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Rembrandt Pussyhorse

 
Album Review: Rembrandt Pussyhorse
 

  • Artist: Butthole Surfers
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1986
  • Total Time: 49:10
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Everything seems to start almost normally on Pussyhorse with "Creep in the Cellar," even with the rather gone violin line -- Haynes is intelligible, the piano part is quiet serene. Then again, Haynes is talking about the creep in question doing things like taking off his skin, so clearly all is still at least somewhat tweaked in Surferland. The rest of the album makes that pretty clear; if not quite as strong as Psychic...Powerless, Pussyhorse is still a strong slice of homegrown art/psychedelia gone to a murky hell. Gentler songs like "Sea Ferring" still have a distinct queasiness to them, its sea chanty feeling undercut by the nagging bassline and Haynes' yelps. When the group goes totally nuts, as on a drum-blasting, squiggly voiced cover of the Guess Who's "American Woman" that makes the later Lenny Kravitz version seem like the redundant slice of nostalgia it is, no prisoners are taken. "Perry" is another definite nutter, with Haynes or somebody talking about this and that to his "baby" over a slow, organ-heavy groove. This said, the trick about Pussyhorse, and arguably why it's slightly lesser than Psychic...Powerless, is its overall subtlety in comparison. Things are more dark and gloomy throughout, downright gothic, even, with the organ start and whispery lyrics of "Strangers Die Everyday" being a good example. Leary keeps his playing low and strange throughout, fitting in with new bassist Pinkus rather well as a result. Get past the slight surprise of not always hearing the Surfers going near-all out most of the time, though, and Pussyhorse is still mighty fine, whether talking about the drony guitar weirdness opening "Whirling Hall of Knives" or the echo-treated reprise of "In the Cellar." CD versions of Pussyhorse conveniently include the Cream Corn From the Socket of Davis EP. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Creep in the Cellar Butthole Surfers (2:05)
Sea Ferring Butthole Surfers (3:59)
American Woman Butthole Surfers (5:32)
Waiting for Jimmy to Kick Butthole Surfers (2:20)
Strangers Die Everyday Butthole Surfers (3:09)
Perry Butthole Surfers (3:31)
Whirling Hall of Knives Butthole Surfers (4:44)
Mark Say Alright Butthole Surfers (4:07)
In the Cellar Butthole Surfers (3:18)
Moving to Florida Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers (4:32)
Comb Butthole Surfers (4:57)
TP Parter Butthole Surfers (4:20)
Tornadoes Butthole Surfers (2:36)

Credits

Butthole Surfers (Main Performer), Paul Leary (Group Member)
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Wikipedia: Rembrandt Pussyhorse
Top
Rembrandt Pussyhorse
Rembrandt Pussyhorse cover
Studio album by Butthole Surfers
Released April 18, 1986 (US)
1986 (EUR)
Recorded 1984-1985
Genre Punk, experimental rock
Length 32:48
Label Touch and Go (US)
Red Rhino Europe (EUR)
Producer Butthole Surfers
Professional reviews
Butthole Surfers chronology
Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis
(1985)
Rembrandt Pussyhorse
(1986)
Blind Eye Sees All
(1986)
Back cover
Back cover
Alternate cover
European cover
European cover

Rembrandt Pussyhorse is the second full-length studio album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in April 1986. All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers, except "American Woman", which was written by Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, and Garry Peterson of The Guess Who, and "Perry", which borrows the tune from the theme music to the old Perry Mason TV show starring Raymond Burr.

The album was originally released on Touch and Go, and was reissued on Latino Buggerveil in 1999. Both Touch and Go & Latino Buggerveil's CD versions of the album include 1985's Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis EP.

Contents

Music

Rembrandt Pussyhorse is one of the most experimental releases in the Surfers' considerably experimental catalog. Making heavy use of in-studio tape editing and sound modulation, the album adds piano, organ, and violin, amongst other sounds, to the Surfers' then-usual battery of electric guitar, bass, and dual drummers. According to guitarist Paul Leary and lead vocalist Gibby Haynes, the Surfers were a four-piece for most of these sessions, with Leary playing the majority of the bass lines.

However, not all of the new instrumentation was performed by the band. The piano on "Creep in the Cellar" and the organ on "Perry" were played by the recording studio's owner, who offered free studio time in exchange for being included on the album. "Creep..."'s piano part was written by Haynes, though.

Also of note is the violin heard on "Creep in the Cellar." This was the result of the Surfers purchasing a used 16-track tape, on which a country & western band had previously recorded. Upon playing their mix of "Creep in the Cellar," the band discovered they had inadvertently kept one of the country band's channels, which contained a backwards violin track. Liking the way it worked with the song, they opted to keep it. They were also too tired to care about editing it out.

Finally, the growls on "Mark Says Alright" are from a pit bull that the band owned at the time, named Mark Farner.[1]

Background

Drummer King Coffey said that Rembrandt Pussyhorse was originally intended as an EP, but eventually evolved into a full-length album. Recording took place over a number of months and in a handful of studios (primarily one in San Antonio, Texas), so as to fit into the band's then-grueling touring schedule. Most of the songs were recorded on 16-track equipment.[2]

The album was finished prior to 1985's Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis, and, according to Coffey, was primarily recorded in 1984, approximately four months after the sessions for Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac. Like its predecessor, this album was also originally intended for release on Alternative Tentacles, though with a different mix, song selection, and title (Rembrandt Pussy Horse). However, after delaying for nearly a year, the label refused to publish it. Though it eventually surfaced on Touch and Go, its release was further delayed when the band opted to record two new songs to replace "To Parter" and "Tornadoes," rather than recycle them after their inclusion on the Cream Corn... EP.[3][4] Outtakes from those sessions can be found on 2002's Humpty Dumpty LSD.

Track listing

All songs written by the Butthole Surfers, except where noted.

Side 1

  1. "Creep in the Cellar" – 2:05
  2. "Sea Ferring" – 4:00
  3. "American Woman" (Bachman, Cummings, Kale, Peterson) – 5:33
  4. "Waiting for Jimmy to Kick" – 2:21
  5. "Strangers Die Everyday" – 3:08

Side 2

  1. "Perry" – 3:32
  2. "Whirling Hall of Knives" – 4:44
  3. "Mark Says Alright" – 4:08
  4. "In the Cellar" – 3:18

US CD reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Moving to Florida" – 4:32
  2. "Comb" – 4:57
  3. "To Parter" – 4:20
  4. "Tornadoes" – 2:36

Personnel

References


 
 
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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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