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Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians: Respect (A&M) ***½

Evelyn McDonnell, Rolling Stone, 15 April 1993

ALTHOUGH HE'S gussied them up in images of frogs, fish, food and whatnot, Robyn Hitchcock's obsessions have always been basic and Freudian: sex and death. Perhaps because his British tenor inflects the word with goose-bump yearnings, the ex-Soft Boy can sing a thousand paeans to love and never seem melodramatic. His albums have always countered the New Wave ditties he's known for with searing ballads and laments. Last year's 'So You Think You're in Love' was the single he should have released long ago.

Total word count of piece: 335

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