|
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dandruff is good for you., 16 May 2004
In an age where epithets such as "visionary", "genius" and "unique" are bandied about as cheap and undeserving labels to whatever media studies graduate laptop project makes Dazed and Confused's cover this month - it is always rewarding to accidentally chance upon something that, whilst clearly not going to be everyone's cup of tea, actually deserves such adjectives.I saw this CD in a shop in Bath and I liked the simple cover. I liked the title and also I liked the fact that there were 49 songs in 45 minutes on it. And it was by a man called Ivor. Ivor Cutler, accompanied with a creaky harmonium, proceeds to reel off random observations and harrowing sparrow tales in a voice that reminds me of the old Scottish soldier on Dads Army and also that guy who used to narrate Ivor The Engine. Some of the "songs" are barely 10 seconds long - just a few words with no particular thread of logic to them and that is how it should be. Some of the epic (over a minute long!)tracks such as "Baby Sits" can make you weep or laugh depending on the mood you're in at the time. You can stick this CD into your player, press Random and enjoy bizarre Scottish ruminations on subjects as diverse as walking to a farm ("Walking To A Farm"), barrels of nails ("Barrels of Nails") and the singer's sister's sexual adventures at home ("Three Sisters"). If you like Vivian Stanshall, Spike Milligan or even Chris Morris, get this CD - I just played it to a friend of mine who even as we speak is saying "she takes it in the vegetables" over and over again to himself. There's very little else out there like this - put the nicely conditioned and shampooed blandness of your cd collection behind you, embrace "Dandruff" - it makes your head itch in a nice way!
|