7/6/2023 0 Comments Mischief makers amazon![]() ![]() These two discs aren't for everyone, but Jazz Butcher fans should revel in the collected delights. Fish was a daredevil as a songwriter, a fearless performer, and a dynamic bandleader, and even his goofs are as compelling as most people's hits. The next two discs swing from vine to vine like drunken monkeys, grabbing up horrorbilly ("Death Dentist"), smooth tango ballads ("South America"), heartbreaking electric piano ballads ("Mersey"), silly dance pop ("Excellent"), apocalyptic campfire songs ("Big Old Wind"), raging guitar rock ("Rebecca Wants Her Bike Back"), and bedroom demos, of which there are quite a few. Apart from a few early singles like 1983's brilliantly perky Suicide-rip "Southern Mark Smith," most of the first disc is made up of extended mixes of some of their finest pop moments, like the absolutely gorgeous ballads "Angels" and "Girl Go," the big pop/rocker "New Invention," the jangle pop treat "Sweetwater," and the raging punk kiss of "Sixteen Years." As one might expect, it isn't the most coherent listening experience. It's made up of tracks recorded between 19 by various incarnations of the group and it's a marvelous mess. Ragtime jazz, western waltzes, twisted cabaret crooning, gentlemanly rapping - almost anything was fair game, as 2021's four-disc collection Dr Cholmondley Repents: A-Sides, B-Sides and Seasides proves. While their singles and albums were mostly made up of witty and thoughtful guitar pop, it was anyone's guess where they might travel once out of the spotlight. Where things got weird was on the band's singles - more specifically the B-sides - as well as compilation appearances and one-offs. Most of their albums hold together thematically and musically, standing as some of the best music made anywhere during the '80s and '90s. Part of being a fan of the Jazz Butcher is reveling in the surprises Pat Fish and his band of merry mischief makers dole out like favors at a children's birthday party.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |