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WORTHLESS BASTARD ROCK
Tracklist: Ticket to Heaven; My Brother There; Singing Life; Perfect Love; She Called the Cops; This Time Baby I Don't Know; Work On It; Demain Peut-etre; New Age Winners; The Last Goodbye.
John Butler may be known to at least some of you as the singer and guitarist with the UK based band Diesel Park West.
Formed around 1987, DPW had a sound that crossed a bridge between 60's style British Rock music and the American West Coast sound, and when they released their debut album 'Shakespeare Alabama' in 1989 they did so to much acclaim. However, despite putting together several more top quality albums in the early nineties, their label Food Records (a subsidiary of corporate giant EMI) failed to give the band the promotion and support they rightly deserved and ultimately band and label parted company.
Although this proved not to be the end of the line for DPW the lack of backing did apparently bring things to a temporary halt for a while and this presumably gave John Butler the chance to undertake a solo
project. He released his first solo album 'The Loyal Serpent' through Chrysalis in 1997 - he is now back once more, this time with Mystic, to bring us the humorously titled 'Worthless Bastard Rock'.
This album is very much a singer / songwriter affair and while, not surprisingly, there is something of the old DPW style to be found here, one can also hear traces of the likes of Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan and the
E-Street Band. Irrespective of this however, it is John's individual talent that shines through right from the very start.
John has written all the songs as well as producing the album and since no other musicians are credited on the sleeve notes I assume he is also responsible for playing all the parts as well.
The songs are presented pretty much in an unplugged format; with acoustic guitar, piano, harmonica and drums - although there are some tracks which do use a fuller electric guitar sound.
The album starts with 'Ticket to Heaven' and I was immediately struck by this track.
The vocals are very strong and the delivery is very similar to Bob Dylan in one of his more tuneful phases. Couple this with acoustic guitar, gentle drumming and light piano, add in some sympathetic harmonica work and the end result is perhaps not too far removed from The Travelling Wilburys.
'My Brother There' continues in a similar vein but makes more obvious utilisation of the piano. The track is a little more down tempo than the opener but comes across well all the same. In contrast
'Singing Life' is much slower and consists only of the vocal line with a gentle acoustic guitar backing.
At a pinch I would say this is comparable to some of John Bon Jovi's work, but the singing is stronger and with a harder edge.
The pace picks up a again with the excellent 'Perfect Love', another of my favourite tracks. The drumming comes far more obviously into the foreground here and the singing is very well delivered. The
track also has a very catchy chorus that is hard to ignore, but thankfully this does not come at the cost of becoming annoying!
Of all the tracks featured 'She Called the Cops' is probably one of the ones furthest removed from the predominantly acoustic performing style.
Guitar work is far more raucous here making for a fuller sound further aided by the inclusion of backing vocals. The general nature of the track is somewhat quirky at times and while not fundamentally flawed this is probably my least favourite song on the album.
With 'This Time Baby I Don't Know' we are back with a strong Dylan feel, as on the opening piece. The opening features stirring harmonica playing which continues throughout the track, and the soft lilting edge to the
vocals give the song a air of melancholy that really adds to its appeal.
'Work On It' is the second track with the more full on electric sound and the track leans heavily towards a more blues oriented style.
The drum work provides a strong powerhouse to drive the song forward and guitar and electronic keyboard work give this one added flavour.
Another delightful diversion comes with 'Demain Peut-etre', a really nice song on which all the lyrics are sung in French.
The vocals are delivered against a confident piano and acoustic backdrop, and superb orchestration in the latter stages makes for a very strong combination ... full marks again on this one.
'New Age Winners' starts slowly with the now familiar mix of vocals and acoustic guitar but after the first first sung section the drums kick in and the tempo picks up with the addition of a much more upbeat
electric guitar sound. This is another very catchy number guaranteed to get the toes tapping and have you singing along!
Quite aptly the final track to be featured is 'The Last Goodbye', which opens with a hazy downbeat piano / vocal combination. The mood of this song stays mellow throughout and after the energy of some of the
previous pieces this makes an ideal end piece to what has proved to be a most enjoyable experience.
Strong vocal content and good instrumental work make this a great album to play whether you want to do some serious listening or if you simply want to create a warm relaxing ambiance.
Anyone who is or was a fan of DPW is pretty well certain to find what John has done here appealing, while for the rest, let me say that this is a very creditable performance and will strike a chord if you enjoy 'unplugged' rock music.
Simon 12th February 2001
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