘70s vibe is mostly charming until the unnecessary “sleep” sequence. and “La De Da” is also mostly harmless, even after five minutes, with roughly three dozen friends singing along the chorus, and they wisely kept Paul up in the mix. “Without Understanding” is one of his more convincing rock songs, though the operatic opening is odd, and we suppose the reference to “good vibrations” was reason enough to get Brian Wilson to add a bunch of layered vocals. The modern rockabilly of “I’ll Be Fine Anywhere” gets a boost from another Harrison solo, and it’s a good lead-in to the slap-back percussion of “Puppet”. To keep it in the family, George Martin provided the string arrangement for “I Am Yours”, a very sweet tribute to Mrs. Starkey.

Those who bought the album at Best Buy got a bonus disc with three extra songs, all somewhat country. For some reason “Mr. Doubleitup” ends with a lounge instrumental of “With A Little Help From My Friends”), while “Sometimes” and “Good News” were a little more straightforward, with an accent on humor. At a time when Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, and their ilk were selling millions, it’s anyone’s guess whether these should have gotten wider distribution.

Ringo went into overdrive promoting the album, with the biggest appearance arguably on VH1 Storytellers, that channel’s variation on the “unplugged” special. Along with the ubiquitous Hudson, the band included Joe Walsh, Simon Kirke, Jack Blades of Night Ranger. He actually had a hand in writing most of the songs in the set, so his anecdotes about them are pertinent as well as enjoyable—even the ones you’ve heard before. He even played piano to start “Don’t Pass Me By”. A CD of the performance was released four months after Vertical Man, and did worse on the charts.

Ringo Starr Vertical Man (1998)—3
Ringo Starr VH1 Storytellers (1998)—3

Yes 14: 90125

The ‘80s saw a lot of surprising comebacks, and one of the biggest was that of Yes. Having imploded and scattered following the poor reception of their one album without Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and Alan White were determined to keep going somehow, and found a reason in young innovative guitarist Trevor Rabin. His more mainstream tendencies prompted Squire to call Tony Kaye, who’d been bounced off keyboards for not being as adventurous as Rick Wakeman. After recording for a while as Cinema, with Trevor doubling on keyboards and singing along with Squire, the label suggested they get Jon to sing and improve the lyrics. Once that was accomplished, the label suggested they call themselves Yes.

The resultant 90125—named for the catalog number, of course—stood out for its cold computer graphics and strikingly modern production by Trevor Horn. But for the occasional proggy element here and there, the songs were shorter and radio-friendly. And this being the era of MTV, a lot of money went into their videos, which got a new generation of kids into the band, especially since Asia was pretty much done.

“Owner Of A Lonely Heart” was that inescapable first single, video, and album opener. The metal riff and sampled orchestra hits didn’t sound like Yes, but as soon as Jon starts singing, it could only be Yes. “Hold On” is another winner despite its plodding drums; the opening fill and shifted meter in the second verse and during the solo are the most adventurous White gets on this album. As with most of the best parts of this album, the combination of vocalists is stellar. A sitar wasn’t often heard on a rock album in those days, but it helps “It Can Happen” stand for another catchy one. “Changes” has a repeated vibraphone theme that we only just recently realized recalls side three of Topographic Oceans, as well as some guitar parts that sound enough like Steve Howe to match the brand. Once they get the tricky part out of the way on the intro, it’s a standard Rabin riff, and he sings a lot of it.

“Cinema” opens the second side, a Grammy®-winning instrumental apparently siphoned off a much longer piece, and sounding most like a link to the Yes of old. “Leave It” was the second single, pushed by a series of video variations that played havoc with computer manipulation, and also made available in a mix that isolated the layered vocals. “Our Song” is kinda dippy, with only the odd meter changes and vocals keeping it from sounding like Night Ranger, but somehow it works. Not so “City Of Love”, which is too boomy for even this album, but this edition of the band wasn’t going to be known for its dynamics. “Hearts” threatens to be swallowed up by itself, particularly as it’s the longest song on the album. But even after the synth flute theme and Asian touches start to grate, there’s a wonderful chorus that again shows off the vocal ability of this combo.

The music was designed for arenas, so they toured, of course. Exactly two years after 90125 came out, a concert video was released on VHS as 9012Live. But instead of a companion double live album, fans had to settle for 9012Live: The Solos, a strangely titled mini-LP. After a half-decent “Hold On”, Tony kills a couple minutes with “Si”, not much more of a keyboard drone with a Bach fugue detour, and “Solly’s Beard” is a semi-classical high-speed acoustic piece from Trevor. Jon delivers the “Soon” portion of “The Gates Of Delirium” to much cheering. On the other side, “Changes” is fine, but Squire plays “Amazing Grace” for some reason, then adds the drummer to jam on an extended interpolation of “The Fish” and some other riffs (called “Whitefish”, get it?) for nearly nine minutes.

Most fans were relieved it was low-priced, and for the longest time was only available on CD from Japan—that is until the Friday Music label licensed it, and added the contemporary live B-sides “City Of Love” and “It Can Happen” for completeness. By that time, 90125 had finally gotten its own remastering along with the rest of the Yes catalog. Requisite bonus tracks included remixes of “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” and “Leave It”, as well as the “a cappella” mix of the latter, plus three songs left over from the initial Cinema sessions, two of which had already appeared on a box set. (The Twelve Inches On Tape cassette of dance remixes remains unavailable digitally.)

Yes 90125 (1983)—3
2004 remastered CD: same as 1983, plus 6 extra tracks
Yes 9012Live: The Solos (1985)—2
2011 Expanded CD: same as 1985, plus 2 extra tracks

Michael Penn 1: March

It’s tough enough when one of your siblings is famous, and worse when you’re trying to make a name for yourself. Michael Penn has never (to our knowledge) tried to ride his brother’s coattails, even when that brother was married to Madonna. Rather, he has consistently—if intermittently—specialized in highly literate singer-songwriting, usually about matters of romance or lack thereof. Both music and lyrics are influenced by Bob Dylan and the Beatles at their hippest. His first album set a template as well: mostly acoustic guitar accompanied by inventive and not robotic drum machines, and a few not-flashy electric solos, in collaboration with Patrick Warren, who assisted on programming and keyboards, most notably the Chamberlin, a Mellotron precursor.

“No Myth” is the opening track on March, and was also the lead single and video that exposed him to MTV and VH-1 viewers, and a good introduction. “Half Harvest” is more of the same, but “This & That” picks up the tempo and offers more interesting melodies in the verses and choruses. “Brave New World” is probably the most Dylanesque song, with its rapid-fire verses that probably went too fast for people to sing along, except for the crack chorus not too close to “Friday On My Mind”, nicely toned back after the third verse before shifting back into high gear. (That’s Jim Keltner on the actual drums, and it shows.) “Innocent One” returns to quiet folk, but for shaken percussion and either an accordion or harmonium.

“Disney’s A Snow Cone” is a Tom Waits-ian Chamberlin showcase that prefaces “Bedlam Boys”, a rich pop song that features contributions from not only Wendy & Lisa, but Prince backup singer Boni Boyer. Wendy’s brother David provides the oud on “Invisible”, which is mostly centered around a repeated but not repetitive guitar riff, supported by Keltner (again) and Larry Klein on bass; clearly the kid had taste as well as connections. A title like “Cupid’s Got A Brand New Gun” sets a high bar, particularly with such a slow beginning, but it manages to ride the dynamics. Speaking of which, Kenny Aronoff is behind the kit for the edgy “Big House”, handling the time changes well. “Battle Room” covers by-now-familiar ground, with lots of chord changes over a fairly simple backing. If things have seemed to get a little routine, he pulls out all the stops for “Evenfall”, which has Keltner and Aronoff each in their own speaker, as well as a honking horn section under the rhythm piano.

We referred to him as “literate”, mostly because we haven’t thought of a better word; he probably could. His lyrical approach throughout March—and indeed, his career—leaves plenty of question as to what the songs are actually about. But when the presentation is as pleasing as this, it’s almost moot. Almost. (For some reason, the album was repackaged in the new century with the addition of all but two tracks from his next album. It’s better than nothing, but streaming makes it moot.)

Michael Penn March (1989)—3
2001 reissue: same as 1989, plus 9 extra tracks

Rolling Stones 53: Foreign Tongues

The experience making Hackney Diamonds was apparently so positive that the old geezers just kept going. Some of Foreign Tongues had been started during (and before) the sessions for that album, so good on them for not stepping back, and riding the momentum. Granted, they did issue two archival live albums of theater shows bookending the turn of the century in the interim, but this was still the fastest turnaround between studio albums in decades.

“Rough And Twisted” was the not-so-secret sneak peek track, a fairly pedestrian stomp over mostly one chord, so it’s nice when they add a bridge. It sets the stage. “In The Stars” has a terrific intro, which is also the chorus, but the verses and solo section recycle the same riff-chords from “You Got Me Rocking” from 32 years before. It’s still a winner. Mick turns on his falsetto for “Jealous Lover”, a decent soul tune. Steve Winwood plays the Nicky Hopkins slash Billy Preston keyboards role here and throughout the album, but they’re generally buried in the mix under all the guitars. “Mr. Charm” is pretty odd, Mick spitting out a monologue that borders on rap, but the secret weapon is the supporting vocals by a woman credited only as Naärai. “Divine Intervention” would be another strong Stones rocker with their trademark interlocking guitars, except that one of those is played by Robert Smith of the Cure. And yes, it’s another great chorus, and you can just hear the horns over the coda. They pointedly use a pokey country arrangement for “Ringing Hollow”, which has just the three surviving Stones with the rhythm section of Steve Jordan and Darryl Jones, and only Winwood adding his touches, which you can actually hear, along with Keith’s harmony. Mick’s political lyrics don’t always land, but it’s still a good track.

You can hear Winwood again on “Never Wanna Lose You”, which has a funky Jones bass line, but also Robert Smith again and Bruno Mars credited on cowbell. “Hit Me On The Head” stands out because it’s another rescued Charlie Watts drum track—and his touch is obvious—and for its frankly hilarious chorus. They hadn’t done a soul cover on an album of Jagger/Richards originals in a long time, so it’s surprising that they tackle Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good”; Mick wails on harmonica, but mostly it underscores her loss. “Some Of Us” is Keith’s token solo spot, and another one of his slow burners. Mick supports him well without overpowering the track, and that’s Benmont Tench on the organ, alongside Winwood’s piano. Paul McCartney returns to play bass on “Covered In You”, which can’t decide if it wants to be yearning or yelling, a romantic plaint or political rant. But Mick sure plays a lot of harmonica on this album. After an intricate riff, probably played by Ronnie, “Side Effects” recycles the chords from “Covered In You” a step down, but it’s got an okay bridge. The best parts of both songs could have been combined, but they didn’t, so it’s a step back. But they redeem themselves on “Back In Your Life”, which is loaded with passion, one of Ronnie’s best-ever solos, and a horn section that evoke the spirit and splendor of the Jimmy Miller era. As with last time, they end with an acoustic bluesy cover, this time of Chuck Berry’s “Beautiful Delilah”, which they’d done on the BBC but never on an album. Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is credited with bass drum.

The removal of a few extraneous tracks, plus some tightening, would make Foreign Tongues a solid, two-sided single LP instead of surpassing an hour. Yet what it comes down to is that it’s nice to get excited about a new Rolling Stones album, especially when they seem into it. Their enthusiasm here is truly infectious. (In a nice touch, the label is the same color yellow as the ‘70s Stones albums. But the cover art is hideous, even by their standards.)

Rolling Stones Foreign Tongues (2026)—3½

Byrne & Eno 2: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

In 2006, David Byrne and Brian Eno’s My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, which had long been hailed as “seminal”, was reissued with the requisite extra tracks. Then the two collaborated on an album for the first time in decades. The bigger surprise, given their previous work together, was that Everything That Happens Will Happen Today was a collection of songs as opposed to groundbreaking experimentalism. Considering the recent work both men had done on their own, this shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise, but still. The overall theme was the relief of domesticity, yet with subtle undercurrents, as depicted in the artwork.

Right away “Home” begins with trilling acoustic guitars, and a chorus that’s descended from recent Eno collaborator Paul Simon’s “Homeward Bound”, but with more pointed lyrics. “My Big Nurse” has a similarly loping rhythm and odd imagery, while “I Feel My Stuff” is more unique, lined with discordant piano and a more quirky vocal from Byrne, who sings all the leads throughout. “Everything That Happens” returns to the dreamy sound hinted at in the first songs, and we finally hear the gospel influence the fellas had been talking about while making the album. “Life Is Long” adds a brass section to support the affirming message, which seems to pervade through “The River” despite the imagery linked to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

More familiar beats we’d expect from this dynamic duo emerge on the danceable “Strange Overtones”, not just the first single but offered as a free download. “Wanted For Life” is mildly robotic but builds to a more, well, human sound, with hooks everywhere. The liner notes mention the inspiration for “One Fine Day”, that being the story of a refugee who manages to hold onto hope through all kinds of adversity, and that runs through the album. He turns on his soulful voice for the polyrhythmic “Poor Boy” with those fake horns Eno liked to use, and “The Lighthouse” is a mildly languid closer, still on the idea of finding a home, with some odd counterpoints to underscore the difficulty of achieving same.

While occasionally cold, just like the cover art, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today does eventually fulfill its aim, to unite these partners again, and make the world feel a little better about itself. Naturally they were drawn to the promotional possibilities of doing it all themselves, and Byrne even went on tour to promote it. Eno did not join him.

A deluxe edition of the album was released a few months later, in a circular tin topped with a model of the house and yard from the front cover and containing a book, an antacid pill, a six-sided die of short phrases, and a bonus enhanced CD with an film, screensaver, and four extra songs. “Never Thought” is a lush pop song that should have been on the main album, and we’d even say the same for “Walking On The River”, “The Eyes”, and “The Painting”. The lyrics seem to be thematically linked, but maybe they didn’t want a three-sided album.

David Byrne & Brian Eno Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008)—3

Prince 27: Xpectation and N.E.W.S.

Without a major label trying to tell him what to do, Prince continued to follow his muse—or whatever it was—to the neighborhood of jazz for a pair of releases. More to the point, both featured the phrase “new directions in music by Prince”, which everyone will tell you was similar to what Miles Davis had on the cover of Bitches Brew. Both were also entirely instrumental.

Xpectation came first, as a digital download, and would remain that way, with no physical release, ever. Ranging from quiet and dreamy (“Xhalation”, “Xcogitate”, “Xotic”) to upbeat and funky (the title track, “Xpand”, “Xpedition”), with a prominent electric piano on all tracks, this is dinner music jazz. He does play some guitar, the rhythm section of Rhonda Smith and John Blackwell is consistent, and some tracks feature Candy Dulfer and/or Vanessa Mae on violin. And yes, all the track titles follow that theme. We don’t know why the last jam ends with a baby crying, but maybe that’s none of our business.

N.E.W.S. followed a few months later, and was considered important enough that it was available on CD. Four improvised jams at exactly 14 minutes each—with the same rhythm section, plus one Renato Neto on keys and the stalwart Eric Leeds on misspelled “saxaphone”—were captured live on tape in one day, each named after a point on the compass; hence the album title. “North” does have some spacey elements resonant of certain Jan Garbarek albums, “East” sports Saharan instruments and effects until it doesn’t, “West” takes a while to find something of a groove then switches to a more typically Prince slow groove melody about halfway through, and “South” is pretty much straight funk.

These are even more meandering than tracks on Xpectation, which each are at least shorter, and more focused. The fact is, his music shouldn’t be background music.

Prince Xpectation (2003)—3
Prince N.E.W.S. (2003)—2