The Jukebox Rebel

The idiosyncratic wonder that is Ivor Cutler delivered his third and final album for Virgin in September ’76 and for the third time there are several tracks by his regular kindred spirit, the ever-intriguing Phyllis King, the best of which, “The Wasted Call”, has the honour of closing the album, oddly and splendidly I might add. Between them there are 14 songs, 10 poems and 7 stories. The album is fairly unique in the Cutler story so far in that the piano is given much more prominence than usual, being the instrument of choice for the first half, before the trademark harmonium makes a welcome return in the second half. The Virgin years go down in history as the glory period which introduced the classic tales from a Scotch sitting room series. As with the preceding two LPs, there are two additions to the series here, although in true Ivor fashion he decides to label them “Life In A Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 2, Ep. 11” and “Life In A Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 2, Ep. 6”, seemingly for no other reason than to muddle our minds in line with his. Episode 11, the story of the cooped-up family out for walk, is a hoot at every turn. “we set off in a straggly line, hugging the wall to escape the worst of the effects of the fresh air”. Once in the country, the urbanites marvel at the Thistles and the patches of grass that surround them. And then – a fine picnic of square sliced bread and margarine. What an ideal day out.

Later, in Episode 6, Grandpa educates the children with the knowledge that “Scotland gets its brains from the herring”. His fishing catch of the day is deep fried in porridge batter for tea: “After supper, assuming the herring to have worked, we were asked questions. In Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, we had to know the principle parts of verbs. In geography, the five main glove manufacturing towns in the Midlands. And in history, the development of Glasgow's sewage system. There's nothing quite like a Scotch education. One is left with an irreparable debt. My head is full of irregular verbs still.” There aren’t many greater mavericks than Ivor Cutler – but Grandpa Cutler sounds like a candidate! For my tastes, it’s these whacky tales which have the greatest appeal – “The Surly Buddy”, a surreal tale about the cheerless hardship of miners from the valleys, and ”Big Jim”, an hilarious story in which Ivor stars as if struck by aspergers, devoid of empathy before a drowning man, are another two classics. Best of the songs is “A Wooden Tree”, an improbable tale about a pretty tree which invokes impromptu singing amongst all who gather around it. Unfortunately, there is no happy ending, but everyone makes the best of it: “along came an artist with paint on his brush, he painted the tree, and now it looks horrible, but we keep on singing because we are optimists”. Mr. Cutler, you have spoiled us with riches once again.

The Jukebox Rebel
05–May–2007

A1	[00:50] Ivor Cutler - Bicarbonate Of Chicken (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
A2	[00:22] Phyllis April King - Filcombe Cottage, Dorset (Phyllis King) Poetry
A3	[02:24] Ivor Cutler - Squeeze Bees (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
A4	[00:30] Ivor Cutler - The Turn (Ivor Cutler) Storytelling
A5	[03:54] Ivor Cutler - Life In A Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 2, Ep. 11 (Ivor Cutler) Storytelling
A6	[00:25] Phyllis April King - A Linnet (Phyllis King) Poetry
A7	[00:44] Ivor Cutler - Jumping And Pecking (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
A8	[00:46] Ivor Cutler - The Other Half (Ivor Cutler) Storytelling
A9	[02:10] Ivor Cutler - Beautiful Cosmos (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
A10	[00:40] Ivor Cutler - The Path (Ivor Cutler) Poetry
A11	[01:02] Ivor Cutler - Barabadabada (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
A12	[03:01] Ivor Cutler - Big Jim (Ivor Cutler) Storytelling
A13	[01:29] Ivor Cutler - In The Chestnut Tree (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
A14	[01:02] Phyllis April King - Dust (Phyllis King) Poetry
A15	[02:03] Ivor Cutler - Rubber Toy (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
A16	[00:08] Ivor Cutler - Fistyman (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
B1	[00:12] Ivor Cutler - Unepected Join (Ivor Cutler) Poetry
B2	[02:13] Ivor Cutler - A Wooden Tree (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
B3	[00:38] Ivor Cutler - When I Stand On An Open Cart (Ivor Cutler) Poetry
B4	[01:26] Ivor Cutler - High Is The Wind (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
B5	[04:16] Ivor Cutler - The Surly Buddy (Ivor Cutler) Storytelling
B6	[00:41] Ivor Cutler - Pearlywinged Fly (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
B7	[00:40] Ivor Cutler - Garden Path At Filcombe (Ivor Cutler) Poetry
B8	[01:34] Ivor Cutler - Paddington Town (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
B9	[00:18] Phyllis April King - Cage Of Small Birds (Phyllis King) Poetry
B10	[03:09] Ivor Cutler - Life In A Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 2, Ep. 6 (Ivor Cutler) Storytelling
B11	[00:23] Ivor Cutler - Irk (Ivor Cutler) Poetry
B12	[01:02] Ivor Cutler - Lemon Flower (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
B13	[00:47] Phyllis April King - Red Admiral (Phyllis King) Poetry
B14	[02:08] Ivor Cutler - Everybody Got (Ivor Cutler) Avant-Garde
B15	[04:26] Phyllis April King - The Wasted Call (Phyllis King) Storytelling

ratings by TJR