Rembrandt Pussyhorse

Infobox Album
Name = Rembrandt Pussyhorse
Type = Album
Artist = Butthole Surfers


Released = April 18, 1986 (US)
1986 (EUR)
Recorded = 1984-1985
Genre = Punk
Length = 32:48
Label = Touch and Go (US)
Red Rhino Europe (EUR)
Producer = Butthole Surfers
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:el3m968odepc link]
* Robert Christgau (B-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=butthole+surfers link]
Last album = "Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis"
(1985)
This album = Rembrandt Pussyhorse
(1986)
Next album = "Blind Eye Sees All"
(1986)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Back cover
Type = Studio album

Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = Studio album


Lower caption = 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.

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 female pit bull that the band owned at the time, named Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad. [ [http://ngro_obsrvr.tripod.com/articles/HangTen.html Seymour Glass, “Butthole Surfers: Hangin’ Ten on the Fudge Pipeline,” "BravEar Zine" #4, Spring 1986] , archived at Butthole Surfers fan website, [http://ngro_obsrvr.tripod.com/ Negro Observer] ]

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. [ [http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/vol18/issue52/music.buttholes.html Ken Lieck, "Reissuing the Butthole Surfers," "The Austin Chronicle" Newspaper Vol. 18 Issue 52] ]

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. [ [http://ngro_obsrvr.tripod.com/articles/recordcollector.html Mark Paytress, “The Butthole Surfers: Mark Paytress Unravels the Career of the Cult American Band,” "Record Collector" No. 114, February 1989] , archived at Butthole Surfers fan website, [http://ngro_obsrvr.tripod.com/ Negro Observer] ] [ [http://ngro_obsrvr.tripod.com/articles/forcedexposure.html Interview, "Forced Exposure" #11, Interview conducted April 18, 1986] , archived at Butthole Surfers fan website, [http://ngro_obsrvr.tripod.com/ Negro Observer] ] 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.

ide 1

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

ide 2

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

US CD reissue bonus tracks

#

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

Personnel

* Gibby Haynes – lead vocals
* Paul Leary – guitar, bass
* Trevor Malcolm – bass (on "Sea Ferring" and "Mark Says Alright")
* King Coffey – drums
* Teresa Nervosa – drums

References