[Originally published in The Rocket, Seattle, September 1990]
Once again, Pat Fish proves he’s the penultimate modern pop eclectic. Continuing from where last year’s [1989] overlooked but outstanding Big Planet Scarey Planet left off, Cult of the Basement is THE JAZZ BUTCHER’s latest go-round and it’s one hell of a ride.
Cult opens with the spy-themey “The Basement,” a recurring theme at that. Then, with a curt “and you can dance” a la Madonna, Butchy delivers “She’s On Drugs,” which may or mayn’t be about America’s bullet-braed diva. Lest we believe the Jazz Butcher’s always got something wacky up his sleeve, there’s “Girl Go,” released earlier this year [1990] as a single (in the UK) and a quintessential take on JB’s patented guitar-heavy reverb ballads. “Pineapple Tuesday” is in the same mode, but hardly a c
opy.
As a guitarist he’s great, as a singer, supreme. But first and foremost, Fish is a songwriter second to none. And if the world were a fair place, he and his band would be everywhere in 1990 except the basement.
[…] many a Pacific Northwest JB fan), but also reviewed the album in local music magazine, The Rocket. [Click here for a reprint of that review.] Further standout tunes on Basement include “Girl Go,” “Turtle […]
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[…] (and even that’s been hard to find). And, while not 5The Jazz Butcher’s best album (I vote for Cult of the Basement or A Scandal in Bohemia), Bath of Bacon is worth checking out as a vital piece of the Butcher […]
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