''Jewels for Sophia'' is the twelfth studio album by

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

, released on Warner Records in 1999. Since ''Respect'' (1993), the hitherto prolific Hitchcock had released just one full studio album (''

Moss Elixir ''Moss Elixir'' is an album by Robyn Hitchcock, released in 1996. It contains twelve original compositions, predominantly acoustic. ''Moss Elixir'' came packaged in green and gold, continuing the theme of his earlier solo acoustic albums, ''I O ...

'' in 1996), the rest of his recent output consisting largely of repackages and live recordings. ''Jewels For Sophia'' however contained a dozen tracks, only one of which ("No, I Don't Remember Guildford") had been recorded previously, and two extras not listed on the cover, and hidden away after a substantial pause following the album's "last" track. Tracks include a paean to cheese in all its forms, with a sub-text of the global power struggle, and the quasi-nonsensical title number, whose lyric is rather pointed, in a similar vein to John Lennon's "

I Am the Walrus "I Am the Walrus" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film ''Magical Mystery Tour''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to the single "Hello, Goodbye" a ...

". The two hidden extras are "Mr. Tongs" and "Don't Talk to Me About

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...

Personnel

Hitchcock recorded for the album in several sessions with different backing musicians. In

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

he collaborated with guitarist

Grant Lee Phillips Grant-Lee Phillips (born Bryan G. Phillips; September 1, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He led the group Grant Lee Buffalo in the 1990s, afterwards launching a solo career. He features as the town troubadour ...

and multi-instrumentalist

Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...

; and in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

with guitarist

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...

and members of

The Young Fresh Fellows The Young Fresh Fellows are an American alternative rock group, that was formed in 1981 in Seattle, Washington, United States, by Scott McCaughey and Chuck Carroll. Tad Hutchison, Chuck Carroll's first cousin, joined for the recording of the grou ...

Kimberley Rew Kimberley Charles Rew (born 3 December 1951) is an English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as a member of Katrina and the Waves from 1981 to 1999 and of Robyn Hitchcock's Soft Boys from 1978 to 1981. Two of his better-kno ...

, Hitchcock's erstwhile collaborator in

The Soft Boys The Soft Boys were an English rock band led by Robyn Hitchcock primarily during the 1970s, whose initially old-fashioned music style of psychedelic/folk-rock became part of the neo-psychedelia scene with the release of '' Underwater Moonlight'' ...

, also appears on two songs, the first time in nearly 20 years the pair had recorded together.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Robyn Hitchcock #"Mexican God" #"The Cheese Alarm" #"Viva! Sea-Tac" #"I Feel Beautiful" #"You've Got a Sweet Mouth on You, Baby" #"NASA Clapping" #"Sally Was a Legend" #"Antwoman" #"Elizabeth Jade" #"No, I Don't Remember Guildford" #"Dark Princess" #"Jewels for Sophia" #(Unlisted) "Mr. Tongs" #(Unlisted) "Don't Talk to Me About Gene Hackman"

Personnel

ALL TRACKS Liner notes from US CD, Warner Bros. Records – 9 47433-2 * Robyn Hitchcock - lead vocals, acoustic guitar (#1,2,3,4,5,9,10,11,12), electric guitar (#2,3,4,6,7,8,10,11), bass guitar (#2,12), backing vocals (#2,10), harmonica (#5,6,10), piano (#10,12), handclaps (#12) * Tim Keegan - backing vocals (#2,3,8,10,11,12), acoustic guitar (#3,10,12), pop (#4), piano (#8), electric guitar (#9), shaker (#11) TRACKS 1,2,4,5,8,11 – PRODUCED BY JON BRION IN LOS ANGELES *

- bass guitar (#1,11), drums (#1,2,8,11), keyboards (#2,8,11), marimba (#4), low sonic wobble (#4), marxophone (#4), vocals (#5), percussion (#5), organ (#11) * Aloke Dutta - tabla (#2) *

- backing vocals (#4,8), bass guitar (#8) TRACKS 3,9,12 – PRODUCED BY PETE GERRALD & ROBYN HITCHCOCK IN SEATTLE *

Scott McCaughey Scott Lewis McCaughey is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5. He was also an auxiliary member of the American rock band R.E.M. from 199 ...

- bass guitar (#3,9,12), backing vocals (#3), handclaps (#12) * Tad Hutchinson - drums (#3,9), handclaps (#12), percussion (#12) *

- electric guitar (#3,9,12) * Kurt Bloch - organ (#3,9), handclaps (#12), percussion (#12) TRACKS 6,7 – PRODUCED BY CHARLIE FRANCIS & ROBYN HITCHCOCK IN LONDON * John Fell - bass guitar (#6,7) * Rob Alum - drums (#6,7) *

- electric guitar (#6,7), backing vocals (#7) TRACK 10 – PRODUCED BY PAT COLLIER & ROBYN HITCHCOCK IN LONDON * Jake Kyle - bass guitar (#10) * Patrick Hannan - drums (#10) * James Fletcher - saxophone (#10)

References

{{Authority control Robyn Hitchcock albums 1999 albums Albums produced by Jon Brion Warner Records albums