Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
11. The Butterfly Collector
Album: Non-album B-side (1979); appears on certain US pressings of All Mod Cons (1978)
Released as a single? B-side of Strange Town (but A-side in the US)
The Butterfly Collector is a highly compelling song that deserved better than relegation to a B-side. However, in the US, it was more than that. The US issue of the Strange Town/Butterfly Collector single was flipped over and The Butterfly Collector was promoted as the A-side. And for the second US pressing of All Mod Cons in 1979, Polydor swapped in The Butterfly Collector as track 1 of side 2, replacing Billy Hunt. So clearly, the sentiment from the suits was that this song had a better chance of becoming a US hit than most Jam songs.
And there's no reason it couldn't have been with better promotion and luck. The opening guitar-and-vocal-only passage is attention-grabbing, and when the bass and drums kick in just before the 40-second mark, they are joined by an incredible chorus melody that is instantly memorable. The rest of the song repeats the pattern until the end, when we get two chorus melodies back-to-back followed by a final guitar-and-vocal-only passage. Simple, clean and catchy -- there's no reason why we Yanks couldn't have embraced this if we weren't so obsessed with disco and Yacht Rock at the time.
The lyrics pertain to a woman who has spent her life using people but it's now come back to bite her because she has aged and lost her sex appeal. Might seem a little misogynistic now but I doubt it raised any eyebrows back then.
And you started looking much older
And your fashion sense is second-rate like your perfume
But to you in your little dream world
You're still the queen of the butterfly collectors
As you carry on 'cause it's all you know
You can't light a fire, you can't cook or sew
You get from day to day by filling your head
But surely you must know the appeal between your legs
Has worn off
This is one of only three Jam songs that Paul Weller played the only time I saw him, in NYC in 2008. And it was the only one that appeared in his regular set. The other two are coming later.
Live Jam version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMx4FTkuwsc
Fire and Skill 1982 disc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35gUW-VKgIw
Acoustic version from Days of Speed, Weller's live album from the tour where he first started playing Jam songs again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA9PXLNLNAA
Weller performed it with Noel Gallagher at the Teenage Cancer Trust benefit in 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KObNG4B_yuo
Garbage has covered this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ8HUdJfVYQ
Cover #11: Pity Poor Alfie/Fever
www.youtube.com
B-side of The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow) (1982)
Writers: Paul Weller / Eddie Cooley and John Davenport
Original or best known version: Little Willie John
The B-side of The Jam's next-to-last single, The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow), combines a Weller original that was worked on during sessions for The Gift and a cover of Little Willie John's signature song, which has also been performed by Peggy Lee, Elvis, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble and Beyonce, among others. Both parts of the medley are dominated by horns, but the glue is the rhythm that they share. A YouTube commenter put it better than I could: "Sublime work, a distinct sound and terrific reach. This pairing is like a shot and a beer, different and yet so similar."
At #10, the band lets its funk flag fly.
Album: Non-album B-side (1979); appears on certain US pressings of All Mod Cons (1978)
Released as a single? B-side of Strange Town (but A-side in the US)
The Butterfly Collector is a highly compelling song that deserved better than relegation to a B-side. However, in the US, it was more than that. The US issue of the Strange Town/Butterfly Collector single was flipped over and The Butterfly Collector was promoted as the A-side. And for the second US pressing of All Mod Cons in 1979, Polydor swapped in The Butterfly Collector as track 1 of side 2, replacing Billy Hunt. So clearly, the sentiment from the suits was that this song had a better chance of becoming a US hit than most Jam songs.
And there's no reason it couldn't have been with better promotion and luck. The opening guitar-and-vocal-only passage is attention-grabbing, and when the bass and drums kick in just before the 40-second mark, they are joined by an incredible chorus melody that is instantly memorable. The rest of the song repeats the pattern until the end, when we get two chorus melodies back-to-back followed by a final guitar-and-vocal-only passage. Simple, clean and catchy -- there's no reason why we Yanks couldn't have embraced this if we weren't so obsessed with disco and Yacht Rock at the time.
The lyrics pertain to a woman who has spent her life using people but it's now come back to bite her because she has aged and lost her sex appeal. Might seem a little misogynistic now but I doubt it raised any eyebrows back then.
And you started looking much older
And your fashion sense is second-rate like your perfume
But to you in your little dream world
You're still the queen of the butterfly collectors
As you carry on 'cause it's all you know
You can't light a fire, you can't cook or sew
You get from day to day by filling your head
But surely you must know the appeal between your legs
Has worn off
This is one of only three Jam songs that Paul Weller played the only time I saw him, in NYC in 2008. And it was the only one that appeared in his regular set. The other two are coming later.
Live Jam version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMx4FTkuwsc
Fire and Skill 1982 disc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35gUW-VKgIw
Acoustic version from Days of Speed, Weller's live album from the tour where he first started playing Jam songs again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA9PXLNLNAA
Weller performed it with Noel Gallagher at the Teenage Cancer Trust benefit in 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KObNG4B_yuo
Garbage has covered this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ8HUdJfVYQ
Cover #11: Pity Poor Alfie/Fever
Pity Poor Alfie / Fever
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupPity Poor Alfie / Fever · The JamExtras℗ 1982 Polydor Ltd. (UK)Released on: 1992-01-01Producer: Peter WilsonAssoc...
www.youtube.com
Writers: Paul Weller / Eddie Cooley and John Davenport
Original or best known version: Little Willie John
The B-side of The Jam's next-to-last single, The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow), combines a Weller original that was worked on during sessions for The Gift and a cover of Little Willie John's signature song, which has also been performed by Peggy Lee, Elvis, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble and Beyonce, among others. Both parts of the medley are dominated by horns, but the glue is the rhythm that they share. A YouTube commenter put it better than I could: "Sublime work, a distinct sound and terrific reach. This pairing is like a shot and a beer, different and yet so similar."
At #10, the band lets its funk flag fly.
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I really wasn’t expecting to see the Twister soundtrack cover in this thread / playlists. 
