I Wanna Go Backwards

I Wanna Go Backwards is a Robyn Hitchcock box set released in 2007 on Yep Roc Records. The set contains reissues of three of Hitchcock's albums, each with bonus tracks, and also a two-disc rarities set, While Thatcher Mauled Britain. The set consists of five CDs, and was also released as a limited edition of eight vinyl LPs.

Disc 1 — Black Snake Dîamond Röle
The first disc of the set consists of Hitchcock's first album, Black Snake Dîamond Röle, originally released in 1981. Tracks 1-10 comprise the original album, and tracks 11-18 are bonus tracks.


 * 1) "The Man Who Invented Himself"
 * 2) "Brenda's Iron Sledge"
 * 3) "Do Policemen Sing?"
 * 4) "The Lizard"
 * 5) "Meat"
 * 6) "Acid Bird"
 * 7) "I Watch The Cars"
 * 8) "Out of the Picture"
 * 9) "City of Shame"
 * 10) "Love"
 * 11) "All I Wanna Do is Fall in Love"
 * 12) "A Skull, a Suitcase & a Long Red Bottle of Wine"
 * 13) "It Was The Night"
 * 14) "I Watch The Cars No. 2"
 * 15) "Give Me a Spanner Ralph"
 * 16) "It's a Mystic Trip"
 * 17) "Grooving On a Inner Plane"
 * 18) "Happy The Golden Prince"

Disc 2 — I Often Dream of Trains
The second disc contains Hitchcock's third album, I Often Dream of Trains, originally released in 1984. Tracks 1-14 comprise the original album, and tracks 15-24 are bonus tracks.


 * 1) "Nocturne (prelude)"
 * 2) "Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl"
 * 3) "Cathedral"
 * 4) "Uncorrected Personality Traits"
 * 5) "Sounds Great When You're Dead"
 * 6) "Flavour of Light"
 * 7) "Ye Sleeping Nights of Jesus"
 * 8) "This Could Be The Day"
 * 9) "Trams of Old London"
 * 10) "Furry Green Atom Bowl"
 * 11) "Heart Full of Leaves"
 * 12) "Autumn Is Your Last Chance"
 * 13) "I Often Dream of Trains"
 * 14) "Nocturne (Demise)"
 * 15) "Winter Love"
 * 16) "The Bones in the Ground"
 * 17) "My Favourite Buildings"
 * 18) "I Used To Say I Love You"
 * 19) "Chant/Aether"
 * 20) "Heart Full of Leaves" (Alternate)
 * 21) "I Often Dream of Trains" (Demo)
 * 22) "Not Even a Nurse"
 * 23) "Slow Chant/That's Fantastic Mother Church"
 * 24) "Traveller's Fare"

Disc 3 — Eye
The third disc contains Hitchcock's 1990 album, Eye. Tracks 1-17 comprise the original CD version of the album, and tracks 18-21 are bonus tracks. The original CD release also contained a track called "College of Ice", which is instead included on disc 5 of I Wanna Go Backwards.


 * 1) "Cynthia Mask"
 * 2) "Certainly Cliquot"
 * 3) "Queen Elvis"
 * 4) "Flesh Cartoons"
 * 5) "Chinese Water Python"
 * 6) "Executioner"
 * 7) "Linctus House"
 * 8) "Sweet Ghost of Light"
 * 9) "Transparent Lover"
 * 10) "Beautiful Girl"
 * 11) "Clean Steve"
 * 12) "Raining Twilight Coast"
 * 13) "Agony of Pleasure"
 * 14) "Glass Hotel"
 * 15) "Satellite"
 * 16) "Aquarium"
 * 17) "Queen Elvis II"
 * 18) "Century"
 * 19) "Shimmering Distant Love"
 * 20) "Lovers Turn to Skulls"
 * 21) "The Beauty of Earl's Court"

Disc 4 — While Thatcher Mauled Britain
Disc 4 is a rarities disc compiled for this set.


 * 1) "She Reached for a Light"
 * 2) "August Hair"
 * 3) "Take Your Knife Out Of My Back"
 * 4) "Fiend Before The Shrine"
 * 5) "Raymond Chandler Evening"
 * 6) "Birdshead"
 * 7) "Victorian Squid"
 * 8) "You've Got"
 * 9) "Captain Dry"
 * 10) "Raining Twilight Coast" (Demo)
 * 11) "Point It at Gran"
 * 12) "Vegetable Friend"
 * 13) "Flesh Number 1"
 * 14) "Surgery"
 * 15) "I Got a Message For You"
 * 16) "If I Could Look"
 * 17) "Parachutes & Jellyfish"
 * 18) "Queen Elvis" (Demo)
 * 19) "Nothing"
 * 20) "Stranded in the Future"
 * 21) "Melting Arthur"
 * 22) "The Abandoned Brain"
 * 23) "You're So Repulsive"
 * 24) "Opiatrescence"

Disc 5 — While Thatcher Mauled Britain
Disc 5 is a second disc of rarities compiled for this set.


 * 1) "September Cones"
 * 2) "Lovely Golden Villains"
 * 3) "Dr Sticky" (live)
 * 4) "Toadboy"
 * 5) "Trash"
 * 6) "Pit of Souls" (Country Version)
 * 7) "Mr Deadly"
 * 8) "Let There Be More Darkness"
 * 9) "Listening To The Higsons"
 * 10) "College of Ice"
 * 11) "My Favourite Buildings" (Demo)
 * 12) "Lightplug"
 * 13) "Sleeping Knights of Jesus" (Demo)
 * 14) "Insect Mother"
 * 15) "I Wanna Go Backwards"