Since the mid-1980s, Pat Fish has been releasing records under various iterations of The Jazz Butcher name, crafting witty, often tender VU-inspired guitar pop alongside a rotating crew of collaborators. That lineup has included Bauhaus/Love & Rockets bassist David J, members of The Woodentops, and Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom.
For years, the bulk of his discography remained out of print, but Fire Records has been steadily correcting that with new box set reissues. This year saw the release of The Wasted Years, which gathers the studio albums he made for Glass Records with what many fans regard as the definitive lineup—The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy—featuring David J and guitarist Max Eider. Eider’s Wes Montgomery-influenced style genuinely brought a jazz element to the band’s sound. While his debut, In Bath of Bacon, feels a bit too DIY for its own good, everything clicked once he teamed up with producer John A Rivers (Felt, Love & Rockets). The three records they made together—A Scandal in Bohemia, Sex & Travel, and Distressed Gentlefolk—boast playful arrangements and lyrics that are occasionally eccentric but often carry a politically and socially conscious edge. Sex & Travel stands out as particularly strong.
That Conspiracy lineup disbanded alongside Glass Records (and its American counterpart, Big Time) around 1987, leading Pat to sign with Creation. The Violent Years, arriving March 9, compiles the first four Jazz Butcher records on Creation, where Pat’s lyrics grew slightly more serious and his sound leaned further into VU-style noise. 1988’s Fischcotheque might be my personal favorite Jazz Butcher album, featuring two of his finest songs: “The Next Move Sideways” and “Suzie” (the latter with Sonic Boom on feedback). Also included are 1989’s Big Planet Scary Planet (a reunion with Conspiracy producer John A Rivers), 1990’s Cult of the Basement (arguably his most acclaimed Creation LP), and 1991’s Condition Blue, which delivered his closest brush with a US alt-rock hit in “Shirley MacLaine.”
While I’m thrilled to see Pat’s albums back in circulation, both box sets feel like a slight missed opportunity. As was common back then, The Jazz Butcher released EPs and non-LP singles, some of which contained his most beloved tracks. (His superb US introduction, Bloody Nonsense, was roughly half songs that never appeared on studio albums.) So longtime fans hoping for “Drink,” “JB Vs PM,” “The Devil is My Friend,” or the original version of “Southern Mark Smith” will be disappointed. Perhaps those will surface on a third box set, along with his final two Creation albums. We’ll have to wait and see.
You can listen to The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy’s A Scandal in Bohemia below:
