Bobby Sichran Explained

Bobby Sichran (born Robert Lichtman; died February 2015)[1] was a Jewish-American alternative hip hop musician.[2] His music was often described as combining hip hop with several other musical genres, such as blues rock[3] and folk music. His fusion of these genres has led many critics to compare him to Beck,[3] and, in some cases, even say that he originated the fusion of folk and hip hop before Beck made it famous.[4] Others have compared him to Bob Dylan, but Sichran criticized such comparisons, saying that he would "never want [his] music to exist on comparisons to someone else."[5]

Early career

A native of Long Island, Sichran dropped out of Columbia University in the early 1990s, looking for a musical career. While doing so, he worked as a furniture mover for some time before getting his big break after knocking on the door of Public Enemy's studio.[6] After Hank Shocklee let him in at his request, Sichran ended up working as an apprentice engineer in their studio, and later played guitar on and produced Das EFX's debut album, Dead Serious.[7]

Solo career

On May 3, 1994, Sichran released his debut album, From a Sympathetical Hurricane, on Columbia Records. It was preceded by the single "Stray Dog."[5] Record executive David Kahne said with regard to the album that "Every time I listen to this record, I hear more stuff."[5] Nevertheless, the album was not promoted by Columbia,[4] and ended up being a commercial flop.[7] After the album was released, its title track was also released as a single. Billboard named this single a "pick" and wrote that it was "fueled with the raw rhythm sensibility of a hip-hop jam, and topped with a classic pop/rock melody and freewheeling instrumentation that is positively funky."[8] Sichran went on to release a 7" single in 1997 entitled "All the Psychotics in My Building" on Messenger Records, the B-side of which, "There's So Much You Could Love," appeared on "Wouldn't it Be Beautiful?", a 1999 Messenger compilation album.[6] He released a 12" in 1998 entitled "Smoke of the Ghetto", which was described as being a preview of an upcoming album of the same name; however, this album was never released.[9] He later helped compose the music for the musical Fetish, which was first performed at the theatre of Marymount Manhattan College Theater in 1998.[10] [11]

Sichran released his second studio album, Peddler in Babylon, in 2007.[12] According to the Columbia Spectator, Sichran conceived Peddler in Babylon as "a concept album about the modern American's crisis of faith".[13]

Reviews

The Calgary Herald gave From A Sympathetical Hurricane a B+ grade, writing that it "...won't lift you off your feet, but it will move you farther down the road with its cool, cool breeze at your back."[14] A review of its title track and single in Billboard described the track as "fueled with the raw rhythm sensibility of a hip-hop jam" and its instrumentation as "positively funky".[8] Robert Christgau wrote that there were only two good songs, or "choice cuts", on the album: its title track and "Don't Break My Heart, Kid".[15]

A review of Peddler in Babylon in the Jerusalem Post described it as "a heady meditation on spiritual exile that doesn't badger the listener with yiddishkeit, but clearly bears a Jewish soul."[16] In a less favorable review, Charles Ubaghs of Drowned in Sound gave the album a 4 out of 10 rating, writing that "It’s a nice effort, but that’s the problem with Peddler In Babylon: it’s nice, and nothing more."[12]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Read Meets the Spiel . Slate . 13 February 2015 . 11 April 2015 . Pesca, Mike. Mike Pesca.
  2. 26 November 1994. Hip-Hop Jumps Cultural Lines . Nelson, Havelock. Havelock Nelson (writer) . Billboard . 106 . 48 . 34, 44.
  3. Web site: Bobby Sichran . . 20 May 2014 . Levine, Robert.
  4. Web site: Brandon Kessler '96: Entrepreneur Works the Business Side of the Music Biz . . February 2000 . 21 May 2014 . Boss, Shira . While working at Sony he met Bobby Sichran, a former Columbia student and a Long Island singer who has been credited with starting the folk/hip hop fusion. "He'd had a Columbia Records release that got a lot of critical acclaim but was ignored by the record label. It wasn't promoted," Kessler says. They decided to release a single together, and so, with money he had saved from his jobs, Kessler launched Messenger Records during his senior year..
  5. Sichran Spins out 'Hurricane' for Columbia . . 26 March 1994 . 20 May 2014 . Flick, Larry.
  6. Web site: Bobby Sichran Biography . . 20 May 2014 . Swihart, Stanton.
  7. Web site: Singles . . November 1996 . 20 May 2014 . Aaron, Charles. Charles Aaron.
  8. 1994-07-02 . Flick . Larry . Larry Flick . Single Reviews . Billboard . 106 . 27 . 84.
  9. Singles . Billboard . 16 May 1998 . 20 May 2014 . Flick, Larry.
  10. Web site: Sex and Other Preoccupations . Dunning . Jennifer . Jennifer Dunning. 1998-12-22 . . en-US . 2017-08-08.
  11. Web site: Don't Let Go . Jowitt . Deborah. Deborah Jowitt . 1999-01-05 . . 2017-08-08.
  12. Web site: Album Review: Bobby Sichran - Peddler In Babylon . Ubaghs . Charles . 2006-12-22 . . en . 2017-09-20 . 2017-08-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170808035033/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/9069/reviews/1437503- . dead .
  13. Web site: Blues of Babylon . . 27 February 2007 . 20 June 2014 . De Vogel, Sasha.
  14. News: Recent Releases. 1994-08-28. Calgary Herald. ProQuest.
  15. Book: Christgau, Robert. Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Robert Christgau. 281. 2000-10-15. Macmillan Publishing. 9780312245603. en.
  16. Web site: Jewish Discs . https://web.archive.org/web/20160505011529/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-140793547.html . dead . 5 May 2016 . . 19 June 2007 . 10 April 2016 . Jacobson, Ben.