''Eye'' is the eighth studio album and fourth solo album by
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...
. It was released in 1990 on Glass Fish (UK) and
Twin/Tone Records
Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the ...
(US). This was Hitchcock's only solo album released between 1985 and 1995, a period in which he recorded most of his music with his backing band, the Egyptians.
Hitchcock wrote in 2025, "Eye was my attempt to be personal, and vulnerable, inasmuch as my uptight English carapace would allow.... I was in the throes of breaking up with two people at once... On Eye I did my best to capture those ugly feelings and bottle them raw, like acid fireflies, forever flaming in my repertoire."
''Eye'' was recorded acoustically in the style of ''
I Often Dream of Trains'' (1984) with which it shares a similar green/gold sleeve design, and could therefore be seen as a sequel piece. ''Eye'' is entirely self-composed and ran to fourteen songs (vinyl) and eighteen (CD). Hitchcock plays all instruments (mostly guitars), and sings all the vocals.
''Eye'' was reissued in 1995 by
Rhino
A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
and added the tracks "Raining Twilight Coast (demo)", "Agony of Pleasure (demo)", and "Queen Elvis (demo)". A third CD edition saw the previous demo bonus tracks dropped, along with "College of Ice", while adding yet more.
Track listing
All songs written by
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...
.
Side one
# "Cynthia Mask" – 4:35
# "Certainly Clickot" – 2:14
# "Queen Elvis" – 4:22
# "Flesh Cartoons" – 4:22
# "Chinese Water Python" – 2:12
# "Executioner" – 3:43
# "Linctus House" – 5:12
Side two
# "Beautiful Girl" – 2:12
# "Raining Twilight Coast" – 4:38
# "Clean Steve" – 3:51
# "Agony of Pleasure" – 2:23
# "Glass Hotel" – 3:26
# "Satellite" – 1:43
# "Aquarium" – 4:19
1st issue CD bonus tracks
# "Sweet Ghost of Light" – 3:07
# "College of Ice" – 3:41
# "Transparent Lover" – 3:35
# "Queen Elvis II" – 4:37
2nd issue CD bonus tracks (Rhino Records 1995)
# "Sweet Ghost of Light" – 3:07
# "College of Ice" – 3:41
# "Transparent Lover" – 3:35
# "Queen Elvis II" – 4:22
# "Raining Twilight Coast" (Demo) – 4:38
# "Agony of Pleasure" (Demo) – 2:40
# "Queen Elvis" (Demo) – 4:32
3rd issue CD bonus tracks (Yep Roc Records 2007)
# "Sweet Ghost of Light" – 3:07
# "Transparent Lover" – 3:35
# "Queen Elvis II" – 4:22
# "Century" – 3:41
# "Shimmering Distant Love" – 3:21
# "Lovers Turn to Skulls" – 1:40
# "The Beauty of Earls Court" – 3:59
: The sleeve notes erroneously omit the first two bonus tracks.
: "College of Ice", "Raining Twilight Coast" (Demo), "Queen Elvis" (Demo) moved to "While Thatcher Mauled Britain".
: "Agony of Pleasure" (Demo) dropped.
References
External links
Twin/Tone Records album page
{{Authority control
Robyn Hitchcock albums
1990 albums
Twin/Tone Records albums