A review by jnzllwgr
1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left by Robyn Hitchcock

4.0

Titularly encapsulated, Hitchcock features a tale of that pivotal, coming-of-age year. Those familiar with his reverence of Dylan and Barrett will enjoy the recounting the context of those initial encounters. One also gets a (blurry?) image of his family and (clearer) sense the boys/social network at Winchester College. It was weighted a bit more toward nostalgia as opposed to reflection or introspection. How does a world-famous rock musician continuously mine said inspiration without exhausting it? What else has been injected into their creative process to suggest that, while he may have never left ’67, he certainly took some vacations away? At the end, those answers were left unclear. Perhaps this was intentional, presuming the reader is familiar with all the musicians including Hitchcock himself - that the reader could readily observe the differences in themes, instrumentation and arrangements of Soft Boys, Egyptians, Venus Three’s, etc. songs. Conversely, focusing on a single year allowed the book to feel focused and was a pleasant, quick read as opposed many others that end up being an overstuffed inventory, including lists of the days when toe nails were clipped. In turn, Hitchcock allows his life’s work to stand as the greater testament with this short book serving a lettered digestif to a euphonious meal. Get to work on their back catalog music if you are unfamiliar — almost 40 years of great music to try on for size!