Trash for Cash

Album review

Although the Third Wave is regularly viewed as an American phenomenon, that's a slap in the face to the numerous European bands that have been shaking up their continent with their ska-fired sound for years. Germany's the Butlers are a good example, formed in 1989 and honing their style in clubs and on compilations, building up a fan base, and releasing ever better albums. Trash for Cash is their third, and contrary to its title, is worth every penny and then some. Throwing a curve ball at the Third Wave scene, the band unleash an impressive set that will initially baffle the skankers, for the opening number "Back on the Streets" is a funky screamer of a song that owes nothing to the Skatalites and everything to Booker T. & the MG's. "Cosmo Cab" drives even further back into America's past, with a brass-laced take on rock & roll. The syncopated beats finally kick in on "Sold Down the River," but even that has a Stax-y sound, courtesy of Wanja Glokler's fabulous blue-eyed soulboy vocals. Helpfully, the band make their musical preferences clear via their covers -- a driving, funky "These Boots Are Made for Walking," a storming, psychedelic "Paint It Black," and most startling of all, a Motownstyled adaptation of Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It You Really Want." Their own compositions are equally eclectic, boasting glorious mixtures of ska-based rhythms, psychedelic '60s organ, tight blasts of brass, funky bass patterns, English lyrics, and Glokler's soul-laced vocals. The exhilarating "Let It Bloom," Jam-esque in its infectious melody, Motown-ish arrangement, and punky energy; the garage band-goes-ska "Break Out"; the jazzy, brass-led instrumental "St. James Infirmary," an adaptation of "Summertime"; the starkly dubbed out spaced-age extravaganza "Pusherman's Revenge"; and the aforementioned three set openers are all standouts, but, in truth, the entire album is a masterpiece. Who says white Germans ain't got soul? Certainly no-one who's heard this phenomenal set.
© Jo-Ann Greene /TiVo