''Spooked'' is the fourteenth studio 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 recorded in collaboration with

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, coun ...

and

David Rawlings David Todd Rawlings (born December 30, 1969) is an American guitarist, singer, and record producer. He is known for his musical partnership with singer and songwriter Gillian Welch. He and Welch were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Or ...

at Woodland Studio in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004, and released later that year. The set comprises twelve new recordings, all Hitchcock compositions with the exception of " Tryin' to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door", a cover of a

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

song. The tracks revisit Hitchcock's 1980s style, containing in their lyrics portrayals of several eccentric characters, surreal situations and scenarios, and several references to death, one of Hitchcock's most enduring themes. The packaging too is retrospective, its green and yellow packaging falling in line with previous solo-acoustic albums such as ''

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

'' and ''

Moss Elixir ''Moss Elixir'' is an album by English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, released in 1996. It contains twelve original compositions, predominantly acoustic. ''Moss Elixir'' came packaged in green and gold, continuing the theme of his earlier s ...

''. The painting on the front is a detail from one of Hitchcock's own, featuring an enlarged cat-like creature looming from behind a wall. Hitchcock dedicates the album to 'The Dark Princess', using the title of a track from 1999's '' Jewels for Sophia'' as a pseudonym for his partner Michele Noach.

Track listing

All songs by Robyn Hitchcock except where noted #"Television" – 6:22 #"If You Know Time" – 3:32 #"Everybody Needs Love" – 3:17 #"English Girl" – 3:21 #"Demons and Fiends" – 2:14 #"Creeped Out" – 3:15 #"Sometimes a Blonde" – 4:53 #"We're Gonna Live in the Trees" – 3:24 #" Tryin' to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door" (

) – 6:00 #"Full Moon in My Soul" – 3:02 #"Welcome to Earth" – 0:49 #"Flanagan's Song" – 4:39

References

2004 albums Robyn Hitchcock albums Yep Roc Records albums {{2000s-folk-album-stub