Jammy Smears - Ivor Cutler > Reviews > A suitable case for investigation

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it rate alongside the competition	Outstanding
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Always entertaining, sometimes hilarious
Disadvantages:	No real disadvantages

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Ivor Cutler's third album for Virgin, originally released on vinyl in 1976, continues his highly idiosyncratic trawl through life with the usual mixture of tall tales, some presented as unaccompanied prose speech, others sung (although the word is used advisedly) with piano or harmonium.

It's a long way from the hippie Virgin fare of that era - only his labelmate Robert Wyatt (with whom Cutler collaborated on "Rock Bottom") comes remotely close. Humorists like Spike Milligan and Vivian Stanshall are far more accurate reference points.

Ever the miniaturist, Cutler crams over thirty vignettes into the album. The perpetual "Life in a Scotch Sitting Room" has two more extracts included here, both of which are wonderfully bizarre evocations of a childhood of porridge, country walks and learning about the development of Glasgow's sewage system.

Of the songs, "Rubber Toy", where Cutler parodies his Jewish upbringing with a Topol-style wail, and "Everybody Got", with its single-entendre lyric about private parts, are the most satisfying in their humour and indeed in the actual quality of the songwriting - eat your heart out Cole Porter!

The funniest of the prose stories are "Big Jim" and "The Surly Buddy", two of the strangest accounts of village life you're ever likely to encounter. With friends like these...

Cutler's tracks are supplemented by a few contributions from Phyllis April King. She shares Cutler's fixations with minutiae and eccentric human behaviour and, although not quite as cutting as the old master, can certainly spin a decent yarn. The last, and longest track, "The Wasted Call" is a prime example, tying you in knots with its twisted logic.

If your tastes in humour and music are adventurous, you will not be disappointed here.