"Recording with a stable backup band, the Jazz Butcher here puts together a top-shelf diamond of a record that is filled with excellent, memorable songs.
The sound quality on this 1984 album is a big improvement over that of his prior release, In Bath of Bacon. The drivingly tuneful "Southern Mark Smith" and "Girlfriend" are in a ringing folk-pop style. "I Need Meat" is a jumpy, neo-rockabilly number. "Marnie" deftly mixes funk and ethnic influences. "My Desert" is essentially a sea chantey or campfire singalong with ironically downbeat lyrics. "Caroline Wheeler's Birthday Present" is a fuzzed-out hard rock parody with irreverently Dylan-esque "I Shall Be Free" style lyrics. "Just like Betty Page" is an uptempo, acoustic guitar based, top-tapping delight. And the wonderfully inventive "Real Men" utilizes a bizarre accompaniment of thudding drums, rumbling bass, and sparkling glockenspiel surrounding hilarious lyrics that attack macho
attitudes"(Allmusic). 2001 reissue.
Disc has a few faint marks when you look hard enough!
- 1 Southern Mark Smith (Big Return)
- 2 Real Men
- 3 Soul Happy Hour
- 4 I Need Meat
- 5 Just Like Betty Page
- 6 Marnie (Muscovite Mix)
- 7 Caroline Wheeler's Birthday Present
- 8 Mind Like A Playgroup
- 9 Girlfriend
- 10 My Desert