Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift: Sweet Home Quarantine Week 4-Bob Dylan

The one and only Bob Dylan.

Here’s a late review of Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift’s all-Bob Dylan edition of “Sweet Home Quarantine,” which happened on April 8, 2020. This was the first “Sweet Home Quarantine” show that I tuned into. I enjoyed it a lot, so I’ve been a somewhat regular viewer since then. I had planned to see Robyn at the Turf Club back in April, but since that show was canceled, “Sweet Home Quarantine” has been giving me my Robyn fix. 

Because Dylan is such a strong influence on Robyn’s work, it seemed natural to do an all-Dylan show. The show opened with two of Bob’s best songs: “Shelter from the Storm,” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” John Prine had passed away just the day before, and Robyn sang Prine’s song “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.” 

Emma had a chance to show off her terrific voice on “Simple Twist of Fate.” It’s such a lovely and haunting song, and Emma gave it just the right touch. Robyn followed with his favorite Dylan song, “Visions of Johanna,” which he has often sung in concert. It’s always fun to hear Robyn’s version of this great tune. The next song was “I’m Not There,” a Dylan song from 1967 that wasn’t officially released until 2007.

Robyn and Emma harmonized together nicely on “Lay Lady, Lay,” “Just Like a Woman,” and “Open the Door, Richard.” Their voices blend very well together. It’s also fun to see Robyn and Emma’s bantering relationship. She calls him “Hitchcock,” which I find quite funny, and reminds him to stop touching his face. In the first couple of “Sweet Home Quarantine” shows I watched, Emma was sharply in focus, while Robyn remained a little blurry, which seemed quite fitting to me. Robyn referred to his toy trolleybus, Terence, as a “bonsai trolleybus,” which I found hilarious.