John Peel and his Radio 1 show must take the credit for introducing me and countless others to the unique and wonderfully surreal world of poet, singer, songwriter and storyteller Ivor Cutler. It's taken me a long time to get round to hearing this album which is now one of my favourite Ivor Cutler records.
These dark and hilarious tales of a dour and repressed Scottish family must have had their roots in Ivor Cutler's Scottish/Jewish upbringing in the bleak environment of 1920/30s Glasgow.
Ivor Cutler was an uncompromising artist who once said that working as a schoolteacher "unlocked his creativity". He was an acknowledged influence on the Bonzos and Monty Python and this marvellous record should appeal to anyone who appreciates off-the-wall humour combined with a childlike wonder at the world.

Its hard to put into words how great this is. Ivor Cutler's surreal albums and books have been a part of my life for years and though most are hard to find, all are excellent and well worth picking up. This is my favourite and its great to see it back in print. It is a hilarious cd where Ivor tells us stories about his childhood in Scotland in his wonderful voice. The material is recorded live in Glasgow and it is all Ivor can do to prevent himself from laughing too. The scottish scenes are from his book of the same name (worth purchasing for the great Honeysett illustrations which also grace the cover of the cd). The jungle tips have me in stitches too.
If you like League of Gentlemen there is treat here not to be missed