Published: Creem Magazine
(USA)
July, 1992
Credit:
Mark J. Petracca
I must confess to taking a complete sabbatical from the Jazz Butcher's
music over the past couple years. In fact, I haven't checked in wiih lead
Butcher Pat Fish's sonic noodlings since 1988's excellent, yet demented
Fishcotheque
. About the only thing I'd heard of late was bassist
Laurence O'Keefe
was working with English band
Levitation.
Well, the folks down at Sky in Atlanta have licensed this corker
from the British indie label
Creation Records. And what has elevated that
discerning label from the competition is certainly present here: guitars.
More specifically, the sound of many guitars. They shimmer and swirl
around, through, in and out of the JB's nine glorious tunes. At any
one moment, there may be six different folks employing a barrage of
six and 12- string instruments. And with stellar support from the
likes of
Alex Lee
(lead guitar) and
Joe Allen
(bass) from
Strangelove
and
Paul Mulreany
(drums) from the
The Blue Aeroplanes, Fish has assembled a dynamic
backing band. Old bandmate O'Keefe even shreds a lead guitar on "
Harlan
."
Pat's music (and vocals) reminds me of a cross between the Go-Betweens and
Robyn Hitchcock, only with more edge and the keen addition of
Alex Green
's
saxophones, which swoop and compliment the squall of guitar-invoked
melodies (instead of dominating them like they did on Fishcotheque.)
But, again, the real thrill is the guitars, employed here like a garrote:
clean, and dangerously effective. Witness their delicate nature as they
cascade and slice on the mid-tempo "Harlan" or the beautiful instrumental
ballad "
Monkeyface
." The latter could be soundtrack music for some film
noir from France circa 1964, maybe even a deliberate play on Slaughter
on Tenth Avenue. The tone is all moody and intriguing with its
vocal-sample and spoken-word interplay and the cer accordjan appergio
as the song builds to its conclusion. But the real smoker in the single
"
She's A Yo-Yo
" with its rip-roaring bouncy guitar tweaked with a proper dollop
of feedback. This--and the rest of the CD--is the kind of blue
condition one sees in the high intensity of a fire.
Condition Blue
For all the pain and crap from which this record was made, the actual sessions were a gigantic and wonderful party. This was warmly received by The Outside World, less popular among those who counted themselves JBC afficionados. This IS the sound of me having fun, and getting me to do that in those dark days of mid-1991 was no small job.
creation_records, sky_records
LP;CD
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