While some contemporary reviewers called it "quite good fun" for an experiment, retrospectively it is seen as a "charming but uneven" debut that lacks the polish and development of later masterpieces like A Scandal in Bohemia Collector's Item:
The whimsical title captures The Jazz Butcher’s own humor—mixing the absurd (a bath) with the mundane (bacon). It feels like a track name Fish himself would have invented. Jazz Butcher Bath Of Bacon Rar
– The punky, bluesy title track featuring squealing organ work. Rarities & Collecting While some contemporary reviewers called it "quite good
A Bath in Bacon was not a polished debut. It was raw, recorded largely in a single weekend, capturing the band in a frenetic, live-in-the-studio state. It featured Max Eider on guitar, who would become a crucial writing partner for Fish, and David J (of Bauhaus/Love and Rockets fame) on bass for select tracks. The record established the Jazz Butcher’s signature duality: songs that could be achingly beautiful one moment ("Girl Go") and absurdly satirical the next. Rarities & Collecting A Bath in Bacon was
“I want you to close this place down.”
Then, the rival arrived.