Even before putting this CD into the player, the first thing that one notices is that all of the song titles are in Danish – unusual as Robin Taylor’s titles are normally in English. The reason for this is that this CD is actually what should have been Robin’s recording debut back in 1985 when he was assisted by Jan Fischer. For whatever reason the songs never saw the light of day and it was only 20 years later that Robin revisited the tapes, cleaned them up with new technology and finally made the music available. This is quite an unusual album in many ways, as Robin appears to be seeking a style and isn’t yet sure with this on what he actually wants to do. The result is an album that while interesting actually is fairly disjointed and somehow comes across as being less for that. This is a real shame as there are actually some really good songs here, showcasing just too many styles.

My favourite is probably the most unusual, Finanslovforslag which features Robin and Jan on vocals, using them as an instrument and then treating them almost as musical drones. I have returned to this song a number of times and have decided that it is one of my favourites from Robin’s many, just not sure why!! This is an album only for the completist, yet it has been released primarily for those fans who wish to have everything that Robin has been involved with and to see where he came from, and for those this is indispensible. But if you have yet to hear albums by Robin then I suggest you start elsewhere.

Robin Taylor's Universe