But then cover versions were always one of the band’s strong suits, from Hitchcock’s intense reading of John Lennon’s “Cold Turkey” on Can of Bees to his hilarious ravings on Portland Arms‘ “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin.” Also of historic interest are two Syd Barrett numbers: “Vegetable Man” on a British maxi-single (also included on the Canadian Attic issue of Underwater Moonlight) and “Astronomy Domine” on Two Halves for the Price of One. That same year (1979), the Soft Boys recorded an uncharacteristic all-acoustic live tape - later sold by mail to buyers of Invisible Hits as Live at the Portland Arms and subsequently reissued and generally distributed on disc - which contains the most bizarre assortment of cover versions imaginable. (The album’s second reissue - like the 1992 Rykodisc edition - is somewhat revised from the original, adding “Anglepoise Lamp” from a 1978 single and other tracks.) He got off a few good ones on A Can of Bees, by which time guitarist Kimberly Rew had joined the band, but the rest declines disappointingly into grating medium-metal power pop.
Wading Through a Ventilator shows a promising weirdness that sets it apart from what most everyone else was doing in 1977, but reveals singer/guitarist Robyn Hitchcock as a still-embryonic songwriter. Some called it the start of a psychedelic revival the Soft Boys’ verve and wild-eyed sincerity made it more of a post-psychedelic awakening. From Cambridge they came, in 1976: a brilliant songwriter leading a two-guitar band that revered the Byrds, the Beatles and, most of all, Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd.