Hairway to Steven

Released

The songs on Hairway To Steven originally had only small stick-figure drawings for titles, but they were eventually titled in a more conventional manner. The opening “Jimi” is a nearly 13-minute showcase for guitarist Paul Leary’s post-Hendrixian wailing, as Gibby Haynes roars “What do you know about death? I am death” and the like in an electronically lowered voice. If you don’t listen to the lyrics, “Ricky” and “Rocky” (and “I Saw An X-Ray Of A Girl Passing Gas”) could almost be conventional college rock (as it was known back then), but “John E. Smoke,” with its dubbed-in applause and waves of post-Beat nonsense from Haynes, is the album’s moment of peak Butthole-ism, bafflingly hilarious while still obviously the product of people who know exactly what they’re doing.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Spiders cover

Spiders

Matt Mitchell, Tim Berne
Inward cover

Inward

Hotel Neon
Amaryllis cover

Amaryllis

Mary Halvorson
Amber cover

Amber

Autechre
Poof cover

Poof

Henry Threadgill
Fire Illuminations cover

Fire Illuminations

Wadada Leo Smith, Orange Wave Electric
Engage cover

Engage

Dave Douglas
Suite for Max Brown cover

Suite for Max Brown

The New Breed, Jeff Parker