Underwater Moonlight . . . And How It Got There
The Soft Boys' hugely influential 1980 neopsychedelic albumUnderwater Moonlightreceives full archeological treatment on this double-CD set. Whether you consider it singer-songwriterRobyn Hitchcock's finest work or not, the cohesive, original whole it makes of roots ranging from theByrdstoClear Spotremains dazzling. The drive and wit of earlier recordings here strains at a tightened leash that the Cambridge, England, quartet has a full grasp on. The LP's 10 tracks leap from the punkish anger of "I Wanna Destroy You" to the threatening crawl of "I Got the Hots," the angelically anthemic "Tonight," and Hitchcock's singular spin on the Beefheart-drenched blues of "Old Pervert" ("I won't do you no harm, I just wanna show you what's in my fridge/So come on, little girl, is your name Hester or maybe it's Midge?"). Nine exemplary bonus tracks, including an early Hitchcock seafood meditation "Where Are the Prawns?" and the raging metaphysical English-history tribute "Only the Stones Remain," complete the first disc. The second consists of nearly an hour of vintage lo-fi rehearsal tapes that will ultimately prove essential only to hardcore fans. WithMoonlighttoo long out of print, though, this is a reissue to prize.--Rickey Wright