Page 299 – UNCUT

10cc on ‘Rubber Bullets’: “It didn’t make any sense, but it worked”

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20th January 2017

10cc on ‘Rubber Bullets’: “It didn’t make any sense, but it worked”

How four Manchester studio obsessives created their very own sonic playground and in the process came up with the band’s first, somewhat controversial, No 1 hit… Words: Tom Pinnock ________________________________ When the owners of a Stockport hi-fi shop turfed out their upstairs tenants in 1...

How four Manchester studio obsessives created their very own sonic playground and in the process came up with the band’s first, somewhat controversial, No 1 hit… Words: Tom Pinnock

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When the owners of a Stockport hi-fi shop turfed out their upstairs tenants in 1968, they unwittingly created one of the coming decade’s most inventive British pop groups.

“I had some finance behind me then,” remembers former Mindbender Eric Stewart, who regularly used Inter-City Studios, located on the floor above the shop, to record demos. “I said, ‘Let’s start a new studio. A proper professional studio.’ We found a lovely office building and built a really serious studio, control room and offices, and that was Strawberry Studios.”

Strawberry allowed Stewart, collaborator Graham Gouldman and anarchic former art students Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – all talented singers and songwriters – to submerge themselves in writing and recording, without time restrictions or outside interference from labels, producers or engineers.

“We were carrying on in The Beatles’ tradition of experimentation,” says Gouldman. “Without Strawberry, there would have been no 10cc.”

While 10cc’s debut single “Donna”, a charming doo-wop pastiche, reached No 2 in the UK charts in late ’72, the failure of follow-up “Johnny Don’t Do It” made it clear to the quartet that they couldn’t rely on pastiche or formula. From then on, anything went so long as it excited its creators. “We were all quite eager to find new ways of doing things,” adds Stewart, “and we were picking up stuff from The Beach Boys and Steely Dan. We wanted to do something different.”

The public seemed to approve, with “Rubber Bullets” – its frantic rock’n’roll seasoned with Beach Boys harmonies, wry and controversial lyrics inspired by James Cagney movies, and acidic lead guitar – reaching the top of the UK charts in June 1973. It would be the first of a trio of chart-topping hits for the band across the decade, each one primarily sung by a different member of the group: “Rubber Bullets” by Creme, “I’m Not In Love” by Stewart, and “Dreadlock Holiday” by Gouldman.

“It was an open playing field back then,” recalls Kevin Godley. “It was a wonderful time to be making music. We were never precious about who did what. There was no ego involved. It was about getting an extraordinary finished result.”

Arcade Fire unveil new song featuring Mavis Staples – listen

News

Tom Pinnock

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20th January 2017

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Arcade Fire unveil new song featuring Mavis Staples – listen

Arcade Fire have unveiled a new song, featuring veteran soul singer Mavis Staples. "I Give You Power" is the first release from the group since 2015's "The Reflektor Tapes" EP, and all proceeds from the track – released, of course, the day before Donald Trump's inauguration as President – will ...

Arcade Fire have unveiled a new song, featuring veteran soul singer Mavis Staples.

“I Give You Power” is the first release from the group since 2015’s “The Reflektor Tapes” EP, and all proceeds from the track – released, of course, the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration as President – will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union.

“It’s never been more important that we stick together & take care of each other,” said the group in a tweet signed Arcade Fire and Mavis Staples.

The song is not expected to be included on the band’s upcoming fifth album, which is rumoured to be released sometime in the spring. Their last full-length release was 2013’s Reflektor.

You can hear “I Give You Power” below:

The March 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on The 101 Weirdest Albums Of All Time. Elsewhere in the issue, Ryan Adams tells us about his new album, Greg Lake (in one of his last interviews) remembers Emerson Lake & Palmer, and our free CD collects great new tracks from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Duke Garwood, The Necks and more. The issue also features Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle on his best recorded work. Plus Michael Chapman, Buzzcocks, Rick Parfitt, Paul Weller & Robert Wyatt, John Waters, St Paul & The Broken Bones, Tinariwen, Dirty Projectors, Cream, Lift To Experience, New Order and more, plus 131 reviews

Howe Gelb – Future Standards

Rob Hughes

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20th January 2017

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Intentional or not, Howe Gelb has found himself confronted with his own musical legacy in recent times. A strange situation, perhaps, for someone who’s spent so much of his life busying himself with the present, be it as captain of Giant Sand, The Band Of Blacky Ranchette, various spin-off project...

Intentional or not, Howe Gelb has found himself confronted with his own musical legacy in recent times. A strange situation, perhaps, for someone who’s spent so much of his life busying himself with the present, be it as captain of Giant Sand, The Band Of Blacky Ranchette, various spin-off projects or as a solo artist. 2015’s Heartbreak Pass coincided with the 30th anniversary of Giant Sand’s debut, Valley Of Rain, which itself followed a mammoth boxset and reissue campaign.

In his own inimitable way, Gelb untied the bunting from the party celebrations by declaring that “between the exponential cubed expansion of the band to the sheer audacity of its three-decade lifespan, Giant Sand are now dead.” As if to emphasise the point, he’s swiftly returned to his solo career and made Future Standards, a jazz-blues album that serves as an attempt to write more songs that might last through the ages. It’s a mostly minimal affair, Gelb either alone at the piano or joined by guest vocalist Lonna Kelley, with a thin smatter of double bass and brushed drums. And while the subject matter (romantic love) may be familiar territory for a bunch of tunes designed for warm brandy and candlelight, Gelb’s take on things is reassuringly leftfield. It’s doubtful, for example, whether Hoagy Carmichael may have ever considered framing a ballad with the lines, “Clarity, considered a rarity/Hitherto these parts around here,” as Gelb does on “Clear”. Or, as with the more cynical “May You Never Fall In Love”, urged us to “Let the others spend all their whiling/Contemplating the apropos.”

Gelb’s long-held fascination with words, particularly the way certain ones rub up against one another or encourage an allusive phrase, usually stretched over an odd meter, is a joy throughout. As is his deceptive way with a graceful melody, his drowsy voice slips through these songs like smoke. Future Standards is both an intimate, low-key experience and a highly welcome new detour.

The February 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on Leonard Cohen. Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the 50 Great Modern Protest Songs and our free CD collects 15 of the very best, featuring Ry Cooder, Jarvis Cocker, Roy Harper, Father John Misty, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Richard Thompson. The issue also features our essential preview of the key albums for 2017, including Roger Waters, Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, The Jesus And Mary Chain, the Waterboys and more. Plus Leon Russell, Mike Oldfield, Ty Segall, Tift Merritt, David Bowie, Japandroids, The Doors, Flaming Lips, Wilco, The XX, Grateful Dead, Mark Eitzel and more plus 139 reviews

Ultimate Music Guide: Leonard Cohen

Charlotte Treadaway

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19th January 2017

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“You'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm gone…” Leonard Cohen, rock’s poet laureate, is the subject of the latest edition of Uncut’s Ultimate Music Guides, a series of in-depth magazines that provide definitive overviews of the greatest musicians of the past 60 years. Full of interv...

“You’ll be hearing from me baby, long after I’m gone…” Leonard Cohen, rock’s poet laureate, is the subject of the latest edition of Uncut’s Ultimate Music Guides, a series of in-depth magazines that provide definitive overviews of the greatest musicians of the past 60 years. Full of interviews from the archives of NME, Melody Maker and Uncut, many unseen for decades, the Ultimate Music Guide to Leonard Cohen tells the complete story of a major artist ruefully trying to make some sense of the mysteries of life and love; trying to persevere on a quest towards transcendence, with caveats. Alongside the rich quotes from Cohen himself, you’ll also find in-depth new reviews of every album, book and volume of poetry. What emerges is a complete portrait of a man who started and finished his career as too old for this sort of thing, by most measures, but whose maturity and poetic insight enabled him to loom, benignly, over nearly every single one of his peers. He’s your man.

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The Best of 1970s New Musical Express

Charlotte Treadaway

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19th January 2017

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Following our first rewarding trip into the NME archives, The Best Of The 1970s is another essential collection of incredible stories from the back pages of Britain’s premier music paper. This second edition of our classic NME interviews series travels covers glam upstarts, stadium giants and pun...

Following our first rewarding trip into the NME archives, The Best Of The 1970s is another essential collection of incredible stories from the back pages of Britain’s premier music paper.

This second edition of our classic NME interviews series travels covers glam upstarts, stadium giants and punk revolutionaries. Don’t miss a boisterous session with Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop; on the road adventures with Springsteen, Led Zeppelin and Bob Marley; a studio visit to see Queen perfect “Bohemian Rhapsody”; and some wild tales from the early days of punk… Would you trust Sid Vicious as a babysitter?

Relive it all with The NME Interviews: The Best Of The 1970s.

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Deluxe Ultimate Music Guide: Bob Dylan

Charlotte Treadaway

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19th January 2017

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Fear. Mystery. Confusion. Awe. The magnetic strangeness of Bob Dylan has dominated our world for well over half a century, casting a long shadow over most everyone who has followed in his wake. Now, in the wake of him being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, we’ve revisited, upgraded and expa...

Fear. Mystery. Confusion. Awe. The magnetic strangeness of Bob Dylan has dominated our world for well over half a century, casting a long shadow over most everyone who has followed in his wake. Now, in the wake of him being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, we’ve revisited, upgraded and expanded our Ultimate Music Guide to Dylan. Over 148 pages, we pursue rock’s most capricious and elusive genius through the back pages of NME, Melody Maker and Uncut, revisiting precious time spent with Dylan over the years: from a relative innocent in a Mayfair hotel room, complaining about how, already, “people pick me apart”; to a verbose prophet of Armageddon revealing, with deadly intent, “Satan’s working everywhere!” To complement these archive reports, you’ll also find in-depth pieces on all 37 of Dylan’s storied albums, from 1962’s Bob Dylan to this year’s Fallen Angels; 37 valiant, insightful attempts to unpick a lifetime of unparalleled creativity, in which the rich history, sounds and stories of America have been transformed, again and again, into something radical and new. In which Dylan has revolutionised our culture, several times, more or less single-handedly.

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Deluxe Ultimate Music Guide: John Lennon

Charlotte Treadaway

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19th January 2017

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Deluxe Ultimate Music Guide: John Lennon

Gimme some truth! Uncut's latest Ultimate Music Guide is a deluxe and upgraded edition dedicated to John Lennon. Thirty-six years on from his death, we've revisited the volatile and compelling interviews Lennon gave to the NME and Melody Maker through the 1970s, thrown in poignant reminiscences from...

Gimme some truth! Uncut’s latest Ultimate Music Guide is a deluxe and upgraded edition dedicated to John Lennon. Thirty-six years on from his death, we’ve revisited the volatile and compelling interviews Lennon gave to the NME and Melody Maker through the 1970s, thrown in poignant reminiscences from Yoko Ono, and mixed in in-depth reviews of every one of his solo recordings. Filled with rare photographs and fan-friendly detail, the Ultimate Music Guide is an essential addition to any Lennon library.

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Bruce Springsteen plays private farewell gig for Barack Obama

News

Tom Pinnock

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19th January 2017

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Bruce Springsteen plays private farewell gig for Barack Obama

Bruce Springsteen has played a private acoustic set for Barack Obama and his staff at the White House. According to Springsteen fansite Backstreets, via The Guardian, The Boss performed 15 songs for around 200 people last week (January 12), showcasing a career-spanning set of material. After a sho...

Bruce Springsteen has played a private acoustic set for Barack Obama and his staff at the White House.

According to Springsteen fansite Backstreets, via The Guardian, The Boss performed 15 songs for around 200 people last week (January 12), showcasing a career-spanning set of material.

After a short reception, staff and guests were called into the East Room, where Barack and Michelle Obama entered from the Green Room, followed by Springsteen, who first thanked the outgoing President and his staff.

Much of his set was understated, with Backstreets’ correspondent writing: “The mood in the room the whole night — both reception and concert — was not exactly sombre, but it wasn’t festive, either. It was elegiac, I’d say. There was a clear sense of something ending, both with the conclusion of an adventure for the staff and the silent presence of the coming political transition. Bruce’s demeanour was definitely in line with that overall vibe.”

Later on, Springsteen was joined by his wife and E Street Band mate Patti Scialfa on “Tougher Than The Rest” and “If I Should Fall Behind”, before he ended with a melancholy take on Born In The USA‘s “Dancing In The Dark”, and Wrecking Ball‘s “Land Of Hope And Dreams”.

Bruce Springsteen played:

Working On The Highway
Growin’ Up
My Hometown
My Father’s House
The Wish
Thunder Road
The Promised Land
Born In The U.S.A.
Devils & Dust
Tougher Than the Rest (with Patti Scialfa)
If I Should Fall Behind (with Patti Scialfa)
The Ghost If Tom Joad
Long Walk Home
Dancing In The Dark
Land Of Hope And Dreams

The March 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on The 101 Weirdest Albums Of All Time. Elsewhere in the issue, Ryan Adams tells us about his new album, Greg Lake (in one of his last interviews) remembers Emerson Lake & Palmer, and our free CD collects great new tracks from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Duke Garwood, The Necks and more. The issue also features Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle on his best recorded work. Plus Michael Chapman, Buzzcocks, Rick Parfitt, Paul Weller & Robert Wyatt, John Waters, St Paul & The Broken Bones, Tinariwen, Dirty Projectors, Cream, Lift To Experience, New Order and more, plus 131 reviews

Robert Plant to appear on new Fairport Convention album

News

Tom Pinnock

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18th January 2017

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Robert Plant to appear on new Fairport Convention album

Fairport Convention will release a new album to celebrate their 50th anniversary, featuring guest vocals from Robert Plant. The singer joins Pentangle vocalist Jacqui McShee on the record, titled 50:50@50 and tentatively set for release in May. It will consist of both new studio recordings and live...

Fairport Convention will release a new album to celebrate their 50th anniversary, featuring guest vocals from Robert Plant.

The singer joins Pentangle vocalist Jacqui McShee on the record, titled 50:50@50 and tentatively set for release in May. It will consist of both new studio recordings and live favourites.

Plant has collaborated with Fairport Convention before, including joining them onstage at their Cropredy festival in 1986 and 2008, at the latter performing a version of Led Zeppelin‘s “The Battle Of Evermore”, which originally featured Fairport’s Sandy Denny on vocals.

Fairport – whose lineup since 1998 has comprised co-founder Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg, Ric Sanders, Chris Leslie and Gerry Conway – will also perform at London’s Union Chapel on May 27, 50 years to the day since the group’s first ever live performance.

The group will tour in January, and then in May, before they hold their Cropredy event in Oxfordshire in August.

Fairport Convention’s last album was 2015’s Myths And Heroes.

The February 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on Leonard Cohen. Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the 50 Great Modern Protest Songs and our free CD collects 15 of the very best, featuring Ry Cooder, Jarvis Cocker, Roy Harper, Father John Misty, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Richard Thompson. The issue also features our essential preview of the key albums for 2017, including Roger Waters, Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, The Jesus And Mary Chain, the Waterboys and more. Plus Leon Russell, Mike Oldfield, Ty Segall, Tift Merritt, David Bowie, Japandroids, The Doors, Flaming Lips, Wilco, The XX, Grateful Dead, Mark Eitzel and more plus 139 reviews

The Third Uncut Playlist Of 2017

John Mulvey

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18th January 2017

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A quick reminder before we get stuck in that the new issue of Uncut is on sale in the UK tomorrow: full details here; subscribers might well have their copies already. Another good week for new arrivals, anyhow. Unfortunately I don’t have anything to play you from the excellent new Arbouretum, Jo...

A quick reminder before we get stuck in that the new issue of Uncut is on sale in the UK tomorrow: full details here; subscribers might well have their copies already.

Another good week for new arrivals, anyhow. Unfortunately I don’t have anything to play you from the excellent new Arbouretum, Joan Shelley and Wooden Wand albums as yet. Nevertheless, please try: Glenn Kotche and Darin Gray’s On Fillmore project; the unexpected return of Chavez (I was delighted to learn Clay Tarver is now productively employed as a writer on Silicon Valley); an early ‘70s find from Curtiss Maldoon, that I came across when watching Orange Sunshine, a good documentary about the idealistic LSD kingpins The Brotherhood Of Eternal Love; post-Labradford operatives Anjou, whose new album materialised literally hours after I went on a Twitter-induced Labradford binge; Ron Gallo, who’s fun; and a track from that really strong new Brokeback set. Lots more here, too; as ever, dig in…

Follow me on Twitter @JohnRMulvey

1 On Fillmore – Happiness Of Living (Northern Spy)

2 Chavez – Cockfighters (Matador)

3 Wooden Wand – Clipper Ship (Three Lobed Recordings)

4 Brent Cobb – Shine On Rainy Day (Atlantic)

5 Ron Gallo – Heavy Meta (New West)

6 Anjou – Epithymia (Kranky)

7 Curtiss Maldoon – Man From Afghanistan (Cherry Red)

8 Mike Collins – Lost Tapes 1983 – 1989 (Mic Records)

9 Bargou 08 – Targ (Glitterbeat)

10 Various Artists – Studio One Rocksteady Volume 2 (Soul Jazz)

11 Children Of Alice – Children Of Alice (Warp)

12 Ibibio Sound Machine – Uyai (Merge)

13 Lydia Ainsworth – Darling Of The Afterglow (Arbutus/Bella Union)

14 Brokeback – Illinois River Valley Blues (Thrill Jockey)

15 Arbouretum – Song Of The Rose (Thrill Jockey)

16 Grandaddy – Evermore (30th Century Records)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX34Qhmto0Y

17 Joan Shelley – Joan Shelley (No Quarter)

18 Samantha Crain – You Had Me At Goodbye (Full Time Hobby)

19 Bardo Pond – Under The Pines (Fire)

20 Nadia Reid – Preservation (Basin Rock)

21 Hurray For The Riff Raff – The Navigator (ATO)

22 Tamikrest – Kidal (Glitterbeat)

23 Spoon – Hot Thoughts (Matador)

24 Brian Eno – Reflection (Warp)

25 Elliott Smith – Either/Or: Expanded Edition (Kill Rock Stars)

26 Jesus And Mary Chain – Damage And Joy (Warner Bros)

Radiohead announce US live dates

News

Tom Pinnock

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18th January 2017

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Radiohead have announced live dates in the US, to coincide with their performances at California's Coachella in April. The five-piece, presumably joined by additional live drummer Clive Deamer, will start the dates at Miami's American Airlines Arena on March 3, before heading to Georgia, Washington...

Radiohead have announced live dates in the US, to coincide with their performances at California’s Coachella in April.

The five-piece, presumably joined by additional live drummer Clive Deamer, will start the dates at Miami’s American Airlines Arena on March 3, before heading to Georgia, Washington, Oregon and other states over the next two months, including two nights at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre on April 17-18.

Radiohead are confirmed to headline this year’s Glastonbury festival, and will also perform at festivals including Denmark’s Northside (June 11), Holland’s Best Kept Secret (June 18), Belgium’s Rock Werchter (June 30) and France’s Main Square (July 2).

The band released their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool, on May 8 last year.

In the US, Radiohead will perform at:

Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena (March 3)
Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena (April 1)
New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center (3)
Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center (5)
Seattle, WA – Key Arena (8)
Portland, OR – Moda Center (9)
Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl (11)
Indio, CA – Coachella (14)
Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre (17-18)
Indio, CA – Coachella (21)

In other news, Roger Waters recently previewed his new album, produced by longtime Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich.

The February 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on Leonard Cohen. Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the 50 Great Modern Protest Songs and our free CD collects 15 of the very best, featuring Ry Cooder, Jarvis Cocker, Roy Harper, Father John Misty, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Richard Thompson. The issue also features our essential preview of the key albums for 2017, including Roger Waters, Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, The Jesus And Mary Chain, the Waterboys and more. Plus Leon Russell, Mike Oldfield, Ty Segall, Tift Merritt, David Bowie, Japandroids, The Doors, Flaming Lips, Wilco, The XX, Grateful Dead, Mark Eitzel and more plus 139 reviews

Uncut: the past, present and future of great music.

William Onyeabor dies aged 70

News

Tom Pinnock

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18th January 2017

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William Onyeabor has died at home in Nigeria, aged 70, according to his label Luaka Bop. The Nigerian synth-funk musician recorded nine albums between 1977 and 1985, but found international fame with the 2013 compilation Who Is William Onyeabor?. Also a successful businessman, awarded West African...

William Onyeabor has died at home in Nigeria, aged 70, according to his label Luaka Bop.

The Nigerian synth-funk musician recorded nine albums between 1977 and 1985, but found international fame with the 2013 compilation Who Is William Onyeabor?.

Also a successful businessman, awarded West African Industrialist Of The Year in the late ’80s, Onyeabor produced and pressed his own records at his own pressing plant, Wilfilms Limited. Quitting music, however, Onyeabor found religion and thereafter widely refused any interview requests about his recordings, even after the release of Who Is William Onyeabor?, 2014 covers and remix album What?! and boxsets of his entire work.

In 2014, Damon Albarn assembled a group to perform Onyeabor’s music live – guests included Luaka Bob head David Byrne, Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, LCD Soundsystem’s Pat Mahoney, Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, Money Mark and The Lijadu Sisters – while a documentary, Fantastic Man, also surfaced that same year.

Onyeabor died at his home in Enugu, Nigeria on January 16, following a short illness.

The February 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on Leonard Cohen. Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the 50 Great Modern Protest Songs and our free CD collects 15 of the very best, featuring Ry Cooder, Jarvis Cocker, Roy Harper, Father John Misty, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Richard Thompson. The issue also features our essential preview of the key albums for 2017, including Roger Waters, Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, The Jesus And Mary Chain, the Waterboys and more. Plus Leon Russell, Mike Oldfield, Ty Segall, Tift Merritt, David Bowie, Japandroids, The Doors, Flaming Lips, Wilco, The XX, Grateful Dead, Mark Eitzel and more plus 139 reviews

Terry Dolan – Terry Dolan

Wyndham Wallace

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18th January 2017

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When Terry Dolan died in 2012, he was still awaiting the release of his debut album, recorded 40 years earlier. A folk singer who’d gravitated west from his Connecticut birthplace to arrive, aged 21, in San Francisco, he’d spent six years performing in the Bay Area when Warner Bros signed him in...

When Terry Dolan died in 2012, he was still awaiting the release of his debut album, recorded 40 years earlier. A folk singer who’d gravitated west from his Connecticut birthplace to arrive, aged 21, in San Francisco, he’d spent six years performing in the Bay Area when Warner Bros signed him in 1971 on the back of a demo, “Inlaws And Outlaws”. Already a local radio favourite, this shuffling, slow-paced but impassioned – and commercially unavailable – number recalled David Crosby’s “Cowboy Movie” from the same year’s If I Could Only Remember My Name. It merged Dolan’s hippy roots with a more muscular sound he’d developed while substituting his 12-string acoustic with an electric guitar for opening slots with local live heroes, Country Weather.

Warners’ catalyst was producer Nicky Hopkins, an ex-pat Brit whose dazzling keyboard skills had earned him work in The Rolling Stones’ touring band. His departure, one month into recording, to focus on Exile On Main Street was most likely the reason Warners shelved the project. The label’s callous, unjustified choice was crueller still given that Dolan overcame this catastrophic development, bringing in another English producer, Pete Sears, Rod Stewart’s bassist and keyboard player. Together, they cut a further four tracks, perfectly matching – albeit with greater emphasis on piano – the sound of Hopkins’ work.

Dolan, Hopkins and friend Greg Douglass, Country Weather’s guitarist, had originally amassed some of the region’s finest players, including John Cipollina (Quicksilver Messenger Service) on lead guitar, Lonnie Turner (The Steve Miller Band) on bass, and The Tubes’ Prairie Prince on drums). “Inlaws…” was now brim-full of bottleneck guitar solos and Hopkins’ wild piano lines, while its rousing chorus – “Living my life, free!” – was additionally vitalised by the unknown Pointer Sisters, who added a devotional, gospel dimension. They also elevated the riotous Aquarian anthem, “Rainbows”, and enhanced the sweet sentiment behind “Angie”, written for Dolan’s wife and delivered with a laidback serenity Tim Buckley would mine on 1974’s Look At The Fool.

Six months later, Dolan and Douglass reconvened with Sears and a second stellar lineup to complete the ill-fated collection. Neal Schon, later to co-found Journey, contributes vital, bluesy guitar on “Purple An Blonde” – though Dolan’s robust vocals nonetheless dominate – while Tower Of Power’s Mic Gillette provides sublimely muted French horn on a heartfelt cover of JJ Cale’s “Magnolia”. “Burgundy Blues” may feel desultory in comparison, but even closer “To Be For You”’s 75 seconds ache with a transcendent, wistful longing redolent of Neil Young’s After The Gold Rush.

Tragically, Dolan was crushed by Warner’s actions, and rarely made it beyond America with his subsequent band, Terry & The Pirates. Four decades on, however, his neglected folk-rock classic serves as a long overdue, stirring eulogy. As Dolan himself sings, “See what your love can do?”

Extras 7/10: Detailed 28-page booklet, including exhaustive interviews; six outtakes.

The February 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on Leonard Cohen. Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the 50 Great Modern Protest Songs and our free CD collects 15 of the very best, featuring Ry Cooder, Jarvis Cocker, Roy Harper, Father John Misty, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Richard Thompson. The issue also features our essential preview of the key albums for 2017, including Roger Waters, Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, The Jesus And Mary Chain, the Waterboys and more. Plus Leon Russell, Mike Oldfield, Ty Segall, Tift Merritt, David Bowie, Japandroids, The Doors, Flaming Lips, Wilco, The XX, Grateful Dead, Mark Eitzel and more plus 139 reviews

March 2017

Jo Weakley

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17th January 2017

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The 101 Weirdest Albums, Ryan Adams, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Grandaddy all feature in the issue of Uncut, dated March 2017, and out on January 19. Uncut's list of the 101 Weirdest Albums Of All Time is on the cover, and inside we uncover the strangest albums ever created, from Lucifer, The Sh...

The 101 Weirdest Albums, Ryan Adams, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Grandaddy all feature in the issue of Uncut, dated March 2017, and out on January 19.

Uncut‘s list of the 101 Weirdest Albums Of All Time is on the cover, and inside we uncover the strangest albums ever created, from Lucifer, The Shaggs and Magma to Sonic Youth, Pink Floyd and The Beatles.

“Chaos is the operative word,” writes Rob Mitchum of our Number One spot, “as the rapid-fire songs follow dream logic and pull ears in opposing directions: whimsical and depraved, polished and crude, lush and abrasive, hard rock and showtunes…”

Elsewhere in the issue, Ryan Adams reflects on the latest chapter of his extraordinary career, and his new album, Prisoner. ““I should’ve been having a really horrible time,” he tells Uncut of this most unusual divorce album, “but instead I was having the best time!”

In one of his last ever interviews, the late Greg Lake, along with Carl Palmer and manager Stewart Young tells Uncut the full story of Emerson Lake & Palmer‘s “Fanfare For The Common Man”, from jamming around one microphone in Switzerland to touring – and then having to dismiss – an entire orchestra.

Grandaddy mainman Jason Lytle also takes us through his finest recorded works, explaining how he wrote and recorded albums such as The Sophtware Slump, Under The Western Freeway, Sumday and the band’s new record, Last Place. “I wanted to avoid being the manager of a McDonald’s more than anything else,” he says.

Four decades after the “Spiral Scratch” EP, the Buzzcocks recall their punk-rock revolution, while John Waters looks back on an eventful life: “I guess I’m the Bob Hope of punk,” he says. “I always felt more comfortable in the punk world even than in the gay world – the punk world was always downright gay, anyway.”

Uncut also heads up to the wilds of Northumberland to hear all about Michael Chapman‘s 50 years as a professional musician. The restless maverick’s story takes in everything from a rock’n’roll band dressed as teddy bears to the Black Panthers, with walk-on parts for Mick Ronson, John Martyn, Nick Drake and ELP. “I have,” he admits, “a very low boredom threshold…”

Also in the issue, Uncut pays tribute to Status Quo‘s Rick Parfitt, alongside George Michael, Greg Lake and The Beatles’ first manager Allan Williams, while St Paul & The Broken Bones reveal their music that has shaped their lives.

Our mammoth reviews section looks at new albums from Tinariwen, Dirty Projectors, Strand Of Oaks, Son Volt and Rhiannon Giddens, and archive releases from the likes of Lift To Experience, Cream and New Order, while we also check out DVDs and films on Ray Davies and Arcade Fire, and the latest books. In our live section, we check out Paul Weller and Robert Wyatt, out of retirement for a benefit show.

This issue’s free CD, Tune In!, includes great new tracks from Six Organs Of Admittance, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Duke Garwood, Tim Darcy, The Necks, Strand Of Oaks, Tinariwen and Jens Lekman.

The new Uncut is out on January 19.

George Harrison’s albums to be released in a vinyl boxset

News

Tom Pinnock

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17th January 2017

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George Harrison’s albums to be released in a vinyl boxset

George Harrison's entire solo career is to be collected in a new vinyl boxset. Comprising all 12 of the Beatle's solo albums, George Harrison: The Vinyl Collection also includes 1992's Live In Japan and 12" picture discs of singles "When We Was Fab” and “Got My Mind Set On You". All Things Mus...

George Harrison‘s entire solo career is to be collected in a new vinyl boxset.

Comprising all 12 of the Beatle’s solo albums, George Harrison: The Vinyl Collection also includes 1992’s Live In Japan and 12″ picture discs of singles “When We Was Fab” and “Got My Mind Set On You”.

All Things Must Pass (1970) is present in its original 3LP format, alongside the first solo album to be released by a Beatle, 1968’s Wonderwall Music, also the first Apple Records release. The boxset ends with 2002’s posthumously released Brainwashed.

The Vinyl Collection is released on February 21, the same day as a new edition of Harrison’s autobiography, I Me Mine.

The February 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on Leonard Cohen. Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the 50 Great Modern Protest Songs and our free CD collects 15 of the very best, featuring Ry Cooder, Jarvis Cocker, Roy Harper, Father John Misty, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Richard Thompson. The issue also features our essential preview of the key albums for 2017, including Roger Waters, Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, The Jesus And Mary Chain, the Waterboys and more. Plus Leon Russell, Mike Oldfield, Ty Segall, Tift Merritt, David Bowie, Japandroids, The Doors, Flaming Lips, Wilco, The XX, Grateful Dead, Mark Eitzel and more plus 139 reviews

Rick Wakeman reveals he played piano on David Bowie’s “Oh! You Pretty Things”

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Tom Pinnock

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17th January 2017

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Rick Wakeman reveals he played piano on David Bowie’s “Oh! You Pretty Things”

Rick Wakeman has claimed that he played some of the piano on David Bowie's "Oh! You Pretty Things". Although it's known that the keyboardist played on other Hunky Dory cuts such as "Life On Mars", "Quicksand" and "Changes", it was always believed that Bowie himself played on the album's second trac...

Rick Wakeman has claimed that he played some of the piano on David Bowie‘s “Oh! You Pretty Things”.

Although it’s known that the keyboardist played on other Hunky Dory cuts such as “Life On Mars”, “Quicksand” and “Changes”, it was always believed that Bowie himself played on the album’s second track.

Speaking to Danny Baker on BBC Radio 5 Live, Wakeman said: “That is me [playing]. David wanted it to be very simple but, if I remember rightly, he kept cocking up the little riff. He did a few bits of it and I did the rest. He did the beginning.”

Hunky Dory, Bowie’s fourth album, was released in December 1971, and featured the singles “Changes” and “Life On Mars”. “Oh! You Pretty Things” was written by Bowie, but originally performed by Peter Noone, whose version charted in the UK Top 20 in mid-1971.

The February 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our cover story on Leonard Cohen. Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the 50 Great Modern Protest Songs and our free CD collects 15 of the very best, featuring Ry Cooder, Jarvis Cocker, Roy Harper, Father John Misty, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Richard Thompson. The issue also features our essential preview of the key albums for 2017, including Roger Waters, Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, The Jesus And Mary Chain, the Waterboys and more. Plus Leon Russell, Mike Oldfield, Ty Segall, Tift Merritt, David Bowie, Japandroids, The Doors, Flaming Lips, Wilco, The XX, Grateful Dead, Mark Eitzel and more plus 139 reviews

This month in Uncut

News

Tom Pinnock

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17th January 2017

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The 101 Weirdest Albums, Ryan Adams, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Grandaddy all feature in the issue of Uncut, dated March 2017, and out now. Uncut's list of the 101 Weirdest Albums Of All Time is on the cover, and inside we uncover the strangest albums ever created, from Lucifer, The Shaggs and M...

The 101 Weirdest Albums, Ryan Adams, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Grandaddy all feature in the issue of Uncut, dated March 2017, and out now.