1967

One could never accuse cult UK songwriter Robyn Hitchcock of being boring, and throughout 1967, he constantly surprises . . . poignant yet affable'

Witty

1967 is written in the bright, avuncular, conversational tone familiar from Hitchcock's stage patter at live shows, his social media presence and his Patreon page - the latter well worth investigating as for a reasonable sum patrons are given access to unreleased tracks, exclusive videos and assorted illuminating ramblings. This approachability results in a light read whose effect is nevertheless profound, urging the reader to evaluate their own relationship to time and consider fresh ideas regarding how it might be processed and catalogued

Hitchcock skilfully brings to life the turning point, for the younger generation at least, which was 1967 as post war Britain with its slightly curled egg and cress sandwiches took flight on psychedelic wings. Like a hipper version of Anthony Buckeridge's schoolboy hero, Jennings, he adroitly describes the faintly homoerotic undertones of boarding school life while his accounts of the records and musicians he discovers vividly capture the excitement and adventure of the music of the time. That he does so in his unique style, droll and with the occasional whiff of whimsy and surrealism, familiar to anyone who has seen him live, is the icing on the cake. One can easily picture him telling any of these tales in between songs on stage . . . a delightful read

***** It's funny and sparkling with a wild, questioning energy . . . One of the joys of this charming and compulsively perceptive work is the way the past loops, fountain-like, into the present and back; and how sharp his sense of the source remains. It is a kind of time-travel

Wonderfully surreal turns

Delightful . . . Dense with time-travel reminiscence and sharp musical analysis, 1967 comes closer than most to showing how music can switch on the lights, switch on a life

1967 is evocative and eccentric. Even non-fans would find it entertaining . . . When it comes to writing a page-turner, Hitchcock passes the exam with flying colours