In the yet-to-be written "Handy Hat Book of How To Do Nearly Everything Brilliantly" under the chapter 'Most Reviewers Are Rubbish', there will be a piece called 'Brilliant Weird Stuff'. This is where I will look at the work of Bjork and Ivor Cutler and analyse the Beatles backwards bit at the end of 'A Day in The Life'. I am now convinced that Half Deaf Clatch and his writer collaborator Richard Wall will be very comfortable in such curious company. Some time ago, I wrote a (thankfully) much-shared piece about my intense dislike of that annoying habit of music lovers of shoving stuff - (for some reason this is a particular fad of the blues community) - into a 'Genre Box'. Once again, I am pleased to confirm that Clatch would not fit into any box, however hard you tried.I have been listening to and writing about Half Deaf Clatch for a good few years now and after hearing this totally absorbing recently released double album, I fear, that like a character from a weird Flan O'Brien or William Burroughs novel, parts of Clatch may well be taking over parts of my frail body and making me look at the world through some very odd distort glasses. I should probably issue a health warning at this point for those people who are heavy-duty Clatch Addicts, Too much Half Deaf Clatch will seep into your brain bits in a very unsettling way and you will begin to believe that his concept creations are actually all quite normal.
As with his fine album "The Life and Death of A.J Rail", Clatch has again liberally applied his huge talent as a story-teller. Whereas Rail was a chancer and a dreamer riding his luck, Beelzebub Jones doesn't have any regard for luck. Clatch's lyric-writing and tale-spinning throw a web over the listener. He writes lyrics that you have to listen to - no verse-hopping, no flicking forward. You pay your money and you are here for the full ride, astride his music, headlong to the last note. The whole Clatch musical repertoire is employed - including banjos, resonators and even a snake appears, courtesy of a beautiful Ry Cooderish slide interval....and oh yes, of course....there are those compulsory abandoned desert chapel bells...
These two discs, Beelzebub Jones: A Good Day To Be A Bad Guy and Beelzebub Jones: The Forsaken Territory are the first two of an album trilogy that takes us into the evolving dystopian and disturbing half-world of the central character. Importantly, we are aided on our journey by two fluently written and crafted story-books by author (Fat Man Blues) Richard Wall. Together, they have quite literally created a dark and deadly Wild West where even the bad guy's horse gets up off the ground - despite the serious handicap of already being shot very dead!
The powerful playing from Clatch is both evocative of the wasted landscape and intensely atmospheric for the story development. It is the perfect sound to accompany us into the wilderness the authors have created. Their concept is about a very edgy, cynical, driven and soon-to-be dead cowboy on A Mission. He is definitely not the guy in the White Hat. Revenge is his only friend.
Despite his occasional flash of black humour, there is no question that Beelzebub is a Seriously Bad Bastard with few redeeming features....he loves his horse and at one point he tells us he is looking for Redemption. However, by the end of the second album we are still guessing as to whether retribution or salvation are waiting round the corner. Clatch helpfully even provides us with a map of his dark forsaken territory but nevertheless, sometimes we could well be in the middle of a bloody Tarantino movie with Ennio Morriconi in full spaghetti western mode on stand-by just down the road. Working for the Devil ain't what it's cracked up to be.
This is a fascinating and well constructed piece of work where fine musicianship and writing combine to give you what is actually a terrific piece of musical theatre. It is high drama. Last year, the guys at the prestigious Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival rather shrewdly gave Half Deaf Clatch the space to perform with his very personal one-man style. He played to a packed and hugely appreciative audience. I do hope that when the third of this trilogy is released there will be someone out there prepared to give Beelzebub the chance to run riot in the future. He well deserves some theatre space.
Meanwhile, get your boots on and get hold of this beautifully packaged double chunk of musical story-telling. Jonesy's day begins with Nicotine, Liquor and Blasphemy and doesn't get much better, Do scuttle down to the Crossroads and ride with a really interesting Devil.
