Last night, it was all about seeing familiar faces again. First, there was Ed Miliband on the final leaders debate trying his best not to play into Tory hands by allying himself with Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP; a tactic that may not entirely play out in his favour come election day.
It seems unlik...
Last night, it was all about seeing familiar faces again. First, there was Ed Miliband on the final leaders debate trying his best not to play into Tory hands by allying himself with Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP; a tactic that may not entirely play out in his favour come election day.
It seems unlikely, on the strength of the new trailer, that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will turn out to be as disappointing as the leader’s debate. The internet, perhaps predictably, exploded at the glimpse of Han Solo and Chewbacca, reunited on screen for the first time in over 30 years. Their appearance in this new instalment was hardly a secret, of course. Nevertheless the sight of them together on board the Millennium Falcon in the closing seconds of the trailer – coupled with Solo’s “Chewie, we’re home†line – provided a comforting familiarity necessary to salve frustrated fans with painful memories of the wretched Prequels.
Certainly, it is romantic to see The Force Awakens as an attempt by JJ Abrams – who’s assumed stewardship of the series from George Lucas – to smooth over the cracks left by the series’ creator. The Force Awakens (iffy title, admittedly) is a new chapter with new characters, sure; but also reassuringly there are old friends to catch up with.
Among other topics buzzing round cyberspace last night was, Star Wars vs The Avengers: which will take more at the box office? However playfully it might have been phrased, it’s a predictably reductive playground fight, a bit like, “My Dad’s bigger than yours.” You never quite hear the same debate raging about, say, Iranian cinema: who’s better, Parvis Kimiavi or Bahram Baizai?
Some Stormtroopers, yesterday
It never ceases to amaze me how much emotive pull Star Wars continues to exert. I remember attending an exhibitors screening of The Phantom Menace early one morning at the Empire Leicester Square. The audience totalled six: me and five middle aged men who ran the country’s biggest cinema chains. These were, it should be noted, not exactly the film’s core audience and their response to the film isn’t a matter of public record. All the same, in this basically empty, cavernous cinema there was still something incredibly powerful about the opening text crawl, the John Williams’ score and, later, the appearance of two much-loved droids from the original movies. Similarly, when Attack Of The Clones launched at the Cannes Film Festival, I can quite clearly recall the childlike delight of the world’s most distinguished film critics as a phalanx of Stormtroopers filed down the Croisette to the strains of Williams’ “Imperial Marchâ€. Such is the power of la Force.
Essentially, Star Wars fulfils the same function between an audience and an object as a favourite band or book or TV programme. There are music fans who will bury themselves in the cornflake detail of their beloved artist or band, voraciously soaking up all the miscellanea they can. Ranking albums in order of preference is, essentially, no different from ranking favourite Star Wars characters.
Anyway, apologies for the slightly perambulatory nature of the blog today. It’s hard to make a considered judgement on 2 minutes and 1 second of footage; however top loaded that is with fan bait. What is certain is that it’ll be hard to keep me out of the cinema come December 18.
The Rolling Stones are to release a rare gig from 1971 filmed at London's Marquee Club.
The show was filmed for American television and took place a month before the release of the Sticky Fingers album.
The gig marked the live debut of album tracks, “Brown Sugarâ€, “Dead Flowersâ€, “Bit...
The Rolling Stones are to release a rare gig from 1971 filmed at London’s Marquee Club.
The show was filmed for American television and took place a month before the release of the Sticky Fingers album.
The gig marked the live debut of album tracks, “Brown Sugarâ€, “Dead Flowersâ€, “Bitch†and “I Got The Bluesâ€.
The release of From The Vault: The Marquee – Live In 1971 also coincides with the forthcoming Sticky Fingers deluxe reissue and the band’s North American tour dates.
The Rolling Stones From The Vault: The Marquee – Live In 1971 is available in four formats:
DVD
Main tracklisting & bonus features
SD Blu-ray
Main tracklisting & bonus features
DVD + CD
The DVD and a single CD
DVD + LP
DVD and a single LP (main tracklisting only)
TRACKLISTING:
Live With Me
Dead Flowers
I Got The Blues
Let It Rock
Midnight Rambler
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Bitch
Brown Sugar
BONUS TRACKS:
I Got The Blues – Take 1
I Got The Blues – Take 2
Bitch – Take 1
Bitch – take 2
Brown Sugar (Top Of The Pops, 1971)
The Rolling Stones From The Vault: The Marquee – Live In 1971 is released via Eagle Rock Entertainment on 22 June 2015
The Chicago-based guitarist Ryley Walker is the subject of a new short film, which you can watch at the top of this page.
Walker, whose Primrose Green album is a former Uncut Album Of The Month, is currently on tour in the UK.
He'll be playing four shows during Record Store Day tomorrow April 18...
The Chicago-based guitarist Ryley Walker is the subject of a new short film, which you can watch at the top of this page.
Walker, whose Primrose Green album is a former Uncut Album Of The Month, is currently on tour in the UK.
He’ll be playing four shows during Record Store Day tomorrow April 18, 2015: 12:30pm – Rough Trade West instore 2:00pm – Sister Ray Instore 5:30pm – Sister Ray Ace Hotel inshore
He will also play a sold out show at the Sebright Arms in London’s Bethnal Green later that evening.
Ryley Walker, Primrose Green sleeve
Walker will also play:
04/19/15 Manchester, UK – The Castle [sold out] 04/20/15 Bristol, UK – Start The Bus 04/21/15 Cardiff, UK – Clwb lfor Bach 04/22/15 Coventry, UK – The Tin at the Coal Vaults 04/23/15 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Cards Room 04/24/15 Brighton, UK – The Hope & Ruin [sold out]
He returns to the UK to play the Shacklewell Arms on September 2, 2015.
Ozzy Osbourne has responded to a statement issued by Bill Ward earlier in the week, in which the drummer said only a personal apology from Osbourne could tempt him to rejoin Black Sabbath.
In a post on Facebook, Osbourne claims he has "no option but to respond honestly" to Ward's comments.
"Wow,...
Ozzy Osbourne has responded to a statement issued by Bill Ward earlier in the week, in which the drummer said only a personal apology from Osbourne could tempt him to rejoin Black Sabbath.
In a post on Facebook, Osbourne claims he has “no option but to respond honestly” to Ward’s comments.
“Wow, Bill. What the fuck are you on about? I cannot apologize for comments or opinions I may have made about you in the press during Sabbath’s ‘13‘ album and tour– physically, you knew you were fucked. Tony, Geezer and myself didn’t think you could have done a two hour set with a drum solo every night, so we made the decision to move on. With Tony’s condition we felt that time was not on our side.”
He adds: “Bill, stop this smokescreen about an ‘unsignable contract’ and let’s be honest. Deep down inside you knew you weren’t capable of doing the album and a 16 month tour. Unfortunately for you, our instincts were correct as you were in hospital several times during 2013. Your last hospitalization was for a shoulder surgery that you now say you’ve only just recovered from. This would have meant that our world tour would have been canceled. So how is all of this my fault? Stop playing the victim and be honest with yourself and our fans.”
Osbourne ends the post by reaching out to Ward, saying “Bill, we go back a long way, let’s stop this now before it gets out of hand. God bless you.”
Todd Rundgren discusses his two new albums, a Roots collaboration and ‘Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical’ in the new Uncut, out now.
The singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer also talks about the ToddStock festivals for fans that he organises at his homes.
“We had one in my home in Hawaii,â€...
Todd Rundgren discusses his two new albums, a Roots collaboration and ‘Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical’ in the new Uncut, out now.
The singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer also talks about the ToddStock festivals for fans that he organises at his homes.
“We had one in my home in Hawaii,†he says, “where people camped on the lawn and drank my booze. Last year, we took everyone around some breweries in California, which was fun but a bit more touristy.
“I’m not sure when the next one will be – I’m hoping that we might end up in Havana. That’d be fun.â€
Asked whether he’s been concerned about getting so close to fans – fanatic Mark Chapman claims he murdered John Lennon in fealty to Rundgren – he says: “Oh man, you can’t live your life like that. If you’re gonna make music that affects people, you inevitably have to deal with some weirdness.â€
In the wake of “The Endless Riverâ€, though, a significant arc has been completed, and a critical, previously obscured part of the Floyd story has been brought into view. As David Gilmour sings on “Louder Than Wordsâ€, the closing track of what was presented as their valedictory album; “Letâ...
In the wake of “The Endless Riverâ€, though, a significant arc has been completed, and a critical, previously obscured part of the Floyd story has been brought into view. As David Gilmour sings on “Louder Than Wordsâ€, the closing track of what was presented as their valedictory album; “Let’s go with the flow, wherever it goes/We’re more than alive…â€
The Ultimate Music Guide to Pink Floyd, then, now tells the complete story of an extraordinary band, a tale that encompasses epic power struggles, intimate confessions, preposterous experiments and, of course, madness, and which stretches back for the best part of five decades. The legend of a great, sometimes oracular British band so potent, in fact, that even their tribute bands play arenas.
There’s a persuasive idea that those tribute bands have been so successful because Pink Floyd themselves are, in a way, anonymous. Who cares about the identity of the musicians playing these awe-inspiring songs, goes the argument: just check out the light show! Uncut’s Ultimate Music Guide to Pink Floyd proves, we think, that this is nonsense. The tale of Pink Floyd is one as human, passionate and compelling as any in the rock canon.
The band’s dramas were played out in the pages of NME, Melody Maker and Uncut, and in the Ultimate Music Guide you’ll find uncut, revelatory interviews conducted with the band between 1967 and 2014. We begin with the brief psychedelic flowering of Syd Barrett, and chart the band’s years of questing until they arrive at The Dark Side Of The Moon. We dive into the intensely personal psychodramas of Roger Waters and the more becalmed stewardship of David Gilmour, and provide in-depth reviews of every Pink Floyd album. We have, of course, added extensive new material on “The Endless Riverâ€, to bring the story right up to date.
“Looking through the Pink Floyd songbook surprises me sometimes,†says Gilmour. “There are hundreds of songs, we go through lots of different styles of music, three different leaders and at least three different singers, and dozens of guests. But everything’s linked by this collective psyche. You have a sound in your head and you try to replicate it. I’m always looking for new sounds.â€
Roxy Music were not best served by the mid-‘80s shift to CDs and especially the subsequent move to mp3 files. At one end of their career, this condensation process made their earlier, more experimental recordings sound tinny and hollow; at the other end, it rendered the lush, expansive sound of th...
Roxy Music were not best served by the mid-‘80s shift to CDs and especially the subsequent move to mp3 files. At one end of their career, this condensation process made their earlier, more experimental recordings sound tinny and hollow; at the other end, it rendered the lush, expansive sound of the later Roxy thin and pasty, a sort of flock-wallpaper version of their velvet smoothness. So this set of 180gm vinyl albums is to be welcomed, even though it charts more clearly than ever the gradual artistic desiccation that came hand-in-hand with commercial success.
Sadly, the restored analogue warmth can’t really surmount Pete Sinfield’s odd production of Roxy’s debut album, which features the drums upfront and punchy, but leaves the other elements less confidently presented in the mix. But it’s a remarkable record nonetheless, with the track title “Re-make/Re-model†virtually constituting a manifesto of the group’s eclectic, postmodern approach, which featured alongside the modernist strains of tracks such as “Ladytron†hints and tints of doowop, cabaret and even country, and also drew influences from the film, fashion and art worlds. Bits of it might have seemed familiar, but en masse it sounded unlike anything else – as did Bryan Ferry’s mannered crooning, which was a hyper-real representation of the emotional ballast commonly associated with popular music, from Bing Crosby to Marvin Gaye.
Chris Thomas’s production makes the follow-up For Your Pleasure much more assured and propulsive – “Do The Strand’ leaps from the speakers with solidity and purpose, as does “Editions Of Youâ€, with its succinct solos by Andy Mackay, Brian Eno and Phil Manzanera. “For Your Pleasure†and the nine-minute “The Bogus Man†reflect the influence of Can, but it’s the blow-up-doll devotional “In Every Dream Home A Heartache†that really pushes the pop-song envelope, shifting from eerie spatiality to crazed climax, with the false fade and phased return cementing its abstruse weirdness.
Roxy Music
Following Eno’s replacement by Curved Air violinist Eddie Jobson, Stranded and Country Life offered a focusing of forces on tracks like “Street Life†and “All I Want Is Youâ€, which extended Roxy’s run of hit singles. Their eclecticism was still in operation – as witness the New Orleans second-line shuffle and gospel choir underscoring Ferry’s testifying on “Psalm†– but the notion “strange ideas mature with age†(from “The Thrill Of It Allâ€) effectively defined Roxy’s developing sound, which despite Manzanera’s terse, edgy guitar striations, was becoming more solid and stable. Ferry’s delivery of hipster slang like “Stay hip/Keep coolâ€, meanwhile, was still abundantly freighted with irony.
But it was the lumpy funk-rock of “Casanovaâ€, with Ferry’s sardonically punning line about “Now you’re nothing but second hand in glove with second rate†that hinted at what was to come on 1975’s Siren. “Love Is The Drug†irresistibly refined this chic funk style, but the album overall seems sluggish and weak. Even “Both Ends Burningâ€, the LP’s other standout, lacks impetus, and it’s no surprise that they decided to take a four-year hiatus: the band sounds wiped out, ground down, used up.
By the time they returned, punk had employed its scorched-earth flamethrower, and the fresh buds of new-wave energy were poking through the ruins. Perhaps this explains the uncertainty of Manifesto, an album split between the fizzy, brittle sound of “Trash†and the more expansive, funk-jazz style of the title-track and “Stronger Through The Yearsâ€, with its fretless bass and prog-scape noodling. Ferry may have claimed, on “Manifestoâ€, that he was “for a life around the corner, that takes you by surpriseâ€, but the use of sessioneers like Steve Ferrone, Rick Marotta and Richard Tee indicated the more mainstream territory being mapped out. “Dance Away†was divinely mousse-light, but the album’s other single “Angel Eyes†was stodgy rather than elegant, limp rather than louche.
The following year, Flesh + Blood became the album which crystallised the synthetic glamour and bogus elegance of the nascent New Romantic movement, offering a template for the likes of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and ABC. There was a wafer-thin charm about “Oh Yeah†and “Over Youâ€, singles almost entirely lacking in ambition; but the band were struggling for decent material, to the extent of including dilute covers of “In The Midnight Hour†and “Eight Miles Highâ€, the latter re-cast as sylph-like funk – it fits the Roxy aesthetic, but conveys none of the spaced-out alienation of The Byrds’ original.
The band’s swansong came with 1982’s Avalon, the sleekest entry in their catalogue, so vaporous that the title-track could be the soundtrack to a scent advert, while Phil Manzanera’s guitar, for so long the supplier of Roxy’s more exploratory frissons, reached on “Take A Chance With Me†a rarefied, emotive quality akin to Norwegian angstmeister Terje Rypdal. But the true signifier of the band’s fate could be found in its most crucial component, Bryan Ferry’s voice, which had lost all trace of the irony and bite of early Roxy. Trapped with the enervated swoon of a jaded lothario, he had effectively become what he once parodied.
Viv Albertine is to write a follow-up to her memoir, Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys, one of Uncut's Books Of The Year 2014.
According to her publisher's Faber, the new book picks up where the memoir finished and will explore Albertine's thoughts on the subjects that have...
Viv Albertine is to write a follow-up to her memoir, Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys, one of Uncut’s Books Of The Year 2014.
According to her publisher’s Faber, the new book picks up where the memoir finished and will explore Albertine’s thoughts on the subjects that have in many ways defined her life: art, fashion, sex, feminism, and the journey from youth into middle age.
Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys has now sold close to 50,000 copies in all formats.
Lee Brackstone, Creative Director of Faber Social and Albertine’s editor said: “Publication of Clothes Music Boys was another milestone in the development of the Faber Social list and its success has created a landscape for Viv that she is keen to navigate in her own inimitably fearless fashion. This book is less memoir and more window on the world as Viv sees it today. Every fan of Clothes Music Boys is in for a treat.”
Bill Ward has said he could only work with Black Sabbath again if he receives an apology from Ozzy Osbourne.
Ward did not play on Black Sabbath's 2013 studio album, 13. It was additionally claimed that the band could not come to a financial agreement with Ward.
In a long statement published on his...
Bill Ward has said he could only work with Black Sabbath again if he receives an apology from Ozzy Osbourne.
Ward did not play on Black Sabbath’s 2013 studio album, 13. It was additionally claimed that the band could not come to a financial agreement with Ward.
In a long statement published on his website, Ward – who is soon to release a new album, Accountable Beasts, with his own outfit BWB – said only a personal apology from Osbourne could tempt him back into the fold. “Righting of wrong works, and that’s what I want if I’m ever going to be his friend again,” he wrote.
He also told fans he has “been in deep regret since January 2012 that a true union was denied.”
Ward set his demands out clearly in the statement, writing: “I must admit, I have little to no expectations of this happening, but in the order of first things first, I’m looking for an honest accountability of all of Ozzy’s statements that I felt were untrue. I would want Ozzy to amend his opinions and exaggerations. I would want him to be forthcoming about his unrealistic viewpoints. And because I was chastised publicly, I would want him to amend publicly in his words, and not through an Ozzy representative, the nature of the wrongs. I would not want to continue on with him without this seemingly impassible dilemma being addressed.”
Ward also stipulated he would need “a “signable†contract” before he could consider playing with the band again.
He continued: “I’ve listened to nothing but insults and false remarks, and if as a band or as individuals they wish to continue along the same lines, then any notion of an original Black Sabbath lineup will continue to fade away.”
“Put simply, it’s up to them. I have dearly missed playing with them and as people, I have been heartbroken over the loss of who I thought we were. And now you know where I stand.”
Jay Z has claimed that the platform will be more beneficial for artists, but many have voiced their criticism of the company’s royalty structure since its initial launch.
In an interview in Vulture, Albini has raised doubts over the platform and calling it a “budget version of Pono“, Neil Young‘s high-definition music player.
“Historically, every time there’s been a new technological progression, there’s been a new convenience format [for listening to music],” Albini is quoted as saying. “So the question is, is it possible for something to be more convenient than streaming? And the answer is obviously yes. If you want your music to play at the push of a button, convenience is going to trump sound quality 100 percent of the time.”
“It’s for the same reason that if you had a screen that displayed paintings in your living room, very few serious art enthusiasts would care for such a screen despite the fact that it might show you very high-resolution images of artworks. They want to own a piece of art that is a direct connection to the person who made it. Having an HD screen in your house that would display artwork might have a market, but it’s not the same market as people who are interested in owning art.”
Albini continues that the growing number of streaming services, each with exclusive content, may mean that music fans seek alternate means of consuming music.
“The for-pay services are deluding themselves by trying to establish a permanent monetization of something that’s in flux. The internet provides access to materials and things. Creating these little streaming fiefdoms where certain streaming services have certain artists and certain streaming services have other artists is a crippled use of the internet. If the internet has demonstrated anything over the years, it’s that it has a way of breaking limitations placed on its content.”
Shellac weren’t originally available on Tidal’s main streaming competitor, Spotify, until Albini felt “snobbish” about his decision.”For listeners, [Spotify is] great. [Heavy metal band] High on Fire is excellent if you want background music for poker.”
Last year, Steve Albini called online music sharing the best thing since punk rock. “The single best thing that has happened in my lifetime in music, after punk rock, is being able to share music, globally for free. That’s an incredible development,” he said.
When Blur reformed in 2009, did we necessarily think they were going to record a new album? Evidently, these are busy men with active careers: solo albums, light operas, political campaigns, radio shows, artisanal cheese ranges for mid-price supermarkets. But although there were two warmly received ...
When Blur reformed in 2009, did we necessarily think they were going to record a new album? Evidently, these are busy men with active careers: solo albums, light operas, political campaigns, radio shows, artisanal cheese ranges for mid-price supermarkets. But although there were two warmly received singles – “Fool’s Day†and “Under The Westway†– that demonstrated they had lost none of their talents for writing leftfield pop songs, Blur seemed destined to roll themselves out only during times of collected high spirits: summer festivals, award ceremonies and international sporting events.
So what changed? During May, 2013, Blur spent five days in Hong Kong following cancelled shows in Japan and Taiwan. There, they bedded down at the city’s Avon Studios for some no-strings exploratory jams. These recordings gestated until autumn 2014, when Graham Coxon – in cahoots with the band’s early producer, Stephen Street – decided to fine-tune the material. For his part, Coxon specifically sees his work on The Magic Whip as part of a healing process begun when he rejoined the band in 2009.
The idea of Coxon completing some kind of perceived reparations by assiduously shaping and editing the Hong Kong sessions into Blur’s first new studio album in 12 years makes for a persuasive narrative. But while that may suggest The Magic Whip is a stylistically closer to either Coxon’s own solo releases or the last Blur album to conspicuously foreground his talents – 1997’s Blur – the vibes here are very much about looking forward. Admittedly, there are a couple of songs – “Lonesome Street†and “Go Out†– which explicitly revisit the ‘la la la’ chorus and twitchy guitar rhythms of 20th century Blur, along with what feel like passing nods to “Music is My Radar†or “This Is A Lowâ€.
At its best, The Magic Whip thrums with ideas and possibilities. Palpably, Hong Kong provided a fresh context for many of Albarn’s recurrent themes. Isolation and the depersonalising qualities of modern living weave through the album’s 12 songs, continuing themes explored previously in Blur songs like “Yuko And Hiro†and his own “Everyday Robotsâ€. Songs on The Magic Whip mention internet hotspots, satellite showers, industrial light and glass arcades. In one track, you are required to “log in your nameâ€. Elsewhere, he sings excitedly of his admiration for “the airspace of another city / It’s got your number and your blood typeâ€. As much as The Good, The Bad And The Queen was a melancholy love letter to London, so The Magic Whip depicts a bustling modern city where old cultures and emerging technologies exist cheek-by-jowl. As the album’s sleevenotes comment, “Essex dreams are far wayâ€. Well, quite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVM60a1L43c
Albarn returned to Hong Kong in December last year to help shape his lyrics for this album. On his way back to England after solo shows in Australia he revisited many locations and journeys connected to the band’s May 2013 sessions; a gweilo adrift in a city of 7 million. The album’s opener, “Lonesome Streetâ€, finds Albarn alive to the bustle of Hong Kong – “you have to go on the underground to get things done hereâ€. Musically, it feels a little like a reassuring sop to anxious fans; one of those rowdy numbers like “Stereotypesâ€, complete with whistling and some “oo-ooohâ€s. “New World Towers†recalls the dubby, spectral airs of The Good, The Bad & The Queen or Everyday Robots, while Albarn sings about “green neon… carved out of grey white skiesâ€, his wistful tone beautifully complimented by Coxon’s warm guitar playing. Like “Lonesome Streetâ€, “Go Out†– first previewed in February – retains the snotty post-punk tension of Blur’s mid-90s incarnation, driven by choppy guitars and a jerky bass line. It ends in a nicely distorted solo from Coxon. “Ice Cream Manâ€, meanwhile, arrives on loping, acoustic melodies and strange electronic burblings; it builds around a simple chord progression that hangs unobtrusively around Alex James’s basslines. Albarn, meanwhile, appears to conjure up a faintly supernatural yarn about the title character, “with a swish of his magic whip, all the people in the party frozeâ€.
Among the album’s highlights, “Thought I Was A Spaceman†signals a shift in the band’s ambitions. At over six minutes long, it arrives swathed in icy keyboard washes, a nagging xylophone melody and programmed drums across which drift Albarn’s hushed, treated vocals. About two and a half minutes in, though, the song lifts off on shimmering Mellotron lines and Dave Rowntree’s propulsive drums. Evoking images of climate change – “the desert had encroached upon the places were we lived†– it’s elegant and sweeping in stature; vaguely reminiscent of Bowie’s track “Slip Away†(from Heathen), though entirely its own beast. The rowdy “I Broadcast†finds an adrenalized Albarn “buzzing on another dayâ€. It’s followed by “My Terracotta Heartâ€, one of the album’s dazzling sad songs. Against a clanking, whirring drumbeat and gentle guitar filigrees, Albarn’s tone is regretful and nostalgic: “I’m running out of heart here / Just sitting out the constant doubt in my head / But I don’t know what it isâ€. Albarn can write songs like this in his sleep; but that doesn’t diminish their emotive pull. For its part, the impressive “There Are Too Many Of Us†is ushered in on martial-sounding strings, building on waves of keyboard and swirling Mellotron effects.
The final quarter of the album finds a happy congruence between chipper Blur (“Ghost Shipâ€, “Ong Ongâ€) and sad Damon (“Pyongyangâ€, “Mirrorballâ€). Bobbing along on crisp, summer guitars and a relaxed saxophone refrain, “Ghost Ship†curiously resembles the dubby chill-out grooves of Nightmares On Wax, with Albarn singing “I need a lantern in you to shine out bright raysâ€. There’s a gulf between its light, bouncy tone and the implausibly beautiful “Pyongyangâ€. Although its lyrics are elusive, it finds Albarn’s narrator contemplating separation, absence and the passage of time – “By the time your sun is rising there / Out here it’s turning blue†– against an elegiac backing of gently cascading guitar notes and sparkling keyboard motes. It’s a sharp contrast with the singalong “Ong Ongâ€, with its Faces stomp and beery chorus, “I wanna be with youâ€. There are even some “sha la lasâ€. Things end in dignified fashion with “Mirrorballâ€, which arrives in the same woozy atmospherics as “Miss Americaâ€. It appears to find Albarn travelling from Jordan Road on the Hong Kong metro system to the Ocean Park theme park; “before you log out, hold close to me†he murmurs. Sighing Oriental strings swish around Coxon’s plaintive guitar; the tone is intimate, ruminative. As Coxon’s final guitar note fades at the song’s close, Albarn sings one last, “Hold close to meâ€. You might wonder whether he’s addressing his formerly estranged best friend. Or, perhaps, even contemplating a new future for Blur.
The line-up for this year's Glastonbury festival has been announced.
In addition to the previously confirmed headliners, Foo Fighters and Kanye West, 75 artists have announced to play the festival in Pilton, England from June 24 - 28.
Patti Smith, Alabama Shakes, Mavis Staples, Suede and Motörhea...
The line-up for this year’s Glastonbury festival has been announced.
In addition to the previously confirmed headliners, Foo Fighters and Kanye West, 75 artists have announced to play the festival in Pilton, England from June 24 – 28.
Patti Smith, Alabama Shakes, Mavis Staples, Suede and Moțrhead will play, as well as Pharrell Williams, the Mothership Returns Рwhich will feature George Clinton, Parliament, Funkadelic and the Family Stone РFather John Misty, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, Flying Lotus, Spiritualized, Super Furry Animals, Ryan Adams and more.
As yet, the third headline act has not been confirmed.
List of artists currently confirmed for Glastonbury 2015:
Foo Fighters Kanye West Florence and the Machine Pharrell Williams Alt-J Lionel Richie Motörhead Mary J Blige Alabama Shakes Paloma Faith Patti Smith The Chemical Brothers Rudimental Deadmau5 Jamie T Ben Howard Hot Chip The Mothership Returns – George Clinton, Parliament, Funkadelic and the Family Stone Flying Lotus FKA Twigs Caribou Roy Ayers Run the Jewels Mark Ronson Super Furry Animals Belle and Sebastian The Vaccines Ryan Adams Chronixx Future Islands George Ezra The Waterboys The Moody Blues Suede Franz Ferdinand and Sparks The Maccabees Enter Shikari Modestep Clean Bandit Jessie Ware Courtney Barnett Jon Hopkins Spiritualized Jamie xx Mavis Staples Hozier Father John Misty The Fall Todd Terje Gregory Porter Jungle Sleaford Mods Catfish and the Bottlemen Azealia Banks Young Fathers Charli XCX Kasai Allstars Sharon Van Etten Kate Tempest Goat Wolf Alice Perfume Genius Fat White Family Years and Years La Roux Death Cab for Cutie Lianne La Havas Death from Above 1979 Circa Waves Peace The Pop Group Ibeyi Ella Eyre Rae Morris
Brian Wilson has released a video for "On The Island", which appears on his current album, No Pier Pressure.
The video features Zooey Deschanel.
Previously, Wilson released a video for "The Right Time", which featured fellow Beach Boys, Al Jardine and David Marks.
Meanwhile, the first full length...
Brian Wilson has released a video for “On The Island”, which appears on his current album, No Pier Pressure.
The video features ZooeyDeschanel.
Previously, Wilson released a video for “The Right Time“, which featured fellow Beach Boys, Al Jardine and David Marks.
Meanwhile, the first full length trailer for Love And Mercy, the Wilson biopic starring Paul Dano and John Cusack, was recently released.
Jack White has announced that he is to stop performing "for a long period of time".
Following his appearance at the second Coachella Festival festival this coming weekend [April 17 - 19], White will embark on a short acoustic tour of the five American states he has yet to play, reports Rolling Ston...
Jack White has announced that he is to stop performing “for a long period of time”.
Following his appearance at the second Coachella Festival festival this coming weekend [April 17 – 19], White will embark on a short acoustic tour of the five American states he has yet to play, reports Rolling Stone.
The gigs will not be announced until 8am on the day of performance and will be the first full acoustic shows White has done.
Tickets will only cost $3 and will be sold on the door at the venue from 12 midday on a first come, first served basis.
White will then cease live performance, with a statement on his Third Manwebsite announcing: “After many years of performing in a multitude of configurations, Jack White is announcing that he will be taking a break from performing live for a long period of time.”
Meanwhile, White recently announced his next project: American Epic, a television and music project in conjunction with T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford.
Pete Townshend and Eddie Vedder will peform The Who's songs at a benefit concert in aid of Teen Cancer America.
According to a report on Rolling Stone, An Evening Celebrating The Who will take place May 14th at 8 p.m. at the Rosemont Theater.
Townshend and Vedder will be backed by The Who's curren...
Pete Townshend and Eddie Vedder will peform The Who’s songs at a benefit concert in aid of Teen Cancer America.
According to a report on Rolling Stone, An Evening Celebrating The Who will take place May 14th at 8 p.m. at the Rosemont Theater.
Townshend and Vedder will be backed by The Who’s current touring band: Simon Townshend (guitar), Zak Starkey (drums), Pino Palladino (bass), John Corey (keyboards), Loren Gold (keyboards) and Frank Simes (keyboards).
The North American leg of The Who’s 50th anniversary tour begins tomorrow [April 15] in Tampa, Florida. It breaks in May before resuming again in September.
Percy Sledge has died aged 73.
According to a report on ABC News, he died earlier today [April 14, 2015] at home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The network says he had been battling cancer.
Steve Green from his talent agency Artists International Management Inc told the BBC, "He was one of my first ac...
Percy Sledge has died aged 73.
According to a report on ABC News, he died earlier today [April 14, 2015] at home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The network says he had been battling cancer.
Steve Green from his talent agency Artists International Management Inc told the BBC, “He was one of my first acts, he was a terrific person and you don’t find that in this business very often,” said Green. “He was truly a standout.”
Sledge’s most famous hit, “When A Man Loves A Woman“, reached No 1 in 1966.
He was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 2005.
His last album was 2013’s The Gospel Of Percy Sledge.
By the spring of 1978 Bob Marley was ready for a new challenge. His media status as ‘The First Third World Superstar’ was attested by soaring global record sales. That he had ended 15 months of exile from Jamaica following the attempt on his life – returning to play the ‘Peace Concert’ tha...
By the spring of 1978 Bob Marley was ready for a new challenge. His media status as ‘The First Third World Superstar’ was attested by soaring global record sales. That he had ended 15 months of exile from Jamaica following the attempt on his life – returning to play the ‘Peace Concert’ that brought a truce to Kingston’s bullet-prone streets – also marked a turning point. He’d done his bit for his country. What was next?
Marley’s answer was to undertake the biggest tour of his career, one that renewed his wooing of the all-important North American market and which would take him to Milwaukee, Maryland and Montreal as well as the already conquered capitals of the East and West coasts. Also in his sights were Japan, Australia and, of course, Africa. All would fall to Trenchtown’s conquering lion and his strange music – strange because for most of the world roots reggae was still an odd, scarcely heard quantity.
But first we take Manhattan…and Boston, a city that had always been kind to the Wailers, and whose Music Hall hosted two shows (early and late) on June 8, the former supplying this live album, the fifth in Marley’s canon after Live! (cut 1975), Babylon By Bus (cut 1977), and the posthumous Live At The Roxy (cut 1976) and Live Forever (his last performance, cut 1980).
Unusually, Marley had personally allowed dispensation to a young fan to film the show from the front row. The resulting footage is an engaging addition, though better concert film is already freely available (the Boston stadium show of 1979 for example).
It proves a sweet enough set, entirely typical of the well-drilled band Marley oversaw in his pomp (and make no mistake, Bob ruled over his group with an iron hand). The rhythm section of the Barrett brothers had always synchronised effortlessly, Family Man’s loping bass lines weaving around Carly’s snapping rim shots. The duo were the lynchpin around which the Wailers turned – for much of this set Tyrone Downie’s keyboards and the guitars of Junior Marvin and Al Anderson do little more than punctuate their rhythms, at last in this somewhat muddy sound mix. Most of the musical action is otherwise contained by Marley’s vocals – always committed and rarely less than extraordinary, even in the midst of a gruelling tour – and the under-valued choral counterpoints of the I Three, a trio more distinguished than the usual ‘backing vocals’ description suggests, and whose discipline allows Marley to improvise and wander.
Though this was the ‘Kaya Tour’ – said album had been released in March – the only track from that record is “Easy Skankingâ€, which drifts past unremarkably. Kaya was a kick-back album. In concert, something tougher was called for, and Marley invariably relied on a mix of militant anthems and greatest hits – the opening quartet of “Slave Driverâ€, “Burning’ and Lootin’â€, “Them Belly Full†and “Heathen†is a salvo of anger and defiance, after which comes a clutch of lighter crowd-pleasers; “Rebel Musicâ€, “I Shot The Sheriffâ€, “No Woman No Cry†and “Lively Up Yourselfâ€, a number that featured in almost every show Marley and his band played.
By 1978 other constants had emerged. “Warâ€, containing the words of Hailie Selassie, was like scripture for Marley, and he and the band had cleverly segued it into “No More Troubleâ€, thus balancing the songs’ messages. “Lively Up Yourselfâ€, a number that had started life as languid rock steady back in the Bob/Bunny/Tosh era, had evolved into a high-spirited celebration of livity. “Get Up Stand Up†(co-written with Peter Tosh let’s not forget) was another ever-present, a catchy singalong on one level that was also combative and Rastafarian in outlook.
As the show proceeds, the numbers grow longer, partly to allow Marley to do more dancing and gesticulating, but also to let the twin guitar attack of Anderson and Marvin more space. Their squealing blues-rock guitars had always been a bone of contention among reggae fans, with accusations of ‘sell-out’ not uncommon. The squalls of guitar over the last 30 minutes of this show certainly have their tedious moments. The reality was that Marley was engaged in the reinvention of reggae, and just as black American acts like Funkadelic had adopted rock elements, so had he. Transforming the Wailers from a studio-stuck vocal trio into a fully functioning band had itself been a revolutionary act; turning Jamaican music into something less alien to a global audience was, for Marley, a continuation of the same process.
His real aim, one that would never be fulfilled in his lifetime, was to engage and revolutionise black America, to fulfil the prophecy of “Exodusâ€. That number ends Easy Skanking in a thunder of double beats that the sound quality here turns into an uninteresting thump. It isn’t really reggae at all, but it is uniquely Bob Marley.
For the past, I think, seven years now, many of you will know we've been producing Ultimate Music Guides to complement our monthly editions of Uncut. This week - on Thursday, April 16, to be specific - we're flinging something else onto the shelves: deluxe remasters of some of our most popular Ultim...
For the past, I think, seven years now, many of you will know we’ve been producing Ultimate Music Guides to complement our monthly editions of Uncut. This week – on Thursday, April 16, to be specific – we’re flinging something else onto the shelves: deluxe remasters of some of our most popular Ultimate Music Guides, beginning with an upgraded and updated version of our edition dedicated to Pink Floyd.
To launch this series of plush new bookazines – as you’ll see when you get your hands on one, they’re closer in feel to books than mags – Pink Floyd seemed the ideal place to start. It’s long been a risky game predicting where the Floyd story might actually finish, and the first edition of the Pink Floyd Ultimate Music Guide felt like it came at the end of, at the very least, a closing chapter, coming as it did soon after David Gilmour and Nick Mason had guested at a Roger Waters London performance of “The Wall”.
In the wake of “The Endless River”, though, a significant arc has been completed, and a critical, previously obscured part of the Floyd story has been brought into view. As David Gilmour sings on “Louder Than Words”, the closing track of what was presented as their valedictory album; “Let’s go with the flow, wherever it goes/We’re more than alive…”
The Ultimate Music Guide to Pink Floyd, then, now tells the complete story of an extraordinary band, a tale that encompasses epic power struggles, intimate confessions, preposterous experiments and, of course, madness, and which stretches back for the best part of five decades. The legend of a great, sometimes oracular British band so potent, in fact, that even their tribute bands play arenas.
There’s a persuasive idea that those tribute bands have been so successful because Pink Floyd themselves are, in a way, anonymous. Who cares about the identity of the musicians playing these awe-inspiring songs, goes the argument: just check out the light show! Uncut’s Ultimate Music Guide to Pink Floyd proves, we think, that this is nonsense. The tale of Pink Floyd is one as human, passionate and compelling as any in the rock canon.
The band’s dramas were played out in the pages of NME, Melody Maker and Uncut, and in the Ultimate Music Guide you’ll find uncut, revelatory interviews conducted with the band between 1967 and 2014. We begin with the brief psychedelic flowering of Syd Barrett, and chart the band’s years of questing until they arrive at The Dark Side Of The Moon. We dive into the intensely personal psychodramas of Roger Waters and the more becalmed stewardship of David Gilmour, and provide in-depth reviews of every Pink Floyd album. We have, of course, added extensive new material on “The Endless River”, to bring the story right up to date.
“Looking through the Pink Floyd songbook surprises me sometimes,†says Gilmour. “There are hundreds of songs, we go through lots of different styles of music, three different leaders and at least three different singers, and dozens of guests. But everything’s linked by this collective psyche. You have a sound in your head and you try to replicate it. I’m always looking for new sounds.â€
Jeff Beck is to release his first new studio material since 2010.
Two new tracks, "Tribal†and “My Tiled White Floorâ€, will appear on Beck's forthcoming album, Live+.
The album will be available from Atco Records, an imprint of Rhino Entertainment, on May 4 on CD and will also be available d...
Jeff Beck is to release his first new studio material since 2010.
Two new tracks, “Tribal†and “My Tiled White Floorâ€, will appear on Beck’s forthcoming album, Live+.
The album will be available from Atco Records, an imprint of Rhino Entertainment, on May 4 on CD and will also be available digitally. A career-spanning set, it was recorded at various venues during 2014 and includes a cover of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life”.
The track listing for Jeff Beck Live+ is:
“Loaded†“Morning Dew†“You Know You Know†“Why Give It Away†“A Change Is Gonna Come†“A Day In The Life†“Superstition†“Hammerhead†“Little Wing†“Big Block†“Where Were You†“Danny Boy†“Rollin’ And Tumblin’†“Going Down†“Tribal†“My Tiled White Floorâ€
Meanwhile, Beck has extended his current American tour.
In addition to already announced dates, Beck will now also play:
May 12 — Louisville, KY @ The Kentucky Center – Whitney Hall
May 14 — Ann Arbor, MI @ Michigan Theater
May 15 — Northfield, OH @ Hard Rock Live
May 16 — Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
May 17 — Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
May 19 — St. Louis, MO @ Fox Theater
May 21 — Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
May 22 — Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theatre
May 23 — Minneapolis, MN @ State Theater
