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First Look – Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf Of Wall Street

Michael Bonner
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First Look – Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf Of Wall Street

The bulk of the action takes place in retrospect, prominently soundtracked by music from that era. There’s a knowing narration from a central character who is attracted to an exhilarating lifestyle fuelled by crime, money and drugs. There is a terrible fall, and a redemption of sorts. Which Martin Scorsese film are we talking about here? Mean Streets, GoodFellas, Casino, The Departed? These are some of Scorsese’s very best films – the first two, at least, among the most influential and imitated movies in modern cinema. With his latest film, The Wolf Of Wall Street, Scorsese seems to be deliberately playing fast and loose with his own enviable back catalogue. Let's call it CashFellas, OK? The director’s 23rd film is a white collar crime caper presented as a screwball comedy, delivered at the kind of breakneck pace you’d hardly expect from a man in his seventies. It is a film that features dwarf-hurling, mass orgies and Joanna Lumley as a high end money launderer. One of the films best jokes involves Leonardo DiCaprio attempting to drive a Ferrari while out of his skull of Quaaludes. It is obscene, hysterically pitched, epically debauched. The Wolf Of Wall Street is based on a memoir by Jordan Belfort, an entrepreneur who cheated clients out of tens of millions of dollars before he was jailed for fraud and money laundering. Scorsese’s film opens in the mid-Eighties, with the young Belfort striking out on Wall Street. As his mentor, Matthew McConaughey – terrific – delivers a ten-minute tutorial on the merits of cocaine and masturbation as a key to success. After the 1987 Black Monday crash, Belfort sets up his own brokerage film, Stratton Oakmont (motto: “stability, integrity, pride”) with a few desks in a Long Island garage, and sets about selling pennystocks over the phone. Belfort’s rise is swift and spectacular, attracting the interest of the FBI. There are helicopters, yachts, Swiss bankers. At times, Belfort's parties become a kind of X rated version of The Great Gatsby; at others, I’m reminded of high end gross-out comedies (this might have something to do with the presence of Jonah Hill in a significant role). As Belfort, DiCaprio is impressive. With his slicked back dark hair and his sharp suits, there is a touch of the 1920s gangster star to him – a Paul Muni, maybe. The lengthy motivational speeches he delivers to the staff of Stratton Oakmont remind me, to some extent, of the kind of airpunching guff Tom Cruise would spout in a movie like Jerry Maguire. Indeed, there’s a nagging suspicion is that Scorsese isn’t just directing his satire at the loathsome, hubristic extravagance of the 80s Wall Street culture but also an entire raft of movies from the same era that shared similar, over-reaching agendas. Through all this, Scorsese’s camera jumps, swoops, spins and cavorts with the same nervous energy as Belfort and his cronies on a cocaine bender. It’s relentless and exhausting, but the narrative line for Terence Winter's script is clean – if a little obvious. Greed is not good. Scorsese’s decision to riff on his own greatest hits is reinforced in lines like “I’ve always wanted to be rich,” which echo Henry Hill’s claim at the start of GoodFellas: “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” Cristin Milioti, who plays Belfort’s first wife Denise, has Lorraine Bracco hair. Jonah Hill, as Belfort’s best friend and chief conspirator Donny Azoff, is like a cuddlier Joe Pesci. The TV ads for Stratton Oakmont recall commercials for Morrie’s wig shop in GoodFellas. In one respect, though, it critically lacks a Jimmy Conway, a corrupting figure of absolute evil. In the end, it seems as if Belfort is capable of doing all that himself. Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A The Wolf Of Wall Street opens on January 17 in the UK

The bulk of the action takes place in retrospect, prominently soundtracked by music from that era. There’s a knowing narration from a central character who is attracted to an exhilarating lifestyle fuelled by crime, money and drugs. There is a terrible fall, and a redemption of sorts.

Which Martin Scorsese film are we talking about here? Mean Streets, GoodFellas, Casino, The Departed? These are some of Scorsese’s very best films – the first two, at least, among the most influential and imitated movies in modern cinema. With his latest film, The Wolf Of Wall Street, Scorsese seems to be deliberately playing fast and loose with his own enviable back catalogue. Let’s call it CashFellas, OK? The director’s 23rd film is a white collar crime caper presented as a screwball comedy, delivered at the kind of breakneck pace you’d hardly expect from a man in his seventies. It is a film that features dwarf-hurling, mass orgies and Joanna Lumley as a high end money launderer. One of the films best jokes involves Leonardo DiCaprio attempting to drive a Ferrari while out of his skull of Quaaludes. It is obscene, hysterically pitched, epically debauched.

The Wolf Of Wall Street is based on a memoir by Jordan Belfort, an entrepreneur who cheated clients out of tens of millions of dollars before he was jailed for fraud and money laundering. Scorsese’s film opens in the mid-Eighties, with the young Belfort striking out on Wall Street. As his mentor, Matthew McConaughey – terrific – delivers a ten-minute tutorial on the merits of cocaine and masturbation as a key to success. After the 1987 Black Monday crash, Belfort sets up his own brokerage film, Stratton Oakmont (motto: “stability, integrity, pride”) with a few desks in a Long Island garage, and sets about selling pennystocks over the phone. Belfort’s rise is swift and spectacular, attracting the interest of the FBI. There are helicopters, yachts, Swiss bankers. At times, Belfort’s parties become a kind of X rated version of The Great Gatsby; at others, I’m reminded of high end gross-out comedies (this might have something to do with the presence of Jonah Hill in a significant role).

As Belfort, DiCaprio is impressive. With his slicked back dark hair and his sharp suits, there is a touch of the 1920s gangster star to him – a Paul Muni, maybe. The lengthy motivational speeches he delivers to the staff of Stratton Oakmont remind me, to some extent, of the kind of airpunching guff Tom Cruise would spout in a movie like Jerry Maguire. Indeed, there’s a nagging suspicion is that Scorsese isn’t just directing his satire at the loathsome, hubristic extravagance of the 80s Wall Street culture but also an entire raft of movies from the same era that shared similar, over-reaching agendas.

Through all this, Scorsese’s camera jumps, swoops, spins and cavorts with the same nervous energy as Belfort and his cronies on a cocaine bender. It’s relentless and exhausting, but the narrative line for Terence Winter’s script is clean – if a little obvious. Greed is not good. Scorsese’s decision to riff on his own greatest hits is reinforced in lines like “I’ve always wanted to be rich,” which echo Henry Hill’s claim at the start of GoodFellas: “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” Cristin Milioti, who plays Belfort’s first wife Denise, has Lorraine Bracco hair. Jonah Hill, as Belfort’s best friend and chief conspirator Donny Azoff, is like a cuddlier Joe Pesci. The TV ads for Stratton Oakmont recall commercials for Morrie’s wig shop in GoodFellas. In one respect, though, it critically lacks a Jimmy Conway, a corrupting figure of absolute evil. In the end, it seems as if Belfort is capable of doing all that himself.

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

The Wolf Of Wall Street opens on January 17 in the UK

Keith Richards: “I’m all for a quiet life… 
I just didn’t get one”

Uncut
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Keith Richards: “I’m all for a quiet life… 
I just didn’t get one”
Today (December 18), Keith Richards is 70 years old – to celebrate the Stone's landmark birthday, here's a classic interview from the Uncut archive (January 2004, Take 80), originally published to mark the guitarist's 60th birthday. Jon Wilde hooks up with Richards to discuss his favourite Rolling...

Today (December 18), Keith Richards is 70 years old – to celebrate the Stone’s landmark birthday, here’s a classic interview from the Uncut archive (January 2004, Take 80), originally published to mark the guitarist’s 60th birthday. Jon Wilde hooks up with Richards to discuss his favourite Rolling Stones songs, the importance of Max Miller jokes and going without sleep for nine days…

__________________

“What a draaaaaaaaag it is growin’ 
o-o-o-ld,” Mick Jagger sang back 
in 1966. The rubber-lipped one became a sexagenarian earlier this year. Now it’s Keef’s turn. This month, on December 18 to be exact, The Human Riff, The Living Breathing Drug Laboratory and grandfather of two turns 60. To say he doesn’t look his age would be accurate but slightly impolite because, for years, Keith Richards has looked as old and ragged as creation itself while remaining rock’n’roll’s coolest personification of piratical non-conformity.

Look up “rock’n’roll” 
in the Collins English Dictionary and there you’ll find him – skull ring and vodka bottle aloft, looking impossibly ragged, grinning away like a man who started turning his juvenile fantasies into a way of life more than 40 years ago. That was when he decided he rather liked that way of life, and simply carried on – through the seemingly endless tours with rock’s most enduring circus, the long dance with heroin, close calls with death and the law, not to mention a famously volatile friendship with Jagger.

And still he carries on, not so much defying every rule in the book, but simply doing what he’s always done – ignoring everyone else’s rules, making up his own, and largely ignoring those, too. Of course, no one carries on and carries it off 
quite like Keef.

Making a perfectly dishevelled entrance into his London hotel suite, he looks like he’s just climbed out of bed. Perhaps the only surprising thing about that would be that he actually got to bed at all. After all, here’s a man who long ago set the benchmark for what qualifies as an extremely late night.

This afternoon finds everyone’s favourite Stone in very fine fettle. Lighting up the first of umpteen Marlboro Reds, supping the first of many vodka and cranberries, chuckling like 
a dysfunctional coffee percolator, his accent 
veers entertainingly between drawling Cockney, 
Niven-esque posh and primordial bluesman as he holds court for Uncut’s exclusive benefit. “Fire away,” he instructs us. We don’t mind if we do.

__________________

UNCUT: First off, happy 60th birthday.

KEITH: I’m 60, am I? I knew it was one of those with 
a zero on the end. 60? Christ! It’s a funny place to be. 
In a way, it’s a privilege. Then again, it’s felt like a privilege just to wake up to a new day for a few years now. There’s a lot of people who thought I’d never make it this far. Including myself. For a long time, it felt like being wished to death but I got over it. Of course, I saw the white light at the end of the tunnel a few times. But I proved I was sturdy. This body of mine, I pushed it as far as I could push. That was an interesting experiment. While it lasted.

When did it stop?

Oh, it never stops, old chap. At least it hasn’t for me.

How’s it feel to be everybody’s favourite Rolling Stone?

I am? I always figured that all that stuff evens out over the years. I really don’t think about the Stones in that way. For me, it’s always been a band. Having said that, it is kind 
of heart-warming if people like me more than the others [laughs].

You once said that the Stones carry on touring for the same reason that a dog licks its own balls…

Yeah, basically. I might have put it a little more 
poetically [laughs]. What I mean by that is that it’s part of nature for us. That’s what a dog does. Of course, it presumes that you’ve got balls in the first place. Also, we carry on doing it because we love doing it more than anything. You can call it habit. You can call it addiction. Whatever. But there’s a certain thing about working the road where everybody finds an equilibrium. I always say, ‘Let’s get up on stage and find some peace and quiet.’ It’s the one place where we can all be kings of the castle for a few hours. The one place where we can truly be ourselves. It’s the one place where only we know what’s really going on. It’s a private club, in a way. No one else will ever know what it’s like to be up there doing that. That puts us in a place apart in the time we’re up there. We cherish that. Also, there’s no denying it, we have so much fun doing that. It might be work in 
a way, but it’s never that hard.

Would you agree that the Stones’ career has endured as much through luck as judgement?

Far more luck than judgement. That goes right back to the beginning. Like how we came to write our own songs. If we’d carried on doing covers, we wouldn’t have lasted the year. Of course, when Andrew (Loog Oldham) locked me and Mick in the kitchen, there was no guarantee we’d end up writing anything useful. That was a crunch point for us. Maybe because of Andrew’s experience with The Beatles, his vision was much larger than ours. We weren’t thinking further than being the hippest blues band in London. When “Come On” hit the charts, there was an underlying feeling that the clock was already ticking down. The feeling was that we had two years at the most, so we’d better make the most of it. Luckily, that feeling soon dissipated. Quickly we realised that we’d taken this thing further than we ever imagined. Once we realised that, we wanted to see how much further we could take it. More than 40 years on, we’re still doing that. It’s beautiful, man. But it hasn’t lasted because of some great master plan. It started off with ducking and diving and that’s how it’s continued.

If you hadn’t started writing with Jagger, you’d probably be playing Butlin’s now.

Exactly. When I look back on it, the fact we started writing our own stuff just seems logical. Back then, it was on a wing and a prayer. We had to learn from somebody. Apart from Chuck Berry, I can do Chuck Berry better than just about anyone. But I had to stop doing Chuck Berry and start doing Keith Richards.

How would you compare the thrill of the current tour with playing clubs like the Marquee and the Crawdaddy in the early ’60s?

That’s a good question, mate. When you get on 
stage, whether it’s 40 years ago at the Crawdaddy or Zurich a few weeks ago, that feeling is fairly constant and consistent. Back then, there was a newness to it which, obviously, gave it a certain edge. But that feeling of being up there is not much different now than it was then. It’s become a thread that we hang onto that makes us think, “Hey, this is what we do and we’ve been doing it for that long.” Of course, every show is a different show. We always know what we’re gonna do, but not exactly. At our best, we master the art of going just over the edge of the abyss, then pulling back. We’re seriously having fun up there. Playing live with the Stones is like living in our own separate country, and we take the country with us. It’s like having an empire but no land… There’s moments when we hit it, really hit, and it’s the best feeling. A real triumph. That’s never down to one individual. That’s when we come together as a band. It’s like the music is bigger than all of us. It’s powerful, man. Moments like that, they’re not 
about precision. They’re more about, I dunno, chaos, I suppose. A beautiful chaos. You can’t beat that.

What’s your best riff?

That’s so difficult to answer because, if I choose one, I’ll be killing all my other babies. If I had to pull one out, it’d be “Jumping Jack Flash”. There’s something so stripped-down about that riff. I play it every night on the road and, every time, I’m looking at it like it’s a half-tamed tiger. It’s never the same, but it’s always got so much spirit to it. In a weird way, it’s jazz. In 
the sense that you go on learning it and it goes on teaching you. There’s always something new. It’s strange with riffs. Some of my best ones have come 
to me in my sleep. “Satisfaction” was one of those.

Your favourite Jagger vocal?

He’s done a lot of great ones. “Sympathy For The Devil”, “Beast Of Burden”, “Jumping Jack Flash”, “Brown Sugar”, “Start Me Up”. Then there’s one like “Torn And Frayed” (from Exile On Main St) on which he brings out this country thing… we should do it more often on the road. When I hear that song, I think, “Shit, did I write that?”

Charlie’s best drum performance?

Oh, man. That’s not one I can easily pull out. I’ve been playing with the guy for more than 40 years and he still knocks me out. The thing about Charlie is that he’s so amazingly consistent. To me, he’s not the kind of drummer where you can point at one song and say, “That’s the essence of him.” Because everything he does is beautiful. Having said that, he’s pretty sensational on “Sympathy For The Devil” and “Brown Sugar”.

Ronnie Wood’s finest guitar part?

Oh, bless his heart. I love Ronnie, I just love the guy. Of course, he’s been through quite a thing in the last year or so when he really straightened out. I didn’t even realise it was affecting him until he came to me and told me he’d cleaned up. He’s done some great stuff in the Stones. He’s a great slide player. I love the pedal-steel he did on “The Worst” (from Voodoo Lounge). On the road, we’ve been doing “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” and he’s been taking some amazing solos on that. I love playing with Ronnie because he’s simpatico. Between us, we manage to perform the ancient art of weaving. You can never tell who’s playing what. It’s kind of seamless.

The general consensus appears to be that Exile On Main St is your masterpiece. Would you care to comment?

It’s funny with Exile. When it came out, nobody really got it. I mean, nobody. There was so much on it, maybe that was the problem. It didn’t sell that well at the time. But now, everyone seems to love it. It came at the end of what was probably our most consistent run of albums. Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, then Exile. I’d find it hard to single out one from that bunch.

Mick Jagger appears to be completely perplexed at how Exile is now rated. He doesn’t seem to get it at all.

That’s Mick for you [laughs]. Sometimes he’s too close to things. He doesn’t read things the way that other people read them. Mick’s got a tendency to think in front of himself. He doesn’t really like to dwell on the past. Actually, he prefers to deny it.

Apart from anything else, Exile On Main St is one of the great album titles. Who thought that one up?

Again, good question. But I fear the answer has been lost in the midst of time. We’d decided to call it “Exile Something Or Other” because we’d just moved out 
of England. Or we’d been kicked out, to be accurate about it. I’m not sure where the “Main St” bit came from. All I know is that I knew it had to be the title the first time I heard it. It might even have come from someone outside the band. We’ve been lucky with album titles. Sometimes it comes out of a song that we write and never finish. Something might be 
a lousy song but it might be a great title.

In all honesty, what are the chances of some of the recent Stones albums enjoying the kind of critical rehabilitation that Exile has received?

It’s been different in the last 15 years. Our previous albums occupied a different position. I don’t know that the Stones could make an album now that would have the same impact. Maybe it’s just that we’re getting old [laughs]. I’m aware that the stuff we’ve done since the ’90s is unlikely to hit the 
listener straight away. But there might be a few time bombs left behind. I just remind myself that my whole reason for getting into this was to be able to make records. I love the fact that I can still do that…

You used to make whole albums in a week. Why not go back to that approach?

It’s getting down to that. Our last sessions in Paris, where we did the extra tracks for Forty Licks, they were similar to the way we used to record. Three microphones and let’s go. Basically, we got sick to death of the hi-tech. Recently, we’ve been recording stuff while we’re on the road, in hotel rooms, 
whatever. Maybe a great Stones album will come out of that. Who knows?

There’s a few enduring Stones myths worth clearing up once and for all.

Sure thing. Fire away, man.

Is it true that Mick Taylor left the Stones because he didn’t know any Max Miller jokes?

There’s some truth in that [laughs]. There’s something about being in the Stones. It’s about more than musicianship. Something else has to click… The fact that Mick didn’t 
know any Max Miller gags would definitely have counted against him.

Is it true that, in the early days of touring, Brian Jones would play “Popeye The Sailorman” halfway through “Satisfaction”?

That’s true, actually. It didn’t matter what you played back then. Everyone was screaming so fucking loud you couldn’t hear a thing. You could barely hear anything on stage, let alone the audience. The screaming got so loud at times that there was no point in playing anything. But there were times when Brian would start off “Popeye The Sailorman” and I’d join in with “My Old Man Says Follow The Van”… then you wait for the shit to hit the fan, or the fans to hit the shit. After all, it’s only rock’n’roll.

Is it true that you were the very first rock star to throw a TV out of a hotel window?

I dunno if I was the first. But I was certainly one of the first. Bobby Keyes (saxophonist) and I did hurl 
a magnificent 21-inch set out of a hotel in the late ’60s or early ’70s. It provided the most satisfying crash. But the only reason we did it was that the damn thing refused to work. It took a while to do because they used to bolt them to the floor in those days. We really sweated it. But once it was done, we both felt a surge of satisfaction. The great moment was captured for posterity in the film Cocksucker Blues.

The story about you regularly jetting off to Switzerland for a complete change of blood still endures.

Oh, that old chestnut. Funnily enough, that was 
a myth of my own making. I was going to Switzerland and I was going to clean up. I was at Heathrow and there were a few guys there from the street of shame. They asked me where I was going. I said the first thing that came into my head. “I’m off to Switzerland to get my blood changed.” I’ve been stuck with it ever since.

What about the story that, at the height of ’70s rock star decadence, you once bought your own hovercraft?

That’s true. Though it was in the late ’60s. Someone gave me this hovercraft. My house in Sussex has 
got this moat around it. So we were rolling the 
hovercraft around the garden to see how it worked and it fell in the moat. When it came out, it wasn’t the same. We never tried again. That was my one and only attempt at hovercrafting.

Has it been difficult not to buy into your own myths?

I fell into it. I’m still falling. You never learn to 
cope with it. You’re on the road for so long, living this abnormal life. Then you’re meant to return to 
normality, but it’s never normal. There’s a kind of decompression that goes on. In the last 20 years, the most I’ve spent in one place is three months. It’s hello and goodbye, like being a whaling captain…

How did you react when Liam Gallagher challenged
 you, Mick Jagger, George Harrison and Paul McCartney 
to a fight?

He even named the place, didn’t he?

Primrose Hill. Midday. The following Saturday.

I’d quite like to have seen him take on Mick and Paul [laughs]. Basically, though, my attitude was, “Come back when you grow up.” It didn’t rile me. 
I thought it was quite funny. But it says more about him than it does about anyone else. Having said that, we’ve all done it. I threw out a challenge to Billy Fury 40 years ago. So there you go.

Presumably, you can handle yourself in a fight?

I’ve been known to. Self-defence, old boy. That’s 
my policy.

When was the last time you raged about something and completely lost it?

I dunno. Maybe when Mick accepted the knighthood. I went fucking berserk when I heard. I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment when they did their very best to throw us in jail and kill us at one time. Just as we were about to start a new tour, I thought it sent 
out the wrong message. It’s not what the Stones is about, is it? I don’t want to step out on stage with someone wearing a fucking coronet and sporting the old ermine. At the same time, I told Mick, “It’s a fucking paltry honour. If you’re into this shit, hang on for the peerage. Don’t settle for a little badge.” 
He defended himself by saying that Tony Blair insisted that he took the knighthood. Like that’s an excuse. Like you can’t turn down anything. Like it doesn’t depend how you feel about it.

A few questions about drugs, if that’s OK?

Sure. What you need to know?

Your all-time record for partying without a wink of sleep?

Nine nights. I did six or seven plenty of times. Not 
to prove anything to anyone. I wasn’t interested in showing how tough I was. It was my way of getting to know myself. Also, I wasn’t doing it all the time. That was just one side of me. There was this other side of me that craved peace and quiet… just sitting there burning my incense. I’m all for a quiet life. 
I just didn’t get one, that’s all. Fine by me.

Does staying up for nine nights bring a certain wisdom?

If you can remember it! A lot of the wisdom you get from doing something like that, it all comes at one time. It was the most amazing experience. You lose track of time after three nights. An hour becomes 
a minute. A minute can become an hour. Time’s meaningless, sleep becomes superfluous. Everything becomes a beautiful blur, until you fall over and break your nose. I’ve still got the scars, mate. Only other people can tell you how long you’ve been up. People would be coming and going. I’d still be there, carrying on conversations that started four days ago. It was an interesting place to be. I don’t recommend it for everyone. And, listen to your Uncle Keith, no driving heavy machinery while you’re doing it.

What have you got against daylight, exactly?

I’ve nothing against daylight. When the sun’s out and I’m on the beach, I love a bit of daylight. I don’t live totally nocturnally. Only when I feel like it. Which is most of the time.

What’s the best drug for creativity?

Speedballs used to do the trick for me. On a long-term basis, the weed can be pretty useful.

Can you recall specific Stones songs that were written when you were off your head?

I don’t remember much when I’m pissed or stoned. 
If I did an in-depth survey, I’d say that anything I wrote in the ’70s up until about 1977, I was almost certainly on smack. Then again, I was never just on smack. 
I was on everything else as well. I can’t classify my songs chemically. There was too much of it going on.

Are you obliged to live like a monk these days?

Not at all. Though, now you mention it, I wouldn’t mind trying it some time… but I get bored too easily.

Did you ever do the traditional drugs talk with your kids?

I never had to sit down and lecture them. I never had to wag my finger at them. They do ask me about it and I tell them what’s what. Basically, they know who I am and they’re the first to defend me.

You once said that Brian Jones had 45 demons inside him and you have just the one…

I probably meant nobody knows how many demons they’ve got. My policy’s to identify one and deal with that. The thing with Brian was that as soon as he identified one, another would crop up. I’ve got just the one demon but he’s bad enough. It’s not that easy to be Keith Richards… but it’s not so hard, either.

Any thoughts on the forthcoming Brian Jones biopic?

You see other people writing the history of the Stones and it takes on a life of its own. It’s like another story entirely. You see these versions of yourself and you think, “Who the hell is this guy?” As far as Brian is concerned, I say let the man rest in peace.

What’s the best thing about being 60?

The fact that people still dig what I do, which gives me the licence to carry on being myself.

Finally, is there anything you want that you haven’t got?

No, but if someone can come up with something, I’ll have it.

The 47th Uncut Playlist Of 2013

John Mulvey
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The 47th Uncut Playlist Of 2013

The last playlist of 2013, I think, and – as you’ll see – a bunch of faithful retainers slipping back in with 2014 releases. Not sure I can believe I’m ending the year with an embedded video of Tears For Fears covering Animal Collective, but there you go. There should be one more blog to come, actually, if I have a chance to write a review of tonight’s Waterboys gig. If anyone’s seen them on this “Fisherman’s Blues” tour and can report back today, I’d be very interested to hear from you. In the meantime, all the best for the solstice and so on. Sending you my love, and a bang on the ear… Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey 1 Hauschka – Abandoned City (City Slang) 2 D Charles Speer & The Helix – Doubled Exposure (Thrill Jockey) 3 Hans Chew – Life And Love (At The Helm) 4 Hiss Golden Messenger – London Exodus (Paradise Of Bachelors) 5 Various Artists – Acid Arab Collections (Versatile) 6 Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness (Jagjaguwar) 7 ? 8 Metronomy – Love Letters (Because) 9 Chet Baker – Quintette (Boplicity) 10 Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love (Anti-) 11 Benmont Tench – Blonde Girl, Blue Dress (Blue Note) 12 Robert Ellis – Only Lies (New West) 13 The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream (Secretly Canadian) 14 Neneh Cherry – Blank Project (Smalltown Supersound) 15 Hiss Golden Messenger – Bad Debt (Paradise Of Bachelors) 16 Tears For Fears – My Girls (www.tearsforfears.com) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL_N1dVtddM 17 Drive By Truckers – English Oceans (ATO) 18 Ryley Walker – The West Wind (Tompkins Square)

The last playlist of 2013, I think, and – as you’ll see – a bunch of faithful retainers slipping back in with 2014 releases. Not sure I can believe I’m ending the year with an embedded video of Tears For Fears covering Animal Collective, but there you go.

There should be one more blog to come, actually, if I have a chance to write a review of tonight’s Waterboys gig. If anyone’s seen them on this “Fisherman’s Blues” tour and can report back today, I’d be very interested to hear from you.

In the meantime, all the best for the solstice and so on. Sending you my love, and a bang on the ear…

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

1 Hauschka – Abandoned City (City Slang)

2 D Charles Speer & The Helix – Doubled Exposure (Thrill Jockey)

3 Hans Chew – Life And Love (At The Helm)

4 Hiss Golden Messenger – London Exodus (Paradise Of Bachelors)

5 Various Artists – Acid Arab Collections (Versatile)

6 Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness (Jagjaguwar)

7 ?

8 Metronomy – Love Letters (Because)

9 Chet Baker – Quintette (Boplicity)

10 Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love (Anti-)

11 Benmont Tench – Blonde Girl, Blue Dress (Blue Note)

12 Robert Ellis – Only Lies (New West)

13 The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream (Secretly Canadian)

14 Neneh Cherry – Blank Project (Smalltown Supersound)

15 Hiss Golden Messenger – Bad Debt (Paradise Of Bachelors)

16 Tears For Fears – My Girls (www.tearsforfears.com)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL_N1dVtddM

17 Drive By Truckers – English Oceans (ATO)

18 Ryley Walker – The West Wind (Tompkins Square)

The Kinks, Robert Plant, David Crosby, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Presley in the first Uncut of 2014

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The Kinks, Robert Plant, David Crosby, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Presley in the first Uncut of 2014

This is the last newsletter of 2013, and therefore an appropriate moment perhaps to thank you for your support over the last 12 months and wish you all the best for the New Year. The next time you hear from me, our first issue of 2014 will already be out – we’ll be on sale from Friday, January 3 – so here’s a brief taster of what to expect. The Kinks are on the cover and we have exclusive interviews with Ray and Dave Davies about what they are planning to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary. Are they actually planning a reunion, a tour, a series of special commemorative concerts? All is revealed. Also featured in the issue are David Crosby, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Robert Wyatt and former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell, and Bruce Springsteen, whose new album, High Hopes, is reviewed by Richard Williams. There’s also a fascinating piece by David Cavanagh on Davy O’List, who as a member of The Nice was lauded as one of the most brilliant guitarists of the psychedelic era. He also featured in the original line-up of Roxy Music before apparently vanishing from sight. What happened to him is an amazing story. The issue also contains our 2014 Album Preview, with interviews with Robert Plant, Pete Townshend, Beck, Elbow, Sharon Van Etten, Elbow, War On Drugs and more. I got an advance copy last week of the new WOD album. It’s called Lost In The Dream, and it’s a terrific follow-up to Slave Ambient, with some of Adam Granduciel’s best work to date on stand-out tracks like “Eyes To The Wind”, which channels Dylan in the same way as “There is No Urgency”, from WOD’s debut album, Wagonwheel Blues. It’s out in March, I think, around the same time as Strangers, the new solo album from Simone Felice, who emailed me last week with details and a link to the record – look out for tracks like “Bye Bye Palenville”, “Bastille Day” and “Gettysburg”, all of which are outstanding additions to Simone’s catalogue. News, too, of another long-time Uncut favourite, Richmond Fontaine’s Willy Vlautin, whose excellent new novel, The Free, is published by Faber in February. I hope there’ll also be a UK release in 2014 for the film version of Willy’s debut novel, The Motel Life, starring Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Dorff, Emile Hirsch and Dakota Fanning. Finally, John’s posted the complete list of Uncut’s Top 80 albums of 2013 on his Wild Mercury Sound Blog. Read it here and please let us know what you think of our choices. In the meantime, have a great seasonal holiday and see you on the other side.

This is the last newsletter of 2013, and therefore an appropriate moment perhaps to thank you for your support over the last 12 months and wish you all the best for the New Year. The next time you hear from me, our first issue of 2014 will already be out – we’ll be on sale from Friday, January 3 – so here’s a brief taster of what to expect.

The Kinks are on the cover and we have exclusive interviews with Ray and Dave Davies about what they are planning to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary. Are they actually planning a reunion, a tour, a series of special commemorative concerts? All is revealed. Also featured in the issue are David Crosby, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Robert Wyatt and former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell, and Bruce Springsteen, whose new album, High Hopes, is reviewed by Richard Williams.

There’s also a fascinating piece by David Cavanagh on Davy O’List, who as a member of The Nice was lauded as one of the most brilliant guitarists of the psychedelic era. He also featured in the original line-up of Roxy Music before apparently vanishing from sight. What happened to him is an amazing story. The issue also contains our 2014 Album Preview, with interviews with Robert Plant, Pete Townshend, Beck, Elbow, Sharon Van Etten, Elbow, War On Drugs and more.

I got an advance copy last week of the new WOD album. It’s called Lost In The Dream, and it’s a terrific follow-up to Slave Ambient, with some of Adam Granduciel’s best work to date on stand-out tracks like “Eyes To The Wind”, which channels Dylan in the same way as “There is No Urgency”, from WOD’s debut album, Wagonwheel Blues.

It’s out in March, I think, around the same time as Strangers, the new solo album from Simone Felice, who emailed me last week with details and a link to the record – look out for tracks like “Bye Bye Palenville”, “Bastille Day” and “Gettysburg”, all of which are outstanding additions to Simone’s catalogue. News, too, of another long-time Uncut favourite, Richmond Fontaine’s Willy Vlautin, whose excellent new novel, The Free, is published by Faber in February. I hope there’ll also be a UK release in 2014 for the film version of Willy’s debut novel, The Motel Life, starring Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Dorff, Emile Hirsch and Dakota Fanning.

Finally, John’s posted the complete list of Uncut’s Top 80 albums of 2013 on his Wild Mercury Sound Blog. Read it here and please let us know what you think of our choices.

In the meantime, have a great seasonal holiday and see you on the other side.

The Best Albums Of 2013 – The Uncut Top 80

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The Best Albums Of 2013 – The Uncut Top 80
This month’s issue of Uncut, as you may have seen, comes with a free supplement showcasing our extensive end-of-year charts. We’ve decided, though, to post our 80 Best Albums Of 2013 list here. You can read new assessments of these albums in the booklet. But in the meantime, click on the links ...

This month’s issue of Uncut, as you may have seen, comes with a free supplement showcasing our extensive end-of-year charts. We’ve decided, though, to post our 80 Best Albums Of 2013 list here.

You can read new assessments of these albums in the booklet. But in the meantime, click on the links to read the original Uncut reviews. A reminder, too, that Uncut staffers have been posting their individual 2013 lists:

The Best Albums Of 2013 – The Editor’s Choice

The Wild Mercury Sound blog 143 Best Albums Of 2013

Tom Pinnock’s Best Albums Of 2013

Uncut’s Best Films Of 2013

And here, finally, is our Top 80. Let’s roll!

80 TONY JOE WHITE – Hoodoo (YEPROC)

79 ROBYN HITCHCOCK – Love From London (YEPROC)

78 HOOKWORMS – Pearl Mystic (GRINGO)

77 CATE LE BON – Mug Museum (TURNSTILE)

76 SUUNS – Images Du Futur (SECRETLY CANADIAN)

75 ELTON JOHN – The Diving Board (MERCURY)

74 LORD HURON – Lonesome Dreams (PIAS)

73 LAURA VEIRS – Warp And Weft (BELLA UNION)

72 EMMYLOU HARRIS & RODNEY CROWELL – Old Yellow Moon (NONESUCH)

71 DON CAVALLI – Temperamental (BECAUSE)

70 WILLIAM TYLER – Impossible Truth (MERGE)

69 AUTRE NE VEUT – Anxiety (SOFTWARE)

68 STEVE MASON – Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time (DOMINO)

67 JIM JAMES – Regions Of Light And Sound Of God (V2)

66 PHOSPHORESCENT – Muchacho (DEAD OCEANS)

65 THE CIVIL WARS – The Civil Wars (SENSIBILITY/SONY)

64 ANNA CALVI – One Breath (DOMINO)

63 PET SHOP BOYS – Electric (X2)

62 JON HOPKINS – Immunity (DOMINO)

61 CONNAN MOCKASIN – Caramel (BECAUSE)

60 KING KRULE – Six Feet Beneath The Moon (XL)

59 LUKE HAINES – Rock And Roll Animals (CHERRY RED)

58 MIKAL CRONIN – MCII (MERGE)

57 FRIGHTENED RABBIT – Pedestrian Verse (ATLANTIC)

56 EDWYN COLLINS – Understated (AED)

55 UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS – Mind Control (RISE ABOVE)

54 ROKIA TRAORE – Beautiful Africa (NONESUCH)

53 LINDA THOMPSON – Won’t Be Long Now (TOPIC)

52 THE NECKS – Open (ReR/NORTHERN SPY)

51 BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA – Jama Ko (OUT HERE)

50 HOUNDSTOOTH – Ride Out The Dark (NO QUARTER)

49 MAZZY STAR – Seasons Of Your Day (RHYMES OF AN HOUR)

48 IRON & WINE – Ghost On Ghost (4AD)

47 PHOENIX – Bankrupt! (GLASSNOTE)

46 FACTORY FLOOR – Factory Floor (DFA)

45 MANIC STREET PREACHERS – Rewind The Film (COLUMBIA)

44 FUZZ – Fuzz (IN THE RED)

43 OKKERVIL RIVER – The Silver Gymnasium (ATO)

42 ARCADE FIRE – Reflektor (SONOVOX)

41 LOW – The Invisible Way (SUB POP)

40 CHRIS FORSYTH – Solar Motel (PARADISE OF BACHELORS)

39 EARL SWEATSHIRT – Doris (COLUMBIA)

38 HAIM – Days Gone By (POLYDOR)

37 ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER – Personal Record (MERGE)

36 MARK KOZELEK & DESERTSHORE – Mark Kozelek & Desertshore (CALDO VERDE)

35 MARK KOZELEK & JIMMY LAVALLE – Perils From The Sea (CALDO VERDE)

34 WHITE DENIM – Corsicana Lemonade (DOWNTOWN)

33 RICHARD THOMPSON – Electric (PROPER)

32 THESE NEW PURITANS – Field Of Reeds (INFECTIOUS)

31 NEKO CASE – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (ANTI-)

30 YO LA TENGO – Fade (MATADOR)

29 HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER – Haw (PARADISE OF BACHELORS)

28 JOHNNY MARR – The Messenger (WARNER BROS)

27 ATOMS FOR PEACE – Amok (XL)

26 JASON ISBELL – Southeastern (SOUTHEASTERN)

25 CAITLIN ROSE – The Stand-In (NAMES)

24 UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA – II (JAGJAGUWAR)

23 JONATHAN WILSON – Fanfare (BELLA UNION)

22 THE KNIFE – Shaking The Habitual (RABID)

21 BROADCAST – Berberian Sound Studio: Original Soundtrack (WARP)

20 VAMPIRE WEEKEND – Modern Vampires Of The City (XL)

19 ENDLESS BOOGIE – Long Island (NO QUARTER)

18 PARQUET COURTS – Light Up Gold (WHAT’S YOUR RUPTURE?)

17 KANYE WEST – Yeezus (DEF JAM)

16 THEE OH SEES – Floating Coffin (CASTLE FACE)

15 JULIA HOLTER – Loud City Song (DOMINO)

14 THE NATIONAL – Trouble Will Find Me (4AD)

13 DAFT PUNK – Random Access Memories (COLUMBIA)

12 PREFAB SPROUT – Crimson/Red (ICEBREAKER)

11 MATTHEW E WHITE – Big Inner (DOMINO)

10 BOARDS OF CANADA – Tomorrow’s Harvest (WARP)

9 ARCTIC MONKEYS – AM (DOMINO)

8 KURT VILE – Wakin On A Pretty Daze (MATADOR)

7 BILL CALLAHAN – Dream River (DRAG CITY)

6 ROY HARPER – Man & Myth (BELLA UNION)

5 LAURA MARLING – Once I Was An Eagle (VIRGIN)

4 JOHN GRANT – Pale Green Ghosts (BELLA UNION)

3 NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS – Push The Sky Away (BAD SEED LTD)

2 DAVID BOWIE – The Next Day (ISO)

1 MY BLOODY VALENTINE – m b v (MY BLOODY VALENTINE)

Follow us on Twitter: @JohnRMulvey / @MichaelBonner / @thomaspinnock

The Beatles rarities and bootlegs to appear on iTunes later today [December 17]

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The Beatles rarities and bootlegs to appear on iTunes later today [December 17]

A collection of The Beatles' rarities and bootlegs will be released exclusively through iTunes later today [December 17]. As Uncut reported last week, 59 tracks from 1963 are being released by The Beatles' label in an effort to beat the bootleggers and stop the songs falling out of copyright and becoming accessible to a rival record label. 2014 would mark the 50th anniversary of the recordings with EU copyright law dictating that songs remain in copyright for five decades if they have not been officially released. The same law stretches to 70 years if the songs are released. BBC News reports that the songs will appear on iTunes later today and remain indefinitely. After a recent change in the law, the master tape for The Beatles' 1963 debut album Please Please Me is protected by copyright until 2033, but the unreleased session tapes for that album are not. The band, whose music only arrived on iTunes in 2010 following lengthy legal negotiations, will release 59 tracks, which some reports suggest will be titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963. In total the album includes 15 studio outtakes and a further 44 live BBC tracks to add to those already on Live At The BBC and On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2, which was released earlier this year.

A collection of The Beatles‘ rarities and bootlegs will be released exclusively through iTunes later today [December 17].

As Uncut reported last week, 59 tracks from 1963 are being released by The Beatles’ label in an effort to beat the bootleggers and stop the songs falling out of copyright and becoming accessible to a rival record label. 2014 would mark the 50th anniversary of the recordings with EU copyright law dictating that songs remain in copyright for five decades if they have not been officially released. The same law stretches to 70 years if the songs are released.

BBC News reports that the songs will appear on iTunes later today and remain indefinitely. After a recent change in the law, the master tape for The Beatles’ 1963 debut album Please Please Me is protected by copyright until 2033, but the unreleased session tapes for that album are not.

The band, whose music only arrived on iTunes in 2010 following lengthy legal negotiations, will release 59 tracks, which some reports suggest will be titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963.

In total the album includes 15 studio outtakes and a further 44 live BBC tracks to add to those already on Live At The BBC and On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2, which was released earlier this year.

Pixies’ Black Francis on firing Kim Shattuck “it ain’t that big of a deal”

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Pixies’ Black Francis on firing Kim Shattuck “it ain’t that big of a deal”

Last week, Kim Shattuck expressed "shock" at being fired from Pixies. Shattuck's replacement is Paz Lenchatin, who has previously played with Zwan and A Perfect Circle. Speaking to Yahoo, Black Francis has spoken about the hirings and firings. Black Francis said: "The big question mark is, if it was going so well, why are you changing it up again? I guess it’s a fair question, but what I would say is, just because some shows went well or a recording session went well with somebody, that doesn’t mean that now you guys are married and this is forever. It’s not really how it works when you’re a band. And it’s hard to explain to people, especially if they get emotionally attached to one person." He continues: "Frankly, you don't want to explain it to anybody – it’s a lot of its personal, private shit. It's like politics and sports and people’s personal lives have all been smeared together in this modern world. It’s a very presumptuous attitude about a lot of things. [People say], 'Oh you’re shifting something in your world – we demand a statement as to why.' I’m not the mayor, this isn’t the bus service for a town. This is a rock band. "There’s been a shift in the lineup, big woop-dee-doo… as far as we’re concerned it ain't that big of a deal." On announcing Lenchatin's new role, Pixies drummer Dave Lovering said, "Working with different bass players is very new for the band, but we're having a great time doing it." Photo: Ed Miles/NME

Last week, Kim Shattuck expressed “shock” at being fired from Pixies. Shattuck’s replacement is Paz Lenchatin, who has previously played with Zwan and A Perfect Circle.

Speaking to Yahoo, Black Francis has spoken about the hirings and firings.

Black Francis said: “The big question mark is, if it was going so well, why are you changing it up again? I guess it’s a fair question, but what I would say is, just because some shows went well or a recording session went well with somebody, that doesn’t mean that now you guys are married and this is forever. It’s not really how it works when you’re a band. And it’s hard to explain to people, especially if they get emotionally attached to one person.”

He continues: “Frankly, you don’t want to explain it to anybody – it’s a lot of its personal, private shit. It’s like politics and sports and people’s personal lives have all been smeared together in this modern world. It’s a very presumptuous attitude about a lot of things. [People say], ‘Oh you’re shifting something in your world – we demand a statement as to why.’ I’m not the mayor, this isn’t the bus service for a town. This is a rock band.

“There’s been a shift in the lineup, big woop-dee-doo… as far as we’re concerned it ain’t that big of a deal.”

On announcing Lenchatin’s new role, Pixies drummer Dave Lovering said, “Working with different bass players is very new for the band, but we’re having a great time doing it.”

Photo: Ed Miles/NME

Peter Gabriel, E Street Band, Nirvana to join Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

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Peter Gabriel, E Street Band, Nirvana to join Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has announced its inductees for 2014. Following the committee vote, Peter Gabriel, Hall And Oates, Cat Stevens, Linda Ronstadt, Nirvana and Kiss will be inducted, while The E Street Band will be given the Award For Musical Excellence. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record, meaning Nirvana, who released debut album 'Bleach' in 1989, have been nominated at the first possible opportunity. The early managers of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones will also be honoured, with the late Brian Epstein and Andrew Loog Oldham sharing the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers. The induction ceremony is due to take place at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on April 10th, 2014, and tickets go on sale to the general public in January.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has announced its inductees for 2014.

Following the committee vote, Peter Gabriel, Hall And Oates, Cat Stevens, Linda Ronstadt, Nirvana and Kiss will be inducted, while The E Street Band will be given the Award For Musical Excellence. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record, meaning Nirvana, who released debut album ‘Bleach’ in 1989, have been nominated at the first possible opportunity.

The early managers of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones will also be honoured, with the late Brian Epstein and Andrew Loog Oldham sharing the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers.

The induction ceremony is due to take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 10th, 2014, and tickets go on sale to the general public in January.

Nick Lowe – Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family

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Nick Lowe – Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family

Ol’ Saint Nick, playful pop alchemy, and the retro-reinvention of the Christmas album... “It's an enormous amount of work to make a song sound like you've just knocked it off,” Nick Lowe announced in a recent interview, but that’s just what he’s been achieving regularly in his second life (third? fourth?), which began—post-Brinsleys, post-Rockpile—with 1994’s Impossible Bird. Here, Lowe extends that streak with a shocking dalliance, bringing his considerably clever muse, legendary distaste for the staid and conventional, and deep musical roots in pre-Beatles pop, torch balladry, C&W, rockabilly, R&B, soul, and ska styles to bear on a dozen lively, entertaining musings on the yuletide season. Lowe, pub-rocker supreme whose sly songwriting (the eternal “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”) and deft, timely production work (the Damned, Elvis Costello) vaulted him into major-player status in the ‘80s, would seem to be a candidate least-likely for this. Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood — contemporary country stars looking for some seasonal product — now they’re ripe for some traditional musical Christmas output. But Lowe is anything but a traditionalist here, successfully eluding formulae and cliché, gliding through a time tunnel of sorts back to the late ‘50s/early ‘60s. Christmas-themed pop culture reached an apex then — think Johnny Preston’s “Rock & Roll Guitar” or Chuck Berry’s immortal “Run Rudolph Run” — Baby Boomer kids and Camelot adults alike luxuriating, it seems anyhow, amid a sense of wonder and wide-eyed optimism. Joyous, open-hearted, pre-cynical—that’s the feel Lowe reaches for, and largely achieves. Playfulness is foremost from the get-go, on “Children Go Where I Send Thee,” a revved-up African call-and-response spiritual that threatens to careen out of control. “The North Pole Express” plucked from an obscure ‘60s kids’ 45 by the Caroleers, hot-rodded with a heavy rockabilly beat, chugging railroad rhythms, and a wry Lowe vocal, is magical. On “Hooves On The Roof,” a snappy, jazzy number written by Ron Sexsmith, Lowe delivers the vocal coffeehouse Beat style, amid some whirring, reindeer-landing sound effects. Lowe channels his inner Bing Crosby on “Christmas Can’t Be Far Away”, a Boudleaux Bryant song associated with country star Eddy Arnold. A delightfully odd choice, Roger Miller’s “Old Toy Trains”, follows a similar tack. Its gentle cadence, capturing a parent’s wellspring of love, is almost unbearably touching, overly sentimental and all the better for it, showcasing a tender, nuanced vocal (Lowe the singer has come quite a ways since his Rockpile days). Also, it suggests a Nick Lowe album of all Roger Miller songs would be a wonder to behold. As “Old Toy Train” comments on the specter of Christmas for adults, two Lowe originals, “Christmas At The Airport” and “A Dollar Short Of Happy” hint at the darker side of the season, zeroing in on time and money, mortal enemies of Christmas fun. “Don’t save me any turkey,” he snarks in the former, amid a breezy, old-style elevator music tune, “I found a burger in a bin.” Saving the best for last, “Silent Night” is the album’s one plausible concession to traditional Christmas fare. Yet with its skipping rhythms, upbeat scratchy guitars, and a horn-laden, Skatalites-in-New Orleans arrangement, this is not your ma and pa’s “Silent Night”. Even better is an ingenious retooling of Wizard’s “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day”. Stripping the 1973 original of its lavishly glam, Spectorian Wall of Sound, Lowe’s take revolves around chiming guitars, upbeat country vocals, and a pulsing, percussive organ figure — like the Sir Douglas Quintet spreading Christmas cheer circa 1965. Luke Torn Q&A Nick Lowe Why a Christmas record, Nick? I got a call from Yep Roc, who asked if I fancied doing this. My initial reaction was rather snooty and quite negative. I didn’t want to soil my reputation. It was those very sort of unworthy thoughts that made me suddenly change my mind and reconsider. I thought ‘bollocks to all that,’ this could be really good fun. What was Christmas like when you were a kid? My dad was in the RAF, so we moved a lot. We just about spent two Christmases in any one place, generally one. There was never anything constant in my Christmas memories. I remember really good food, as my mother was a wonderful cook. And the music we played, well, Bing Crosby was sound of our Christmases. And the Christmas Carol Service from the King’s College Cambridge. That was about it. “Silent Night” is your one concession to tradition here. It’s such a great tune, a fantastic tune. The sign of a great tune is that it can be treated in almost any old way. I really like that treatment we got—it’s the sort of music that defies description. It’s a little ska thing, sort of bluebeat bass. It’s got an R&B thing as well. INTERVIEW: LUKE TORN

Ol’ Saint Nick, playful pop alchemy, and the retro-reinvention of the Christmas album…

“It’s an enormous amount of work to make a song sound like you’ve just knocked it off,” Nick Lowe announced in a recent interview, but that’s just what he’s been achieving regularly in his second life (third? fourth?), which began—post-Brinsleys, post-Rockpile—with 1994’s Impossible Bird. Here, Lowe extends that streak with a shocking dalliance, bringing his considerably clever muse, legendary distaste for the staid and conventional, and deep musical roots in pre-Beatles pop, torch balladry, C&W, rockabilly, R&B, soul, and ska styles to bear on a dozen lively, entertaining musings on the yuletide season.

Lowe, pub-rocker supreme whose sly songwriting (the eternal “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”) and deft, timely production work (the Damned, Elvis Costello) vaulted him into major-player status in the ‘80s, would seem to be a candidate least-likely for this. Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood — contemporary country stars looking for some seasonal product — now they’re ripe for some traditional musical Christmas output.

But Lowe is anything but a traditionalist here, successfully eluding formulae and cliché, gliding through a time tunnel of sorts back to the late ‘50s/early ‘60s. Christmas-themed pop culture reached an apex then — think Johnny Preston’s “Rock & Roll Guitar” or Chuck Berry’s immortal “Run Rudolph Run” — Baby Boomer kids and Camelot adults alike luxuriating, it seems anyhow, amid a sense of wonder and wide-eyed optimism. Joyous, open-hearted, pre-cynical—that’s the feel Lowe reaches for, and largely achieves.

Playfulness is foremost from the get-go, on “Children Go Where I Send Thee,” a revved-up African call-and-response spiritual that threatens to careen out of control. “The North Pole Express” plucked from an obscure ‘60s kids’ 45 by the Caroleers, hot-rodded with a heavy rockabilly beat, chugging railroad rhythms, and a wry Lowe vocal, is magical. On “Hooves On The Roof,” a snappy, jazzy number written by Ron Sexsmith, Lowe delivers the vocal coffeehouse Beat style, amid some whirring, reindeer-landing sound effects.

Lowe channels his inner Bing Crosby on “Christmas Can’t Be Far Away”, a Boudleaux Bryant song associated with country star Eddy Arnold. A delightfully odd choice, Roger Miller’s “Old Toy Trains”, follows a similar tack. Its gentle cadence, capturing a parent’s wellspring of love, is almost unbearably touching, overly sentimental and all the better for it, showcasing a tender, nuanced vocal (Lowe the singer has come quite a ways since his Rockpile days). Also, it suggests a Nick Lowe album of all Roger Miller songs would be a wonder to behold.

As “Old Toy Train” comments on the specter of Christmas for adults, two Lowe originals, “Christmas At The Airport” and “A Dollar Short Of Happy” hint at the darker side of the season, zeroing in on time and money, mortal enemies of Christmas fun. “Don’t save me any turkey,” he snarks in the former, amid a breezy, old-style elevator music tune, “I found a burger in a bin.”

Saving the best for last, “Silent Night” is the album’s one plausible concession to traditional Christmas fare. Yet with its skipping rhythms, upbeat scratchy guitars, and a horn-laden, Skatalites-in-New Orleans arrangement, this is not your ma and pa’s “Silent Night”. Even better is an ingenious retooling of Wizard’s “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day”. Stripping the 1973 original of its lavishly glam, Spectorian Wall of Sound, Lowe’s take revolves around chiming guitars, upbeat country vocals, and a pulsing, percussive organ figure — like the Sir Douglas Quintet spreading Christmas cheer circa 1965.

Luke Torn

Q&A

Nick Lowe

Why a Christmas record, Nick?

I got a call from Yep Roc, who asked if I fancied doing this. My initial reaction was rather snooty and quite negative. I didn’t want to soil my reputation. It was those very sort of unworthy thoughts that made me suddenly change my mind and reconsider. I thought ‘bollocks to all that,’ this could be really good fun.

What was Christmas like when you were a kid?

My dad was in the RAF, so we moved a lot. We just about spent two Christmases in any one place, generally one. There was never anything constant in my Christmas memories. I remember really good food, as my mother was a wonderful cook. And the music we played, well, Bing Crosby was sound of our Christmases. And the Christmas Carol Service from the King’s College Cambridge. That was about it.

“Silent Night” is your one concession to tradition here.

It’s such a great tune, a fantastic tune. The sign of a great tune is that it can be treated in almost any old way. I really like that treatment we got—it’s the sort of music that defies description. It’s a little ska thing, sort of bluebeat bass. It’s got an R&B thing as well.

INTERVIEW: LUKE TORN

Another Uncut Best Albums Of 2013 list

Uncut
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Another Uncut Best Albums Of 2013 list

While our current magazine features a 52-page supplement revealing Uncut’s top 80 albums of 2013, voted for by the Uncut staff and nearly 50 contributors, here we’re gradually publishing some of our staff’s individual picks of the year’s best releases. So here are the Top 20 albums of 2013 from Tom Pinnock, our sub-editor and writer. As made clear in Allan Jones’ list, votes were cast a long time before the recent allegations against Roy Harper came to light – how the chart would have changed if it had been otherwise is impossible to say. Please send any words of agreement or argument in the comments box below, but remember, this is Tom’s personal list, not Uncut’s. You can find Tom on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock 20. Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action 19. The Sufis – Inventions 18. Mikal Cronin – MCII 17. Body/Head – Coming Apart 16. Kelley Stoltz – Double Exposure 15. Deerhunter – Monomania 14. Surf City – We Knew It Was Not Going To Be Like This 13. Euros Childs – Situation Comedy 12. British Sea Power – Machineries Of Joy 11. Lee Ranaldo & The Dust – Last Night On Earth 10. Thee Oh Sees – Floating Coffin 9. Younghusband – Dromes 8. Disappears – Era 7. Robyn Hitchcock – Love From London 6. Yo La Tengo – Fade 5. Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold 4. Julian Cope – Revolutionary Suicide 3. My Bloody Valentine – mbv 2. MGMT – MGMT 1. Roy Harper – Man & Myth

While our current magazine features a 52-page supplement revealing Uncut’s top 80 albums of 2013, voted for by the Uncut staff and nearly 50 contributors, here we’re gradually publishing some of our staff’s individual picks of the year’s best releases.

So here are the Top 20 albums of 2013 from Tom Pinnock, our sub-editor and writer. As made clear in Allan Jones’ list, votes were cast a long time before the recent allegations against Roy Harper came to light – how the chart would have changed if it had been otherwise is impossible to say.

Please send any words of agreement or argument in the comments box below, but remember, this is Tom’s personal list, not Uncut’s.

You can find Tom on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock

20. Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

19. The Sufis – Inventions

18. Mikal Cronin – MCII

17. Body/Head – Coming Apart

16. Kelley Stoltz – Double Exposure

15. Deerhunter – Monomania

14. Surf City – We Knew It Was Not Going To Be Like This

13. Euros Childs – Situation Comedy

12. British Sea Power – Machineries Of Joy

11. Lee Ranaldo & The Dust – Last Night On Earth

10. Thee Oh Sees – Floating Coffin

9. Younghusband – Dromes

8. Disappears – Era

7. Robyn Hitchcock – Love From London

6. Yo La Tengo – Fade

5. Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold

4. Julian Cope – Revolutionary Suicide

3. My Bloody Valentine – mbv

2. MGMT – MGMT

1. Roy Harper – Man & Myth

Peter O’Toole: 1932 – 2013

Michael Bonner
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Peter O’Toole: 1932 – 2013

Early on in Lawrence Of Arabia, the head of the Arab bureau, Mr Dryden, calls Lawrence into his office and invites him to investigate the progress of the Arab Revolt against Constantinople and to appraise the strength of the Arab tribes. He is to take the measure of Prince Faisal, who is out in the desert, “anywhere within three hundred miles of Medina,” says Dryden. “They are Hashimite Bedouins. They can cross sixty miles of desert in a day.” “Oh thanks, Dryden. This is going to be fun,” replies Lawrence. “Only two kinds of creature get fun in the desert,” asserts Dryden. “Bedouins and gods, and you’re neither. Take it from me. For ordinary men, it’s a burning fiery furnace.” “No, Dryden,” says Lawrence. “It’s going to be fun.” “It is recognised,” replies Dryden, “that you have a funny sense of fun.” Lawrence strikes a match and offers it to Dryden’s cigarette, he blows it out and the camera cuts to the desert at dawn: red and gold on the horizon. So began T E Lawrence’s marvellous adventures, as dramatised by David Lean. Lawrence Of Arabia made a star of its lead actor, Peter O’Toole – who died yesterday. Of course, plenty has already been written about O’Toole in the last day or so – much of it addressing his striking looks – as Peter Bradshaw put it in The Guardian, “that long, handsome face compellingly suggested something intelligent and romantic. But there was also something tortured there, sexually wayward and dysfunctional.” It’s those characteristics that Lean deploys so powerfully in Lawrence Of Arabia – a film with no women among the cast, but whose star is every bit the romantic lead. Golden hair, blue eyes, billowing white robes. “Aqaba is over there,” he tells Sherif Ali, “it’s only a matter of going.” Of course, “over there” is the other side of the Nefud desert, “the sun’s anvil”, and the line defines Lawrence – the madman’s risk, the grand romantic gesture, the astonishing self-confidence, the masochistic streak. O’Toole’s star continued, of course – Beckett, Lord Jim, The Lion In Winter, The Ruling Class, and later, My Favourite Year. But Lawrence Of Arabia, rightly, will will endure as his memorial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3tuBFHuYV4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cVwBjwRGgg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0c2v5PMo7o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTjNQ2Jkiio Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

Early on in Lawrence Of Arabia, the head of the Arab bureau, Mr Dryden, calls Lawrence into his office and invites him to investigate the progress of the Arab Revolt against Constantinople and to appraise the strength of the Arab tribes.

He is to take the measure of Prince Faisal, who is out in the desert, “anywhere within three hundred miles of Medina,” says Dryden. “They are Hashimite Bedouins. They can cross sixty miles of desert in a day.”

“Oh thanks, Dryden. This is going to be fun,” replies Lawrence.

“Only two kinds of creature get fun in the desert,” asserts Dryden. “Bedouins and gods, and you’re neither. Take it from me. For ordinary men, it’s a burning fiery furnace.”

“No, Dryden,” says Lawrence. “It’s going to be fun.”

“It is recognised,” replies Dryden, “that you have a funny sense of fun.” Lawrence strikes a match and offers it to Dryden’s cigarette, he blows it out and the camera cuts to the desert at dawn: red and gold on the horizon.

So began T E Lawrence’s marvellous adventures, as dramatised by David Lean. Lawrence Of Arabia made a star of its lead actor, Peter O’Toole – who died yesterday. Of course, plenty has already been written about O’Toole in the last day or so – much of it addressing his striking looks – as Peter Bradshaw put it in The Guardian, “that long, handsome face compellingly suggested something intelligent and romantic. But there was also something tortured there, sexually wayward and dysfunctional.” It’s those characteristics that Lean deploys so powerfully in Lawrence Of Arabia – a film with no women among the cast, but whose star is every bit the romantic lead. Golden hair, blue eyes, billowing white robes. “Aqaba is over there,” he tells Sherif Ali, “it’s only a matter of going.” Of course, “over there” is the other side of the Nefud desert, “the sun’s anvil”, and the line defines Lawrence – the madman’s risk, the grand romantic gesture, the astonishing self-confidence, the masochistic streak.

O’Toole’s star continued, of course – Beckett, Lord Jim, The Lion In Winter, The Ruling Class, and later, My Favourite Year. But Lawrence Of Arabia, rightly, will will endure as his memorial.

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

Bob Dylan – Complete Album Collection Vol. One

Uncut
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Bob Dylan – Complete Album Collection Vol. One

Every album, and a little bit more. Something is happening… In his new book, Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story Of Modern Pop, Bob Stanley, with typical elegance and erudition, comes as close as any – actually, closer than most – to bottling the appeal of Dylan in the 1960s, when he owned good parts of the world and in return, the world followed his every move, pounced on every gnomic statement, and devoured every single and album like missives of unearthly wisdom. “Dylan was closed, entirely self-sufficient,” he writes. “He was his own planet and, naturally, you desperately wanted to find a way to travel there.” It seems oddly telling that Stanley’s book and this definitively not-quite-definitive set of all Dylan’s studio and live albums should appear on the shelves at roughly the same time. One celebrates the multiple narratives of pop pre-internet age, the religion of sharing records, taping music, following the charts, mapping the highways and by-ways of modern pop in all its manifold contradictions. Complete Album Collection Vol. One feels like a veiled attempt to wrap up a messy era and claim it as one’s own; to reduce all of that wild complexity to a series of totemic documents, albums plotted chronologically, with thoroughly decent and highly normative logic, and an extra double-disc compilation, entitled Sidetracks, which pulls together all the stray songs and b-sides that appeared on Dylan’s multiple compilation albums. So far, so Fred Fact. It’s hard to find fault with good portions of the music on these discs. By its very design, this box includes several albums that have taken the fabric of popular music and sheared it into new, unexpected styles: Bringing It All Back Home; Highway 61 Revisited; Blonde On Blonde; The Basement Tapes; Blood On The Tracks, you know the drill… Breathtaking moments of sublimity originally etched into twelve-inch grooves and subsequently reduced to twelve-or-so centimeters of digitalia for your continual consumption. Spend as much time as you need, want, desire with these albums: they’re hard to beat. Having Dylan’s fourty-one albums handed to you in one box also helps contextualize the many swerves and swoops in his career, both gracious and ungracious. There’s the post-Blonde run of cryptic, ghostly song forms on John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, New Morning and Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, a run that’s still pregnant with untapped possibility. There are the divisive albums of fierce, declamatory, conservative Christianity from the early ‘80s (hearing them together in one sitting is seriously draining, kinda like walking into a new school and being hazed by the entire student populace, but it’s almost worth it to be reminded of the brilliance of the furious, unrelenting “Jokerman”). There’s Oh Mercy, whose songs I still can’t entirely parse from the cotton wool blur that is Daniel Lanois’ production (the finest moment from these sessions, “Series Of Dreams”, is on The Bootleg Series Vol. 3, naturlich). There are also those two early ‘90s albums of folk songs, Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong, which felt weird at the time and have lost none of their puzzle quotient, for this listener at least, in the intervening years. Dylan never fully seized the moment after these albums, and a lot of what happened since – even acclaimed albums like “Love And Theft” or Tempest – have, well, felt like good-to-occasionally-great late-era Dylan records that wouldn’t get that much of a pass if they’d been attributed to a lesser icon. And that’s the story Complete Album Collection Vol. One fills out, ultimately: an incredibly sustained marathon of creativity across the ‘60s and ‘70s, some weird detours in the ‘80s, settling into ornery elder statesman/figurehead status from the ‘90s onward. In its way it presents a far more rounded and realistic picture of Dylan the songwriter than the more hallucinatory, hagiographic texts that have been written about him. It also reads a little like another in a long line of music industry tactics to meet or beat the ‘entire catalogue in 20 minutes’ download rhetoric of the torrent-scape: feel the width, friends. (Oh, and it’s also available as a ‘harmonica shaped USB’: how cute.) Ultimately, I’m left thinking, No more! Give these albums their rightful place in the firmament (or elsewhere), by all means, but dig further into those archives, please: dust off the Complete Basement Tapes; let Blood On The Acetates out of its box; bake those reels and let’s get serious with the hardcore shit. If you’re going to play to that collector crowd, the least you could do is sing their song, right? “Bob Dylan’s back catalogue is like a library,” Stanley continues, “with narrow, twisting corridors and deep oak shelves drawing you in: start leafing through the pages and you may never want to stop.” This box, conversely, is the Encyclopedia of Dylan. A monumental set of music, it’ll get you up to speed real quick, but it’s never going to replace the experience of happily stumbling from album to album, finding them in second-hand record bins, borrowing them from friends, and piecing together the myth from fragments of maps and legends. Dylan, the ultimate mystique artist? Maybe no more. Jon Dale

Every album, and a little bit more. Something is happening…

In his new book, Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story Of Modern Pop, Bob Stanley, with typical elegance and erudition, comes as close as any – actually, closer than most – to bottling the appeal of Dylan in the 1960s, when he owned good parts of the world and in return, the world followed his every move, pounced on every gnomic statement, and devoured every single and album like missives of unearthly wisdom. “Dylan was closed, entirely self-sufficient,” he writes. “He was his own planet and, naturally, you desperately wanted to find a way to travel there.”

It seems oddly telling that Stanley’s book and this definitively not-quite-definitive set of all Dylan’s studio and live albums should appear on the shelves at roughly the same time. One celebrates the multiple narratives of pop pre-internet age, the religion of sharing records, taping music, following the charts, mapping the highways and by-ways of modern pop in all its manifold contradictions. Complete Album Collection Vol. One feels like a veiled attempt to wrap up a messy era and claim it as one’s own; to reduce all of that wild complexity to a series of totemic documents, albums plotted chronologically, with thoroughly decent and highly normative logic, and an extra double-disc compilation, entitled Sidetracks, which pulls together all the stray songs and b-sides that appeared on Dylan’s multiple compilation albums. So far, so Fred Fact.

It’s hard to find fault with good portions of the music on these discs. By its very design, this box includes several albums that have taken the fabric of popular music and sheared it into new, unexpected styles: Bringing It All Back Home; Highway 61 Revisited; Blonde On Blonde; The Basement Tapes; Blood On The Tracks, you know the drill… Breathtaking moments of sublimity originally etched into twelve-inch grooves and subsequently reduced to twelve-or-so centimeters of digitalia for your continual consumption. Spend as much time as you need, want, desire with these albums: they’re hard to beat.

Having Dylan’s fourty-one albums handed to you in one box also helps contextualize the many swerves and swoops in his career, both gracious and ungracious. There’s the post-Blonde run of cryptic, ghostly song forms on John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, New Morning and Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, a run that’s still pregnant with untapped possibility. There are the divisive albums of fierce, declamatory, conservative Christianity from the early ‘80s (hearing them together in one sitting is seriously draining, kinda like walking into a new school and being hazed by the entire student populace, but it’s almost worth it to be reminded of the brilliance of the furious, unrelenting “Jokerman”). There’s Oh Mercy, whose songs I still can’t entirely parse from the cotton wool blur that is Daniel Lanois’ production (the finest moment from these sessions, “Series Of Dreams”, is on The Bootleg Series Vol. 3, naturlich).

There are also those two early ‘90s albums of folk songs, Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong, which felt weird at the time and have lost none of their puzzle quotient, for this listener at least, in the intervening years. Dylan never fully seized the moment after these albums, and a lot of what happened since – even acclaimed albums like “Love And Theft” or Tempest – have, well, felt like good-to-occasionally-great late-era Dylan records that wouldn’t get that much of a pass if they’d been attributed to a lesser icon.

And that’s the story Complete Album Collection Vol. One fills out, ultimately: an incredibly sustained marathon of creativity across the ‘60s and ‘70s, some weird detours in the ‘80s, settling into ornery elder statesman/figurehead status from the ‘90s onward. In its way it presents a far more rounded and realistic picture of Dylan the songwriter than the more hallucinatory, hagiographic texts that have been written about him. It also reads a little like another in a long line of music industry tactics to meet or beat the ‘entire catalogue in 20 minutes’ download rhetoric of the torrent-scape: feel the width, friends. (Oh, and it’s also available as a ‘harmonica shaped USB’: how cute.)

Ultimately, I’m left thinking, No more! Give these albums their rightful place in the firmament (or elsewhere), by all means, but dig further into those archives, please: dust off the Complete Basement Tapes; let Blood On The Acetates out of its box; bake those reels and let’s get serious with the hardcore shit. If you’re going to play to that collector crowd, the least you could do is sing their song, right?

“Bob Dylan’s back catalogue is like a library,” Stanley continues, “with narrow, twisting corridors and deep oak shelves drawing you in: start leafing through the pages and you may never want to stop.” This box, conversely, is the Encyclopedia of Dylan. A monumental set of music, it’ll get you up to speed real quick, but it’s never going to replace the experience of happily stumbling from album to album, finding them in second-hand record bins, borrowing them from friends, and piecing together the myth from fragments of maps and legends. Dylan, the ultimate mystique artist? Maybe no more.

Jon Dale

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards blue plaque for Dartford station

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Mick Jagger and Keith Richards blue plaque for Dartford station

The spot where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards first met is to be marked with a plaque. The pair first met at a railway station on Kent on October 17, 1961 when they were teenagers. The recognised each other because they had both gone to Wentworth Primary School before Jagger went onto study at Dartford Grammar. Richards was traveling to Sidcup Art College carrying his guitar on the day they met, while Jagger was en route to the London School of Economics carrying some records. The next year, they formed The Rolling Stones. Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite told the BBC: "Fate was sealed and they started talking about playing their music together." "They went off and recruited Brian Jones next, and the rest is history," he added. Earlier this month (December 4), The Rolling Stones announced a series of live dates to take place in 2014. The band will perform live in Abu Dhabi on February 21, 2014, before heading out on the road across the Far East and Asia to play three shows in Tokyo and a one-off show in Macau. They will then travel to Australia and New Zealand for one-off shows in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Hanging Rock, Brisbane and Auckland. Two further shows in Asia are expected to be announced shortly. Mick Taylor, who was a member of the Rolling Stones from 1969-1974, will be a special guest for the tour, which is titled 14 On Fire.

The spot where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards first met is to be marked with a plaque.

The pair first met at a railway station on Kent on October 17, 1961 when they were teenagers. The recognised each other because they had both gone to Wentworth Primary School before Jagger went onto study at Dartford Grammar.

Richards was traveling to Sidcup Art College carrying his guitar on the day they met, while Jagger was en route to the London School of Economics carrying some records. The next year, they formed The Rolling Stones.

Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite told the BBC: “Fate was sealed and they started talking about playing their music together.”

“They went off and recruited Brian Jones next, and the rest is history,” he added.

Earlier this month (December 4), The Rolling Stones announced a series of live dates to take place in 2014. The band will perform live in Abu Dhabi on February 21, 2014, before heading out on the road across the Far East and Asia to play three shows in Tokyo and a one-off show in Macau. They will then travel to Australia and New Zealand for one-off shows in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Hanging Rock, Brisbane and Auckland. Two further shows in Asia are expected to be announced shortly.

Mick Taylor, who was a member of the Rolling Stones from 1969-1974, will be a special guest for the tour, which is titled 14 On Fire.

‘Fifty Years of The Who’ photography exhibition to open in 2014

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‘Fifty Years of The Who’ photography exhibition to open in 2014

A photography exhibition featuring pictures of The Who is set to open next year in London. Fifty Years of The Who by photographer Colin Jones will take place at Proud Galleries from February 5 - March 23, 2014, reports Music News. The exhibit will feature pictures taken on the road, backstage and at home with the band. Meanwhile, Roger Daltrey recently had to clarify Pete Townshend's statement about the fact The Who will stop touring after a final series of live shows in 2015, scaling down their operation. However, in an interview with Billboard, Daltrey says this will not be the end of The Who but merely an acknowledgment that at their age they can no longer invest the energy needed to stage a lengthy tour. "I think you have to clarify what he said, and what we mean is we cannot keep going on doing these month-after-month, long, extended tours," he added. "It's extremely hard, hard work, just the grind of it. So we have to be realistic. The band got better reviews on our last tour (the 2012-13 'Quadrophenia & More' trek) than we had for years. It was incredibly enjoyable. It was incredibly exhausting, and we have to be realistic about our age. But it's not going to be the last thing The Who will do." Elaborating on what The Who will do in the future, Daltrey added that their charity work will continue, as well as more "experimental" ideas: "We're going to be doing events. We're going to be doing shows. We might do other things, more experimental. We might decide to do something in a theatre, some small production where we sit down for two or three weeks in one town; that could be managed 'cause we're not schlepping our bodies from city to city. The joy of the stage is wonderful, but the traveling every day is exhausting."

A photography exhibition featuring pictures of The Who is set to open next year in London.

Fifty Years of The Who by photographer Colin Jones will take place at Proud Galleries from February 5 – March 23, 2014, reports Music News. The exhibit will feature pictures taken on the road, backstage and at home with the band.

Meanwhile, Roger Daltrey recently had to clarify Pete Townshend‘s statement about the fact The Who will stop touring after a final series of live shows in 2015, scaling down their operation. However, in an interview with Billboard, Daltrey says this will not be the end of The Who but merely an acknowledgment that at their age they can no longer invest the energy needed to stage a lengthy tour.

“I think you have to clarify what he said, and what we mean is we cannot keep going on doing these month-after-month, long, extended tours,” he added. “It’s extremely hard, hard work, just the grind of it. So we have to be realistic. The band got better reviews on our last tour (the 2012-13 ‘Quadrophenia & More’ trek) than we had for years. It was incredibly enjoyable. It was incredibly exhausting, and we have to be realistic about our age. But it’s not going to be the last thing The Who will do.”

Elaborating on what The Who will do in the future, Daltrey added that their charity work will continue, as well as more “experimental” ideas: “We’re going to be doing events. We’re going to be doing shows. We might do other things, more experimental. We might decide to do something in a theatre, some small production where we sit down for two or three weeks in one town; that could be managed ’cause we’re not schlepping our bodies from city to city. The joy of the stage is wonderful, but the traveling every day is exhausting.”

The Kinks musical to open in London in 2014

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The Kinks musical to open in London in 2014

A musical based on The Kinks early career is set to open next year in London. Sunny Afternoon will be staged at Hampstead Theatre next year and has been scripted by Joe Penhall. BBC News reports that cast details have not yet been announced. The play premiered at the Theatre Royal in Stratford, east London back in 2008 and was supposed to tour a year later, but failed to. Earlier this year Ray Davies has said that he is in negotiations with brother Dave Davies over a potential Kinks reunion, but stressed that he is only interested in pursuing the venture if they make new music together. The pair both made comments about the possibility of seeing The Kinks back onstage in the near future. In September Dave Davies stated that there was a 50/50 chance of a reunion, something verified by Ray Davies on BBC Breakfast the following month. "I'm not sure. There's got to be new music involved. I'm proud of that back catalogue and I play it when I do shows," Davies told hosts Charlie Stayt and Louise Minchin. He adds: "I was talking to my brother about two weeks ago. As long as there's something new to go forward with rather than stay in the past, I'm interested. We've negotiated. In sporting terms, he's talking to his agent."

A musical based on The Kinks early career is set to open next year in London.

Sunny Afternoon will be staged at Hampstead Theatre next year and has been scripted by Joe Penhall. BBC News reports that cast details have not yet been announced. The play premiered at the Theatre Royal in Stratford, east London back in 2008 and was supposed to tour a year later, but failed to.

Earlier this year Ray Davies has said that he is in negotiations with brother Dave Davies over a potential Kinks reunion, but stressed that he is only interested in pursuing the venture if they make new music together.

The pair both made comments about the possibility of seeing The Kinks back onstage in the near future. In September Dave Davies stated that there was a 50/50 chance of a reunion, something verified by Ray Davies on BBC Breakfast the following month.

“I’m not sure. There’s got to be new music involved. I’m proud of that back catalogue and I play it when I do shows,” Davies told hosts Charlie Stayt and Louise Minchin. He adds: “I was talking to my brother about two weeks ago. As long as there’s something new to go forward with rather than stay in the past, I’m interested. We’ve negotiated. In sporting terms, he’s talking to his agent.”

Uncut’s Best Films Of 2013

Michael Bonner
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Uncut’s Best Films Of 2013

Oddly, perhaps, I've just signed off my film pages for the first issue of 2014. January is traditionally a strong month for releases, as the studios hit heavy for the big awards season push, all the same it looks like next year is off to a strong start with new releases from the Coen brothers, Steve McQueen and Spike Jonze. Meanwhile, here's our list of the Best Films of 2013. As I wrote in my introduction to the films of the year in the 52-page magazine that comes with our new issue, 2013 felt like a particularly good year for movies. Personally, as we got into the voting for the films of the year, I was very pleased to see directors like Ben Wheatley and Noah Baumbach figure so strongly. At one point, A Field In England and Frances Ha were both vying for Film Of The Year. Then Alexander Payne's Nebraska appeared in the schedules and suddenly vaulted over the rest of the pack to take pole position. And rightly so. As an addition treat, in our age of high-end special effects, 3D and assorted other cinematic trickery, it was satisfying to see that our top three films were all in black and white... 20. Ain't Them Bodies Saints 19. Flight 18. La Grande Bellezza 17. Wadjda 16. Captain Phillips 15. Lincoln 14. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa 13. Mud 12. Behind The Candelabra 11. Zero Dark Thirty 10. Upstream Color 9. Before Midnight 8. Django Unchained 7. Stoker 6. Gravity 5. The Act Of Killing 4. Blue Jasmine 3. Frances Ha 2. A Field In England 1. Nebraska Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner. Photo credit: Getty Images

Oddly, perhaps, I’ve just signed off my film pages for the first issue of 2014. January is traditionally a strong month for releases, as the studios hit heavy for the big awards season push, all the same it looks like next year is off to a strong start with new releases from the Coen brothers, Steve McQueen and Spike Jonze.

Meanwhile, here’s our list of the Best Films of 2013. As I wrote in my introduction to the films of the year in the 52-page magazine that comes with our new issue, 2013 felt like a particularly good year for movies. Personally, as we got into the voting for the films of the year, I was very pleased to see directors like Ben Wheatley and Noah Baumbach figure so strongly. At one point, A Field In England and Frances Ha were both vying for Film Of The Year. Then Alexander Payne‘s Nebraska appeared in the schedules and suddenly vaulted over the rest of the pack to take pole position. And rightly so. As an addition treat, in our age of high-end special effects, 3D and assorted other cinematic trickery, it was satisfying to see that our top three films were all in black and white…

20. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

19. Flight

18. La Grande Bellezza

17. Wadjda

16. Captain Phillips

15. Lincoln

14. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

13. Mud

12. Behind The Candelabra

11. Zero Dark Thirty

10. Upstream Color

9. Before Midnight

8. Django Unchained

7. Stoker

6. Gravity

5. The Act Of Killing

4. Blue Jasmine

3. Frances Ha

2. A Field In England

1. Nebraska

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Neil Young & Crazy Horse announce Ireland date

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse announce Ireland date
Neil Young & Crazy Horse have announced another new show for 2014. They will play Marquee Cork, Ireland on July 10, 2014 Young's 2014 is becoming pretty busy, with live dates both solo and with Crazy Horse. He follows his four-night residency at New York's Carnegie Hall on January 6, 7, 9 a...

Neil Young & Crazy Horse have announced another new show for 2014.

They will play Marquee Cork, Ireland on July 10, 2014

Young’s 2014 is becoming pretty busy, with live dates both solo and with Crazy Horse.

He follows his four-night residency at New York’s Carnegie Hall on January 6, 7, 9 and 10 with four Canadian shows to raise money for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Legal Defense Fund, branded ‘Honor The Treaties.

Young also confirmed that he would return to the UK with Crazy Horse to play London’s Hyde Park on July 12. Support comes from The National.

Ian McLagan dismisses any chance of The Faces reuniting in 2015

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Ian McLagan dismisses any chance of The Faces reuniting in 2015
Ian McLagan, the former keyboard player in the Faces has poured cold water on Rod Stewart’s recent claims that the band could be set for a reunion. Earlier this month the singer told Boston radio station WZLX: “Ronnie [Wood]'s office is talking to my people, and we're ear-marking 2015." Speakin...

Ian McLagan, the former keyboard player in the Faces has poured cold water on Rod Stewart’s recent claims that the band could be set for a reunion. Earlier this month the singer told Boston radio station WZLX: “Ronnie [Wood]’s office is talking to my people, and we’re ear-marking 2015.”

Speaking to Uncut, however, McLagan says there’s no chance of a Faces reunion in 2015, as he and drummer Kenney Jones are keeping the year free for celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of The Small Faces – a band whose line-up did not include Stewart.

“It’s interesting that Rod announces these things without talking to me or Kenney,” McLagan says. “Why would we fuck around with the Faces when we’ve got bigger fish to fry? We’ve done the Faces and he didn’t turn up.”

The Faces reformed for concerts and festival dates in 2010 and 2011, with Mick Hucknall as vocalist after Stewart declined to take part. “Rod says he’s keen to do it now, and I believe him,” McLagan adds. “But he’ll have to wait until 2016 because 2015 is The Small Faces’ year.”

Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Beach House team-up for Gene Clark tribute tour

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Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Beach House team-up for Gene Clark tribute tour

Members of Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear and Beach House are among the artists teaming up up for a short tour in which they will perform Gene Clark's 1974 album No Other in its entirety. According to a story on Pitchfork, lead vocal duties will be handled by Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold, Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen, the Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser, Iain Matthews of Plainsong/Fairport Convention, and Beach House's Victoria Legrand. The rest of the band features Beach House's Alex Scally, Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner, plus members of Lower Dens, Cass McCombs' band, Celebration, and Mt. Royal. The band will re-create No Other note-for-note onstage. Tickets for the shows are available through Beach House's website, and each show will include a screening of a specially edited version of the documentary, The Byrd Who Flew Alone: The Triumphs And Tragedy Of Gene Clark. You can read our review of the documentary here. January 22 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer January 23 - Baltimore, MD - Floristree January - 24 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club January 25 - New York, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg Meanwhile, Iain Matthews will release his new solo album, The Art of Obscurity, on February 3, 2014.

Members of Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear and Beach House are among the artists teaming up up for a short tour in which they will perform Gene Clark‘s 1974 album No Other in its entirety.

According to a story on Pitchfork, lead vocal duties will be handled by Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen, the Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser, Iain Matthews of Plainsong/Fairport Convention, and Beach House’s Victoria Legrand. The rest of the band features Beach House’s Alex Scally, Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, plus members of Lower Dens, Cass McCombs’ band, Celebration, and Mt. Royal.

The band will re-create No Other note-for-note onstage. Tickets for the shows are available through Beach House’s website, and each show will include a screening of a specially edited version of the documentary, The Byrd Who Flew Alone: The Triumphs And Tragedy Of Gene Clark. You can read our review of the documentary here.

January 22 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer

January 23 – Baltimore, MD – Floristree

January – 24 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club

January 25 – New York, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg

Meanwhile, Iain Matthews will release his new solo album, The Art of Obscurity, on February 3, 2014.

The Beatles to release ‘bootleg’ album next week

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The Beatles to release ‘bootleg’ album next week

A collection of The Beatles' rarities and bootlegs will be released exclusively through iTunes next week. The band, whose music only arrived on iTunes in 2010 following lengthy legal negotiations, will release 59 tracks, which some reports suggest will be titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963. A spokesperson for the band confirmed that songs recorded live for the BBC as well as studio outtakes will feature on the release, but could not confirm a release date. A verified tracklist can be seen below. In total the album includes 15 studio outtakes and a further 44 live BBC tracks to add to those already on Live At The BBC On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2, which was released earlier this year. 2010 saw an end to the dispute between iTunes' parent company Apple Inc, The Beatles' Apple Corps and their record label, EMI. The two Apple companies have traded lawsuits over each other's brand name and logo use since 1978. The news follows yesterday's announcement that The Beatles' US albums are due for release in January. As with the digital-only collection of early Brian Wilson projects titled The Big Beat 1963, the release of The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 seems to be related to EU legislation stating that if a recording is not officially released within 50 years of its creation, it will automatically fall into the public domain at the beginning of the 51st calendar year. The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 tracklist: 'There's A Place' - Takes 5, 6 'There's A Place' - Take 8 'There's A Place' - Take 9 'Do You Want To Known A Secret' - Track 2, Take 7 'A Taste Of Honey' - Track 2, Take 6. 'I Saw Her Standing There' - Take 2 'Misery' - Take 1 'Misery' - Take 7 'From Me To You' - Take 1 & 2 'From Me To You' - Take 5 'Thank You Girl' - Take 1 'Thank You Girl' - Take 5 'One After 909' - Take 1 & 2 'Hold Me Tight” - Take 21 'Money (That's What I Want)' - RM 7 Undubbed 'Some Other Guy' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 26th January, 1963 'Love Me Do' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 26th January, 1963 'Too Much Monkey Business' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 16th March, 1963 'I Saw Her Standing There' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 16th March, 1963 'Do You Want To Know A Secret' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 25th May, 1963 'From Me To You' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 26th May, 1963 'I Got To Find My Baby' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 26th January, 1963 'Roll Over Beethoven' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 29th June, 1963 'A Taste Of Honey' - Live At BBC For 'Easy Beat' / 23rd June, 1963 'Love Me Do' - Live At BBC For 'Easy Beat' / 20th October, 1963 'Please Please Me' - Live At BBC For 'Easy Beat' / 20th October, 1963 'She Loves You' - Live At BBC For 'Easy Beat' / 20th October, 1963 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 21st December, 1963 'Till There Was You' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 21st December, 1963 'Roll Over Beethoveen' - Live At BBC For 'Saturday Club' / 21st December, 1963 'You Really Got A Hold On Me' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 4th June, 1963 'The Hippy Hippy Shake' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 4th June, 1963 'Till There Was You' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' /11th June, 1963 'A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 18th June, 1963 'A Taste Of Honey' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 18th June, 1963 'Money (That's What I Want)' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 18th June, 1963 'Anna' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 25th June, 1963 'Love Me Do' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 10th September, 1963 'She Loves You' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 24th September, 1963 'I'll Get You' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 10th September, 1963 'A Taste Of Honey' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 10th September, 1963 'Boys' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 17th September, 1963 'Chains' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 17th September, 1963 'You Really Got A Hold On Me' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 17th September, 1963 'I Saw Her Standing There' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 24th September, 1963 'She Loves You' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 10th September, 1963 'Twist And Shout' - Live At BBC For 'Pop Go The Beatles' / 24th September, 1963 'Do You Want To Know A Secret' - Live At BBC For 'Here We Go' / 12th March, 1963 'Please Please Me' - Live At BBC For 'Here We Go' / 12th March, 1963 'Long Tall Sally' - Live At BBC For 'Side By Side' / 13th May, 1963 'Chains' - Live At BBC For 'Side By Side' / 13th May, 1963 'Boys' - Live At BBC For 'Side By Side' / 13th May, 1963 'A Taste Of Honey' - Live At BBC For 'Side By Side' / 13th May, 1963 'Roll Over Beethoven' - Live At BBC For 'From Us To You' / 26th December, 1963 'All My Loving' - Live At BBC For 'From Us To You' / 26th December, 1963 'She Loves You' - Live At BBC For "From Us To You" / 26th December, 1963 'Till There Was You' - Live At BBC For "From Us To You" / 26th December, 1963 'Bad To Me' - Demo 'I'm In Love' - Demo

A collection of The Beatles‘ rarities and bootlegs will be released exclusively through iTunes next week.

The band, whose music only arrived on iTunes in 2010 following lengthy legal negotiations, will release 59 tracks, which some reports suggest will be titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963. A spokesperson for the band confirmed that songs recorded live for the BBC as well as studio outtakes will feature on the release, but could not confirm a release date. A verified tracklist can be seen below.

In total the album includes 15 studio outtakes and a further 44 live BBC tracks to add to those already on Live At The BBC On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2, which was released earlier this year.

2010 saw an end to the dispute between iTunes’ parent company Apple Inc, The Beatles’ Apple Corps and their record label, EMI. The two Apple companies have traded lawsuits over each other’s brand name and logo use since 1978.

The news follows yesterday’s announcement that The Beatles’ US albums are due for release in January.

As with the digital-only collection of early Brian Wilson projects titled The Big Beat 1963, the release of The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 seems to be related to EU legislation stating that if a recording is not officially released within 50 years of its creation, it will automatically fall into the public domain at the beginning of the 51st calendar year.

The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 tracklist:

‘There’s A Place’ – Takes 5, 6

‘There’s A Place’ – Take 8

‘There’s A Place’ – Take 9

‘Do You Want To Known A Secret’ – Track 2, Take 7

‘A Taste Of Honey’ – Track 2, Take 6.

‘I Saw Her Standing There’ – Take 2

‘Misery’ – Take 1

‘Misery’ – Take 7

‘From Me To You’ – Take 1 & 2

‘From Me To You’ – Take 5

‘Thank You Girl’ – Take 1

‘Thank You Girl’ – Take 5

‘One After 909’ – Take 1 & 2

‘Hold Me Tight” – Take 21

‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ – RM 7 Undubbed

‘Some Other Guy’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 26th January, 1963

‘Love Me Do’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 26th January, 1963

‘Too Much Monkey Business’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 16th March, 1963

‘I Saw Her Standing There’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 16th March, 1963

‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 25th May, 1963

‘From Me To You’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 26th May, 1963

‘I Got To Find My Baby’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 26th January, 1963

‘Roll Over Beethoven’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 29th June, 1963

‘A Taste Of Honey’ – Live At BBC For ‘Easy Beat’ / 23rd June, 1963

‘Love Me Do’ – Live At BBC For ‘Easy Beat’ / 20th October, 1963

‘Please Please Me’ – Live At BBC For ‘Easy Beat’ / 20th October, 1963

‘She Loves You’ – Live At BBC For ‘Easy Beat’ / 20th October, 1963

‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 21st December, 1963

‘Till There Was You’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 21st December, 1963

‘Roll Over Beethoveen’ – Live At BBC For ‘Saturday Club’ / 21st December, 1963

‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 4th June, 1963

‘The Hippy Hippy Shake’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 4th June, 1963

‘Till There Was You’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ /11th June, 1963

‘A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 18th June, 1963

‘A Taste Of Honey’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 18th June, 1963

‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 18th June, 1963

‘Anna’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 25th June, 1963

‘Love Me Do’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 10th September, 1963

‘She Loves You’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 24th September, 1963

‘I’ll Get You’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 10th September, 1963

‘A Taste Of Honey’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 10th September, 1963

‘Boys’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 17th September, 1963

‘Chains’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 17th September, 1963

‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 17th September, 1963

‘I Saw Her Standing There’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 24th September, 1963

‘She Loves You’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 10th September, 1963

‘Twist And Shout’ – Live At BBC For ‘Pop Go The Beatles’ / 24th September, 1963

‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’ – Live At BBC For ‘Here We Go’ / 12th March, 1963

‘Please Please Me’ – Live At BBC For ‘Here We Go’ / 12th March, 1963

‘Long Tall Sally’ – Live At BBC For ‘Side By Side’ / 13th May, 1963

‘Chains’ – Live At BBC For ‘Side By Side’ / 13th May, 1963

‘Boys’ – Live At BBC For ‘Side By Side’ / 13th May, 1963

‘A Taste Of Honey’ – Live At BBC For ‘Side By Side’ / 13th May, 1963

‘Roll Over Beethoven’ – Live At BBC For ‘From Us To You’ / 26th December, 1963

‘All My Loving’ – Live At BBC For ‘From Us To You’ / 26th December, 1963

‘She Loves You’ – Live At BBC For “From Us To You” / 26th December, 1963

‘Till There Was You’ – Live At BBC For “From Us To You” / 26th December, 1963

‘Bad To Me’ – Demo

‘I’m In Love’ – Demo

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