Written by: Alex Green
Pre-Order The Wasted Years From Fire Records
Fire Records has announced they will be releasing The Jazz Butcher’s The Wasted Years this fall.
Due out October 20, the staggering 41-track collection contains the legendary band’s first four efforts: In Bath Of Bacon, A Scandal In Bohemia, Sex And Travel and Distressed Gentlefolk. Remastered by Brian Pyle, the 4-CD set comes in a bookback format with a readable spine.
Formed in Oxford in 1982, the Jazz Butcher (aka Pat Fish) is one of the most literate, thoughtful and unreasonably gifted songwriters of the last fifty years.
And let’s talk about those songs: Kittens pop up (“Love Kittens”) pin-ups are conjured to make a metaphorical point (“Just Like Bettie Page”) slain Prime Ministers are toasted (“Olof Palme”) dead movie stars are brought back to life (“Peter Lorre”) songs are covered (“Roadrunner,” “Sweet Jane”) and hearts are blasted asunder under the watchful eye of a knowing ballad (“City Of Night”) and an aching elegy (“Angels”).
But that doesn’t even scratch the surface, because we haven’t said anything about the zombies and big old winds and Hungarian love songs and ghosts and penguins and girls who keep goldfish and girls on drugs and girls that say yes and girls that go and never come back.
It’s a whole universe of things that the Jazz Butcher sings about. And Fish is not only an animist, a humorist and a poet, he’s an observational genius who knows that you can put into a pop song whatever you choose. Alongside his trusty guitarist (the marvelous Max Eider) and a revolving cast of musicians—some from Bauhaus, one from The Woodentops, a few from The Blue Aeroplanes, to name a few—The Butcher has a body of work that is worthy of being mentioned in the same hallowed halls as any great you choose.
The Wasted Years Track Listing:
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1.
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Gloop Jiving
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2.
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Jazz Butcher Theme
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3.
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Partytime
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4.
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Bigfoot Motel
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5.
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Sex Engine Thing
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6.
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Chinatown
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7.
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Zombie Love
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8.
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Grey Flanellette
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9.
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La Mer
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10.
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Poisoned By Food
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11.
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Love Kittens
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12.
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Bath Of Bacon
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13.
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Girls Who Keep Goldfish
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14.
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Southern Mark Smith (Big Return)
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15.
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Real Men
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16.
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Soul Happy Hour
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17.
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I Need Meat
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18.
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Just Like Betty Page
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19.
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Marnie (Muscovite Mix)
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20.
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Caroline Wheeler’s Birthday Present
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21.
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Mind Like A Playgroup
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22.
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Girlfriend
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23.
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My Desert
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24.
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Big Saturday
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25.
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Holiday
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26.
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Red Pets
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27.
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Only A Rumour
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28.
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President Reagan’s Birthday Present
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29.
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What’s The Matter, Boy?
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30.
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Walk With The Devil
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31.
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Down The Drain
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32.
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Falling In Love
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33.
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Big Bad Thing
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34.
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Still In The Kitchen
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35.
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Hungarian Love Song
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36.
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The New World
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37.
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Who Loves You Now
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38.
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Domestic Animal
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39.
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Buffalo
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40.
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Nothing Special
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41.
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Angels
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Upcoming tour dates:
Upcoming live shows:
22nd September – London, The Islington 1 Tolpuddle Street (solo)
20th October – Glasgow, Broadcast (with Quartet)
21st October – Aberdeen, Krakatoa (with Quartet)
