Customer Reviews

Glorious & Idiotic

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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As a long time Jazz Butcher fan, I found this Cd to bring a fresh spin to some oldies but goodies. It was wonderful to hear some of Max Eider's stuff as well. Pat Fish always delights me with his talent. I need to find Bath of Bacon and Sex and Travel. Oh when will they reissue the old stuff. I need to complete my collection. As a long time fan I so enjoy when ever JBC comes to town. Keep coming to San Francisco and release live albums since thats the only way we can get our hands on your music. Keep it coming. We love you Pat!

THE JAZZ BUTCHER CONSPIRACY Glorious and Idiotic (ROIR)

The jaw-dropping bids on eBay give some indication of the Jazz Butcher's proverbial cult following: a digital copy of 1982's A Scandal in Bohemia, something of a post-punk masterpiece ignored by the critics, recently sold for almost $200, and many of the out-of-print CDs earn triple-digit offers. Copyright hassles with the now defunct Glass Records, keepers of the Butcher's early catalog, have prevented re-releases of the most sought-after disks, while a 1996 compilation with many of the best old cuts is already out-of-print. Thus, ROIR's new Glorious and Idiotic, recorded live in Hamburg during the Butcher's recent tour (a reunion circuit with original guitarist Max Eider that had the Internet cultists buzzing), is less a standard concert disk than a way around the copyright trouble and a chance for fans to access some great rare material. The thirteen songs, most of them old Butcher mainstays, are crisp and intimate - a big improvement from the live Western Family CD released in 1993 - from the loungy chords of "Partytime" and "Just Like Betty Page," to the clean pop of "Rain" (and, why the hell not, the ubiquitous cover of the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner"). There's little new ground, but that's hardly the point, and fans will appreciate a chance to hear some vintage Jazz Butcher without giving their rent money to eBay. Newcomers, meanwhile, can sample the best of an obscure British artist whose talent, if not luck and timing, has been as formidable as any in the history of alternative rock.

The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy has FINALLY surfaced a la disc once more! Upon buying, I didn't know it was LIVE...I thought it was a greatest hits of mostly early days of the JBC. WOW! What a breath of fresh air (as long as you're not with Caroline Wheeler in the elevator with the fish). This is a MUST for lovers of JBC...the comments Pat Fish and Max Eider make during the show are much like the Live From Hamburg album from 1987... but they've grown older and more cynically beautiful since then! This is the best live disc they've made!

Absolutely an amazing record. Anyone who doesn't know too much about the Butcher should start with this one. And then if they can find it go back to the Glass & Creation days. Too bad it's so hard to find a lot of their earlier material. Fortunately, this has superb versions of many of their classics; Partytime, DRINK, Roadrunner, Old Snakey & more. Extremely well produced, especially for a live album. An album about drinking with many humorous critiques, merriness, & quirky insights. Pat Fish is absolutely FANTASTIC.

JBC has never yet made a five-star LP, and they probably never will, but that's no reason not to keep hoping. This live effort starts so well that its only challenge is to keep on building from the opening third...and it can't quite manage it. Who cares? It's great anyway. Best of all, it's acoustic, the JBC unglued and unplugged. The guitar work, especially on the quieter numbers, suggests the jazz work of Kenny Burrell.

I was also nicely surprised by the release and live quality of this CD. As a compulsive JB buyer, it was an Amazon "instabuy". It is great to see these boys release soemthing again after all this time, and it does not disappoint either. My favorites like Roadrunner and Big Foot Motel are in a styling groove.

Having said that, I find it a little depressing and irritating that the JB's extensive early works are not available any more. THis is a great album, but frankly, I don't think it has the energy and quirkyness of "Live In Hamburg" and I don't want to live in the past, but I remeber being totally enamoured with "Sex & Travel" and "The Gift Of Music". It is criminal that that work is no longer published.

Anyone out there hear that ? Anyone ?

Glorious and Idiotic share many of the early and brilliant Jazz Butcher songs also on the Bloody Nonsense compilation, now long out of print. The great guitar, and fantastically insightful lyrics make this a must-have for any lover of clever britpop. Let me say again, 'Must-have'.

Are these the same versions of Partytime, Drink, The Human Jungle, & Caroline Wheeler's Birthday Present as on "Draining the Glass"?