UNCUT

“He’s the keeper of the lantern/Stone believer, it’s a passion/And he knows it…”LED ZEPPELIN! JACK WHITE!EXcLUSIVE!“I’m NOT ScAREDOf THE NEW!”PAULWELLERAn audience withthe king of themodern worldANDDYLAN HOWEmIkE cOOPERTHE HAmmERSmITHGORILLASGINGER bAkERROSANNE cASH40pAgeS oFreviewSNeil YouNgSpriNgSteeNMogwAiBoB MouldFirSt Aid Kitand more...bObDYLANA radical new lookat his lost decadeALbUm bY ALbUmbLAck SAbbATH“I could affordto have a bath!”DOLLY PARTON“How in hell didI get all that done?”NO OTHERREVISITEDGene Clark’sclassic album remade!PLUSSHARON VAN ETTENHARRY DEAN STANTONALLEN TOUSSAINTTHE SHADOWSTHE HOLD STEADYuncut.co.uk

A Thousand heartsNEW ALBUMOUT NOWwww.caradillon.co.uk

GEnErEPLaCEmEnttHEraPYBEACH HOUSE, DANIELROSSEN, ROBINPECKNOLD and IAINMATTHEWS bring theirrecreation of GENECLARK’s No Otherto End Of The RoadhaD Thisinsane feeling of joy.“EVErYBoDYPartly it had to do withthe fact that it wasn’t our music, sothere was no ego at the centre, noall-consuming ‘me’. it was a verywonderful musical experience.”alex scally, one half of Baltimoredreampop duo Beach house, isstill marvelling at the communaleuphoria that followed someunique Us shows earlier this year.along with bandmate VictoriaLegrand, the multi-instrumentalistcorralled a bunch of like-mindedsouls to tour the East Coast as Thegene Clark No other Band,recreating the late singer’s 1974masterwork, No Other, in its entirety.The five gigs, one of which wasreviewed in Uncut 203, wereperformed by an indie supergroupthat had members of Wye oak,Celebration and Lower Dens,alongside singers robin Pecknold(Fleet Foxes), Daniel rossen (grizzlyBear), hamilton Leithauser (TheWalkmen) and ex-FairportConvention man iain Matthews.Headliners TheFlaming Lips“There were many driving forcesbehind it,” explains scally, whosefirst exposure to the starry countrygospelof No Other came courtesy ofa vinyl copy belonging to Legrand’sfather. “The idea was generatedbetween me and Victoria at least ayear before it happened: this is sucha crazy LP, what would it be like live?gene had so many great records butyou feel like No Other was his bigmoment. Yet no-one ever received it.i don’t want to overstate things, butthere’s something heroic aboutrecreating the LP, like we were doingsomething for the record that wasnever done when it came out.”Despite its ornateproduction and ravishingsongs, No Other bombed onrelease. and when the ex-Byrd diedin 1991, aged just 46,it remained aneglected gem. “it’s one of thosemulti-layered records that revealsitself over time,” offers rossen, who,along with Pecknold, was one of thefirst names on scally’s list. “There’sa human and unhinged quality ingene’s performances that’s somoving. in some ways it feels like itshouldn’t work – it’s too grandioseand produced, the lyrics are too outthere– but it still comes togetherbeautifully. There’s so much heartthat it makes each song immediateand personal, and i think that’s a bigONCE agaiN, UNcUT is enormouslyproud to be involved with our favouritefestival, End of The road. This year’scavalcade of delights takes place, as ever, atLarmer Tree gardens in Dorset, betweenaugust 29 and 31. and besides the all-starrecreation of gene Clark’s No Other, highlightsinclude headliners The Flaming Lips andWild Beasts, John Grant, St Vincent, Yo LaTengo, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks,Tinariwen, White Denim, Gruff Rhys andthe sainted Richard Thompson.one of the reasons we love End of The road soIain Matthews with the No Otherband, live at the 9:30 Club,Washington, January 24, 2014.Left inset: Gene Clarkreason it worked so nicely as alive performance.”For scally, the 11-piece band’shardest challenge was capturingthe “massive dynamic shifts” ofNo Other. “alex wanted the musicplayed note for note,” recallsMatthews, the only member of thetroupe who was a contemporary ofClark’s. “The players had to immersethemselves in the production andfigure out what everyone hadplayed. The backing singers did amajor job of recreating the vocalswith power and grace. it was a fineopportunity to pay the ultimatetribute to the man and his music.”The gene Clark No other Band aredue to make their UK debut at thissummer’s End of The road Festivalin Dorset. scally also reveals that itwill be the final show of the No otherBand, “…despite having manyoffers. The Us tour was unbelievableand around the time of our last showsales of No Other had gone up by aninsane amount on iTunes. We wereblown away. it was very gratifying toknow that more people were finallygetting around to hearing thisamazing record.” ROB HUGHESUncUt at end of the road festivalFLAMING LIPS, WILD BEASTS and JOHN GRANT join us for 2014’s finest festivalmuch is that their taste for newer bands is soclose to our own, hence this year’s lineupfeaturing Robert Ellis, Unknown MortalOrchestra, Woods, a first British appearancefrom Houndstooth, Ezra Furman, AliceBoman, Arc Iris, Kiran Leonard andSamantha Crain. add in the idiosyncraticlikes of Mark Kozelek, The Felice Bros, JohnCooper Clarke, tUnE-yArDs and outsider artlegend Lonnie Holley and, hopefully, you canunderstand the fuss. Weekend camping ticketsfor £170 are still on sale: for full details, have alook at www.endoftheroadfestival.com.KYLE gUsTaFsoN / For ThE WashiNgToN PosT Via gETTY iMagEs; MiChaEL oChs arChiVEs/ gETTY iMagEsJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 7

instant karma!reDiscOvereD!Questing spirit:shirt and guitarcollector CooperHOW TO BUY… MIKE COOPERPLACES I KNOW/THE MACHINE GUNCO. 1971/1972(ReiSSueD PARADiSe OFBACHeLORS, 2014)Summarises thebreadth of Cooper’s1960s and 1970sexplorations in potentsmall-group format.Stinging playing andextended forms takethe listener throughblues, folk, into thorny,wild free music. 9/10RAYON HULACABiN, 2004 (ReiSSueDROOM40, 2010)Tribute to exotica kingArthur Lyman andHawaiian shirtpopulariser ellery Chun– Cooper’s a collector –Rayon Hula is a lovely,woozy set of Pacific(a)driftworks. 9/10BEACH CROSSINGS –PACIFIC FOOTPRINTSRAi TRADe, 2008A rich, compelling radiobroadcast, for a largecast of players, whichhas Cooper exploringthe Colonial presence inthe Pacific, closing witha devastating reading ofDylan’s “Masters OfWar”. 8/10“What can you doon this? Feel free!”He could’ve been a Rolling Stone. Instead, folk maverickMIKE COOPER’s career took a radically different path…GUiTarisT Mike Cooper is winding backhis memory, recalling how a young ladfrom reading, kicking around in the early’60s, would spend his time in the big smoke. Theco-ordinates are ealing, London, where Cooperis hanging out at alexis korner’s aBC Club. “itwas where the ‘blues clan’ would gather oncea week,” he says, after being asked about hisencounter there with a formative r’n’B gang. “itwas mooted that Mick Jagger was looking for aguitarist who could play slide. i could, but theirmusic was going to be rooted in Chuck Berry andi didn’t care to do that and it never went further.”Though a good story, this proto-stonesencounter is just a blip in a five-decade career,during which Cooper has scrolled throughgenres. recently he’s been collaborating withNecks pianist Chris abrahams, and is readyinga joint album with guitarist steve Gunn; you canalso hear the questing spirit that’s led to suchjuxtapositions on Cooper’s 1970s albums, titleslike Trout Steel and Places I Know. They’ve beenout of reach for decades, but reissue labelparadise of Bachelors is now shepherding TroutSteel back to the shelves, with subsequentalbums Places I Know and Machine Gun Co. – thelatter also the name of Cooper’s pioneering folk/jazz/improv outfit – restored to their originallyplanned double-album status (reviewed p90).These exceptional Lps reflect the freedoms andopen-minded spirit of the times. Connecting withproducer peter eden on 1968’s Oh Really!? – “anLp of acoustic rural or country blues” – Coopersuggested to the producer that they try his “morepersonal songwriting”. Cooper: “i was impressedwith Astral Weeks and its spontaneous feeling ofimprovisation. i was also aware of the southafrican contingent of ex-pat musicians alreadyliving in London, having seen Chris McGregor’sband at ronnie scott’s old place.”after hooking up with McGregor’s double bassplayer Harry Miller on second album Do I KnowYou?, Cooper started really stretching out withTrout Steel, which he explains was “me exploringnot only my songwriting but what areas of musici could get people to listen to, and also get peopleto play with me, with just verbal instructions, orsimply me saying, ‘What can you do on this? Feelfree.’” The freedoms largely implicit on Trout Steeland Places I Know then become explicit onMachine Gun Co., one of Cooper’s landmark Lps,and a completely blitzing rapprochement of folk,blues, free improvisation and avant-garde tactics.indeed, Machine Gun Co. is named after titanicsax player peter Brötzmann’s classic free jazz setof 1968, Machine Gun. “i was on tour in Belgiumand had taken guitarist/singer Bill Boazman todo some acoustic folk club gigs,” Cooper recalls.“one night we were in Ghent with nothing to do,and we passed a library with a sign advertising‘free jazz’… by the Globe Unity orchestra, i think.it was extremely loud and exciting. We sat at theback pinned to the wall as a gigantic wave ofsound just surfed over us.” JON DALETrout Steel and Places I Know/Machine Gun Coare reissued by Paradise Of Bachelors on June 17.Mike Cooper & Steve Gunn’s Cantos De Lisboa isreleased by RVNG Intl on June 24AND ON sAxOphONe...bobby keysUNCUT’S GUIDE TO ROCK’S GREATEST SESSION PLAYERSesTaTe oF keiTH Morris/GeTTY iMaGes➤ Most famous for having played with TheRolling Stones since 1970, Texan saxophonistBobby Keys started his career aged 15 playingwith Bobby Vee. He can be seen inCocksucker Blues throwing a TV out ofa hotel window with Keith Richards,and can be heard narrating his earlylife in Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs AndEnglishmen film. He played onJohn Lennon’s albums, took part inhis infamous ‘Lost Weekend’ andcontributed to the last knownLennon & McCartney recordingsession in 1974. He has also appeared onalbums by Ringo Starr and George Harrison.KEY SESSIONS: The Rolling Stones’ Let ItBleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street,Goats Head Soup, Emotional Rescue, GeorgeHarrison’s All Things Must Pass, JohnLennon’s Some Time In New YorkCity, Walls And Bridges and Rock‘N’ Roll, Keith Richards’ Talk IsCheap, Ringo Starr’s GoodnightVienna, Joe Cocker’s Mad DogsAnd Englishmen, Chuck Berry’sHail! Hail! Rock’n’Roll, the Faces’Long Player, Dr John’s The Sun,Moon & Herbs, Warren Zevon, LynyrdSkynyrd’s Second Helping, and GrahamNash’s Songs For Beginners. PHIL KING8 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

theplaylistOn the stereO this mOnth…THE THESoul Mining SONYA welcome 30-year anniversary reissuefor Matt Johnson’s still somewhat intensemasterpiece. Altogether now: “I’m just asymptom of the moral decay that’sgnawing at the heart of the country…”Dylan Howe: “ Prince andStevie Wonder are prettymuch the only heroes lefton my bucket list…”REIGNING SOUNDShattered MERGEGreg Cartwright and his latestaccomplices move away from garagerock and towards something more soulfuland considered. Recorded in theDaptone Studios, Brooklyn.SAM LEE & FRIENDSMore For To Rise EP NEST COLLECTIVEA fresh clutch of old traveller and gypsysongs, retooled by one of UK folk’spremier collectors and innovators.WHITE FENCEFor The Recently FoundInnocent DRAG CITYTim Presley (left) takeshis psych flashbackproject into a studio forthe first time. Ty Segallproduces. “Lucifer Sam”vibes proliferate.HISS GOLDENMESSENGERBrother Do You Know The Road? MERGEA rich, bluesy prelude to the forthcomingMC Taylor album, Lateness Of Dancers.Heavy “Knocking On Heaven’s Door”intimations, pleasingly.LEWISL’Amour LIGHT IN THE ATTICYet another intriguing discovery fromLight In The Attic: an entirely mysteriousCanadian album from 1983, redolent ofArthur Russell at his most ethereal.JAMES BLACKSHAWFantômas TOMPKINS SQUAREA new score for Louis Feuillade’s 1913silent movie, provided by the increasinglyexpansive British guitarist/composer.OOIOOGamel THRILL JOCKEYThis month’s finest gamelan-inspirednoise jam by a member of the Boredoms.Spiritually bracing.CURTIS MAYFIELDSuperfly CHARLYAnother upgrade for the indestructible1972 classic. 2CDs, involving demos,outtakes, anti-drug radio ads, etc.MONTY PYTHONLousy Song VIRGIN1980 outtake from Graham Chapman andEric Idle, previewing July’s reunion shows.As bad as the title suggests, of course.For regular updates, check our blogs at www.uncut.co.uk and follow @JohnRMulvey on TwitterI’m new-Ish hereDylan HoweThis month: the Wilko Johnson and Blockheads drummerwho’s reinvented Bowie’s Berlin trilogy as jazzThere aren’t many musicians with aCV to match the drummer Dylan howe.he’s just played on a chart-toppingalbum with roger Daltrey and WilkoJohnson, with his old pal Wilkodescribing him as “the best drummer I’ve everworked with”. he spent 13 years with theBlockheads (“he’s a funky littlebastard,” said Ian Dury), and hasplayed extensively with the likes ofPaul mcCartney, ray Davies, Damonalbarn, nick Cave and DavidGilmour – not to mention his father,the yes guitarist Steve howe.In fact, David Bowie is one of thefew rock legends with whom he’s notworked. “him, Prince and StevieWonder are pretty much the onlyheroes left on my bucket list,” helaughs. “Bowie in particular,because I’ve been obsessed withhis music since I was about 11.”Specifically, it’s Bowie’s Berlincanon that has been obsessing the44-year-old howe for a while, leadingto Subterranean, a Kickstarterfundedalbum comprising nineradical reworkings of instrumentalsfrom Low and “Heroes”. “When I tellpeople I’ve been working on an album of Bowiecovers, they assume I’m doing swing versions of‘Ziggy Stardust’ or something, which sounds like abloody awful idea. But the idea came from listeningto ‘Warszawa’ and thinking, this would makeperfect material for improvisation.“apparently, when Bowie first played theseinstrumentals at the start of his gigs, crowds hatedthem! But the more you immerse yourself in thismusic, the layers of complexity emerge.”howe first performed versions of tracks from Lowi’m your fan“Dylan Howe makes itnew. The way he playsit, it’s as if bebopwere still hot andwet from its Harlemwomb – he plays timefrom the heart.”Robert Wyattand “Heroes” at the 2007 London Jazz Festivalfeaturing a string section and hugh Cornwell fromthe Stranglers on vocals. “It’s changed a lot sincethen,” he says. “It’s a smaller group, with moreelectronics. It took a long time to get permission –the moment you start to radically change the sourcematerial you’re covering, you need authorisationfrom the artist. Luckily it appearsthat Bowie liked what I sent him.”Some of the versions occasionallymove into the hard bop territory inwhich howe’s jazz quintets havepreviously specialised, but most ofthem, including “art Decade” and“all Saints”, recall the glacial,ambient jazz of eCm artists suchas John Surman or Jan Garbarek.“It’s not blues,” he says. “In someways it’s more similar to an albumI recorded in 2010 with pianist WillButterworth, where we reworkedthemes from Stravinsky’s Rite OfSpring. you have to understand thearchitecture of the music beforeyou can start to redesign it.”Does he approach jazz and rockdifferently? “Ultimately it’s aboutworking with personalities. there’sa snobbery among some jazzmusicians who regard rock as a lower art form, butthat’s a mistake. the brush strokes are broader butthe art requires just as much attention: you workwith simplicity, momentum and repetition, whichcan make things harder. One key area jazz peopleoften ignore is texture and timbre. that’s part of thereason why this Bowie project took so long. I neededto do justice to the textures and voicings before Icould do my own thing with them.” JOHN LEWISSubterranean is out on Motorik Recordings, July 710 | UnCUt | JULy 2014

THE NEW ALBUMAn unheard collection of rediscovered songs from the pastReproduced by Neil Young and Jack WhiteOUT 26 MAYAVAILABLE FROM

cobrabeerBrewed in the UK Please enjoy responsiblyMeetTHE BOSSBy day, he makes premium beer.By day, complex recipe.By day, smooth.By day, glasses.By day, he is The Boss.By night, he makes premium brassieres.By night, complex embroidery.By night, supportive.By night, cups.By night, he is also The Boss.He has a nap at lunch.IMPOSSIBLY SMOOTHPREMIUM BEERIMPOSSIBLY SUPPORTIVEPREMIUM BRASSIERESlive smooth

an audience with...Harry DeanStantonInterview: Michael BonnerPhotograph: Michael BucknerMICHAEL BUCKNEr/GETTY IMAGES; rEx fEATUrES; rON GALELLA, LTD./WIrEIMAGEThe actor and musician on Buddhism, Dylan, Peckinpah, Nicholson, Hitchcock,Brando and chocolate bunnies! “I think we got enough, don’t you?”fTEr MOrE THAN 250 roles, Harry Dean StantonAhas all but retired from the movies. These days, itseems Stanton – an indelible, laconic presence infilms like Cool Hand Luke, Pat Garrett And BillyThe Kid, Wild At Heart, Alien, Repo Man and Paris,Texas – spends much of his free time watching TV.“I’m addicted to the game show channels,” hereveals. “I hate the hosts and the people. I just likethe questions and answers.” But cinema’s loss is music’s gain: aged 87,Stanton has recorded his debut album, a collection of covers of songs byKris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and fred Neil which accompanies a newdocumentary about the actor, Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction. As asinger, Stanton has regularly performed at some of LA’s most colourfulwatering holes. He lists Pavarotti and Patsy Cline as his favourite voices,while conversation is peppered with references to musicians he hasbefriended through the years. “I love Dylan’s work, and Kristofferson,”says Harry Dean. “I’ve sung with both of them, in fact. Tom Waits, we’regood friends. He’s gnarly. He’s a fine poet. James Taylor’s song, ‘HeyMister, That’s Me Up On The Jukebox’? He borrowed my guitar tocompose that song.”After turning the sound down on his television, Harry Dean focuses hisattention on your questions. “I’m sure there’s dozens more things wecould talk about,” he says, after a lengthy, digressive chat that’s taken inBrando, Jack Nicholson, Leon russell and Alfred Hitchcock. “But I thinkwe got enough, don’t you?”star questionHarry Dean,do you likechocolatebunnies?David LynchChocolate bunnies?Of course. David is abig fan of mine. He first got in touchwith me to play the part DennisHopper ended up playing in BlueVelvet. Because I play myself asmuch as I can, I didn’t want to gothere emotionally, I guess, killingpeople and stuff. I told him to getDennis. Dennis had dropped outat that time. He was down in NewMexico or somewhere, I think.When we did The Straight Story,David called me and said, “I wantyou to do the last scene in the movieand I want you to cry.” He had meread a letter from Chief Seattle to thePresident in the 1800s. Chief Seattlewas the first Indian to be put on areservation. He wrote this letter:“How could you buy or sell the sky.”It’s beautiful. Anyway, it makes mecry. So I read that. And cried.Growing up in Kentucky in thelate 1920s/1930s, did you get tosee many movies as a kid?Mark Barclay, LondonNot a lot. As I grew up, I saw moreand more. The first film I ever saw,I think my mother took me to it, wascalled She Married Her Boss, withMelvyn Douglas. Why did I go intoacting? I did a play in high school,then I did a play in college calledPygmalion by George BernardShaw. I played Arthur Doolittle witha Cockney accent. I had a good earfor dialects and my speech wasGreat friends: Stantonwith Jack Nicholson ata memorial for JohnHuston, Director’sGuild, LA, Sept 12, ’87good so I knew then that’s whatI wanted to do. I quit college andwent to the Pasadena Playhouse.This was 1949. I was trained on thestage, but I prefer films.You were in the Navy duringWWII. What do you rememberabout the battle of Okinawa?Stephen Phelan, Buenos AiresI was a gunner on an anti-aircraftgun, 40mm. I was the pointer. AJapanese bomber came over onenight, 30,000 feet up, totally out ofrange, the whole harbour openedup shooting at it. I radio’d into thebridge, they didn’t know what thefuck they were doing. So I held myfire and later got a commendation –cool under fire – when I got into theNavy Air Corps at the end of the war.But I dropped out. I didn’t want todo any more military. Suicideplanes were coming in. One of themcame right at our ship one time.They’d come in with the sun, verylow, a few hundred yards away andtheir nose dived straight up in theair and slid back down in the water.Someone had hit it, thank God.What advice would you give your18-year-old self?Peter Ross, GlasgowStudy up on the Eastern religions.They’re the only ones that arerealistic. There’s no answer, see.Daoism and Buddhism are theexact same religion. And also theJewish Kabbalah. They all say thesame thing. The word ‘Dao’ means‘the Way’, ‘the Nameless’. You can’tsee it, smell it, touch it, or anything,but it’s there. There is no answer.That’s what Buddhism says. TheVoid, oblivion, no answer. To be inthat state is an enlightened state.What are the best and worstthings about having JackNicholson as a housemate?Becki, Harrow, MiddlesexIt was mostly good. Jack is a verystrong-minded person. Nothingwas bad, actually. We’re still veryclose friends. He gave me advice inRide In The Whirlwind [1966], hesaid, “Harry, I want you to do thispart, but I don’t want you to doanything. Let the wardrobe do thecharacter, just play yourself.”14 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

“The bestdirection?‘Leave mealone. Let medo what Iwant to do!’”At Dan Tana’srestaurant,West Hollywood,August 22, 2013

an audience with...That was the start of my wholeapproach to acting. How did wecome to live together? He was livingwith Bob Towne, the writer. Townehad these two big, mangy dogs…Afghans? Jack called me and said,“Harry, Towne’s dogs have eatenthe drapes half way up the wall,can I come stay with you?” I livedin a little adjoining house down thebottom of Laurel Canyon and thenwe rented a house way up towardsthe top on Skyline Drive. We livedthere for two and a half years thenhe did Easy Rider and that’s whatgot him started.AARON FARLEY; REX/SNAP STILLSstar questionHarry, are youstill mad at mefor accidentallytuning your guitardown to E flatwhen we madedemos togetherat my house? Daniel LanoisOh. That was a long time ago. Youknow, I was a born singer, I sangwhen I was a kid. When peoplewould leave the house I’d get upon a stool and sing an old song byWoody Guthrie, or before him,“The Singing Brakeman”, JimmieRodgers. Anyway, I sang thiscountry song, standing on a stool,thinking about this girl I was in lovewith. I was 6, she was 18. Her namewas Thelma. So I sang, “T for Texas,T for Tennessee, T for Thelma/Thatgal made a wreck out of me”.What’s the best piece of adviceMarlon Brando gave to you?Robert Bearyman, LondonHe recited soliloquies on the phone.“Our revels now are ending…” Whatwas that one from? The Tempest?He taught me a couple of them and Iwould do them over the phone andhe would direct me over the phone.He was an amazing man, a greatsense of humour, tremendousdepth, unpredictable. He’s thegreatest actor of all time. We werevery close, yeah. During the lastthree years of his life, we spenthours on the phone and I went tohis house a lot. He asked me once,he said, “What do you think of me?”I said, “I think you’re nothing.” Helaughed. Eastern concepts. Heknew what I was talking about.Marlon’s reminiscent of Dylan. Bothvery eccentric, complex characters.What are your memories ofworking with Bob Dylan on PatGarrett… and Renaldo & Clara?Sam Chaplin, DublinBob’s an unusual guy. We wentjogging during the shoot [for PatGarrett & Billy The Kid], about halfa mile from where Peckinpah wasshooting, and we ran into his shot.Stanton in Paris,Texas: “I justplayed myself…”Sam might have thrown somethingat us. Dylan and I cut a Mexicansong. We made a tape together. Heasked me, did I want a copy. I saidno. What an idiot! We once drovefrom Guadalajara, Mexico all theway to Kansas City, to a singer’shouse there, the guy with a bigbeard, Leon Russell. Anyway, ittook us two or three days. Yeah,we spent some time together.What similarities are therebetween preparing for a part ina film and preparing to deliver asong? Charlie Yapp, BirminghamJust learn the lines! It’s the samething, you’re playing a character. Ithink any performing artist can dofilms… in fact, anybody out there in“Everything justevolves… there’sno answer,and nobody’sin charge”the street can be a film actor, ifyou’ve got a good director. The LPwas just me and [guitarist] JamieJames. Sophie [Hubert, director]was there all the time. Don Wasplayed bass on a few tracks. Ihaven’t played with the Harry DeanStanton Band for four or five years…What made you choose the songsyou perform on the album?Chris, Crawley, West SussexI love the songs. “Everybody’sTalkin’”, it’s a heroin song. The guywas on heroin when he wrote it.Fred Neil. He performed it andrecorded it on heroin. Harry Nilssonmade a big hit out of it, but he jived itall up, made it a rock’n’roll song. Iprefer my version. I snorted herointhree times. Years ago. The thirdtime it took hold and I understoodthe song. “Everybody’s talkin’ atme/I don’t hear a word they’resaying/Only the echoes in my mind”.It’s an enlightened state, really, butlike Alan Watts said, someone toldhim that on heroin you get to anenlightened state, and he said,“Yeah, but when you get themessage, you hang up the phone.”So I hung up on that one. Will I everdo another LP? There’s no answer.Everything just evolves and there’sultimately no answer, nobody’s incharge, it’s just an inexplicableunfolding of events, this wholeplanet, the ‘noosphere’. It means‘sphere of human consciousnesson the planet’. Look it up.You read Charles Bukowski’s“Torched Out” in a 2003documentary. How did youcome to meet him and what’syour favourite memory of him?Petra Shadd, Epsom, SurreyWe were close. I met him throughSean Penn. He was an enlightenedguy. I remember him saying to meonce, “Ah, Harry, the prejudice ofbiological kin.” Made me laugh. Hispoetry was raw, uninhibited andspontaneous. It was gritty, real andthere was a lot of beauty in it.How did you get the part ofTravis in Paris, Texas?Nathan Lloyd, Crystal PalaceI was in Albuquerque with SamShepard. We were drinking andlistening to a Mexican band. I saidI’d like a part with some sensitivityand intelligence to it. I got back toLA, and Sam called and said, “Doyou want to do a lead in my nextfilm?” I said, “Only if everybodyinvolved is totally enthusiasticabout me doing it.” Wim Wendersthought I was too old. He came tosee me and finally he agreed to it.I just played myself. Travis waslooking for enlightenment, I think.Which of your films do peopleask you about the most?Sarah Haycock, MonmouthshireParis, Texas for one. Pretty In Pinkwas a huge hit for me. MollyRingwald was awesome, a naturaltalent. Alien? Oh, yeah. I still getfanmail almost every week. Am Istill working? Just occasionally. Idid this film with Sean Penn [ThisMust Be The Place, 2011]. I playedthe guy who invented wheels forbaggage. I met the guy. It was anamazing experience. He told mehow he invented it, the whole thing.You’ve worked with Hitchcock,Huston, Peckinpah, Lynch…What’s the best piece of directiona director ever gave you?Julie Murphy, EdinburghThe best direction? Leave me alone.Let me do what I want to do! I wason Hitchcock Presents… We had asequence in a basement where wekidnapped and tied up a great actor,EG Marshall, me and this kid TomPittman. Hitchcock came up andsaid, “You fellows go down thereand work it out.” He let us direct thewhole scene. No director beforeor since has ever done that.Partly Fiction is released onOmnivore Records on June 3unCut.Co.uKLog on to see who’s inthe hot-seat next monthand to post your questions!16 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

producesharon van ettenare we therereleased 26/05/14£10the phantom bandstrange friendreleased 26/05/14£10hercules & love affairthe feast of the broken heartreleased 26/05/14 £10clean banditnew eyesreleased 02/06/14 £10brian jonestown massacrerevelationout now£10guided by voicescool planetout now£10archie bronson outftwild crushout now £10tom vekluckreleased 09/06/14£10owen pallettin conflictreleased 26/05/14 £10rival sonsgreat western valkyriereleased 09/06/14£10various artistsof factory new yorkreleased 26/05/14 £10released 20/09/10matt berrymusic for insomniacsout now£10@foppoffcial/foppoffcial

dolly partonIronButerfyBeyond the 42 albums, 111 hit singles, 70 million freebooks, personal theme park and indefatigable positivity, what isDOLLY PARTON really like? In Nashville, Uncut dodges the handlersto try to get under the skin of the most heroic and hardworkingwoman in Country. “I’m begging of you, please…”Story: Jaan UhelszkiPhoto: everett Collection/rexFive miLes NorTh ofdowntown Nashville,way past the rymanAuditorium, theCountry music hall ofFame, Johnny Cash’smuseum and all theblinking neon honkytonksof LowerBroadway, is a place tourists rarely see. Twoexits past the spot where three super-freewaysconverge is a nondescript stretch of road, dulland treeless, with fast-food chains and budgetaccommodations for nearby opryland. Despitethe cheery signage, there’s an air of resignationhovering above the We Buy Gold/music CityPawn/Cash City storefronts, pre-pay dry cleanersand rundown nail salons, all uneasily housed inthe grossly misnamed Grand Central ParkingCenter. it’s a perfect location to hide something inplain sight. Like Dolly Parton, one of countrymusic’s most recognisable and beloved stars. Forthe past four days she’s been ensconced behinda reinforced 6ft chain-link fence that surroundsNorth star studios, a 125,000-sq ft complexowned by the Christian Broadcasting Network.A guard in a concrete gatehouse screens visitors,and there are surveillance cameras on high poleswatching for anything untoward. eight satellitedishes are arranged in a rough constellation inan empty field, like oversized oyster shells, theirears cocked skyward to catch, one supposes,emissions from mars. or transmit them.Click. Click. Click. Click. The distinctive soundof high heels bounces off the dark tile floors,ricocheting off the low, cavernous ceilings. iquickly turn to see Dolly Parton surrounded bya half-dozen people dressed in sombre colours.None of whom are saying a word to her, or toanyone else, for that matter. except for the softclatter of Parton’s five-inch heels, the groupwalks in abject silence. her eyes look forward andshe doesn’t speak to anyone as she takes small,careful steps. Nor is she smiling. hell, i haven’teven seen photos of Dolly not smiling. We’rerunning early. in fact, almost two hours early,which is a little intimidating . But Parton has gotthis promotion thing down to military precision(she’s nicknamed the iron Butterfly). over thepast 24 hours, she’s logged in 80 interviews, bysatellite hook-up, by phone, and in person. Byday’s end she’ll have completed 31 more andfilmed a video for the title song for her new LP,Blue Smoke. Not that she’d ever complain, but youcan see the teeniest bit of weariness behind thoseeyes of indeterminate colour. “even though i dothese interviews day in, day out,” she confides tome later, “it’s like looking at you and the way yousay it, and the tone of voice you say it makes mehave a whole different delivery, makes me addmore to something i’ve said before. it takes onnew meaning for me.”DoLLY PArToN GreeTs Uncut on abrilliantly lit soundstage. she is mic’d, iam not. The mark of a real pro is, despiteconducting the interviews in front of almost twodozen people, giving it an intimacy and a folksycharm that makes you feel in that moment thatyou are the only person in the world that matters.she watches me as i walk toward her, a little likea jungle cat assessing prey, her manicured talons— more lethal fuchsia than mere red — foldedbenignly in her tiny lap. she sits like a schoolgirl,perfectly erect posture, slim legs crosseddemurely, the ankle displaying a lot of lean leg,and ending in a pair of clear five-inch heels, thekind Cinderella must have worn.Parton was raised 207 miles east of here,in sevierville, Tennessee, the fourth of 12children of a dirt-poor tobacco farmerand his wife. she got her start whenher uncle Bill owens heard her singas she washed dishes, and18 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

Dolly Parton, BattleCreek, Michigan,March 13, 1977JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 19

dolly partonDolly asa childGeTTY iMAGeSstarted bringing her to countryfairs and churches to perform.She wrote her first song aged fiveand began appearing on localradio and TV shows at nine. Shegot her first guitar at 10, and by13, when most girls were thinkingabout football stars and lipstickcolours, she had already recordedher first single, “Puppy Love”, fora small Louisiana label GoldbandRecords, and had appeared on the Grand Ole Opry.She was on a Greyhound bus the day after she graduatedhigh school, and she was signed as a songwriter forCombine Publishing, and then a recording artist forMonument Records. After hearing one of her earlyrecordings, the misleadingly titled “Dumb Blonde”, PorterWagoner sought her out for his syndicated TV show, settingher on a course that would eventually result in more than3,000 songs written, 26 No 1 hits, 100 million sales and eightgreat big hits10 Classic Dolly SongsJust Because I’mA Woman (Just BecauseI’m a Woman, 1968)Written in response toher husband’s questionsabout whether she’dbeen with another manbefore him. Gutsy forthe times.Down From Dover(FaIrest oF them all, 1969)Secrets and death in thismacabre ballad, coveredby Nancy & Lee, andMarianne Faithfull.Coat Of ManyColors (coat oF manycolors, 1971)Based on a story aboutParton’s mother, writtenon the back of a drycleaningreceiptwhile travelling withPorter Wagoner.Jolene (Jolene, 1974)About a bank teller whoflirted with Parton’shusband, it’s beencovered by everyonefrom The White Stripesto Patti Smith.Two Doors Down(here you come agaIn, 1977)Disco-tastic song aboutmending heartbreak byattending a party in herapartment building “twodoors down”.Here You ComeAgain (here you comeagaIn, 1977)Not written by Dolly, buther pensive deliverymade this her firstmillion-seller.Islands In TheStream (greatest hIts, ’82)With Jane Fondaand Lily Tomlinin 9 To 5The Bee Gees wrote itfor Marvin Gaye, butrecast it as a duet forKenny Rogers and Dolly.9 To 5 (9 to 5 and otherodd JoBs, 1980)The title tune forParton’s film debut. Theinspiration came fromthe sound her acrylicnails made when sheclicked them together.I Will AlwaysLove You (the BestlIttle Whorehouse In texasost, 1982)Written as a goodbye toPorter Wagoner aftershe left his TV show.Whitney Houston tookit to No 1.Just When INeeded You Most(treasures, 1996)Paul Butterfield andDylan covered it. Dolly’soriginal features AlisonKrauss on vocals.With PorterWagoner in 1967Grammys. Gingerly steppingover thick black cables andpicking my way aroundher staff, publicists,photographers, stylists andmakeup people, i note thatthere are no hangers-ons in aPartonian universe. everyonehas a function, the purposeto ensure everything works like a well-oiled machine.Behind us is a backdrop with a remarkably lifelike vistaof downtown Nashville, even though we are 20 minutesaway. But even more remarkable is Dolly herself. Her waistcouldn’t be more than 20 inches, and is made to look evensmaller by her nipped-in Meyer lemon-coloured jacket.Underneath she’s wearing a black blouse that extends fardown over her perfectly manicured nails, rather likesomeone suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, orsomething Conor Oberst might wear under his hoodie.Her small hands are bedecked with an oversized blackcocktail ring and rather modest diamonds, and her skirt isno more than strips of black chiffon that skim her legs whenshe walks, a little like a cheerleader’s culottes. it’s the sameoutfit she wore a month before on the Today show, the topratedUS morning show, announcing FireChaser, the latestride at her theme park, Dollywood. Parton is all businesstoday. You can tell because she’s not exposing any cleavage,two of her best assets restrained in a good bra and a highneckline. But you can tell more by the style of the wig she’swearing, always a dead giveaway of her mood andintention. Today it’s rather shaggy and flat, with a fewwayward spiky bits that makes you think of Joan Jett’s haircirca 1977. in a good way. None of that “the higher the hair,the closer to God” stuff.“Nice boots!” i hear as i climb up two small steps to aplatform in the center of the soundstage, momentarilyblinded by two huge lights aimed at a pair of black leatherclub chairs placed at a 45° angle to encourage conversation.As if the two of us are having a friendly chat and not lookingat two cameras pointed at us. Between us is a small redtable. i tell myself not to get swept up in her golden glowand forget my journalistic impartiality, but it’s hard. iremember what the late film critic Roger ebert said whenhe met her at the premiere of 9 To 5: “i left the room in acloud of good feeling.” He asked fellow critic Gene Siskelwhat he thought. “This will sound crazy,” Siskel told him,“but when i was interviewing Dolly Parton, i almost felt likeshe had healing powers.”“Do you?” i ask her.“i pray every day and certainly every night before i goonstage,” Parton tells me. “i pray that God will let me shine32 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

dolly statsDebut album: Hello,I’m Dolly 1967First self-producedalbum: New Harvest…First Gathering 1977First million seller:Here You Come Again1977First single releasedon her own label, Dollyxxx Records: xxx Better GetTo Livin’ 2007No of Grammys won: 8Year inducted into theCountry Music Hall ofFame: 1999Most successful tour:2011’s Better DayWorld Tour (overallgross $34 million)Neil Young songcovered: “After TheGold Rush” trIo II alBumWIth emmylou harrIs andlInda ronstadt, 1998Led Zeppelin cover:“Stairway To Heaven”halos & horns, 2002Simpsons cameo:“Sunday CruddySunday”. Helps Homerescape the Super Bowlstadium jail using herextra strong makeupremover to melt locksThe female countrysinger with the mostcharted countrysongs: 111Longest span fromfirst to most recentNo 1: 35 years, 1 month.Joshua FeBruary 1971,When I Get Where I’mGoing march 2006, duetWIth Brad PaIsleyOldest female with aNo 1 hit: 60 years, 44days old when she hitwith “When I GetWhere I’m Going”, aduet with then-33-year-old Brad Paisley,on March 4, 2006Most Grammynominations for awoman: 46, tying herwith Beyoncé KnowlesMost covered song:“Jolene”With Brad Paisleyat the Grammys,Los Angeles,February 2001with his light. And to let me be a blessing and not havepeople idolise me, because i do not like the idol stuff,” shesays resolutely, leaning forward in her chair. “if they see alight in me, i want them to think it’s the light of God. Andeven if i don’t get to heaven, if i can help somebody else headin a better direction, that makes me happy.”if anyone is going to heaven, it’s Dolly Parton. She alreadylooks like an angel you’d put atop the Christmas tree, allcreamy alabaster skin and dancing eyes. Add all the goodworks. Creating 3,000 jobs for Sevierville with Dollywood,employing almost every one of her relatives. Then there’sthe 70 million books she’s given away to children throughher imagination Library. She seems too good to be true.But after five minutes in her presence, you no longer evenconsider she’s not genuine. it’s the way she looks straightinto your eyes when you ask a question. it’s the littlegestures she makes, like a small bird. it’s how she calls youby your name. if it’s a trick, i no longer care. it’s why so manypeople truly love her. On a recent visit to QVS, the shoppingnetwork, for a liveshow and to sell her CD,the host told her no lessthan 17 times howmuch she loved Parton.She gets that a lot.“Just suppose thatyou don’t like someoneyou meet. Does thatever happen?” i ask,not so innocently.“Well, of course i don’t like everyone,” she says inher high honeyed voice. “But i know we’re all God’schildren. i try to go right to that God light in everybody,even if i don’t think it’s here. if a person don’t look right.Or they’re not acting right. i know that there’s that littlespark in there.”So what do you say to yourself when it’s hard to find?“A lot of people my agehave given up, but not me.I plan to be doing thisfor my entire life”Parton live circa ’75:“I never think ofmyself as a star”“Sometimes i just say, ‘Gee, doesn’t he have nice eyes?’And be done with it.”You have been in the spotlight for so long, is there a smallzone of privacy in your life?“My life is good,” she counters. “i’ve managed that reallywell. When i’m home, i’m really home. When i’m with myhusband, i’m totally with him. We have our life. if i’m withgood friends, if i’m get a sister night with my sisters, we planit and we love it and we spend all that time just being us anddoing what we do. We laugh, we cry, we do whatever. But imanage. it’s like you have to, because this is what i do. i’vedreamed myself into a corner, so i have to be responsible forall of the things i’ve dreamed and i’ve seen come true. i’vebeen blessed that my dreams come true. But there’s a bigresponsibility. it’s wearing. Sometimes you just physicallyand emotionally can’t hardly keep up… You can’t say no,exactly. it is how it works, and even when you’re sick youcan’t take the time to be sick, you have to plan around that.You have to manoeuvre. it’s like anything else you do. How ilook at my business andhow i’ve conducted mybusiness. i have toconduct, just like i saywhen i’m home, i’mhome. But just like,even when you starthaving ailments you’vegot to say, you knowwhat, i’ve got to setaside some time to takecare of that. i’ll go as far as i can… so you just have to planeverything. But, this is what i do. i never think of myselfas a star. i think of myself as a working girl, always have.That’s why i never had any ego problems. i’m thankful andgrateful. And i look at the body of work i’ve done sometimesand i’m just shocked by it. i think, ‘Lord, how in hell did i getall that done? in this many years.’ But i did it.”JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 21RiCHARD e. AARON / GeTTY iMAGeS, SCOTT GRieS / iMAGeDiReCT

jim smeal / getty images, Donna svennevik/aBC via getty imagesdolly partondolly facts10 ThingsYou NeverKnewAbout Dollyl Dolly once lost a DollyParton look-alike contest.l Dolly turned down JackWhite’s offer to produceher, but she did let him buyher and her friends dinnerat an expensive Nashvillehotspot.l Parton and her husbandCarl Dean often go foodshopping in the middle ofthe night at the 24-hourWal Mart near their homeoutside of Nashville.l She has stopped trying todisguise herself in publicbecause people alwaysrecognise her voice. Lasttime she tried, some kidsjust said: “You’re DollyParton in a black wig!’”l Although she’s co-ownedDollywood theme parksince 1986, she claims she’s“too terrified” to ride anyof the rides.l The Ku Klux Klan oncepicketed Dollywoodbecause of Parton’s annualGay Day.l “I Will Always Love You”was Saddam Hussein’sre-election theme song.l Dolly received deaththreats after she wrote“Travelin’ Thru” for the filmTransamerica abouta transgender woman.l Her production company,Sandollar, produced BuffyThe Vampire Slayer.l Dolly suffers from motionsickness and hates to fly.My ride’s here:Dollywood’s eighthseason opening in 1993“Alot ofpeople myage havegiven up,” says parton.“But not me. i plan to bedoing this for my entirelife. But really, i just gowith the punches. i tryto stay active and stay upwith what’s going on. isurround myself withyounger people.sometimes you have todecide, album? tour? i’m like 68 now and i keep thinking,‘Well, if i put together a band, a show, then that’s going totake like a year, year and a half.’ and i think, ‘Well, if you’regoing to do a tour you need to have a good record to promoteit. or vice versa. if you’re doing your CD you’ve got to have atour.’ But in this case i decided that i was going to tour first.so that’s why we did this kind of record, because i decidedthat i wanted to tour a little bit more than make a record.”she is cannily aware of what her fanbase wants: the roughmagic and “mountain voice” of her humble backwoodsbeginnings in locust Ridge, southeast of sevierville, mixedwith the down-for-anything gleam in her dramaticallymade-up eyes, the double-barreled double entendre and herrather outré selection of cover songs over the years [see p54].Her followers are legion and fanatical. parton was jerrygarcia’s favourite female singer, and he once told Playboyparton’s “Daddy, Come and get me” made him weep. mickjagger used to pop backstage to see her when she performedin new york, while andy Warhol liked to talk wigs with her,sharing one of the small tables at studio 54. even Biancajagger liked parton, and she didn’t like anyone. Willienelson is another old friend. they knew each otherin nashville in the early days. last year nelson asked if hecould record her song “from Here to the moon” for his ToAll The Girls duets CD. they have recorded a new version forBlue Smoke. “i love Willie,” she says simply. “i love that oldfunky sound he gets on that guitar. But he’s very hard to singwith because of his phrasing. it was like anexercise of some sort, like trying to catchhim with all his little phrases and all. Butit was a joy, and i’m glad we did it.”What about Bob Dylan? Did you get intouch with Dylan before you recorded“Don’t think twice” for Blue Smoke?she doesn’t immediately answer. Hereyes narrow slightly, she sits up a littlestraighter. “no. no, i did not,” she says,snapping her rose pink lips shut for aninstant. Why not?“i met him years agobut he didn’t seem to…we didn’t connect…”she says, trailing off.“although i love hismusic. But i just alwaysloved that song and i’drecorded another one ofhis songs in the past, iguess, ‘Blowing in the Wind’, years agoon another lp,” she rambles, taking asmall breath. “i’ve been singing a lot ofhis songs through the years. But i justthought that was…” she pauses aminute too long. “i just love that littlesong and i was going to do it with just meand guitar, and not put any harmonieson it or anything. But then it just tendedto want to hear something else, i guess…Well, it’s a fun song to sing…”parton wrote nine of the 12 songs that appear on BlueSmoke, many of them not of recent vintage.“songs usually demand to be written, but in this case, ihad a lot of songs in the can. ‘Blue smoke’ i wrote years ago,and i used to do it onstage, as it was just a fun song to do. alot of fans remembered it, and kept saying, ‘Why don’t youever put that out?’ so when we got ready to do this, i thought,‘Blue smoke’, that’s a great title. i guess a lot of it comes fromthe smoky mountains… the Cherokee word ‘shaconage’meant land of blue smoke, that’s what they called the greatsmoky mountains. and when i did my bluegrass album,The Grass Was Blue, i was going to travel with a bluegrassband, and at one time i was going to call them Blue smoke.”parton has been known to write a song a day, butsometime they need a little help. so what does she do toshake the songs loose? “i do some of my best work wheni’m reading. i always keep a notepad nearby. While onepart of my mind is reading, another part of my mind isdoing something else. and yet i never lose the story. Buti’ll just stop. i’ll work for 10 or 15 minutes doing somethingentirely different. then i cook. and i love to get in thekitchen when i’m getting prepared to write, because if i’m ina good creative mood, my food is spectacular. if my food isspectacular, my writing’s going to be spectacular. But really,one of my favourite things to do in the world is to have timeset aside, like two or three weeks, to say i’m just going to gowrite. go up to my old mountain home. i fast and pray fora few days to get myself kind of in a spiritual place, evenget through the headaches and everything with the fasting’til i get kind of – yeah, i hate to fast. But once i get into thewriting, then it starts to be creative and then i can cook.“years ago,” she continues, “i used to wake, it was almostlike, it was just a thing. i would wake up at three o’clockevery day. But now that i’m older i’m waking up earlier andearlier. i go to bed early, but i get up really early because ilove the mornings. that’s my time. nobody else around,everybody asleep, all the energies have died down andi feel, like, god’s just waiting to come there. i’ve said beforei think about god as a farmer, and he’s always throwingstuff out. and i want to be one of those early people that getsome of that stuff before it gets picked through. i alwaysfeel like the world is settled about thattime. so i have a clearer direction… yeah,well, see, we have our time. that’s mytime, anywhere from like midnight to6am. i’ll get up, i’ll do my spiritual work,i’ll answer mail or i’ll call in messages,and i always do my affirmations, myspiritual work, my reading, my scriptures.But i always do that, then a lot of timesi write songs, especially if i’m writingfor something. justlike when we wrotea lot of stuff for Blue“I met Bob Dylan yearsago, but he didn’t seem to…we didn’t connect”Smoke, some of thenew stuff. that’swhen i work on it.in the wee hours,because it’s quiet.”there’s a pause, thenshe says, “i am veryspiritual. i’m not religious at all but itotally believe in that. i can’t imagineanyone not believing in somethingbigger than us. i’d choose to believe iteven if it wasn’t so. i’d invent god if therewasn’t one, too.”funny, that’s what they say aboutDolly parton.Blue Smoke is available now on Sony;Dolly Parton tours the uk in June22 | UnCUt | jUly 2014Good MorningAmerica, 2012

produceecho & the bunnymenmeteoritesreleased 26/05/14£10chrissie hyndestockholmreleased 09/06/14£10paul wellermore modern classicsreleased 02/06/14 £10jamesla petite mortreleased 02/06/14 £10far out presentsfriends from Rio project 2014out now£10sonzeira (gilles peterson)brasil bam bam bamout now£10clap your hands say yeahonly runreleased 02/06/14 £10the pains of being pureat heartdays of abandonreleased 02/06/14 £10the felice brothersfavorite waitressreleased 09/06/14 £10mr. scrufffriendly bacteriaout now£10peter murphylionreleased 02/06/14 £10released 20/09/10ethan johnsthe reckoningreleased 02/06/14£10@foppoffcial/foppoffcial

“I’m a lot more open toexperimentation…”Weller during the videoshoot for “7 & 3 Is TheStriker’s Name”, 200924 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

paul wellerInterview: Michael BonnerPhotograph: Lawrence Watson“Our liveshave beentransformedby rock’n’roll”Eternally restless, PAUL WELLER is on the move again.The arrival of a new Modern Classics compilationmight be an occasion to look back, but the modernisthas little time for nostalgia. Instead, he’s railing againstpoliticians and boxsets, plotting next moves, sci-fmemoirs and unlikely collaborators, and fnding waysto celebrate the enduring, evolving power of music.“For all of my love of the ’60s,” he says, “I still wouldn’twant to be living in any other time but now.”JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 25

paul wellerWeller in Black Barn,recording 22 Dreams,2008: “Starting theday with a cuppa…”THEY NEVER hadthis trouble with eighttrackcartridges,” saysPaul Weller, shakinghis head in disbelief.We’re sitting in Weller’sMini Cooper Clubman,parked on a quiet,tree-lined side streetoverlooking Regent’s‘‘IBETCanal. It’s a warmspring afternoon in mid-March. Alongside thecar, brightly painted narrowboats bob gentlyagainst their moorings, while ahead sits a glassfrontedrestaurant that affords diners tranquil views alongthe water. Meanwhile, Paul Weller is trying to get his car’sin-built CD player to work: evidently, it has other ideas. Theplan is that Weller is going to give Uncut a sneak preview ofsome new music he’s been working on, essentially materialthat could appear on the follow-up to 2012’s Sonik Kicks.Earlier in the day, Uncut met Weller in a nearby café to talkabout his new greatest hits compilation, More ModernLAWRENCE WATSONClassics, which includes tracks drawn from the past 15 years,and more besides. But once the tape recorder was switchedoff, Weller invited Uncut to this very exclusive playback in hiscar: “Have you got time to listen to some tunes?” he asked.Things, however, haven’t gone entirely to plan.Taking a break from trying to get his temperamental CDplayer to do as it is told, Weller nods over the road towardsa large white house that’s partly obscured by trees and says,“The Dark One lives there, Noel Gallagher.” This genteelnorth London enclave used to be Weller’s stompingground, too: until recently, he lived opposite Gallagheron the other side of the canal. But last year, Weller movedto a bigger property more suited to raising his two-yearoldtwin boys. He still has ties to the area, though. Duringthe interview, his eldest daughter, Leah, pops into thecafé to say ‘Hi’ to her father, while later in the afternoonpreview!“have you gottime to listento sometunes?”Your exclusive previewof the three new songsPaul Weller played us...“wait”title tBC. this begins with aburst of cranked-up guitar noisebefore the song itself emerges.guitars aside, “wait” is driven bya funky rhodes riff and a sleek,mid-tempo beat. “Wait untiltomorrow,” weller sings.“theSe City StreetS”the strongest of the songsweller plays, this has awidescreen production to it –faintlyreminiscentof DavidHolmes –that startsoff slow butIn the controlroom at BlackBarn, April 2014gradually builds over its sixminuterun-time to incorporate amammoth, Crazy Horse-styleguitar jam between weller,steve Cradock and a specialguest – early Jam guitarist,steve Brookes.“oPen road”the final track weller plays has apastoral quality to it, with a gentlyrolling piano riff and – a first,perhaps – weller whistling. It is,he admits playfully, his ronnielane’s slim Chance moment.26 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

sonik helpersWho’s Whoin Weller’sbandThe Modfather’s mostloyal lieutenantsSteve CradoCk,guitarSNow weller’s loNgestservingmusical collaborator,Cradock was 16 when they firstmet. He joined weller’s bandin 1992, playing on all his soloalbums since. Apart from hisduties in ocean Colour scene,Cradock has released threesolo albums of his own.Weller plans to watch his six-year-oldson Stevie Mac play rugby nearby.Today, Weller is dressed asimmaculately as you’d expect, ina blue striped jumper, a pair of slim,dark trousers and polished brownshoes along with a beige, kneelengthlightweight coat. He stoppeddrinking four years ago, although hebreaks off the interview to have twocigarette breaks, and he looks wellfor it: while there are little pleats atthe corners of his mouth, he’s trimand his grey-blue eyes twinkle healthily.Although Weller himself may be smartlyturned out, the inside of his car is anothermatter entirely. There are CDs stuffed intothe map pockets on both doors, on thefloor by the passenger seat and crammedbetween the windscreen and thedashboard, among them a Northern Soul2CD set, The Rifles’ album None The Wiserand a promo copy of Damon Albarn’sEveryday Robots. Sitting in the smallmoulded storage tray behind the gear stickare three lighters – a white Bic, and twoClippers, one yellow and one orange –as well as an open packet of Marlbororeds, a small brown tin of Vaselinecocoa butter lip balm and a set of keys.He decides to give the stereo another go.He treats the disc to a quick wipe on histrouser leg before sliding it back into theCD player. He gives the ‘start’ button anexperimental prod with his left indexfinger: the car is suddenly filled with theunexpected sound of a Calvin Harrisstyledance pop track. This sounds like abold new direction, Paul, even by your“I’d like tothink thebest is yet tocome… thatmy musiccould stillget better”standards. “It’s the bloody radio,isn’t it?” He growls. Then – finally! –the digital display registers the CDand the first of three new songsbegins [see panel, p26].As the CD loads, Weller pulls acigarette from the packet and windsdown the window. As he’s about tolight up, he catches sight of a parkingticket placed underneath thewindscreen wiper. He pulls it in andpockets it, muttering under his breath.As the music starts, he leans back inthe driving seat and stretches himself out,tilting his head to the right as he blowssmoke out of the window, his foot tappingalong to the music.These new songs are the first real signsthat Weller is slowly emerging from aperiod of creative hibernation. Sincelaunching Sonik Kicks with four showsat London’s Roundhouse in March 2012,Weller has released only one EP,“Dragonfly”, in late 2012 and two limitededitionRecord Store Day singles: 2013’s“Flame-Out!” and this year’scontroversial “Brand New Toy”[see panel, p31]. There have beencollaborations, too. Most publicly, hesat in on drums with Noel Gallagher,Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon ata Teenage Cancer Trust show lastApril. He’s also worked with anotherwell-dressed man, Miles Kane. Butas a rule Weller prefers to nurtureupcoming talent. He has producedThe Strypes [see panel, p28] and ishelping out a Brighton band, WhiteRoom, who he confides, “can onlyandy LewiS, baSSlewis, above, began playingwith weller in 2007. Histwitter profile describes himas “musician, DJ, producer, asinger-songwriter who onlysings a bit. Bass guitar (& a bitof cello) for Paul weller, thered Inspectors, Pimlico,Drugstore & spearmint”.Steve PiLgrim,drumSA member of weller’s bandsince 2008, Pilgrim has alsoplayed in liverpool band thestands, with Cast’s JohnPower and others, as well asreleasing three solo albums.ben gordeLier,drumSFirst appeared on weller’scover of the Beatles’“Birthday”, recorded tocommemorate PaulMcCartney turning 70in 2012. He’s sinceplayed on Sonik Kicksand weller’s recordstore Day singles.gordelier alsoplays inhis ownband,theMoons.SteveCradockDEAN CHALKLEY; KEVIN NIxON/FUTURE PUBLISHING/REx

paul wellerBUrAK CINGI/reDferNSwork during half-term”. During our time together, heenthuses about new releases by Telegram, MichaelKiwanuka, Villagers, Temples, Toy and Syd Arthur.But presumably, Weller has also been waiting forhis restless creative instincts to show him where he’sheaded next. “We’ve got half an album probablyalready, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” hereveals. “That could change in time as well, do youknow what I mean?” In the meantime, there isMore Modern Classics, the follow-up to 1998’sModern Classics that showcased his early soloyears. The material in this edition largelyfocuses on what Weller jovially calls “myrenaissance” – the remarkable three-album runconsisting of 22 Dreams, Wake Up The Nationand Sonik Kicks. In the café, Weller stirs a sachetof sugar into the first of three caffé lattes and overthe clatter of plates and the gurgling coffeemachine, considers this latest compilation. Itproves to be the starting point for a wide-rangingconversation that illuminatesWeller’s working practicesand future plans, but alsofinds him revisiting theearliest days of The Jam,identifying some unlikelypotential future collaboratorsand confronting nothing lessthan his own mortality.“You’ve got a fucking bookthere, mate,” he says with agrin as the tape recorder isfinally turned off.eyewitness“We Wentfor a currythat night…”The Strypes’ Josh McCloreyon working with Wellerfirst time we met Paulwas in Abbey road studios.“Thehe was doing an episode ofa Channel 4 series called Live At AbbeyRoad and his management got in touchand asked if we’d be up for supportinghim at it. We jumped at the offer! hecame to the soundcheck and was reallyapproachable. since the Abbey roadgig, he asked myself and Pete[O’Hanlon] if we wanted to be in hisband for record store Day, toplay guitar and bass. We wentdown to Black Barn and did acouple of Jam tunes and someof his solo songs as well. fromthe get-go, he made a reallybig impression on me, thatsomeone could be thatsuccessful and stillmaintain a down-to-earthmentality – like we wentfor a curry that night.Did he pay for the curry?i think he did!“the whole band came to hang outwhen we went down for the rehearsalsand we really liked the studio. he invitedus down to work on a couple of tracks.Paul came in one day and ended uphelping out. it was how we thought itshould be in the studio: very creative.then he ended up producing a coupleof tracks on the “4 track mind” eP.Working with Paul is how we assumedrecording used to be. everything wasvery live, very spontaneous. ‘still GonnaDrive You home’, that was his track. hewas around for ‘so they say’ and ‘i Don’tWant to Know’, as well.“When we talked, he’d tell us to stickto your guns, don’t let any outsideinfluences fuck it up. Do whatyou want to do. he’s a fantasticexample of that. he’s got theperfect attitude towards music andthe industry. there’s far too muchover-thinking in the industry today,and he’s the anti- that. he doeswhat he thinks is right atthe time, no matterwhether it’s worked outor not, and that’s hada huge impact on mesince i met him, and thewhole band.”Why release More Modern Classics now? I realisedit had been 15 years since the last Modern Classics. Doesit define a chapter? I’m not sure, because it’s got the newsong [“Brand New Toy”] on it as well. I just thought therewas so much material, I forgot how many songs therewere. We did it chronologically. It’s pretty much all theA-sides. It wasn’t too difficult.The tracklisting is weighted towards the last threealbums. Is there a reason for that? Only becausethere’s been more records in the last few years, really.Three albums in, what, five years? Which is probably morethan I did in the whole 10 years before that. There’s a lot ofmusic, a lot of songs. It’s a good enough reason for me.Do you think the earlier records featured here areundervalued? Maybe, in press terms, I suppose. We gotglowing reviews for the last three records, pretty much acrossthe board. I can’t remember how the others were received.But what did you think of them? There’s some albumsI like better than others, but even the onesI don’t particularly care for, there’s alwaysWith The Strypes’ a couple of good songs on there for me. ButJosh McClorey atRough Trade East, I did think on As Is Now up to Sonik KicksRecord Store Day, there’s a richer seam of music. There’sApril 20, 2013some good songs on Heliocentric. I havemixed feelings about records, becauseI also think about how I felt when I wasmaking it. Heliocentric was like pullingteeth, a difficult record to make. I don’tknow why. Illumination? I can’t evenremember it too well. But in the last fewyears, I’ve felt a lot more creative. Workingwith different people, different producers,different musicians, I’ve arrived at a goodplace where I don’t feel any constraintsabout what I should do with my music.I follow wherever it goes. I think withHeliocentric, it was like it was tacked ontothe ’90s, so it followed on from Heavy Souland Stanley Road a bit. I don’t listen to theold records too much. I’ve had to, putting this compilationtogether, but I don’t generally.Why is that? I always think it could be better. Not just thebass level and those fiddly little things, it’s just a generaldisappointment with a lot of it. It always leaves you slightlyunsatisfied, but it’s also the thing that drives you forward.How important was [producer] Simon Dine in this partof your career? My renaissance, you mean [laughs]? Yeah, itwas good working with him. I always like working withpeople. I’m also not clever enough to do it all myself. But thatisn’t just it. I’m always receptive to other people’s ideas. I’vegot very set ideas about what we should be doing. But it’s notso tied in that I won’t listen to someone else’s ideas.Do you have an example? When I write a song, I can hearhow I think it should be – how the drums could be or theinstrumentation – but it’s not set in stone. Maybe it wouldhave been at one time. But if it goes off and changes andbecomes something else, that’s fine as well.What do you think the Paul Weller of 2000 would havethought of Sonik Kicks? I don’t know. You’ve got to be readyin life to receive certain things, haven’t you? It’s like whenpeople say, ‘What would the 16-year-old Paul Weller think ofthe 56-year-old?’ fuck knows. I have no idea… I’m definitelya lot more open to experimentation. I don’t think the Weller of2000 would have been ready to receive that way of working.With Heliocentric, for instance, like most of the records before28 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

country musicSecretS ofBlack Barnrevealed!l Before it was convertedinto a studio in 1985, BlackBarn “was a derelict barnwith 15 sheep in it”,according to studiomanager Charles rees.“The fourth member ofThe Jam…” Weller andfather John at LondonWembley Arena,December 5, 1982it, I will have written a song in its entirety at home or wherever– chords, the melody, the words – and that would have beenit. So that’s the template and we would have to work roundthat. The tempo’s set, the rhythm’s set. But in recent years, onrecent records, it hasn’t been like that. It’s started from next tonothing and then just seeing where it goes, building it up, anddoing a lot more writing in the studio and on the hoof as well.Do you remember why that happened? I’d just come tothe end of the road – for a period anyway – with writing in thetraditional way. Sitting in a room and bashing around on anacoustic guitar or piano. I just needed to look for differentways of writing. A good song is a good song whichever wayyou do it. Without being blasé, I know I can do it in the moretraditional way. But I’ve also learned the last few years thereare other ways of doing it. Different things I wouldn’t havethought about – harmonically or melodically.Do you work in sudden bursts of activity,or is it fairly consistent? I don’t alwaysactually do it, but I’m always looking to write.So whether that’s a conversation I have withsomeone, or a phrase or a chord pattern or amelody, whatever it may be, they’re things Ijust store up. I think I’ve probably got lazierin my old age, in terms of having an idea justbefore you go to sleep and then rushingdownstairs and getting a guitar or whatever.Now I’m too fucking tired. Hopefully, I’llremember it by tomorrow.Do you have a tape recorder by your bed?My missus bought me one. But, no. I’m alwayslooking to write. I play guitar every day prettymuch. Not necessarily to write, but just to keep my chopsup and because I enjoy it.Do you get much chance to write with two young kidsin the house? I have to wait until everyone’s in bed. Got nochance of doing it otherwise. There’s always the late morninghours, the early morning hours, 12 o’clock, the witching hour.It’s nice just to play for myself and sometimes songs come outof that. Sometimes I’m just practising or rehearsing.The return of Bruce Foxton surprised and delighted alot of people. Are you likely to work with him again? It’spossible, you know. Obviously not in any reformation way.But I’m sure we will do. He played on Wake Up The Nation andI played on his recent album. But it was all right, it was nice.“In theJam days,I wasprobablytoo fuckingserious,lookingback on it”What was the strength of that original partnership?The strength was in The Jam as a live band. As personalities,we were all quite different. I don’t know if we’d have hung outif we hadn’t been in a band. What were our differences? HaveI got to try and be diplomatic here? I think the big difference atfirst was that they were three or four years older than me.Which is nothing now, but when you’re 16 and someone’s 20or 21 and they’ve got a car and a girlfriend, they’re a propergrownup and I’m a kid. So that was a big difference initially,but we all had our traits and our good points. But the mainthing was, when we all got together we made a good noise.You were working at it for a long time, weren’t you?Yeah. We’d been together a good five or six years before wegot a deal. So we were not necessarily road-hardened, butwe’d done our apprenticeship. I suppose the bond came fromplaying all those pub gigs and club gigs inWoking and Surrey to mainly disinterestedpunters. That was our schooling. It served uswell, because you learn to take the highs withthe lows. It gives you some kind of innerstrength. That was the bond. The fact we’dbeen through all that and then we finallymade it, got a record deal and then had hits.And with my dad, as well. He was the fourthmember of the band. I always remember,when we first got signed, after six months orso, he was saying to us, “I don’t know if I’mthe right person to look after you now we’vegot this far into it.” To give them their due,everyone said, “We’re all doing this together.We’ve come this far, we’re seeing it through.”You were quite a serious young man,weren’t you? I was probably too fucking serious, lookingback on it. I wasn’t in any way enamoured with other aspectsof stardom, or whatever you want to call it. I was very seriousabout what I thought was my art, and writing, and what theband should be doing. I like to think I kept us on the right sideof commercialism. There was plenty of opportunities, andplenty of people at the record company and my dad as wellwho wanted us to do what I considered fucking naff things,like a TV show or some terrible nonsense, that would get usout to the masses. I think I helped rein all that in, probably tothe annoyance of a lot of people. Yeah, we were a successfulband, but they probably thought it could have been moresuccessful. Like The Police, or someone. I remember theywere mentioned at one point. I said, “I’m not doing that.We don’t do that.”l the first LP recordedthere was Jethro tull’sCrest Of A Knave.l Bruce forsyth oncerecorded there. saysrees, “in the late ’80s,Bruce sang a cover of anold song, possibly for atelevision programme.”l A band wishing torecord at Black Barncould expect, “a great liveroom,” says rees. “somefantastic drum soundsand plenty of space forband to record live. Alarge control room, andsome great equipment.”l Weller bought BlackBarn in the late ’90s.l Acts who’ve recordedthere include free,motörhead, Bo Diddley,ride, Gary Numan, rayDavies, Badfinger andProcol harum.l Outlining a ‘typical’Weller session, reesexplains, “We’ll start theday with a cuppa. somedays it’s Paul playingeverything, then othersmay involve the band ora guest musician. Usuallywork into the evening.When we’ve finished,we’ll have a playback ofour day’s graft… with acuppa. Goodnight.”VIrGINIA TUrBeTT/reDferNSJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 29

“Astonishing” MOJO“Want excitement passion and expressionin guitar playing. This is it!” GuitaristNEW ALBUM - OUT NOW - includes live dvdwww.rodgab.comFree Super Saver Delivery and Unlimited One-Day Delivery with Amazon Prime are available.Terms and conditions apply. See Amazon.co.uk for details.

The Jam were a great singles band, and hereyou are releasing a new single, “Brand NewToy”, your first new material since “Flame-Out!” in 2013, which was also a one-off single.Are you a particular fan of the format? I miss thedays when you could put three or four singles out in ayear. You probably can if you just use the internet. Idon’t know what value they’d have still, I’m not sure.But I like the idea of just making a record. I’ve got acouple of songs, I like them, let’s go and cut them andput them out. I like that spontaneity. It’s all changedso much, even in the last five years, how peoplereceive the music and how you put the music out. Itbothered me at first, but I’m accepting of it. It’s nogood moaning it’s not as good as it used to be. Likeany technology, it’s got its good and bad points. It’s great thatif I wanted to, I could stick something new on the internet andpeople would get to hear it. But I think the negative side is thatit devalues a lot of it as well. When you were waiting for aband to put a single out, the whole build-up to it, and trying toget your hands on it first, I don’t know if it’s quite the samenow, is it? It’s just the flick of a switch, isn’t it?Are these new tracks representative of the materialyou’ve been working on recently? No, it’s all reallydifferent. I’m quite into having it a bit more groove-based,that’s about as focused as I am at the moment. I’ve got lots ofsongs but they’re all quite disparate. I’m going to keep writingand recording and store them up and see where it goes.Is that usual for you, or do youprefer to have a vision inmind for an album whenyou start work on it?After you get six or sevensongs under your belt,you know where it’sgoing. It’s too early tosay at the moment. I’vegot loads of little bitsfrom all my playing atnight, I’ve beenrecording them on mything like that [points atrecorder], but I don’t knowwhere they’re going to go. Chords,half-songs, lyrics I haven’t put music to.What comes first? Melody or lyrics? There’s no patternat all to it. Sometimes I just write a lot of words, then I’ll be inthe studio and there might be a piece of music I can pullsomething out of. That’s more of a spontaneous thing. LikeI said, before I always had a song finished pretty much, thearrangement as well. But I like the idea of chance, a halfformedidea that once you get in the studio goes somewhereelse. It brings out things I hadn’t thought about. Peoplemaking mistakes – that sounds good! When I was younger, Iwas much more set in my ways. But it worked for the time. Youhave to try other things and become someone else and grow.Are there any collaborators you’d like to work with infuture? I’d like to do something with Johnny Marr. We weretalking about it for a couple of years. We always bump intoeach other in different places, but we’ve never actuallyworked together. I’m up for working with anyone, really, ifthey’re good. I’d really like to do something with Boy George.Why Boy George? His voice is sounding really, really goodat the moment. I saw him on Later… a couple of months ago.I’d forgotten how great his voice was. It’s gotten better withage. So it’s more out of a musical consideration as opposed tobeing two old geezers from the ’80s…Weller with acopy of “Flame-Out!”, RecordStore Day, 2013record racket?“It’s a nastythIng,exploItIngpeople…”On April 19 thisyear, paul Wellerreleased a newsingle, “Brand new Toy”b/w “landslide”, forrecord Store Day,limited to 500copies. Threedays later, afterdiscoveringthe single wasbeing resoldonline atinflated prices,he announcedhe would notparticipate infuture recordStore Day events.rSD issued a follow-upstatement admitting“some re-selling wasexpected”. Uncut caughtup with Weller late inApril to discover whetherhe was surprised by thewidespread responseto his decision.“i didn’t know what toexpect to be honest withyou, i just think it’s reallyfucking out of order,” hesaid. “i just think it’simportant to try andsafeguard against peopleexploiting everyone else.How do you stop it? Forme, just don’t fucking doit! print up 20,000 singlesand charge double, i don’tknow. it’s just a nastything, exploiting people.Yeah, it happens withconcert tickets, too.poncing off people isn’tvery nice, whatever shapeor form it is.”…who were both on Band Aid… Yeah, that’sright. But beyond that, I don’t know what sort ofthing it would be. I spoke to him about it, and he’sup for doing it. It’s just finding the right tune.Do you get to visit Black Barn as much asyou like? I go there when I need to. The days ofspending six weeks in the studio are long gone.I’d get too bored, but I’ve got too many otherfamily commitments, which is the priority now.When I record these days, it’s like two or threedays at the most, sometimes four, and we workreally intensely. We work into the night, have abreak, think about it, go back and fix things, orchange things or re-record, whatever may be. It works betterfor me that way. I’ve got the luxury of being able to step backand go back to it. That’s the beauty of having my own studio,I’m not watching the clock or the money and all that stuff.What inspires you to write songs at the moment? It’swhat I do. That’s inspiration enough, really. From being a kidand dreaming about a bandand making records toactually being able to do that“You’ve gotto embracethe youth.Someone’sgot to takerock’n’roll onto the nextgeneration”is inspiration enough. Everytime I hear a great piece ofmusic – old, new, whatever–it makes me want to go andmake music. Whateverhappens with the industry,there’s still fucking loads ofgreat music out there and Ithink there always will be. Idon’t think that’s ever goingto change much. Whether ithas the same cultural valueto people’s lives, I don’tknow. I hope so. But themusic is still there, it’s just you have to seek it out a bit more. 6Music is good. XFM. But generally radio’s pretty safe, isn’t it?The same crap on all of them.Is that how you catch up with new music? SometimesI’ll hear something on a radio show, or friends tell me aboutsomething, or I’ll be in Rough Trade and they’ll say, “Youshould check this out.” My day in music starts when I turn onthe radio in the morning or put a CD in the car. I guess that’snever changed. I’m happy in the knowledge that there’s stillgreat music. Without young artists coming through, we don’texist really, do we? You’ve got to have that.What did you think of Alex Turner’s “rock’n’roll willnever die” speech at the Brits? The sentiment I thoughtwas good, I’m not sure about the delivery. But it never will.Our lives have been transformed bymusic and rock’n’roll and pop cultureand I think any of the post-wargenerations are all like that.People in their sixties orseventies, they’re not thesame as the people who werepre-war. Even up to the timebefore my dad died, everyChristmas everyone would havea few glasses of pop and LittleRichard would be put onthe record player and mymum and dad would bejiving round the livingroom. It wasn’t likethat for previousgenerations.paul wellerA right pair: Wellerwith Boy George inLondon, 1984JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 31JENN FIvE; MIkE PRIOR/REDFERNS

MARTYN GOODACREcome togetherWinehouse!Dr John!Gabriel!Following Weller’srevelations that hewould like to workwith Johnny Marrand Boy Georgehere’s some of hisother illustriouscollaborations…The Smokin’mojo FilTerSA supergroup consistingof Weller, Paul McCartneyand Noel Gallagher,convened for War Child in1995. Recorded “ComeTogether” for the Help!charity album.roberT WyaTTWeller’s played on threeWyatt LPs: Shleep (1997)(which featured a StyleCouncil cover, “WholePoint Of No Return”),Cuckooland (2003) andComicopera (2007).Dr johnWeller covered Mac’s “IWalk On Gilded Splinters”on Stanley Road; Macreturned thefavour byinvitingWeller toguest onhis coverof JohnMartyn’s“Don’tWant ToKnow” in 1998.PeTer GabrielIn 1980, both Gabriel andThe Jam were recordingat London’s Townhousestudios. Gabriel invitedWeller to contributeguitar to “And ThroughThe Wire”, whichappeared on Gabriel’s“Melt” album.Don’t “Start!”…Weller andMacca, 1995kevin ShielDSThe guitarist appears on“7 & 3 Is The Striker’sName” and “She Speaks”,from Wake Up The Nation.amy WinehouSeWeller and Winehousecovered Etta James’“Don’t Go To Strangers”at the BBC Electric Promsin 2006 and then againon Jools Holland’sHootenanny that sameyear, along with “I Heard ItThrough The Grapevine”.Graham CoxonThe pair firstteamed up on2007’s “ThisOld Town”;Coxon alsoappearedon 22Dreams andSonik Kicks.marTinCarThyThe folk guitarist invitedWeller to join him on aversion of “JohnBarleycorn” on TheImagined Village album.SouaD maSSiThe Algerian singerworked with Weller on“Let Me In Peace”, from2010’s Ô Houria.oaSiSNoel Gallagher has beena frequent collaboratorwith Weller over the years.The most emblematicis Weller’s solo on“Champagne Supernova”.I still believe in the valueof pop culture and popmusic, rock’n’roll,whatever you want tocall it. Music. I think it’shelped shape the 20thand 21st Centuries.I always believed in it.Do you remember whereyou first used to buy records?Yeah, in Woking. There were twoshops, Maxwell’s and Aerco. I am old enoughto remember the listening booths. They hadthe Top 10, maybe Top 20, in a rack behindthe counter. We used to go in there afterschool and play records until they kicked usout. Magical places. It’s still the same vibe ifyou go into Rough Trade or Sister Ray. Butnow there’s so much music. Reissues –including my new greatest hits – boxsets,new records you want to hear, old recordsyou’ve never heard. It’s a bit mind-boggling.Are you trying to match that ‘magical’experience in your music? I would hopeso. I don’t know if people receive it in thatway, I’ve no idea, but I hope it would be likethat. But that gets more difficult as well,because the older you get and the morerecords you made. Is there still the sameexcitement? Hopefully there is. There is forme, but hopefully for my audience as well.Do you think some of your audiencefound the last three albums difficultto process? Probably, yeah.Does it bother you that there’s alwayspeople who want to hear “Town CalledMalice”? There’s always going to be anelement of that. I would like to think,wherever I go with my music, I’d take peoplewith me. There was a time in The StyleCouncil where I purposely put people’sbacks up. It was part of the plan, which is justfucking monstrous looking back on it. So Ithink now I could introduce something newto my audience but make them feel involvedas well. But you can’t please them all, canyou? It would never stop me going where Iwant to go. Even when we put out “Precious”,there was division among the audience –“Oh, it’s a bit jazz funk.” You can’t let thosethings stop progress though, can you? If youdon’t adapt, you die. Whatever aspect you’retaking about. I’ve seen lots of bands do that.That’s probably why there’s so many bandsaround now getting back together.You’ve had a couple of Jam and soloanniversary reissues, and there’ll bemore, I expect… What about when I die?Fucking hell, mate!But what’s your response when therecord company asks for yourinvolvement in an anniversary reissue?Haven’t we got enough anniversary boxsets?I think we have, which willsound contradictorybecause like you say,they’ve put enough ofmine out. They did agood one on StanleyRoad. There wassome nice outtakesand there was a niceDVD that went withit. Some of them arepointless. There isn’tany material, there aren’tany hidden gems, it’s justpeople fucking around withdemos or half-formed songs. I was neverinterested in the demos. I’ve got a Beatlesbootleg and one whole side is different takesof “Strawberry Fields…”. What’s the fuckingpoint? All I want to hear is the finished trackin all its glory. But that’s the way it is. I don’tknow if I could put my foot down and say,“You can’t do that.” They own it all. Youmight as well get involved and make surethey do a half-decent job on it.Do you have an archive? No. It’s all beenout by now. There’s only a few bits of mescratching me arm or whatever.There’s no shed in the depths of Surrey,then? A bunker? No. I had this ritual, all mynotebooks, after I finished a record, I’d eitherburn them or cut them into little pieces. Myfeelings was always: get rid of it, burn it,move on. It’s only recently that a mate ofmine said, “You should have kept all them.”So I’ve started keeping them now.You’ve been working with The Strypesrecently. Do you see anything ofyourself at that age in them? What, the“youthful energy”? I can see that. Josh, he’ssomewhere else with his guitar playing. Ithink he’s really special. But they’re a goodlittle band, they just need to carry on writingand let them evolve naturally. But to me, theyall seem committed to what they’re doing.Whether the management or the recordcompany let them develop, who knows thesedays? But either way, Josh will do something.When I was doing that record, he must have

done four or five lead guitartakes and every solo wasfucking brilliant. It washard to pick a bad one.Do you wish when you’dbeen that age someonefrom an older generationhad given you a helpinghand? Yeah, but all those’60s guys were too fuckingtight, weren’t they? I neverRonnie Lane,1975got any encouraging words from any of those people. I’ve hadmore in recent years but I think maybe I’ve earned the right tobe… it’s different now. I’ve played with a lot of my childhoodheroes in recent years. Macca, Ray Davies, Ron Wood,kenney and Mac from the Small Faces. But there wasn’t thatsame vibe then. I don’t think they were scared of punk, butthey were very protective of the territory they’d built, whichdoesn’t make sense to me. You’ve got to embrace the youth.Without them, you don’t exist anyway, so what the fuck?Someone’s got to take rock’n’roll on to the next generation.I’m quite conscious of that, but I don’t feel threatened byThe Strypes or something. It isn’t like that.As you get older, is it reassuring that artists like PaulMcCartney and Ray Davies are still making recordsinto their sixties and seventies? Yeah, definitely. I’veseen Paul McCartney two or three times in recent years, andhe was fucking great. I saw the Stones at the O 2 a couple ofyears ago, that was the first time I’ve seen them. They weregreat. But why shouldn’t they continue making music? Allthat ‘year zero’ with punk was just bullshit. I’m in it for thelong haul. If there’s a jazz sax player who plays until theyfall off the stage, that’s kind of romantic and appreciated.But why shouldn’t the rock’n’rollers do that as well? John LeeHooker doing his last gig, then going home and dying. Playup until the time you die. I never thought I’d get to 56. But ithappens really quickly. 15 years since the last greatest hits.Where’s that gone? I’m aware you don’t get very long. I used tothink you did, but you don’t. So you’ve got to pack as much inas you possibly can. I’d like to leave a big body of work whenI go, for subsequent generations or whatever. Just as we pickup a book written by someone from 200 years ago, or a recordmade in the 1940s and get something from it. I hope I’ll bepart of that as well, if that’s not too lofty.So who do you consider your peers these days? I don’treally. I’ve got more in common with people who are muchyounger than me. Who would be my peers?Who’s left from the class of ’77? Lydon, Mick Jones,Siouxsie… I don’t relate to any of those people. Not becauseI dislike them, or their music, but they don’t feel like peers tome. They haven’t been consistent enough for me to regardthem as peers, to be quite honest with you. I’ve wanted tokeep working, but from a very practical point of view I’ve hadto keep working to keep things on the road. Through work,you find yourself as well – or in my line of work anyway.for plonk“hisintentionsWeresWeet anDnoble…”MoreModernClassics opens with“He’s The Keeper”,the track Wellerwrote in memoryof one of hisheroes…“IT STARTS IN 1999with a song Iwrote for the late,great Ronnie Lane, soundervalued at the timebut perhaps less so in thelast 15 years, where wehave seen Ronnie and theSmall Faces reappraisedand lauded, and rightfullyso. There have been morebooks and boxsets andarticles about the manand band in recent yearsthan in the last 45 yearssince the split, and as afan, I’m grateful for that.“It’s a good place tostart, for his intentionswere sweet and nobleand a shining example forany songwriter of merit.He died potless andquietly and we can onlyhope he now looks downand smiles at the fineexample he set down.He might have found theplaudits amusing but theroyalties would have beenfucking handy!”paul wellerYou’ve lived a full life… Absolutely, yeah. But who’d wantto write songs about your life all the time? It would bore methat, anyway. Often songs are born out of a little idea, thatmight come from myself and I explore that. Other times,I’m just writing words and I don’t know what they mean.Is there a recent example you can think of?“Landslide”… I like the shape and sound of the words, butI wasn’t particularly thinking what they meant, then aftersinging it for a little longer, I thought it was my own take ongetting older. Me looking at my mortality. But I don’t thinkthose things are always apparent until some time later. Youcan have part of a song written by your subconscious mindand the rest is very conscious because you’ve got to try andfucking finish it. Unless you’re so inspired you don’t even stopto think about it, before you know it you’ve written them. Butthey don’t happen all the time.“All that‘year zero’with punkwas justbullshit,I’m in itfor thelong haul”Clash of the titans:Weller and MickJones, August 2012What about yourautobiography. Wouldyou ever consider that?Yeah. But with a science-fiction theme to it. Set inspace, or something.It’s the 30th anniversaryof Red Wedge next year…Don’t tell me! There’s aboxset coming out? A livealbum?! Sorry, go on……I wondered whetheryou thought there was avoice of protest in musictoday? Not one that’sdetectable to my ears.I’m not hearing it.Maybe the closest Ihear it is some Ukrappers or some grimeartist or something.As someone whoonce was a seriousyoung man, doesthat trouble you? Welive in a different time,though, don’t we?But you’ve writtensongs in recentCHRIS CAPSTICk/REX; DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES; ERICA ECHENBERG/REDFERNSSo what do you think you’ve learned about yourselfthrough your work? Bloody hell! It’s a bit early for that sortof thing. Although my songs are not wholly biographical, Ithink there’s always little bits of yourself you expand on.There’s always one or two lines, it might take me a long timeto realise, but they say something about how I was at thattime. Not even big, traumatic things, but your generalrelationship with the world and how you’re feeling.Have you ever wanted to write more overtlyautobiographical songs? I have done, but I don’t alwaysdo that. I wouldn’t have enough to fucking say, really.All mod throngs:The Jam at LondonRoyal College OfArt, April 29, 1977JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 33

paul wellerStill a heavysoul: Weller inFebruary 2014LAWrENCE WATSONyears like “7&3 Is The Striker’s Name” or“Wake Up The Nation” that felt like theywere angry about the state of things. Yeah,they were angry. But I don’t hear that same angeranywhere else. Is it just because we live in adifferent political time? The same shit goes on. It’sjust the face of it has changed. It’s hard to tell thedifference between them. They’re all Etonians,same schools, blah blah blah. The same oldpeople control everything. Money people, theroyals. Does that ever change? I don’t think so. Buta lot of things have changed sinceThatcher. The strength and prideof the working classes havechanged. People being able to buytheir council houses, splitting upcommunities, we’re still reelingfrom those effects, aren’t we, 30years later? A few years back, theywere saying that the state of oursociety was down to the free lovepeople of the ’60s. But it’s justfucking nonsense. I would saymost of it you can trace back to thelate ’70s and Thatcherism. Herpolicies have defined things since.You were either for her or againsther. But can you say that withCameron, or Tony Blair? I wouldn’tbe able to tell the difference between the two,policy-wise or as people. The same with Miliband.They’re not strong enough characters. Eventhough I try and stay in touch with what’s goingon, I don’t know if people think they’ve got a voiceany more. Who speaks for the normal people? I’mnot talking about pop groups, I mean politically.There’s no-one representing the majority of thepeople. The unions were pretty much dismantledby Thatcher, so who speaks for those people now?“There’sso manydark forcesthat aretrying todrag us backinto thedark ages”In what ways do you think you’veimproved as a songwriter andmusician? I’m a better singer. I’ma better player, I think. I’m morefocused. Not in a muso way, but I’mtrying to improve. As a songwriter? Idon’t know. I think I’ve been fairlyconsistent with my tunes. I’m notsaying they’ve all been great, butthey’ve been consistent. I think I’ve still gotsomething to say, not about politics but I thinkI’ve got something to say in song.As a personal thing, as a vocalist,I think I’ve improved. My voice isstronger, I’ve still got my range.You’ve got 40 years of musicbehind you. Is the best yet tocome? I’d like to think it is. WhenI listen to the compilation, I stillthink the latter stuff is better. Butthen, I don’t know if that’s justbecause I always like what I’mdoing at the time, than if it’sgenuinely better. I prefer thesound of the new stuff to the stuffthat was made at the other end ofthe album. I’d like to think it couldget better, yeah. It gets harder toput new stuff on people, because we’re all gettingolder. The older people get, they generally stick towhat they know or what they’re familiar with,don’t they? It’s pretty true in life, isn’t it, whetherit’s routine or music or TV. I would like to get therest of my generation to not be like that, to not beafraid of the new. It’s a symptom of old age whenyou start saying, “It’s not as good as it used to be.”Our parents said it, and their parents, so I don’tknow how much truth is in that. It’s just aperspective, andfeeling safe withsomething you arefamiliar with. Butif I can in any waychange that, thatwould be quitean achievement,wouldn’t you say?I’m not scared of thenew. For all of my love of the ’60s, be it clothes ormusic, I still wouldn’t want to be living in anyother time but now. If I had a time machine, maybeI might go back to 1964 to the Flamingo and seeStevie Wonder, but I wouldn’t want to stay there.I like the modern. There’s so many dark forcestrying to drag us back into the dark ages, globally,I mean, as well. We’ve got so many fantasticopportunities now with technology, and it’s such afucking shame we can’t make it work for the world.You could, though. It’s only greed that will stop it.The invisible one per cent or whatever who controlthe planet, the establishment. Maybe it’s becauseI’m a mod but I like the modern world. Economicsaside, culturally we’re a much better nation, aren’twe? My missus and I were doing some shopping inWestfield yesterday, and there was every type ofperson, all colours, all races. But I still had thisoverwhelming feeling that this is England, thisis our country. Even though the shopping centreis a tiny microcosm of our society, that’s the future.That probably wouldn’t have happened 30, 40years ago. So I try and look for those things that Ithink are the positives in life. We’re multicultural,we’re not as racist or as xenophobic as we used tobe, or homophobic. We’ve got to fight against allthat. And on that note, I could be a politician.More Modern Classics is released on June 234 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

NATALIE MERCHANTCONOR OBERSTUPSIDE DOWN MOUNTAINTHE NEWSELF-TITLEDALBUMOUT NOWTHE NEW ALBUMOUT NOWON TOUR IN JULYconoroberst.comnonesuch.com‘Merchant’s first album of original recordingsin 13 years is a stonker.’Mojo qqqq‘An alluring mix of the political and thepersonal. The arrangements are reservedand understated throughout, gently cradlingMerchant’s strident but intimate voice.’Uncut‘Merchant’s artistry remains formidable.’fRoots qqqqqnataliemerchant.comnonesuch.com

album by albumBlackSabbath“We thought we were Pink Floyd meets thebeatles meets acid!” says Ozzy Osbourne…Ozzy oSBourNe is in high spirits as he calls fromlos Angeles. “i’m having the time of my life,” he says,revelling in the success that has greeted the reformationof the classic Black Sabbath lineup for a new albumand tour. “We’re having a fucking blast,” he adds.“We played the Hollywood Bowl last Sunday. The lasttime we played there it was a fucking disaster. it was 42 years ago: wehad to cut the show short because we were all going to pass out fromdrug overdoses.”Not this time. The only downside for fans is the absence of Bill Ward (withwhom an agreeable deal could not be struck). But all is not lost, ozzy says,as he prepares to look back on his nine albums with Black Sabbath. “in thefuture, all three of us would love to have Bill up there…”Ozzy in the studio: “Wehad the Egon Ronaymap of coke dealers!”CHriS WAlTer/geTTy imAgeS. WordS: joHN roBiNSoNblacksabbathverTigo, 1970The black and blues.The newly christenedSabbath rock out,pretty much live.OZZY OSBOURNE:We were made by jim Simpson… he used to havea club, Henry’s Blues House. We used to carryour equipment around in case someone didn’tturn up, and say, “We’ll play”. We started off asa blues/jazz band like Ten years After, or jethroTull: the hip crowd.TONY IOMMI: “Black Sabbath” was the secondsong we’d written, so we called ourselves that.GEEZER BUTLER: The first time we played“Black Sabbath” was in this tiny pub in lichfieldnear Brum. The whole pub went mental.OZZY: The first one was a live album with noaudience. The manager said, go to this placeregent Sound… we’d never been into a studiobefore. We did the album in about 12 hours andthen went to do a residency in Switzerland…GEEZER: [Producer] rodger Bain was like a fifthmember of the band. We’d been to six differentrecord companies and producers, and they’d alltold us, “Come back when you can write propermusic.” rodger was the first person on thebusiness side who understood what we weretrying to do. He just said, “Play what you do live.”OZZY: When we come back from Switzerland,jim said, “Come in and i’ll play you your finishedalbum.” it had a gatefold sleeve and started withall this thunder and lightning – it blew my mind.GEEZER: i loved the cover – but i didn’t like theinverted cross on the inside. it was the first timewe’d had something to take to our parents andshow we were doing something constructive.theclassicPaRanOIdverTigo, 1971The classic second album. An apogee of Iommiriffing, a whiff of Satan, and a hit single, too…OZZY: Paranoid went from four tracks to 16tracks. 16 tracks! The temptation was to fuckaround with effects: we thought we were PinkFloyd meets The Beatles meets acid, y’know?TONY: There was no-one doing this sort of thing.A lot of people were honestly frightened of us inthe early days. We weren’t allowed to dointerviews either, which made it more interestingin some ways. The image was built up by peopletalking… this satanic sort of thing.GEEZER: We’d written “War Pigs” already. it wascalled “Walpurgis” back then. When the labelwanted to know what the next lP would becalled, we said we’d got a song called“Walpurgis” and we wanted to call it that. Theysaid, “What does that mean?” And we said, “it’sSatan’s Christmas.” They said, “No, thank you.”TONY: you get labelled as a black magic bandand all that rubbish, but it was a more about whatwas going on in the world. “War Pigs” came upwhen we were playing at this club in zurich andwe had to play seven 45-minute spots a day. Wehadn’t got enough songs, so we used to just makestuff up. And “War Pigs” was one of the things ijust made up. gradually, through the six weekswe were at the club, it took shape and we endedup with the song.GEEZER: The very last thing we did in he studiowas “Paranoid” – we had three minutes to fillfor it to be a legal album. Tony wrote the riff, iquickly did the lyrics. Then the record companyheard it and changed the whole title to Paranoid.TONY: The album wasn’t long enough, andthat’s how “Paranoid” came about. We’d neverwritten a two-and-a-half minute song. i startedpicking around, had it in a couple of minutes,we learnt it and recorded it. i didn’t think fora minute it was going to be a hit.GEEZER: After Top Of The Pops, we were gettingteenage girls coming to the gigs. They wereclimbing onstage and molesting us while weplayed. That was the good part. But we knew thatif we carried on like that, we’d just be anotherpop band. So we said, “No more singles.”OZZY: i could afford to have a bath and put somesmelly stuff on. it was just a great period of mylife. The early days are always the best. iremember being in a club in Birmingham andposing around like the new child of rock, thenthe manager comes up to me and says, “youralbum’s going in the charts at 17 next week.”i said, “Pull the other one!”36 | uNCuT | july 2014

None more Black: the originaland best Sabbath lineup: (l-r)Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi,Bill Ward and Ozzy OsbourneMastER OFREalItYverTigo, 1971The band’s last withRodger Bain. Slow,heavy – a downtunedstoner’s choice.TONY: We had to comeup with stuff on the spot – we’d been touring somuch on the Paranoid album, by the time we’dgot to the studio we’d not had much time to comeup with stuff.OZZY: By that time, we were all so stoned i can’treally remember it. People often say to me,what advice would you give to young bands? ialways say write as much shit as you can. if youget a hit – you’ve then never got enough time towrite any stuff.GEEZER: We were all doped out of our headsby then. That’s how we formed. When i firstmet Tony and Bill, Bill asked me, “do youknow where i can get any dope?” and i said,“it just so happens i’ve got a big lump of it inmy pocket.”TONY: ever since i had my finger accident,i’ve had to experiment to develop things. Sodowntuning was another example of that. i wentthrough a period of trying different tunings. itwas a bit of a breakthrough.GEEZER: The third album took us about 10 daysto record. i thought it was the heaviest albumwe’d done so far. We knew we were accepted:we were big in the States, big in the uK. it justgave us more confidence.OZZY: We used to smoke dope before we becamesuccessful – a five-bob deal, and we’d just gobehind the shed and smoke a joint. But weall tried to stay away from heroin, cocaineand all that.VOlUME 4verTigo, 1972The band set up shop inAmerica. Contains themighty “Supernaut”and scenes of drug use.TONY: We’d moved outto California. We had allthe gear set up in the bar and we just had a greattime playing and doing lots of coke. it was verymuch influenced by the coke.GEEZER: it was a bit nuts at the house. We hadall these mad fights with hoses and stuff. it wasthe first time we’d all lived together, and the firsttime we’d got into cocaine.OZZY: drugs became a part of Sabbath. We hadthe egon ronay map of cocaine dealers.GEEZER: it was all the top dealers we weregetting, so they’d come with bodyguards, armedwith machine guns. They’d come up with thesesoap powder boxes filled with cocaine.OZZY: We were originally going to call thatalbum ‘Snowblind’ – if you look in the sleeve youcan see we thank the “CoKe-Cola company oflos Angeles”. People think it was a spellingmistake. i look back on it, and say, “Why am istill alive?” When you write on cocaine, youthink everything you write is magic, but therewas so much of that shit we never used.sabbathblOOdYsabbathWorld Wide ArTiSTS, 1973The band stretch scalywings: castles, funk,riffs… Rick Wakeman!TONY: We’d done thesame thing – we went to the same house, thesame studio, but it just wasn’t working out.GEEZER: We thought it might be the end. Wegot to lA, and they’d changed the studio. StevieWonder had bought half of the studio and puta synth in there. What you do on your laptopnow took a whole studio then.TONY: We ended up starting again in england.We went to Clearwell Castle in Wales. We wantedto create a vibe, so we rehearsed in the dungeons.OZZY: We used to play tricks on each other, andpretend the castle was haunted. We’d have a fewbeers and then plant a bug in someone’s roomand start making noises, like fucking schoolkids.GEEZER: Tony said, “let’s give it one more try.”And he came out with the “Sabbath BloodySabbath” riff, and we just went, “yes!” Westretched ourselves a bit on that one… we neededto. We’d learned a lot more musically. rickWakeman’s on it.OZZY: in my opinion we should have folded afterthat. By this time, we’d realised the manager wasripping us off: we had lawsuits, and peopleserving us. That was our last joint effort.sabOtagENemS, 1975A legal matter, baby.Great album, marredcompletely bym’learned friends.TONY: it was a funnyperiod for us. We hada lot of legal trouble: we were switching overfrom being managed by Patrick meehan. in thecourt in the day and at night in the studio. Thefrustration came out in the music: we had atrack called “The Writ”.OZZY: By Sabotage we had proof we werebeing ripped off. every quid he gave us, heCHriS WAlTer/geTTy imAgeSjuly 2014 | uNCuT | 37

lack sabbathrICHArD E. AArON/GETTy IMAGESDevil’s food cake: theSabs celebrate their10th anniversary in 1978 –“We should have calledthe album Say Die!”had 20,000 himself. I remember us doing a tourfor God knows how many months and he gave usa £1000 cheque. If you’ve never had £1000, yougo, “Wow! A grand!”GEEZER: One day he said I can’t write you anycheques, there’s no money in the bank – I’ve putit all “in jersey” for you. Then we got the tax billfor the money he’d taken. So we’d not only lostthe money, we had to pay the tax on money wedidn’t have. Then we found out all our houseswere in his name.OZZY: I remember him saying to me one day,“Do you know how much I’m worth, Ozzy? Eightmillion pounds.” That was a lot of money. Ishould have said, “Most of that’s ours, you cunt.”GEEZER: Dealing with the business side ofthings kind of ended the band from then on.Sabotage took 10 months to record – it wasn’t anyfun any more. We were all turning to drugs andgetting stoned the whole time. It was horrible.luckily the tours still did incredibly well – so wemade money off that.technicalecstasyvErTIGO, 1976Recorded at Criterionin Miami, scaring theEagles along the way.OZZY: We tried to marchforward but we didn’tknow how. We’d been beaten up by our own drugabuse and alcoholism, and the music was payingoff our tax demands.GEEZER: It was getting harder and harder tocome up with something new and different. It’snot like now: if you’re a heavy metal band, youput out a heavy metal album. Back then, youhad to at least try to be modern and keep up.Punk was massive and we felt that our time hadcome and gone.TONY: It was the first time that we asked akeyboard player to join us: Gerald Woodroffe.Then we shipped all the stuff to Florida andrecorded it. The Eagles were recording next door,but we were too loud for them – it kept comingthrough the wall into their sessions.GEEZER: Before we could even start recordingwe had to scrape all the cocaine out of the mixingboard. I think they’d left about a pound ofcocaine in the board. But we we had a good laughon that album.TONY: It was like paradise there. you’d be on thebeach and you’d say, “Are you coming down thestudio?” and they’d say, “In a couple of hours.”GEEZER: The nearest pub was a strip bar: a lotof old blokes with dirty macs on hanging aroundoutside in the 90° Florida heat. It was walkingdistance from the studio so we’d go down andhave a beer. There’d be completely nude womendancing in front of you. It seemed quite weird tous. That’s where “Dirty Women” came from.never saydie vErTIGO, 1978Winter is coming.Ozzy returns, to afreezing reception.GEEZER: It should havebeen called Say Die. Ozzyquit, we got in this othersinger, Dave Walker, who wasn’t the right choicefor the band. We’d booked this studio in Toronto,The Stones had just done their album there andwere saying it was the best place in the world, sowe thought maybe that would inspire us.TONY: Ozzy came back but wouldn’t sing any ofthe songs we’d done with Dave Walker. So wehad to go to Toronto with no songs. We had tohire a cinema, freezing cold in the winter, towrite songs to record that night.OZZY: We wrote the songs up where the screenwas. yeah, you really want to get into some heavymetal at nine in the morning.GEEZER: The label had given up on us. The firstnight in Toronto we went into this restaurant andno-one had any cash. I’d brought $20, and paidfor the food. We had one cent left and left it forthe waiter. He chased us down the street.TONY: I’m amazed we managed to pull anythingout of the hat. With “Never Say Die” we ended upon Top Of The Pops, something we never thoughtwe’d do again. But the writing was on the wall forthe band. Ozzy just lost interest.OZZY: When I was sacked, I thought I’m gonnago back to the hotel room and have the biggestparty for as long as I got the dough, and go backto the real world. Then along the way Sharoncomes along and says, “We want to manageyou.” I said, “you want to manage me?” And shesaid, “We believe in you.”13vErTIGO, 2013It is risen! Rick Rubinreconnects Sabbathwith its younger self.GEEZER: We did have afew worries at first. Butthe difference betweenthis time and the last time we tried to do an lP in2001 was that Tony had about 80 riffs written. Soit gave us a great starting point. When we metwith rick rubin he gave us the direction.OZZY: I’ve known rick for many years and everytime I see him, he says, “If you do a Sabbathalbum with the original guys, I want to be theproducer.” So he says to me, “I don’t want you tothink about heavy metal.” And I said, “What thefuck are you talking about? We invented it!”TONY: rick wanted to go back to the basics ofthe raw sound, with few overdubs. We were upfor a go at that, but it’s hard to go back whenyou’ve tried to get a new sound going.OZZY: We’d say, “We’re just warming up.” He’dsay, “That’s what I’m after!” One time I wasn’teven singing words, just filling the holes – that’swhat ended up on the album. He used ProToolslike we used to use a four-track – he didn’t loadit up with fake effects. What you get is what weplayed, with just a few overdubs. He capturedthe spirit of early Sabbath.Black Sabbath will play British Summer Timeat London’s Hyde Park on July 438 | UNCUT | jUly 2014

thethe.comwww.rhino.co.ukfacebook.com/Rhino@RhinoRecordsUK

allen toussaintErnie K-Doe, Irma Thomas, Lee Dorsey,The Meters, Frankie Miller, The Band,Little Feat, “Lady Marmalade”,Hurricane Katrina and...ALLENTOUSSAINTLadies & gentlemen, The PatronSaint of New Orleans looks backStory: richard WilliamsPhotograph: Barry MorganBarrY MorGaN/GLoBe PHoTosALLeN ToUssaiNT arrived a fewminutes early for the interview, whichwas no surprise. Fastidious would be oneword to describe the great New orleanssongwriter, pianist, arranger, producerand singer. standing to attention in thefoyer of his London hotel, immaculate inan outfit featuring a subtly checked sports jacket,orange and yellow striped tie with a matchinghandkerchief in his breast pocket and the smartblack sandals he had worn for his performance atronnie scott’s the previous evening, his luxuriantgrey hair and moustache immaculately styled,he looked the picture of senior-citizen elegance.He is 76 now, and it is almost 10 years since helost his house, his recording studio and all hisbelongings to the destructive power of HurricaneKatrina. a two-year exile in New York enabled himto rediscovered himself as a performer, entertainingthe sunday brunch crowd at Joe’s Pub. His solo act isa relaxed wander through some of the highlights ofa career that began in the 1950s, saw him makinghits with such hometown stars as Lee dorsey,Benny spellman, irma Thomas and Jessie Hill,welcoming famous clients to his sea-saint studioand collaborating with the likes of The Band, Paulsimon, Paul McCartney and elvis Costello. He isnow back home, demonstrating that his musicalpowers are unimpaired. as, indeed, is his memory.UNCUT: You played some boogie woogie lastnight, which must take you back to yourbeginnings as a piano player.TOUSSAINT: oh, yes. We all loved boogie woogiewhen i was coming up. once we got to boogiewoogie we thought we had arrived at a good place –it sounded very energetic, very masculine, like a riteof passage. as far as boogie woogie was concerned,it was [albert] ammons. Then a little later onPinetop [smith]. i knew a couple of his pieces, like“Pinetop’s Booge Woogie”. That was an anthem.Were your parents musical? Not my mother,although she loved opera and classical music. Butmy father, before i was born, he was a weekendtrumpet player. He played in a big band, but heplayed it strictly off the page. He wasn’t a cat whocould scat. But i was the third of three children andhe couldn’t support us playing music, so he becamea railroad mechanic – and he was very good at it.Did you sing in church? i was brought up veryCatholic – a lot of Bach and classical music. But iheard a lot of gospel music in the baptist and holyrollerchurches around the neighbourhood, andi fell in love with it, just like boogie woogie.Encountering Professor Longhair’s musicwas an important stage in your development.i first heard Professor Longhair on record, and ithought, ‘Good heavens – this is the way i want togo.’ i knew he was from New orleans, but i wasn’t ofan age where i could be where he was performing.all the kids around who tinkered with the piano,we all tried to play like Professor Longhair. one kidwould have a few more notes of his music than therest, and we’d feed off each other. so we came up ashis disciples. My mother listened to strauss and soon, so i heard that, and on the radio there was a lot ofhillbilly music with the tinkling saloon pianos, andi loved that, too. it wasn’t hard to get that kind ofsound, once you knew the formula. and i loved40 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 41

AllEN toussaintMICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGESFIVE TOUSSAINT AlBUMS7/10happy timeS in new orleanS:the early SeSSionS 1958-60soul JAM, 2012Early instrumental andvocal tracks, mostly withFats Domino’s sidemen,including “Java”, which became a hitfor Al Hirt.7/108/10liFe, love anD FaithWArner Bros, 1972Contains the great “SoulSister” and the originalversion of “On YourWay Down”.Southern nightSWArner Bros, 1975An extended version ofthe title song forms theclimax of Toussaint’scurrent live show. Alsopolkas. So I just found myself having equal respect for allof the genres, and everything I heard, I began trying to play.When did you become aware that New Orleans wasa hotbed of music? I don’t know. Me and [guitarist] SnooksEaglin and some of the local guys started a band called theFlamingos. I was 13 or 14. Parallel to us was the Hawkettswith Art Neville, who always had a good little band. Wewere too young to play in the clubs, but out of town we wereplaying all kinds of places that we were really too young tobe in, but we got away with it. In town we played at schools –sock-hops, proms, those kinds of things.Did it ever cross your mind to become anything otherthan a musician? Never. I told myself that very early on.My mother was very happy about it. In fact, when she sawI had such an interest, at about eight years old she enrolledme in the junior school of music at Xavier University. I hadabout seven or eight lessons before she gave up and said:“It’s too late. The boogie woogie’s got him.”As you ventured into the city’s music scene, did youhave mentors? I latched on to Dave Bartholomew. Hehad hits with Roy Brown and Fats Domino – a wholestring of million-sellers – and he called me in to play ona few recordings. I saw the bigger picture by being nearhim: the way he moved about, the way he walked acrossthe room, the way he spoke with folk – and he was veryoutspoken, very bold in whatever he had to say.And, as Fats Domino’s bandleader and songwriterand as a talent scout for Imperial Records, he mustlIFE, lOVEAND FAITh1938 Born in Gert Town,New Orleans, Louisiana1951 Forms his first band,The Flamingos, withcontains the much-covered “What DoYou Want The Girl To Do”.9/10the Bright miSSiSSippinonesuch, 2009Joe Henry supervisedthese glowinginstrumental versionsof “St James Infirmary”,“West End Blues” and other Amercanstandards, with an ace band includingguitarist Marc Ribot and saxophonistJoshua Redman.8/10guitarist Snooks Eaglin1955 Attracts attentionwhile performing at theDew Drop Inn, NewOrleans, and deputises forHuey “Piano” Smith withEarl King’s band1957 Plays piano onbacking-track sessions forSongBookrounder, 2013Recorded live, thisdisplays Toussaint’srecently developedtalents as a soloentertainer, with lashings of greatNew Orleans piano.ÒI had a fewmusic lessonsthen mymother gaveup. ÔToo late,the boogiewoogieÕsgot him...ÕÓunder theinfluence:ProfessorlonghairFats Domino and SmileyLewis while they are ontour, and arranges LeeAllen’s instrumental hit“Walkin’ With Mr Lee”1958 Records first album,The Wild Sound Of NewOrleans, for RCA. “Java”later covered by Al Hirthave provided a template for your career. Yes. We werecalled A&R men, although there was more to it than that. Hewas a producer and a trumpet player and he had a big band,which was exciting because few people could afford a fullcomplement of horns and rhythm. And he was a good writer.How did Joe Banashak and Larry McKinley invite youto take that role at Minit and Instant Records in 1960?They were holding auditions at a radio station where LarryMcKinley was a very important deejay. Most of the kids whowere auditioning knew that I would know the songs of theday, so I played behind several of them. And at the end of thatday, the guys who owned the company called me and askedme if I would consider to come and be their music man,producer, or whatever you want to call it, until they got theirpermanent guy, who they thought would be Harold Battiste.But Harold was busy with other projects at the time, andwithin the week we began making records. They were verysatisfied with me and I was elated to be with them, so whenHarold didn’t return, I stayed with them.You had many hits for Minit/Instant with Jessie Hill,Ernie K-Doe, Benny Spellman and Irma Thomas,recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s studio. That first day ofauditioning, Jessie had a demo of “Ooh Poo Pah Doo”, minusthe piano. He was a Professor Longhair devotee in every way:the vernacular, the ideology, Jessie loved everything abouthim. Ernie was a very theatrical character. He thought JamesBrown had his spot in life, and he could not stand it. He likedto shout and carry on, and sometimes it was a little hard totame him without breaking him – because you certainlydon’t want to break an artist. But he was a very goodentertainer. Benny loved to sing, and he considered himselfa romantic balladeer. But his biggest fame came after hesang the lower line on “Mother-In-Law”. It gave him moreconfidence and we went on to record songs on him as well.Irma was the only gal among the guys at that time. She wouldsing backup, and she had such a powerful and distinctivevoice that I had to put her way in the background – becauseonce you hear her, you might miss the main artist. Her voiceinspired me to write songs. It still does.Your longest string of hits with a single artist was withLee Dorsey. How did you meet? I was called to play on arecord of his called “Lottie Mo”. Harold Battiste was thearranger. We rehearsed it out in Thibodaux, Louisianaat a place called the Sugar Bowl, and it was such a happysound, so wonderfully energetic, that I fell in love with it.A few years later we teamed up and started doing thingstogether. We spent much time together out of the studio,as well. We would go to clubs, we rode Harley-Davidsonstogether, and we raced Cadillacs. We had a good time.He had a happy voice and he wasn’t too cool to sing ahumorous song. You would never write “Workin’ In TheCoal Mine” for Luther Vandross or Teddy Pendergrass. Butyou could write that for Lee Dorsey, or “Ride Your Pony”.And a more serious song, like “Freedom For The Stallion”.Because all the songs he did, I wrote them for him.Your songs almost always have a strong and originalidea in the lyric. Does that come before the melody?1960 Becomes Minit A&Rman: produces Jessie Hill’s“Ooh Poo Pah Doo”, writesand produces AaronNeville’s “Over You”1961 Writes and producesErnie K-Doe’s “Mother-In-Law”, and producesThe Showmen’s “ItWill Stand”1962 Writes and producesIrma Thomas’ “It’sRaining” and BennySpellman’s “LipstickTraces”/“Fortune Teller”1963 Writes and producesIrma Thomas’ “Ruler OfMy Heart”42 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

studio gemsFIVE GREATTOUSSAINTPRODUCTIONSAllen’s best workbehind the deskMICHAEL PUTLAND/GETTY IMAGES; RICHARD SAKER/REX FEATURESelviscostelloand Allentoussaint,2006The plot usually comes first. And of course the artist has a lotto do with it. Many times I wait until the artist is near and I cansee them, see how they feel about themselves, how theywould like to feel about themselves. So the storyline alwayscomes first. But usually a little music comes along with it.You were doing military service from 1963-65. Were youaware that bands in Britain had started to perform andrecord your songs during that time, like The RollingStones with “Fortune Teller”? Not at first. It was manyyears after those things were done that I learnt about it,because I was always so busy on the next thing that I wasdoing, and I hadn’t paid attention to that, even if it was on theroyalty statement – because I never look at the statementmyself. Someone else does that. With The Rolling Stones,I guess it was five or six years later on. I was really glad tohear about it.Al Hirt and Herb Alpert had big hits with “Java” and“Whipped Cream”, two instrumentals that you’dwritten in the 1950s – you must have noticed thesuccess of those. Yes, I got those right away. And I wasvery happy about it.swiss orleans: drJohn and toussaintperforming at theMontreux JazzFestival, switzerland,July 1, 1973When you left Minit, you linked up with MarshallSehorn, who became your business partner.He was a very Southern guy, and a go-getter. People likedhim. He came from the day when you sold the records outof the trunk of your car. He’d take a ride to country stationsout in the woods, places that no-one cared about, and he’dwine ’em and dine ’em and promote the records. I’d methim before, when he commissioned me to record BobbyMarchan and then got permission from Minit for me to workwith Lee Dorsey. Now he approached me and said, “I’d liketo work with you in any capacity.” So I said, what abouta 50-50 partnership in whatever we do? He was for that.When Cosimo had to close his studio, we opened Sea-Saint.You had The Meters as your house rhythm section.Art Neville put them together. He always had magic. WhenI got out of the military in ’65 I was walking down BourbonStreet and I heard this really funky stuff going on at thecorner of Toulouse and Bourbon, and I went and peeped inand there was Art Neville with some guys I had never seen.We had been friends all my life so I spoke to him aboutcoming into the company. At that time they were calledArt Neville and the Neville Sound. When they came to thestudio, they decided it would be a co-operative group. Wewere choosing names. I selected four, and out of those wepicked The Meters. It was as magic as everything else he did.A lot of singers travelled from Britain to record at Sea-Saint: Robert Palmer, Jess Roden, Frankie Miller…Great people. Frankie Miller – I couldn’t get over how soulfulthis guy was. He was a happy fellow, and when he opened hismouth and began to sing, it was thrilling to me. I could writeforever for him. And he’s not an imitator. He wasn’t trying tobe someone else. He just happened to be that soulful.You started collaborating with The Band, who weresteeped in New Orleans music. I went up to Woodstock andarranged the horns for “Life Is A Carnival”. I’d never heard9/10BennySpellman“Fortuneteller”Minit, 1962EveryBritish beat group neededto master this song’sdescending chords.10/10the meterS“CiSSyStrut”Josie, 1969One ofthe greatrhythm sections steps intothe spotlight with somepure Second Line fonk.lee DorSey“FreeDomFor theStallion”Polydor,10/10 1971Toussaint’s Civil Rightsanthem, with a glorioushorn arrangement.8/10lou JohnSon“tranSition”Volt, 1972Toussaintsays this ishis finest:introspective, complex,eight minutes long.7/10laBelle“laDymarmalaDe”ePic, 1974This US No1 broughtthe funky energy of NewOrleans back to theworld’s dancefloors.1963-65 Military servicewith US Army1965 Begins string of hitswritten and produced forLee Dorsey with “RideYour Pony” and “Get OutOf My Life, Woman”1969 Produces TheMeters’ first recordings,including “SophisticatedCissy”, “Cissy Strut” and“Look-Ka Py Py”1970 Releases solo album:From A Whisper To AScream1971 Solo album: Toussaint.Provides horn charts forThe Band’s Cahoots andRock Of Ages1972 Solo album: Life,Love & Faith1973 Opens Sea-SaintStudios in New Orleanswith business partnerMarshall Sehorn.Produces Frankie Miller’sHigh Life and Dr John’s InThe Right Place1974 Produces Labelle’s“Lady Marmalade”1975 Solo album: SouthernNights. Plays on PaulMcCartney and Wings’Venus And Mars1976 Appears at the NewOrleans Jazz & HeritageFestival, and producesJohn Mayall’s NoticeTo Appear1978 Solo album: Motion1980 Produces EttaJames’ Changes1997 Solo album: A NewOrleans Christmas1998 Inducted (continues )JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 43

L. BuSACCA/WIREIMAGE fOR WARNER MuSIC GROuP/GETTY IMAGESAllEN toussaintIrma thomas and toussaintperform for the hurricaneKatrina relief initiative‘make a difference today’,october 3, 2005of them before that. A couple of years later I did the Rock OfAges album, and we had a very good time. They were off thebeaten path, but they knew who they were. It wasn’t rock androll as everyone knew it. It was somewhere else.Little Feat were another band who admired your music.Lowell George was one of the hippest guys I ever met in mylife. And mature beyond his age. He had the philosophyand the wisdom of an old man. But very hip, with the capon sideways, you know. He was a delight to be around. Alsowhen I was in a moment when I didn’t feel good about things,he gave me a couple of words when I needed them the most.He was telling me about me, but it told me somuch about him.Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade” was one ofSea-Saint’s biggest hits. I didn’t write that,of course. I always make that very clear.Maybe it sounds like I should have written it,but it was written by Kenny Nolan and BobCrewe, and I arranged and produced it theway I thought it should go. Patti Labelle waspure theatre. She’d lean against the pianoand just hum along, and as soon as she didthat, you saw the world. She soared. Shesoared then, and she soars now.When you made your solo albums in the1970s, did you envisage a solo career likethose of Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye?I never thought of being a performer. Never. I only recordedmyself by request from companies. Marshall would say,‘Well, what would you like us to do?’ And they might say,‘What about you giving us an album on Allen?’ But mycomfort zone is behind the scene. People out front, I expectthem to live and breathe that, like I live and breathe whatI do. I do this, you do that. That’s what I believe.You escaped Katrina, but you paid quite a price. I hadplanned on staying but martial law came in and we had toleave. So I went to New York and I spent two years there,the longest I have ever been away from New Orleans. Andeverything went. Everything except what I was wearing. ButI was OK with it when I came back. It dawned on me thatinto the Rock And RollHall Of Fame2005 Flees New Orleansin the wake of HurricaneKatrina. Settles in NewYork and begins Sundaylunchtime solo concertsat Joe’s Pub2006 Records The RiverIn Reverse with ElvisCostello in London2007 Returns to NewOrleans. Performswith Paul McCartneyon Fats Domino tributealbum. “Here ComeThe Girls”, written andproduced for Ernie K-Doe“AfterHurricaneKatrina,I losteverythingexcept whatI waswearing...”everything had served me well to that pointand the future was going to be nice.How did you acclimatise to New York?If I had to be any place, that was the place tobe. In New Orleans we mosey along. If youstand on the corner in New York you hear 10different dialects passing and cabs speedingand bright lights flashing. The energy wasvery good for me.And you found a place to perform. Mybusiness partner in New York and other folkgot together and said, “Put this man to work.”So I did the Sunday brunch at Joe’s Pub andthe wonderful thing was that two or threegenerations would be there in the audience –grandparents, parents and the little children. That a motherand father would think to bring their child to hear me, thatmeant something.Did it rekindle the enjoyment of performance?No [laughs]. I’d rather have been in the studio. It’s another life,centre-stage, although I must say I grew to appreciate it. Atfirst there was so much tension. I thought, “I’m here, but I’man imposter.” But after being there for a while and getting theresponse from the people, I began to feel differently about it. Ithought, ‘What we do in the studio is try to reach people, andhere they are, reaching me back.’ So I began to see it as a twowaystreet, and now I dearly appreciate it.The Bright Mississippi featured yourpiano-playing. Some people might havebeen surprised to hear you performingthe title track, a Thelonious Monk tune.Joe Henry chose that. He wanted to produceme. I thought he wanted the New Orleansthing, the funk and so on, but he chose theseAmerican standards, and I’m so glad he did.He surrounded me with giants and gave mesuch a smooth avenue to travel on. Hethought more of me than I did myself.Of all your songs, which is yourfavourite? I would have to say “SouthernNights” – it’s like a little movie to me, a storyof what happened when I was six or seven,and every person in the song is real. But if I was going to grademyself as a songwriter, there’s one called “Transition”. Noone would ever know it except me, but it’s the most serious.Which has been the most lucrative? The most covered is“Get Out Of My Life, Woman”. I don’t know what to make ofthat. It’s certainly not one of my favourites, but I appreciate it.And nine years after the levees broke, has New Orleanshealed itself? New Orleans is doing great. The rebuildinghas been wonderful. Things that were rebuilt were builtbetter. Right now there’s guys out in Jackson Square blowingtheir instruments, just as it’s always been. Katrina turnedout to be more of a baptism than a drowning.in 1970, appears in aBoots TV ad2008 Performs atFestival New Orleansand NFL Tailgate Partyin London. Sugababes’version of “Here ComeThe Girls” reaches No 3in UK charts2009 Instrumental soloalbum: The BrightMississippi, producedby Joe Henry2010 Plays on EricClapton album, Clapton2013 Solo album:Songbook, recordedlive at Joe’s Pubnew takesFIVE GREATCOVER VERSIONSOF TOUSSAINTSONGS9/10OtisRedding“Pain inMy HeaRt”Volt, 1963Thisremodelling of “Ruler OfMy Heart”, written forIrma Thomas, helpedestablish Redding’sreputation.LittLe Feat“On yOuRWay dOWn”WarnerBros, 197310/10 Perhapsthe band’s finest hour ina studio, a note-perfect,soul-deep performanceof a philosophical blues.8/10RObeRtPaLMeR“sneakin’saLLytHROugHtHe aLLey”Island, 1974The achingly cool titletrack of Palmer’s debut,written for Lee Dorsey,re-recorded at Sea-Saintwith The Meters andLowell George.10/10LOWeLLgeORge“WHat dOyOu WanttHe giRLtO dO”Warner Bros, 1979Little Feat’s singerguitaristhad a specialrapport with Toussaint,and this – from his soloalbum – is the best ofseveral covers of aheartbreakinglybitter-sweet song.POinteRsisteRs “yesWe Can Can”BluethumB,8/101973Another Dorsey retread,a taut David Rubinsonproduction that launchedthe soulful sisters’ career.44 | uNCuT | JuLY 2014

CHUCKPROPHETdecor presentsFEATURINGWILLY VLAUTINFROMRICHMONDFONTAINETemple Beautiful out now on Yep Rocìchanneling Tom Petty, Mink DeVille and Early Stonesî - MojoExclusive European Orchestra showJuly 18th NEWCASTLE Summertyne Festival- Sage Gateshead( with string section performing Temple Beautiful and more )July 20th PORTSMOUTH - Cellars( duo show with Stephanie Finch )New album “Colfax”& Limited 7” Single“The Oil Rigs At Night”OUT NOW“the richest collection of songs Vlautin has written - A sublime suite ofAmericana Heartnreak” UNCUT 9/10“it’s country soul with Boone a damaged Dusty Springfield” Q 4/5“Colfax resembles the best of Richmond Fontaine’s work” Line of Best Fit 8.5/10Òthis is one classy, soulful and uncompromising recordÓ The Sun 4/5UK tour June 20142nd CORK Cyprus Ave - 3rd BELFAST Errigle Inn - 4th DUBLIN Whelans - 5th KILKENNY Cleeres6th LIMERICK Dolan’s Warehouse - 7th GALWAY Roisin Dubh - 10th LONDON SOLD OUT The Lexington11th WINCHESTER Railway - 12th BRISTOL St Bonaventures - 13th OXFORD Arts Bar (Bullingdon)14th NOTTINGHAM The Maze - 15th SHEFFIELD The Greystones - 17th BIRMINGHAM Hare and Hound18th MANCHESTER Night and Day - 19th LEEDS Brudnell Social Club - 20th GLASGOW Oran Mor21st JUMPIN HOT JAMBOREE Easington Colliery - 22nd BRIGHTON PalmeriaNovember 11th LONDON Hoxton Bar and Grill (NEW SHOW!)Richmond Fontaine & Delines available at decorrecords.com, disitributed by ShellshockTHE PAST,PRESENT& FUTUREOF MUSICOut every Wednesdayin all good newsagents and available todownload at nme.com/digital-edition

the making of...Apacheby The ShadowSCliff Richard’s backing band and their seminal 1960 No 1 hitinspired a boom of bespectacled, pre-Beatles guitar groups aroundthe world: “We were fucking enormous!” says Bruce WelchPAUL NAYLOR/REDFERNS, ALAN OLLEY. WORDS: NICK HASTEDTHINK“ITHE SHADOWSand I are overlookednow in the history ofBritish pop,” Cliff Richardsays, sadly. “Peoplewill take it back as faras The Beatles, andyou would think the world had just started then.”When guitarists Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch,both 16, arrived in Soho in April 1958, Britishrock’n’roll was in its infancy. Richard’s “Move It”was still four months away. At late-night coffeebars such as the 2i’s, teenagers only listenedto US releases. “I was trying to copy Americanrock’n’roll,” Marvin remembers, “because theirguitar sounds were very different from any Britishrecord – Tommy Steele sounded like a jazz player.”Marvin’s break came when Richard neededa new guitarist for his backing band, the Drifters.Comprising Welch, bassist Jet Harris and drummerTony Meehan, this incarnation of the Driftersreleased several flop singles separate to theircareer with Richard. After the US Drifters forced aname-change, their first single as The Shadows,“Saturday Dance”, established their sound basedon vibrato from Marvin’s Fender Stratocaster’stremolo arm and an echo-box. “My guitar soundwas not like anything we’d heard out of America,”Marvin explains.The instrumental “Apache” ushered in TheShadows’ utter domination of the pre-Beatles UKcharts. Its American Indian-style drum intro, partlyplayed by Richard, led intoa classic, echoing riff fromMarvin, underpinned byWelch’s booming, acousticrhythm guitar. This singlegave a new, slightly youngergeneration of guitaristsincluding Peter Green, PeteTownshend and Jeff BeckBritish role-models to aspireto. In a curious twist, a 1973 UScover by the Incredible BongoBand become a key early hiphopsample. “I was watchingsome music show,” Welchsays, “and this guy said, ‘Oh,man, The Shadows – they’rethe godfathers of hip-hop!’I went, ‘Really?’”“‘Apache’ created a boomof groups,” Welch argues.“The Shadows were fuckingenormous. Every lead guitarist had glasses on, likeHank. And that was around the world. And it’s allbecause of that ‘Apache’ sound.” NICK HASTEDHANK MARVIN: Bruce and I came down toLondon with a Newcastle skiffle group calledThe Railroaders for a talent competition. Thegroup broke up, and we stayed. Soho had Italiansand Greeks, so there was this feeling of otherworldliness– it wasn’t like anything we knew. Andkey playersthere were prostitutes onstreet-corners, plus there wasa hell of a lot of music going on.The 2i’s was not very classylooking,a simple little coffeebar. There was a door leadingdown steep stairs into a cellar,which led you to a stage,maybe 18 inches high. Andon Friday and Saturdaynight, you could barelymove in there.JOE BROWN: There wasloads of those clubs – theFreight Train, and the SkiffleCellar. And the 2i’s, yeah,everybody played the 2i’s.And everyone was drinkingCoca-Cola laced with cocaine,or so they tell me. These placesin those days were real dives.They were an extension ofyour mum’s front room.BRUCE WELCH: The cellar was heaving, andvery hot, and always full, with lots of peoplejamming. From April ’til September ’58, that wasour home. We’d read in the paper that Tommy Steelehad been discovered there, so it was the obviousplace to go. Everybody was young, and Britishrock’n’roll was in its infancy.MARVIN: Some days we didn’t have anything toeat, but if you had a couple of pence you could buyHank MarvinLead guitarBruce WelchRhythm guitarCliff RichardDrumsJoe BrownPopstar peer46 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

two tiny bread buns, not much more than amouthful, and an Oxo cube, and that could lastus two days. The ambition was simply to be ableto make a living out of playing music. We didn’thave any huge ideas of being stars.WELCH: We wanted to be like Elvis and LonnieDonegan and Buddy Holly. I was just desperate tobe a rock star. Or a skiffle star. I wanted to be out ofNewcastle, and be on the stage. The magic changedwhen Cliff’s would-be manager, John Foster, camelooking for a guitarist.CLIFF RICHARD: “Move It” took off and I hadto find a band. The guy who was acting as mymanager, John Foster, went into the 2i’s and cameback saying, “There’s this guy who looks likeBuddy Holly, and he plays like James Burton.” SoI said, “Bring them in,” and we sang and playedin my council house in Cheshunt. Jet [Harris,bassist] joined us on tour, and they knew [drummer]Tony Meehan.WELCH: We’d never seen a bass guitar, apartfrom in the hands of Americans at a Jerry Lee Lewisshow in ’58. Jet bought the first bass guitar in the UKafter that. Cliff was very supportive. He just lovedthe band, and helped us get a record deal. Cliffwanted Hank to sound American, like RickyNelson’s guitar-player, who we later found out wasJames Burton, another 16-year-old genius, andthat’s how Hank ended up with the famous redStrat. Cliff bought it from America for him.MARVIN: That guitar’s whammy [tremolo] barwas like manna for me. I could hit a note, and givethe whammy bar a shake, and get a vibrato. Youcould let the note sing, almost like a voice. But theseguys like Scotty Moore had a twanging sound,using this very short tape-echo, that was veryrock’n’roll. And that was something that wecouldn’t replicate, until I discovered the Meazziecho-box. We were in Liverpool to meet GeneVincent at Jack Good’s TV show, and Joe Browntook me to one side, and said, “Look, I’m trying thisthing out.” This little box had this tape echo on –“For me, HankMarvin wasBritish guitarists’Elvis Presley”cliff richardThe Strat pack: The Shadowsbackstage, circa 1960 – (l-r)Jet Harris, Hank Marvin,Bruce Welch, Tony Meehanthis short, rock’n’roll echo – and I thought, ‘Ahh,that’s exactly what I want!’ To sound like arock’n’roll guitarist.BROWN: It was a little thing that you put atape-loop on, and then you had several heads thatpicked up various delays on it. I kind of remembergiving it to Hank.MARVIN: I got one from Vox, and I discoveredthat it not only had that short tape echo, it had multiheads,so you could get multi-tapped, trippingechoes. It created this full, rich sound. So by thetime we came across “Apache”, I had all thesetechniques at my disposal.WELCH: Jerry Lordan was a singer-songwriterwho was on our UK tour in April of 1960. We wereon the coach, and Jerry said, “Can I play you thistune?” And he went to the back of the bus and gothis ukulele. He played “Apache”’s rhythm, andsang the melody.MARVIN: There was something magic about itsatmosphere, even in that very raw, exposed state.We learned it on the bus and in the venues. Thenback in London, we arranged it. First of all I cameup with the drum introduction, and then CLANGDA-DA-DAAYI-YA, DA-DA-DA-DA-DAH. And Iwanted to get some echo on the guitar that gave it acharacter. It’s a multi-tapped echo – it’s not too long,but you could hear the multi-taps coming through,and it gives a richness to the guitar sound, and astrange, haunting quality, behind the notes. Iwasn’t afraid of giving it a lot of echo, because Ithought it was such a good and different sound itdidn’t matter. I was making a statement with thisecho. I didn’t want to be too discreet with it, becauseit needed to be almost in your face. You can hear thewhammy bar shaking the guitar and gettingvibrato, too.WELCH: We rehearsed it. Then we did anafternoon session at Abbey Road, 2.30 ’til 5.30,probably. We started with “Quatermasster’s Stores”,for a couple of hours, with a tea-break. We spentJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 47

Cabaret Pigalle: TheShadows live circa 1960most of the time on that, because[producer] Norrie Paramor insistedit was going to be the A-side.RICHARD: I said, “It would bereally good if I got you somepublicity, as ‘Cliff’s band’”, and theysaid, “Well, you need to play something on it.”They found this Indian drum in a closet in Studio 2.And I remember playing that drum on the intro,so that we could genuinely say that Cliff plays onhis band’s single.WELCH: I played electric guitar on“Quatermasster’s Stores”, and all the previousflops. Cliff had bought this beautiful Gibson J200acoustic, and I borrowed that for “Apache”. Andsuddenly I could hear myself – the acoustic guitar’sreally clear. It’s loud, it cuts through. It’s big. It allcame together on “Apache”.MARVIN: We loved the title, it sounded bold andstrong. And when we were recording it, I was tryingto visualise in my mind that sort of Western theme,with the Apaches galloping off then stopping andlooking into the distance, and then maybe a horserearing up. I tried to get this whole visualisation inmy mind. It was something I was trying desperatelyto convey through the way I was playing.RICHARD: There was something simple aboutthe way we recorded in those days. If I made arecord, my voice was the priority, so youalways heard every syllable, every breaththat I took. In the same way, Hank’s guitaris the vocal on that record.WELCH: We did seventakes, including fourfalse starts. The folkloreis Take 7 was the one.We were all chuffed tobits. Jerry [Lordan] wasjumping up and down in the studio. Norrie stillthought it should be the B-side. He said, “I’ll tell youwhat I’ll do, boys” – because he was like our dad,a very gentle and kind olderman – “I’ll take it home to mydaughters, and play it to them.”His daughters chose “Apache”.RICHARD: I had a No 1at the time, “Please Don’t Tease”,and they knocked me off, thelittle bastards!BROWN: It was a specialrecord. People were saying,“Have you heard that?” If youhad to compare The Shadowswith any other thing, I wouldsay Duane Eddy’s guitarinstrumentals.WELCH: Oh, absolutely. ButDuane’s sound was the bottomthree strings, the bass-end of the guitar. WhereasHank was the king of twang.RICHARD: It’s like Elvis was for me. Hank wasBritish guitarists’ Elvis.MARVIN: People I’ve met over theyears like Brian May, Mark Knopfler andfact file• Written by: Jerry Lordan• Performers: Hank Marvin(guitar), Bruce Welch (guitar),Jet Harris (bass), Tony Meehan(drums), Cliff Richard (drums)• Producer: Norrie Paramor• Recorded at: Abbey RoadStudio No 2, London• Released: July, 1960• UK chart position: 1Peter Townshend have said to me, “I used to copyall your records.” Jeff Beck was here in Perth[Australia, where Marvin lives] recently, and said tohis drummer, “This guy’s 80 per cent of the reasonI’m playing guitar.” Always good for the ego…WELCH: The biggest thing that pissed us off wasthat we were covered by a Danish guitarist, JorgenIngmann. EMI’s American arm did a token releaseof ours before Atlantic properly released his, and hesold two million records inAmerica. If we’d cracked itwith “Apache”, we’d havefollowed it, our other stuff wasgood enough. Our lives couldhave been totally different.RICHARD: I think we werestep one. And The Beatles, quiterightly, took it on.WELCH: “Apache” was nearlythree years ahead of The Beatles.And I find it a bit distressingwhen music journalists thinkBritish pop music started in 1963.The great thing for me with theShadows is, it wasn’t copying anAmerican band. With that onerecord, “Apache”, we created this thing. We didstart something, and sometimes it’s forgotten,and it pisses me off, to be honest. The band wasenormous. And it was a great band.Hank by Hank Marvin is out June 2 on DMGDEzO HOffMAN / rEx fEATUrES, GETTY IMAGEStimelineApril 1958Hank Marvin andBruce Welcharrive inLondon fromNewcastle,becomingregulars at the2i’s coffee barOctober 1958Marvin andWelch joinCliffRichard’snew backing band,The DriftersFebruary 1959 TheDrifters’ first singlewithout Cliff, “Feelin’Fine”, is releasedDecember 1959 Theyrelease their firstsingle as The Shadows,“Saturday Dance”April 1960 TourmateJerry Lordan plays“Apache” to Marvinand Jet HarrisJune 17, 1960The Shadows record“Apache” at AbbeyRoad studiosJuly 1960 “Apache”becomes the UK’sNo 1, for five weeks48 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

Includes exclusive newDjango Djangocover version ofThe Monkees“Porpoise Song”Django Django’s late night talestakes you on a psychedelic voyageof Blues, Jazz, Left-field Rock,Hip Hop and ElectronicaFeaturing The Beach Boys, Massive AttackPrimal Scream, Outkast & many morePlus an exclusive spoken word piecefrom actor Benedict Cumberbatch“Bright young things sophisticated mix” Uncut“Perfectly suited to Late Night Tales” DJ Mag“Another standout addition to theacclaimed series” Beats and Beyond“A deft diverse and diverse selectionthat never fails to surprise” ClashAvailable Now:Mix CD with single track download code2 x 180 gram vinyl with single tracks+ mix download codeCheck out our site for more informationon exclusive mixes, releases and eventswww.latenighttales.co.uk

Out of thewilderness…Bob Dylan inNew York, 198150 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

Story: Allan Jones with Damien LovePhotograph: Lynn GoldsmithSAVED?As the 1970s draw to a close, BOB DYLAN is embarking on the weirdestand most controversial phase of his storied career. He has embracedChristianity with apocalyptic fervour. His fans, though, are less faithful:“Jesus loves your old songs, too,” notes one infdel.In the frst part of a major new survey, Uncut and many of his oldcollaborators reconsider Dylan’s 1980s, and discover a neglected treasuretrove of music. “People felt that Bob disappeared into a kind of black hole.Whereas Bob would say, ‘No: that’s a hole full of light…’”© Lynn GoLdsmith/Corbis; rEX/sipa prEssJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 51

BOB DYLAN“Bob was on a mission…”Dylan onstage with theHeartbreakers at WembleyArena, October 14, 1987OCTOBer 14, 1987. A couple ofnights later, a hurricane roarsthrough the south ofengland, but it’s nothingcompared to the inclemencythat attaches itself to BobDylan’s appearance thisevening at London’s WembleyArena. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are alreadylined up onstage, waiting for him, when Bob blows outof the wings like something scary out of revelation,that book of wrath and apocalypse, a wickedmessenger, fire in his eyes and blood coming to theboil. He’s wearing a bandana around his head,Apache-style, a grubby silk shirt tied in a knot at hiswaist, weather-beaten leather trousers and jacket,biker boots and fingerless motorcycle gloves.SYNDICATION INTeerNATIONALHis arachnid scurry bringshim quickly to a microphone,already singing the openinglines of “Like A rolling Stone”.Petty and The Heartbreakers,perhaps not expecting this asthe show’s opening number,jump to attention like dozingsentries startled by gunfire.There’s an all-hands-on-deckbustle about them as theymanfully respond to what lookslike being caught on the hop – and not for the first time, youimagine, on a two-year tour of duty with Dylan that mostnights have found them on a knife edge, no predictingwhere from moment to moment Bob’s legendary whim willtake them [see panel on page 54].That night at Wembley Arena in October 1987, one of thelast dates of the aptly named Temples In Flames tour, stormclouds already massing somewhere and a great windbeginning to stir, Dylan’s 15-song setlist is a generouscareer-span that includes alongside more recent songsfrom largely unpopular albums crowd favourites “maggie’sFarm”, “Forever Young”, “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”, “IWant You”, “The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest”,“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and “Chimes Of Freedom”.These aren’t, however, songs that Dylan revisits happilyand few of them bear an exact resemblance to what they52 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

JeAN-PIerre COUDerC/CAmerA PreSS; JOHN BArreTT-GLOBe PHOTOSsounded like when the audience first heard them.The sound that comes to me now when I think of theshow is a garage band howl, abrasive, unruly andloud. It’s at times cacophonous and ragged enough tomake large sections of the audience feel witness to akind of desecration, Dylan vandalising his own pastin what seems as the show goes on increasingly like aconscious attempt to reconnect with songs that byhis own later admission had lost all meaning for himby first dismantling them. By the time the set endswith a delirious version of “Shot Of Love” that at onepoint begins to resemble the calamitous rumble of“Gimme Shelter”, and the nightmarish two-chordshriek of “In The Garden”, the audience is for themost part palpably aghast.There’s a rippling disgruntlement in the seatsaround me where many venerable Dylan fans aregathered in muttering disapproval of what’shappening, which is as dreadful tothem as it is a revelation to me. JohnPeel about now taps me aggressivelyon the shoulder and asks if I agreethat what we are sitting through isa grim travesty, a reduction of aformerly great artist to abjectmediocrity and worse. He’s shocked,I’d say even angry, when I contrarilyoffer a different opinion. Hesubsequently writes a scathingnewspaper review describingDylan as an irrelevant has-been,an embarrassment to his loyal andnow long-suffering fans.This is increasingly the prevailingview of Dylan. For many at this pointin the ’80s, Dylan is coming to theend of a dismal decade during which he has foundGod, embraced messianic evangelism and as a bornagainChristian fundamentalist cast himself as afire-and-brimstone preacher, the stage a pulpit fromwhich he delivers hell-fire sermons about the comingend of the world that have made him seem like ademented crackpot. His faith, it’s commonly held,has ruined his music, reduced its former poetry toharsh dogma to a point where it’s mostly rejected, atbest held up to ridicule. His albums have stoppedselling, their rapidly declining sales alarming hislabel who are as distraught as his audience by the‘new direction’ he’s stubbornly been determined tofollow whatever the cost to a reputation that by nowBack on thebus: Bob onthe AlimonyTour, Paris,June 16, 1978“Dylan’s 1979tour was likea circus...there was aguy carryinga cross upthe street”fred tacketthas also been tarnished by the furtherembarrassments of the dire Hearts Of Firemovie and an appearance at Live Aid in July1985 whose apparently crass incompetenceleaves even staunch admirers cringing indisbelief. As the decade ends, in other words,Dylan is almost universally reviled as hapless,bereft of anything you could call inspiration,creatively bankrupt, in terminal artisticdecline, a deluded clown, a religious fanaticunmoored from reality, or what usually passesfor it, pathetic and forlorn.This at least is one way of looking at Dylan inthe ’80s. What follows is another.CHrIST COmeS TO Dylan in a hotel room inTucson, Arizona, in November 1978. Bobsenses “a presence in the room that could onlybe Jesus”, feels the hand of Christupon him, his body, in his lateraccount, trembling at the holy touch.“The glory of the Lord knocked medown and picked me up,” hesubsequently attests. He is ready tobe born again, accept Christ as hismessiah, in contradiction of theJewish faith in which he has grownup – and even now will not fullyrelinquish, as he tries to reconcileJudaism’s rejection of Christ as theson of God with the evangelicalChristianity he now fully embraces,in which Christ will deliver salvationto the true believer even as theagnostic are eternally damned.In the years that follow, there’smuch speculation about the apparent suddennessof Dylan’s conversion, as if religion has not beencentral previously to so much of what he’s done. Youcould point to John Wesley Harding, that great albumof parable and myth, as perhaps the most obviousmanifestation of the Bible’s influence on Dylan’swriting, but by any reasonable assessment it’s nomore a singular example than his conversion is theresult of unpredictable whim.In one emerging narrative, Dylan at this time ismade vulnerable to conversion by the exhaustingmental and physical toll of recent events – a costlyand bitter divorce, the nine-month slog of theso-called Alimony Tour during which he wouldBob and TheBoss at theRock AndRoll Hall OfFame,1988god save bob‘BOB freedyOur mind likeelvis freedyOur BOdy…’Bruce Springsteen inductsBob Dylan into the RockAnd Roll Hall Of Fame,January 20, 1988was arevolutionary. Bob freedÒDylanyour mind the way Elvisfreed your body. He showed us thatjust because the music was innatelyphysical did not mean it was antiintellectual.He had the vision andthe talent to make a pop song thatcontained the whole world. Heinvented a new way a pop singercould sound, broke through thelimitations of what a recordingartist could achieve, and changedthe face of rock’n’roll forever.“without Bob, The Beatleswouldn’t have made Sgt Pepper,The Beach Boys wouldn’t have madePet Sounds, The sex Pistols wouldn’thave made ‘God save The Queen’,U2 wouldn’t have done ‘Pride (InThe name Of love)’, Marvin Gayewouldn’t have done What’s GoingOn, The Count Five wouldn’thave done ‘Psychotic Reaction’,Grandmaster Flash might not havedone ‘The Message’, and there neverwould have been a group namedThe Electric Prunes. To this day,wherever great rock music is beingmade, there is the shadow of BobDylan. Bob’s own modern work hasgone unjustly under-appreciatedbecause it’s had to stand in thatshadow. If there was a young guyout there writing the EmpireBurlesque album, writing ‘EveryGrain Of sand’, they’d be callinghim the new Bob Dylan…“so I’m just here tonight to saythanks, to say that I wouldn’t be herewithout you, to say that there isn’t asoul in this room who does not oweyou his thanks.”JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 53

SAM JONES; LARRY HULST/MIcHAEL OcHS ARcHIVES/GETTY IMAGESXXXXBOB DYLANplay 114 shows in 10 countries on four differentcontinents. Drugs, a lot of them, and much hard drinkingwould also play their part in this version of things and makehim easily susceptible to the word of the Lord. It should notbe forgotten, however, that his band at the time includesseveral musicians who had already, as they say, ‘receivedchrist’ – Steven Soles and David Mansfield, who along withfellow Rolling Thunder revue veterans T Bone Burnett andRoger McGuinn have lately converted to christianity.Whatever, Dylan soon commits himself to 14 weeks ofintense Bible studies with the Vineyard Fellowship, anevangelical group based in Reseda, in the San FernandoValley, from which he emerges gripped by the idea ofa returning messiah and an unshakable faith in theinevitability of a coming apocalypse, as predictedin the Book Of Revelation, that will only besurvived by the truly righteous. For good measure,he is also now wholly convinced that man is bornin sin and Satan is everywhere a malign presence.He also has a bunch of songs that give voice to hisnew beliefs that he now wants to record, hiringJerry Wexler as producer and a band includingMark Knopfler on guitar that convenes in April1978 at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield,Alabama to record Slow Train Coming, a fullblownchristian rock album, the first of threerecords that test to the point of estrangement hisrelationship with his audience.When it comes out in November 1979, thealbum’s religious ‘message’, the stridenteyewitness“When ThehearTbreakers firstgot together with bob,”the band’s keyboardist, benmont Tench,tells Uncut, “everybody in the band knewat least half the songs he wanted to playalthough he’d sometimes teach them toyou in a different way. and bob had a lotof covers for us to learn. We learned amassive amount of songs, a million oldblues songs, all kinds of things. I don’tremember how much the sets actuallychanged from night to night, but hecould throw these things in at any time.he had us learn ‘all My Tomorrows’, theFrank sinatra song. and then we neverplayed it – actually, we played it once,one night in a hotel bar – but we neverplayed it onstage until two years later,just outside of Detroit. but wehadn’t played it at all between theday we learned it and that night twoyears later, when we suddenly didit in Detroit.“also, there’d be songs that wehadn’t learned that he’d throw outon stage. For example, ‘TomorrowIs a Long Time’, we did once ortwice. but when it first came up waswhen we were actually walking out“Every timewe did a mixand took itto Bob, hewent: ‘No.The othermix’...”chuck plOtkin‘hOly fuck, we’re gOingtO play “DesOlatiOn rOw”!’Benmont Tench on the trials and thrills of backing Bobonstage and I said, ‘What do you wantto do as the slow song this set, bob?’‘I dunno. Uh, do you know “TomorrowIs a Long Time”?’ I said, ‘Damn straightI know it…’ ‘Ok, let’s do that.’ Or onenight in australia, bob was over on thefar side of the stage and he just startedplaying chords, showing howie [Epstein,Heartbreakers bass player] how toplay something and four chords in, Irealised, ‘holy fuck, we’re going to play“Desolation row”.’ and, you know, in allthe mass, extensive rehearsals we haddone, we never once played this song.so why not play it for the first time infront of 50 or 60,000 people? and itwas terrific. If it’s all about stayingpresent in the song, that kind of thingwill keep you there.”imperatives of “Gotta Serve Somebody”, “Slow Train”,“Gonna change My Way Of Thinking” and “When YouGonna Wake Up”, is not an immediate concern. Mostpeople are simply relieved that they have a Dylan albumthat unlike his last, Street-Legal, they can listen towithout wincing at its plodding production and largelyleaden playing. They make Slow Train Coming an enormouscommercial success that sells more in its first nine monthsof release than Blood On The Tracks does in nearly a decade.“Gotta Serve Somebody” even wins him a Grammy for BestRock Vocal of the year. Dylan is not yet cast as a crass Biblethumper,despite the dark murmurings of some criticsdisturbed by what seems to them a terrible allegiance withthe emerging christian Right, the so-called Moral Majoritymobilised by Ronald Reagan, Republican evangelists withsorry views on abortion, gay and women’s rights, liberalinclinations of most kinds, to which Dylan now seems alsoto appallingly adhere.They listen to Slow Train Coming and hear only the harshword of Dylan’s unforgiving sermonising. The album forthem was pitiless, cold and austere. Nick cave, whosefavourite album it apparently is, would describe Slow TrainComing as “full of mean-spirited spirituality. It’s a genuinelynasty record.” How could anyone who’d been besotted withthe libertarian hipster that Dylan had been relate to the grimprophet of doom now before them? The goodwill that haselsewhere been extended to Dylan and Slow Train Comingon its release doesn’t go much further. It in fact almostentirely evaporates when Dylan announces that on hisupcoming tour he won’t be playing any of his old songs, thepre-conversion favourites his audience will be disappointednot to hear, some of them now turning against Dylan.In November 1979, the Slow Train coming tour opens with14 shows at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco with aterrific band featuring Jim Keltner on drums, Muscle Shoalsveteran Spooner Oldham on keyboards,Tim Drummond, who’s served time withboth James Brown and Neil Young, on bassand lead guitarist Fred Tackett, who’s beentouring with Lowell George until Lowell’ssudden death in June. There’s a host ofbacking singers, too, most of them at onetime or another romantically involved withDylan. The shows in many respects areDylan with TheHeartbreakersfantastic, as tapes of the dates serially attest.But there are howls of critical disapproval54 | UNcUT | JULY 2014

JOHN PRIETO/THE DENVER POST VIA GETTY IMAGES; ANDREW LEPLEY/REDFERNSDylan during his 14-nightstand at the WarfieldTheatre, San Francisco,November 1979. Below:Madalyn Murray O’Hairand elements of the audience are made restless anduncomfortable by Bob’s relentless Bible-bashing, song afterself-righteous song, and what come to be known as Dylan’s‘Jesus raps’, fevered sermons about persecution, betrayaland, up ahead, the end of the world.“Bob was on a mission and we were all doing everythingwe could to promote it,” recalls FredTackett. “And there was a combination ofdifferent responses. It was like a circus,sometimes. We had Madalyn O’Hair, thefamous American atheist, picketing in thestreets outside some of the places weplayed back East. And at the same time,there was a guy dressed up like Jesuscarrying a cross up the street. So, out inthe street, outside the shows, there wasa complete circus going on. The best thingI saw was when we were playing at theWarfield in San Francisco: there was a guysitting in the front row, and he’d made thisbig sign: JESUS LOVES YOUR OLDSONGS TOO. I remember seeingthat and thinking, ‘Yeah, well,good point.’”DYLAN’S SETS AcROSS the14-night stand at theWarfield mainly put aspotlight on Slow Train Coming,but he also debuts new songs,including “Saved”, “Saving Grace”,“covenant Woman”, “In TheGarden”, “What can I Do For You”and “Hanging On To A Solid RockMade Before The Foundation Of TheWorld”. There are enough of them infact for a whole new album, which he starts recordingin Muscle Shoals on February 11, 1980, with Jerry Wexleragain producing with Barry Beckett.Pathologically opposed to modern recording techniques,unswervingly attached to the idea that his songs are bestservedby spontaneity, suffer when they are over-rehearsedand inevitably ruined by overdubs, multiple takes andconstant revision, Dylan sets aside a mere four days duringa break from touring to make the record.“Saved was done real old-style,” says Fred Tackett. “JerryWexler was talking to us about it and he said it was just likewhen he worked with the Ray charles band. We were on theroad, doing the tour, and we basically just pulled the businto Muscle Shoals, Alabama, went into the studio for fourdays, then got back on the bus and drove away. And, youknow, Bob’s basically saying as we leave, ‘Send me a copywhen it’s done.’ He didn’t participate in the mix: werecorded the songs, basically live, and then got back on thebus to get to the next show. And, yeah, Jerry Wexler pointedout, that’s the way Ray charles and all those other peoplewould do it, too. There wasn’t like some big, months-longpreparation, and then months spent in the studio. It was,‘Well, today, we’re dropping by the studio, and we’re goingto record.’ That’s the way that one worked.It was a real lot of fun, it was great. It feltkind of historic.”Dylan’s first album of the decade, Savedis released in May, 1980. critics and fansagree it’s entirely superfluous. They’veindulged Dylan one religious album,much as they had allowed the countryeccentricities of Nashville Skyline. Theyare not now inclined, however, toaccommodate more of the same from anartist not previously known to repeathimself. Reviews are scathing, sales poor.This is a nadir for Dylan many high-handedly decide oneveryone’s behalf – even the few who find it demonstrablya more exciting album than either Slow Train Coming or thelumpy Street-Legal. Such is the contempt in which Savedcontinues to be held that even now such an admission issure to bring down the wrath of know-it-all Dylan scholarsupon the lonely contrarian.The opening version of thevenerable “Satisfied Mind” isgenuinely weird, Dylan and hisfour backing singers murmuringand wailing, a mingling oftestifying voices over snatchesof scratchy guitar, speculativebar-room piano and militarysnare drum rolls. It sounds likesomething made up on the spotand lasts barely two minutes.“Saved” itself is as sensationallyrowdy as “covenant Woman” isdreamily lovely. “Solid Rock”,meanwhile, blasts off likesomething hard-riffing by theAllman Brothers while “What can I DoFor You” has a warmth and humilityentirely absent from Slow Train Coming,although the subservience to whichDylan attests is disturbing for a lot ofpeople who have invested so muchin Dylan’s supremacy and areuncomfortable with this subordinateversion. “Pressing On”, in John Doe’sversion one of the highlights of the I’mNot There soundtrack, is wonderfullystirring and is even to the unbelievergenuinely uplifting. “In The Garden”,meanwhile, vividly dramatises the arrest of christ inGethsemane, from which he was taken for trial andcrucifixion, more measured in its telling here than thefirestorm it would be in concert.The album may, however, be best remembered by many –typically, with an unpleasant shiver – for its sleeve, a luridillustration by Tony Wright based on a dream Dylan had ofthe bloodied finger of christ pointing down to the upraisedhands of the suffering world. It looked like something youmight see tattooed on the back of a serial killer, Robert Deeyewitness‘hey! teachthe BanDthis One…’Fred Tackett onBob’s Bee Gees,Muppets and NeilDiamond covers“W e haDLOTs ofrehearsals, but bobreally didn’t want usto play his songs somuch that we wouldgrab onto specificparts. because, youknow, that’s whathappens: you playa song 20 times,pretty soon you workyourself up a little part,and then you just startplaying that, you know?“he didn’t really say,but this is my opinion –he wanted us to be freshwhen we played hismusic. so, we’d come torehearsal, and he’d giveme a record: one time itwas a bee Gees songcalled ‘Israel’, and he hadthe music book, and hesaid, ‘hey, teach the bandthis one.’ Or another time,we did a version of ‘sweetCaroline’, the neilDiamond song. Oh, we dida version of The Muppets’‘rainbow Connection’ – I’lltell you, it’s great hearingbob singing that, man.so I’d show the band thesong, and we’d play it,and bob would come backin and we’d do it. and herecorded all these things.he had this home studio inthe warehouse room heused for rehearsals. I dida recording session withneil Diamond later, andJim keltner and I wereboth on the date, and neilDiamond says to us, ‘I gotthis tape from bob Dylan!It’s him doing “sweetCaroline”!’ and we’re like,‘Yeah – we played on it.’so, yeah, that’s the way herehearsed: to keep us fromjust beating his music intothe ground, we’d beatsomebody else’s musicinto the ground. I think itworked really good, too.”JULY 2014 | UNcUT | 55

ASUS recommends Windows 8.Is it a laptop?Is it a tablet?All-New 10.1” touchscreen laptop that transforms into a tablet.ASUS Transformer Book T100 is a powerful convertibledevice featuring Windows 8.1 – and packed withsmart features such as SonicMaster, to enhanceaudio quality for your favourite music and films.And with Intel Inside ® , ASUS Transformer Book T100delivers Intel level performance for lightning-fast webbrowsing and extraordinary battery life. Enjoy a wholeday of entertainment on its high-defnition touchscreen.ASUS Transformer Book T100 with Intel Inside ®Now atIntel, the Intel logo, Intel Atom and Intel Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.Images for illustrative purposes only. ASUS Transformer Book T100 is also known as T100TA. Subject to availability. Some apps sold separately; vary by market.

Niro as Max Cady in Scorsese’sfevered remake of Cape Fearcoming quickly to mind.There’s slightly better news forDylan fans who have not beenthrilled by the turn of events thathas delivered Dylan to God whenhe goes back on tour andsurprises them by relenting onhis earlier dedication to playingonly post-conversion songs andreassuringly including in his setsa raft of old classics. Was this atactical retreat on Dylan’s part,an attempt to appeasedisgruntled followers, or earlyevidence that he too wasbeginning to find the religioussongs confining?“There was nothing said aboutit,” Fred Tackett recalls. “We juststarted rehearsing them againat this place he owned in SantaMonica. One day we startedplaying ‘Girl From The NorthCountry’ and ‘Like A RollingStone’ and stuff like that. It wasjust that we’d be doing thatinstead of ‘Saved’ or something.But we were still doing thosetunes as well, and we were alsodoing songs from what would bethe next record, Shot Of Love,which had some more secularsongs on it. But I’ll tell you, thetour we did then, we played twoor three weeks at the Warfield Theatre in SanFrancisco – we did that twice at the Warfield,first in ’79 and then again at the end of 1980 –and the first night of the second time was thefirst time we came out and we did ‘Like ARolling Stone’. I think we’d done a couple of thereligious-style songs first, but when we startedto play the intro to ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ and thecrowd started to realise what was going down,people were going, ‘Oh, my God…’ You couldhear the joy from people, just hearing this song– it honestly sent a chill down my spine. Thatwas really, definitely, a big moment in my musical life, beingon that stage when he started doing that again. People werejust hollering out, you know.”APRIL, 1981. ChuCk PLOTkIN who’s recentlymixed The River for Bruce Springsteen after earlierworking on Darkness On The Edge Of Town getsa telephone message at Clover, the funky little recordingstudio he owns in hollywood. It’s someone who says he’sBob Dylan, which makes Chuck think it’s a hoax. he doesn’tbother to call back. Three further calls later, though, astartled Plotkin is on the phone to Bob.“he said, ‘I’m getting ready to start a record. Are youfamiliar with my work?’” Plotkin remembers. “I said, ‘Yes,’and he said, ‘Well, jeez, can you come by and take a listento what I’m up to here?’ I said, ‘Sure, when?’ he said, ‘howabout now?’ he gave me an address, and I drove to thisplace, where he had some of his band assembled. he wassort of interviewing possible producers. There was a list ofpeople, people were coming by, and they’d hear a bit of arehearsal, have a bit of conversation, and somehow over aperiod of time, Bob figured out what’d work best for him.”As Plotkin now discovers, Dylan’s been working since theprevious September at studios all over LA on the follow-up“He’s apowerhouse– in writingmode, hecan writeand writeand write...”chuck plotkinBoB DYLANto Saved. he’s amassed aformidable batch of new songsthat hint at a return to his songwritingof poetic evocation,ambiguity, doubt, a way ofsaying things in a language thatis exact but not explicit, amongthem “Caribbean Wind”, theapocalyptic “Groom’s StillWaiting At The Altar” and “EveryGrain Of Sand”. Most recentlyhe’s been in the studio withproducer Jimmy Iovine, whowalks out of one particularlychaotic session and doesn’t comeback. On the day Plotkin arrivesat Dylan’s Rundown Studio andrehearsal space in Santa Monica,Dylan’s just recorded a version of“Shot Of Love” produced by LittleRichard’s legendary producerBumps Blackwell that willbecome the title track of thealbum he’s struggling to finish.Plotkin’s first instinct is to getDylan into his Clover studio assoon as possible, to get thesetracks down before Dylan,notoriously restless, losesLeathering the interest in the songs.storm: Dylan inChicago, June “I had picked up that he was10, 1981. Below, doing a lot of writing, and I wasa billboard adfor Saved on afraid he’d burn out by theSunset Strip material that I’d been hearing.This guy is a powerhouse as awriter, and when he’s in writingmode, he can write and write and write. I wasthinking, there’s just too much good stuff here,and if we don’t get in before his focus shifts, thismaterial that I’m hearing now might be lost. Iwas afraid if we delayed much longer, we weregoing to lose the songs – which soundedamazing to me. I could hear something in thismaterial, a tone of his pre-Christian mode, if youknow what I mean, that was mixed in with theChristian vision in a way that was enormouslyappealing. The religious stuff was still there,which was great, it was Bob’s thing, but therewas this hint of the earlier Bob. So I said, ‘Look. Let’s just goin, and not worry about what it is, let’s just record while it’sfresh.’ And he said, ‘Great,’ and that’s what we did.”The album Dylan’s laboured on for nearly a year is nowfinished in five sessions at Clover between April 27 andMay 1. Plotkin delivers a sequenced mix of the record toDylan on May 12 that Dylan rejects, the next day goingback into the studio to re-do six of the tracks he’s recorded.Plotkin spends another month re-mixing the album,Dylan rarely happy with what he hears.“If Shot Of Love sounds at all raggedy-assed,” says Plotkin,“it’s because the mixes that got released are all just themonitor mixes that we’d get at the end of each night. We’ddo a tune, get a track we liked, and we’d just run off a roughmonitor mix. And those are the mixes you hear. Now, I triedto mix the record, to squeeze some little level of aural finessein there. You know: we recorded this stuff, let’s mix itproperly. I’m trying to represent the united RecordProducers of the World here: if you had the chance to recordBob Dylan, wouldn’t you want to try and get everything justright, and try to bring all the tools at your disposal to the job?But every time we did a finished mix and took it to Bob, hewent: ‘Naw, no. The other mix. The ones I’ve been listeningto – that’s the record.’ The rough mixes had some weirdJuLY 2014 | uNCuT | 57PAuL NATkIN/WIREIMAGE; ROBERT LANDAu/CORBIS

BOB DYLANROB VERHORST/REDFERNSquality to them. He had the sense to realise it.”Shot Of Love is released on August 10, 1981, to even worsereviews than Saved. The sacred rapture of “Every Grain OfSand”, which by now has undergone at least four majorre-writes, is widely recognised as a major addition to theDylan canon, but scant attention is paid to the riotous titletrack, the endearing Tex-Mex shuffle of “Heart Of Mine”,the vintage sarcasm of “Property Of Jesus” (the “PositivelyFourth Street” of the ‘religious era’, in one critic’s sharpopinion), the hammering blues of “Trouble”, the seething“Dead Man, Dead Man” or the dappled warmth of “In TheSummertime”, a nostalgic reverie that would not have beenout of place on Planet Waves. As Plotkin sees it, Shot Of Loveis given a rough ride as part of a general backlash againstthe whole Born Again period.“Saved was his most reviled record – a lot of his regularfans felt almost betrayed that he was venturinginto some zone that had already been defined byother people, if you know what I mean. Where didBob go? They felt that Bob disappeared into a kindof black hole. Whereas, Bob would say, ‘No: that’s ahole full of light.’ Anyway, his audience was pissedat him, there’s no question about it, and it did affectthe reception of Shot Of Love. But also, the recordhas this strange, wild, raggedy-ass quality to it thatsome people couldn’t hear through. But, yeah,I feel like it has been a neglected record.”In Plotkin’s further opinion, the LP also sufferswhen Dylan removes three key tracks from it. Theraging “Groom’s Still Waiting At the Altar” isdropped from the vinyl versionbut reinstated for the CD edition.eyewitness‘TEMPTATION’S ANGRY FLAME…’Chuck Plotkin on capturing “Every Grain Of Sand”“Ithink probably the singlemost important thing i did onShot Of Love was deciding thati didn’t need to be in the control room.there was no point, and so i stoppedbeing in the control room. i had a goodrelationship with [engineer] toby Scott,and we could signal each other aboutthings. i would have been useless in thecontrol room: because bob didn’t wantto wear headphones while he wasrecording. that was the first time that ihad ever run into that. So, i was out in thestudio. there was a day, at some point,bob had been playing guitar, but hesuddenly moved over to the piano, satdown and began to play. now, the pianowas mic’ed, but there was no vocal mic atthe piano, it just wasn’t set up, becausebob hadn’t been playing piano. and irealised, you know – this is not a guy whowants to even think about going throughthe business of doing, like, seven takes.Forget seven takes. once he’s got thewords right: that’s your take. he’s anartist, but he’s not a recording artist, it’sjust not what he does. and so, he startedto play, and i didn’t want to stop him.he’s playing something i’ve never heardbefore. i don’t know what’s going tohappen. So, i grabbed hold of the mic“Bob hasalwayswanted animmediateapproach.He gets veryeasily bored”NEIL dORFMANfrom the stand where he’d previouslybeen playing guitar and singing, and ibasically turned myself into a mic stand.i literally held the microphone up, triedto find a physically comfortable enoughposition so that i was not in his way, andthat i could still manage to hold my armout there for however long this songwas going to take.“and it was ‘Every Grain of Sand’!and i’m standing there, hearing this forthe first time, and the song kills me, ithink it’s one of his great, great songs –and i’m hearing it for the first time whilestanding beside him imitating a micstand as best i can. and that was it.that was the version we used on therecord. people ask me sometimes,‘Well, what is it you do as a producer?’and sometimes that’s it, you act asa mic stand. ‘Grain of Sand’ is just anamazing thing – he couldn’t have writtenthat 10 or 20 years earlier, when he wasa kid. there’s somebody who actuallyunderstands his own life, andunderstands our lives in depth andprecision. ‘I gaze into the doorway oftemptation’s angry flame/And everytime I pass that way I always hear myname.’ it’s like, ‘Woooaaaah – go bob!’God, it still makes me cry.”However, there’s no sign of either the vast romantic turmoilof “Caribbean Wind” or the noble, piano and organ-led epic,“Angelina”, until they are belatedly included on Biographand The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3, respectively.“Sometimes you can fight,” admits Plotkin. “But you haveto pick your fights. Part of the problem is, you know thatyour job depends on having the artist feel completelysupported in what he’s doing. But, at the same time, he’shired you to, from time to time, say, ‘No, I think this could bebetter,’ or, ‘No, I think we should use this.’ I’ve worked withSpringsteen for 25 years, and there were times when I usedto say to myself, ‘Well, another brave soldier bites the dust.’It just happens. Songs go. But part of your job, whilerepresenting the artist, is also to represent the audience,and be able to make the case for a song. Sometimes you can,sometimes you can’t. If you’re too pushy about it, the trustbreaks down. Since I got to work with Bruce over andover again, we’ve had some amazing battles oversongs, I can tell you.”SOMEONE’S ASkED YOU to make a list of peoplewho might make a good job of producing BobDylan’s new album, so who do you pick? FrankZappa? David Bowie? Elvis Costello? Dylan givessome thought to each of them, before hiring Markknopler to produce Infidels. Since playing on SlowTrain Coming, knopfler has enjoyed huge successwith smooth radio-friendly Dire Straits andmistakenly thinks their eerily clean and vacuumsealedsound will work for Dylan. When albumsessions commence at New York’s Power Plant hebrings with him Straits keyboardist Alan Clark andthe band’s producer, Neil Dorfman. Bob’s alreadythere with legendary Jamaican rhythm section Sly & Robbieand former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. There is tensionfrom the start between knopfler and Dylan.“I had done Dire Straits’ Love Over Gold with Mark, whichwas a very worked-on and worked-over record,” Dorfmantells Uncut. “That was Mark’s process at the time, reallytaking a lot of time, a lotof overdubbing andattention to detail andsound. And, you know –that is not Bob Dylan, atall. So, I think, once wegot into it, Bob was alittle shocked at the wayMark and I worked. Myimpression is that Bobalways has, and alwayswill want a veryimmediate approach.He gets very easilybored. So, in thatrespect, I think Infidelswas not the mostcomfortable situation for either Bob or Mark.“I learned very quickly that this wasn’t going to be anormal session. I don’t want to use the wrong word, here,but Bob was also a little bit of an agent provocateur, or heeven had a little saboteur in him. If things were goingmaybe too well, in somebody else’s definition, he wouldconsciously make an effort to make that stop. Whether itwas walking away from the piano and vocal mic while he’sdoing a take, or, I remember him taking the tinfoil from asandwich, and standing opening and closing it like anaccordion into a vocal mic during a take. And, of course,everybody stops playing, thinking there was somethingwrong technically, but it was just his way of saying, ‘I’mbored with this, I don’t want to do this particular songanymore.’ Then he announced that he wanted to start aChristmas record that night. And, yeah, we all laughed,58 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

They were the world: BobDylan and friends, (fromleft) Martin Scorsese, LouReed, Ian Hunter, JudyCollins, Arthur Baker, BillyJoel and Dave Stewartthinking, he’s just messing with us. But, of course,years later, he subsequently came out with aChristmas record. It was kind of intimidating,challenging, but also hilarious in its own crazy way.“I don’t know how much I should talk out of schoolabout this particular situation. But I know that it really,really bothered Mark, that song choices were dictateda little bit, and were turning out to be different from thesong choices he thought we were going in to do. I think itjust really frustrated him. I imagine that he felt a similarresponsibility to the one that I felt: this is Bob Dylan;we’re going to make an amazing record, we havean incredible band, an incredible bunch ofsongs, and it’s up to us, we really, really have tomake this happen. And I could feel the air justsort of going out of Mark a little bit, when herealised that the traditional role of the producerwas not going to be in play on this record. Hewas going to be looked to as an advisor, ormaybe a mirror in some ways. But as far asdriving the bus – that was not going to happen.Bob was going to drive this bus, no matterwhat. I’m sure it was very frustrating to Mark.”When it’s released on October 27, 1983,Infidels is welcomed as a return by Dylan tosecular music, although suggestions he hasabandoned religion, discarding Christ as hemight a suddenly out of favour bass player orbacking singer, are wholly misguided. AfterShot Of Love, Dylan simply steps down fromthe pulpit. But his obsession with an approachingArmageddon remains fiercely central to his writing, up toand including 2012’s Tempest and its many songs of wrathand retribution.Some reviewers are uncomfortable with the right-wingZionist rhetoric of “Neighbourhood Bully” and stridentpatriotism of “Union Sundown”. But there’s enough herethat reminds them of the Dylan they have been desperateto hear again and Infidels is generally well-received. Ahighlight for everyone who hears it, the six-minute opener,“Jokerman”, is immediately hailed as one of Dylan’s greatestsongs, although its meaning even by Bob’s most abstractstandards is at best vague. No matter. It at least sounds likevintage Dylan – densely allusive, bristling with esotericreference, coded, the song playing out in the somewhat“You couldhear people’sjoy whenBob startedplaying ‘LikeA RollingStone’ again”FREd TAckETTdetached atmosphere of a dream someone else ishaving, perhaps due to its soporific momentum,Sly and Robbie’s ticking groove and the glossyguitars against which Dylan’s washed-out voiceis dreamily pitched.On the whole, Infidels is better regarded thananything Dylan’s done since Desire. Markknopfler may be forgiven for freaking out whenhe hears it, however, because in its releasedversion it’s not the album he left Dylan withwhen he re-joined Dire Straits for a tour ofGermany in June, at which point he nowdiscovers Dylan has ‘re-thought’ the album,as he later puts it. In June, Bob is back at theRecord Plant, re-recording some tracks andremixing what’s left. As far as knopfler’sconcerned this is bad enough to make Infidelssound more like an unpolished demo than thegleaming, streamlined thing he had envisaged.What appals him even more are Dylan’s bafflingrevisions to the nine-song tracklisting they hadearlier agreed. Dylan deletes two songs – avenomous rocker called “Foot Of Pride”, latermagnificently covered by Lou Reed, that Dylanunder knopfler’s stern instruction has labouredthrough 47 increasingly agonised takes.Also missing from the released album is one ofDylan’s very greatest songs, “Blind Willie McTell”,which in two versions, only one of which has beenofficially released (on The Bootleg Sessions Volumes1-3), evokes a terrible history of slavery in America andthe suffering that found a hallowed voice in the bluesthat Dylan so cherishes. It’s a song in other words about howpain and anguish can be turned into art, and art in thattransaction becomes redemptive, a hymn of survival,transcendence and eventual triumph over the world’s everyill whose omission from the album, in either version, is acause of great woe to knopfler. “Mark was committed to therecording of Infidels for, I think, three weeks,” Dorfmanrecalls. “And we thought that was enough to get everythingdone, except the actual mixing. So Mark then had to go offwith Dire Straits to tour. I left with Mark. But I had the sensethe record was at least recorded, if not quite finished. Butthere was a certain amount of rethinking by Bob – but Bobmade that clear, that he was starting to rethink, in the lastJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 59

BOB DYLANeyewitness‘A MILLIONFACES ATMY FEET...’Arthur Baker on therecording of a masterpiecefrom Empire BurlesqueIn ChroniCles, Dylan moreor less credits arthur Baker withmaking him write ‘Dark Eyes’because Baker kept suggesting heshould do an acoustic song at theend of the album.“It’s funny, when I read Chronicles,I was shocked that this memory hadany place in his book,” Baker says.“Because I bought Chronicles as a fan,you know, which I still am. and I wassurprised that that was somethingthat he would even remember. ‘DarkEyes’ is a great song, one of the bestsongs of that whole period, as far asI’m concerned, it’s one of his bestsongs of the ’80s. I said that thingabout doing an acoustic song to him asa fan. I was brought in there, basically,as someone to sort of ‘modernise’ hissound. But I was still a fan and, as a fan,personally, I would have liked to stripthe damn record down – but thatwasn’t what they hired me to do. Theyhired me to arrange and modernisehis sound. But, as a fan, I would ratherhave done a whole album of just, like,guitar and harmonica, because thesongs stand out so well. When Imentioned this idea about doing anacoustic song to him, and then thevery next day, he came in with this‘Dark Eyes’, I really thought it was asong he’d had. Because he had somany songs: he’d bring cassettes out,and he had just tons of songs. I neverthought for a second that he’d justwritten this. I think what you hear onthe album was the second take. andI’m pretty sure he only did two takes –I think it was on a Friday night, and Ihad planned to go to Boston, becauseI had tickets to see the Celtics play.So I heard that second take, and I go,‘yeah. That’s the one.’ and then I’mliterally running out the door to catchthe train to Boston. and that was it.never in my wildest dreams did I thinkhe’d just go home and write one.”week of recording. We’d done a bunch ofoverdubs, which Bob could not have beenless interested in. He hates overdubbing,man. I think he finds the whole thing phony:‘Why are you overdubbing?’ I remember, wehad a percussion player come in, and I thinkit was an actual torture for Bob, to have to sitthere and listen to shakers and tambourinesbeing put on stuff. His view was that couldhave been done live, if he’d wanted them.So, I think he wanted to go in and either erase theseoverdubs, or listen to them and decide that… no, hereally did not like them. So, basically, he did a bunchof re-examining once Mark left. There was nothinganybody could do, and, really, nothing anybodyshould have done about it – after all, it’s Bob’s record.”Here’S anoTHer producer who gets anunexpected call from dylan about workingon his next album, and of all people it’snew York hip-hop and danceproducer, arthur Baker, bestknown for his work withafrika Bambaataa, rocker’srevenge and new order andrecent remixes of tracks fromSpringsteen’s Born In The USA.He meets dylan in a hotel oncentral park. “I was rung in,and went up,” he recalls. “and,basically, when I went into theroom, I walked in the door, andthere was no-one there. So I waswalking around the suite going,‘Hello? Hello?’ There were foodcarts, loads of them, like no-one hadcleaned the room for a few days, anda whole bunch of boom-boxes. Then,he appeared and introduced himselfto me, and we sat down and startedlistening to tunes, tapes. He playedme a ton of tunes, he just kept playingmore and more – and, you know, it’sBob dylan sitting there playing youa lot of tunes, and you trying to comeup with some good ideas for each ofthem. a few days later I got a call thathe wanted me to work on the record.”dylan’s been working on the albumBaker will subsequently mix sincethe end of a grim six-week stadium tour of europein the summer of 1984, which includes a show atWembley Stadium where eric clapton and VanMorrison turn up in support and some of theperformances later make their way on to the largelydrab Real Live Lp. dylan’s since sacked his touringband and because he’s now decided to producehimself, he doesn’t block book recording time,flitting promiscuously from studio to studio in aprocess that will be even more laborious than thelong months it took to assemble Shot Of Love.There’s an initial session on July 24, at Intergalacticin new York with al Green’s band, quicklyabandoned. a couple of days later, he’s at deltaSound Studios with ronnie Wood and drummeranton Fig and records a funky thing called “driftin’Too Far From Shore” and “clean cut Kid”, a songabout a Vietnam veteran that dylan has originallydemoed for Infidels. By november, dylan’s back inLa, where nothing comes of initial sessions at oceanWay. Moving to cherokee Studios in Hollywood,however, dylan cuts a version of a new song he’s“I think itwas torturefor Bob, tohave to hearshakersbeingoverdubbed”NEIL dOrFMANco-written with playwright and actor Sam Shepard,an 11-minute epic called “new danville Girl” thatastonishes everyone who hears it, although dylanwill discard it from the finished album. WithBenmont Tench, Mike campbell and Howie epsteinfrom Tom petty’s Heartbreakers, he also successfullycaptures the ominous “Something’s Burning, Baby”,set to a slow marching beat and embellished withmenacing synthesiser.He’s still in La for the all-star recording of “We areThe World”, america’s response to Band aid’s “doThey Know It’s christmas?”. on February 23, he’s atthe power plant in new York where with Miami SteveVan Zandt and roy Bittan from the e Street Band herecords a sensational version of another powerfulnew song, the apocalyptic “When The night comesFalling From The Sky”. arthur Baker is in attendance.“It was the very first session I was at,” he recalls. “Welistened back to the version they’d cut, and it soundedgreat – I think Sly & robbie wereplaying on it, also. But, Bob said,‘ah, you know. It sounds likeSpringsteen.’ and I said, ‘Well,hey, yeah – you get Van Zandtand roy Bittan to play on it: it’sgonna sound like Springsteen.’So he decided to cut anotherversion of it, which is the onethat ended up on the record.”Sessions for what’seventually titled EmpireBurlesque and released on June10 wraps with the recordingof the album’s highlight, adisturbing, forlorn song, writtenovernight, called “dark eyes”, whichfeatures only dylan’s voice andguitar, its simplicity a relief after themusical busy-ness elsewhere on thealbum on tracks like the irresistiblysizzling “Tight connection To MyHeart (Has anybody Seen My Love?)”,a re-write of the more obviouslypersonal “Someone’s Got a Holdof My Heart”. For an albumsubsequently so denigrated theoriginal reviews of Empire Burlesqueare mostly positive although salesare again poor and there is a generalregret that Baker has layered therecord with electronics, processed drums andlashings of synthesisers. did dylan tell him whathe wanted the album to sound like?“no,” Baker says. “In mixing, he just wanted it tobe done quick! When we were in the studio mixingat right Track, we were working on a song, and Bobcame in, and he was sitting there, and sort of justexpecting it to be done. and I said, ‘Well, it’ll take awhile… why don’t you go out, like go to the movies orsomething?’ So, he went out, he went to the movies,and he came back like, you know, three hours later,and we were still working on the same track. andhe’d be saying to us how Blonde On Blonde had beenmixed in like two days. and I said, ‘Well, yeah, butwe’re working on 48 tracks on some of these now,and that would have been four-track, so you gottaaccount for that…’ But, you know, I would say maybeBob wasn’t so patient with that whole side of theprocess… the time it took bothered him.”Next month: from Live Aid to Oh Mercy,Bob Dylan’s ’80s continued…eBeT roBerTS/redFernS60 | uncuT | JuLY 2014

FREE PSYCH VINYLWHEN YOUSUBSCRIBE TODAYTRY OUR iPad EDITION FOR FREE by visiting the iTunes App StoreMAXINE BROWN: THE SOUL LEGEND SPEAKS★MELVINS: METAL PIGSRECORDCOLLECTORDESTRUCTORSSECOND DIVISION PUNK:THIRD TIME LUCKYJOYSERIOUS ABOUT MUSICBLOSSOMTOES60s PSYCHEDELICCAPERSDOES VINYLWEIGHTMATTER?WE FIND OUTJOE WHO?THE FIRSTGREAT BRITISHROCK GUITARISTDIVISIONWIN! FRUITS DE MER GEMSGOODIES YOU CANÕT BUY!UNTOLD PRESSURE: MAKINGUNKNOWN PLEASURESwww.recordcollectormag.comPLUS: ASHLEY BEEDLE ★ PETE MOLINARI ★ JOHN ILLSLEYJUNE 2014 No 428 £4.10IQ ★ C86 ★ OASIS ★ DE LA SOUL ★ YOUR MARQUEE MEMORIESGILLES PETERSON’S £1,000 ALBUM HUNT ★ CHISWICK LABELOUTNOWwww.recordcollectormag.comULTIMATE MUSIC GUIDE:THE COLLECTIONEssential guides to the most inspirational artists of our timeALL ISSUES AVAILABLE NOW!Available to order online at uncut.co.uk/storeor download digitally atuncut.co.uk/digital-edition

HALF JAPANESEVOLUME 1: 1981-1985FIRE RECORDS 3LP / 3CDCreating a barrage of enthusiasm andmanic energy around rock and roll teenanthems and free jazz skronk,Half Japanese carved out a unique legacy.FHLOSTONPARADIGMTHE PHOENIXHYPERDUB LP / CDAn inspired vision of how music with its DNAin a vintage science-fictional futurecan sound, ‘The Phoenix’ is emotive andimaginative, for deep voyaging adventurers.WATTERTHIS WORLDTEMPORARY RESIDENCE LTD LP / CDMembers of SLINT, GRAILS,KING CRIMSON, RACHEL’S, and THE FORCARNATION unite for an instrumentalpsych-folk-krautrock dream come true.SIINAISUPERMARKETSPLENDOUR LP / CDFollowing their Moonface collaboration LP“Heartbreaking Bravery” on Jagjgauwar,SIINAI return with their hotly tippedconcept record “Supermarket”, a krautrock soundtrack for the supermarketnations.BOB MOULDBEAUTY & RUINMERGE LP / CD“Bob Mould’s new album Beauty & Ruinmay very well be the most epic emotionalroller coaster ever pressed into36 minutes.”ALEXANDERTURNQUISTFLYING FANTASYWESTERN VINYL LP / CDPraised by Uncut, Mojo, The Wire,Pitchfork, and more, 12-string guitarist/composer Alexander Turnquist’s newalbum Flying Fantasy only strengthens hisreputation as an innovative virtuoso.BORISNOISESARGENT HOUSE LP / CDBORIS has always demolished expectationsof what a band can do musically.”Noise” isan amplification of BORIS’ endless pursuit ofmusical extremes while moving aggressive,intense rock into new territories.MARTHACOURTING STRONGFORTUNA POP! LP / CDMore songs about teenage antics,drinking, courting and having your heartbroken. Energetic, impassioned poppunk, informed by 90s indie rock andScandinavian anarcho noir, produced byMJ from Hookworms.THE PROPERORNAMENTSWOODEN HEADFORTUNA POP! LP / CDNeo-psychedelic pop mining the richterritories of The Velvet Underground andThe Beach Boys - fourteen thrillingly tautand melodic pop songs with a deep, darkundercurrent.LAY LLAMASLAY LLAMASROCKET LP / CDLay Llamas have made a fluorescentdebut album full of ‘pagan post-punkpsychedelia’.For fans of Goat, Gnod, Peaking Lightsand Spacemen 3.Limited coloured Vinyl.MORIATYTHE DEVILS CHILDEASY ACTION CD‘Built on explosive dynamics and uncannyonstage telepathy, Moriaty’s live powerhas been harnessed on theseloincloth-detonating recordings, whichare sure to hasten their rise as one of themost original, incendiary acts the UK hasseen for years’ Kris NeedsTHE BERMONDSEYJOYRIDERSFLAMBOYANT THUGSFUEL INJECTION CD‘Brimful of smart riffage, righteous angerand roughneck humour, coloured asoulful blue, The Bermondsey Joyriders’hat-trick album sails full steampunkahead.’ Charles Shaar Murray.CARGO COLLECTIVE: AN AMALGAMATION OF RECORD SHOPS AND LABELS DEDICATED TO BRING YOU NEW MUSICIRELAND: BELFAST - HEAD SCOTLAND: EDINBURGH - VOXBOX / GLASGOW - LOVE MUSIC WALES: ABERYSTWYTH - ANDY’S RECORDS / CARDIFF - SPILLERS / NEW-PORT - DIVERSE / SWANSEA – DERRICKS NORTH- WEST: CHESHIRE - A & A DISCS / LIVERPOOL - PROBE / MANCHESTER - PICCADILLY RECORDS / PRESTON - ACTION RE-CORDS /WARRINGTON - HEAD NORTH-EAST: BARNSLEY - DEBUT RECORDS / HUDDERSFIELD - VINYL TAP / LEEDS - CRASH / LEEDS - JUMBO RECORDS / NEWCASTLE – J GWINDOWS / NEWCASTLE - REFLEX / SHEFFIELD - RECORD COLLECTOR / STOCKTON ON TEES - SOUND IT OUT MIDLANDS: BIRMINGHAM - LEFT FOR DEAD / HANLEY - MU-SIC MANIA / BRISTOL - HEAD RECORDS / LEAMINGTON SPA - HEAD RECORDS / LOUTH - OFF THE BEATEN TRACK / NOTTINGHAM – MUSIC EXCHANGE / OXFORD - TRUCK /STOKE ON TRENT - STRAND RECORDS SOUTH: BEXHILL ON SEA - MUSIC’S NOT DEAD / BRIGHTON - RESIDENT / EASTBOURNE - PEBBLE / GODALMING - RECORD CORNER/ LEIGH-ON-SEA – FIVES / LONDON - CASBAH / LONDON - FLASHBACK / LONDON - ROUGH TRADE EAST / LONDON - ROUGH TRADE TALBOT RD / LONDON - SISTER RAY /NEWPORT - WIGHT AND GREEN / SOUTHSEA - PIE & VINYL / WIMBORNE - SQUARE RECORDS SOUTH WEST: CHELTENHAM - THE INDEPENDENT RECORD SHOP FALMOUTH– JAM / TAUNTON - BLACK CAT / TOTNES – DRIFT MAILORDER AND INTERNET ONLY STORES: BOOMKAT.COM / NORMANRECORDS.COM / SPINCDS.COM / BLEEP.COM17 HEATHMANS ROAD, LONDON SW6 4TJ - WWW.CARGORECORDS.CO.UK - 0207 731 5125

New albumsour scoring system:10 Masterpiece 9 Essential 8 Excellent7 Very good6 Good but unevenTHIS MONTH: NeIl yOuNg | felIce brOS | bOb MOuld & MOre4-5 Mediocre 1-3 Poortracklist1 Three Women2 Lazaretto3 Temporary Ground4 Would You Fight For My Love?5 High Ball Stepper6 Just One Drink7 Alone In My Home8 Entitlement9 That Black Bat Licorice10 I Think I Found The Culprit11 Want And AbleJACK WHITELazarettoThird Man/XLThird Man maverick shows little sign of mellowing onwild and witty second solo album. By Jason Anderson9/10Across JAck White’s prolificrecordings over the last 15 years,he’s long demonstrated a keenunderstanding of the value of an opening salvo.indeed, it’s hard to imagine the White stripes’Elephant blasting off with anything but “sevenNation Army”, or there being a better summary ofIcky Thump’s synthesis of arena-rock crunch andspeaker-shredding skronk than its title track.true to form, White opens his second solo albumwith another strong hand. A cheeky refashioningof Blind Willie Mctell’s “three Women Blues”,“three Women” will rankle the blues purists justas surely as the White stripes’ thrash-metal takeon son house’s “Death Letter” at the Grammysa decade ago. Listeners wary of old-school rockdudechauvinism may be similarly dismayed. “Igot three women/Red, blonde and brunette,” Whitesings over the raucous vamping of the Buzzards,one of the two bands that supported him on thetour for his 2012 solo debut Blunderbuss and backhim on Lazaretto. (the all-female Peacocks getroughly equal time with White, getting additionalsupport by friends like Patrick keeler of theraconteurs and the Greenhornes.) Afterrepeating the line, White arrives at theJULY 2014 | UNcUt | 63MArY eLLeN MAttheWs

New Albumspotentially cringe-inducing capper: “I took adigital photograph/To pick which one I like.”On first impression, White’s update reeks of thesame sexual braggadocio that defines McTell’soriginal from 1928. (Uncoincidentally, Third Manis in the process of reissuing McTell’scomplete works.) He certainly risksfurther umbrage by mentioning thehair colours of his first two spouses.But any suggestion of machismo isundermined by later verses that paintthe narrator as bewitched, botheredand bewildered, all qualitiesunbefitting of a stud. By the end of thesong, scrutinising that photographcomes to seem less like the imperiousact of an alpha male and more like ahapless gesture by a man whose lifeis too unruly to ever submit to his willor his whims.“Three Women” is hardly the firsttime White has presented himself as aman who’s moving as fast as he can yetstill feels trapped. It remains a popularmotif on Lazaretto, which borrows itsname from an archaic term for anisland used to quarantine sailors.(A dictionary may be required forseveral other words in play.)His songwriting’s propensity forhectic and harried characters is furtherreflected in White’s public image, whatwith the demands on his time as a soloartist and sometime sideman, acollaborator and producer for legendsand upstarts alike, a label boss forThird Man in Nashville and – sincehis initially amicable but ultimatelyacrimonious breakup with secondwife Karen Elson – a 38-year-old singledad of two. Surely he’d be forgiven forbetraying signs of fatigue but there’slittle evidence of mellowing even now, a decadeand-a-halfafter The White Stripes established itsforte for ferocity with its self-titled debut and threeyears after the duo’s dissolution amid White’sever-proliferating array of other projects.SLEEVENOTESproduced by:Jack White IIIRecorded at: ThirdMan Studio, Nashvillepersonnel: JackWhite (vocals, piano,guitars), Daru Jones(drums), Dominic Davis(bass), Fats Kaplin(pedal steel, fddle,mandolin), Ikey Owens(organ, Moog, piano,keys), Cory Younts(mandolin, harmonica,synth, piano, backingvocals), Carla Azar(drums, timpani),Byrne Davis (uprightbass), CatherinePopper (bass), LillieMae Rische (fddle,backing vocals),Timbre Cierpke (harp),Brooke Waggoner(piano, organ, Moog),Olivia Jean (Africandrum, backing vocals),Maggie Bjorklund(pedal steel guitar),Dean Fertita (guitar),Ruby Amanfu(backing vocals),Joshua V Smith(backing vocals),Ben Blackwell(drums), PatrickKeeler (drums)HowTo Buy...JACKWHITE& COHe bangs the drums(sometimes)… Jack’sbest recordsTHE WHITE STRIPESElephant XL, 2003The duo’s breakthroughsees Jack super-chargethe Stripes by adding moreammo (like – gasp! – a basspedal) and a greater senseof dynamics. In so doing hemaximises the impact ofhooks like “Seven NationArmy”’s snarling rif andMeg’s cavewoman stompon “The Hardest Button…”.10/10LORETTA LYNNVan Lear RoseIntERscopE, 2004Full of punchy playing byWhite and some soon-to-beRaconteurs that hit the rightblend of ragged and sweet,VLR is a testament to theseptuagenarian’s undimmedtalents. Shame White’s laterwork with Wanda Jackson onThe Party Ain’t Over didn’tget the same recognition.9/10THE RACONTEURSBroken Boy soldierstHIRd Man/V2, 2006On the frst and moreadmirably concise of twofne outings with his palsBrendan Benson and PatrickKeeler and Jack Lawrence ofThe Greenhornes, White’sZep-ready bluster roughsup Benson’s power-poppredilections to sometimesspectacular efect.8/10THE DEAD WEATHERsea of cowardstHIRd Man, 2010Whereas Alison Mosshartoccupies most of thespotlight in the supergroup’s2009 debut Horehound,White has a more forcefulpresence on the grottierfollow-up. The ghosts ofBeefeart and Lux Interiorwould defnitely approve ofthe air of gothic sleaze.8/10MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS64 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsIn April, White demonstrated that need forspeed with a Record Store Day stunt that was onepart Kim Fowley to two parts PT Barnum. Billedas the “World’s Fastest Released Record”, a liveperformance of Lazaretto’s tumultuous title track(plus a cover of Elvis’ “Power Of My Love” for theB-side) was recorded for a seven-inch single thatwas mastered, pressed, packaged and ready forsale at Third Man a little less than four hours later.It’s a testament to White’s talents and abilitiesthat such displays of haste have rarely yieldedany waste. Yet even more so than its predecessor,Lazaretto is at its most startling whenever White’storrents of devilishly clever lyrics and distortionladenriffage give way to a moment of relativestillness or a hint of inconsolable anguish.That doesn’t happen often, mind you. As “ThreeWomen” indicates, White spends much of thealbum in gleeful attack mode, reaching a peak ofintensity with the “Kashmir”-meets-swamp-funkof “High Ball Stepper” and a new extreme inlyrical dexterity with “That Black Bat Licorice”,surely the only song to ever combine references tothe Egyptian god Horus, a popular home-heatingmethod in ancient Rome and a key plot point inthe classic Disney movie Dumbo.But it still happens. One factor may be theunusual circumstances of Lazaretto’s creation,White having purportedly begun this batch ofsongs after discovering a trove of stories and playshe wrote when he was 19 years old. New charactersand scenarios were spun out of lines and elementsthat he found in his juvenilia, which he claims tohave destroyed lest they be used in any other way.Lazaretto was also recorded over a period of ayear and a half, an eternity by White’s standardsbut understandable considering what else wason the man’s plate, such as a divorce battle withElson and Third Man projects like the enormousParamount Records boxset. Really, it’s a miraclethat the album sounds as coherent as it does giventhe pressures of the period and the many differentconfigurations of personnel.The songs also share an undercurrent ofdiscontent that’s palpable in even the mostseemingly gentle examples. A stately countrynumber that rails against the selfishness of theworld’s inhabitants, “Entitlement” concludes withits narrator casting a wary eye on all of mankindand deciding that “we don’t deserve a single damnthing.” A similarly weary and dyspeptic viewpervades in the closer “Want And Able” (acompanion piece to Icky Thump’s “Effect AndCause”) and many others here, which may besurprising to listeners expecting a more cocksurepersona. Yet it would be foolhardy to interpret thedesperation evinced in “Would You Fight For MyLove?” or the despair described in “Alone In MyHome” as slip-ups by a showman whose bravuracan’t entirely conceal his feelings of fragility –White’s far too fond of flipping between voicesand perspectives for it ever to be safe to believethat any single character or expression in hissongs is any more “authentic” than the rest.So while Lazaretto may sometimes appear tobe a more nakedly emotional collection of songsthan we’ve come to expect from its creator, thecontents also rate among his wittiest and hiswildest efforts to date. In other words, he’shis same old maddeningly inscrutable andcompulsively entertaining self.Jack White on myth and fction in music, his relaxedsolo career and his teenage self’s “mediocre writing”You recorded the songs forLazaretto over a year and a halfrather than the customary handfulof days or weeks. Why the longergestation period?Things are different when you’re in a band.When you’re in a band and you’re in motion,you’re constantly thinking of the next step andthen the next. That was true when I was in TheWhite Stripes, The Raconteurs and The DeadWeather. This is the first time in my life I’ve beenmaking records under my own name and I’m notunder so much pressure to make a next move ifI don’t feel like it – you haveto make yourself make thenext move. This is also avery different time periodcompared to 10 years ago.I just will put things outwhenever they make sense,more so than before. Whenwe made Elephant, we hadto wait a year for it to comeout because White BloodCells was doing so well still,they didn’t want to oversaturatethe market orsomething funny like that.Is it true that the new songs were inspiredby a rediscovered trove of one-act playsand stories you wrote when you were 19?It was just this pile of mediocre writing that I’ddone as a teenager. I was about to throw it awaybut then I thought, ‘What if I pulled charactersand lines from these things and put them intonew lyrics?’ It was like I was collaborating withmy younger self. That was the idea and it really“You shouldn’treally believe theseare all real eventsfor the songwriteror the singer…”helped inspire me – I definitely get somethingout of forcing myself into scenarios that Ishouldn’t be in!Blind Willie Mctell’s “three WomenBlues” was the springboard for Lazaretto’sopener, “three Women” – why make yourown version?A friend of mine had heard “Three WomenBlues” at a party and I thought it was aninteresting song. I had covered Blind WillieMcTell songs in the past and I came up with thatfirst line – “I’ve got three women, red, blonde andbrunette” – just as astarting point for myself.I thought, ‘I’m gonna doa completely modernversion of this type ofsong.’ It doesn’t really havemuch to do with BlindWillie McTell’s song at allbeyond the first line. I alsothink his song is a lessonin how it’s all false to beginwith, how you shouldn’tbelieve these are all realevents for the songwriteror the person singing. It’slike when Elvis was singing his songs – he didn’twrite the songs so they’re not about him. That’sone thing people really get wrong about all theold blues musicians – that every song they weresinging was from the heart and about their ownspecific problems. I highly doubt that BlindWillie McTell had three girlfriends at the sametime – it’s hard to pull off for anyone, especiallysomeone who’s blind!INTERVIEW: JASON ANDERSONPIETER M VAN HATTEMJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 65

New AlbumstrackLiSt1 all by myself2 i feel so good3 how you Want it done?4 southern flood blues5 big bill blues6 key to the highway7 tomorrow8 just a dream9 you’ve Changed10 stuf they Call money11 trucking little Woman12 saturday night rubDave alvin& Phil alvincommon ground: dave alvin &Phil alvin Play and sing the songsof big bill broonzyyeP rocBrothers reunited on fne tribute to Big Bill. By Allan Jones9/10ONE Of THE highlights ofDave Alvin’s last solo album,2011’s Eleven Eleven, was atrack called “What’s Up With Your Brother?”,a droll blues about Dave’s famously fractiousrelationship with his brother, Phil, that endedhilariously with them having the kind ofargument that put paid to The Blasters, the bandthey were in together before fraternal tensionsdrove them into a ditch. They split in 1985, afterjust five albums. While Dave became dedicated tolife as a hard-travelling road dog, Phil completeda master’s degree in mathematics and artificialintelligence. His own musical career has in thecircumstances been restricted over the last 30years to a couple of fine solo albums and a brief2003 reunion tour with The Blasters thatproduced the Trouble Bound live album.66 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsBETH HERzHAfTDave Alvin and Phil Alvinthere must be a lot of greatbluesmen whose music youboth admire, so why analbum dedicated to thesongs of big bill broonzy?dave alvin: Phil and i havemany favourite blues artists for both musicaland ofen sentimental reasons. our lifelongfriend/mentor big joe turner is one and,because we knew and played with joe, heseemed a likely choice. but i chose big billbroonzy because his 30-year recording andsongwriting career gave us a great variety ofsongs and styles to choose from. broonzy wasthe frst “pre-war” bluesman we heard whenwe were barely adolescents and his stunningguitar chops, his gregarious personality,expressive voice and depth of his songshooked us right from the start.Phil alvin: big bill has always been a favouriteof ours – great singer, songwriter and guitaristwith a 30-year career in many styles ofamerican music from blues to swing to folk.The session for “What’s Up With Your Brother?”was the first time they’d been in the studiotogether since 1985, an occasion made even morememorable for Blasters fans by the additionalpresence of the band’s great piano player, GeneTaylor. Encouraged by Dave’s label to turn anEP project they had been discussing into a fullalbum, their mutual regard for the music of BigBill Broonzy provided them with an opportunityto work together without undue conflict. Theresults are spectacular.Broonzy’s a towering figure inblues history, linking the acousticrural blues of the Mississippi Deltaand the electric blues forged in theurban crucible of Chicago’s SouthSide, where he was an early influenceon the young Muddy Waters andother wild and rising stars of thatlegendary scene. He was also one ofthe first great American bluesmen tobring his music across the Atlantic,first touring Europe in 1951. He wasespecially revered in the UK, wherehis smitten fans included ageneration of young musicians inthrall to the blues who would soonbe forming bands themselves,including Keith Richards, RayDavies, Ronnie Wood, Eric Claptonand Pete Townshend. “Back before itall caught fire,” Townshend later wrote,“we heard Big Bill and we knew that musiccould tell the truth as well as entertain.”Broonzy was one of the most prolific bluessongwriters of his era, with more than 300published titles that spanned acoustic Deltablues, the plugged-in Chicago version and alsosongs of social protest, like “Just A Dream”, thatdaringly for its time put Bill in the White House,having a conversation with the president. It’s thekind of thing you might expect to find on a recentRy Cooder album, and is revived here by theAlvins in a hard-driving version.Common Ground on the whole gives a fabulousaccount of Bill’s versatile songbook, whosewarmth, wit, generosity of spirit and chin-upgood humour in the face of what must have beena lot of awfulness is brilliantly delivered here onan exuberant opening versions of two ofWhat was it like making an album togetherafer over 30 years?dave: it was remarkably easy and quick.We don’t argue about big bill broonzy.if i had written 10 or 12 songs for us to singtogether, though, well, that could’ve takenanother 30 years.did it get heated between you at any point?dave: no frearms or bloodshed to report.Phil: there were no fare-ups.is Common Ground likely to lead to furtherwork together or are you looking at it as aone-of?dave: yeah, i think so. i won’t say never again,because this was too much fun. We’ll see.Perhaps we’ll do an album honouring someof our other favourite singers-songwriters.maybe big joe turner (my brother can singremarkably like big joe when he wants to) orjohnny guitar Watson or maybe early bingCrosby material. or maybe i’ll write a bunchof songs for the two us to sing. if i do that,though, then the recording session just mightget a touch more dramatic and combustible.Phil: We’re taking things a day at a time.SLEEVEnotESrecorded at:Winslow Courtstudios, laProduced by:dave alvin and CraigParker adamsPersonnel: dave alvin(guitars and vocals),Phil alvin (vocals,guitar, harmonica),gene taylor (piano),lisa Pankratz, donhefngton (drums),brad fordham, bobglaub (bass)Broonzy’s signature songs, “All By Myself”and “I feel So Good”. The former is aboisterous tumble of acoustic guitars andraw harmonies, like something you mighthave heard on a plantation porch, bottlesof moonshine being passed around, thesong’s self-mockery and droll narrativebringing laughter to lives that needed it.“I feel So Good” is even more raucous, drivenby Dave’s stinging lead guitar and GeneTaylor’s barrel-house pianoand topped off by Phil’s goodheartedholler, still strongand handsome even aftera near-fatal health scare in2012. There can’t be manyprofessors of mathematicalsemantics who have soundedthis hip.He brings a bracing gustoto unabashedly bawdyBroonzy songs like “HowYou Want It Done?” – kinto Muddy Waters’ fiercelycarnal “Rollin’ And Tumblin’”– and the even morelubricious “Trucking LittleWoman”, whose rockabillytwang and show-stoppingguitar solos recall similarlysteamy Blasters cuts like“Hollywood Bed”. The version, meanwhile,of another Broonzy standard, “Key To TheHighway”, made famous in several versionby Eric Clapton, is altogether more stately,the prominence given to Phil’s wailingharmonica part maybe a nod to the versionof the song recorded as a tribute just afterBig Bill’s death in 1958 by Little Walterand a gathering of Chicago blues nobility,including Muddy, Willie Dixon and OtisSpann. Best of all though is “Southernflood Blues”, originally recorded as acountry blues in 1937, and somethingof a lamentation, but now recast as anominous rocker on the apocalyptic scaleof Dylan’s “High Water (for Charley Patton)”,which is suitably drenched by torrentialguitar, thunderous drums andspine-tingling harmonica.coming upthis month...p68 Neil youNgp70 ethan johnsp72 first aid kitp73 mary gauthierp75 felice brothersp79 bob mouldp80 saNtaNap81 strand of oaksp82 coNor oberst40 tHiEVESthe sky isyoursleNgCalifornian troupe’sstrutting cosmicdisco debut8/10San francisco’s 40 Thievesmight well be namedThree Kleptomaniacs, because at heart itscore crew of Jason Williams, Corey Black andLayne fox appear to have plundered ideas,sounds and themes from that late-1970s/early-’80s golden era of flamboyant Europeanelectronic disco – Cerrone, Peter JacquesBand, Giorgio Moroder – and The Sky IsYours, their sprawling 20-track debut album,is all the better for it. At times, their balanceof nostalgia and modernism is askew, butfor the most part, particularly on “You Wanna”and “face full Of fur”, this is a rich andcolourful exploration of pulsing, tuneful,space-age funk.PIERS MARTINLUkE aBBottWysing forestborder coMMuNityArtisan ambitronicafrom Alan PartridgecountryContinuing the arcane East7/10Anglian references of hiscritically acclaimed 2010debut, Holkham Drones, Luke Abbott’s secondalbum is named after the Cambridgeshirearts centre where he served as musician-inresidencein 2012. Wysing Forest again featuresmostly beatless, amorphous, analogueelectronic sound paintings in the spirit of classicambient experiments by Aphex Twin, four Tetor Boards Of Canada. The pivotal track is“Amphis”, which occurs in two versions: first asa shape-shifting sonic tapestry of alien cracklesand disorienting drones, then a sombre electroclassicaltone poem. This is deluxe, bespoke,artisan electronica, only slightly marred by itshigh seriousness and lack of mischief.STEPhEN DAlToNJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 67

New AlbumsJO McCAUGHEYNEILYOUNGA Letter HomeTHIRD MAN/REPRISEA time-travelling adventurein Jack White’s Voice-O-Graph.By John MulveyABOUT TEN YEARSago, I had a series ofconversations withsome people preparinga new edition of HarrySmith’s Anthology OfAmerican Music. Theiraim, it seemed, was totake the 84 tracksoriginally compiled7/10 from Smith’s collectionof 78s, and subjectthem to a vigorous digital clean-up. How muchbetter would these songs sound, was theirreasoning, if all the grit and static was removed,leaving the performances unsullied and sharp?Would songs like Charley Patton’s “MississippiBoweavil Blues” really sound better without theirancient blanket of fuzz, though? Wasn’t part of thecharm of these recordings, memorably classified byGreil Marcus as relics of “the old, weird America”,that they actually sounded both old and weird?Perhaps this is a reason why the reupholsteredAnthology was never released. The patina of age iseasy and tempting to fetishise, and sometimes it canbe used for dubious ends, not least when African-American musicians are patronised for thesuperficially “primitive” aura of their recordings.But crackle can make the simple act of listening toa song feel like a historical adventure. CDs and MP3ssuddenly seem more tactile, less sterile. A frisson ofrawness and unmediated authenticity is invested ineven the most cynical of commercial endeavours.This, one suspects, is something Neil Youngunderstands very well. In last month’s Uncut, hedescribed the crackle-saturated A Letter Home as“an historic art project”: a collection of songs, bycontemporaries like Dylan, Willie Nelson, BruceSpringsteen and Tim Hardin, performed and cut ina 1947 Voice-O-Graph recording booth. The boothis owned by Jack White, no stranger himself toconceptual art projects that take inspiration andmischief from our ideas about authenticity, abouthow we can tamper with, remake and at the sametime still respect musical history. A Letter Home,though, is also part of a larger, all-encompassingproject: Young’s ongoing attempt to memorialiseand catalogue his own past through a patchworkof new songs, covers, films, autobiographies andupgraded reissues. Sometimes it can all feel likeornery sport, a way for Young to avoid releasing thehistorical artefact that his fans actually want – the’70s motherlode of Archives Volume 2.This latest delaying tactic is verymuch in the marginalia of Young’sdiscog, tossed-off by design. Thesuspicion remains that music, oldor new, is not his greatest priority atthe moment, falling behind the morepressing business of biofuel cars, sci-finovels and, of course, revolutionarynew audio players (the key moment inYoung’s last Uncut interview camewhen he cut short a discussion of musicand barked, “More Pono questions!”).Nevertheless, this sequel of sortsto Americana is an endearing littledocument, made more interesting byYoung’s decision to render a predominantly1960s playlist in a way that would have beenanachronistically lo-fi in the ’40s. “Recorded liveto one-track mono, the LP has an inherent warm,primitive feel of a vintage Folkways recording,” thepress release trumpets, and the unsteady sonics turnout to complement Young’s wavering voice ratherwell. Young’s schtick is to use the Voice-O-Graph likeSLEEvENOTESRecorded at: ThirdMan Records, NashvilleReproduced by: JackWhite III & Neil YoungPersonnel: NeilYoung (vocal, guitar,harmonica, piano),Jack White (vocal andpiano on “On The RoadAgain” and “I WonderIf I Care As Much”a time machine, mapping wild trajectories betweeneras and dimensions, so that each side of the vinyledition begins with a hokey “letter home” to hismother in the afterlife, much like the sentimentalvinyl missives that were the usual two-minuteproduct of Voice-O-Graph machines. “I’ll be thereeventually. Not for a while, though – I still reallyhave a lot of work to do here,” he notes, pointedly.For the most part, the songs Young chooses arestrong enough to withstand the rudimentarytreatments. Bert Jansch’s “Needle Of Death”,transparent inspiration for “Ambulance Blues”, is asa consequence the ideal song to use in an exerciseabout how folk songs are curated and reinventedover time. Wedged into a studio the size of atelephone box with his acoustic guitar andharmonica, the tight focus gives an edge to “GirlFrom The North Country”, Gordon Lightfoot’s “EarlyMorning Rain” and “Crazy”. For Side Two, though,the team at Third Man in Nashville dragged a pianoover to the Voice-O-Graph, leaving the booth’s dooropen. And while “Reason To Believe” comes out asodd, poignant honky-tonk, WillieNelson’s “On The Road Again” and theEverlys’ “I Wonder If I Care As Much”are rickety, front parlour-style singalongs,with Jack White on piano anddistant harmonies. It’s a lot of fun, butthe prevailing air is one of reflection,and an understanding that – from the18-year-old Elvis Presley recording “MyHappiness” for his mother in a similarmachine, to Young’s tremulous take onSpringsteen’s “My Hometown” here –cheap novelties can have unexpectedemotional valency. Like Tonight’sThe Night and many other Neil Youngalbums, A Letter Home illustrates thatvagaries of sound quality can sometimes enhancethe drama of a record, and rarely undermine thepotency of a good song. How strange, then, that itarrives at a time when so much of Young’s energy isconcentrated on promoting Pono. While hyping theultimate in studio-quality audio players, what elsecould such a seasoned contrarian do but release themost eloquent argument against their usefulness?68 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsPRISCILLA AHNThis Is WhereWe AreSQECalifornia singerfinds a mischievousstreak on third LP7/10This third album fromthe Pennsylvania-born,LA-based singer-songwriter marks a stylisticshift from the straight-down-the-line folk ofher early work into more imaginative andexperimental territory. Ahn, who has touredwith Ray LaMontagne and Willie Nelson,pinballs between ghostly electronica (“Loop”,“Closetlude”), eccentric pop (“WeddingMarch”) and gentle acoustic folk (“RememberHow I Broke Your Heart”) as she explores thecomplex underbelly of human relationships.Elsewhere, “Diana” is an oddball blend of LanaDel Rey and The Shirelles, while “I Think I’mReady To Love You” is a tender love song thattakes a distinctly creepy turn.FIona StURGeSDAN BAIRD ANDHOMEMADESINCircus LifeJERKIN’ CROCUSYou can take the boyout of Georgia…7/10Close to a quarter centuryafter quitting GeorgiaSatellites, frontman Dan Baird has neverstrayed too far from the shadow of themillion-selling Southern rockers. His currentband Homemade Sin have, at one time oranother, included three other former Satellitesin its lineup, so the tried and tested boogietemplate continues to thrive on the riffingromantic wreckage of “Fall Apart On Me”,the dirty fingernail blues of “Where I’mGonna Lay My Head”, and the barroomswagger of “Baby This”. No frills, but fullof beer-sodden good intentions and groovesthat invite the listener to cut loose on thesaloon floor.teRRY StaUntonPETERMATTHEWBAUERLiberation!MEMPHIS INDUSTRIESWalkman’s songs ofincense and experience8/10Blessed and cursed to havehad much of his childhoodsoundtracked by handbells, Peter MatthewBauer’s solo debut stretches for a higher stateof consciousness than he managed in 13 yearswith New York-via-Washington cool-cats TheWalkmen. Velvets-raga on “I Was Born In AnAshram”, yogic-flying Springsteen on “FortuneTellers”, Liberation! is a meditation on thefalse gods of Bauer’s hippy upbringing, whichfinds something to be blissfully grateful foramid the guru hoodoo. “What is the wonderof everything?” Bauer’s whoops Richard Hellishlyon transcendental closer “You Are TheChapel”, questing still despite it all. A cultclassic in waiting.JIm WIRthTHEANTLERSFamiliarsTRANSGRESSIVEBrooklyn trioexplore the darkercorners of the6/10human psycheSinger Peter Silberman,a man who clearly carries the weight of theworld on his shoulders, has describedThe Antlers’ fourth album as a reflectionon the ways that the past can prevent us frommoving forward and how Familiars is “arescue mission”. It’s a nice idea on paperbut in practice it’s hard to make out anyoverarching theme amid the Floydianatmospherics and Silberman’s sadlyunprepossessing vocals. The addition ofa horn section brings pleasing texture to thelikes of “Hotel” and “Revisited”, but it’s rarelyenough to lift The Antlers out of their wilfullywounded torpor.FIona StURGeSrevelationsJoseph Arthur on covering LouReed: “It was an act of grieving”ALEX BANKSIlluminateMONKEYTOWNRichly melodic dancepopdebut spans theelectronic spectrumSigned to the Berlin-based8/10label run by electro-danceduo Modeselektor,Brighton-based producer Alex Banks has a deephinterland that includes DJ-ing, playing heavymetal guitar, composing for adverts and writinga university dissertation on the effects ofcommercialisation on dance music. Illuminateis a rich, alluring debut which nods to Orbital orThe Chemical Brothers with its hooky melodies,pulsing analogue synths and supple breakbeatrhythms. Quality levels are impressively highthroughout, but the trio of tracks featuringGazelle Twin’s Elizabeth Bernholz really shine,particularly “Silent Embrace” and “A MatterOf Time”, breathy blues-tronic beauties thatinvoke a kind of post-dubstep Portishead.Stephen DaltonDANNY CLINCHJOSEPHARTHURLouVANGUARDOhio troubadourpays tribute to lateVelvet Underground6/10frontmanLou Reed usually sangin a conversational, non-tonal style, uniquelysuited to the contours of his voice, makinghis songs hazardous territory for anyoneattempting to cover them. Here Joseph Arthurmakes a fair fist at this impossible task, tacklingeverything from the VU 1968 rarity “StephanieSays” up to a couple of tracks from 1992’sMagic And Loss. Each track employs the samespartan, drumless backing (acoustic guitar,piano and double bass) and replaces Reed’sspectacularly bored, demotic mumble for animpassioned croon, which suits some songs(“Pale Blue Eyes”, “Coney Island Baby”)rather better than others.John leWIS“I frst met Lou Reed in about 1996,” saysJoseph Arthur. “Peter Gabriel, who wassigning me to his Real World label, took Loualong to one of my gigs in New York. Peterintroduced us and we got on well. I think hewas very defensive about his privacy, which iswhy he came across as grumpy in interviews,but Lou was funny and charming and veryclever to hang out with.”It was afer Reed’s death that Arthur’slabel boss, Bill Bentley at Vanguard Records,suggested an album of covers, and Arthurrecorded it in a few weeks at his home studiowhen snowed in last Christmas. When Arthurtours the UK soon his band will featureREM’s Mike Mills, but the album sees Arthurmulti-tracking on piano, acoustic guitarand acoustic bass guitar. “The rule was noelectricity, no drums. It’s intimate. Lou wasprimarily a poet, and his songs ofen virtuallyspoken. But a lot of the melodies are implied,and you can rif on that.“I thought I’d done my mourning for Lou, butplaying these songs was an act of grieving. Ialso realised what a funny writer he was. ‘WildChild’ is fucking hilarious!”IntervIew: John LewIsTHOMASBARFODLove MeSECRETLY CANADIANRhythmically complexScanditronica with ahint of Nordic noir7/10Besides drumming withthe leftfield electro trioWhoMadeWho, Danish multi-tasker ThomasBarford is half of house duo Filur and a serialcollaborator on many other projects. In betweenhe makes LPs under his own name, earningrave reviews for his 2012 debut Salton Sea. Thissequel is more focused and song-based, withguest Nina K making a return on a brace ofupbeat disco-pop throbbers plus the statelytechno-processional “Aftermath”. Though theinstrumentals are mostly too politely Nordic,“Blue Matter” and “Sell You” are handsomemale-voiced excursions into glitchy, JamesBlake-style glumtronica highlighting Barfod’scommand of intricate rhythmic detail.Stephen DaltonJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 69

New AlbumsMiCHAEL WiLSONAmEricANAETHAN JOHNSThe ReckoningTHREE CROWSVoyages to new frontiers of the heart and soulHis credentials as a top-flight producer firmly established over abroad range of jobs (Kings Of Leon, Laura Marling, Paul McCartney,Tom Jones), winning a Brit award along the way, Johns is himselfquietly emerging as a writer and performer of some weight andstature. His 2013 debut, If Not Now Then When?, was the work of an8/10 evocative, articulate troubadour who surveyed and chronicled theworld around him in almost filmic detail.The Reckoning has more of a linking narrative, and took shape while Johns was promoting thatfirst album, travelling across the US, UK and Europe, drawing inspiration from the people he metand the view from the window of the tourbus. The opening “Go Slow” sets the tone, a near-spokenvocal reminiscent of Gordon Lightfoot, telling the story of a 19th-Century Englishman setting out tofind what lies beyond his humble homeland. The character and his brother feature in other songs(the funereal lament “The Roses And The Dead”, the Western mythology of “The Lo Down BalladOf James Younger”); young men addressing choices, decisions and consequences, faced with theuncertainty of life. Detours and wrong turns pepper their journeys (“I hope you never grow as hollowas this,” Johns sings in the mournful “The Fool”), and lessons aren’t always learned.Johns is accompanied for the most part by just a delicately plucked or strummed acoustic guitar,although producer Ryan Adams fleshes out the sound with slide and reverby electric on the ghostly“Black Heart” and the tortured soul-searching of “Talking Talking Blues” (“Sometimes what Ibelieve in is not what I feel”). However, the record is most effective when pared to the bone, like onthe fraternal advice of the Dylanesque “Among The Sugar Pines” (“Take your time, let the riverwind”). The travelogues come full circle and jump forward a century or so for the closing “ThisModern London”, Johns suggesting a hunger for discovery still resides in us all, and his beautifullyconsidered songs make for an emotive sat-nav. TERRY STAUNTONthe americana rOUnD-UPAhead of hisheadlining stintwith Patty Grifnat Tennessee’sCross-Country LinesFestival in late May,John Hiatt (lef) hasreleased details of anew LP. Terms Of MySurrender, due out in July on New West,is rooted in acoustic blues and producedby Doug Lancio, his longtime guitarist intouring band The Combo. Most of therecord was cut live in the studio.Meanwhile, Uncut fave John Fullbrightfollows up last year’s Grammy-nominatedFrom The Ground Up with Songs, an LPwhose minimalism refects the simplicity ofits title. The Oklahoma native has describedit as “real clear, precise and economical”. ItbestOf t hemOn t hincludes two ballads (“High Road” and “AllThat You Know”) written when the 25-yearoldwas in his teens. Fullbright is also slatedfor this year’s SummerTyne AmericanaFestival, held in Gateshead between 18-20July. Fellow rising stars Sarah Jarosz andSamantha Crain share the bill, while therest of the lineup includes Ethan Johns,Chuck Prophet, Smoke Fairies, Danny& The Champions Of The World,Booker T. Jones, Bettye Lavette andheadliners The Jayhawks. The latter aredue to play four other UK gigs around thefestival, beginning at the O 2 Shepherd’sBush Empire before moving on to Liverpool,Leamington Spa and Bristol. Leader GaryLouris says the setlist will focus on threeLPs – Sound Of Lies, Smile and RainyDay Music – all of which are reissued thissummer in deluxe format. RoB HUGHESOLGA BELLKraiONE LITTLE INDIANWeird but wonderfulsounds from theBrooklyn-based‘Russian Björk’8/10Away from her dalliancewith Dirty Projectors,Bell explores her Russian roots and classicaltraining on a work scored for piano, cello,electric guitar, electronics and six polyphonicvoices. Sung in Russian, nine interconnectedpieces mix Orthodox liturgy, Cossack chantsand her own poetry into a dazzling oratorio,rendering the language barrier irrelevant astone and impression rather than meaning areparamount in creating a sonic portrait of theRussian wilderness. There are echoes of TimBuckley’s Starsailor and Bell’s rare abilityto translate challenging ideas into a formthat’s accessible and appealing will provokeinevitable comparisons with Björk. Stunning.NIGEL WILLIAmSONBOriSNoiseSARGENT HOUSEJapanese trio’s melodicimmersive umpty-fifthTypecast as tripped-outpsych warriors or sludge/7/10doom rockers off theheaviosity scale, Boris havenavigated their way around complementarymutant genres for years. Whether going theway of amped-up riffage (as with 2011’s HeavyRocks) or fathoms-deep, bliss-pop soundscapes(simultaneous release, Attention Please), shockand awe have been the usual result. Now, Noise,which might frustrate hardcore types becausedespite the promise of its title – delivered viaspeed-metal monster “Quicksilver” and18-minute, FX-strafed epic, “Angel” – it leans ontheir melodic shoegazing tendencies. Of course,when this trio does poppy, it tends to be weightyand metal-tipped, too, but “Taiyo No Baka”might be an upbeat bridge too far for some.SHARON O’CONNELLBLANcmANGEHappy FamiliesTooCHERRY REDNeil Arthur andfriends recreateBlancmange’s debut6/10Artists who rework theirown songs usually doso from a position of maturity, eking truthsfrom sentiments that were inaccessible totheir younger self. But it’s difficult to see thepoint in this elaborate attempt to recreateBlancmange’s 1982 album using 21st-Centurykit, especially given the absence (due toillness) of synth wizard Stephen Luscombe.Some reworkings succeed: the Joy Division-ish“Sad Day”, for instance, is transformed fromCasiotone miniature into grand epic, andthe remixes (by Vince Clarke and electroDJ/producer Greg Wilson) are terrific. But,generally, these lack the new pop innocenceof the originals.JOHN LEWIS70 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsBELLOWHEADRevivalISLANDFifth, more mainstreamouting by Englishfolk juggernautThe intricacy and7/10burlesque flair of Spiersand Boden’s 11-pieceare best appreciated live, but they also blowup a fine storm on disc. Now signed toUniversal/island, they tone down their gothicproclivities for straight-ahead exuberance,the massed vocals and supercharged bassgiven widescreen shine by producer RupertChristie. They turn R Thompson’s doleful “iWant To See The Bright Lights Tonight” intojollity and return “Rosemary Lane” to a navysingalong. “Moon Kittens”, with its JohnBarryesque string part, reaches for anthemicballad status but lead voice Jon Boden, whilecharismatic, is no Shirley Bassey. A cheeryif tad predictable offering.NEIL SPENCERrUUcAmPBELLHeartsongFULLFILLFor that Nick Drakeshapedhole inyour life6/10Ruu Campbell haspreviously collaboratedwith Leftfield, but on Heartsong the Britishsinger-songwriter spurns any trace of modernurban music in favour of English Pastoral:acoustic guitars, low strings and a timelessmix of the bucolic and melancholic. Every pieceis in the right place, but the results lack thespark of originality. The likes of “Soul & Solace”and “Crystalline” are so close to Nick Drake itpractically constitutes body-snatching, whileon “invisible Man” Campbell is in obviousthrall of Bon iver. The album’s warm, woodyglow is undeniably lovely; it’s just a shamethat too often the loveliness is borrowed ratherthan owned.GRAEmE THOmSONmArTiN &ELiZA cArTHYThe Moral OfThe ElephantTOPICElegant trawl throughtradition from folk’s8/10first familyThe first official on-discduo between dad and daughter, Elephant is alsosomething of a career retrospective for CarthyM, recycling pieces played with Brass Monkeyand Bert Jansch and revisiting “The Queen OfHearts” from a debut almost 50 years distant.Carthy E adds pieces of her choosing, notablya version of “Happiness” by Molly Drake(mother of Nick) that evokes a 1950s Englandof childhood and woodland. There’s antiquegusto (“Blackwell Merry Night”), politics(“Grand Conversation On Napoleon”), wintrypicking from a master (“The Queen Of Hearts”),some gothic touches from Britfolk’s finestfiddler, and grand notes.NEIL SPENCERcLiPPiNGClippingSUB POPScalding second fromLA avant-rap trioOn last year’s self-releaseddebut Midcity, Clipping8/10brought together thepreviously disparateworlds of hip-hop and power electronics. Theircounter-intuitive beats are constructed fromwarning sirens, rattling chains and ear-splittingblasts of digital interference, but here they oftencoalesce into a vicious parody of contemporaryrap styles, with rapid-fire MC Daveed Diggsartfully reframing the usual cast of pimps,gangsters and players as drug addicts,psychopaths and serial killers. His denserhyming can occasionally wear you down, buton the likes of “Tonight” – a sneering inversionof lazy club-rap anthems, featuring Three 6Mafia’s female MC Gangsta Boo – his subversivecommentary hits home with industrial force.SAm RICHARdSrevelationsBellowhead discuss Revival, theirnew label and binge drinkingNow an institution, Bellowhead celebrate a10th anniversary with a monster tour, a majorlabel signing, and a ffh album seeminglycrafed for a wider audience. “We have alwaysbeen keen to reach the most people possible,”points out founder Jon Boden, “which is whywe played the Proms and did The Simpsonsand The Archers themes. Broadside was funbut quite a dark album. This one has a brighteraspect, not particularly by design – whatevertracks emerge during recording defne themood. My favourite track is the darkest,‘Greenwood Side’, a ‘Cruel Mother’ murderballad. It’s seven-and-a-half minutes long andhas a haunted feel, so I don’t expect muchradio play!”It must be hard to distil the ebullience of aBellowhead show onto disc. “We’ve learnedthey’re two diferent things, and have becomebetter at both. Five albums is way too muchmaterial for a gig, so some tracks will neverget played live.”You’re on pink Island and have coveredRichard and Linda’s “…Bright Lights Tonight”.“That song has one of the all-time brilliantcouplets: ‘A couple of drunken nights rollingon the foor/Is just the kind of mess I’m lookingfor.’ I’m not against a bit of binge drinking, aslong as it doesn’t defne your life.”NEIL SPENCERJErrY DAViDDeciccAUnderstandingLandELECTRIC RAGTIMEIntense country-tonedsolo debut featuring Will8/10Oldham and othersWith a voice that’s a crossbetween Leonard Cohen and Mark Lanegan,and a supporting cast that includes WillOldham, Kelley Deal and Spooner Oldham,Jerry David DeCicca’s solo debut is a minor treatof rich strings and warm songwriting. DeCicca,the former frontman of The Black Swans, wrotethe album in Elephant And Castle butspiritually it reeks of the American outdoorson folky ballads like “Gloves And The TurtleDove”, the countrified “Before The Storm” andthe reflective “Bloom Again”. Stand-out track,though, may be the lazy beat and introspectiveswirl of “First And Last”, with Oldham onbacking vocals.PETER WATTSJOrGEDrEXLErBailar En LaCuevaWARNERCool psychedelicsamba music7/10from UruguayanOscar winnerSince he bagged an Oscar for The MotorcycleDiaries theme song “Al Otro Lado Del Río” in2005, musician, actor and doctor Jorge Drexlerhas become a Latin eminence. Now based inSpain, he draws on a South American motleyhere; airy sambas, Chilean rapper Ana Tijouxon “Parallel Universes”, Colombian funksterson the title cut and Brazilian maverick CaetanoVeloso on “Bolivia”, an excursion into steamytrance. Though there is some bland ballast,Drexler’s vocals are agile and clever; “DataData” is an urbane piece David Byrne mighthave written. A classier act than the chroniccover art suggests.NEIL SPENCEREiGHT rOUNDSrAPiDLoss LeaderCADIZ MUSICEdgy outing fromSouthend four-piecefeaturing Simon ‘son8/10of Wilko’ JohnsonSinger/lyricist DavidAlexander’s politically charged bullets andthe machine-gunning guitar ethos engravedin Eight Rounds Rapid’s heart are an excellentfit. Edgy, drugged-up thug punk is a speciality(the night-on-the-tiles circling of hell that is“Kicks”), the interplay between SimonJohnson’s jagged, attritional guitar andAlexander’s angry whine, increasinglyintense. Thrilling climax “The Ryder”suggests Mark Perry in apoplectic earlyAlternative TV mode, fronting a defiantand virulent Stooges. Loss Leader isThames Estuary crude given a vitalcontemporary twist: invest now.GAVIN mARTINJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 71

New AlbumsFIRSTAID KITStay GoldCOLUMBIASinging sisters’ major-label debutis a glittering folk-pop tapestry ofScandi-angst. By Graeme ThomsonWHEN THEY FIRSTstarted releasing musicsix years ago, teenageSwedish sistersKlara and JohannaSöderberg namedtheir band inacknowledgement ofthe healing powerof song. On their third8/10 album the pair soundin need of a dose oftheir own medicine. The emotions driving these10 tracks are as troubled and uncertain as the musicis gloriously resolved.There has always been a underlay of Scandi-angstto First Aid Kit’s otherwise unfailingly accessibletake on past and present Americana. It’s got a lotto do with their vaulting sibling harmonies, soredolent of The Carter Family, The LouvinBrothers and the Everlys in the way in which theysimultaneously convey a spine-tingling mixture ofjoy and heartbreak. Melancholia is also an integralingredient in many of their most obvious musicalinfluences. The pair first emerged in 2008 whentheir cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain PeasantSong” became a YouTube hit. On stage they’vecovered Gram Parsons’ “Still Feeling Blue”, whilethe pointedly titled “Emmylou”, from their secondalbum, 2012’s The Lion’s Roar, name-checks Parsonsalongside Johnny Cash and June Carter.On Stay Gold, their major-label debut, these coreinspirations remain tangible, but the net is castwider. “My Silver Lining”, a galloping Death Valleylament in a malevolent minor key, sounds likeCash’s take on “Ghost Riders (In The Sky)” filteredthrough Lee Hazlewood’s “Some Velvet Morning”.“Waitress Song”’s mix of crystalline vocals, violinand keening pedal steel recalls Neko Case’s “I WishI Was The Moon” from her 2002 album, Blacklisted.On “Cedar Lane”, a shifty waltz with a bad case ofthe motel blues, the mix of sobering country musicborne aloft by flutes and strings brings to mindTownes Van Zandt’s 1969 album, Our MotherThe Mountain.Elsewhere there are other, perhaps moresurprising echoes. The pounding tribal chorusof “Stay Gold” has more than a hint of vintageEurovision about it, while the beautiful “Shattered& Hollow” pulses powerfully, like a forlorn,backwoods version of The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”.The duo’s skill lies in their ability to weave thesestrands into a golden folk-pop tapestry of consistentloveliness, even if the results are hardly groundbreaking.First Aid Kit made their great leapforward when they moved from the spare acousticrenderings of 2010 debut The Big Black And TheBlue, to the more fully-fleshed sound of The Lion’sRoar. As a next step, Stay Gold is part confidentconsolidation, part logical progression. Like itspredecessor, it was recorded in Omaha with BrightEyes’ producer/instrumentalist Mike Mogis, butwhile the general creative approach is similar, thearrangements are markedly more ambitious. Themarquee harmonies and indie-folk textures remain,but it’s Nate Walcott’s inventive useof viola, cello, flute, Mellotron andclarinet, played by members ofthe Omaha Symphony Orchestra,which dominates.Among all this crafted tastefulness,the breathless train-track rattle of“Heaven Knows” provides a welcomecarefree kick, a lip-smacking kiss-off tosome hapless fellow who has “spent ayear staring into a mirror”. If Stay Goldat times seems almost too poised and pretty, thenthe words drag the listener back to the messy heartof the matter. Now 21 and 23, respectively, Klara andJohanna have moved away from the precociousobservational narratives of early songs like“Tangerine” into what feels like nakedlyKlara & Johanna Söderbergas signing to Sony changed anythingabout how you work?HKLARA: Not at all. We had the LP fnishedbefore we even knew the label. We made therecord we wanted, and then found a home for it.It’s a logical continuation of The Lion’s Roar…JOHANNA: With that record we felt we’d foundour home sonically and lyrically, so we wanted toestablish what we’d already done, instead ofdoing something completely new.SLEEvENOTESProduced by:Mike MogisRecorded at: ArcStudios, OmahaPersonnel: KlaraSöderberg (vocals,guitar), JohannaSöderberg (vocals,keyboards, autoharp),Benkt Söderberg (bass),Nicholas Lindström(drums), Mike Mogis(guitar, pedal steel,mandolin), Will Clifon(upright bass), NathanielWalcott (organ, piano),Omaha SymphonyOrchestra (strings,woodwind, futes)autobiographical terrain. The songsreturn again and again to thedislocated sensation of being inconstant motion and a long wayfrom home. On “Master Pretender”,“shit gets fucked up and people justdisappear”, while the rousing“Waitress Song” imagines a simplerlife away from this “dark, twisted road”.The prevailing sense of regret,stoicism and hard-won wisdom iscaptured best on “Shattered & Hollow”, whichconcludes: “I’d rather be broken than empty, rather bestriving than settled.” Embracing experience in all itsprickly incarnations might make for a tricky life but– on this evidence – the pay-off is the creation of evermore beautiful and emotionally engaging music.KLARA: The strings and arrangements move usinto new territory. We’re a four-piece band live,but we felt that shouldn’t dictate how this recordsounds. If the songs wanted to be big, let them bebig! On “Waitress Song” and “Stay Gold” wewanted something epic from the get-go.There’s a recurring theme of dislocation andtravel, yet resolving to keep on keeping on.KLARA: It’s not something we planned. Wewrote these songs about being away from peoplewe love and going on great adventures. It’s not an“on tour” record, it’s about feeling lost in any sortof way. We’re very emotional people, and we dealwith our sadness by writing about it. That’s thewhole idea behind our band. gRAeMe THoMsoN72 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsEPHEMERALSNothin Is EasyJALAPENOCoffee-shop soul, fromHillman Mondegreen’sfunky baristasMixing soul, funk,6/10Afrobeat and roll-um-easyjazzy grooves, Nothin IsEasy is an exercise in note-perfect pastiche –the kind of eminently listenable, ersatz souldelivered by Raphael Saadiq, Sharon Jones andpretty much everyone signed to the Daptonelabel. Producer Mondegreen has assembled akiller band, who committed these 10 songs toanalogue tape in just three days in London lastsummer. Instrumental “The Oligarch” is thebest cut here, chiefly because this record’sprincipal weakness is vocal. While Franglo-American frontman Wolfgang “Wolf” Valbrundoes a passable Paolo Nutini, the sixth-formsocial conscience grates, and there’s more thana whiff of ‘emoting’ throughout.MARk BENTLEyMICHAELFRANTI &SPEARHEADAll PeopleBOO BOO wAx/CAPITOL10th from Beatnigs/Disposable Heroes Of7/10Hiphoprisy veteranFrom his punk-rapbeginnings, Michael Franti has fashionedan inclusive pan-global pop, heard here at itsmost confident and fully formed. Threadedtogether with a modern dance glow – Pet ShopBoys-style euphoria on “Long Ride Home”,Beyoncé and Jay Z shoutouts on “I’m Alive” –All People easily embraces Eurodisco thump,spangled dub grooves and twinkling acousticsweetness. The songs are crafted to elidepersonal relationships and universal longingswith the apocalyptic tremors beneath thesummery bounce of “Earth From OuterSpace” acknowledging hard reality behindthe freedom calls.GAVIN MARTINFUCKED UPGlass BoysMATADORFourth long-playerfrom ambitiousCanadian punksIn some ways, Fucked Up7/10are your familiar hardcoregroup – sweary name,phlegmatic lead singer, songs that go along ata fair old clip. In other ways, they differ vastly,wrestling with grand concepts, progressivestructures and, on 2011’s David Comes To Life,Quadrophenia-style rock opera. While morestraight-shooting than its predecessor, GlassBoys strikes similarly celebratory notes, “EchoBoomer” and the power pop-tinged “PaperThe House” sprinting through rapturouscrescendos. Abraham’s roared delivery hideslyrics of subtlety and reflection, particularlyon the soul-searching “DET”, and while theunrelenting energy can be somewhatexhausting, it’s hard not to get swept up.LOUIS PATTISONJACK SPENCERERGOPHIZMIZThe PeacockCARE IN THE COMMUNITYPoppy oddball spansthe centuries on histhird LP7/10“Peacocks always talk inriddles,” insists theexceedingly odd Ergo Phizmiz on his thirdalbum, a typically appealing celebration ofstrange English sounds. The Peacock takesin all sorts, from opener “The Peacock”,which sounds as if it was first heard inHampton Court 500 years ago, to the Floydlike“Hyenas In The Hallway” and ramshackleJilted John punk “The Tinker Song”. At hisfinest – the fleeting “All Fall Down”, rocky“Open Artery Surgery” or Jacques Brel-style“Smiles Of A Summer Night” – Phizmizsounds like a lo-fi Scott Walker, spiritualkin to determined eccentrics like Luke Hainesor Neil Hannon.PETER WATTSLIAM FINNThe NihilistYEP ROCNeil’s son puts his ownspin on the family recipeThe third solo LP fromthis 30-year-old member7/10of New Zealand’s firstmusical family taps intothe bustle of New York City – Liam now lives inBrooklyn. Frequently flirting with cacophony,The Nihilist feels like a collision of Gotham’smanic energy and the otherworldliness thathas permeated Kiwi music from Uncle Tim’sSplit Enz up to Lorde. Liam’s partner-in-crimeis his kid brother Elroy, whose feverishdrumming further ratchets up the relentlessrhythmic intensity, as the siblings gleefullyscribble all over Liam’s crisply crafted popsongs. These include the Prince-ish “Snug AsFuck” and the supercharged “Burn Up TheRoad”, which sounds like Crowded Houseon crystal meth.BUD SCOPPArevelationsMary Gauthier: “Addiction wasone of my big monsters…”The six studio albums of Mary Gauthierhave all been defned by a certain bruisingintensity, but her latest is particularlydamaged. Trouble & Love fnds the 52-yearoldNashville singer relaying erudite tales ofruin and fight over moody clouds of guitar,organ and hushed harmonies. “The record isa story of transformation,” she explains. “I lostsomeone who meant a lot to me, then therewas sadness from the loss and the phases ofgrief. I tried to write it in a way that workslike a book, so each chapter would be a song.”The record ends on the uplifing tone of“Another Train”, which suggests a closure ofsorts. “We all hope to have the strength todrag our ass to the station and love again,” sheadds. “That’s the cycle I tried to capture.”Gauthier is more qualifed than most todocument such things. An orphan-turnedrunaway,she became hooked on heroin andbooze at an early age before fnally goingclean and, aged 35, writing her frst song:“Addiction was one of my big monsters thatreally destroyed all connection with people.So my life has been about learning how toconnect and it hasn’t been easy. But I thinkI’m getting there now.”Rob HugHesMARYGAUTHIERTrouble & LovePROPER/IN THE BLACKFirst full-length infour years from rawNashville diarist7/10Gauthier’s life prior tobecoming a songwriter –homelessness, addiction, jail time – has beenpretty well documented on her previous sixalbums. The estranged theme of Trouble &Love was apparently the result of her workingthrough an extended period of grief. Cueslow-rolling songs, marked by unfussyarrangements and judicious use of guitarand organ, and allusions to lonely motelrooms, fists in faces and snow falling onsnow. It’s all gracefully wrought, withdiscreet harmonies from Darrell Scott andBeth Nielsen Chapman, and ultimatelyends on a hopeful note with the lovely“Another Train”.ROB HUGHESGLASS ANIMALSZabawOLF TONESophisticated indie-soulquartet produced by thestarmaker behind AdeleExpectations hang heavy7/10on Oxford indie-rockersGlass Animals, chieflybecause they are signed to a new label foundedby super-producer Paul Epworth of Adele, PlanB and Bloc Party fame. Their polished debutcertainly has a strong studio aesthetic, eachtrack suspended in the same syrupy sonicgloop of ambient twinkles and twangs. Slinky,sensual, androgyne soul-pop grooves like“Gooey” and “Hazey” feel like oblique homagesto Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” while thecrepuscular sci-fi R&B ballads “Black Mambo”and “Cocoa Hooves” are smoother, sunniercousins of The xx. Moody textures outnumbermemorable songs, but this is still a stylishand inviting debut.STEPHEN DALTONJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 73

New AlbumsGRANDMASPARROW…& His PiddletractorOrchestraSPaCeBOMBArranged follow-up, ofsorts, to Big Inner6/10Hype for this second albumfrom Matthew E White’sSpacebomb stable describes it as a cross betweenCharles Ives and The Beach Boys: accurate,perhaps, if Brian Wilson’s defining work was“George Fell Into His French Horn”. In truth,Grandma Sparrow, alter-ego of Megafaun’s JoeWesterlund, favours a fantasia of silly voices, tapemangling, lavish orchestrations and poo jokes thatresemble a Frank Zappa score for Charlie And TheChocolate Factory. Just as clever – though not asfunny, as it thinks it is – Sparrow has its moments:shoo-be-dooing, children-assisted singalong “PigsmilkCandycane”; and “Twelve-Tone Lullaby”, inwhich Schoenberg’s compositional theories arerevealed as – who knew? – terrifying to infants.JOHN MULVEYHAPPYNESSWeird LittleBirthdayWeIrD SMILINGAffectionate homage tothe post-grunge eraWithin only three songs,8/10Happyness confirm howdeeply they’re indebted tomid-’90s US college rock. “Baby, Jesus (JellyBoy)”’s vocals – and conspicuous lyricalreference to “motorcycle gas tanks” – wilfullymimic Sparklehorse’s debut single, “SpiritDitch”, and the muted sentimentality of “NakedPatients” could hardly be more Yo La Tengo(whose former producer, Adam Lasus, mixedthe South London trio’s debut). Recent single“Great Minds Think Alike, All Brains Taste TheSame” meanwhile recalls a less mischievousPavement, and such influences are transparentthroughout. Deft lyrical touches and apersuasive commitment nonetheless liftHappyness well above pastiche.WYNDHAM WALLACEHAT FITZ &CARA ROBINSONDo TellMaNHaTONAustralian/Irishhusband-and-wifeduo’s sensual roughneck7/10blues outingFollowing a whirlwindromance in the rowdy blues festivals of theirrespective homelands, Hat Fitz and themighty-voiced Cara Robinson have proved wellmatched. Fitz’s lonesome, slide-guitar-etched,depression-defying “Long Dark Cloud”complements the Deep South sensuality thatRobinson commands on “Sister Sister”.Producer Jeff Lang’s minimalist approach(showcased on “99.9” or the triumphantmuleskinner “Coming Home”) is well chosen.Throughout the album, these two charactersshow their material needs no additional frillsor padding – blessed as they are with a raredepth and conviction.GAVIN MARTINDAVID GRAYMutineersIHTTenth studio album ringsthe changes for UKsinger-songwriterCredit to David Gray’s8/10self-expressed desire to getaway from a well-troddennarrative of “crucified middle-aged man”. If thelyrical preoccupations are less introspectiveand more universal on songs such as the titletrack and “Snow In Vegas”, he’s experimentedsonically, too, bringing in Lamb’s Andy Barlowto create a down-tempo soundbed withechoing touches of electronica and resonantcello underpinning Gray’s piano anddistinctive voice, which Barlow has givena layered, softer quality. Ultimately, thechanges are subtle rather than profoundand Gray still sounds like he’s been nailedto a cross – which will no doubt come asa relief to loyal fans.NIGEL WILLIAMSONGREYSIf anythingCarParKCanadian punkswith a hard-onfor hardcoreHardcore enthusiasts7/10Greys had a whaleof a time recordingthis colourful debut album judging bycacophonous singalongs such as “Adderall”,frantic, hook-laden “Brain Dead” or thesledgehammer drive of “Chick Singer”.The latter track sounds as though it waswritten by Kim Gordon for inclusion on anearly-1990s Sonic Youth album, while“Flip Yr Lid” is a knowing nod to Hüsker Dü,but Greys are able to take these influencesforward on tracks like “Cold Soak” and “GuyPicciotto”, which seethe, howl and rock,combining the energy of hardcore with someof the more abstract sounds found incontemporary noise rock.PETER WATTSrevelationsJoe Henry on his new album and“godfather” T Bone BurnettProlifc singer-songwriter, Grammywinningproducer, co-biographer of comedianRichard Pryor, married to Madonna’s sisterwith their eldest son on his team, Joe Henryhas a touch of renaissance man about him.His studio in the basement of his Pasadenahome has become a destination of choice forartists from Rodney Crowell to Aaron Nevilleand Billy Bragg. “It’s not for everyone,” hesays, “but it’s a unique space and peopleare responsive. It has a Motown ethos – asmall group of musicians who are egolesscollaborators and know what they’re afer.“On Invisible Hour he’s joined by folk duoThe Milk Carton Kids and Irish singer LisaHannigan, with novelist Colum McCannco-writing the title track. “I wanted to steal aline from Colum – ‘We come in bodies not ourown’ – and a volley of emails followed.” Henry’sproducer role grew from his friendshipwith T Bone Burnett, who oversaw 1990’sShufetown. “He became my professionalgodfather and mentor. He encouraged meto become an apprentice, which was anamazing immersion into that world.” Hisown songs are non-confessional. “There’sa Woody Guthrie quote, ‘All you can writeis what you see’, but that doesn’t have to beliteral. It’s what you open yourself to, you canbe empathic, receiving the story from theperson who has lived it.”neIl SpencerJOE HENRYInvisibleHourearMUSICThirteenth albumfrom eclectic Americansongwriter and7/10burgeoning producerJoe Henry’s output hasveered between pop music, rock, countryand even jazz, the unifying factors being hiswell-crafted songs and a fearless attitudealso apparent in his growing producer’srole. Invisible Hour is a return to basics –acoustic guitar, bass and brushed drums,enlivened by burbling woodwind, recordedin the already legendary home studio.Henry’s everyman vocals are no seducer,but the words are, a torrent of post-Dylanimagery that can get a little lost but as oftenhits a sweet spot: “You speak from the shadowsand I want you to lead me on”. One-pacedbut classy.NEIL SPENCERHOWLING BELLSHeartstringsBIrTHDaYAussie expats trim theirbliss-pop templateHowling Bells haveoften sounded like a7/10band searching for theiridentity: aiming for intenseatmospherics but ending up with by-numbers,“swirling” indie rock. With the Alan MoulderproducedHeartstrings, they’ve finally foundtheir mark. It moves at a cracking pace, its 10concise songs (in barely 32 minutes) pickedclean of fluff and with their sugar content muchreduced. It starts as it means to go on, withclarion, panoramic opener “Paris”, beforehammering through “Possessed” and (the infact darkly impatient) “Slowburn”. Elsewhere,it channels Lana Del Rey’s spangled doom,but something more intriguingly difficult –Abba’s desolate core, maybe – is on show with“Paper Heart”.SHARON O’CONNELLLAUREN DUKOFF74 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsTHEFELICEBROTHERSFavorite WaitressDUaLTONeThe New York brothers refnetheir sound. By Andrew MuellerTHE FELICEBROTHERS’ previousproper album, 2011’sCelebration, Floridawas by far their leastcharacteristic to date –and, for that reason,arguably their mostadmirable. Havingearned a reputation7/10 for robust, stirring,if somewhat orthodoxAmericana, The Felice Brothers took an abruptleft turn, incorporating electronic and hip-hopinfluences into a semi-conceptual conceit abouta planned community built by the DisneyCorporation. As startling diversions went, itwasn’t quite comparable to Radiohead unveilingan exciting new banjo-led direction, but itwasn’t far off.The Brothers began a return to their roots with2012’s God Bless You Amigo – a lo-fi, home-recordedcollection of standards and unrecorded FeliceBrothers songs, sold from their website on a paywhat-you-likebasis. It seems to have resuscitatedthe Felices’ enthusiasm for what they started outdoing, jamming in the family home in upstate inNew York, busking on the New York City subway.Favorite Waitress aims for a certain pastoralsimplicity. Among the very first sounds it yieldsare the yaps of a dog – gambolling, it seems safeto assume, in view of a porchful of strummingmusicians clad substantially in dungarees andbeards. The opening couplet of the opening track,the Uncle Tupelo-ish trundle “Bird On BrokenWing”, rhymes “street” with “meet”.The Felices haven’t left behind absolutelyeverything they discovered in Celebration, Florida –“Saturday Night”, by far the album’s mostsuccessful ballad, suggests Tom Waits with hisplinking pub piano replaced by a Roland, and awobbly synthesiser underpins the slow verses of“Katie Cruel” before being spectacularly obliteratedby the clattering, punky guitars of the album’s bestchorus. In general, however, throughout these 13tracks, unconquered sonic frontiers are permittedto remain unconquered.It’s to The Felice Brothers’ credit that FavoriteWaitress never quite becomes oppressively earnest,though it’s a near thing at a couple of points. As ageneral rule, the slower the tempo, the greater thetemptation to fling an empty towards the chickenwire. Favorite Waitress assuredly has its moments,but it also has its hours – the ballads are toofrequent and, in the main, way too much likehard work. “Meadow Of A Dream” has a certaingrandeur, but it’s difficult to listen to the words,riddled as they are with references to factorywhistles, boxcars, bottles, Butch and Sundance,without checking one’s way through an imaginaryAmericana bingo card. “Constituents” is pretty,but impossible to listen to without anticipating, atthe end of every verse, the “1-2-3-4” that mightlaunch it higher and faster. “Alien”, again, almostworks, but a heavy-handedarrangement gives it more the feelof a lecture than a hymn.Mostly and fortunately, the Felicesmanage to avoid the curatorial pietywhich is often an unfortunateconsequence of buying into a heritage,and realise that you’re allowed to havefun with this stuff. The playful “CherryLicorice” is a gleeful homage to JohnPrine at his daftest – think “GrandpaWas A Carpenter”, “Spanish Pipedream” –right down to the cheerfully forced rhymes(“licorice”/“ridicklish”). “Lion”, lurching arounda seasick accordion riff, summons somethingof the giddy dementia of DeVotchKa via the moreJames FeliceWhy the decision to record inOmaha? The studio is owned byfriends of ours [Bright eyes’coner Oberst and Mike Mogis].And going there from here[upstate new York] gave us anopportunity to play the songs on the way. It tookfour days to drive, so we played some placesas we went. We took our producer [JeremyBackofen] with us, and he listened to us playthe songs and gave us notes afer the shows.SLEEVENOTESrecorded at:Arc, OmahaProduced by:Jeremy BackhofenPersonnel: Ian Felice(vocals, guitar, piano),James Felice (vocals,accordion, keys), JoshRawson (bass), GregFarley (fddle), DavidEstabrook (drums)anthemic tendencies of TheDecemberists. “Woman Next Door” is awondrous cowpunk romp, its churningguitars and daffy lyrics (“I came to afield of posies/I asked them how theygrow/Some said ‘By the sunshine’/Somesaid ‘I don’t know’”) suggesting anunwritten history in which Donovanhas recruited Drive-By Truckers ashis backing group.Favorite Waitress is, then, a kind ofhomecoming for The Felice Brothers after theirexploratory digression, and by and large it’s good tohave them back. It would be a shame, however, iffrom hereon they entirely forgot that there’s a bigworld out there.Did the songs change at all as you went?Honestly, not much. It was good to have Jeremyin the audience, for sure, but it was mostly to getthe performances right. The songs were 90 percent there before we lef, but it’s always goodto hone. It was like a big camping trip.Was the idea to reconnect with your live sound?Yes. The idea was that if we liked how theysounded live, we’d like ’em on the record.How do you feel now about the diferent tackyou took on Celebration, Florida? We’reextremely proud of that album. We had to makethat record, to prove we could do somethingdiferent. It was a fun departure.JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 75

New AlbumscHRISSIEHYNDEStockholmWILL TRAVEL/CAROLINESolo excursion withsurprising guestsRecorded in Sweden with6/10producer and co-writerBjörn Yttling (Peter, BjornAnd John), Hynde describes this debut soloalbum as “Abba meets John Lennon”. That’snot immediately evident, because Stockholmnever strays too far from the earlier Pretenderstemplate, albeit with noticeably fewer guitars.Having said that, there’s a strong six-stringpresence courtesy of Neil Young’s aggressivetwang on “Down The Wrong Way”, while tennisplayer John McEnroe gets busy with the riffson the sneering “A Plan Too Far”. The recordarguably lacks a killer track, Chrissie seeminglyon autopilot throughout, although the sultry“In A Miracle” contains the occasional echoof past glories.TErrY STAUNTONJAH WOBBLEPRESENTS PJHIGGINSInspirationSONAR KOLLEKTIV GERMANYBoss bassie hitsform with sultry8/10trip-hop singerVocalist with DubColossus and an inveterate collaborator, PJHiggins seizes her chance to shine in her ownlight on this excursion with the irrepressibleWobble. Singing over reggaematic trip-hopwith acres of echo, Higgins gets anguished on“My Heart’s Burning”, chats entertaininglyon “Watch How You Walk” and evokes HoraceAndy’s sinuous style on “King of Illusion”,a blast of old-school roots complete withcavernous dub. Wobble thunders imperiouslythroughout, and the album’s 33 minutesslip easily down aside from the brief,out-of-place holler that’s “Chaingang”.A sweet session.NEIL SPENcErVIKESHKAPOORThe Ballad OfWilly RobbinsLOOSE MUSICWorking man’s bluesfrom Portland7/10The titular anti-heroof this debut album isa man down on his luck, the hard knocks ofhis working life echoed in the disrepair ofboth his home and marriage. Willy Robbins’story is the heart of an overarching themeas Pennsylvania-born Kapoor (joined hereby odd members of The Decemberists andLanghorne Slim) essays tales of struggleand survival across pithy folk-pop songswith delicate dashes of mandolin andWurlitzer piano. The pleasing wobble ofhis voice accentuates a kinked approach,with the outstanding “Carry Me, Home”sounding like Barry Dransfield by way ofDock Boggs.rOB hUGhESHow To Buy...IAN McLAGAN...session manROLLING STONESSome GirlsROLLING STONESRECORDS, 1978Mac appears on twotracks; a cover of TheTemptations’ “JustMy Imagination” and, more signifcantly,“Miss You”, his slinky electric piano rif thespringboard for Jagger’s disco strut at theheight of New York’s Studio 54 scene. “I wasonly with them for a weekend, but it wasvery work-intensive,” he says. “Beds werenot slept in.”8/10RIcH KIDSGhosts Of PrincesIn Towers EMI, 1978Producer Mick Ronsonenlisted McLagan tobeef up the sound ofGlen Matlock’s post-Pistols power poppers, with subsequentexpanded versions of the album including acover of the Small Faces’ “Here Come TheNice”. Friendships were formed, and Macinvited Matlock to take the Ronnie Lane rolewhen the Faces reformed with Mick Hucknallfor live shows in 2010.7/10BRUcESPRINGSTEENLucky TownCOLUMBIA, 1991When The Boss benchedthe E Street Band for thisand Human Touch, it fellto McLagan as the surrogate Danny Federicito provide the Hammond fourishes, bestheard on the hymnal “My Beautiful Reward”.Mac had earlier worked with Springsteenon a version of “Viva Las Vegas” for an NMEcharity album of Elvis Presley covers.8/10TERRY STAUNTONKING DUDEFearNOT JUST RELIGIOUS MUSICSeattle rock wraithturns the blues blackLike the Bad Seeds andThe Gun Club before6/10him, King Dude – realname Thomas JeffersonCowgill – knows there’s little out there tocontend with the darkness to be found in thetraditional American songbook. Fear, histhird album under the King Dude name,locates this seam and distils it like finewhiskey, assembling neat pastiches of oldtimeycountry, folk and gospel and dressingthem up in gothic garb. Producer Bill Rieflin,of Ministry and Swans, helps bring athunderous urgency to the electric “Fear IsAll You Know”. But Fear is best when Cowgillstrips things back: see fingerpicked lament“Maria”, or “Devil Eyes”, an outlaw blues strumhe sings in a fresh-from-the-grave gurgle.LOUIS PATTISONKLAXONSLove FrequencyAKASHIC/SONY REDLondon quartet returnwith smooth third, fouryears in the making“It’s where we always5/10said we were gonnaplace ourselves,” saidJamie Reynolds of Klaxons’ long-awaitedthird album. “It just took us a while to learnhow to get there.” In this case, though, a moredeveloped sense of craft can be detrimental,as the band, with help from top-draw producersThe Chemical Brothers, James Murphy andGorgon City, have abandoned many of theelements that made them unique. Gone arethe lo-fi synths, fuzz bass and Ballardianreferences, replaced with clichéd titleslike “Show Me A Miracle” and the kind ofelectronic pop that fills Radio 1’s A-list. It’swell done, but the price of reinvention hasbeen the band’s personality.TOM PINNOcKLUST FORYOUTHInternationalSACRED BONESSwedish miserabilistfinds happiness inthe ’80s8/10After two dark, oftendissonant albums in fiveyears, Hannes Norrvide’s third is a surprisinglycheerful release that eschews his previous lo-fiwork and, for the first time, involves livecollaborators Loke Rahbek and Malthe Fisher,plus guest guitarwork from Iceage’s EliasBender Rønnenfelt. Undeniably influencedby ’80s synth-pop, it finds the Swede – nowDenmark-based – trading in flavoursreminiscent of Depeche Mode (on the mildlyclaustrophobic “Epoetin Alfa”), New Order (onthe wonderfully melodic “New Boys”) and evenUnderworld (the “Born Slippy”-on-downers“Running”). Norrvide still sounds a little glum,but he’s got plenty to be happy about here.WYNDhAM WALLAcEIAN MCLAGANUnited StatesYEP ROCNo-nonsense good-timevibes from the muchlovedveteranMcLagan’s first album7/10in six years, again in thecompany of his touringcohorts The Bump Band, is less personal than2008’s Never Say Never, which was writtenand recorded after the death of his wife Kimin a car accident. Mixed by long-time friendand collaborator Glyn Johns, it’s a lively mixof breezy country (“Love Letter”), rough-hewnsoul testifying (“Shalalala”) and fingersnappingR’n’B (“Pure Gold”), and while thevoice may croak and crack every so often,Mac’s fingers are as nimble as ever acrossthe keyboards. He’s especially eloquent onthe hymnal, piano-led “Mean Old World”,recalling the tender side of his time withthe Faces.TErrY STAUNTON76 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsJESSIcA LEAMAYFIELDMake MyHead Sing...ATOOhio singer-songwritergoes for the jugular8/10On her third albumMayfield discards hercrafted alt.country roots in favour of bluntminimalism. The crackle and drag of overloadedguitar and beautifully bleached-outvocals underpin a pared-down aestheticwhich moves between grinding sludge-rockand fuzzy slow-core. Thrillingly heavy anddirect it may be, but there are great tunes here.“I Wanna Love You” is an alt.rock mash-up ofFleetwood Mac and Blue Öyster Cult, while“Pure Stuff” marries a sugar-sweet melody tothe primal heft of Dinosaur Jr and Nirvana.Even on “Party Drugs” – stripped to voice andtreated guitar – the intensity of this impressivereinvention never wavers.GrAEME ThOMSONMOULETTESConstellationsNAVIGATORWell-wrought thirdalbum from Sussexavant-folkiesTireless live grafters8/10and entertainers,the Moulettes werepreviously undersold on disc. Now signedto Navigator, though, they find focus,moulding 10 eclectic songs into anotherworldly whole. Constellations’ jerkyshifts of pace can be irksome, but each numberis a parade of surprises; a growling bassoon, awordspray from leader Hannah Miller, asnippet of dub electronica. “The Night IsYoung” is belle epoque waltz, the misterioso“Land Of The Midnight Sun” has swayingBeatlesque strings and tinkling harp, and TheUnthanks even show up for the jaunty “TheObservatory”. Different, daring and full ofKate Bush-like enchantment.NEIL SPENcErJOANOSBORNELove And HateMEMBRANMature songcraftfrom the ‘God onthe bus’ girl7/10Osborne’s erratic careertrajectory has taken inpop novelty (“One Of Us”), a Motown revuewith the Funk Brothers, jamming with theremnants of the Grateful Dead and singingat the Grand Ole Opry. Her last album, 2012’sBring It On Home, was a collection of bluesand soul covers, but here she returns toclassic troubadour mode with an intimate12-song cycle about love in its many guisesthat sounds deeply autobiographical.There’s a hint of Tropicália (“Work On Me”),lush strings and classical piano (“Train”),a touch of soul, some slinky jazz andechoes of Aimee Mann, Dory Previn andeven Alicia Keys.NIGEL WILLIAMSONPETEMOLINARITheosophyCHERRY REDRetro troubadourfinds a harder edgePete Molinari could be7/10forgiven for cursingJake Bugg. Molinarihas been pedalling the same wiry, mongrelmix of ’60s folk, rock, blues and country fora decade, but while Bugg may be younger,glossier and more successful, Molinari’stake on similar sources is more playfullypromiscuous, even if he does often struggleto transcend them. His fourth album isleaner and meaner than 2010’s A TrainBound For Glory, the ramshackle electriccharge of “Hang My Head In Shame”,the Kinksy “Evangeline” and fuzzilymalevolent blues of “Easy Street”characteristic of an enjoyably rawblend of his core obsessions.GrAEME ThOMSONNAZARETHRock’n’RollTelephoneUNION SQUAREAxl Rose’s favouriteband do it one last timeFour decades after being6/10voted Melody Maker’s‘brightest hope’ of 1973,Nazareth’s star may have dimmed but album23 is consistent as ever. Stomping heavieswith self-explanatory titles such as “BoomBang Bang” vie with power rock balladslike “Back 2B4” and “Winter Sunlight” inthe melodic style of their 1975 hit versionof “Love Hurts”. But, sadly, change is onthe way: Rock’n’Roll Telephone is the band’slast album with Dan McCafferty, leadvocalist since the outset, who has beenforced to retire due to health issues, quitepossibly associated with 45 years ofunadulterated hard rocking. A rip-roaringway to say goodbye.NIGEL WILLIAMSONOWEN PALLETTIn ConfictDOMINOOrchestral pop prodigyvirtuoso reinventsthe love songComposing video game8/10soundtracks, scoring SpikeJonze movies, playing withthe Arcade Fire: Ontario-born violinist OwenPallett has spread his talents far and wide. Hispast solo work has tended to dwell in imaginedrealms – albeit, with real life poking throughthe cracks. In Conflict, though, feels starklypersonal, wrestling with topics of love andhuman fallibility: “I Am Not Afraid” addressesbody dysmorphia, childlessness and theappetites of the ex-addict. Musically, though,it’s exquisite. “Chorale” and “Song For FiveAnd Six” thread violin, piano and hornsthrough a pensive simmer of electronics,and as a symbol of Pallett’s good reputation,Brian Eno adds guitar and synth throughout.LOUIS PATTISONJESS MORGANLanga LangaAMATEUR BOXEREast Anglian folky’sfine third offeringFolk-based singersongwriterJess Morgan6/10combines winsomevocals with a simpleback-and-forth campfire strum on herlatest album, Langa Langa, which laysdown its statement in the second track“The Missionary”, an ode to self-sacrificeand the dedication of the zealous. Like thebest folk singers, Morgan is preoccupiedby physical place as much as internalspace, and her flat Norfolk homeland isa tangible presence on tracks like thetypically tranquil “Annie Of Greyfriars”,the political “Movie Scene” and wicked“Cavalier”, the last of which is a thoughtfulmeditation on the unlikely subject of sexand Norwich.PETEr WATTSTHE NEW LINECan’t HoldThe WheelTHE NEW LINEThe new soundof Americana –out of Africa8/10The chiming sound ofthe Zimbabwean thumbpiano or mbira briefly entered the mainstreamin the 1980s when Thomas Mapfumo and theBhundu Boys enjoyed five minutes of popfame, but the instrument has never found thewider currency of the sitar or kora. Vermont’sBrendan Taaffe and band may change thatwith an enticing mix of Appalachian folk andAfro-pop as mbira and banjo cast old-timeroots ballads such as “Goodnight Irene”and “Danville Girl” in a beguiling new light.Stefan Amidon (younger brother of Sam)adds percussion and vocals and the results areas magical as if Justin Vernon had invitedToumani Diabaté to his Wisconsin cabin.NIGEL WILLIAMSONPARQUETcOURTSSunbathing AnimalROUGH TRADETexan émigrés’ subtlysubversive thirdIn their twin infatuation7/10with slacker rock andpost-punk, Brooklyn’sParquet Courts are hardly alone. Their 2012breakthrough, Light Up Gold, marked them outas smart, if overly zealous students of recentmusic history with a keen eye for the detail ofmodern life. There’s no seismic shift here, butthe differences – and listening rewards – lie inthe indeterminate spaces between their sources(Television, Jonathan Richman, Sonic Youth,Pixies and Pavement). They sometimes still pullon single threads of melody or rhythm, as ifmarvelling at how their songs are made, but,as the controlled sprawl of “She’s Rollin” andgarage blues of “Duckin And Dodgin” show,they aren’t afraid to light out for new territory.ShArON O’cONNELLJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 77

New AlbumsTHE PIERCESCreationPOLYDORChart-toppingAlabama sisters doit the major label way,with mixed results5/10Allison and CatherinePierce have beenplugging away with their folk-pop soundfor over 10 years but it was only in 2011,with input from Coldplay bassist GuyBerryman, that they eventually brokethrough with their fourth, MOR-influencedLP You & I. Their fifth effort finds thempedalling yet more heart-on-sleeveharmonies and sun-kissed melodies,all conspicuously lacking the grit of theirearlier work. There’s a certain wonkycharm to the title track, but elsewhereCreation is too clean and clearly aimedat a Radio 2 demographic to be much morethan background noise.FiONA StUrGESPLAIDReachy PrintsWARPDoughty footsoldiersof IDM return, charmingas everCompared with algorithmic7/10and pranksterishcontemporaries likeAutechre and Aphex Twin, Plaid’s brand ofelectronica (or “Intelligent Dance Music”, as itwas briefly tagged in the early ’90s) has alwaysbeen a little prettier and, occasionally, morewhimsical. Rather more underappreciated, too:Reachy Prints is Andy Turner and Ed Handley’seighth album, and one more discreet assertion oftheir excellence. The technology has evolved, butthe Plaid aesthetic remains constant, as a harplikeflurry introduces nine melodically ornatetracks that often resemble the digitally adjustedwork of multiple music boxes. “Liverpool St”,in particular, is magical, a rococo re-imaginingof one of London’s least romantic train stations.JOHN MULVEYPRINCIPLES OFGEOMETRYMeanstreamTIGERSUSHIFrench pair’s alluring, ifunremarkable fourthIt might seem that pristine,6/10retro electronic pop reachedexhaustion point with DaftPunk’s patchy Random Access Memories, butlately, a darker and more dramatic route to thepast has been opening up. Tracking back to JohnCarpenter and Vangelis, it’s recently divertedCollege, Boards Of Canada and Oneohtrix PointNever. French duo POG have piped similarlyominous filmic elements into their latest set,notably on the chilly “Prologue” and “Lonnie”,balancing its mix of digital funk, strutting EBMand cream-whipped synth pop. The latterreaches a peak with the dreamy “Streamsters”,its cheesy nadir on “Polysex”. Meanstream hasits moments, but is too often more than just avowel swap away from the overly familiar.SHArON O’CONNELLTHE PROPERORNAMENTSWooden HeadFORTUNA POP!/SLUMBERLANDIndie-jangle classicism,diffuse and effeteA duo featuring7/10Argentinian-born MaxClaps, and James Hoare,on day-release from Scottish indie-pop gangVeronica Falls, The Proper Ornaments sitnicely, if at times a little glibly, smack dabin the middle of the current wave of post-Velvets/C86 redux. What elevates The ProperOrnaments above their peers, though, isan ability to pull together everything youthought you knew about classic guitar popmoves – VU balladry, Flying Nun jangle,elements of shoegazing (the vocals aredead ringers for Ride’s Byrdsian harmonies) –and, against the odds, making it new.The songs are simple but seductive; themelodies blissed-out, hypnotic.JON DALEHow To Buy...PLAIDEccentric IDM from London B-BoysTHE BLACK DOGSpanners WARP 1995Andy Turner and EdHandley originallyfgured as two-thirdsof The Black Dog, acritical and generallyrather crypticpresence in early ’90s British electronica.Afer a fne if occasionally obtuse run (1993’spair, Bytes and Temple Of Transparent Balls,are both good), the pair lef the band soonafer Spanners – a playful opus that pointedthe way forward for what would become Plaid.8/10PLAIDRest ProofClockworkWARP 1999The second Plaidalbum (following1998’s Björk-assistedNot For Threes),Rest Proof Clockwork crystallised the duo’sbeguiling, gently eccentric take on theprevailing Warp sound. Slightly cheesygimmicks – notably a taste for steel drumpre-sets – actually add to the fun, rather thanundermine it.8/10PLAIDTrainerWARP 2000A 2CD comp ofHandley and Turner’srare early work,collating various BlackDog Productions,a 1991 Plaid mini-album (Mbuki Mvuki), plusreleases from alter-egos Atypic, Balil andTura. With a stronger techno infuence thanlater work, it charts how two London B-boyschannelled and subverted their love of Detroitclub music.7/10JOHN MULVEYRAH RAHThe Poet’s DeadHIDDEN PONYSaskatchewannabies’midlife crisiscomes earlyMildly countrified cousins7/10to Glasgow’s defunctDelgados and fellowCanadians Stars, boy/girl-fronted sextet RahRah’s journey from Regina, Saskatchewan,to Juno-nominated indie celebrity has not, itseems, been an entirely joyous one. However,their third album, The Poet’s Dead, documentsthat band-in-a-van ennui and incipientthirtysomethingness with some panache.Marshall Burns yearns for domesticity on thePavement-ish “Art And A Wife” and casual sexloses its appeal on the X-like “Fake Our Love”;meanwhile, Erin Passmore’s apple-cheeked,folksy delivery masks some anti-social urgeson “Prairie Girl” and closer “Saint”. Worthyof two cheers at least.JiM WirtHBRIAN REITZELLAuto MusicSMALLTOWN SUPERSOUNDSoundtrack magnate’ssolo debut. Kevin Shieldshitches a liftThe career arc of Brian6/10Reitzell is a small exemplarof 21st-Century music bizexpediencies, moving from Redd Kross drummer,to Air live auxiliary, to Hollywood “musicconceptualist”, producing, commissioning andcurating film and TV soundtracks. More lucrativework, one suspects, than an orthodox solo career,and it’s evidently influenced this atmosphericdebut. Pitched as an exercise in LA motorik (“AutoMusic 1” channels Neu! at their twinkliest), it’s oftencloser to the quasi-ambient end of shoegazing;Kevin Shields, a key player on Reitzell’s Lost InTranslation soundtrack, adds organ to theoutstanding “Last Summer”. Less smudged tracksare more problematic: the crescendos of “Ozu”almost match Coldplay for portent and bombast.JOHN MULVEYRONIKASelectadiscRECORDSHOPThe Midlands Madonnagets too deeply into theretro grooveNottingham-based6/10Veronica Sampson is ashameless dance-popmagpie, drawing heavily on 1980s Madonnaand her blank-voiced, hand-clapping discosynthaesthetic. Beneath its derivative surface,this debut clearly has more to offer, from theTom Tom Club wiggle-funk of “Forget Yourself”to the techno-blues sobs of “Search Siren”. Butin a postmodern pop landscape where LadyGaga has already repackaged much of Maddy’searly career as high-gloss conceptual art,Sampson’s more pedestrian retro-homageslack bite and depth, reproducing the dayglobanality of her source material but not its boxfreshnew-wave charm. There is talent andpromise here, but context matters.StEpHEN DALtON78 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

BOBMOULDBeauty & RuinMERGEWarhorse: Songs and Stories –Hüsker Dü veteran makes peacewith the past. By Jim WirthTHAT GUITAR SOUNDagain: the sound ofglass shattering, thesound of a hurricanehowling. The suddensandblast squall thatwhips up about 50seconds into “Kid WithCrooked Face” – thefastest, most furious8/10moment on BobMould’s latest album –is giddily familiar. Endlessly imitated butessentially unused since Hüsker Dü split up in1988, it’s perhaps the mightiest weapon in Mould’sarmoury, and on Beauty & Ruin, it is the soundof permafrost cracking.For Mould’s 14th full-length outing post-HüskerDü may be the first to fully engage with that part ofhis musical legacy. The Minneapolis three-piece dida fairly indifferent job of following up their mindblowing(10), (10), (10), trio of Jackson Pollockhardcore LPs – 1984’s Zen Arcade and the followingyear’s New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig – withMould, songwriting foil Grant Hart and elaboratelymoustached bassist Greg Norton disbanding aftertwo frustrating albums for Warner Brothers. Mouldand Hart have done fine things since, but neitherhave dared to turn the distortion and chorus pedalson in the same dizzying combination until now.Inspired in part by the death of his father, Beauty& Ruin’s ruminations on mortality are hardly newterritory for Mould, who sang in 1986 on Hüsker Dü’sstark “Hardly Getting Over It”: “My parents they justwonder when they both are gonna die; what do I dowhen they die?” However, his lyrics here seeminglyderive less from a need to come to terms with hisfather – depicted in Mould’s autobiography See ALittle Light as a controlling, violent alcoholic whonever acknowledged Mould’s homosexuality – thana desire to stare down the disapproving glances ofhis younger self.The “tales filled with riddles and rhymes thatI just don’t recognise” on the perky “I Don’t KnowYou Anymore” might detail a conversation withhis dying father or an unwelcome encounterwith the mirror, while on the frenzied “Kid WithCrooked Face”, Mould squirms in front of hisglowering twentysomething gaze: “Look away, lookaway, look away.”Now 53, Mould would seem to have little tobe ashamed of when he looks back, havingsystematically vanquished his demons sinceHüsker Dü’s late-1980s demise. An ex-drinker andsmoker, he came out publicly while enjoying 1990scommercial success with Sugar, and then spenta decade spooking his fanbase by writing scriptsfor professional wrestling, DJ-ing at his “gay bear”house night, Blowoff, and releasing an unhingedhybrid electronic album – Modulate – in 2002.However, personal fulfilment has not alwaysmade for great output; the string of elegantlywhittled albums he has produced since moving toSan Francisco a few years ago – District Line, LifeAnd Times and 2012’s Sugarre-enactment, Silver Age – havenot for the first time seen Mould’sart gradually downgraded tocraftsmanship. Beauty…, however, isan invigorating reconnection with amore difficult, dangerous part ofhimself. Glowering opener “LowSeason” bemoans “chances that Iwasted in my unforgiving days”, andwhile the Hüskers-pitched centrepiece“The War” ostensibly recounts Mould’s difficultrelationship with his father, it sounds awfully likean apologia for the decades of sniping that followedBob MouldDid your father’s death inspire Beauty…?Parts of it. He passed away in October2012 right afer Silver Age came out.My father and I are a lot alike in many ways. I’vecome to terms with that in diferent ways overthe course of my life – quitting smoking, quittingdrinking. I’ve always loved my parents andthough my dad’s fnal years were pretty toughI was fortunate to get a lot of good time withhim and to talk about a lot of things.“Kid With Crooked Face” is closer to ’81-stylehardcore than anything else you have doneSLEEvENOTESProduced by:Bob MouldRecorded at: ElectricalAudio, Chicago, andDiferent Fur, SanFranciscoPersonnel includes:Bob Mould (guitar,vocals), Jason Narducy(bass), Jon Wurster(drums)his first band’s demise. “Listen to myvoice, it’s the only weapon I kept fromthe war,” Mould wails, still pleading fora ceasefire long after Armistice Day.Beauty & Ruin falls short as amasterpiece – the Wings-ish “Let TheBeauty Be” is a notable lapse of taste –but it quietly lets the handbrake offon Mould’s creativity. It ends on anupbeat, “Fix It” slamming the doorshut on the past. “Time to find out whoyou are,” Mould sings. Comfortable enough nowthat he knows who he was, what happens nextcould be incredible.since Hüsker Dü. How did that come about?It just happened – it fell out. People are going toget way more wound up about me doing thosesorts of songs than I do. I used to hate picturesof myself when we did photos ’cause I thoughtmy face was a little crooked; not symmetrical.I am a Libra so symmetry is huge.Have you ever fancied cutting loose and doinga concept album or a musical?Like a big fctional stage thing? Yeah, someday.I fancy it but I can’t do it myself. The last thing Itried something like that we got Modulate! Ialways say it’s my Trans. Constructing an entirecircus with invisible wires and anti-gravitymachines – I think I need some scientists to helpme with that. But I’ll do it someday. This is allbuilding up to something big. INTERVIEW: JIM WIRTHJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 79

New AlbumsLEONRUSSELLLife JourneyUNIVERSALFirst solo effort inalmost a decade frommisplaced legend6/10Re-animated by his2010 duet with Elton,Russell comes up with what’s expected ofgrizzled veterans – a set of standardstastefully furnished by producer TommyLiPuma. Russell was always more supersessioneerand songwriter than vocalist,and the rasp of advancing years does littlefor over-familiar pieces like “Fever” and“Georgia On My Mind”. Better are morepersonal favourites like Billy Joel’s “NewYork State Of Mind” and Mose Allison’s“Fool’s Paradise”. Trademark keyboardromps brighten the bluesy “Big Lips” but“Down In Dixieland” is a fake ragtime toofar. Good to have the ol’ feller back.NEiL SPENcERSEAHAWKSParadise FreaksOCEAN MOONBlissed-out Cornishsea shantiesFor a part-time project,Seahawks – the hippyish8/10duo of long-time SuperFurry Animals illustratorPete Fowler and Jon Tye, seasoned boss ofexperimental label Lo Recordings – areremarkably prolific: holed up by the RiverTamar in Millbrook, southeast Cornwall,Paradise Freaks is their fifth LP in as manyyears. It’s also their most appealing. Whilemuch of their output has consisted offreewheeling astral jams, this latest effortsets a deeper, dubbier course and is buoyedby appearances from Indra Dunis of PeakingLights and Maria Minerva, exotic chanteuseswhose opiated vocals turn the likes of“Drifting” and “Moon Turn Tides” intocelestial lullabies.PiERS maRtiNSONZEIRABrasil BamBam BamTALKIN’ LOUD/VIRGIN EMIGilles Petersonproduces a BuenaVista for today’s Brazil8/10DJ Peterson hasalready delivered sixcompilations of Braziliana. For World Cupsummer, he turns Rio-based producer, usinga wellspring of talents to represent the spanof the nation’s music. Seu Jorge whoops itup against carnival drums on “Sambaio”,Mart’nália floats her voice across the ethereal“Mystery Of Man” and percussion geniusNaná Vasconcelos evokes slavery days on“Where Naná Hides”. There’s a bossa takeon UK jazz funk classic “Southern Freeez”(Peterson in disco paradise), while 76-yearoldlegend Elza Soares turns the anthemic“Aquarela Do Brasil” into a lament for thenation’s poor. Inspirational stuff.NEiL SPENcERSANTANACorazónSONY LATIN/RCAThe first all-Latin albumof Santana’s careerCorazón follows thetemplate of 1999’s7/10Supernatural, whichteamed his trademarkburnished guitar with a cast of guest vocalistsfrom Lauryn Hill to Eagle-Eye Cherry. TheirLatin counterparts here include Samuel Rosafrom Brazilian band Skank, who stormsthrough the salsa opener “Saideira”, ZiggyMarley and Afro-Columbian hip-hoppersChocQuibTown on a thrilling reggaeton versionof “Iron Lion Zion”, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs onthe global dance party of “Mal Bicho”, romanticballadry from Gloria Estefan and the American-Cuban rapper Pitbull on a retooled version of“Oye Como Va” from Abraxas. As the albumLatin music fans always hoped Santana wouldmake, Corazón doesn’t disappoint.NiGEL WiLLiamSONSEAN NICHOLASSAVAGEBermuda WaterfallARBUTUS11th album in sixyears from prolificlo-fi crooner6/10Sean Nicholas Savageis something of a locallegend on the Montreal scene that spawnedMac DeMarco and Grimes, his garrulouspersonality feeding into some magnetic liveperformances. His primary mode is a kindof bedroom yacht rock: Bobb Trimble meetsHall & Oates. With the lo-fi tools at hisdisposal, Bermuda Waterfall’s bossa beatsand midnite funk stylings are frequentlycheesy, a state of affairs that he strives tocounteract with his quavering, heart-onsleevevocal delivery. It doesn’t always work.There are plenty of deft touches but it’s perhapstoo knowing to truly connect, too sketchy toreward deeper listening.Sam RichaRdSSPIDERGAWDSpidergawdSTICKMANNorwegian prog-metalsupergroup hit theground runningSpidergawd were formed7/10by two members ofNorwegian prog/metaltitans Motorpsycho, who have teamed up withPer Borten, former lead singer with Norwegianrockers Cadillac, to form a sort-of supergroup.While “Into Tomorrow” suggests Spidergawdwill be a straight-ahead thrash metal outfit,songs like the skronky “Blauer Jubel”, thehop-scotching electro-fart “Million $Somersault” and rumbling boogie of “MasterOf Disguise” point to jazz, prog and Southernrock influences. It all comes together oncentrepiece “Empty Rooms”, a 14-minutestew of bent horns and minimalist guitar thatgradually turns into the full-throated heavyrock blow-out you were always expecting.PEtER WattSED SCHRADER’SMUSIC BEATParty JailUPSET THE RHYTHMBare-bones punk jams,from BaltimoreThe breakout success of6/10Future Islands has restoredfocus to the Wham Cityscene of Baltimore, Maryland, a fraternal DIYcommunity bonded more by an oddball senseof play than any shared sound. Current FutureIslands tourmates Ed Schrader’s Music Beatconfirm this, their boiled-down punk racket –just Schrader on voice and floor tom and DevinRice on bass – lies at some remove from theirpeers’ hyper-sincere synth-pop. “PantomimeJack”, a squalling mix of rockabilly croon andspasmodic attack, doesn’t have crossoversuccess written all over it, but the spare soundworks to their advantage on “Laughing” and“Pink Moons”, spooky struts from the BeatHappening school of lo-fi minimalism.LOUiS PattiSONSONTAAGSontaagCHERRY REDProg rock as a cinematicsci-fi morality taleWho knew that peoplestill made prog rock LPs?6/10Full-on concept albums,complete with overarchingsci-fi narratives, David Gilmour-style guitarwailing and the odd Hawkwind-style thrashrock number? Well, multi-instrumentalistRichard Sontaag does. He provides lusciousmusical soundscapes that echo Pink Floyd andTangerine Dream while music journalist IanFortnam blankly narrates his own War Of TheWorlds-style morality tale. It’s about the planetMP5, whose residents must synthesise energyby generating sound, and it’s a daft butcompelling narrative that would probablymake a decent Doctor Who episode. Still, it’sthe Eno-esque ambient bits that work muchbetter than the more turgid prog bluster.JOhN LEWiSHARRY DEANSTANTONPartly Fiction OSTOMNIVOREDebut album from thelegendary cult actorStanton’s career has taken8/10many unexpected detours.Here’s another one: aged87, he has released his debut album. Ostensiblythe soundtrack to Sophie Huber’s forthcomingdocumentary about the actor, these 12 tracksfind Stanton tackling outlaw standards, folksongs and ballads from “Blue Bayou” toKristofferson’s “Help Me Make It ThroughThe Night”. Recorded in his living room withguitarist Jamie James, Stanton brings a wearymelancholia to the ruminative “Everybody’sTalkin’” and “Tennessee Whiskey”. Don Wasadds bass to three songs, including a rousing“Promised Land”. Elsewhere, his rendition ofWillie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”is heartbreaking.michaEL BONNER80 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsELA STILESEla StilesBEDROOM SUCKSydney gal’s short ’n’sweet solo firstThe solo debut from thisyoung Australian singer,8/10songwriter and guitarist isvastly different from herwork with jangle-pop punks Songs and psychjamoutfit Bushwalking. For starters it’s entirelya cappella, which is ruthlessly exposing forany singer, but despite her background, Stilesproves herself more than capable. There’s amountain-spring purity and soaring strength inher voice that invites comparisons with SandyDenny and Maddy Prior, although her materialis very different. These seven songs, some noteven reaching the one-minute mark, areinformed by English and Celtic folk traditions,but the album’s ten-minute centrepiece – thelayered and lovely “Drone Transitions” – recallsthe looping technique of Alexander Tucker.ShaRON O’cONNELLSTRAIGHTARROWSRisingAGITATEDDirect hit for Aussiegarage evangelists“I figured it was kinda7/10punk to have a name thatessentially meant we wereall uptight and moralistic,” sneered StraightArrows singer Owen Penglis in a recentinterview, epitomising the Sydney primitivistspenchant for the cluelessly confrontational.As rugged and atonal as their 2010 debut It’sHappening, second outing Rising sticks totheir slashed-speaker Nuggets blueprint.The Seeds’ hokey psychedelic album Futureplaying at the bottom of a particularly deepwell, the breakneck “Can’t Stand It” and“Make Up Your Mind” exorcise Straight Arrows’speed demons, with “Changing Colours” amomentary grasp for Byrdsy sophistication.Reassuringly uncomplicated.Jim WiRthSTRANDOF OAKSHealDEAD OCEANSRecovery via recording;Dr J Congleton assists“I don’t wanna start all over8/10again,” Tim Showalter begson the opener of his fourthLP, establishing its themes of personal crisisand salvation against a grungy, power-popbackdrop that taps Smashing Pumpkins (namechecked)and Dinosaur Jr (J Mascis guests).But “Goshen ’97” is rather a red herring. Healis overwhelmingly epic and unashamedlyambitious, rating the communicative power offamiliar rock/pop (Young, Springsteen, ArcadeFire) over sonic experimentation. That said, it’salso pretty eccentric: how else to describe thelending of an Irish folk skirl to ’80s electro pop(“Same Emotions”) or a Mount Rushmore-sizedhybrid of Coldplay and the Afghan Whigs (“WaitFor Love”)? Odd – and oddly impressive.ShaRON O’cONNELLSYD ARTHURSound MirrorHARVESTThe Sound ofYoung CanterburyKent’s latest generationof freak-flag bearers follow8/102012’s fine debut On AndOn with something evenmore intriguing. Harnessing the sound andsense of adventure of vintage prog and psychwhile ditching the indulgences, Sound Mirrorpursues a roving brief set to a pop aesthetic.These are compact but restless songs,typified by mini-epic “Chariots”, whichmarries the modern blues-rock edge ofQueens Of The Stone Age to leaping timeshifts.“Backwardstepping” is tightly wovenacoustica, “What’s Your Secret” is bothfolky and funky, and they voyage furtheston “Autograph”, its inquisitive refrain of“anybody out there?” apparently doublingas a band manifesto.GRaEmE thOmSONW E’RENE WHERESyd ArthurA band rather than a person, the fact thatSyd Arthur hail from Canterbury and arenamed in joint honour of Syd Barrett andHerman Hesse’s Siddhartha hints at theirlove of a venerable strain of tripped-outadventurism. The four schoolfriends formedaround a mutual love of “festival cultureand the free party movement,” according tosinger-guitarist Liam Magill, and though theCanterbury angle casts them as natural heirsto Sof Machine, Caravan and Gong, he insists“it’s a quirk of geography, really. We like thosebands, and we feel a certain pride that a lotof interesting music came out of Canterbury,but we listen to so much other music withinthe group, from jazz-harpist Dorothy Ashby toDavy Graham. We just follow our ears and dowhat feels good.” Paul Weller is a fan, bringingthem along as support on his last UK tour andsupplying “a cheeky backing vocal” on thenew record. Violinist Raven, meanwhile, isthe nephew of Kate Bush, though apparently,there’s little chance of a nepotistic supportslot on her Before The Dawn shows. “She staysout of the way, really,” says Magill, sounding atad disappointed. “She’s a bit remote.”Graeme ThomSonSYLVAN ESSOSylvan EssoPARTISANFruitful marriage ofrustic Americana andback-porch electronicsAn inspired collaboration7/10between bassist andproducer Nick Sanbornand Amelia Meath of neo-Appalachian vocaltrio Mountain Man, Sylvan Esso have confectedan appealing electro-folk hybrid sound thatcombines sepia-tinted rustic balladry with rawbeats and dubsteppy bass shudders. Meath’sripe, unadorned voice packs an ebullient punchon infectious foot-stompers like “Hey Mami”and “HSKT”, but switches to drowsy beauty onthe electro-country lullabies “Play It Right” and“Dreamy Bruises”. Not every track gels, but theduo’s easy chemistry never feels like gimmickycontrivance. Mountain Man fans will appreciatethe gorgeously intertwined harmonies on theclosing techno-rustic spiritual “Come Down”.StEPhEN daLtONALEXISTAYLORAwait BarbariansDOMINOEccentric solo setfrom Hot Chip’sfrontman7/10Alexis Taylor has beencarefully staking outhis own territory around Hot Chip for sometime, but both as a solo artist and in AboutGroup he’s yet to really make his mark.Slender and strange, Await Barbarians –Alexis means ‘defender’, he tells us in“Am I Not A Soldier?” – once more findsthe singer on the back foot, his defaultposition, peering curiously at the thingsaround him. Though you instinctivelyroot for him, his music is not alwaysfriendly. Sickly synths wheeze and flutteron the touching “Closer To The Elderly”.“Without A Crutch”, a wistful ballad, isa highlight.PiERS maRtiNTELEMANBreakfastMOSHI MOSHIFormer Pete And ThePirates members setsail in new vesselThree-quarters of new7/10London indie ensembleTeleman paid their duesin Reading rockers Pete And The Pirates,which might explain why much of Breakfasthas a familiar taste. But while the keyingredients are the same – singer ThomasSanders’ affairs of the heart delivered inthat Stuart Murdoch swoon – the recipe isaltogether more appealing: Teleman’s soundis cool and sleek, the songs propelled bya groove and furnished with unusualarrangements by producer Bernard Butler.Across 10 tracks, however, an Alt-J-ishsmugness seeps in, but the opening trioof “Cristina”, “In Your Fur” and “SteamTrain Girl” is hard to beat.PiERS maRtiNJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 81

New AlbumsCONOROBERSTUpside downMountainNONESUcHThe shambolic Bright Eyes auteursubmits to a Wilsonian extrememakeover. By Bud ScoppaA DECADE AND A halfhas passed since ConorOberst popped intoview as an 18-year-oldlo-fi Heartland prodigywith a barely containedtorrent of wordspouring out of him, andit’s tempting to look atthe 11 proper albums7/10he’s made with hisever-changing bandBright Eyes and under his own name as an extendedcoming-of-age narrative. Along the way, he’ssurvived being classified as “emo’s Bob Dylan”,embraced as an indie heartthrob and vilified asan insufferable, navel-gazing narcissist, beforeattaining a reasonable degree of cred as athoughtful, prolific and fearless artist eager tothrow himself into challenging circumstances.In 2005, he simultaneously released a pair of BrightEyes albums, the folky I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morningand, in a total departure from his previous records,the synth-driven Digital Ash In A Digital Urn. AfterBright Eyes’ relatively straightforward (apart fromthe Easter eggs hidden in the artwork) Cassadaga(2007), he travelled to Mexico with a bunch ofmusician friends to cut 2008’s Conor Oberst, thentook them on an extended tour, at the end of whichhe initiated an experiment in democracy, calling onhis bandmates to write songs and take lead vocals.The resulting LP, Outer South (2009), releasedunder the nameplate Conor Oberst And The MysticValley Band, was a ramshackle mess and apparentlygot that notion out of his head. On Oberst’s nextendeavour, 2011’s The People’s Key, made with hislongtime collaborators Mike Mogis and Nate Walcottas Bright Eyes, he pushed himself to the oppositeextreme, going for a modern-pop/arena-rock recordthat Mogis described at the time as “Police meetsCars” and Oberst compared (in theory) to The Killers.And while The Cars’ influence is detectable in thetaut grooves, the record’s overall weirdness renderedit far from radio-ready.Now a 34-year-old married man with a careerspanning nearly half his lifetime, Oberst appearsto have gained a degree of perspective on his workand his place in the musical universe. His boyishearnestness, the frayed, adenoidal quaver he claimsto despise and his obsessive love of language areunchanged, seemingly as permanent as birthmarks,and are now the self-acknowledged tools of his trade.But, as he’s shown so often during the last nineyears, the context is everything for this artist. Onthis go-round, Oberst turned to Jonathan Wilson,the North Carolina native turned LA musicalpreservationist who’s making a name for himself asa producer (Dawes, Father John Misty, Roy Harper)and solo artist.Oberst knew what he was getting – a virtuosicinstrumentalist and hands-on studio pro who valuesauthenticity and venerates the golden age of SoCalfolk rock in his work, different values than Obersthad attempted to cohere with on his previous LPs.Given the stylistic thrust and a batchof Oberst songs that are somewhatmore accessible and less verbose thananything he’s penned before, Swedishsister duo First Aid Kit were a naturalfit, and on the six tracks on which theyappear, their harmonised voices caressOberst’s wobbly bray like liquid gold,filling in the crags. They bring anorganic richness to the aural backdropsmeticulously constructed by Wilson,who further burnishes thearrangements with brass, reeds,vibraphone, glockenspiel, pedal steel andkeyboards. The producer’s neoclassic aestheticbrings colour, scale and retro richness – but alsomuch-needed structure – to signature Oberst opuseslike “Time Forgot”, “Kick” and “Governor’s Ball”, somuch so that less ornamented tracks like the soloConor Obersteveral of these songs strike me ashallucinatory or dreamlike.SAll my songs are daydreams – no joke. Thesewere written over a three-year period, so in thatsense it seems less conceptual than other recordsI’ve made, where the songs were written closertogether. But I suppose there are some throughlines,thematically speaking. I guess the idea thatwe’re all alone on our own little mountaintops, thatlife is a struggle for connection, to feel less alone.We do the best with the tools we’re aforded, butSLEEVENOTESRecorded at:Fivestar Studios,LA; Arc, Omaha; andBlackbird, NashvilleProduced by:Jonathan Wilsonand Conor OberstPersonnel includes:Conor Oberst (voice,guitar), JonathanWilson (guitars, bass,drums, keys, vocals),Klara and JohannaSöderberg (vocals)acoustic “You Are Your Mother’s Child”and the closing “Common Knowledge”seem threadbare by comparison. Butthe album’s deepest, most beguilingsong, “Artifact #1”, features only youngLA standout Blake Mills, whose guitars,keys and percussion render theperformance luminous, and whosename I strongly suspect you’ll be seeingin these pages with some frequencyin the future.Upside Down Mountain makes apersuasive case for itself as the ConorOberst album for people who don’t particularly likeConor Oberst, but more meaningfully, it’s a recordthis restless artist can settle into and build on ashe continues to mature, because it solves hischronic problems while presenting him with anewfound sweet spot.we all die alone. Solitude should not be the enemy.It is our most natural state.How do you view your journey as an artist anda person, and how does this LP refect that?There’s no dramatic arc to my narrative. If I everself-mythologise, it’s usually for comic efect. Acommon critique of my music has always beenthat I’m very self-absorbed, which it probably is,but it’s interesting to note now with social mediahow disgustingly self-absorbed most everybodyis. I’ve turned my self-absorption into rock’n’rollrecords for the last 20 years. Not everyonedeserves a platform. You should have to earn it bycontributing something of value. Being famous forbeing famous is just straight-up sad. And funny.82 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

New AlbumsTOBACCOUltima II MassageGHOSTLy INTERNaTIONaLUS synth mangler’sperverse thirdFew deconstructions ofsynth pop are as deranged7/10yet dance floor-friendlyas this. Pennsylvania’sThomas Fec claims he “spent a lot of timebreaking it in all the right places” and, even ifat times it sounds like he’s taken to the originalwith a blunt chainsaw, his wrangling hasworked a degraded analogue magic. From hissubverting of the Daft Punk aesthetic (via“Lipstick Destroyer”) to a syphilitic spoilingof Goldfrapp’s glossy disco (“Face Breakout”)and his carve-up of Gary Numan and Goblin(“Father Sister Berzerker”), twisted grooves anddisorienting stop-starts abound. No gentletouch, Ultima II Massage is ostentatiously bigand frequently clever; that it’s also Fec’s idea ofa “meditative piece” merely adds to its appeal.sharon o’ConnellWILLIEWATSONFolk Singer Vol.1acONyAce solo debut fromNashville stringerQuitting his job with8/10Old Crow MedicineShow, the band heco-founded in 1998, appears to haveunlocked a new side to Willie Watson.This riveting solo album, released onthe label that its producer David Rawlingsowns with Gillian Welch, finds himpicking his way through old and obscurefolk-country standards with a sure touchand a keen ear for rural vernacular.Mostly it’s just acoustic guitar, banjoand Watson’s reedy tenor, imbuingsongs such as “Stewball” and “RockSalt And Nails” with the kind of agrarianotherness that might’ve sent HarrySmith into raptures.rob huGhesWIFE.what’s BetweenTRI aNGLEUnnerving vocal popfrom Cork-basedsinger-producerUntil recently, James Kelly7/10fronted the black metalgroup Altar Of Plagues,who scored crossover success with 2013’sTeethed Glory And Injury. He split that band tofocus on solo project Wife., which occupies aquite different realm: a sort of doomy industrialpop tracing lines between the nocturnal clankof Massive Attack’s Mezzanine and modernfuture-R&B crooners such as James Blake. Blakeis evoked on the opening “Like Chrome”, Kellybringing his whispery melisma to brittle beats.But a bravura production job, assisted by TheHaxan Cloak, gives What’s Between arcanedepths: see “A Nature (Shards)”, which slatherson echoing effects and unheimlich samples ina manner recalling occult industrialists Coil.louIs PattIsonHOLLY ANDRESTUNE-YARDSNikki Nack4adSkipping songs andHaitian drums fromthe extraordinaryMerrill Garbus8/10Connecticut-born,Oakland-based Garbusis an interesting figure in American music: asinger and percussionist who produces herown records; a composer more influencedby a childhood spent in Kenya and the joy ofplayground chants than the rock or hip-hop ofLos Angeles. Her third album sees her workingwith outside producers for the first time, butR&B and pop stalwarts John Hill and Malaycan’t dilute the power of Garbus’ drum-heavy,soul-jazz mix of teasing sensuality, waspishprotest and art-pop mysticism. Highlightsinclude the Spectorish “Look Around” and thepoignantly insecure “Wait For A Minute” on analbum bursting with adventure and originality.Garry MulhollandTOM VEKLuckMOSHI MOSHIAnthemic electro-angstfrom eclectic Londoneron his third full-lengthTom Vek’s jittery take on8/10garage rock and indiepop comes garnishedwith an increasingly sophisticated layer cakeof synths and meaty beats. His third album,Luck feels vaguely conceptual, filled withsemi-ironic songs muttering at digital-ageanxieties. “Pushing Your Luck” is a clubmonster which bites its nails, while theoutstanding “Sherman (Animals In TheJungle)” is a compellingly nervy kind ofanthem. “Broke”, meanwhile, recalls thefuzzy drug-pop of Tame Impala’s “FeelsLike We Only Go Backwards”. Over it all,Vek free-associates with the kind of blankmonotony which serves his music –and these times – surprisingly well.GraeMe thoMsonW E’RENE WHERETune-Yards“I wrote a song – which was never recorded– that had a line: ‘And we’ll fy over tune yardsin our dreams.’ To me this was a place wheresongs were already in existence, and you justhad to pluck them from the tune yards andthey could be yours.”Merrill Garbus is Tune-Yards, and Tune-Yards is a perfect name for reasons otherthan imaginary concrete gardens full ofsong. The music the 35-year-old Montrealnative has made since 2009 debut albumBird-Brains ofen sounds like playgroundchants; fused with Afro-jazz and the kind ofabrasive-erotic electropop that her Canadiancompatriot Peaches specialises in. Nowbased in Oakland, California, Garbus’ thirdand fnest long-player Nikki Nack shines acaustic-yet-self-critical light upon what shecalls, “the rotting of society. I think a lot abouta future where people stop paying their taxes,as they so ofen threaten to do in America.”Yet Tune-Yards’ music is always more sexyand funny than strident or worthy. Put it downto youthful rhythms, soulful vocals, and thenatural curiosity of a restless spirit. “I don’twanna put what Merrill thinks on the rest ofthe world, but I do like to ask questions. And Idon’t wrestle with creation or write a song byforce. My job is to relax and let it come.”GArry MulhollANdWOVENHANDRefractoryObdurateGLITTERHOUSE/dEaTHwISHSeventh album of heavy,dense, Old Testamentrock from former 168/10Horsepower manThe consistently intenseDavid Eugene Edwards is at it again onWovenhand’s seventh album, a typicallygothic affair of dense rock, Birthday Party jitterpunk and dark folk. Edwards is never shy ofdropping in a Biblical reference or 12, and attimes this is the Old Testament set to music,bringing a claustrophobic quality to demonic,swirling, textured songs like “Field Of Hedon”and “Salome”, like being lambasted by acomic book preacher in a vampires’ nightclub.The overall effect is almost hallucinatory,and tracks like the spartan “Obdurate Obscura”and mesmeric, growling “Masonic Youth”are spellbinding setpieces.Peter WattsYOU ARE WOLFHawk To TheHunting GoneSTONE TaPE REcORdINGSAdventurous aviancentricelectro-folkKerry Andrew’s unlikely7/10fusion of Prince’s “WhenDoves Cry” with tradtune “Turtle Dove” is a decent primer forher modernist twist on wyrd-folk. This birdthemedsuite mixes old folk songs withcrisp electronica, foregrounding Andrew’sexperimental use of multi-layered vocals.Her “Cuckoo” conjures up an entire flock,“Swansong” adds a spoken-word interludeto “Molly Bawn”, and “Doves” featuresAlasdair Roberts. It’s smart stuff, ifsometimes overly dense. “The Buzzard’sHeart”, where Andrew brings TS Eliot tomusical life with just a lone voice and aglorious array of strings, proves a victoryfor spare simplicity.GraeMe thoMsonJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 83

scoring: the original album10 masterpiece 1 Poor!scoring: eXtramaterialreissues|comps|boxsets|lost recordings10 untoldriches 1 barrel-scrapingsArchiveLED ZEPPELINremastersi-iiirhinoThe frst three albums plus extra material from the Page archives. By John Robinson8/10A musiciAn’s cAtAlogue is hiscastle; its strength not defined byhow much it changes, but how far itstays the same. in the case of led Zeppelin, thatcastle has a vigilant gatekeeper. of the group’ssurviving members, one now makes platinumplatedAmericana for an imagined hippy society.Another stalks a black ambient mordor in thecompany of adventurous norwegians. And thenthere’s Jimmy Page.Page is a musician who now has a curiousrelationship with his own band. in the 1960s and1970s he controlled led Zeppelin down to thesmallest detail: selecting the players, paying forthe sessions, retaining control of the masters.the devil, so to speak, was in the detail. onlyhaving confirmed the security of his initialposition, could he go on to contrive his mostextravagant flourishes.since the band’s 1980 demise, however, Page’s– relative – reluctance to make new music hasmeant he has become the de facto architect of theZeppelin legacy, painstakingly curating hishistoric work. the 2007 led Zeppelin o 2JulY 2014 | uncut | 85

Archivea wHoLe Lotta outtakeS Plus lives, alternate mixes and unreleased tracksLED ZEP I Disc 2Live At The Olympia – Paris,France, October 10, 19691 Good Times Bad Times/Communication Breakdown2 I Can’t Quit You Baby3 Heartbreaker4 Dazed And Confused5 White Summer/Black Mountain Side6 You Shook Me7 Moby Dick8 How Many More TimesLED ZEP II Disc 21 Whole Lotta Love(alternate mix)2 What Is And What ShouldNever Be (alternate mix)3 Thank You (backing track)4 Heartbreaker(alternate mix)5 Living Loving Maid(She’s Just A Woman)(backing track)6 Ramble On (alternate mix)7 Moby Dick(alternate mix)8 La La (previously unreleased)LED ZEP III Disc 21 The Immigrant Song (outtake)2 Friends (outtake)3 Celebration Day (outtake)4 Since I’ve Been Loving You (outtake)5 Bathroom Sound(previously unreleased instrumentalversion of “Out On The Tiles”)6 Gallows Pole (outtake)7 That’s The Way (outtake)8 Jennings Farm Blues(previously unreleased instrumentalforerunner to “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp”)9 Keys To The Highway/TroubleIn Mind (previously unreleased)show seemed to suggest that there mightsoon be new chapters to the Zeppelin story– but the lack of movement in seven yearssuggests that Page, who once held all the cards,has seen a recalibration of his power. Is he stillLed Zeppelin’s master? Or has he now becomeits servant?These new editions of the first three LedZeppelin albums, which begin a campaign ofattractive vinyl/CD reissues of the catalogue, doall they can to assert the former. To Page’s ears,the advent of “streaming and MP3s” warrantedgiving the albums additional polish. These newreissues duly derive from remastering by JohnDavis, prior to their soft release on iTunes in 2012.Led Zeppelin audio is a heavy scene, asanyone who has spent time on messageboardthreads called ‘“GallowsPole”: Left or Right channel?’will know. Many rate theoriginal “Diament” CDtransfers, mastered by BarryDiament in 1987 over theinitial “Page/Marino” ’92remasters. John Davis, whobrought a crisp loudnessto 2007’s Mothership andCelebration Day, isn’t entirelypopular in this world – buthis well-articulated and fruity sound isn’tgoing to disappoint the sensible listener.Certainly not John Paul Jones, whose warm,busy bass playing and deep Rhodes piano areboth big winners here.All done from transfers of the original –Is Jimmy Page stillLed Zeppelin’smaster? Or hashe now becomeits servant?apparently unplayed – master tapes, these feel alittle less “loud” than Mothership. Still, whetheryou’re listening flicking through the 70-pagedeluxe book while enjoying your audiophilevinyl, or on the tube vibing to your device,familiar features feel vibrant. That odd off-micshout during “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”. Thewhump that shakes the room immediately beforethe guitar solo in “Whole Lotta Love”. Or “SinceI’ve Been Loving You”, the song that details theempathetic Page/Plant musical relationship ina tender seven-and-a-half minutes. Whateverdefines your relationship with the first threeLed Zeppelin albums, you will find it here, asinvolving as ever.What did we expect, though? Bad sound? Aswell as the detailed replica packaging (thoughsadly we get the boringgreen US labels, not plumand red), the selling point ofthese reissues is a previouslyunexplored aspect of theZeppelin catalogue: extramaterial, judiciouslyselected by Page from his(two) archives. What you’llbe appreciating here,however, isn’t exactly atreasure house ofundiscovered gems. III’s “Keys To The Highway”is a pleasant reminder, were one needed, thatPage and Plant were connoisseurs of the blues.“La La” is a wordless Hammond number butbecomes a compendium of LZII guitar tropes,more production showcase than song. “JenningsHIDDEN TREASURESBLACK MOUNTAIN SIDESFour interesting alternativeversions from the new I-IIISince I’ve BeenLoving You(alternate mix)Not so much a diferentmix as a diferent take.The elements we knoware in place, but in a lessinvolving arrangement.Page calls it aggressive;it’s certainly forceful –at the expense of theempathy the bandlater arrive at.Heartbreaker(rough mix with vocal)Always a strangelystructured song, thismix highlights theisolation of the frstguitar breakdown.Many other layersare in place, but thedemented treatmentson the solo are absent– directing attention toJohn Bonham’s doublebass-drum action.Moby Dick(backing track)A drum solo – withoutthe drum solo! Thesong’s squeakingrifage is retained forthis 1’38 backing track,but the solo is evidentlygoing to be spliced inlater. There’s a pause,Page counts of…Jennings FarmBlues (rough mix)We know “Bron-Y-AurStomp” as a feet bitof acoustic picking,which gathers a strawcoveredhead of steam.This electric take onthe same idea provesa fne excursion intogently propulsive guitarnoodling, expansive inthe Blind Faith manner.You can hear a whoop,and rightly so.JOHN ROBINSON86 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

ArchiveFarm Blues” and “Bathroom Sound”are works-in-progress for other LZIIItracks (“Bron -Y-Aur Stomp”; “Out OnThe Tiles”).Instead, the additional material on IIand III is not misleadingly referred to as“companion audio”, and directs ourattention to the tacit purpose of thesereissues: to remind us of the editorialtalents of Jimmy Page, Producer.“Whole Lotta Love” is a decent place tobegin. As we hear it on the second disc,much of the track is in place, but thereis simply reverberating space in thecavern later populated by Theremin,and a heavy-breathing Robert Plant.It’s maybe not the revelation Pageimagines, but it does endorse the valuein what he recently described as the“filigree work” that completes a LedZeppelin song.They didn’t just throw this stufftogether, you know. III, oftenoverlooked, will surely win newconverts. It’s supposedly some kind oflo-fi Wiccan hoedown, but the detail ofthe III remaster reveals the space andstructure in the songs (particularly thebacking vocals), and the degree to whichthe band derived its sound not only fromcountry, blues and folk, but also – likeDeep Purple – from progressive pop.“Out On The Tiles” claims its seat at thetable of big hitters, while the comparison disc isparticularly interesting for “Immigrant Song”.You know something sounds odd. It’s becausethe one that sounds finished is the demo. Theone with the hissy metronome and count-in isthe finished one. On headphones, odd studioacoustics reveal themselves.Page’s notion of what might catch the ear waseccentric, but generally infallible. Duly, theseremasters aren’t asking you to extend your ideaof the Zeppelin canon, but retract it – to realisewhy the albums have the power and mysterythey do. The reason there aren’t more songs isbecause control – over quality, over everything –was, and is, very high.The disc released to accompany I has beensubjected to just this rigour. The live show, fromParis in November 1969 (note to audiophiles: amono recording, sent over to Page in an email)has had its “How Many More Times” edited downby 50 per cent (to 11 minutes), while “Moby Dick”(omitted from the original French radiobroadcast) has been reinstated. An entertainingexchange between Page and Plant in which thepair refer to “White Summer” as “the wankingdog” has been excised.You might wonder at the inclusion of this,more II than I show here (rather than, say, some“New Yardbirds”-era stuff), and then the bandbegin to play. It’s “Good Times, Bad Times”. Butthat’s proves to be a deliberate false beginning –it’s now “Communication Breakdown”, and itseems like the song’s going far too fast. It soundsas if Page is never going to be able to pull off a soloat that velocity, that the wheels are going to comeoff completely. But then you listen again and getthe picture. No need for alarm. Then as now,Jimmy Page knows precisely what he’s doing.Page in the studio:eccentric but infallibleHis dark materials: Jimmy Page on remasters and alternatemixes: “It’s just undeniable, the power of the band…”What materials were youworking with on the remasters?It’s all there on quarter-inch tape– apart from the Olympia show,which came in on a file from French radio. Buteverything else is on quarter-inch tape and it’squite easy when you look in the archive to seewhich are the master tapes and the copy tapesof the masters.what was the process?It was a question of going through everythingthat said, for example, “Whole Lotta Love” on it,and all the working titles ofthese things. So “ImmigrantSong” had working titles of“Bali-Hi” and “Overlord”.Anyway, I got all of the tapesout and systematically wentthrough them. Wheneverpossible, I was looking at thechronology of it, so I workedthrough the chronology.were there any gaps inthe chronology?There was nothing left overon the first album, of course, because that wasdone so quickly. There was one other track thatends up, well, it ends up on Coda, actually, whichis neither here nor there. So there are literallyhundreds of tapes to go through and listen to andthen make notes and sequence them to such apoint where you had a number of “Black Dog”s,for example.what kinds of things were you finding?They are mixes that we’d done at the time,“It makes a reallyinteresting listenand a little journeyinto the band andthe recording”working mixes. And quite clearly –when youheard “Whole Lotta Love” from the companiondisc – you could hear the minimalism of it. Youprobably automatically were hearing in yourmind the chorus, but it’s not there. And there’sa lot of things that aren’t on there, but it’s sopowerful within itself.what’s the value in all this?It’s just undeniable, the power of the band on allof this stuff. So I would I get all these differentversions and then find the one which is going tocomplement the original version that everybodyknows, and yet still bedifferent enough that itmakes a really interestinglisten and a little journeyinto the band andthe recording.where in particular?You can hear, for example,on “Gallows Pole”. That’sobviously one take, andyou can hear how we’rejust sort of moving itaround at the end. Thatwas the beauty of the band. That’s how we couldtackle something like “Since I’ve Been LovingYou”. The version you heard was an earlierversion that differs from the approach that is onthe one you all know. It’s really so raw and theenergy is just undeniable on it. It’s really moving.But the idea was to do “Since I’ve Been LovingYou” slightly mellower and that’s why we recut it.But all of these things just paint a very interestingpicture of what was going on in those days ofthe recordings.JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 87

ArchiveTRACkliSTLP11 Punk Rock:2 Cody3 Helps Both Ways4 Year 2000 Non-Compliant Cardia5 Kappa6 Waltz For Aidan7 May Nothing But Happiness ComeThrough Your DoorLP21 Oh! How The Dogs Stack Up2 Ex-Cowboy3 Chocky4 Christmas Steps5 Punk Rock/Puf Daddy/AntichristLP 31 Nick Drake2 Waltz For Aidan (Chem19 Demo)3 Christmas Steps (Chem19 Demo)Boxset Exclusive4 Rollerball (Chem19 Demo)5 7-25 (Chem19 Demo) Boxset Exclusive6 Untitled (Travels In Constants EP)7 Quiet Stereo Dee (Travels In ConstantsEP)8 Arundel (Travels In Constants EP)LP41 Cody (Cava Sessions)2 Ex Cowboy (Cava Sessions)3 Spoon Test (Cava Sessions)4 Punk Rock: (Cava Sessions)5 Helicon 2 (Cava Church Live)6 Satchel Panzer (Cava Sessions)7 Kappa (Cava Church Live)8 Helps Both Ways (Original Version)9 Hugh DallasMOGWAICome On Die Young (Deluxe Edition)CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUNDNoise abatement! The Scots’ chilly, sparse masterpiecegets a lavish, four-album treatment. By Louis Pattison8/10BY 1999, MOGWAI had areputation. Their early, JohnPeel-approved singles saw them numberedalongside Tortoise and Godspeed You! BlackEmperor in a transatlantic post-rockmovement, although they were in their teens,from Glasgow, and shared some decidedlylowbrow predilections: for Black Sabbath,Celtic FC and fortified wine. Their music wasthoughtful and melodic, but also loud andconfrontational. A European tour featured setsat a volume that ruptured eardrums. A remixalbum featured noiseniks like μ-Ziq, AlecEmpire and Kevin Shields, entitled KickingA Dead Pig. Uncut watched them, as theysupported the Manic Street Preachers in 1998,play a bellicose “Like Herod”, 10 minutes ofnoodling that suddenly erupted into a broilingtumult of feedback that persisted until the endof the set. As Manics fans jammed fingers inANDY WILLSHER88 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

ArchiveStuart BraithwaiteWhat do you rememberabout the recording ofCODY? I remember it reallyvividly. We were reallyexcited about recordingwith Dave Fridmann, and heand his family made us really welcome. HisTarbox Road studio is in the middle ofnowhere in upstate New York – it’s about 30minutes from the closest town. The mainshop in that town specialised in huntinggear. I remember one time we were outbuying stuf – probably [American fortifedwine] MD 20/20 – and a guy was targetingus with his gun’s laser target, which wasa wee bit scary. But working with Davewas great. We were really prepared andhe contributed a lot in terms of extrainstrumentation and ideas.ears and glasses rained down, bassistDominic Aitchison walked to the front ofthe stage, turned his back to the crowd, anddropped his trousers.For second album, Come On Die Young,Mogwai recorded outside Scotland for thefirst time, decamping to Dave Fridmann’sTarbox Road studio in upstate New York.There were few immediate signs of a freshmaturity: a magazine feature of the timefound Stuart Braithwaite and new recruitBarry Burns refining something they called“the paedophile chord”. But the finishedCome On Die Young offered something quiteunforeseen. Melancholy and hollowed out,with Burns filling out the spaces betweenwandering bass and sparse drums withpiano, keyboard and flute, this music wasdecidedly low-key. It was not immediate.Nor was it possessed of bold messages orcomplicated time signatures. But in gentle,unfolding suites like “Chocky” and “WaltzFor Aidan” lay something enriching, agloomy introspection traceable to slowcoregroups like Low or Codeine, but also furtherback, to post-punk touchstones like TheCure’s Faith or Joy Division’s Closer. Theopening “Punk Rock:” samples an Iggy Popinterview on Canadian TV: “I don’t knowJohnny Rotten… but I’m sure he puts as muchblood and sweat into what he does asSigmund Freud did. You see, what sounds toyou like a big load of trashy old noise is in factthe brilliant music of a genius… myself.” Themusic itself, though, is spidery and pensive,huffing on Iggy’s spirited iconoclasm, andbreathing it out at a hush.Fifteen years on, this reissue expandsthe original album to a 4LP box and doubleCD. Much of the bonus material includesunreleased takes from the Chem19 studios inGlasgow and the pre-Tarbox Cava sessions.There are some valuable additions. Includedis the original “Helps Both Ways”, featuringAmerican football commentary from theNFL’s John Madden (for legal reasons,replaced on the album proper by footageAt the time, Mogwai had developed areputation as a loud band. But CODY islargely a thing of quiet restraint. Was thisa matter of conscious intent – to go againstwhat was expected of you? I think wewanted to show that there was more toour music than radical dynamic shifs, anddefnitely had that in mind. A lot of veryminimal records like Seventeen Secondsby The Cure and Spiderland by Slint wereinfuencing us at the time too. I think it’saged reasonably well. We tend to avoiddoing anything gimmicky on our records,which hopefully helps them from soundingtoo time-specifc. As far as our catalogue,I think it has its own place. I still like all thesongs and I’m pretty proud that such a bleakrecord made it into the charts – especially asrecords actually still sold back then.Did you get Iggy Pop’s blessing to use thespeech on “Punk Rock:”? We didn’t,though I’ve been told that he’s heard it sinceand thought it was cool. I hope it’s true!from a college game). The previouslyunheard Cava sessions track “Spoon Test”and eight-minute rarity “Hugh Dallas”are both worthy of rediscovery, whiledeleted 2001 EP “Travels In Constants”is included in full, notably a piano coverof Papa M’s “Arundel”.The body of Come On Die Young, though,features some of Mogwai’s most remarkablemusic. For all its prevalent calm, there arecrescendos, in the shape of slow-burner “ExCowboy” and the 10-minute “ChristmasSteps” – a build from pensive guitar chimesto menacing Shellac thrash, finally relentingto elegiac violin courtesy of Long FinKillie’s Luke Sutherland. The slide guitaraccompanied“Cody”, meanwhile, remainsthe band’s finest vocal moment, StuartBraithwaite breathing softly of late-nightdrives where passing streetlights come toresemble illuminated fairground carousels.While Mogwai themselves have alwaysbeen reticent to ascribe meaning or conceptto their music, their playful titling opens upa world of its own. Non-album rarity “NickDrake” is a Tortoise-like eddy named afterthe late English folk guitarist then only inthe first fits of reassessment. The tensionreleasemotions of “Kappa” takes its namefrom a brand of sportswear favoured by theScottish ned, which Mogwai members worewith pride. The album bows out with asombre trombone refrain dashed withwintery electronics, so of course it standsto reason it should be titled “Punk Rock/Puff Daddy/Antichrist”.There is a strange disconnect here. For alltheir mischief and confrontation, Mogwai’sown music is a serious thing. Here, though,a vision is coming into focus. Making earsbleed was all well and good; but here,somewhere between euphoria and sadness,there was a rich seam waiting to be tapped.It’s a formula that’s served Mogwai wellsince, but they’ve not yet improved onthe mesmeric meditations of Come OnDie Young.THE AUTEURSHow I LearnedTo Love TheBootboys(reissue, 1999)3 LOOPLuke Haines’ withering8/10 “pox on the ’70s”Notionally Britpop, LukeHaines’ Auteurs fell from grace in the gloriousParklife year of 1994 with Now I’m A Cowboy,their undercooked follow-up to well-liked debutNew Wave, then brought in the unfashionablyAmerican Steve Albini to produce 1996’srampantly un-geezerish After Murder Park.Beefed up to 2CDs with contemporary detritus,both have significant merits, but The Auteurs’mean-spirited swansong may be better still.More interested in his brilliant Black BoxRecorder side-project, Haines absent-mindedlywhipped together this hateful riposte to 1970snostalgia in 1999. Metal Box crossbred withChicory Tip, the sardonic “The Rubettes”perfects its tarnished Christmas bauble twinkle,while his contemporaries’ fetishisation ofChopper bikes and spangles is countered byHaines’ grisly focus on tribal warfare, sex pestsand vicious conformity (“Join the army or theNational Front when you’re 16,” he wheezeson “School”). A past gone septic; OperationYewtree – the musical.EXTRAS: Sadly, the tapes of Bootboys7/10 prototypes “Greatest Hits Of The UK”,“Victorian Christmas” and “Bomber Jacket” arelost, but B-sides, outtakes and the aggressivelytitledNo Dialogue With Cunts – a CD of TheAuteurs’ final live show – pump up the volume.Jim WirthBAYETé (TODDCOCHRAN)Worlds AroundThe Sun (reissue,1972)OMNIVOREBlack Power8/10 jazz revisitedKeyboard player ToddCochran has enjoyed a varied career, guestingwith Aretha Franklin, Burt Bacharach and PeterGabriel, as well as forming progressive rockband Automatic Man with Santana’s MichaelShrieve. But his career began in 1972, at the ageof 20, with this extraordinary jazz album,released under the spiritual name Bayeté(meaning “between man and God” in Zulu).Vibraphone player Bobby Hutcherson hailsCochran as a “beautiful young brother” in theoriginal sleevenotes; he was part of the counterculturalcrossover in San Francisco, beinginfluenced as much by Sly Stone as JohnColtrane. He was also friends with HerbieHancock, and considered Bayeté to be a homageto his quest for a more African-derived form ofjazz. The key track, “Free Angela (Thoughts…And All I’ve Got To Say)” – later covered bySantana – was inspired by jailed academic andblack power activist Angela Davis, who Cochranhad seen speaking at UCLA. Musically, it’s awork of funk as much as jazz, with a Coltranestylechant of “free Angela” floated overCochran’s muscular keyboard riff. The rest ofthe album is pungent, if less muscular, though“I’m On It” keeps the funk flame burning.EXTRAS: Two bonus tracks: “Phoebe” and7/10 “Shine The Knock”.ALAStAir mcKAYJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 89

ArchiveRediscovered!Uncovering the underrated and overlookedDEAD MOONIn The Graveyard/Unknown Passage/Defance (reissues, 1988/’89/’90)M’LADYS/MISSISSIPPIPortland garage rock refuseniks still doing it their way.The first three albums, for the first time, on CD8/10 That Dead Moon remain of relative obscurity feels not so much a matterof oversight as a cosmic injustice. Since 1988 they’ve independentlyreleased a dozen albums, toured extensively and teetered on theprecipice of wider recognition: Pearl Jam and Shellac have sung theirpraises, while 2004 documentary Unknown Passage and 2006 SubPop collection Echoes From The Past have spread the gospel further.It can’t be to do with the backstory, itself a slice of history. SingerguitaristFred Cole played in ’60s garage bands The Lords, The Weedsand The Lollipop Shoppe, whose “You Must Be A Witch” landed on thefirst Nuggets box. Fleeing the draft, the band ended up in Portland,9/10 where Fred met Toody, future wife and Dead Moon bandmate. TheColes conduct themselves with DIY integrity, booking their own tours,running a studio and guitar store, and pressing their own records,some cut on the same lathe used on The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie”.Toody credits their spirited self-reliance to their parents: “Theysurvived the depression and World War II, and taught us that strengthand determination will carry you through.”Dead Moon’s first three records, In The Graveyard (1988), UnknownPassage (1989) and Defiance (1990), remain unimpeachable. Theystarted as a covers band, and some remain: Toody’s Mo Tucker-ish9/10 “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” on In The Graveyard, a ragingtake on blues standard “Milk Cow Blues” on Defiance. But the originalsare just as good: the nightmarish “thunderbolts and nightsticks” visions of “Dead Moon Night”,or the wracked country blues of “Dagger Moon”.Fred and Toody split with drummer Andrew Loomis in 2006, but Dead Moon reformed atthe start of 2014 to play the centenary of Portland’s Crystal Ballroom. A subsequent Europeantour was cancelled when Fred fell ill, and he’s just undergone triple bypass open-heartsurgery. “He needs several months to heal completely, and be able to play onstage again,standing for over an hour with that heavy Guild Thunderbird guitar strapped on,” saysToody. But a Portland show is booked for January 2015. The world still has a chance to wakeup to Dead Moon.lOUIS PATTISONMIKE COOPERTrout Steel/Places IKnow/The MachineGun Co. (reissues, 1970,1971, 1972)PARADISE OF BACHELORSA British folkie begins8/10 his long journey tomusic’s outer limitsFor those of us interestedin how roots music canintersect with the avant-garde,the rediscovery of guitaristMike Cooper is a fortuitousone. His journey from folkclubs to the furthest reachesof esoterica (detailed on page 8)8/10 began in the early ’70s withthese three rare and rewardingLPs. ’70’s Trout Steel showcases singer-songwriterlycraftsmanship in the Jansch mould, occasionallydissolving into free-jazz drift (the 11-minute “I’veGot Mine” is a fidgety, minimalist precursor ofWilco’s “Less Than You Think”). Places I Know (1971)is a good-natured retrenchment into MichaelChapman-ish folk rock, which also finds room for aspellbinding piano ballad, “Time To Time”, thatwould have done Bill Fay proud. Cooper originallyenvisaged Places… as a double LP with what turnedout to be 1972’s Machine Gun Co., and the pair arereunited for this reissue. After the relative orthodoxyof the first set, Machine Gun Co. is a rambunctiouspursuit of Trout Steel’s wilder ideals, as sturdy songs– notably “So Glad (That I Found You)” – arerepeatedly sent off onto knottier improv tangents.EXTRAS: Chapbooks with lyrics and new6/10 sleevenotes by Cooper.JOHN MUlVeyTHE DOORSWeird ScenesInside TheGoldmine(reissue, 1972)RHINOFirst time on CD for 19728/10 Doors compilationWeird scenes is right. This isthe first time on CD for a 1970s comp, that waslaunched recently by a limited colouredvinyl edition for Record Store Day, one yearafter co-founder and keyboardist RayManzarek’s death. Whatever the anniversary,it’s hard to argue with the content here, whichsucceeds in accommodating the band’ssearching, jazzy mysticism (“When TheMusic’s Over”; “The End”) alongside moresuccinct examples of their art. The firstDoors compilation (1970’s pre-mortem 13cherry-picked the singles like “Light My Fire”,“Love Me Two Times” and “Roadhouse Blues”,so this cast its net rather wider, looking for (andfinding) a coherent musicality and involvingmood among deeper album cuts. 1971’s LAWoman is the pole star in this regard. Drawnon heavily as a source, its deep bluesiness alsohelps provide a direction for the album, whichunfolds through the likes of “Shaman’s Blues”,“Ship Of Fools” and “Maggie M’Gill”. B-sidesfrom The Soft Parade such as the enjoyable“Who Scared You” are as constructive asrightfully obscure Willie Dixon cover “(YouNeed Meat) Don’t Go No Further” are not.Strange days indeed – perhaps American Prayerwill be next.EXTRAS: None.JOHN ROBINSON90 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

ArchiveKINKYFRIEDMANLasso From El Paso(reissue, 1976)FLOATING WORLDThe Kinkster’sfinest hour…7/10 Outrageous song titles suchas “They Ain’t Makin’ JewsLike Jesus Anymore” and “Get Your Biscuits InThe Oven And Your Buns In The Bed” (whichearned him a “Male Chauvinist Pig Of The Year”award) have done Friedman’s reputation as aserious musician little good. Nor perhaps havehis extra-curricular activities as a comic novelistand his maverick campaigns for political office.But during the 1970s he made some crackinglygood country-rock and although he couldn’treally sing, his finest album, 1976’s Lasso FromEl Paso (bowdlerised from original title “AssholeFrom El Paso”), attracted a host of heavyweightguests including Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, RonWood, Dr John and three-fifths of The Band. Thebrilliantly sardonic opener “Sold American”was recorded live on Dylan’s Rolling ThunderRevue, which Friedman joined for its second leg.Further highlights include an uncredited LowellGeorge on “Catfish”, at-the-time an unheard outtakefrom Desire which Dylan gifted him, andClapton playing dobro on a brace of tracksrecorded at The Band’s Shangri-La studio. Thereare plenty of good jokes, including Ringo as thevoice of Jesus on “Men’s Room, LA”, as Friedmanboth sends up and celebrates country music. Thespoofs may not have endured that well; but themusicianship certainly has.EXTRAS: None.NIGel WIllIAMSONHOLLAND-DOZIER-HOLLANDThe Complete45s CollectionHARMLESSEpic compilation of post-9/10 Motown releases bylegendary songwritersThis 14CD boxset captures every track releasedon 45 by the three labels – Invictus, Hot Wax andMusic Merchant – formed by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team after they left Motown in 1967. Therelease features 269 original tracks – A- and B-sides from the three labels – as well as a numberof unreleased songs taken from acetates. WhileH-D-H never had quite the level of success withtheir new labels as they’d enjoyed at Motown,they still had several hits – mostly withChairmen Of The Board, who are heavilyrepresented including their No 3 hit “Give MeJust A Little More Time” (and glorious B-side“Since The Days Of Pigtails”), but also FredaPayne (“Band Of Gold”) and Parliament, whenthey were still called A Parliament Thang. Treatsare numerous – from Holland-Dozier-Holland’sown imploring version of “Don’t Leave MeStarvin’ For Your Love” to the brilliant RuthCopeland’s fierce “Gimme Shelter”, Eloise Law’sfunky “Tighten Him Up”, Flaming Ember’s “I’mNot My Brother’s Keeper” and the choppy discoinsistence of New York Port Authority’s “I Got It”– while a 60-page accompanying book by DeanRudland provides a colourful way of findingyour way round the mass of material.EXTRAS: Unreleased tracks, Tom Moulton8/10 remixes and book.PeTeR WATTSINSPIRALCARPETSDung 4 (reissue, 1989)CHERRY REDRaw as milk: muchbootleggeddemo tapeappears on CD for the6/10 first timeDig out those T-shirts.“2014 is already looking like our biggestyear since 1994,” says Clint Boon, and thisreissue arrives ahead of a brand new albumfor Oldham’s finest, slated for September.Recorded in December 1987, the Dung 4demo tape was serially bootlegged as theband made it big, before receiving an‘official’ mail-order cassette-only releasein ’89. DIY garage-indie, lifted with jabbingorgan and lugubrious Lancashire vocals,Dung 4 went on to sell 8,000 copies, but hasnever been issued on vinyl or CD before now.It’s an Inspirals album in all but name, andcontains unique cuts as well as first stabsat some curtain-haired classics, including“Inside My Head” (which features on 1990’sexcellent Life). “Theme From Cow” and“Seeds Of Doubt” are more than fun, as isthe run through the psychedelic staple“96 Tears”, and the whole package isa fine summation of the Inspirals’ enduringappeal. It’s not for audiophiles: even witha solid remastering job from Boon, thesound is a little one-mic-in-a-bathroom,but be fair. Dung 4 dates from a time whengarage band meant exactly that.EXTRAS: The earlier four-track EP, “Cow”,7/10 and a demo from May ’87.MARk BeNTleyrevelationsThe BBC Radiophonic Workshop:from Doctor Who to Glastonbury“People have such afection for theWorkshop,” admits Paddy Kingsland, whosemusical credits include Doctor Who, TheHitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and countlessTV and radio shows throughout the 1970s and’80s during his tenure at the BBC RadiophonicWorkshop. “They remember the impact it hadon them when they were young.”Although the Workshop closed in 1998,Kingsland and his surviving colleagues haveenjoyed renewed interest in their work via areissue programme and also live shows. “It’s abunch of old blokes going on stage and doingsomething that’s quite close to contemporary,”explains Kingsland. They began playing livein 2009; this month, they play to their largestaudience yet, at Glastonbury. “Being on tour,sitting on a train for fve hours, it’s good fun,”says Kingsland. “The thing is, everybody workedseparately in separate rooms. Then we all usedto meet up in the canteen over lunch, so it’s abit like that dynamic all over again. The sameold stories!” micHael bonnerWILKOJOHNSONThe Best OfCADIZ MUSICWilko’s post Feelgoods/Solid Senders output,chosen by the guitar8/10 maestro himselfBefore Julien Temple’s OilCity Confidential put him – and his inspirationallegacy – back in the limelight, Wilko was notidle. For the last 35 years he’s forged the mostlasting, and expansive, relationship of hiscareer with Blockheads bassist Norman Watt-Roy and, latterly, drummer Dylan ‘son of Steve’Howe. The evidence gathered here, culledfrom the run of albums that ended with 2005’sRed Hot Rocking Blues, has continued to fuelhis blistering live shows and the indomitablespirit which must be at least partly beresponsible for forestalling his terminalcancer diagnosis. Potent reworkings of theFeelgoods classics (including a surly “Sneakin’Suspicion”, the triumphant “Back In TheNight” and the pulverising strut of “Roxette”)show the master of the Telecaster sharpeninghis ferocious axe in a trio that’s both a seriouslytough and unfailingly agile. The patentedR’n’B engine room is retooled on latter-daystand-outs – the splintered dynamics androlling thunder of “When I’m Gone” and“Underneath Orion”, where on the latter Wilko’sastronomical fascination adds astral wonderto his seasoned Thames Delta mythologies.The wilderness years – brought in from thecold, not before time.EXTRAS: None.GAVIN MARTIN8/10PADDYKINGSLANDFourth Dimension(reissue, 1973)PETER HOWELLThrough A GlassDarkly (reissue, 1978)MUSIC ON VINYLVinyl-only reissuesfrom the RadiophonicWorkshop’s synth yearsThe arrival of thesynthesiser in the late’60s was a turning pointfor the BBC RadiophonicWorkshop. The balance7/10 shifted from theexperimental techniquespioneered during the department’s first decadeto more conventional scores developed by newrecruits like Paddy Kingsland and Peter Howell.Fourth Dimension (1973) showcases Kingsland’slibrary recordings, with the likes of “Scene &Heard” squelchy fun anticipating Stereolab’smore playful moments. After a psych-folkapprenticeship, by 1977, when he began workon Through A Glass Darkly, Howell had gonefull prog. A collection of original pieces, thescope is ambitious, if not entirely successful.The 20-minute title track makes full use of the‘Flute’ and ‘Trumpet’ settings on the ARPOdyssey. “Caches Of Gold” is irritatingly jolly,though the propulsive “Magenta Court” evokesa futuristic grandeur. It’s all a long way from theotherworldliness of the Delia Derbyshire era.EXTRAS: None.MICHAel BONNeRJULY 2014 | UNCUT | 91

ArchiveLCDSOUNDSYSTEMThe Long Goodbye(Live At MadisonSquare Garden)DFA/PARLOPHONETime to get away…8/10 James Murphy’s187-minute last standAmidst the eBay landfill of Record store day 2014(“Ghostbusters” on luminous 10-inch vinyl,anyone?), one release stood out in terms of bothbulk and desirability. lcd soundsystem’s 2011farewell concert has already been documentedin a movie, Shut Up And Play The Hits (2012).Now, the entire show – in which James Murphyattempted to play the band’s complete catalogue– is memorialised on a suitably excessive vinylboxset. five records cover 187 minutes and 28tracks, which confirm lcd as one of the century’skey bands, and one of its most artfully self-aware.Exhausting pleasures proliferate: Murphy’sjogging magnum opus, “45:33”, enhanced by adeep house vocal from Reggie Watts; a lashingversion of Nilsson’s “Jump Into the fire”; theawesome rhythmic drill of tyler Pope (bass) andPat Mahoney (drums). In this context, “losing MyEdge”’s mix of snark and abandon sounds morepoignant than ever: an anthem for a generationof record collectors whose hipsterish superiorityis mellowing into sentimentality; and whomight now be pragmatically choosing the MP3downloads of The Long Goodbye over the vinyledition. “We could do this for another hour,”chants Murphy at its death. one day, when hiscoffee business loses appeal, he just might.EXTRAS: None.JOHN MULVEYK LEIMERA Period Of Review(Original Recordings:1975-1983)RVNG INTLPrivate press ambientpioneer gets his dues7/10 Born in Winnipeg, canadaand settled in seattle inthe late ’60s, Kerry leimer’s teenage interest indadaism and surrealism led him to the Krautrockmusic of can, faust and cluster, and to the loopbasedambient music of terry Riley and frippand Eno’s (No Pussyfooting). far from tryingto ingratiate his way into any formal musichierarchy, though, leimer’s aspirations werelocal and underground. His music, made using athrifted set-up of tape machines and rudimentarysynthesisers, was released on Palace of lights,the dIY label he ran with his wife dorothy. this30-track collection steers away from his earlyalbums in favour of unreleased music, weavingstylistically, but covers commendable ground.At times, his influences are rather transparent:the stream-of-consciousness “lonely Boy” iskooky, trapped-in-the-studio eccentricity in thevein of Eno and cluster’s “Broken Head”. But theless song-y experiments are often captivating: theNew Age synths of “the Phonic chasm”, featuringunearthly vocals from dawn seago; the crypticwoodblock melodies and digital chatter of “Mytimid desires”; or “two Voices”, a gently circularfourth World meditation that, at two minutes inlength, is at least eight minutes too short. like thecatalogues of laraaji or suzanne ciani, here ismusic deserving of rediscovery and reappraisal.EXTRAS: None.LOUIS PATTISONARTO LINDSAYEncyclopediaOf ArtoNORTHERN SPYBrazil into New York:freestyle guitarmeets luscious8/10 post-Tropicálismoforget that title: a realautobiography of Arto lindsay would takein the full breadth of this irascible artist’sachievements, from his contributions to late-’70s No Wave – both in his group dNA, and theArto/Neto single “Pini Pini” – through to thelounge jazz in his ’80s group the loungelizards, and then on into the focus of thisdouble-disc set, his series of sensual soloalbums released between 1996 and 2004. theserecords – O Corpo Sutil, Mundo Civilizado, NoonChill, Prize, Invoke and Salt – are singularachievements in the ‘general jelly’ (as GilbertoGil would have it) of post-everything culture.drawing on lindsay’s Brazilian heritage, yetfinding space for electronica, drum’n’bass,avant-R&B and trip-hop, the songs compiled onthe first disc of this Encyclopaedia are groundedin the sensuality of Brazilian pop. tropicáliawas clearly a significant socio-cultural forcefor lindsay, and in songs like “4 skies” and“combustivel” you can hear him effortlesslyreconciling this history with the daringlymodern. disc two features a solo live set fromlindsay, where the frazzled intensity of hisfreeform guitar reintroduces itself in full force –here his songs are disrupted by transmissionsfrom the edges of the guitar’s lexicon.EXTRAS: None.JON DALErevelationsNils Lofgren recalls Neil Young’sTonight’s The Night tour of 1973“Tonight’s The Night was a wake record forBruce Berry and Danny Whitten,” Nils Lofgrenrecalls of his rawest ’70s record as guitarist forNeil Young. “The next thing I know, we wereplaying in England. That was a very radicalextension of the experiment, and we paidthe price.” This was the notorious 1973 tourwhen Young rarely played anything but hisbrutal new songs, before anyone knew them.“People booed us every night. One night Neilthrew his guitar on the foor and stormed of.And he came back, but he was pissed of. ‘I’mtrying to show you something. It’s just a night.I’m not asking you to listen to this for the restof your life.’ Usually the audience was, ‘No, wecan’t let you do that.’ There was one thing hedid more than once, if the audience was beingdisrespectful, but not mutinying. ‘All right,everyone, I’m going to play one you’ve heardbefore.’ They’d freak out. It was ‘Tonight’s TheNight’ again. To this day, when I tour the UK,every night someone apologises and says, ‘Iwas one of the ones who booed. Now I realiseit was something really special.’” NICK HASTEDNILS LOFGRENFace The MusicFANTASYLoyal Bruce Springsteenand Neil Youngsideman’s solo career,exhaustively exhumed7/10 “I play guitar all nightand day,” Nils lofgrendeclares on “I came to dance”. “Just don’task me to think.” this sarcastic, drunkenriposte to a manager’s attempt to make himmore commercial matches his actual statusfor some as a trampoline-bouncingjourneyman. these 10 discs of his workas a bandleader and singer-songwriter tipthe balance too far, testing the patience.Harmony-drenched gems such as “likeRain” by his lovely, lost early ’70s band Grinare soon followed by hours of stiff ’80s rock,eventually giving way to the gloweringthundercloud of 1995’s Damaged Goods.Recorded staring into the double-barrelof divorce and his dad’s Alzheimer’s,songs such as “Nothin’s fallin” areuncharacteristically raw and gripping.lofgren’s somewhat MoR default settingis broken, too, by “Mr Hardcore”’s tributeto formative lofgren/Young producer davidBriggs. these obscure highlights are joinedby two discs of unreleased ones, led byYoung and crazy Horse singing “Keith don’tGo”, and a live dVd comp. Affidavits fromYoung, costello and co testify to lofgren’saffable presence near rock’s top table.A few of these songs see him sit at it.EXTRAS: None.NICK HASTEDTHE MOLESFlashbacks & DreamSequences: TheStory Of The MolesFIRECARDINALCardinal (reissue, 1994)FIREAntipodean psychedeliaand baroque-popIt’s not hard to figure whyRichard davies and theMoles were so out of placewhen they first appearedin sydney in the early ’90s.While Australia had its share9/10 of psychedelic pop in the’80s, by the early ’90s, pregrungewas the thing. the Moles were muchtrickier – they obviously had a stack of flyingNun in their collections, probably some Pebbles,maybe even the left Banke. they released a fewsingles and a mini-album, Untune The Sky, thenmoved to london, where their initial lineupimploded. davies relocated to Americaand recorded the freak-beat interludes of 1994’sInstinct; all these are collected on Flashbacks…,where pop gets seriously Pataphysical. the aceup the sleeve is davies’ peculiar genius – luscious,unpredictable melodies muddled by crypticlyrics – something which blossomed further onCardinal, recorded with Eric Matthews, wherestrings and brass drop the songs deep in the valleyof ’60s sunshine-pop. It’s kind of like the Monkeesauditioning curt Boettcher and Arthur lee.EXTRAS: None.JON DALE10/1092 | uNcut | JulY 2014

VARIOUSARTISTSC86CHERRY REDThe infamous mail-order tapegets a lavish three-disc treatment.By John LewisIt’s dIffIcult toimagine how a simplecassette couldbecome such acontroversialdocument, but that’swhat happened withthe NME’s 1986 mailordercompilation.Where the paper’sprevious annual7/10 round-ups – MightyReel, Dancin’ Master,C81 – featured a mix of the punk, reggae, hip-hopand jazz that the paper had been championing, their1986 compilation, C86, jettisoned all other genres toconcentrate on a very particular type of music.loved and reviled in equal measure, C86 featured22 “shambling” bands signed to independent labels– rakishly thin chaps, almost exclusively white, inguitar quartets with not a single keyboard betweenthem. they plied a chaste, asexual brand of beatpopthat borrowed heavily from Josef K, orangeJuice and the smiths. But, where those bandsbetrayed vestiges of funk, soul and Africa, theshambling bands divested their music of its blackorigins: an incendiary statement in the rock-vs-hiphopwars that raged across the inkies at the time.for the first time, “indie” became codified – not asan attitude, but as a genre. White rock abandonedany modernist impulse and retreated into the past,rejecting synths, drum machines and other garishlylit tropes of ’80s pop. C86 even came with its ownretro “cutesy” couture: ’60s anoraks, duffelcoats,childlike plimsolls, bowl haircuts and cardigans.some of the bands here were already established.Reluctant shambling scene godfathers the Pastelshad been releasing records since 1982. the gallowshumour of Birkenhead’s Half Man Half Biscuitalways seemed at odds with the wide-eyed,uncynical naïvety of the other bands on the tape,while the Wedding Present seemed a little butchamong their fey compatriots. other C86 bandsseemed to have one great single in them: theMighty lemon drops’ “Happy Head”, the Bodines’morning-fresh “therese”, and the soup dragons’“Pleasantly surprised”. those three tracksrepresented C86’s enduring public persona – achildlike perfect pop that no-one actually listenedto, all asexual whimsy and male vulnerability. Butthis was not a homogenous scene. stump, Big flameand Bogshed all created a discordant racket offractured rhythms, wobbly guitars and Beefheartwails. leeds futurists Age of chance rumbled andthrobbed and seemed to promise great things. Eastlondon revolutionaries Mccarthy (later to morphinto stereolab) were fanning the embers of a radicalfire that had all but been extinguished by the mid-’80s; as implicitly political was the proto-riot grrlthumps and hiccupping vocals of Birmingham’sWe’ve Got A fuzzbox And We’re Gonna use It.Ex-NME scribe Neil taylor, who compiled the firsttape, here assembles this boxset (he’s also writtenan upcoming book on the shambling scene), anddisc two features many of the bands he left off theoriginal. they include the Jesus And Mary chainShamblingC86 scenestersThe Pastels(unwitting poster boys of this scene), the Primitives(with guitarist Paul court rather than tracey traceyon lead vocals), the BMX Bandits (whose first lP wascalled C86), the June Brides (who declined to appearon the original) and talulah Gosh (who emerged justafter the tape was compiled).the third disc explores a broader range of Britishindie music around 1986 and includes a few bandswho – like C86 alumni Primal scream, Age ofchance and the soup dragons – would later necksome pills and “go dance”, including Pop Will EatItself (the first of these indie bands to embrace hiphop)and the Happy Mondays (who, even in 1986,sounded like an under-rehearsed jazz-funk bandtrying to play folk). But it also strays far beyond theDavid Gedge, The Wedding PresentWas there a distinct C86“scene” at the time? It was anexciting time – fanzines andlabels were really taking of,and promoters around thecountry were always bookingus. We’d fnd ourselves sharing the bill withThe Shop Assistants or The Wallfowers. But itseemed like C86 was a catalyst, somethingthat drew wider attention to a small scene.Was there a defnable sound? The music wasvaried. People now see C86 as jangly indie pop,but Bogshed and Big Flame were nothing likethat. We rode that divide: there were elementsthat were jangly but we had a much harder edge.C86 brief. there’s the Brechtian cabaret of the Bandof Holy Joy, the epic strings of King of the slums, thefolksy fiddles of the Nightingales. Peel faves theNoseflutes sound like someone has emptied thecontents of a studio into a skip. there’s also lotsof guff, including Richard Hawley’s early bandtreebound story. It covers a wider brief than Bobstanley’s CD86, a comp of contemporaneous musicreleased on the 20th anniversary of the original.Weirdly, this reissue arrives at a more receptivetime, with a generation of young bands fromPortland to tokyo taking their cue from C86. theappeal is partly a nostalgia for a scene that wasalready nostalgic, but there’s an urgent intensity tothese tracks that still resonates, nearly 30 years on.Were you suspicious of being pigeonholed as“a C86 band”? In retrospect, we were probablyslightly more established than most of the otherbands, even if it didn’t seem like it at the time.We were just honoured to be on an NME tape,having read the magazine for years, and perhapsa bit guileless about how it might afect us. But Ican see why, say, The June Brides didn’t want tobe on the tape, and how some less establishedbands might be pigeonholed by it, especiallywhen the scene seemed to have run its course.Was it as white and retro as it seemed? Yeah,that’s a fair criticism. The retro thing evenbypassed punk: the guitar thing harked back toThe Byrds and The Velvet Underground. Andwe were certainly infuenced by a lot of whiteguitar bands. But I guess that applies to allmusic. It’s like criticising a hip-hop act for notbeing into Bogshed, or something…INTErvIEw: JoHN LEwISJulY 2014 | uNcut | 93

ArchiveSpecialistTheLost soul and jazzJapanese PsychedeliaSAD NEWS CAME early in the world ofJapanese psychedelia this year, withlegendary label PSF – named afterPsychedelic Speed Freaks, the first releaseby Tokyo’s motorpsycho rock’n’roll wreckingcrew, High Rise – making an online plea forfinancial backers, given five-figure unpaiddistributor debts. It’s particularly depressingas PSF has done more than any other labelto spread the word about the Japaneseunderground. Indeed, all of the players inthis column have figured as part of the PSFstory, several as flagship artists.So, their artists have had to find new homes,for now. Japanese psych-folk singer KazukiTomokawa has stretched into the fourthdecade of his career with VengeanceBourbon MODEST LAUnCH 8/10, a typicallydeep pass from the singer-songwriter void.He’s an irascible, at times furious singer,Pretty in pink: bluesexperimentalistH Usui onstageand the sympathetic playing from ToshiakiIshizuka on drums and Masato Nagahataon piano makes songs like “My Big Brother’sRecord” particularly potent, Tomokawa’ssee-sawing melodies levitating onpointillist percussion.Another key PSF player, Keiji Haino, hasgone seriously dippy with his new-ish ‘DJ KeijiHaino’ guise. Experimental Mixture: In TheWorld YOUTH inC 6/10 is his second mix disc –actually, three discs here, with Haino pullingtogether strands from his wide-ranging recordcollection into complex webs. It’s a nice idea,and some of the juxtapositions are wild – it’sseriously surreal to hear Nico poking her headout of a peat bog of ethnic field recordings.But overall, these Experimental Mixturesare fairly awkward.Indeed, the strongest records from theJapanese psychedelic underground arecoming from lesser-known, marginal figures,like occasional Boris collaborator Ai Aso,whose first album for Stephen O’Malley ofSunn O)))’s imprint, Lone iDEOLOgiC OrgAn8/10, compiles some lovely live performances.Aso’s songs come across as fragile on firstblush – one lilting guitar or buzzing keyboard,and a deceptively blank voice – but there’sreal depth in her ability to say plenty, usingsuch minimal means.Or, most thrillingly, the return of H Usuiwith his second album, Sings The BluesvHF 9/10. Some may know Usui from hiscollaboration with Ben Chasny (Six OrgansOf Admittance) as August Born, or his selfreleaseddebut as L, Holy Letters. Usui’stake on the blues is elemental and intimate,stretching well beyond the long blank, into ahermetic set of songs for banjo, bass, guitarand sporadic, spooked electronics. It’s upthere with Jandek’s mid-to-late-’80s, overtlyblues-marked albums, like On The Way, as faras mystifyingly gorgeous song suites go.JON DALeMORRISSEYvauxhall And i(reissue, 1994)PArLOPHOnEViva Vauxhall;Morrissey’s Astra weeksAll self-annihilating9/10 shyness and monstrousvanity, Morrissey appearson the front cover of all of his first solo LPs, butVauxhall And I is the first one where he staresthe camera down; an acknowledgement forsome that his fourth album is his mostunashamedly personal. However, while its lushtextures and meaningful sighs are amplified bythis remaster, the marvel – as ever – is how littleMorrissey really gives away. Bereavementsmay have inspired the unusually humansentiment of “Hold On To Your Friends” and“Now My Heart Is Full”, but the dreamlikeSide Two is Vauxhall And I’s striptease witha difference. Morrissey hits an economicallyrical peak on Larkin-like apologia “UsedTo Be A Sweet Boy”, oboe-laden “LifeguardSleeping, Girl Drowning”, and thunderouscloser “Speedway” (clarion call: “All of therumours keeping me grounded/I never saidthat they were completely unfounded”),hinting at great revelations while remainingtypically coy on the details. Such verbalteasing may not have impressed the courtsa couple of years later, but it only piles onthe wonder here. The windows open; thesoul typically elusive.EXTrAS: A few bonus photos, but no changes7/10 to the running order: his finest selfportraitdoes not need retouching.JIM WIRTHROY ORBISONMystery girlDeluxeSOnY/LEgACYFond farewell: TheBig O’s staggeringsayonara, revisited9/10 Like virtually all thepioneering ’50s rockers,Roy Orbison was kicked to the curb. Lost anddrifting for years, Orbison – only the greatestvoice rock’n’roll has ever known – was affordeda rare, triumphant rebirth circa late ’80s, first inDavid Lynch’s Blue Velvet, then as part of Dylan,Petty, Harrison and Jeff Lynne’s chart-boundjuggernaut Traveling Wilburys. The newjuxtapositions shook something loose, both inOrbison’s artistry and the public’s perception ofhim, resulting in a feel-good comeback and thismasterstroke, completed just weeks before hisDecember 1988 death. Aided by a superstar cast,trading heavily on early themes – variations ondreams and romantic longing, heartbreak andyet more utopian/dystopian dreams/nightmares– Mystery Girl gracefully updates his oeuvreamid swooping, swerving, soaring vocal tours deforce. Not everything shines, but the highlights—the driving Wilbury-esque “You Got It”, the ElvisCostello-penned “The Comedians”, where thesinger is stranded on a ferris wheel as his lovegoes off with another, and especially thegorgeous, Bono-penned “She’s A Mystery To Me”– rival his classic era. This expanded editionadds five studio outtakes/worktapes, jarringlyunpolished in some cases, while a deluxe setoffers four more rare tracks and a DVD.EXTrAS: None.LUKe TORN94 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

ArchiveTHE PICTISHTRAILSecret Soundzvol 1 & 2MOSHi MOSHiCollected ramblingsof Hebridean Beck8/10 When he’s not feedingthe goats or runninghis label, Lost Map, from a caravan on Eigg,Johnny Lynch writes and records as ThePictish Trail. Mostly, that seems to happeninside the caravan too, and the resultingmusic is confessional and lo-fi, butotherwise unbounded in its ambition.The eclecticism of Beck is clearly aninspiration, but there are faint hints ofSimon & Garfunkel (on “The Lighthouse”)and (on Vol 1 especially) electronic hat-tipsto Kraftwerk and the dance music theyinspired (“Secret Sound #2” is Schubertvia acid house). 2008’s Vol 1 was one ofthe most popular releases on Fence, theFife-based folky label that Lynch ranfor a decade, but 2013’s Vol 2 is moreconfident entirely, though its mood ismelancholy. The theme was “corporealand psychological isolation” fuelled, inpart, by the death of Lynch’s mother in2011. But it’s not a glum record. The HotChip-like rhythms of “Wait Until” foldaround a gentle rumination on grief,but “I’ve Been Set Upon” and “MichaelRocket” stretch into a gently blissed-outstate which finds full expression on thefragile anthem “I Will Pour It Down”.EXTrAS: None.ALASTAIR McKAYSECTION 25From The Hip(reissue, 1984)LTMBlackpool post-punksditch raincoats andembrace the electroInitially dismissed asJoy Division copyists,a similarity driven home by their presence onFactory and the claustrophobic Martin Hannettproduction of debut album Always Now, Section25 found their feet on From The Hip. Recordedusing state-of-the-art Roland drum machinesand synths, you could venture the Blackpoolband were still following in footprints: afterall, it’s Bernard Sumner producing, and a yearafter “Blue Monday”, it was clear which waythe wind was blowing. Still, little here actuallysounds like New Order. The transcendent“Looking From A Hilltop” – appearing here inoriginal version, “restructure”, an eight-minutemegamix, and a 2010 remix by Stephen Morris –still sounds like nothing else. A proto-acid jamwith keening vocals from vocalist Larry Cassidyand his wife Jenny Ross, it was a club hit in NewYork, and picked up by radio in Chicago, a cityincubating its own house style. Nothing elsequite matches it, although the quicksilverelectro of “Program For Light” comes close,and while Cassidy’s voice is a touch limitedfor pop hits, Ross shines on the likable tweetingeddisco of “Reflection”.EXTrAS: This double CD reissue adds remixes,8/10 BBC sessions, demos, a new remix of“Reflection”, and sleevenotes from Jon Savage,Bernard Sumner and Vin and Angie Cassidy.LOUIS PATTISON7/10 9/10PAUL WELLERMore ModernClassicsvirginThe mod’s past 15 years,extensively collectedGiven the nature of his8/10 creativity, it shouldn’t besurprising that Weller hasrun not to one creative renaissance, but two.The mod’s journalist-sponsored return from thewilderness in 1991 began his first. The mostrecent commenced with his upping of workratesince 2008’s 22 Dreams. This collects materialfrom the past 14 years, starting with stuff from2000’s essential Heliocentric, and serves toremind Weller’s signature quality is conviction.This he brings to everything: whether that’searnest memorialising (“He’s The Keeper”, forRonnie Lane), Dr Feelgood riffing (the hilariouslymockney “From The Floorboards Up”), ormuscular pastoral (“Wild Blue Yonder”, a fineexample of his dominant solo mode). His stirringpassions can’t always work miracles. Tunes like“Starlite” and “It’s Written In The Stars”(anything vaguely celestial, in fact, though hiscover of Rose Royce’s “Wishing On A Star” is OK)all illustrate a strange residual affection for 1980shairdresser soul. This comp is a placeholder asWeller takes family time, but there’s no evidenceof pipe and loafers ahead. After 20 years of midpacedwah-wah noodling, that he can still run tosomething like “That Dangerous Age” (Blur dothe “Shoop Shoop Song” in a midlife crisis)suggests there’s plenty more surprises ahead.EXTrAS: Deluxe version has 32 (!) additional8/10 tracks of spirited live sessions andadditional album tracks. JOHN ROBINSONXUnder The BigBlack Sun(reissue, 1982)rEAL gOnE MUSiCHeight of their powers:LA punk’s magnumopus, expandedWhile many of punk’smost intense aggregations were spent forces,goners, by their sophomore LP, much less theirthird, X, circa summer ’82, were picking upsteam. Spurred to intense new creative heightsby death (Exene’s sister Mirielle, Germs frontmanDarby Crash), John Doe and Exene Cervenkawrote their blackest, steeliest songs – jittery,poetic, desperate for meaning – in a career filledwith nothing but. Producer Ray Manzarek,meanwhile, captures their dark majesty with justthe right blend of blithe melancholy and blunttrauma. Cervenka’s heartbreaking “DancingWith Tears In My Eyes” hints at furtive musicalexpansion, but …Black Sun hinges on raging,rockers – “Real Child Of Hell”, “How I (LearnedMy Lesson)”, “Because I Do” – blistering sonicshrapnel that renders so-called hardcore punk asmere cartoon. The spooked vibe comes to a headon “Blue Spark”, a noir-ish whack on the head,with Doe’s out-on-a-ledge vocal. Closing thealbum proper is the atypical chug of “The Have-Nots”, a working-class song for the ages – imagesof exhausted souls and sad-sack beer jointswhirring by in a blur – a populist masterpiecewhose truisms (“It keeps getting sooner or later”)gain resonance with each passing year.EXTrAS: Five bonus tracks, including a stellar7/10 cover of Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Breathless”.LUKe TORNcomingnextmonth...Easy does it – thatwas always the JJCale way. The Tulsamusician’s mellow soundand accomplishedcomposition were thehallmark for a seriesof albums infuentialon artists as varied as Spiritualized and –obliquely – Dillinger. Most prominently, theyinfuenced Eric Clapton, for whom theyprovided a signpost for much of his mid-1970swork, including hits with covers of Cale’s“Cocaine” and “Afer Midnight”.Cale’s infuence and 2013 passing is nextmonth commemorated with an album calledThe Breeze – taking its title from Cale’s1972 track “Call Me The Breeze”. On it,Clapton is joined in tribute by pals includingTom Petty and Willie nelson. Willie,never knowingly idle, has his own workafoot next month. Afer the success of hisduets album, To all The Girls…, Band OfBrothers marks a concerted return tosongwriting: the album features ninenew compositions.Staying with troubadours, there are alsostrong new ones from John Hiatt and JohnFullbright. In markedly diferent business,July is also set to bring, afer the success ofhis memoir autobiography, a new albumfrom Morrissey. Not a peep yet fromWorld Peace Is None Of Your Business,VISITUNCUT.CO.UKfOr OVEr 5,000ArCHIVEDrEVIEWS!but the track titles alone(personal favourites:“Staircase At The University”,“Oboe Concerto”) make itsound intriguing.john_robinson_101@freelance.ipcmedia.com

Filmsby michael bonnerJarvis Cocker feeds some ducks,Ken Loach postpones retirement,and Jon Favreau serves up a tastyslice of food porn…PULP (A Film About Life, Death AndSupermarkets) As anyone who has seenMade Of Stone, 20 Feet From Stardom orFrank will have surely realised, we are notexactly living in a golden age of music films rightnow. Much of the problem with these projects lies inthe reductive treatment of their subjects – TheStone Roses, a clutch of backing singers, the life ofFrank Sidebottom. That Pulp manages to drag thegenre out of its slump is quite an achievement. Asmuch as I like the film,it’s nevertheless hard tomuster much enthusiasm for a band who – somespry reunion shows in 2011/12 aside – haven’treleased any new music for over a decade andwhose story has been rigorously documentedelsewhere. Jarvis Cocker seems to implicitlyunderstand the shortcomings of the proposal:“I know that ‘tidying up’ isn’t the greatestrock’n’roll motivation,” he admits, “but I didwant to give the story a happy ending.” To reinforcehow underwhelming all this might be, we thenget footage of Jarvis changing a flat tyre, feedingsome ducks, riding a bicycle. Very droll, etc.As it turns out, Jarvis is arguably the leastinteresting thing about this film from directorFlorian Habicht. The events in Pulp take place inSheffield, on December 8, 2012, the day of theband’s last UK concert. It follows the individualband members, their fans and a handful of thecity’s more colourful inhabitants as they preparefor this momentous event. The band themselvesprove to be amiable, self-deprecating souls – inparticular drummer Nick Banks, who we first meetcoaching his daughter Jeannie’s football team, theSheffield FC U14 Ladies, who are sponsored byPulp. Elsewhere, interviewed in a local record shop,sometime member Richard Hawley notes of the12-year gap between Pulp’s debut, It, and theircreative peak, Different Class, “marriages don’t lastthat long, governments don’t last that long.” Butthe real stars are the good folks of Sheffield (“amedium-sized city in the north of England,” saysJarvis helpfully): knife makers, fishmongers,school children, newspaper sellers, all ofwhom gamely offer their thoughts on Jarvis andPulp. “When they first started out, I listenedto their music with Blur,” says Josephine, a whitehairedfan of uncertain age. “And of the two, Iprefer Pulp.” Habicht also interviews the workers inthe city’s Castle Market, where the teenage Cockerheld down a Saturday job. Meanwhile, a dancetroupe, U-nique, treat the cameras to their routinefor “Disco 2000” and the Sheffield Harmony vocalgroup deliver a fruity a cappella version ofReviewed this month...“Common People”. We also meet a nurse who’stravelled from Georgia for the show, and a localmusician who found solace in Pulp’s music duringan especially turbulent period in his life. “I thinkthe concert was OK,” reflects Cocker at the film’sclose. “It was important to do it, and I think it wasgood that we left Sheffield to the last thing. Lifeis a random process, I think, but you can add anarrative to it. And so by doing that, it just seemedlogical that you would do this thing and finish inthe place where it all started.”➤ Jimmy’s Hall Reports of Ken Loach’simminent retirement appear to have been greatlyexaggerated. Last year, his producer RebeccaO’Brien confirmed that Jimmy’s Hall would be the77-year-old filmmaker’s last dramatic project,although he would continue with documentarieslike The Spirit Of ’45, his authoritative homage tothe birth of the welfare state. But now it seems thedirector is considering a “small contemporary film”for his next project, after all. Whether this proves tobe the case or not, Jimmy’s Hall is a still an efficient,if minor work from the director which nonethelessdemonstrates that his firebrand instincts have notdampened with age. The film focuses on the truestory of James Gralton, a political activist in 1920sIreland who faced violent protests from the CatholicChurch for running a dance hall that encourageda left-leaning political agenda. Essentially, thefilm follows on from 2006’s The Wind That ShakesThe Barley, which told of the formation of anindependent Ireland and the creation of NorthernIreland. As with that film (and, one could argue,much of Loach’s work) Jimmy’s Hall lacks balance.Gralton and his friends are well-rounded, articulatefree-thinkers; the Church and their associates, onthe other hand, are bigots, child-beaters, would-bemurderers. Loach shoots without the usual Irishflourishes of wildness or lyricism: these are poorpeople who are tired and worn down after aparticularly poor start to the century. The idea thatGralton’s hall becomes not so much a venue forpolitical debate as, on more straightforward terms,a place for people of all stripes to come and lettheir hair down is appealing, and Grafton is asympathetic man of principal. It’s just a shame thathe is surrounded by one-dimensional adversaries.NAT URAZMETOVApulp: a filmaBOut life,Death anDSupermarKetSDirectorFlorian HabichtStarring Jarvis CockerOpens June 6Certificate U8/10Jimmy’ShallDirectorKen LoachStarringBarry WardOpens May 30Certificate 12A7/10chefDirectorJon FavreauStarringJon FavreauOpens June 25Certificate 156/10Benny &JOleneDirectorJamie AdamsStarringCraig RobertsOpens June 6Certificate 155/10the tWOfaceS OfJanuaryDirectorHossein AminiStarring ViggoMortensenOpened May 16Certificate 12A8/1096 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

Films➤ Chef Since making his name as writer and starof Swingers in 1996, Jon Favreau has followed arather haphazard route through movies. As anactor, he’s covered a lot of ground – romanticcomedies, sci-fi, drama – without leaving muchdiscernible trace. As a director, he has the first twoIron Man movies to his credit, whose box officesuccesses have afforded him flexibility elsewherein his career. As a writer, Swingers, Made andCouples Retreat dealt with similar themes ofrelationships under duress. Chef continues thattheme, though under the guise of food porn.Favreau – writer/director/star – plays Carl Casper,head cook at a restaurantin LA. A former enfantterrible of the kitchen,Casper is reviewedunkindly by onlinefood critic Oliver Platt,resulting in him losing hisjob, flying to Miami withhis son Percy and ex-wifeIñez (Sofia Vergara) andrediscovering himself byfixing up an old food truckwhich he and his former soux chef (JohnLeguiziamo) drive back to LA with Percy learningthe trade along the route. Along the way, DustinHoffman, Scarlett Johansson, Bobby Carnavale andRobert Downey Jr appear and disappear: Favreaumaking good use of his address book. By rights,Chef shouldn’t be half as enjoyable as it is. Thebest scenes are Favreau, Leguiziamo andCannavale bantering over the oven, while muchof the rest of it is rote, in particular the father/sonbonding between Casper and Percy. There issomething mildly self-satisfying about the wayFavreau casts an actress as beautiful as SofiaLeap of faith:Jarvis Cocker payshis dues to Sheffieldin Pulp (A Film AboutLife, Death AndSupermarkets)For Loach, the Churchand its associates arebigots, child-beaters,would-be murderers…Vergara as his ex – andJohansson as his occasionalcurrent squeeze. The film lacksurgency and could do withlosing 20 minutes. But for allthis, the vibe is easy-goingenough, which in this instanceaccounts for a lot: this is assubstantial as one of thecheesy ham things Casperwhips up on his food truckfor hungry customers. Thetopicality of certain plot points– food trucks, food bloggers,social media – will age thefilm quickly.➤ Benny & Jolene It ispossible to date this lightweightcomedy about anindie-folk duo by the festivalsat which they ’re scheduledto play. Festival No 6 inPortmeirion with PrimalScream and New Orderheadlining? That’ll be 2012,then. Why this has spent twoyears on the shelf becomesapparent fairly early on.Despite a pair of likeable leads–Craig Roberts (Submarine)and Charlotte Ritchie (FreshMeat) – this largely improvisedcomedy doesn’t quite spark.Directed by Jamie Adams andshot over five days, the idea isfamiliar enough. Lifelongfriends and now musicalpartners Benny and Jolene areon the cusp of success. Anappearance on breakfast TVand an upcoming festivalbilling have generated enoughinterest for them to sign to alabel and hire PR. It turns out – no great surprise –that everyone around them is incompetent, whilefeelings Benny has for his singer partner arestarting to surface. What could work well as a60-minute Channel 4 one-off is stretched close to90 minutes, which unfortunately reveals Adams’shortcomings as a director. Scenes drift and drag,and critically the chemistry between Roberts andRitchie – both fine comic actors – is absent.➤ The Two Faces Of January Very much inthe ‘they don’t make ’em like this any more’ veincomes the directorial debut of screenwriter-by-tradeHossein Amini, who nowadds a second string to hisbow with this adaptationof Patricia Highsmith’s’60s-set novel. Hollywoodhas always been kind toHighsmith, as filmmakersincluding René Clément,Anthony Minghella,Wim Wenders and LilianaCavani have done justiceto her work. As a novelist,she writes with the modern viewer in mind. Here, inthis lean period thriller with Hitchcock vibes,American couple Chester (Viggo Mortensen) andColette (Kirsten Dunst) are holidaying in Greecewhere they meet small-time con artist Rydal(Inside Llewyn Davis’ Oscar Issac). As you mightexpect, no-one’s quite who they seem and the mainpleasure comes from trying to work out who’sfooling who: is Rydal scamming Chester andColette, or has Chester a more devious plan inmind? And what of Colette herself? These aresmart actors working from a tight script inelegant surroundings.Also out...22 Jump StreetOPENS JUNE 6In what’s hardly a vintage month for newmovies, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum reteamfor a sequel based on ’80s US cop show.the DirtieSOPENS JUNE 6High school bullies get their just dessertsin this Canadian indie, championed byKevin Smith.Grace Of mOnacOOPENS JUNE 6Nicole Kidman – for it is she – looks glamorousbut a bit tragic on the Côte d’Azur.nOW: in the WinGSOn a WOrlD StaGeOPENS JUNE 9Zounds! Behind-the-scenes doc chroniclingKevin Spacey’s world tour as Richard III.Devil’S KnOtOPENS JUNE 13Real-life crime drama concerning threeteenagers wrongly convicted of murderin West Memphis.3 DayS tO KillOPENS JUNE 20Kevin Costner – for it is he – plays a dyingCIA agent who is ofered an experimentaldrug that could save his life in exchange forOne Last Job.JerseyBoysJerSey BOySOPENS JUNE 20Clint Eastwood directs this adaptation of theWest End musical on the rise of Frank ValliAnd The Four Seasons.mrS BrOWn’S BOyS D’mOvieOPENS JUNE 27The BBC comedy makes the leap to the bigscreen. Vibes? Expect more Holiday On TheBuses than In The Loop.thirD perSOnOPENS JUNE 27Three interlocking love stories involvingthree couples in three cities from the penof Paul Haggis.rOcK anD rOll’S GreateStfailure: OtWay the mOvieOPENS JUNE 29We thought this came out yonks ago.Anyway, flm following John Otway,cult singer.JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 97

scoring:10 A true classic 9 Essential 8 Excellent7 Very good 6 Good 4-5 Mediocre 1-3 PoorTHIS MONTH: True DeTecTive | PeTer gabrIel | PINk FlOydbruce SPrINgSTeeNA MusicArEs TribuTE To...sonyThe good, the bad and the ugly pay tribute to a mightycatalogue, as The Boss looks on… By Andrew Muellermusicares is thecharitable wing of Grammydistributorsthe Nationalacademy Of recordingarts & sciences. since 1991,they’ve anointed a memberof the rock aristocracy astheir Person Of the Year.springsteen’s numberwas bound to come up, andin 2013, it did. this was7/10commemorated with anall-star concert in front of ahangarful of black-tie or ballgown-clad invitees, oras host Jon stewart puts it, “a two-and-a-half hourextravaganza celebration of Bruce springsteen’smusic – or as he would call that, tuning up.”the reality is an inevitably uneven processionof artists taking turns with springsteen’s mightycatalogue in the daunting presence of springsteenhimself, as well as assorted distinguishedhollywood cocktail-slurpers nodding along. ingeneral, it bears approximately the same relationto one of springsteen’s own shows as a guided tourof a museum does to a bar crawl. it must have beenvery difficult for him not to contemplate the eventas a preview of his own funeral.it starts promisingly enough. alabama shakes,one of the few acts on the bill who treat the materiallike it’s rock’n’roll songs, rather than ming vases,unleash a rousing “adam raised a cain”. afterwhich Patti smith, who looks like she’s just comein from the garden, delivers a big-hearted “Becausethe Night”, which she co-wrote with springsteenin 1978, and which she introduces with a sweetremembrance of her late husband, Fred “sonic”smith. the semi-supergroup of Ben harper,the Dixie chicks’ Natalie maines and veteranharmonica-blower charlie musselwhite followwith a quite lovely “atlantic city”.From thereon, the highlights are rather furtherbetween. the contributions by sting (“LonesomeDay”), John Legend (“Dancing in the Dark”) andDropkick murphys’ Ken casey (“american Land”)aren’t even interestingly terrible – just prosaic,reverent and dreary. elton John oversings “streetsOf Philadelphia”, failing to grasp that the power ofthe original was all in its fatalistic understatement.the Nashville delegation fail entirely to spot thestuff in springsteen’s songs that could make themgreat country tunes – Kenny chesney mutters “Onestep up”, and tim mcGraw and Faith hill turn themournful, desperate “tougher than the rest” intosome sort of emetic wedding dance. Jackson Browneapproaches the theoretically seething and furious“american skin” like it’s the father of his fiancée,although tom morello’s properly incendiary guitarsolo redeems matters somewhat. Juanes’ version of“hungry heart” is not readily distinguishable fromanything you might hear in a holiday inn loungeon karaoke night. and mumford & sons do “i’mOn Fire” (chance would be a fine thing, etc).On the credit side of the ledger are emmylouharris, with a plaintive “my hometown”, mavisstaples and Zac Brown with an unabashed gospeltake on “my city Of ruins”, and tom morello andJim James with a terrific “the Ghost Of tom Joad”,although morello is generous with his solo to theextent that viewers may be tempted to rewind tocheck whether James had that beard before the songstarted. By far the best of the guests is saved untillast – Neil Young & crazy horse with a frenetic, feral“Born in the usa”, bewilderingly flanked by a pairof cheerleaders miming the song’s narrative.springsteen’s speech accepting musicares’honour is appropriately, if predictably, humble(“Whatever philanthropy i’ve ever done usually justinvolved me playing a guitar and bringing attentionto people doing the actual work. i was going to beplaying the guitar anyway.”) But it’s also acharacteristically astute meditation on music andits enduring power to affront authority – althoughperhaps realising he and his guests are now aboutas establishment as it gets, he approvingly notes theFrench vanquishing of the islamist yahoos who hadrecently attempted to silence mali (“You can’ttriumph without music, because music is life”).after too long, springsteen leads the e streetBand through “We take care Of Our Own”, “Deathto my hometown”, “thunder road”, “Born to run”and an all-hands-on-deck singalong of “GloryDays”. On balance, springsteen doubtless deservedthe honour, but his songs deserve better than theymostly get here.EXTrAs: None.KeviN maZur/WireimaGeJuLY 2014 | uNcut | 99

DVD & Blu-rayTHE DUKES OFSEPTEMBERLive At LincolnCentre429AOR supergroupcuts loose in NYCThe mighty FMtriumvirate of DonaldFagen, Michael McDonald7/10 and Boz Scaggs share thestage and their back pagesin this slick show fromNovember 2012, while also throwing a handfulof their favourite rock’n’roll and R’n’B oldiesinto the mix. There’s a spirited partyatmosphere to the Isleys and Chuck Berryselections, although the rewriting of ArthurConley’s “Sweet Soul Music” to includereferences to themselves is a little heavyhanded.McDonald’s “What A Fool Believes”hits the spot, but the showstoppers areFagen’s Steely Dan powerhouses “KidCharlemagne” and “Hey Nineteen”.EXTRAS: None.terry stauntonHINTERLANDNOIRCelti-noir: rum goingson in the valleysA laudable attempt to dofor Wales what shows likeThe Bridge and The Killingdid for Denmark andSweden (and Shetland hasdone for, well, Shetland),7/10 this downtempo crimedrama follows soulful DCITom Mathias (RichardHarrington) as he investigates assorted murdersaround Aberystwyth. The bilingual show makesfull use of the country’s bleak/beautifullandscape and touches on the region’s darkmyths. The tone and pacing feel closer toWallander than any of the more fast movingScandi-dramas: there’s a lot of brooding.EXTRAS: None.michael bonnerMcConaughey andHarrelson flextheir actorly chopstrue detective season one HBOHBO’s dark, unconventional drama sets the bar. By Michael BonnerTHE BlOOD HAS barelydried on the first seriesof HBO’s moody crimedrama and talk hasalready turned to SeasonTwo. At the time ofwriting, no less aHollywood A-lister thanBrad Pitt is “currentlyworking out the lastminutedetails” to join9/10the show whose seasonfinale gave the cablechannel record ratings in January this year.Reports of Pitt’s involvement, inevitably,threaten to rekindle the tired “TV is nowbetter than the movies” argument. But moreimportantly, it illustrates the impact theshow had in a remarkably short period oftime: just eight weeks.Across its run, True Detective was not as muchabout the murder itself as the two investigatorsin charge of solving it and how the effects ofthe case still resonated nearly 20 years later.While set in 2012, the bulk of True Detectivetook place in flashback during an investigationin 1995 by homicide detectives Marty Hart(Woody Harrelson) and Rust Cohle (MatthewMcConaughey) into the murder of a prostitutein Erath, louisiana. They uncovered plenty:a grimoire featuring a serial killer, abuse andconspiracy, with the tantalising suggestion ofoccult forces in the background. Splitting thenarrative across two time periods, we saw howCohle and Hunt have changed, both physicallyand emotionally. We also enjoyed Harrelson andMcConaughey flex their actorly chops: althoughboth were excellent, it was McConaughey’s RustCohle who presents the more intriguing figure,prone to visions and lengthy, misanthropicmonologues he seemed to be in danger of fallingoff the rails. It set the bar that Brad Pitt orwhoever picks up the reins of Season Twowill have to match.If the show’s onscreen virtues seemedunconventional, the same was true behind thescenes. Unusually for a television series – whichgenerally relies on many creative talents –True Detective was written exclusively by creatorNic Pizzolatto and directed by Cary Fukunaga.Its self-contained run also goes against thegrain of current television models, whichfavour on-going series. What next fromPizzolatto remains to be seen. He has spokenin interviews about exploring the secret occulthistory of the Unites States transportationsystem in Season Two: perhaps, finally, theoblique references in Season One to Robert WChambers’ supernatural creations The King InYellow and Carcosa will also be explored.EXTRAS: Making Ofs, deleted scenes,8/10 interviews, commentary.PETER GABRIELBack To FrontEAGLE VISIONA full album, andoverhauled archiveFilmed at The O 2 inlondon to mark the 25thanniversary of So, thisgig sees Gabriel reunitedwith the touring band he8/10 put together to promotethe record on its initialrelease. yet while thepainstaking recreations of songs from thatlandmark album are impressive enough, it’sthe fresh textures the musicians bring to oldermaterial (“No Self Control”, “Shock TheMonkey”, “Biko”) that provide the truehighlights. Gabriel appears to be less thedetached art-rocker of yore, and more anavuncular figure, charming his fans withbetween-song anecdotes.EXTRAS: Featurettes, interviews, archive7/10 live footage, double CD.terry stauntonTHE PINK FLOYD& SYD BARRETTSTORYEAGLE ROCkIn-depth ruminationon the Crazy DiamondOriginally a 2001 Omnibusdocumentary – hence theincongruous narrationby Kirsty Wark – this8/10 expanded version of John7/10Edginton’s film tracingthe rise of early Floyd andthe fall of their troubled dynamo is sensitive,comprehensive and ultimately illuminating.A familiar tale is re-animated thanks to superbarchive footage and unflinching contributionsfrom all of Pink Floyd, including the lateRick Wright, alongside key contemporariesJoe Boyd and Peter Jenner.EXTRAS: Disc Two has unexpurgated7/10 interviews with the four Floydmembers, and Graham Coxon performing“love you”.graeme thomsonRAY DONOVAN:SEASON ONEPARAMOUNTFamilial friction inLa-La LandIt’s easy to see why RayDonovan was labelled aCalifornian take on TheSopranos by some criticswhen it premiered lastsummer. liev Schreiberstars as the fixer for ashowbiz legal firm workingon the fringes of the law, while contendingwith dysfunctional family home life and amanipulate parent, the latter representedby Jon Voigt as Donovan’s father, recentlyreleased from prison. While making sharpobservations about the cynicism andsuperficiality of the entertainment world,it’s the blood ties plotlines that give the seriesits momentum, the two leads sparking inevery scene together.EXTRAS:8/10 Unconfirmed.terry staunton100 | UNCUT | JUly 2014

All-Time ClAssiCsRemAsTeRedLimited BLu-ray SteeLBookIncludes English and German languageversions, on-set documentary andfeature-length commentaryLimited BLu-ray SteeLBookAlso includes The Unprecedented Defence of the FortressDeutschkreuz (1967), Last Words (1968), Precautions AgainstFanatics (1969), Fata Morgana (1971) and commentariesComing Soonto BFi Blu-raybfi.org.ukAvailable from

ROCKING IN THE FREE WORLDANDY FORDA Club Uncut sandwich(clockwise from main): TheHold Steady, Bernard Butlerof Trans and Courtney Barnettthe great escapeClUB UnCUT, THE DoME STUDIo, BrIgHTon, MAY 8-10, 2014The Hold Steady, Courtney Barnett and Trans headup Uncut’s annual Brighton wingdingCHOSE TO drink some beer,and sing some songs,” Craig Finncongratulates us, as The HoldSteady’s set reaches a climax.“YOU“If we can get in a room and havea rock’n’roll show, I think that’s more and moreimportant.” Rock as a meeting place, not amarketplace, is as good a mission statement forUncut’s stage at The Great Escape festival as any.The storms battering Brighton have nearly blownthemselves out by the time Club Uncut reconvenes foranother year in the Dome Studio. On Thursday night,The Hold Steady are preceded by three newer acts.PHOX’s recent work at Justin Vernon’s studio mightlead you to expect music in Bon Iver’s image, but theMadison, Wisconsin band are agreeably slippery todefine. In her diaphanous black dress, Monica Martinhas a torch singer’s quiet glamour and smoky voice,while her band mostly play a sort of chambercountry.The Rails, meanwhile, have a hearty,early- ’70s folk-rock sound centred around guitaristJames Walbourne and his wife, Richard and Linda’sdaughter Kami Thompson. “They’ve revived the pinklabel for us,” Walbourne proudly notes of theLondoners’ Island debut. Mandolin and fiddlebolster arrangements with a touch of tightlycompressed prog, while narrative songs lean onthe folk verities of soldiers and sailors leaving forwar, mostly sung by Thompson as the strong,wronged woman left behind.Sweden’s Alice Boman plays the first night’s mostintriguing music. She’s diffident between songswhich delineate a raging, resentful broken heart.Her pleading is backed by the heavy, reverberatingpulse of her synth, and fellow bashful Swede Tom.“Please don’t run from me,” Boman continues withvaulting anguish, implacably hunting a lover whoyou get the impression is running for his life.With his close-cropped hair, Craig Finn looksall business, and The Hold Steady play a tight45 minutes, focusing on the best of their 2006breakthrough Boys And Girls In America, and thecurrent Teeth Dreams. 2010’s Heaven Is Wheneveris wholly ignored. The crowd start to pack in fromnearby, finished gigs, and as the clock ticks towards1am sweat starts to drip down backs. The Hold Steadyhave played much bigger places than this upstairsclub in the past seven years, but they lookcomfortable, as if this sort of situation is theirnatural home.For “Stuck Between Stations”, Finn holds his handsover the crowd in Springsteen-style testifying. Partof his appeal, though, is that his bespectacled looksmake him resemble a Woody Allen klutz more thana Boss, an underdog rocker closer to the audience,claiming his right to be onstage by the force of hissongs and his belief in them.Friday night’s bill begins with a real multi-tasker,English psych-folk singer-songwriter Serafina Steer.Steer’s music could certainly be described as‘ethereal’, with its rippling harp, droning synth(on “The Removal Man”) and Incredible StringBand-esque lyrics about “extraterrestrial beings”.It seems this otherworldliness has a limit for her,though – after one song, she asks for the lush echoon her voice to be taken off, leaving a starker soundfor the rest of the performance.Up next are Syd Arthur, a Canterbury quartetinfluenced by ’70s prog rock, in particular theirhometown’s jazzy, psychedelic scene. Complextime signatures (5/4 is common) and use of violin(played by Raven Bush, nephew of Kate) are morereminiscent of mid-’70s Caravan than Kevin Ayersor Robert Wyatt. Like Tame Impala, another bandthey sound like, Syd Arthur aren’t as keen as their’70s forebears to stretch out and jam, though, andthey only really let go at the end of the set.Master producer Ethan Johns hasn’t quite releasedhis second LP – the Ryan Adams-produced TheReckoner – yet. But the best song he plays tonight,102 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

a grungy, languorousstomp that sounds verymuch like Neil Young,is an unrecorded gemslated for his third soloset. “Fuck record cycles!”he notes. With a threepieceband which includes pedal steelmaestro BJ Cole and drummer JeremyStacey, Johns is on a heavier, jammier tackthan during his solo show for Uncut at lastyear’s End Of The Road Festival. “If you canhear hints of Black Sabbath,” he tells theDome Studio crowd, “you can blame RyanAdams for that.”Courtney Barnett’s packed show soundspretty different from the tracks collected onthe acclaimed The Double EP: A Sea Of SplitPeas. The restrained atmosphere on record isevaporated by raucous noise, faster temposand some thrashing, primitive solos fromBarnett. The glammy “Blockbuster”/“JeanGenie” stomp of “David” is so exciting, it’senough to make you wish her two EPs wererecorded in such a raw, amped-up style.Unlike Syd Arthur earlier, Barnett’s vocalsare clearly audible, a serious plus when hersongs are so reliant on their witty lyricalnarratives. Wry medical drama “AvantGardener” is unsurprisingly the bestreceived song of the night, but closer“History Eraser” runs it a close second.And intriguingly, Barnett performs a newsong, which begins with a powerful drumMore klutz thanBoss, Craig Finnclaims his rightto be onstagethrough the forceof his songscrescendo that brings to mind nothing lessthan Nirvana’s “Breed”. An interesting lookat her next move, maybe?In the same way that Marshall ampsrevolutionised rock music, loop pedals havechanged the state of play for solo performers.No longer having to rely on real-timeperforming, the first two acts on Saturdaynight have been able to take folk to strangernew climes. Performing May carols, folksongs from Cornwall and Hampshire balladsabout water sprites, Lisa Knapp loops hervoice and violin, sometimes picking at herinstrument like it’s a ukulele and at otherpoints creating sweeping drones reminiscentof John Cale. The songs and instrumentationare traditional, but her other approachesare much more experimental. The spokenwordloop, “Sky… wood… meadow…”, playsthroughout the opening song, while nearthe end of her set one piece is disrupted bya lo-fi sample of a cuckoo clock.Cuckoos are also present in the nextperformance, from You Are Wolf – andBuckinghamshire native Kerry Andrewalso uses the loop pedal to its full extent:aside from bass guitar on some songs, theonly tuned instrument is her voice. Sheconstructs layers of beatboxed percussionand harmonies, along with some eccentricreal percussion like a knife and fork, a whiskand what looks like the lid of a kitchenbin. These impressive edifices are thefoundations for a set of songs about Britishbirds, both traditional and original. Barnowls, sparrows and cuckoos are all featured;more Springwatch than The Great Escape,but a welcome change.If the feathers on You Are Wolf’s shouldersseem glamorous, that’snothing compared to ArcIris’ get-up. The fourpiece,led by former LowAnthem member JocieAdams, are clothed inglittery jackets, andin the case of Adamsherself, a skintight,sparkly gold bodysuit.There are augmentedchords reminiscent ofSteely Dan, cascadingRhodes pianos thatsuggest Hatfield AndThe North and complextime signatures, with almost every songfeaturing off-kilter rhythms such as 7/4 or5/4. Both their music and outfits are clearlyridiculous, yet in the best possible way.The evening, and this year’s Great Escape,is closed by Trans, Bernard Butler andJackie McKeown’s Krautrock-inspired,improvisational pop outfit. Before they evenbegin their first song, “Dancing Shoes”,from their debut “Red” EP, though, they aresuffering from sound problems. “Where’sthe bass? Where’s the bass?” repeats Butler.“This is the worst stage chat I’ve ever heard,”laughs McKeown. During the song’s solobreak, he and Butler are forced to swapsides onstage in order to hear each other.Nevertheless, the musical interplay isexcellent, with Butler’s soloing shining asusual. McKeown springs around like adynamo stage left, always ready with a quipor a risqué joke, while Butler is his glowering,intense opposite on stage right. “Celebrategood times,” runs the refrain of “DancingShoes”, and as the set nears its end, Transfinally seem to get comfortable, with“Building No.8”, a jammy, Television-esquehighlight. NICK HASTED AND TOM PINNOCKGinger BakerISlIngTon ACADEMY, lonDon, MAY 3, 2014A premature birthday partygoes somewhat awry. Who’dhave guessed?T’S NOT MY fucking birthday,” Ginger Baker growls, inresponse to shouts from well-wishers in the crowd as he’s“Ihelped onto the stage by a member of his band. Tonight’sshow may have been billed as a 75th anniversary shindig, but thedrummer won’t reach that particular landmark until August, andseems in no mood to celebrate.He warns us that he’s feeling ill (“a cripple”, in his own words),and at one point silences the continual requests that he play “Toad”,his lengthy instrumental piece from Cream’s 1966 debut album:“It’s not on; I’m too old and it’s too hard, so I’m not playing it.”It’s a recognisable outburst of the curmudgeon of old, the scarilyforthright and menacing figure from the 2012 documentary BewareOf Mr Baker, although the dapper haircut and well-pressed shirtmake him look less a wildman of rock and more like Bill Nighy’sclean-cut spook Johnny Worricker from David Hare’s TV trilogy.What punters, including those who’ve shelled out the big bucksfor a pre-gig photo and memorabilia exhibition, get is the briefestof trawls through the past; a show that was scheduled to last twohours is brought to an end after less than one when it becomes clearthat Ginger is suffering. Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home”and Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love”, with Lynne Jackaman ofSaint Jude on vocals, are despatched in relatively quick succession,Baker only displaying signs that he’s enjoying himself on the morejazzy numbers (Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints”, Sonny Rollins’ “StThomas”) that allow rhythmic flights of fancy and sparring withpercussionist Abass Dodoo.“I’m knackered,” he tells us before a preview of the title trackof his forthcoming new album Why?, and then he’s gone, to amuted chorus of cheers peppered with a few jeers; legend justabout intact, but hardly embellished.TERRY STAUNTONA curdlingtemper: Bakeronstage in londonBRIGITTE ENGL/REDFERNS

LivePure andeffortless: therejuvenatedRosanne CashJoSepH okpako/ReDFeRnSrOsanne cashBARBICAN HALL, LONDON, APRIL 30, 2014Last year on Twitter she promised Uncut a pony aftera 10/10 review. Surely we should be getting one now?One cool way to celebrateyour wedding anniversary isfor the two of you to play atriumphant gig in support of analbum festooned with honours. That’sthe plan for Rosanne cash and herhusband and bandleader, Johnleventhal, as they showcase TheRiver & The Thread (a 10/10 albumof the month in Uncut), and a vivid,Faulkneresque portrait of anamerican South still burdenedby its history, and in whosesweltering fields cash’s famousfather once toiled.The album’s meticulousarrangements are shorn away live,but the five-piece band led byleventhal is up to every task; gentleand acoustic for the tear-jerking“etta’s Tune” (about Sun Records),shimmering moodily for “world ofStrange Design” (about Southernreligion) and rocking out on “MoneyRoad”, with leventhal and fellowguitarist Mark copely trading feveredlicks at its climax. each song comesprefaced by a lengthy introductionfrom cash, who proves a masterfulnarrator in word as well as in song. weare treated to a psycho-geographicaltour of the gothic world of the South,where the ghosts of the civil war deadstill march and the stain of slaverystill lingers, but whose river of history“runs through me” as Rosanne putsit. It’s masterfully handled, withcountry tropes mixed with elementsof folk, blues and gospel.when cash is not toting heracoustic, her hands send out anelaborate semaphore of pointedfingers and openpalms to makeher point. now58, and with awonky smilerecalling herfather’s, herpersona is anengaging mixof glamour,toughness andwarmth. Hervocals are lessstriking than those of, say, emmylouHarris (who she often resembles) butpure and effortless.If the River & The Thread showcaseis a mite intense, the night’s secondhalf offers a more celebratory mood.“Radio operator”, from cash’sprevious album Black Cadillac,swaggers along as leventhal and theWe are treated to apsycho-geographicaltour of the gothicworld of theAmerican Southspidery copely renew the timehonoureddual of Fender and Gibson.Hank Snow’s “I’m Moving on”,famously covered by father Johnny,becomes a roadhouse boogie, withcash showing she can still cut a fewdance steps. “Blue Moon withHeartache”, introduced as “from atime when I still had hits” (she was 23when it came out), takes the mooddown ready for adramatic versionof BobbieGentry’s “odeTo Billie Joe”,whose suicidefrom theTallahatchieBridge hasalready beenreferenced on“Money Road”.Delivered as aduo to leventhal’s adept picking,Gentry’s enigmatic tale springsback to life, prompting an audiencecall of “bloody marvellous”. “I hopeyou’re reviewing for The Telegraph,”shoots back Rosanne.She carries the audience througha duet of another standard, “longBlack Veil”, before honouring the latesetlist1 A Feather’s Not A Bird2 The Sunken Lands3 Etta’s Tune4 Modern Blue5 Tell Heaven6 The Long Way Home7 World Of Strange Design8 Night School9 50,000 Watts10 When The Master CallsThe Roll11 Money Road12 Radio Operator13 I’m Moving On14 Blue Moon With Heartache15 Ode To Billie Joe16 Long Black Veil17 Biloxi18 Tennessee Flat Top Box19 Seven Year AcheENCORE20 Western Wall21 Motherless ChildrenJesse winchester on his reflective“Biloxi”. Then comes an uptempofinale of her father’s loping“Tennessee Flat Top Box” and herown 1981 country pop hit, “Sevenyear ache”. The band encore witha bluesy “Motherless children”and the crowd leave in rapturousmood, having witnessed an artistat the top of her game.NEIL SPENCER104 | UncUT | JUly 2014

LIVETEL: 020 3148 2873 FAX: 020 3148 8160

LIVEFor tickets to any UK gigs, tours or festivals please call the 24-hour Uncut Ticketline on 0870 160 1600

LIVETEL: 020 3148 2873 FAX: 020 3148 8160

LIVEFor tickets to any UK gigs, tours or festivals please call the 24-hour Uncut Ticketline on 0870 160 1600

LIVETEL: 020 3148 2873 FAX: 020 3148 8160

LIVETEL: 020 3148 2873 FAX: 020 3148 8160

LIVEFor tickets to any UK gigs, tours or festivals please call the 24-hour Uncut Ticketline on 0870 160 1600

LIVETEL: 020 3148 2873 FAX: 020 3148 8160

CLASSIFIEDTEL: 020 3148 2873 FAX: 020 3148 8160WANTED CHATLINES FOR SALEPlease mentionCHATLINESWhen replying toadvertisements

BooksEdwyn Collins and OrangeJuice at Regent’s Canal,Camden, September 9, 1981Reviewed this month...Simply Thrilled: ThePreposterous StoryOf Postcard RecordsSimon GoddardEbuRy PRESS5/10GalvestonNic PizzolattoSPHERE8/10To its credit, i suppose, simonGoddard’s Simply Thrilled: ThePreposterous Story Of PostcardRecords attempts to be a bit differentfrom the typical record label history –something densely factual like Martin Aston’sFacing The Other Way: The Story Of 4AD – thatsinks eventually beneath an excruciating weightof detail and an accumulation of exhausting data.it’s not Goddard’s intention here to presenta conventional history of Postcard, the labelthat threw a bucket of colour onto the grimmonochromatic post-punk landscape of the early’80s, via early releases from orange Juice, Josef K,the Go-Betweens and Aztec camera. the bookis not so much a documentary as a fairy story,Goddard explains in a brief introduction.Presumably therefore to capture something of thetwee whimsy attached to the label, Simply Thrilledis written in an arch and frankly unbecomingmanner, in which Glasgow’s young punks, forinstance, are described as “brave, wise and taut oftrouser” and the Nu-sonics, an early version oforange Juice, are “rosy of cheek and crisp of hem”.Goddard usually writes without such distractingaffectation. What may in the first instance haveseemed to him a novel approach actually quicklybecomes a testing indulgence that a sterner editorwould surely have been inclined to play downto the point of welcome elimination. As it stands,Simply Thrilled is by turns annoyingly fanciful,impressionistic, light on detail, possiblyincomprehensible to anyone unfamiliar with thePostcard story and the principals involved.Alan Horne, the misfit music obsessive who withthe similarly eccentric young edwyn collins wasresponsible for the Postcard ‘aesthetic’, is thefigure around whom the book revolves, to a pointoccasionally where it seems we are reading hisghost-written account.in this telling of the Postcard story, it’s difficultto get a sense of Horne as anything but annoying,delusional, hyper-active, given to much bullying,tantrums, sarcasm and generally dictatorialbehaviour. Goddard makes him sound like a crossbetween timmy Mallet and Andy Warhol (Postcardwas big on anything with a connection to theirbeloved Velvet Underground), with a dash of aplayschool Bernie rhodes. Maybe this is allthere was to him, in which case it’s a hugelyunflattering portrait.in its favour, the book is short – 200 pages, plus adiscography – but for such a brief volume there’s toomuch ripe overwriting. “in the sinister hangover of 1January 1980,” one chapter begins, “as glass-agonyeyes and cactus tongues flickered in sorry headsuncorked of all reason, as promises of a brave newworld were broken with dawn’s picket-line grey1970s skies, the name of Postcard records was stillnothing more than a white-hot figment of Alan andedwyn’s quicksilver minds.” Goddard is no strangerto wild hyperbole, either. dig this as an appreciationof the young roddy Frame: “Abnormal of mind,abnormal of talent, roddy took to the guitar liketurner to a canvas, its strings a secret spectrum oflight for him to discover infinite colours and shadesinvisible to the blind fumbling of his pedestrianpeers. Poetry spilled whenever his fingertipstouched rosewood fret, his every strum a sibeliussymphony, his every pluck a pirouette by Nureyev,playing as if the wind were his pick-ups and thestars his amplifier.” At moments in the book likethis, it’s difficult to decide whether Goddard’s gothis tongue in his cheek or his head up his arse.allan jones➤ in Jim thompson’s novel The Getaway, theultimate destination of doc and carol Mccoy is elrey, a legendary Mexican hideaway that existsoutside the law. every character we meet in NicPizzolatto’s debut novel is likely also looking for asimilar refuge where past misdemeanours might beoverlooked. these are thrown together at emeraldshores, a motel in Galveston, texas, where mobenforcer roy cady washes up in 1987, on the runfrom his employer who has tried to have him killed.roy – recently been diagnosed with lung cancer –arrives with rocky Arceneaux, a teenage prostitutewhose life he saved in a shoot-out, and her threeyear-oldsister, tiffany. Galveston is a dismal place.“You’re here because it’s somewhere,” narrates roy.“dogs pant in the streets. Beer won’t stay cold. thelast new song you liked come out a long, long timeago, and the radio never plays it anymore.”Nevertheless, it is here that roy believes he mightbe able to resurrect what good remains within himby providing security for rocky and tiffany.Galveston follows in the wake of Pizzolatto’ssuccess with HBo’s True Detective; his onlypreviously published prose is a short storycollection Between Here And The Yellow Sea.True Detective had layered, novelistic depth, butGalveston’s early chapters suggest it might be theopposite. Violent and abrupt, they read like selfconsciouspulp parodies. it takes until the trio reachGalveston for the pace to settle and Pizzolatto’snarrative to aim for something substantial. thelost souls we meet at the emerald shores are welldrawn:scarred and helpless, you feel something forthem even though you know that, as with all noir,their futures have nothing good in store for them.As with True Detective, Galveston also takes placein two different time periods: 1987 and 2008, whereroy waits for a final reckoning but finds instead aflake of hope.MICHael BonneRdAVid corio/redFerNsJUlY 2014 | UNcUt | 115

UncUt Digital EDitionnow availablEDon’tforgetto rate &review!download it nowwww.uncut.co.uk/digital-editionuncut.co.uk

obituariesNot Fade AwayFondly remembered this month…jessewinchesterCountry folk singer and songwriter“The real thing…”Winchester in 19701944-2014The bittersweet irony of Jessewinchester’s career lay in the factthat his best-known songs were oftenwistful evocations of a land he hadchosen to leave. in 1967 he receiveda draft notice ordering him to serve in Vietnam.objecting to his country’s involvement in thewar, Louisiana-born winchester avoided thecall-up by boarding a plane to Canada, arrivingwith just $300 in his pocket. he settled intoa new existence in Montreal, joining localband Les Astronautes before hitting thecoffee-house circuit as a solo artist.the songs on his self-titled debut of 1970,produced by the band’s robbie robertson andfeaturing Levon helm on drums and mandolin,included such homeward meditations as “thebrand new tennessee waltz”, “yankee Lady”and “biloxi”. their impact was heightened bywinchester’s dusky-sweet voice, which imbuedhis lyrics with an emotive strain of southerngentility. “he sang me a few songs,” robertsonlater recalled of their first meeting, having beentipped off by a friend, “and i knew immediatelyhe was the real thing.”signed to Albert Grossman’s bearsville label,winchester continued to release a steadyprocession of albums, including 1972’s partlytoddrundgren-produced Third Down, 110 To Go.there were tours of europe and Australia, but hisstatus as a dissenter meant that he was unable toplay the Us. his reputation nevertheless grew inhis absence. Joan baez dedicated her version of“Please Come to boston” to winchester duringbob Dylan’s rolling thunder revue in 1975.Meanwhile, various admirers began coveringhis songs, resulting in a list that numbered JerryJeff walker, elvis Costello, Jimmy buffett, AnneMurray, the everly brothers, wynona Judd,Fairport Convention, tim hardin, emmylouharris, tom rush and wilson Pickett. As afurther mark of the esteem in which he washeld by his peers, Dylan opined: “you can’t talkabout the best songwriters and not include him.”winchester once attempted to explain his style,which mixed trace elements of soul, r’n’b andcountry, as “weird gospel music… sung bysomeone who’s got one foot in heaven and theother foot, he just can’t seem to pull out of themuck sometimes.”when President Carter declared an amnestyin 1977 for those who’d left the United states toavoid duty in Vietnam, winchester was finallyfree to return. his first gig back on home turf, asell-out show in Vermont, was greeted by RollingStone with the headline: “the Greatest Voice ofthe Decade”. having married a Canadian andraised children, he elected to stay in Montreal.it wasn’t until 2003 when he finally decided toset up camp in Charlottesville, Virginia.by then, winchester had grown tired of touringand was issuing albums only sporadically. A fulldecade passed between 1999’s Gentleman OfLeisure and studio follow-up, Love Filling Station.but his profile was spiked by a guest appearanceon elvis Costello’s Spectacle tV series in 2010.Lining up alongside neko Case, ron sexsmithand sheryl Crow, winchester performed “sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding”, a tender paean to ’50s teensongs. so powerful was it that his famous hostinstructed the audience to go home, “becausei could not gather myself to make the nextintroduction, such was the supernaturalbeauty of his voice.”the following year he was diagnosed withcancer of the oesophagus, during which timea starry troupe of fans (led by Jimmy buffettand featuring Costello, emmylou harris,Lucinda williams, James taylor, Allentoussaint and more) recorded a tributealbum of winchester songs, Quiet About It.sadly, the cancer returned earlier this year.his final album, A Reasonable Amount OfTrouble, is due out on Appleseed recordingsin August.MiChAeL oChs ArChiVe / Getty iMAGesJULy 2014 | UnCUt | 117

obituariesmichael ochs archive / getty images; gilles petard/redfernsArthur SmithCountry-folk composer1921-2014the inclusion of “dueling Banjos”on the soundtrack of 1972’sDeliverance was a testing momentfor arthur smith. the guitarist hadwritten the instrumental in 1955and recorded it with don reno as“feudin’ Banjos”, but the filmcompany failed to give him credit orroyalties. smith became embroiledin a two-year lawsuit that cost him$125,000, but eventually Warnerspaid up. Whenever he was askedabout the settlement, so the storygoes, smith would point to a pictureof a 42-foot yacht that hung on hiswall. another famous compositionwas 1946’s “guitar Boogie”, aninstrumental that wed a boogiewoogieriff to a scorching solo.the song was later covered bynumerous artists, including lespaul and, during his first gig withthe Quarrymen in 1957, paulmccartney. among others who cutsmith’s songs were chet atkins,glen campbell, Johnny cash,roy orbison, tom petty and thestatler Brothers.JeSSicA cleAveSSoul singer and songwriter1948-2014Jessica cleaves’ honeyed alto was aperfect fit for the smooth pop-soulof the friends of distinction. likecontemporaries fifth dimension,the quartet specialised in snugharmonies and a vaguely aquariansense of hip. co-lead harry elstonsang on their 1969 debut hit“grazin’ in the grass”, thoughcleaves enjoyed her time in the sunwith the expressive “i really hopeyou do”. By 1972 she’d becomebacking singer for earth Wind &fire, providing vocals for Last DaysAnd Time and Head To The Skybefore going on to record withgeorge clinton and parliamentin later years.DJ e-Z rockNew York hip-hop pioneer1968-2014the biggest success of rodneyBryce’s career was 1988’s “it takestwo”, recorded as dJ e-Z rockalongside fellow harlem artist robBase. the pioneering duo were oneof the first to blend hip-hop andr&B with the teddy riley-producedtune, which borrowed a vocalsample from lyn collins’ 1972 hit“think (about it)”, written by JamesBrown. “it takes two” becamea top 40 hit both here and in the Us,while also serving as the title trackof their platinum-selling debutalbum. other singles included “Joyand pain”, which borrowed fromthe song of the same name by mazeand frankie Beverly, and “get onthe dance floor”. “it takes two”,meanwhile, was later sampled bysnoop dogg, gang starr and chrisBrown. Base and Bryce, who hasapparently died from a diabeticseizure, split soon after, butreunited in 1994 for comebackalbum Break Of Dawn.lArry rAmoSThe Association guitarist/vocalist1942-2014Arthur Smith inthe early ’70slarry ramos seemed destined fora performing career. in 1949, agedseven, the hawaiian native landeda part in esther Williams’ filmPagan Love Song. that year alsosaw him play ukulele on The ArthurGodfrey Show. By 1955 he wastouring the Us in The King & I,where he starred opposite yulBrynner. But life as an actor waseventually overtaken by theprospect of being a full-timemusician. a regular on thecoffee-house scene, ramos joinedthe new christy minstrels duringthe early ’60s folk boom. his tenurelasted four years until 1966, afterwhich he signed up with soft-rockcombo the association. ramos’guitar and vocals were key featuresof their harmony-rich sunshinepop, co-singing lead on “Windy”and “never my love”, two hugeUs hits in 1967. he quit the bandin the mid-’70s, but reunited withthe surviving members at the endof the decade.GeorGe ShufflerBluegrass guitarist, andinventor of crosspicking1925-2014one of the signature sounds ofmodern bluegrass, according to itscreator george shuffler, arrivedpurely by necessity. as the post-warpinch forced the stanley Brothersto slim to a trio, shuffler inventedcrosspicking to fill the spacesduring ralph and carter’s ballads.the guitar equivalent of a banjoroll, it took its cues from mothermaybelle carter and merle travisbut was the first style to combineboth rhythm and lead. shufflerhad begun in 1946 with the BaileyBrothers before joining thestanleys, where he remained fornearly two decades. in 2011 hewas elected to the internationalBluegrass hall of fame.Little JoeCook, 1959lee DreSSerRockabilly guitarist/vocalist1941-2014like many teenagers in post-waramerica, lee dresser’s introductionto rock’n’roll came courtesy of elvis’appearance on The Ed SullivanShow. five months later, onvalentine’s day 1957, the singerguitaristformed the Krazy Katswith fellow missouri schoolmatesWillie craig (piano) and fredfletcher (drums). dresser’s tenurein the trio was interrupted by a callupto the Us army and service invietnam, after which he became asession player in la for the likes ofmerle haggard and dolly parton. herevived the Krazy Kats in 1980 andwas inducted into the rockabillyhall of fame 19 years later.little Joe cookR’n’B singer and songwriter1922-2014the distinctive falsetto vocal of“peanuts”, a Us top 30 hit in 1957,was the work of philadelphiasongwriter little Joe cook. acharismatic frontman who touredwith screamin’ Jay hawkins and BBKing, he led doo-wop group littleJoe & the thrillers up until the early’60s. his singing style provedinfluential on frankie valli, whosefour seasons paid tribute with theirown version of “peanuts”. cookwent solo post-thrillers, beforeforming r’n’B band the sherrysand, in later life, taking up a clublandresidency at the cantab loungein cambridge, ma. ROB HUGHES118 | UncUt | JUly 2014

FROM THE MAKERS OFON SALE NOWAVAILABLE IN ALL GOOD UK NEWSAGENTSOR ORDER FROM UNCUT.CO.UK/STORE

lettersFeedback…Email allan_jones@ipcmedia.com or write to: Uncut Feedback, 9th Floor, Blue Fin Building,110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU. Or tweet us at twitter.com/uncutmagazinefor pete’s sakeI was extremely angered by JonGroocock’s letter in issue 204,which was clearly the work of acloset Tory (from the comfortablemiddle-class/middle Englandsetting of Glastonbury) in that it hada distinctly right-wing tone, wasdeeply condescending and playedfast and loose with the facts.Mr Groocock talks about ‘Westerndemocracy’ and that Mr Seeger‘was on the wrong side of theargument’. This same ‘democracy’of which he [Mr Groocock] writessentenced Pete Seeger to jail forbeing a member of a party (asupposed democratic right) whichhe had left some years before. Thisis also the same ‘democracy’ whichoperated an openly apartheidsystem denying democratic rightsto millions of people, which PeteSeeger worked tirelessly to change.The same ‘democracy’ in whichleading or even being in a unioncould shorten your life expectancyduring Pete Seeger’s lifetime.Mr Groocock denigrates musicwhich is allied to causes or parties.Apart from the fact that I cannotrecollect any song which either Peteor Ewan MacColl recorded whichstated ‘Vote Communist’, there isno absolute evidence that songs arebetter for not stemming from anideology. Political songs have beenin existence for as long as therehave been songs. Political songswhich are successful and survivedo so because of the talent of thesongwriter, and their ability tocommunicate political thoughtsand ideas successfully in song.That Mr Groocock begins his letterwith a patronising joke about banjoplayers says as much about himselfas Pete Seeger. It is representativeof the kind of crass snobbery whichPete would have fought against,but which appears to be an accuratesummation of where Mr Groocockis coming from. Oddly enoughreading the letter reminded me ofanother piece of humour: the BillHicks comedy routine ‘Go back tobed, America’. I have a vision of himbeing reassured to watch mindlessTV and not concern himself aboutwhat his government is doing.I have no doubt that MrGroocock’s wish for history to lookupon Pete Seeger unkindly will nothappen (except by Republicans andTea Party loonies). The fact (anunpalatable truth for Mr Groocock)is that Pete Seeger was a personwho was much admired for hiscontribution to music as well ashis selfless stance in activelysupporting many causes for thedowntrodden and disenfranchisedof his generation, and will continueto be so. Just ask Bruce Springsteen.Lionel Smith, via emailcome on reviewerBloody hell, did Frank Black takea piss on John Mulvey’s picnicblanket or something? That wasa rather unnecessarily scabrousattack on Pixies’ comeback albumand I think a re-listen with freshears is warranted. The irony is thatMulvey’s problem seems rooted inthe idea that the songs on IndieCindy sound like Black Francis’ solomaterial. I wonder why that is then,John? Could it perhaps be becauseBlack Francis’ solo material soundslike the fucking Pixies?!!Granted, it’s hardly comparable toDoolittle (and to be frank – no punintended – what is?), but scoring itfour out of ten? Indie Cindy is by nomeans perfect, but “What GoesBoom” is an explosive opener, thetitle track is like “Subbacultcha”’smischievous younger brother,“Magdalena 318” would haveslotted happily on the second sideof Bossanova and the whole albumhas memorable hooks throughoutthat often recall the band’s heyday.I normally enjoy John Mulvey’scomments and I’ve discovereda whole host of new (and old,previously unheard) music thanksto him, but fuck me, has he got itwrong this time! Otherwise, keepup the great work!Loz Etheridge, via email…It was sad to read such a crassand seemingly prejudiced reviewof the latest Pixies LP, spoiling anotherwise great issue 205. It lackedyour usual measured approach andfrankly came on like a protest froman aggrieved Kim Deal fan club.More significantly, the few pitifullines offered as an excuse for areview completely failed toacknowledge their status as a majorhistorical (and current) act. Surely,if this long-awaited release wassuch a disappointment, somedecent analysis was required?An “expedient” album you say,dismissively? The band areresolutely together and creativelyactive. By your terms all recordreleases are therefore “expedient”.Also, please could you explain whyit is considered cynical for thePixies to sound like the Pixies?One of this year’s more unusualaccusations, surely. As for thequality, sure, it’s no Doolittle (animpossibility) but it approaches thefine Trompe Le Monde and suitablyfills a Pixies void left 23 years ago.4/10? Clearly this was decidedNo banjo jokes here:the much admiredPete Seeger,March 14, 1969prior to pressing play. If appropriatespace had been allocated for someserious analysis instead of astubborn stance taken I don’t thinkI would have felt so annoyed. I wasforced to read the Isaac Hayesarticle again to calm my nerves.Nick Smith, via emailpic’n’mix-upI thought I’d draw your attention toan unfortunate error regarding theJoe Lala obituary. You’ve printed AlPerkins’ picture rather than Joe’s!I’m sure Mr Perkins will see thefunny side. Otherwise, an excellentread and a wonderful piece on thelate, great Warren Zevon.John Brindle, Durhamon the ropesIt was great to see Uncut sendingout solid props to Davis, CA’s finest,Thin White Rope, in last month’seditorial. I saw them once, inSeptember ’88, on my first day atBirmingham Poly. They played toabout 30 people, in the back roomof the Hummingbird. My friend andI stood at the front, and as theyplugged in the guitarist said, “Hi,my name’s Guy, what’s yours?”They of course proceeded to bloweveryone’s mind. Then, at the end,while everyone else clamoured atthe bar, they pulled four chairs upto a table and played cards.In recent years, I’ve worked witha number of Italian musicians,120 | UNCUT | JULY 2014

and found their influence is muchgreater in that country. ViolinistChiara Giacobbe included aninstrumental version of “Not YourFault” on her debut EP. ThroughFacebook I contacted Guy Kyser andRoger Kunkel to play them thisversion. I’d expected no response,but they were both kind and full ofapproval for her release. It’d begreat if Uncut chose to cover thiswonderful band in greater depth.The eager fanboy in me hopes itmight encourage them to hit thereunion trail and claim their justrewards. The middle-aged me,however, realises they’ve doneenough; they should be left totheir own devices and can becontent in their brilliant legacy.Gerry Ranson, via email…Thanks for the nostalgic nodtowards Thin White Rope, it had mere-spinning many a twisted tunethat coloured my college years. Iremember catching them live at theSubterranea in Ladbroke Groveabout 1990 in front of a small butappreciative crowd and was spellboundby the joint assault of GuyKyser’s spooky vocals and RogerKunkel’s distortion-laden feedback.I also recall a story about themfortunately missing a connectingflight on their way home to the USfrom a European tour, franticallydriving through thick fog only toreach Milan airport too late for theirflight. I say fortunately – theywould’ve ended up, via Frankfurt,on the doomed Lockerbie-boundPan Am 103. Anyway, it’d be great tosee them reform and knock outthose killer songs one more time.Tony Gill, via emailcanyon coversIn his review of the Jackson Brownetribute album, Andrew Muellerstates, “His material has rarelybeen best-served by Brownehimself.” I have no idea howanyone who has listened to Brownecan arrive at that conclusion. Thereseems little that is “contented”about, say, Late For The Sky.Mueller is, however, right to pickout Lucinda Williams’ stunning“The Pretender”, one of the musicalhighlights of the spring.Guy Cooper, Matlock, Derbyshiretoo late forthe dateRegarding your Rufus Wainwrightreview [Take 204], did the reviewereven watch this DVD? The linegoes: “…Rufus’ vocal, blendingsublimely with mum KateMcGarrigle, guesting on her own‘On My Way Into Town’.” The ladydied in 2010. The DVD was recordedin 2012. Liz Tray, via emailcrossword…one of three copiesof Paul Weller’s MoreModern Classics on CD1 2 3 4 5 6 78 910 1114 15 1620 21 222529 3035 36HOW TO ENTERThe letters in the shaded squares form an anagram of a song by Paul Weller. When you’veworked out what it is, send your answer to: Uncut July 2014 Xword Comp, 8th floor,Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark St, London SE1 0SU. The first correct entry picked atrandom will win a prize. Closing date: Monday, June 23, 2014. This competition is only opento European residents.CluES ACROSS1 Blur tune reworked on The Black Keys’album (4-4)5+14A Along with Ian McCulloch and PeteWylie he was a member of the short-livedCrucial Three (6-4)8 Mike Oldfield album put on exhibition (7)9+34A “As they pulled you out of theoxygen tent, you asked for the latest party”,1974 (7-4)10 I haven’t tried turning out for bandwho hail from 17 across (2-4)12 (See 22 across)14 (See 5 across)15 (See 28 down)17+20A Texan town on the Mexicanborder celebrated in song by MartyRobbins (2-4)18 Marillion’s frontman or Country Joe’sbacking men (4)20 (See 17 across)22+12A US protest singer who also hailedfrom 17 across (4-4)23 This was the end for Sam Brown (4)25 “She moves like she don’t care, smoothas silk, cool as ___”, from Blondie’s“Maria” (3)26 Really digging The The’s album Soul______ (6)27 A big cheer for ’80s indie band fromNewcastle (6)29 The aim of a Scottish rock band is thesame as a single by Scottish bandChvrches (3)30 Get fed up with an alt.rock band (3)32 Ministry record held in Kenwood (1-1-1)ANSWERS: TAKE 20426ACROSS1+6A Going Back Home, 8Love My Way, 10 Stoosh,11+33A Eddie Cochran, 12Yello, 13+31A IndianSummer, 17+15A ThomYorke, 18 Joyce, 20+21A At32 33 343118The Edge, 24 Truth, 29Avory, 34 No Need34 (See 9 across)35 (See 7 down)36 (See 11 down)CluES DOWNDOWN1 Golden Years, 2 Invaders,3+27A Gimme Some Lovin’,4+31D Always The Sun, 5Kay, 6 Hutton, 7 Mayo,10+9D Slim Chance, 141227 28191 Last page had much altered about SydBarrett’s recordings (3-6-6)2 From Little Richard, Razorlight or 24across (3-2-2)3+16D Having gone shopping for aPentangle album but returning with6 down? (6-2-5)4 Then dire punk version comes outfrom Tori Amos (5-3-4)5 (See 24 down)6 The Horrors’ new album is brilliant (8)7+35A Song written in 1927, a version byThe Beatles was a minor hit in 1964 (4-3-5)11+36A Their albums include Balance andA Different Kind Of Truth (3-5)13 “So I’m moving to New York ’cos I’ve gotproblems with my _____”, The Wombats (5)16 (See 3 down)19 Record label that’s housed The Verveand Smashing Pumpkins (3)21 An odd name for someone frontingVisage (7)24+5D Edwyn Collins’ band of the ’80s(6-5)26 Joe _____ has the high position inMetronomy (5)28+15A Hired Ron to sort out Pulp’s firstrecord label (3-5)31 American punk band who’ve goteverything (3)33 Ciara and Ludacris sound a littlesurprised to have had a hit together (2)1723 2413Dio, 16 Estelle, 18 Jet, 19You, 22 Don’t Go, 23 I’m AMan, 25 Rivers, 26 Hay, 28Vs, 30 Rank, 32 RedHIDDEN ANSWER“Nothing Man”Xword compiled by:Trevor HungerfordTake 206 | JULY 2014IPC Media, 9th Floor, Blue Fin Building,110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SUTel: 020 3148 6970/6982 www.uncut.co.ukEditor Allan JonesDeputy Editor John MulveyAssociate Editor Michael BonnerAssociate Editor John RobinsonContributing Editor Nigel WilliamsonArt Editor Marc JonesSenior Designer Michael ChapmanProduction Editor Mick MeiklehamSub Editor/Writer Tom PinnockPicture Researcher Phil KingContributors Jason Anderson, Ben Beaumont-Thomas, David Cavanagh, Tom Charity, LeonieCooper, Jon Dale, Stephen Dalton, Andy Gill,Nick Hasted, Mick Houghton, Rob Hughes,Trevor Hungerford, John Lewis, Damien Love,Alastair McKay, Geoffrey Macnab, GavinMartin, Piers Martin, Andrew Mueller, GarryMulholland, Sharon O’Connell, Louis Pattison,David Quantick, Sam Richards, JonathanRomney, Bud Scoppa, Peter Shapiro, HazelSheffield, Laura Snapes, Neil Spencer, TerryStaunton, Fiona Sturges, Graeme Thomson,Luke Torn, Stephen Troussé, Jaan Uhelszki,Wyndham Wallace, Peter Watts, RichardWilliams, Jim Wirth, Damon Wise, Rob YoungCover photos: (UK) Lawrence Watson (USA/Canada) Ken Regan/Camera 5/Contour by Gettyphotographers: Michael Buckner, LynnGoldsmith, Michael Putland, Chris Walter,Martyn Goodacre, Jean-Pierre Couderc, DezoHoffman, Barry Morgan, Paul NaylorThanks this issue: Lora Findlay (design),Jared Attwood-Summers, Joseph Scrimshire,Roisin O’ConnorDisplay AdvertisingDisplay Ad Manager (acting) StephaneFolquet 020 3148 6724Display and Online Sales Ed Rochester 0203148 6725, Stephanie McLean 020 3148 6723Live Sales Exec Emma Martin 020 3148 6705Regional Sales Oliver Scull 0161 872 2152Ad Production Laurie King 020 3148 6729Email all ad copy to laurie_king@ipcmedia.comDigital Business Directors AndrewSanders, Chris Dicker 020 3148 6709Innovator – Insert Sales Emma Young020 3148 3704Creative MediaHead of Creative Media – Men & MusicRob HuntDeputy Head of Creative MediaNeil McSteenCreative Media Managers MatthewChalkley, Adam Bulleid 0203 148 6701Creative Media Project ManagerElisabeth Hempshall 020 3148 6726ClassifiedGroup Classified Ad Manager LauraAndrus 020 3148 2547Classified Sales Executive Ryan Burnett020 3148 2886Copy contact Chloe Wooding 020 3148 2612Group Trading Director Kate Mackenzie020 3148 3670Group Trading Director’s PA Kate Faulkner020 3148 3670Group Deputy Trading DirectorJon Restall 020 3148 7626Creative Media Director Matt Downs020 3148 3681Creative Media Director’s PATribha Shukla 020 3148 6733Director of Insight Amanda Wigginton20 3148 3636Digital Marketing & Events ExecutiveBenedict Ransley 0203 148 6783Marketing Assistant Charlotte Treadaway0203 148 6779Circulation Manager Emma BoneSubscriptions Marketing Executive MarieConnolly 020 3148 6310Syndication Manager Nicola Beasley-SuffolkGroup Production Manager Steve TwortProduction Manager Lisa ClayHead of Finance Tony FalcoManagement Accountant Tony HowellGroup Editorial Director Steve SutherlandPublishing Director Jo SmalleyPublisher James ThrowerPA to Jo Smalley Zoe Roll 020 3148 6913Managing Director Paul WilliamsSubscription rates: One year (12 issues) includingp&p: UK £61.40; Direct entry (USA) $130.65; Europe€127.68; North America $194.94; Rest of World £118.87.We regret that the free cover-mounted CD is notavailable to EU subscribers outside the UK. Forsubscription enquires from the UK please call 0844848 0848 and for enquiries from overseas please call+44 (0) 330 3330 233 or email ipcsubs@quadrantsubs.com. Back Issues enquiries: Tel: 01733 385170; Fax:01733 239356. www.mags-uk.com/ipc© 2014 IPC Media. No Part Of This Magazine May Be Reproduced, Stored In A RetrievalSystem Or Transmitted In Any Form Without The Prior Permission Of The Publishers. Reproby Rhapsody (nowemagine.co.uk). Covers printed by Wyndeham Plymouth. Text printed byPolestar Chantry, Wakefield. Uncut, 1368-0722, is published monthly by IPC Media, Blue FinBldg, 110 Southwark St, London, SE1 0SU, England. Airfreight and mailing in the USA byagent named Air Business Ltd, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc, 156-15, 146th Ave, 2nd Floor,Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Sendaddress changes to Uncut Air Business Ltd, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc, 156-15, 146th Ave, 2ndFloor, Jamaica, NY11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained at IPC Media, Blue FinBldg, 110 Southwark St, London, SE1 0SU, UK. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent.JULY 2014 | UNCUT | 121

my life in musicSharon Van EttenThe Brooklyn singer-songwriter shares her eclectic, surprisinglyelectronic favourites. “In New York everything can change in a day...”The album to startmy dayThe Go-BetweensTallulah 1987My ex used to wake up and play this record,running around making coffee, reading thepaper and catching up on his day. I acquiredthe habit and Tallulah soon found its wayinto my own routine. It’s not too punk, or too folk, and is mellow enough tostart the day with. The arrangements are unusual too – you wouldn’t thinkto have violin on some of those songs, but they manage to make it cool.The soundtrack toa New York walkCharles BradleyVictim Of Love 2013I’m a huge soul fan. I was thinking about hisstory, how he was discovered late in life. InNew york you can be so anonymous, but itcan all change in a single day. Today, thisguy is touring the world, kickin’ ass. I walk around the city listening to thisand feel his story; it puts everything into perspective. I put my headphoneson and block out all the frustrated people as I stroll around New york!An album to work toNatureboyThe Sweep 2013This is a mixture of folk-pop, ambient,minimal guitar and drums, and the mostbeautiful vocals you’ll ever hear. There’sstill a beat and a rhythm to it but thesonics have a hypnotic quality. you canwork while listening and it won’t distractyou – but if you take a minute to really focus on the lyrics, which are veryautobiographical, the songs are special. It’s got an impressive sound butisn’t so in-your-face that you can’t do other things while enjoying it.My soundtrackfor flightsA Winged VictoryFor The SullenA Winged Victory For The Sullen2011If you’re a fan of Eno, you’ll love this. Thereare layers of drones filling these spaciousinstrumentals. There’s minimal piano and string arrangements, but theoverall sound is wide, dark and layered. Put it on repeat and it’s a nice wayto zone out on long-haul flights when you’re stressed out from security.The album I danceto in my bedroomGlass CandyB/E/A/T/B/O/X 2007This one is fun to listen to but difficult toplace. It’s like early OMD – experimental butwith a poppy feel. When I’m getting ready togo out, I put this album on because it psychsme up. I’m a pretty mellow person and a lot of people would probably laughat the idea of me dancing, but if Glass Candy ever want someone to danceonstage at one of their shows, I’d happily do that for them!The album I listento on the trainAirTalkie Walkie 2004It takes you to a whole other place. All thesongs are so different and the transitionsare pretty amazing when you really listento them. Songs like “Surfing On A Rocket”and “Cherry Blossom Girl” are anthemic but also hypnotic. you can tune inwhen you’re on the train and just get lost. The views outside and the peoplearound you become like characters in an Air music video.INTERVIEW: TOM PINNOCk. PHOTO: DUSDIN CONDRENThe album I fellasleep toPure XAngel 2014I mention this one because I actually startedlistening to it last night! My friend told me tocheck it out and it is so peaceful. I really likeambient music with strong beats – Pure X’searlier material is a lot like that, but this record is more spacey, with plenty ofharmonies and a cool ’70s vibe – low meets Air meets Saturday Night Fever.It will help you drift off and zone out in a great way.In next Month’s UncUt:The album Islow-dance to inmy kitchenKaren Dalton1966 2012Even on an upbeat song, there’s thisundercurrent of sorrow and pain. Hervoice is unique. Her take on older folk songs was a lot more revealingthan most people’s cover versions as she had a way of bringing newmeanings to light with her voice. She’s timeless.Sharon Van Etten’s new album, Are We There, is out now on Jagjaguwar. She plays London Koko on June 5.“that was the mission: find a voice, and fucking use it!”122 | UNCUT | JUly 2014

PresentsTHECOLLECTION25 Iconic images curated by editor AllanJones, completely refreshed for 2014.Including The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen,Ryan Adams, The Smiths, Bryan Ferry,Johnny Cash, Bob Marley, Debbie Harry,Tom Waits and more.Limited edition prints, individuallynumbered, hand printed and framed toorder, from £45/$75 unframed or£75/$119 framed.Visit www.SonicEditions.com/Uncut