Our Review
Listening to The Butties 12 Greatest Carols is a strange experience for me. The Butties are an all-Beatles cover band, performing (according to their Web site) since 1983. Well, they don't look anything like The Beatles, but they surely have learned their licks. As I listened to their holiday offering, I was put in mind of the remarkable paintings of Guiseppe Arcimboldo I saw in the Louvre. All the way back in 1573, Arcimboldo had the bright idea of painting portraits of people's faces constructed entirely of fruits and vegetables. His "seasons" series preceded and predicted surrealist painting by over 300 years. Talk about avant garde!
The Butties, on the other hand, are fighting rear guard action, but like Arcimboldo, they paint portraits using a limited, incongruous palate. In their case, they have performed the "12 Greatest Carols" (and, by definition, the holiday oeuvre is already a particularly limited and limiting palate to start with) using only well-known Beatles riffs. They certainly get the riffs right--they seem to have memorized all of the Beatles guitar licks and vocal tics. But the result is truly bizarre. I haven't heard anything so surrealistic in some time. Possibly their most bizarro impression was Jolly Old St. Nicholas recorded in the style of The Beatles A Day In The Life. My friend Rhan Wilson (who performs garish arrangements of Christmas songs in minor keys) might enjoy this one. (On Bethlehem 2, The Butties even give the minor key treatments a try, themselves.) A close second on my hit parade is Coventry Carol which perfectly mocked The Beatles My Guitar Gently Weeps.
I really can't imagine what life might be like if one were confined only to the songs and style of The Beatles. Those guys should write a book. On the other hand, I've been reviewing Christmas music for the past seven seasons, so I can actually imagine it quite vividly.
--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2005)
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From the liner notes:
Paul F. Perry, rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals
Sam Lloyd, bass, vocals
Mark Humble, lead guitar, vocals
Robbo Morey, drums, percussion, vocals
Tracks 1 and 3-10 arranged by Paul F. Perry, Tracks 2 and 12 arranged by Mark Humble, Track 11 arranged by Sam Lloyd
Produced by The Butties, Engineered by Rich Gaglia, Recorded at Rich Studios, Queens, New York
Photo art and cover design by Paul F. Perry, Photo of Robbo by Chuck Wainwright
The Butties
12 Greatest Carols
Artist link
Label: Parody Records
Length: 33 minutes
Genre: Rock
Release: 2005
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Joy To The World |
| Santa Claus Is Coming To Town |
| The First Nöel |
| God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen |
| Bethlehem 1 |
| What Child Is This? |
| Angels We Have Heard On High |
| We Wish You A Merry Christmas |
| A Jolly Old St. Nicholas |
| Coventry Carol |
| Bethlehem 2 (Featuring: Deck The Halls, We Three Kings Of Orient Are, O Little Town Of Bethlehem) |
| Let It Snow |