Robyn Hitchcock / The Man Upstairs
Artist Robyn Hitchcock
Album Title: The Man Upstairs
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Alternative & Punk: Indie
Format Vinyl 180 gm + CD
Released 08/26/2014
Label Yep Roc Records
Catalog No YEP-2368
Bar Code No 3445723681
Packaging Gatefold LP Sleeve
Tracks
The Man Upstairs (180 gram Vinyl) (Disc 1)
A1. The Ghost In You (4:34)
A2. San Francisco Patrol (4:24)
A3. To Turn You On (4:09)
A4. Trouble In Your Blood (4:45)
A5. Somebody To Break Your Heart (2:22)
B1. Don't Look Down (5:12)
B2. Ferries (3:08)
B3. Comme Toujours (3:09)
B4. The Crystal Ship (2:27)
B5. Recalling The Truth (4:25)
The Man Upstairs (CD)
1. The Ghost In You (4:34)
2. San Francisco Patrol (4:24)
3. To Turn You On (4:09)
4. Trouble In Your Blood (4:45)
5. Somebody To Break Your Heart (2:22)
6. Don't Look Down (5:12)
7. Ferries (3:08)
8. Comme Toujours (3:09)
9. The Crystal Ship (2:27)
10. Recalling The Truth (4:25)
Date Acquired 08/24/2014
Personal Rating
Acquired from 11spot.com (Yep Roc Records)
Purchase Price 24.00

Web Links

All Music Guide Entry:
Discogs Entry:
MusicBrainz entry:

Notes

Notes:
Gatefold sleeve.
There is a download code card as well as a complete CD of the album inside a plastic slip cover (check the scan of the back of the CD and you will find it is a different matrix number than the standard CD in a digipak). The album is in a sealable plastic sleeve.

Credits:
Art Direction, Layout – Johnny Whitman
Cello – Jenny Adejayan
Cover [Cover Painting] – Gillian Welch
Engineer – Jerry Boys
Engineer [Assisted By] – Veronika Davies
Engineer [Second Engineer] – Ben McCluskey
Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals – RH
Harmony Vocals, Guitar – Anne Lise Frøkedal (tracks: B2)
Liner Notes – RH
Management – Richard Bishop
Photography By – Laura E. Partain, The Bugle
Piano – Charles Francis
Producer – Joe Boyd

Companies, etc.:
Copyright © – Robyn Hitchcock
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Robyn Hitchcock
Licensed To – Yep Roc Records
Manufactured By – Redeye
Distributed By – Redeye
Published By – EMI Blackwood Music Inc.
Published By – BMG Platinum Songs
Published By – Storm Hymnal Music
Published By – BMG Chrysalis Music
Published By – Smalltown Supermusic
Published By – Sony ATV
Published By – Doors Music Company
Published By – August 23rd Music
Recorded At – Snap Studios
Pressed By – GZ Media – 120669E

Barcode and other Identifiers:
Barcode: 634457236813
Matrix / Runout (A-Side - Stamped): LP YEP 2368 120669E1/B
Matrix / Runout (B-Side - Stamped): LP YEP 2368 120669E2/C
Matrix / Runout (CD): LP YEP 2368 CD A61815

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Analyzed Folder: Robyn Hitchcock - The Man Upstairs (CD)_dr.txt
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DR           Peak           RMS      Filename                      
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DR08    -0.96 dB   -10.96 dB  01 - The Ghost in You.flac    
DR09    -0.99 dB   -12.41 dB  02 - San Francisco Patrol.flac
DR09    -0.87 dB   -12.57 dB  03 - To Turn You On.flac      
DR09    -0.99 dB   -11.95 dB  04 - Trouble in Your Blood.flac
DR07    -0.84 dB   -10.32 dB  05 - Somebody to Break Your Heart.flac
DR11    -1.02 dB   -14.63 dB  06 - Don't Look Down.flac    
DR09    -0.99 dB   -12.24 dB  07 - Ferries.flac            
DR09    -0.99 dB   -12.25 dB  08 - Comme Toujours.flac      
DR09    -1.00 dB   -12.63 dB  09 - The Crystal Ship.flac    
DR11    -1.00 dB   -14.63 dB  10 - Recalling the Truth.flac
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Number of Files: 10
Official DR Value: DR9
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Reviews
All Music Guide Review:

Review by James Christopher Monger
Robyn Hitchcock sums up the impetus behind his 20th solo studio outing with an unusually succinct quote: “I’ve always wanted to make a folk record produced by Joe Boyd and now I have: thank you, universe!” It would seem that the serial surrealist's penchant for punctuating everything with food, flora, and sex metaphors does not extend to conveying the simple joy of working with the legendary producer of such iconic albums as Nick Drake's Bryter Later and Fairport Convention's Liege & Lief, just to name a few. Hitchcock applies that same newfound predilection for levelheadedness to the songs on The Man Upstairs as well, offering up five choice covers and five new originals that flirt with the fantastic, yet avoid an unnecessary trip down the rabbit hole -- even the Gillian Welch-illustrated, netherworld-fixated cover art feels relatively settled. The album's brightest diamond in the rough, a surprisingly moving and wistful take on the Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost in You," appears right out of the gate, and like much of the material to follow, utilizes the talents of Boyd, cellist Jenny Adejayan, pianist Charlie Francis, and vocalist Anne Lise Frøkedal from the Norwegian indie pop duo I Was A King, all of whom, especially Frøkedal, whose ethereal harmonies are so (tastefully) omnipresent throughout, help to reign in some of the structural elasticity that sometimes has a tendency to undermine Hitchcock's all acoustic outings. Sonically, The Man Upstairs operates somewhere between Eye and I Often Dream of Trains (a very English folk take on the Doors "Crystal Ship" would have fit perfectly on the latter), but outside of the truly spectacular "Trouble in Blood" and the evocative "San Francisco Patrol," the originals (and the remaining covers) feel largely ephemeral, especially for someone so inclined to unmitigated prolificacy.
Cover 1
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Cover 4
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Cover 6
Cover 7
Cover 8
Cover 9