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Hear Tom Waits cover Blind Willie Johnson’s “The Soul Of A Man”

Michael Bonner
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Hear Tom Waits cover Blind Willie Johnson’s “The Soul Of A Man”
Tom Waits has recorded two songs for a new compilation, God Don’t Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson. Waits covered "The Soul Of A Man" and "John The Revelator", which were both originally recorded by Johnson in 1930. You can hear "The Soul Of A Man" below. https://soundcloud.com/a...

Tom Waits has recorded two songs for a new compilation, God Don’t Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson.

Waits covered “The Soul Of A Man” and “John The Revelator“, which were both originally recorded by Johnson in 1930.

You can hear “The Soul Of A Man” below.

Elsewhere on the album, Lucinda Williams has recorded versions of “It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine” and “God Don’t Never Change”, Cowboy Junkies have tackled “Jesus is Coming Soon”, Sinéad O’Connor has recorded “Trouble Will Soon Be Over” and Rickie Lee Jones’ “Dark Was the Night-Cold Was the Ground”.

God Don’t Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson is out through Alligator Records on February 26.

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Bone Tomahawk

Michael Bonner
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Bone Tomahawk
Kurt Russell has been busy lately. First, he enjoyed a starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s snow-bound Western, The Hateful Eight. Russell also stars in writer and director S Craig Zahler’s film: a horror Western, which finds Russell’s bewhiskered frontier sheriff up against a clan of cave-dwe...

Kurt Russell has been busy lately. First, he enjoyed a starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s snow-bound Western, The Hateful Eight. Russell also stars in writer and director S Craig Zahler’s film: a horror Western, which finds Russell’s bewhiskered frontier sheriff up against a clan of cave-dwelling cannibal Indians.

Bone Tomahawk is perhaps not quite as crazy as the words ‘cannibal Western starring Kurt Russell’ might otherwise imply. Zahler’s film is well-crafted and leisurely paced, shot through with wry, wintry humour. The film is set in the quiet town of Bright Home (“Do you want some coffee?”, “No reason to stay up”), where most of the able-bodied men are absent on a cattle drive. Following a grisly murder and abduction, Russell’s sheriff Franklin Hunt and his “back-up deputy” (Richard Jenkins) lead a small posse after the culprits.

Zahler moves patiently through the first half of the film, allowing his characters to play off against one another before events slip into darker, more gruesome business. Zahler – a novelist making his feature debut – clearly enjoys his characters’ lengthy, digressive conversations. The sudden, queasy lurch into horror isn’t entirely successful: it is as if Zahler has bolted The Hills Have Eyes on to the end of The Searchers.

But the performances at least are strong – in particular Russell’s quiet, authoritative sheriff and Jenkins as his amiable sidekick. Although not wholly successful, Bone Tomahawk is nevertheless the latest example of the quiet renaissance that Westerns have enjoyed over the past few years – Blackthorn, Meek’s Cutoff, The Salvation and Slow West among them.

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

George Harrison to appear on Eric Clapton’s new album

Michael Bonner
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George Harrison to appear on Eric Clapton’s new album
Eric Clapton is to release his new studio album, I Still Do, in the spring. The the album has been produced by Glyn Johns, who previously worked on Clapton's 1977 album, Slowhand. "This was a long and overdue opportunity to work with Glyn Johns again, and also, incidentally, the 40th anniversary o...

Eric Clapton is to release his new studio album, I Still Do, in the spring.

The the album has been produced by Glyn Johns, who previously worked on Clapton’s 1977 album, Slowhand.

“This was a long and overdue opportunity to work with Glyn Johns again, and also, incidentally, the 40th anniversary of Slowhand,” Clapton said in a statement.

The new record is due on on May 20 via Clapton’s own Bushbranch imprint, in association with Surfdog Records.

The cover art for I Still Do is a portrait of Clapton painted by Peter Blake.

Meanwhile, the credits for the album listed on Clapton’s website list ‘Angelo Mysterioso – Acoustic Guitar & Vocals on “I Will Be There”’.

Mysterioso was the name used by George Harrison for his work on the song “Badge,” which he co-wrote with Clapton on Cream’s album, Goodbye.

The tracklisting for I Still Do is:

Alabama Woman Blues
Can’t Let You Do It
I Will Be There
Spiral
Catch The Blues
Cypress Grove
Little Man, You’ve Had a Busy Day
Stones In My Passway
I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine
I’ll Be Alright
Somebody’s Knockin’
I’ll Be Seeing You

The musicians on the album are:

Eric Clapton: Guitars, Tambourine & Vocals
Henry Spinetti: Drums & Percussion
Dave Bronze: Double Bass & Electric Bass
Andy Fairweather Low: Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals
Paul Carrack: Hammond Organ & Backing Vocals
Chris Stainton: Keyboards
Simon Climie: Keyboards, Electric & Acoustic Guitar
Dirk Powell – Accordion, Mandolin & Backing Vocals
Walt Richmond – Keyboards
Ethan Johns – Percussion
Michelle John – Background Vocals
Sharon White – Background Vocals
Angelo Mysterioso – Acoustic Guitar & Vocals on “I Will Be There”

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

“David exceeded his father’s dreams”: Bowie’s cousin writes letter about their childhood

Michael Bonner
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“David exceeded his father’s dreams”: Bowie’s cousin writes letter about their childhood
David Bowie's cousin has written a letter to The Economist, detailing their childhood together. Kristina Amadeus wrote to the Economist in response to their obituary of Bowie - in which they claimed that he "grew up as David Jones, a sharp-toothed kid from dull suburban Bromley whose parents held n...

David Bowie‘s cousin has written a letter to The Economist, detailing their childhood together.

Kristina Amadeus wrote to the Economist in response to their obituary of Bowie – in which they claimed that he “grew up as David Jones, a sharp-toothed kid from dull suburban Bromley whose parents held no aspirations for him.”

Headed ‘A Musical Child’, the letter ran:

“I was grateful for the insight and sensitivity in your obituary of David Bowie (January 16th). But it is not true that he ‘grew up as David Jones, a sharp-toothed kid from dull suburban Bromley whose parents held no aspirations for him’. David’s parents, especially his father, ‘John’ Jones, encouraged him from the time he was a toddler. His mother, Peggy, spoke often of our deceased grandfather, who was a bandmaster in the army and played many wind instruments. David’s first instruments, a plastic saxophone, a tin guitar and a xylophone, were given to him before he was an adolescent. He also owned a record player when few children had one.

“When he was 11 we danced like possessed elves to the records of Bill Haley, Fats Domino and Elvis Presley. David’s father took him to meet singers and other performers preparing for the Royal Variety Performance. I remember one afternoon in the late 1950s when David was introduced to Dave King, Alma Cogan and Tommy Steele. ‘My son is going to be an entertainer, too’ he said. ‘Aren’t you, David?’ ‘Yes, Daddy,’ David squeaked in his childish high-pitched voice, his face flushed and beaming with pride.

“Although Uncle John never lived to see David’s huge success, he was convinced it would become a reality. My beloved David fulfilled and exceeded all his father’s dreams.”

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts Of Highway 20

Rob Hughes
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Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts Of Highway 20
Interstate 20 slices through the Deep South like a blade, cutting eastwards from Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, before finally resting in South Carolina. It’s a route pitted with illustrious staging posts – Forth Worth, Shreveport, Jackson, Birmingham, Atlanta – and...

Interstate 20 slices through the Deep South like a blade, cutting eastwards from Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, before finally resting in South Carolina. It’s a route pitted with illustrious staging posts – Forth Worth, Shreveport, Jackson, Birmingham, Atlanta – and key historical sites from both the Civil War and the American Revolution. Most notably Kettle Creek, where British Loyalists were once booted out by a Patriot army half its size.

For Lucinda Williams, however, Interstate 20 carries a more personal significance. The daughter of poet and teaching professor Miller Williams, the peripatetic nature of her father’s job meant that she grew up in various towns that fringe the route, swapping state lines with steady regularity. If the South has always served as a fluid reference point throughout Williams’ music, rich with imagery and symbolism, this road was the fixed backdrop to her formative years. She’s already named her own label after it. Now the 62-year-old has devoted a record to this slap of tarmac, linking its stories to places along the way.

The Ghosts Of Highway 20 arrives just 16 months after Down Where The Spirit Meet The Bone, a rambling double opus that housed some of the most compelling songs of her career. Stemming from the same sessions, the new album strikes a similar musical tone at times – broody slow blues, witchy jazz cadences, a little humid country twang – but is perhaps less informed by Southern soul. Instead it’s more freely atmospheric, its textural mood set by the discreet interplay between guitarists Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz as much as the drowsy nuances of Williams’ extraordinary voice.

As with its predecessor, the album is co-produced by Williams, Leisz and Tom Overby (Williams’ other half). The heavyweight motifs haven’t changed much either: love, loyalty, salvation, mortality, resilience. But what is different is its autobiographical reach and candour. There are a lot of songs about death and memory and fortitude, her characters moving through these narratives with a resigned, stoic grace.

Some songs are almost too vivid to listen to. The nine-minute “Louisiana Story” begins with an idyllic memory of Southern childhood. Crickets tick in the warm summer stillness, ice-cream wagons trundle by, there’s a promise of sweet coffee milk. It’s not until the tale starts to unfurl, the music as languid and filmy as its Louisiana locale, that we’re given an insight into the darkness that lies beneath. The song’s subject is Williams’ mother, Lucille Day. Born to strict Methodist parents, Day Snr. was a hard-line minister. “Her daddy’s kind didn’t spare the rod/Blinded by the fear/And the wrath of God,” sings Williams in her slippery drawl. “He’d call her a sinner/Say you’re going to hell/Now finish your dinner/And tell ’em you fell.” Then we discover that “when the blood came/Her Mama told her she was unclean/And her mama would scold her.” It’s a devastating portrait of misery and castigation, compounded by Christian guilt. And one that suggests, given Lucille’s subsequent issues with depression and alcoholism (she died in 2004), that the scars never fully healed.

A similar sweltry feel pervades “If My Love Could Kill”, drummer Butch Norton beating a slow tattoo behind some muted Southern guitar. Williams rails against an invasive force that’s slowly destroying something she dearly loves, a “murderer of poets, murderer of songs”. It transpires that this is Alzheimer’s, which killed her father last January.

As you’ve probably surmised, The Ghosts Of Highway 20 is pretty tough going at times. Yet the beauty of Williams’ work lies in her rare gift for balancing content and design. “Death Came” is lightened by a lovely Western motif; the hulking guitar break on “Dust” finds an echo in the repeated urgency of Williams’ vocal; “Bitter Memory” is excised by a rousing burst of rockabilly that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Billy Lee Riley 45.

Williams closes the album with the largely improvised “Faith & Grace”, an extended plea for strength and forbearance. The implication being that, no matter what fate conspires to chuck at us, we are nothing without hope.

The Ghosts Of Highway 20 is vast, thoughtful and profound. Peopled by real and imagined souls who are haunted by sadness or seeking some kind of spiritual release. People trying to make sense of a past that never really leaves them alone; rather, it appears to only grow stronger with the passage of time. In this respect, it’s much like Lucinda Williams herself.

Q&A
How symbolic is Highway 20 for you?
I grew up travelling around everywhere when I was little, so that road was a big part of my childhood. I have a strong connection to the place, plus Highway 20 is in that region of the South where a lot of the old blues guys are from. It’s part of the whole thread that runs through American music.

Was “If Love Could Kill” a difficult song to write?
Yes, I wrote that about the Alzheimer’s that killed my dad. The initial inspiration came during one of the last times I was with him. He suddenly said, “I can’t write poetry anymore.” For him, it was like saying he could no longer walk or see. I just broke down and started sobbing. Sorry, I’m going to start crying again. [Pause] Anyway, later that night I wrote this ode to him that said it doesn’t matter if you can’t write anymore, because you (i)are(i) poetry.

I’m guessing that “Louisiana Story”, about your mum, was another emotional one…
This whole album might be too intense for people. When I finished that song I said to Tom [Overby, Williams’ husband]: “This one is so dark that I don’t know if we should put it out.” But I’m an artist first and foremost. I’m not an entertainer. I’ve always loved Leonard Cohen; he was a poet first, then a songwriter. He didn’t censor himself. Thinking about it, I’m probably more like a female version of him.
INTERVIEW: ROB HUGHES

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Ronnie Spector covers Beatles, Kinks, Rolling Stones on new album

Michael Bonner
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Ronnie Spector covers Beatles, Kinks, Rolling Stones on new album
Ronnie Spector has revealed details of her first new album since 2006. Called English Heart, the album features covers of songs made popular by British acts during the 1960s. Among them, "I'll Follow The Sun" (The Beatles), "I'd Much Rather Be with the Boys" (the Rolling Stones), "Tired Of Waiting...

Ronnie Spector has revealed details of her first new album since 2006.

Called English Heart, the album features covers of songs made popular by British acts during the 1960s.

Among them, “I’ll Follow The Sun” (The Beatles), “I’d Much Rather Be with the Boys” (the Rolling Stones), “Tired Of Waiting” (the Kinks) and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (the Animals).

“I’ll never forget my first impressions of England in that winter of ’64. I’d never traveled outside the U.S. before,” she said in a statement, quoted by Rolling Stone. “To arrive at Heathrow and be welcomed by those kids was an amazing feeling. We’d never had fans waiting at an airport to greet us.”

English Heart will be released on April 8.

The track listing is:
1. “Oh Me Oh My (I’m A Fool For You Baby)”
2. “Because”
3. “I’d Much Rather Be With The Girls”
4. “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying”
5. “Tired Of Waiting”
6. “Tell Her No”
7. “I’ll Follow The Sun”
8. “You’ve Got Your Troubles”
9. “Girl Don’t Come”
10. “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
11. “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Hear new Mavis Staples song written by Nick Cave

Michael Bonner
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Hear new Mavis Staples song written by Nick Cave
Mavis Staples has shared a new song, "Jesus Lay Down Beside Me", from her forthcoming album, Livin' On A High Note. The song has been written by Nick Cave: scroll down to hear it. Livin' On A High Note is due for release on February 19 via Anti-. It has been produced by M. Ward and aside from Cave...

Mavis Staples has shared a new song, “Jesus Lay Down Beside Me“, from her forthcoming album, Livin’ On A High Note.

The song has been written by Nick Cave: scroll down to hear it.

Livin’ On A High Note is due for release on February 19 via Anti-. It has been produced by M. Ward and aside from Cave’s song it also contains songs written for Staples by Justin Vernon and Neko Case.

“I’ve been singing my freedom songs and I wanted to stretch out and sing some songs that were new,” Mavis explained of ‘High Note’. “I told the writers I was looking for some joyful songs. I want to leave something to lift people up; I’m so busy making people cry, not from sadness, but I’m always telling a part of history that brought us down and I’m trying to bring us back up.”

The tracklist for Livin’ On A High Note is:

‘Take Us Back’ (Benjamin Booker)
‘Love And Trust’ (Ben Harper)
‘If It’s A Light’ (The Head and the Heart)
‘Action’ (tUnE-yArds)
‘High Note’ (Valerie June)
‘Don’t Cry’ (M. Ward)
‘Tomorrow’ (Aloe Blacc/John Batiste)
‘Dedicated’ (Justin Vernon/M.Ward)
‘History Now’ (Neko Case)
‘One Love’ (Son Little)
‘Jesus Lay Down Beside Me’ (Nick Cave)
‘MLK Song’ (M. Ward / Martin Luther King)

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

The Waterboys announce summer festival dates

Michael Bonner
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The Waterboys announce summer festival dates
The Waterboys have announced some festival dates for the summer. The band will play Wychwood Festival, which is held on Cheltenham racecourse on June 3 to 5. The bill also includes Peter Hook & The Light and Bill Bailey. You can find more information by clicking here. The Waterboys will play B...

The Waterboys have announced some festival dates for the summer.

The band will play Wychwood Festival, which is held on Cheltenham racecourse on June 3 to 5. The bill also includes Peter Hook & The Light and Bill Bailey. You can find more information by clicking here.

The Waterboys will play Bospop Festival in Weert, The Netherlands on Saturday, July 9; you can find more information by clicking here.

The band will also headline Killarney Folkfest at INEC Killarney on Sunday, July 10; you can find more information by clicking here.

On Thursday, July 28 they will headline Trollrock Festival at Beitostølen Ski Stadium in Beitostølen, Norway; you can find more information by clicking here.

Finally, so far, they will play the Mundaka Festival, Peninsula de Santa Katalina in Basque Country. The festival runs between Thursday, July 28 and Saturday, July 30. You can find more details by clicking here.

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Watch complete video of Beck and Nirvana members covering David Bowie

Michael Bonner
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Watch complete video of Beck and Nirvana members covering David Bowie
Beck, Dave Grohl, Krist Noveselic and Pat Smear paid tribute to David Bowie over the weekend by covering "The Man Who Sold The World". The performance took place at a pre-Grammys party hosted by producer Clive Davis on Saturday night (February 14, 2016). Previously, clips of the performance had ap...

Beck, Dave Grohl, Krist Noveselic and Pat Smear paid tribute to David Bowie over the weekend by covering “The Man Who Sold The World“.

The performance took place at a pre-Grammys party hosted by producer Clive Davis on Saturday night (February 14, 2016).

Previously, clips of the performance had appeared online; but now it is available to watch in its entirety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gkcqSDUhtU

Nirvana had previously covered the song during their MTV Unplugged in New York session in 1993.

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Heartworn Highways documentary gets 40th anniversary box set

Michael Bonner
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Heartworn Highways documentary gets 40th anniversary box set
Heartworn Highways, the 1976 documentary chronicling the rise of outlaw country, is to be reissued to coincide with its 40th anniversary. The film stars Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Steve Young, David Allan Coe, Larry Jon Wilson among others. The new box set includes a double LP of th...

Heartworn Highways, the 1976 documentary chronicling the rise of outlaw country, is to be reissued to coincide with its 40th anniversary.

The film stars Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Steve Young, David Allan Coe, Larry Jon Wilson among others.

The new box set includes a double LP of the film’s soundtrack on whiskey-colored vinyl, a DVD of the original film, a reproduction of the original movie poster, and an 80-page archival book featuring many never-before-seen photos.

It will be released by Light In The Attic on April 16, Record Store Day.

It is limited to 1,000 copies and comes in a custom wood box.

You can watch a trailer for the box set below.

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Eleanor Friedberger – New View

Laura Snapes
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Eleanor Friedberger – New View
Beyond the zany travelogues of their songs, the Fiery Furnaces' very existence always suggested a fantastical world. They reflected a canon where the biggest bands of the 1960s weren't the Beatles and the Stones, but Zappa and Beefheart. Arriving at the turn of the millennium, Eleanor and Matthew Fr...

Beyond the zany travelogues of their songs, the Fiery Furnaces‘ very existence always suggested a fantastical world. They reflected a canon where the biggest bands of the 1960s weren’t the Beatles and the Stones, but Zappa and Beefheart. Arriving at the turn of the millennium, Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger progressed in tandem with another (ostensibly) brother-sister duo, The White Stripes. Where the latter’s experimental tendencies soon became pompous, the Furnaces always tempered their outré moments with silliness – even though the joke was sometimes buried deeper than audiences cared to delve. If only they had been the dominant pair, recognition might have come sooner for Eleanor’s excellent solo material.

There have been few clearer distillations of a band’s constituent parts than the Friedbergers’ post-Furnaces solo careers. The latest releases on Matthew’s undersubscribed Facebook page are speculative jingles written to soundtrack ads found in the pages of the Flatbush Jewish Journal and Urdu Times. It would be generous to call them wilfully obscure. Eleanor is the traditionalist of the pair, but a playful one. On her 2011 debut Last Summer, she applied the Furnaces’ picaresque outlook to her own life, setting sweet, surreal vignettes from her arrival in New York a decade earlier to songwriterly 1970s pop, shot through with a tinge of unease.

By 2013’s Personal Record, the lingering disquiet had been replaced by sun-dappled grooves inspired by Alan Hull, Duncan Browne, and Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection. Friedberger said she wanted to make more “generic” music to allow more space for the listener; there were relatable songs about love and heartache, but also smart meta numbers about music’s role in those situations. “I am the past,” she sang on the track of the same name, “so please fill your boots/With memories you can pull up by the roots.” On “Singing Time”, she left an inattentive relationship, taking her tunes with her: “Let’s go my songs/One day we will know more.”

Friedberger’s first two albums were recorded in New York, and have an essentialness that conveys the city’s compact living and creative arrangements. (“I move from my desk onto my treadmill,” she sang on Personal Record’s “My Own World”.) For New View, she’s moved to an upstate pile, and the spaciousness is apparent – the album has a lived-in depth that suggests wood panelling, pictures on the walls, fields beyond the windows. Her first two records were written alone, adding the group and their arrangements later; this time around, she shaped songs with the band Icewater (also frequent Beck collaborators) from the start, aiming for the sounds of Robert Wyatt-era Soft Machine, Slapp Happy, and George Harrison’s “Love Comes To Everyone”. There’s a little Pink Floyd in there too, some faint country funk and lysergic warp, and the mid-tempo sophistication of Aimee Mann’s later records, along with an arresting looseness. Often likened to Patti Smith, Friedberger has always been a brilliantly expressive singer, imbuing her every word with a gentle electric shock. Here, she sings more, eschewing clever constructs to immerse herself in vulnerable, romantic experiences, and shines through as a subtly emotive vocalist.

New View is autumnal and warm, gilded by an array of vintage organs that Jon Brion would be proud to call his own. They usually nestle within the rustic fabric of these songs, though at the end of “Sweetest Girl”, one emerges with a gorgeous, wistful fairground choogle, while the revelations of a Before Sunset moment in “Cathy With The Curly Hair” are marked by excitable cosmic trills. Elsewhere, her songs end with shaggy jams that are giddy as they are languid. Even “All Known Things”, a rather formal tribute to a singular beauty, spirals off into a blurry, swaying finale.

Yet initially, at least, Friedberger avoids resolutions in her songs – melodic and otherwise – instead savouring off-kilter minor notes that help tell the story of what seems to be a relationship defined by false starts and protracted indecision. The chorus to gentle opener “He Didn’t Mention His Mother” is an unanswered Dr Seussian riddle (“A house, a chair and a rug/A mouse, a bear or a bug/Was it you, was it you?”), while a mysterious tone pervades the highly strung “Your Word”. Friedberger turns suspicious in “Because I Asked You”, a spiky interrogation about a paramour’s intentions. “Why would you want to dim the light/Or let that record play all night/Or scramble yolk in with the white?/Why would you wanna do that?” she demands briskly. “Because I asked you,” she realises, in a tumbling chorus that lasts just five seconds before she resumes her pointed questioning. Eventually, she lets that brief moment of warmth flood the song, conceding, “Because I love you.”

Friedberger’s agility as a lyricist is given; moments like this, that imply rather than spell out the tentative nature of new love after bad experiences, reveal her growth as a songwriter. Back in “He Didn’t Mention His Mother”, she distils anticipation, joy and wonder down to a touching understatement: “I so wanted something to happen that day/And then what I wanted, it happened/And that just don’t always happen to me.” “Two Versions Of Tomorrow” has a doleful, Charlie Brown vibe, and captures a stagnant crossroads in the relationship with a wry reference to her own work: “Listen to my old songs; two versions of ‘Tomorrow’.” The loose, jaunty closer “A Long Walk” boils down this once-uncertain love’s seasonal cycle to a single day, where the hours fly by in a fun, repetitious scheme as comfort sets in. Come 5 o’clock, “We found that just by chance we were walking hand in hand,” she sings, her cool voice exuding a lovely, confident tenderness. “We didn’t detach ourselves or catch the perfect view/But we kissed in front of strangers like regular lovers do.”

Admittedly, it takes a couple of listens for New View’s dusky tones to become distinct. Unlike Friedberger’s previous records, it unspools less like a string of postcards from an entertainingly flighty friend, more like a whole portrait of a heart. It’s comforting and surprising, full of trad sounds electrified by the off-kilter vision of an artist whose recognition as one of Americana’s finest voices is long overdue.

Q&A
How come you left Merge?
Nothing juicy. French Kiss offered me a better deal. I had a two-record deal on Merge, and that was up, and I wanted to see what my other options were. I really do like the idea of being with a label that’s based in New York. Psychologically it’s a lot closer than North Carolina.

What prompted your move out of New York?
I hate to sound like one of those people complaining about New York, but the main thing was not being able to afford to live there any more in the way that I wanted to live. Now I live about 100 miles north of the city. I bought this incredible house with a friend that would make no sense for anyone else. It has a few different buildings – the best part about it is this giant old factory next to the house, it’s very strange.

Did the move affect your creative headspace?
For me it’s always been about really putting my head down and getting to work, but I don’t see how it couldn’t affect me, being in the countryside – walking mountain paths instead of down Bedford Avenue or wherever the fuck I was walking in New York. Somebody who I gave the record to early on said, “you sound like you’re in a much happier place now.” It’s true. I am. So I hope that that comes through. To me it sounds very relaxed. I’m trying to figure out, why does it sound autumnal, why does it sound like it’s from and for open spaces? I don’t quite know why. It doesn’t work in the city.

The first solo album was written on piano, the second on guitar – how about this one?
I wrote them all on guitar. I tried to be a little bit more strategic than I had been in the past, like – I need to be able to play every one of these songs myself if I have to. There were a few cases where I didn’t have all the lyrics ready to go until the songs were very established, which is new for me. Usually I have almost a script ready where I’m just setting words to music. I didn’t want the lyrics to be as important as they had been in the past, believe it or not. There were a few songs where I did what I think a lot of people do, where I fit words to melodies that I already had in mind.

Why did you want to get away from words?
I know it sounds silly, maybe simplistic, but I just wanted there to be less of them. That was important to me, I wanted there to be less, and for them to be more repetitious, really just to switch it up. I don’t wanna be accused of every song being like a novel.

They’re more elliptical in parts – “All Known Things” almost seems like a sonnet.
That song is actually a little bit of a cheat. That’s a song I was working on for a really long time, and I liked it so much I wanted to include it on the album. That was for these shows we’re doing in conjunction with the Andy Warhol Museum, which we did tin the States last fall, where there’s five musicians scoring silent Warhol films. Dean Wareham organised the shows, Bradford Cox from Deerhunter is one of the other performers and so is Tom Verlaine, and Martin Rev from Suicide. That’s a song I wrote for an Edie Sedgwick film, it makes a lot of sense when you’re watching that. It’s happening at the Barbican in May.

On the last record you were inspired by a group of 70s British singer-songwriters. Was there a specific pool here?
That’s really my wheelhouse, I’m still obsessed with ’70s music. The way that Neil Young’s guitar sounds on “Down By The River”, a bunch of George Harrison stuff, I wanted to have some slide guitar on some of the songs. Maybe the most obscure thing was Slapp Happy – they made an album called Casablanca Moon, and then they ended up re-recording the whole thing, so there’s two different versions. It’s so fun – they have this really groovy sound that’s kinda like acoustic disco on some of the tracks, while others sound like German cabaret. There’s a song called “The Drum”, which I could listen to 100 times in a row. A big influence was stumbling on an estate sale of this guy who passed away. He had amazing stuff, including this beautiful ’60s Epiphone 12-string acoustic guitar, which I fell in love with. I wrote most of the songs on it. Pretty much every song we started with basic tracks of drums, bass, Wurlitzer, piano, and this 12-string acoustic, which really shaped the album.

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Watch Animal Collective’s new video for “Golden Gal”

Michael Bonner
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Watch Animal Collective’s new video for “Golden Gal”
Animal Collective have released a new video for "Golden Gal". The track is taken from their forthcoming album, Painting With, which is released by Domino on February 19. Recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, once home to sessions by The Beach Boys and Marvin Gaye, the album features contribut...

Animal Collective have released a new video for “Golden Gal“.

The track is taken from their forthcoming album, Painting With, which is released by Domino on February 19.

Recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, once home to sessions by The Beach Boys and Marvin Gaye, the album features contributions from John Cale and Colin Stetson.

The CD and LP formats of the album will be available in three different covers – featuring Animal Collective members Avey Tare, Geologist and Panda Bear, respectively – as painted by artist Brian DeGraw.

The tracklisting for Painting With is:

‘FloriDada’
‘Hocus Pocus’
‘Vertical’
‘Lying In The Grass’
‘The Burglars’
‘Natural Selection’
‘Bagels In Kiev’
‘On Delay’
‘Spilling Guts’
‘Summing The Wretch’
‘Golden Gal’
‘Recycling’

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Reviewed: Five of my favourite 2016 albums

John Mulvey
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Reviewed: Five of my favourite 2016 albums
The new issue of Uncut should be arriving with subscribers sometime this weekend, and be in UK shops a week today (ie February 23). But it occurs to me this morning, that, in the absence of anything new to plug (though of course there are plenty of Ultimate Music Guides and History Of Rocks on sale ...

The new issue of Uncut should be arriving with subscribers sometime this weekend, and be in UK shops a week today (ie February 23). But it occurs to me this morning, that, in the absence of anything new to plug (though of course there are plenty of Ultimate Music Guides and History Of Rocks on sale in our shop), I should probably round up a bunch of records I’ve enjoyed these past couple of months.

It’s tempting to see the progress of Dublin guitarist Cian Nugent as analogous to that of his old duetting partner, Steve Gunn: from acoustic instrumentals (“Doubles” (2011)), through psychedelic full-band workouts (“Born With The Caul”(2013)) to this vocal-heavy, song-focused new set, “Night Fiction” (Woodsist). But, as proved by his extra-curricular activities in bands like The Number Ones, Nugent is his own man, influenced by indie-rock artisans like Cass McCombs as much as avant-roots fingerpickers. “Night Fiction”, then, emerges as an engaging sampler of Nugent’s range as well as his virtuosity, though the suspicion he’s best suited to longform freak-outs is confirmed by the closing “Year Of The Snake”; a heady folk-rock swirl that unexpectedly transforms into a Wedding Present-style ramalam deep into its 12 minute span.

Like Nugent, among the serried ranks of guitar soli, assembled by the Tompkins Square label for their “Imaginational Anthems” comps, C Joynes and Nick Jonah Davis have both stood out; not so much for their radical differences, but for their Englishness. “Split Electric” (Thread Recordings) finds them alternating tracks and experimenting with the current fad among their avant-folk ilk; electric guitars. The results are infallibly virtuosic and often compelling, with Joynes (Cambridge, rowdier) just outflanking Davis (Nottingham, crystalline). Notable cover art, too, in that the collage built on a 1981 Kerrang cover is by outsider folk singer, Richard Dawson; another reboot of the vernacular that, like his own music, hovers between rough-hewn wit and self-conscious whimsicality.

The eldritch aesthetic of United Bible Studies, a shadowy Anglo/Irish folk collective, might present them as kindred spirits of, say, Current 93. In fact, for all the sombre tones and distant hint of drone, this latest limited-edition (“The Ale’s What Cures Ye” (MIE Music)) is a good deal more approachable than that: a set of traditional songs that should beguile orthodox folk fans as much as it does those still bickering over the acid/freak/wyrd-folk nomenclature. The rustle of field recording provides a certain lo-fi ambience, but it’s the warmth and precision of the performances that are most striking, shifting as they do from spare enchantments recalling Alasdair Roberts (“Twa Corbies”) to Watersons-style a cappella knees-ups. A little psychedelic, no doubt, but it’s probably the ale, not the acid, that’s most prevalent here.

In the relative scheme of things, Jason Killinger’s Spacin’ might not have had quite the love afforded their old Philly sparring partners, Purling Hiss (both bands evolved from local legends Birds Of Maya). As this second album, “Total Freedom” (Richie Records/Testoster Tunes) proves, though, they’re at least their lo-fi equals; a fetishistically scuzzy psych-boogie band, whose choogles often accumulate a near-mantric, motorik intensity. Nothing here quite recaptures the slacker exhilaration of “Sunshine No Shoes”, from their 2012 debut, “Deep Thuds”. Nevertheless, there’s another fun Afrobeat jam (“Stopping Them”) and a vibe – roughly, the Velvet Underground gatecrashing Villa Nellcôte – that is most fully realised on the 10-minute centrepiece, “US Ruse”, one-finger piano solo and all.

In all the Grateful Dead live activity last year, big-name guest guitarists – first Trey Anastasio, then John Mayer – were seen as critical to the box office propositions. Anastasio’s triumphs at the Fare Thee Well shows notwithstanding, a lower-key choice might have been Neal Casal; one-time Americana solo artist, now comfortably ensconced as Chris Robinson’s lead guitarist in the Brotherhood, and occasional Phil Lesh affiliate. Casal’s actual contributions to Fare Thee Well were broadcast between sets; a bunch of unobtrusive jams belatedly released here under the group name of Circles Around The Sun. Subtle Dead allusions proliferate on ” Interludes For The Dead”, of course, notably on a spectral version of “Mountains Of The Moon”. Less expected is the prevailing funkiness, with organist Adam MacDougall driving the likes of “Kasey’s Bones” into rewarding MGs territory.

Casal and MacDougall, incidentally, will be in London next month when the CRB finally make their UK debut on March 14 at Koko. Been waiting for that one for years; maybe you have too?

Roy Orbison – The MGM Years 1965 – 1973

Luke Torn
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Roy Orbison – The MGM Years 1965 – 1973
It’s a wonder Roy Orbison kept a career afloat at all in the late ’60s. In 1966, his wife, Claudette, aged just 24, died in his arms following a motorcycle accident. Two years later, a fire killed two of his three sons, aged six and ten, and destroyed his home. Then there were pop music’s vola...

It’s a wonder Roy Orbison kept a career afloat at all in the late ’60s. In 1966, his wife, Claudette, aged just 24, died in his arms following a motorcycle accident. Two years later, a fire killed two of his three sons, aged six and ten, and destroyed his home. Then there were pop music’s volatile twists and turns, which began to stiffly challenge him after his early-’60s superstar years of “Oh, Pretty Woman”, “Crying” and “In Dreams”. Orbison, possessor of a dramatically orchestral, four-octave voice, tried everything to break back through – originals to well-chosen covers, sharp soundtracks to tribute albums, blistering rock’n’roll to the kind of haunting, otherworldly balladry only he could deliver – in those chaotic, hard-rock/psychedelic/hippie/FM years. Commercial traction was negligible.

What the public hardly fathomed then, only to appreciate decades later (thanks to a renaissance via the Traveling Wilburys and David Lynch’s Blue Velvet), was that Orbison’s sheer voice was innately capable, regardless of the state of affairs, of monumental transcendence. The MGM Years’ 152 tracks, featuring eight instant cutout LPs in their day, brings that notion home time and again, filled with many of Orbison’s least noticed, most adventurous moments; in secret, he was hitting his prime.

Take 1968’s Many Moods: striking an operatic, soul-vocal groove, Orbison leads almost every song into shivery territory. He steals “Unchained Melody” from the Righteous Brothers’ clutches with a measured, hot-and-cold delivery, methodically building it into a mountain of desperation. The mid-tempo rocker “Heartache” follows a familiar Orbison trope – is what I’m experiencing real? Is it a dream? – in which his voice swirls progressively up into the heavens. The heartbreaking “Walk On”, rising to an untenable, shame-filled “Running Scared”-type intensity, is spellbinding. Similar cases could be made about 1967’s Cry Softly, Lonely One, including its graceful ode to misunderstanding, “Communication Breakdown”, or 1966’s The Classic Roy Orbison and “Growing Up”, an alternately breezy and unhinged rocker.

A batch of non-LP singles and B-sides extend the story, the most enchanting of which demonstrate Orbison’s fondness for darkly shaded story songs – the murder ballad “Tennessee Owns My Soul”, or “Southbound Jericho Parkway”, a slightly psychedelic five-part suite in which a man’s suicide is probed from multiple angles. A previously unknown and unheard 1969 studio album, One Of The Lonely Ones, supplies more highlights, including an Elvis-ized interpretation of Mickey Newbury’s winsome “Sweet Memories”.

It’s true that Orbison never quite recovered from losing early producer Fred Foster and his intensely atmospheric contributions; and that when record sales began to dip, MGM truly lost the thread in both recording strategy and in promoting Orbison’s talents. Yet this opulent box – admittedly erratic in places, yet fascinating and just as often breathtaking – paints a picture of an incredible talent, taking chances, stretching out in surprising directions, fighting hard against a cruel wind.

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Watch the Flaming Lips tribute to David Bowie

Michael Bonner
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Watch the Flaming Lips tribute to David Bowie
The Flaming Lips paid tribute to David Bowie during two concerts at the Belly Up in Aspen, Colorado. The shows took place on February 12 and 13. The band played "Space Oddity", "Life On Mars?", "Five Years", "Ziggy Stardust", "Fame", "The Man Who Sold The World", "Golden Years" and "Ashes To Ashes...

The Flaming Lips paid tribute to David Bowie during two concerts at the Belly Up in Aspen, Colorado.

The shows took place on February 12 and 13.

The band played “Space Oddity“, “Life On Mars?”, “Five Years”, “Ziggy Stardust“, “Fame”, “The Man Who Sold The World”, “Golden Years” and “Ashes To Ashes” before a set of their own material.

On the second show, they substituted “The Man Who Sold The World” for “Heroes“.

You can find more details at The Future Heart and watch the February 12 Bowie set below.

And here’s “Heroes” from February 13:

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

David Gilmour announced for Teenage Cancer Trust show

Michael Bonner
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David Gilmour announced for Teenage Cancer Trust show
David Gilmour is among the artists performing at this year's Teenage Cancer Trust shows. New Order will also headline a night. Spread across six nights in April, the Teenage Cancer Trust shows will take place at London's Royal Albert Hall. This year's line-up is completed by the Vaccines, Everyth...

David Gilmour is among the artists performing at this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust shows.

New Order will also headline a night.

Spread across six nights in April, the Teenage Cancer Trust shows will take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

This year’s line-up is completed by the Vaccines, Everything Everything, Bring Me The Horizon, Simply Red and John Bishop.

Speaking about this year’s line-up, the trust’s patron Roger Daltrey said, “It’s hard to believe this is our 16th year at the Royal Albert Hall for Teenage Cancer Trust, and I’m very happy to be announcing such a varied line up. The money raised is invaluable to this charity, which receives no government funding in England, to help young people with cancer in the NHS. In return for the public’s hard earned cash, we aim to put on some very special shows.

“This year David Gilmour returns to the Royal Albert Hall to play for us. His show is so spectacular that at one point even the band has to wear sunglasses on stage, so it is certainly one not to be missed. I’m also very proud to welcome New Order to the Teenage Cancer Trust fold and this will be their first time at the Royal Albert Hall since 1986. Bring Me The Horizon come to us fresh from reaching #2 in both the UK and US album charts with their latest ‘That’s The Spirit’, they’re without doubt one of the most exciting ‘heavy’ bands around and we’re very happy they accepted our invite, the same with The Vaccines who are one of the best British bands out there. Simply Red are simply one of the most successful British acts of the past 30 years with over 60 million album sold and I know that Mick and co will put on a truly fantastic show that will be ideally suited to the Royal Albert Hall.”

You can find more information by clicking here.

The line up is:

Tuesday,April 19: JOHN BISHOP
Wednesday, April 20: THE VACCINES with EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
Thursday, April 21: SIMPLY RED plus very special guests
Friday April 22: BRING ME THE HORIZON plus very special guests
Saturday April 23: NEW ORDER plus very special guests
Sunday April 24: DAVID GILMOUR

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Win tickets to see Jack White’s American Epic series on the big screen

Michael Bonner
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Win tickets to see Jack White’s American Epic series on the big screen
American Epic - the ambitious documentary series overseen by Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford - screens this coming Friday and Saturday at London's BFI Southbank. We have two pairs of tickets to see the complete series: scroll down for further details. Spread across three documentarie...

American Epic – the ambitious documentary series overseen by Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford – screens this coming Friday and Saturday at London’s BFI Southbank.

We have two pairs of tickets to see the complete series: scroll down for further details.

Spread across three documentaries, the series charts the development of blues, country, gospel, Hawaiian, Cajun and folk music through the lives of musicians including Charley Patton, The Carter Family and Joe Falcon, using previously unseen film footage, unpublished photographs, and interviews with some of the last living witnesses to that era.

A fourth film, The American Epic Sessions, features Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Elton John, Beck, Steve Martin, Rhiannon Giddins, Taj Mahal, Los Lobos, Alabama Shakes and Stephen Stills, who all have a go at recording on a perfectly reassembled Western Electric recording machine in an old studio in Melrose, Hollywood.

For the Sessions, Jack White runs a house band with the help of T Bone Burnett.

You can watch the trailer below.

The American Epic Sessions screen on Friday, February 19, 2016. The film begins at 8:40 pm. It runs for 120 mins. Location: BFI Southbank, NFT1.

The Amerian Epic Trilogy screens on Saturday, February 20, 2016. The films begin at 7:00 pm. Each of the three films is an hour long. Location: BFI Southbank, NFT1.

We have ONE pair of tickets for Friday and ONE pair of tickets for Saturday.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer this question correctly:

What is the name of the record label run by Jack White?

Send your answer along with your name, address and contact telephone number to UncutComp@timeinc.com by noon, Thursday February 18, 2016.

A winner will be chosen from the correct entries and notified by email. The editor’s decision is final.

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

Jarvis Cocker on Pulp, Harry Potter and life in Paris

John Lewis
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Jarvis Cocker on Pulp, Harry Potter and life in Paris
The Pulp frontman answers questions from fans and celebrity admirers, discussing his legendary charm and why happy songs make him “physically want to kill someone”. Originally published in Uncut's February 2010 issue (Take 153). Interview: John Lewis. _________________________ Jarvis Cocker ar...

The lyrical themes on your solo records seem a lot more awkward than they were with Pulp. Is this the Gallic influence rubbing off on you or just part of the inevitable slide towards old age?
Giles, London
A few people have said this. I thought that I’d made quite a light-hearted record, and then everyone said it was my midlife crisis album. I suppose you do get more twisted as you get older. You realise that things are more cryptic and convoluted and labyrinthine, so Further Complications seemed an apt title. Thing is, I’ve never really written happy songs. If you look at a typical Pulp “smash” such as “Disco 2000”, musically it’s quite happy, but lyrically it’s very dark. It’s about somebody who fancies somebody and never got it on with her and then she gets married and has a child, but he’s still clinging to this sad fantasy that someday they’re going to be together. It’s pretty pathetic, really. I’ve never really liked happy songs. “Walking On Sunshine” makes me want to physically kill somebody.

What is it about Sheffield and the kind of music we produce?
Biff Byford, Saxon
It’s certainly got its own personality, as distinct from Manchester or Liverpool. With the Human League or ABC, and I suppose Pulp to a certain extent, we made pop music, but did something slyly radical with its content. There might also be a fascination with technology, with Sheffield being an industrial city. I used to poo-poo that, but when you go to the Kelham Island Industrial Museum – which I’d recommend – you’ll see a thing called a Bessemer Converter. It’s like a big black egg that spins around. Obviously working in steel factories was very arduous and unpleasant work, but it must have been very impressive to be surrounded by such amazing hardware. And Sheffield is home to some very extreme sounds. I remember living near a steel forge where you’d hear this drophammer every hour and it would make the whole building shake. Perhaps this accounts for the whole tradition of music from Sheffield that is pretty extreme, with very low bass, and also listened to at extreme volumes.

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

The Third Uncut Playlist Of 2016

John Mulvey
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The Third Uncut Playlist Of 2016
I've spent the past few days digging into a forthcoming book by Jesse Jarnow called Heads: A Biography Of Psychedelic America, which makes all kinds of connections between The Grateful Dead, communes, LSD distribution, graffiti artists, DJs, internet pioneers, fine artists, celebrated chefs and God ...

I’ve spent the past few days digging into a forthcoming book by Jesse Jarnow called Heads: A Biography Of Psychedelic America, which makes all kinds of connections between The Grateful Dead, communes, LSD distribution, graffiti artists, DJs, internet pioneers, fine artists, celebrated chefs and God knows what else. It’s an excellent read, and was the source of a recommendation for Ray Barretto’s fun “Acid”, which usefully drowned out the Kanye album playing over at NME earlier this morning. Inspired me to hit the Dead’s “To Terrapin” set, too, given the eulogising over their May ’77 dates.

Lots more mind-expanding pleasures here, as well. Please pay special attention to that Gimmer Nicolson find, a full song from Kevin Morby’s terrific “Singing Saw” and the first release by Let’s Eat Grandma – don’t be put off by the seemingly wacky name; it’s a beauty.

Follow me on Twitter @JohnRMulvey

1 Tim Hecker – Love Streams (4AD)

2 Missy Elliott – Pep Rally (Amazon Music)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVS-U7gFi4E&feature=youtu.be

3 Mikael Seifu – Zelalem (RVNG INTL)

4 Jesu/Sun Kil Moon – Jesu/Sun Kil Moon (Caldo Verde)

5 Gimmer Nicolson – Christopher Idylls (Light In The Attic)

6 Wilco – February 3, 2016 Capitol Theatre (Port Chester, NY) (NYCtaper.com)

7 Bitchin Bajas & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties (Drag City)

8 The Dead Tongues – Montana (Self-released)

https://soundcloud.com/winsome-management/graveyard-fields-by-the-dead-tongues

9 Kevin Morby – Singing Saw (Dead Oceans)

10 Let’s Eat Grandma – Deep Six Textbook (Transgressive)

11 Khun Narin – II (Innovative Leisure)

12 Konono N°1 – Konono N°1 Meets Batida (Crammed Discs)

13 Ensemble Economique – Blossoms In Red (Denovali)

14 Träd, Gräs och Stenar – Box Set (Anthology)

15 Matthew Bourne – Moogmemory (Leaf)

16 Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band – The Rarity Of Experience (No Quarter)

17 William Tyler – Live At Third Man Records: 18/7/14 (Third Man)

18 Various Artists – Why The Mountains Are Black: Primeval Greek Village Music: 1907-1960 (Third Man)

19 ELO – On The Third Day (Jet)

20 Scritti Politti – White Bread Black Beer (Rough Trade)

21 Dreamboat – Dreamboat (MIE Music)

22 Coypu – Floating (MIE Music)

23 Ray Barretto – Acid (Fania)

24 The Grateful Dead – To Terrapin: Hartford 77 (Rhino)

Fleetwood Mac: archival live album to make vinyl debut

Michael Bonner
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Fleetwood Mac: archival live album to make vinyl debut
Fleetwood Mac have announced details of a triple live album from their 1979 - 1980 tour. The 22 songs previously appeared on the CD and digital editions of last year's remastered edition of Tusk. They are now being released as a stand-alone vinyl package on March 4 from Warner Bros. Records. The ...

Fleetwood Mac have announced details of a triple live album from their 1979 – 1980 tour.

The 22 songs previously appeared on the CD and digital editions of last year’s remastered edition of Tusk.

They are now being released as a stand-alone vinyl package on March 4 from Warner Bros. Records.

The songs for Fleetwood Mac: In Concert were recorded in Tucson, St. Louis, Omaha and during the band’s six-night stand at Wembley Arena in London in June 1980.

FLEETWOOD MAC: IN CONCERT
LP Track Listing

Side One
Intro (Wembley, 26/06/80)
“Say You Love Me”(Wembley, 26/06/80)
“The Chain” (Wembley, 20/06/80)
“Don’t Stop” (Wembley, 27/06/80)
“Dreams” (Wembley, 20/06/80)

Side Two
“Oh Well” (Wembley, 20/06/80)
“Rhiannon” (Tucson, 28/08/80)
“Over And Over” (St. Louis, 05/11/79)
“That’s Enough For Me” (Wembley, 21/06/80)

Side Three
“Sara” (Tucson, 28/08/80)
“Not That Funny” (St. Louis, 05/11/79)
“Tusk” (St. Louis, 05/11/79)
“Save Me A Place” (St. Louis, 05/11/79)

Side Four
“Landslide” (Omaha, 21/08/80)
“What Makes You Think You’re The One” (St. Louis, 05/11/79)
“Angel” (St. Louis, 05/11/79)
“You Make Loving Fun” (Wembley, 20/06/80)

Side Five
“I’m So Afraid” (St. Louis, 05/11/79)
“World Turning” (Wembley, 22/06/80)

Side Six
“Go Your Own Way” (Wembley, 22/06/80)
“Sisters Of The Moon” (Wembley, 22/06/80)
“Songbird” (Wembley, 27/06/80)

The March 2016 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring our 19 page David Bowie tribute plus Loretta Lynn, Tim Hardin, Animal Collective, The Kinks, Mavis Staples, The Pop Group, Field Music, Clint Mansell, Steve Mason, Eric Clapton, Bert Jansch, Grant Lee Phillips and more plus our free 15-track CD

Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.

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