Voice of the seven woods

Still waiting for that Phil Collins fan to post a defence of his hero. But in the meantime, Paul Holmes has joined in bashing "Tory Frog Prince Collins". "One half-decent Genesis tune, some so-so work on a John Martyn record and a clutch of Sunny D Motown rip-offs doth not a canon make," he writes. Fair point. Thanks also to Chads, who responded to our talk of Bill Fay the other day by mentioning Simon Finn, another neglected, quasi-mystic British singer-songwriter from the early '70s who, like Fay, was redicovered by Current 93's David Tibet. I must dig out his "Pass The Distance" album, which I haven't played in ages, though I seem to remember some of it being a bit quirky for my taste.

Thanks for all your feedback on the White Stripes blog I posted yesterday. If it's any consolation, I want to hear "Icky Thump" again, too, but it's under lock and key at the record company HQ and, sadly, I don't have the time to go over to Ladbroke Grove and get it played to me daily. In response to Lil's question - if the title track does turn out to be the first single, that would make sense. It's much more typical of the album than "You Don't Know What Love Is", and its sheer sonic clout would be more of an uncompromising statement to return with. My hunch is that Jack White doesn't worry too much about whether his first single will be "radio-friendly". The first single is for proving to the fans he still has an edge, the second single is the one that can be the drivetime anthem or whatever. That seems the logical plot.

First off, a tremendous and very worthwhile London gig to plug next month. A Requiem For Jack Rose takes place at Café Oto in Dalston on February 16, with a neat bill of Rose friends; Hush Arbors, Heather Leigh, Rick Tomlinson, Michael Flower Band and C Joynes. More details about the show here at No-Fi.

More 2010 goodness this week, kicking off with the fierce new jams from Voice Of The Seven Woods, newly renamed. A glut of stoner spacerock here, actually, with the new White Hills album and a real find, Carlton Melton (thanks, Simon), who record in a geodesic dome in Mendocino County.

Blood Red Shoes, Voice Of The Seven Woods, Dan Le Sac to play Huw Stephens' Lake Stage

Endless Boogie, The Cairo Gang, Bill Mackay, Rick Tomlinson, Anthony Pasquarosa/John Moloney reviewed...

“Where the music’s hot…”

A few weeks ago, I received an email from America that mostly consisted of an encomium from Michael Gira on the subject of his newest signing to Young God, James Blackshaw. I’m more of an admirer than a fan of Gira’s music, and not all of the music on his label has worked for me; Akron/Family, for instance, after countless attempts remain mystifyingly unappealing.

A bit of shameless self-promotion today, since I’ve spent the past month or so selecting a bunch of tracks for a new CD which comes free with the new issue of Uncut, out this Thursday or thereabouts. Ostensibly, “Interstellar Overdrive” is a compilation of newish psych to coincide with our Pink Floyd cover story. Alternatively, though, it’s a bit like a Wild Mercury Sound playlist.

This week's playlist, then. Still no sign of the complete Bob Dylan album, I'm afraid, though compensation of sorts comes from The Grateful Dead's "Rocking The Cradle", which proves that their 1978 shows by the pyramids in Egypt weren't quite as shabby as myth has suggested. "Fire On The Mountain" and "Shakedown Street", in particular, are strong enough to make me want to re-evaluate that late '70s studio stuff.