Jewels for Sophia

AMG Review of Jewels for Sophia

Denise Sullivan
All Music Guide

The slight failure of Robyn Hitchcock's Jewels for Sophia is by no means the fault of his songs -- they are as tuneful and ridiculous as ever. But after his close to the bone Moss Elixir, Hitchcock's regressed into goofiness, hiding behind a noisy band on some tracks. Compadre Tim Keegan on guitar and producers Jon Brion and Pat Collier come up with the best work like the techno/folk "Dark Princess" and the acoustic, Dylanesque "You've Got a Sweet Mouth on You, Baby." The jangling "Sally Was a Legend" reunites Hitchcock with ex-Soft Boy Kimberly Rew on guitar. Yet the ramshackle inanity of "Viva! Sea Tac" and "Elizabeth Jade," provided by Peter Buck, three-fourths of the Young Fresh Fellows, and a recording crew in Seattle, are silly self-parody. Conversely, the gentle "I Feel Beautiful" with Grant Lee Phillips on harmony and the bonus song, "Don't Talk to Me About Gene Hackman," are the kinds of spare composition at which Hitchcock has come to master.