Review in "The Friday Review"
by Dave Simpson
Friday December 12, 2003
The Guardian
Manically squawking saxophones, the most minimal percussion imaginable and inspired titles such as My Mother Was a Friend of an Enemy of the People.
Little things we like:
Unless the name of his band accidentally inspired Damon Albarn's and thus had a sly hand in the creation of Britpop, the warped genius of Blurt's Ted Milton has never been properly recognised.
Emerging in post-punk 1979, Blurt released songs that involved manically squawking saxophones, the most minimal percussion imaginable and inspired titles such as My Mother Was a Friend of an Enemy of the People.
Milton may well have been listening to Captain Beefheart and Charlie Parker - but it 's equally possible that he had never heard any music at all.
This long-awaited collection brings together his best (and craziest) moments, from the madly honking Get to the barmy Enemy Ears ("Sandblast away your granite tears, enemy ears!").
The sleeve notes touchingly cull from one of his few rave reviews ("All-purpose chaos, brilliant"- NME), although the resurgence of interest in late-1970s alternative music could feasibly bring Milton, 50-odd and still touring, a new audience.
With typical indefatigable optimism, one of British pop's greatest living eccentrics subtitles this "The Best of Blurt, Volume 1".
This review was first published in The Friday Review from The Guardian, December 12, 2003
© 2003 Dave Simpson/Guardian Newspapers Limited taken without permission