John Butcher Music

While Butcher tries to get away from the Hendrix comparison, it is also what helped launch his career. That being said, he was incredible artist for his time. Rather than just rock out with songs that don't mean a whole lot, Butcher came up with songs that addressed social issues.

You can feel the emotion in most every song on this one, and the lyrics often overshadow the great guitar work. As an 18-year-old, I loved the line in "I'm Only Dreaming" where he says, "I've burned my bridges behind me...sold my bus ticket home." On "Send Me Somebody" (probably his most popular song on the album), he said "Down inside where the dreams survive, it's tough enough baby to stay alive...one more day." Incredible when you hear them in the context of the song.

The CD ends with my favorite, "Waiting For A Miracle". It talks about the now cliche thought of finding your own miracle within somebody. "I'm just waiting for a miracle in my life...and it could be you." In my mind, Butcher was never able to top this CD. As one reviewer pointed out, he "dropped off" of the music scene (at least commercially) for several years, resurfacing to play blues. He did put out some great stuff there, too. But for it's time, this was a work of art that never got the recognition it deserved.

Released in 1989, Pictures From the Front was the fifth studio album by singer/guitarist/songwriter Jon Butcher, who had previously recorded under the name Jon Butcher Axis.

It seems like such a cop-out to compare Jon Butcher to Jimi Hendrix, but at the same time I think it's the most appropriate comparison, and not just for the obvious "black rock guitarist" reason. Both guitarists are/were extremely proficient, even if their styles seem worlds apart at times, and both had very smooth voices that made for some memorable rock music. The heavy blues influence on both artists is also undeniable.

Pictures From the Front follows in the footsteps of Butcher's previous album Wishes. It's a rock album with a strong AOR feel as well as a solid pop sensibility. You hear elements of Asia, Thin Lizzy, Bad Company and of course Jimi Hendrix on this album. Butcher plays the guitar like a snake charmer, practically hypnotizing listeners with his intricate bluesy solos. The album also benefits from Butcher's insightful, personal, and relevant lyrics. The song Beating Drum, which takes on poverty and apartheid, is a perfect example.

Unfortunately, Pictures From the Front was the last real rock album Jon Butcher would record. He dropped off of the radar for a few years, reemerging in 1995 with a straightforward blues sound. Pictures From the Front, indeed all of Butcher's releases at the time, is among the decade's best (yet tragically overlooked) albums. If you're a fan of quality 80's rock, or just good rock & roll in general, you owe it to yourself to check out Jon Butcher.

Found this cd by accident, bought it cheap and never got a grey hair from it. This dude knows how to touch a guitar. Everything seems okay with this cd, not very original, but sounds real good.
Best song in my opinion is definitely "Beating drum", which has a real atmosphere to it. If you have a chance to listen to this cd, don't hesitate, just do it.

The Jon Butcher Axis was yet another band that seemed to come out of nowhere to give the world a great song then fall off the edge of the earth. The Axis recorded four albums in the 80s (of which Stare at the Sun is far and away the best) before Jon Butcher--for a time heralded as rock's next great guitarist--released his solo debut, Pictures from the Front, in 1989. For me, "Don't Say Goodnight" will always be a special song from a special time.

Dreamers Would Ride is a great compilation disc. What ever happened to this band? The song "Wishes", from which this cd's title is taken, is awesome. Jon Butcher is amazingly talented and yet no air play, why? But, he was putting out music in the 1980's, when MTV airplay dictated sales and established anyone's fan base, and he got lost in the shuffle.

I saw Jon at a small venue called "Genghis Cohen" in
Hollywood, California, several years back. He walked in and sat at the bar with his girlfriend and ordered a drink. He is one tall guitar slinger. I went up and introduced myself and he was such a pleasant and decent human being(Robby Krieger of The Doors has to be included in this category). He played an acoustic set with 2 background female singers (they were phenomenal singers!)and another guitar player who was smoking hot on acoustic and electric guitar while he accompanied Jon. He played alot of the songs on this CD and they were great live too. The songs listed and playable on this CD to me, being a musician myself are nothing short of pure musical genius!! They are new and fresh to listen to each time you listen. If you haven't locked yourself up in a sound proof or near sound proof room and put your stereo on about 8(on a scale of 1 to 10), you don't know what you are missing! Buy this man's CD and CD's! He should be up there with John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton etc. In my opinion, very underrated!!! and a class act. Thanks for that great show that night JON!

You Have The Best Of ("Holy War", "Division Street", "The Ritual" And More). You Have The Rare ("This Raging Fire" From The Iron Eagle Sound Track Or Dreamers Would Ride Thats It). You Have The Previously Unreleased Outtakes ("If I Love You", "Whiskey River", And "May This Be Love") The Topper To This Collection Is The PolyGram Songs ("Life Takes A Life", "Don't Say Goodnight", And "It's Only Words" Done Live In 1983). All The Songs Sound Wonderful. Making This A Must For Any And All Music Fans.

Jon is an excellent Gutairest and lacks a lot of credit. It covers his 80's albums "Wishes" and "Pictures From the Front" which totally Rock. Like Rainbow and AC DC it just cranks, enjoy it.

This Guy Kicks The Electric Blues Up To The Max!!! It Recommended to People Who Love Electric Guitar Blues.All The Songs Are Great , There Is Not One Song On Here I Don't Like.
So Go Out & Get It!

Hot Blues CD. Well Written, Well played. A Must Have For Any Non Traditional Blues Fan. Jon Butcher Plays The Blues Better Than 99% Of The So Called Artists Out There. Keep Up The Good Work Jon.

A worthy addition to any blues/rock fan's collection. If you enjoy Pat Travers, Eric Gale, Tinsley Ellis and other guitar slingers in this genre, you'll want to give this one a listen!

Five Songs Never Before Released. A Rare Interview. Jon Butcher Is In Top Form On This CD.

I bought this cd after having listened to the first couple of Jon Butcher Axis albums. I was at a Record show in central Pennsylvania and came across a radio station copy of this. It seems few bought it. What a mistake. Much like the Axis cd's this is solid from beginning to end. This guy is no Jimi Hendrix copy. He's the real thing. This cd to this point is his most solid solo, and I own them all. If wishes were horses.................

Holy War gets the attention, but Wishes has great vocals, guitar riffs and a true heart-felt feel to it. You can feel the emotion in Butcher's voice and you know that the song is inspired by something that has happened in his life. This song is on all my "make-out" tapes and CDs because of the effects his voice has on women.
I first heard this compilation on cassette and wore the tape out. I am glad to see that it has made the conversion to CD. It's a shame that this group never had the commerical success it deserves. But those of us that have had the good fortune to hear their work, will always have a place for them in our hearts.

Give a listen to this - Holy War Rocks! Must listen to at full volume

Jon Butcher Is Not Fighting A Holy War And You Are Invited. The First Jon Butcher Of Any Kind (Record, Tape, Or Cd) That I Ever Owned. With Great Songs, Great Writing, Great Playing, And Great Production. (Any One Who Senses A Theme Is Corect). Best Song On This Is Prisoners Of The Silver Chain. The Only War Jon butcher Is Fighting, Is For Recognition. Keep Fighting The Good Fight Jon. You Will Win This War!!!!

...then dreamers would ride.

Released in 1987, Wishes was the fourth studio album by singer/guitarist/songwriter Jon Butcher, who had previously recorded under the name Jon Butcher Axis.

It seems like such a cop-out to compare Jon Butcher to Jimi Hendrix, but at the same time I think it's the most appropriate comparison, and not just for the obvious "black rock guitarist" reason. Both guitarists are/were extremely proficient, even if their styles seem worlds apart at times, and both had very smooth voices that made for some memorable rock music. Compare Hendrix's "Little Wing" or "the Wind Cries Mary" to the title track on this album and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Musically, Wishes is very much a product of its time. It's a rock album, but there are plenty of AOR elements, including the kinds of melodies and keyboards that were so prevalent in the 1980's. It's hard to find another group comparable to Jon Butcher's sound. You hear bits of Asia and Survivor, as well as Bad Company and Thin Lizzy. Butcher plays tug of war with his audience, pulling focus from his powerful emotional vocal performance to his compelling and elegant blues-inspired guitar work and back again. To top it all off, Butcher's lyrics on this album are very powerful, emotional, personal, and relevant, something you definitely didn't see on a lot of other 80's AOR albums.

Wishes is one of the decades best (yet tragically overlooked) albums from an artist that deserved to become a household name. If you're a fan of 80's rock, or just good rock & roll in general, you owe it to yourself to check out Jon Butcher.

this cd. takes me back to the hot summer nights, when jon would
be playing at the channel in boston. and i got to hear some of the same songs on this cd. if your a fan of jon butcher. you'll like this cd.and you can bet theres more to come for jon"""
so buy the cd.

this cd. takes me back to the hot summer nights, when jon would
be playing at the channel in boston. and i got to hear some of the same songs on this cd. if your a fan of jon butcher. you'll like this cd.and you can bet theres more to come for jon"""
so buy the cd.

this cd. takes me back to the hot summer nights, when jon would
be playing at the channel in boston. and i got to hear some of the same songs on this cd. if your a fan of jon butcher. you'll like this cd.and you can bet theres more to come for jon"""
so buy the cd.

The Definitive Jon Butcher CD Is Here. This Covers Everything: The Beginning, The Middle, And The Furture. I Hope There Never Is An End. The Song "Tiger In The Tall Grass" Is Reason Enough To Buy This CD. "Bats" And "Tie The Devil Down" Just Add Even More Reasons To Buy This CD. If This Is Just SOME Of What Is Under The Bed. What Is In The Closet??????

In 1983 I bought a cassette tape of Jon Butcher Axis self titled album. It included "Life Takes a Life", "Ocean in Motion","Can't Be the Only Fool", "Walk Like This", among others. I wore out the tape in no time, but when I looked for it again it was out of print. I've listened to other Butcher albums, but none have reached the quality of this album. While looking through used tapes in a half price bookstore, I found the tape! It wasn't in very good shape, but I was able to find some people who did a pro job of bringing it back to life. A good friend was able to burn it on a CD, thus, it was reborn. If you find this album latch onto it, it is, indeed, a true musical experience.

John Stevens once coined the phrase "insect music" for the kind of free improvisation that his group, SME (the Spontaneous Music Ensemble), specialized in. The saxophonist John Butcher was a member of the last incarnation of SME before Stevens' untimely demise, a trio which also featured the fine guitarist Roger Smith. This disc, an encounter between Butcher, Derek Bailey & the tuba player Oren Marshall, might indeed be called "insect music": the volume is usually quite low, the playing concentrating on texture & interplay rather than melody. The key player here is John Butcher, an utterly astonishing saxophonist who has obviously listened closely to Evan Parker but whose use of extended techniques is unlike anyone else's. On soprano he has a light, mobile sound that bobs above the ensemble's sound; on tenor, he often favours buzzing sustained notes that split & recombine polymorphously. He rarely plays very quickly: his playing is entirely averse to conventional soloing.

One of the pleasures of this kind of music, with all three players using nonstandard ("extended") techniques on their instruments, is that the familiar sound-qualities of their instruments can be subverted, so that it becomes hard to tell reeds apart from strings, or one imagines a ghost percussionist or bass player. There are some astonishing passages where the players despite their instrumental disparities work in near-unison, as in passages towards the end of "Out of the Deep". Another pleasure of this type of music is the feeling that a particular combination of sounds is exactly right...& that you're unlikely ever to hear it again.

Fine stuff. One of the finest of Bailey's recent group recordings, along with the marvelous _One Time_, a trio with John Stevens & Kent Carter. This disc is far closer to the ethos of classic UK free improv than much of Bailey's recent work (e.g. _Daedal_ or _Mirakle_): it's almost a posthumous tribute to John Stevens.