Robyn Hitchcock's 1984 album I Often Dream of Trains expands upon the introspective leanings of 1981's Black Snake Diamond Role while further developing his signature lyrical imagery and spare, ominous melodies on this mostly acoustic album. Here Robyn's sharp humor ("Uncorrected Personality Traits") sits comfortably alongside some of his most intimate ballads ("Trams of Old London," "Cathedral"). On Trains the spare arrangements crack the Hitchcockian world wide open allowing for a never-before-glimpsed portrait of the artist in his most artistically exposed incarnation to date.

"For 1983 I wanted to see what happened if I stopped playing gigs, making records, or having any attempt at a career whatsoever. Whatever music I made was purely for myself, without trying to speak the language of the day. The result was I Often Dream of Trains."