I mistakenly read the blurb for this album as being the work of a Scottish Drunk Poet instead of Scottish Punk Poet although, on balance, either label would probably suffice.
Jock Scot may not have been intoxicated when this LP was recorded (although this is open to doubt) but his lack of inhibition suggests many were penned while under the influence of booze or pills.
Maybe this is why it took so long for the poems he performed in pubs or at gigs to get recorded for posterity.
This cult album was originally released on Postcard Records in 1997 and has long been out of print since. Its overdue re-release coincides with a biographical film by the improbably named Robert Rubbish which features interviews with Shane MacGowan, Suggs, Pete Docherty and others.
Born in Musselburgh, Scot drifted onto the late 1970s UK pub-rock and Punk scene. As someone who has worked in jobs ranging from potato-picker to librarian, he was clearly never cut out for the nine-to-five routine
After hitting it off with Ian Dury, he fell in with other artists on the Stiff Records roster and hung out with The Clash and Vivian Stanshall. More recently, names like British Sea Power, Irvine Welch and The Libertines have expressed admiration for his caustic wit and the uncompromising honesty of his work.
The raging fervour of the man is immediately evident on track one - Easy To Write. This is a hate letter to a woman whose indifference has shattered his confidence "the whole scenario is tragic, must be the company I haven't been keeping" he concludes bitterly.
|
Odes to low-life include Just Another Fucked Up Little Druggy and There's A Hole In My Daddy's Arm (where all the money goes) which makes an inebriated nod to John Prine's Sam Stone.
More humourously, Good God, is a paean to Ronnie Wood's god-like status; a song-poem combining Scot's twin obsessions : "religious terrorism and those who display a certain technical facility on the electrical guitar".
Scot certainly has a way with words although makes no claim to being a romantic lyricist. Hence, A Certain Beauty is introduced as "another turd from the sewer of my mind".
The rawness and force of his lines are thrown into relief by the jagged arrangements of Davey Henderson. Some of the Beefheart-inspired music, played by Henderson's band The Nectarine No.9, means that a few songs are more rock than poetry. White Cars Passing By and Nuts are two prime examples.
Going Off Someone even includes a backing chorus which sounds a bit tacky.
Fortunately, most of the 18 tracks are defined by Jock's broad Scottish accent so the intensity and unfiltered venom of his words can speak to a whole new generation.
|
