Subscribe
Home Blog Page 621

Levon Helm of The Band dies aged 71

Tom Goodwyn
-
0
Levon Helm of The Band dies aged 71
Levon Helm, singer and drummer with The Band has died, aged 71. The news was announced in a message posted by his family on Facebook and Twitter, which read: "Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon. He was surrounded by family, friends and band mates and will be remembered by all he touched ...

Levon Helm, singer and drummer with The Band has died, aged 71.

The news was announced in a message posted by his family on Facebook and Twitter, which read: “Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon. He was surrounded by family, friends and band mates and will be remembered by all he touched as a brilliant musician and a beautiful soul.”

Earlier this week it was announced that Helm was in the final stages of his ‘battle with cancer’. A number of artists have paid tribute to the musician via Twitter. The Maccabees said: “Goodbye and thank you Levon xxx” while Yim Yames from My Morning Jacket wrote: “Sending well wishes and healing thoughts to the great Levon Helm and his family right now.”

The Mountain Goats posted “I am sad Levon Helm is dead that guy was great in every way long live Levon Helm’s spirit in all the musicians his life has touched” while BBC 6 Music DJ Lauren Laverne wrote that it was “awful news”.

The Band released their debut album, ‘Music From Big Pink’, in 1968, and went on to perform at the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969. Their final show in 1976, which saw guest appearances from Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris and Neil Young, was the subject of the acclaimed Martin Scorsese documentary, ‘The Last Waltz’. The band went on to reform in the early 1980s, splitting for good in 1999 upon the death of Rick Danko.

Levon Helm won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2010 with ‘Electric Dirt’ and in 2012 for the live album ‘Ramble At The Ryman’.

Watch Levon Helm and The Band performing ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ and ‘The Weight’ from ‘The Last Waltz’ below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQYj2ltJKe8

US TV host Dick Clark dies

Tom Goodwyn
-
0
US TV host Dick Clark dies

US TV host Dick Clark has died after suffering a massive heart attack yesterday (April 18). The 82-year-old fronted the popular live music show American Bandstand from 1956 until 1989. The music driven television programme saw appearances from the likes of The Jackson 5, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Link Wray. Clark also hosted the game show Pyramid. In the early 1970s Clark began hosting Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, a New Year's Eve broadcast direct from New York's Times Square, which he appeared on every year until his death - aside from 2004, after he suffered a stroke. The show has recently been co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Clark – who was nicknamed America's Oldest Teenager - leaves behind a wife and three children. The veteran presenter and businessman was undergoing a medical procedure when he suffered the heart attack which killed him. His death was announced by his agent, Paul Shefrin, reports ABC. Clark was the winner of several Emmy Awards and is a member of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Watch The Jackson 5 and Link Wray appearing on American Bandstand below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyn1cqSpUBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l0c9wFoT1I

US TV host Dick Clark has died after suffering a massive heart attack yesterday (April 18).

The 82-year-old fronted the popular live music show American Bandstand from 1956 until 1989. The music driven television programme saw appearances from the likes of The Jackson 5, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Link Wray. Clark also hosted the game show Pyramid.

In the early 1970s Clark began hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, a New Year’s Eve broadcast direct from New York’s Times Square, which he appeared on every year until his death – aside from 2004, after he suffered a stroke. The show has recently been co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

Clark – who was nicknamed America’s Oldest Teenager – leaves behind a wife and three children. The veteran presenter and businessman was undergoing a medical procedure when he suffered the heart attack which killed him. His death was announced by his agent, Paul Shefrin, reports ABC.

Clark was the winner of several Emmy Awards and is a member of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Watch The Jackson 5 and Link Wray appearing on American Bandstand below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyn1cqSpUBE

Lee Ranaldo: ‘Sonic Youth’s future is up in the air’

Tom Goodwyn
-
0
Lee Ranaldo: ‘Sonic Youth’s future is up in the air’
Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo has said that the band's future remains "up in the air". Last October, the band's members Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore announced they were separating after 27 years of marriage and sparked rumours that the band could split up, with their label Matador Records ad...

Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo has said that the band’s future remains “up in the air”.

Last October, the band’s members Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore announced they were separating after 27 years of marriage and sparked rumours that the band could split up, with their label Matador Records admitting they were “uncertain” of their future plans.

Ranaldo has been vague on the group’s future ever since and has now said that, although nothing has been decided, he and his bandmates are not making plans for new material or live dates.

Speaking to Spinner, Ranaldo said when asked about Sonic Youth’s future: “It’s up in the air. We’re taking a much-needed break and leaving it at that. We’re not saying anything final, but we’re not discussing anything for the future either. We’re just letting it be.”

Ranaldo went on to say that he’s relaxed about the possibility of the band ending as they’ve had “an amazing 30-year run” and that he believes whatever happens in the future, the band’s members will always be “tied to each other”.

He added: “Our lives and careers are so intertwined that, even if nothing is happening as far as new recordings and new performances, we’ll be tied to each other. We’ve had an amazing 30-year run. We’ll see what the future holds.”

Ranaldo released his ninth solo LP ‘Between The Times And The Tides’ in March.

Arctic Monkeys unveil new track ‘Electricity’ – listen

Tom Goodwyn
-
0
Arctic Monkeys unveil new track ‘Electricity’ – listen
Arctic Monkeys have debuted their new track 'Electricity' online, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to hear it now. The track will be released as the B-Side to the band's new single 'R U Mine?' on special purple vinyl for this Saturday's (April 21) Record Store Day. The band have ...

Arctic Monkeys have debuted their new track ‘Electricity’ online, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to hear it now.

The track will be released as the B-Side to the band’s new single ‘R U Mine?’ on special purple vinyl for this Saturday’s (April 21) Record Store Day.

The band have spoken recently about the follow-up to their fourth studio album ‘Suck It And See’ and drummer Matt Helders has said that the Sheffield rockers are keen to continue writing material in the vein of ‘R U Mine?’ and recent B-Side ‘Evil Twin’ for their next LP.

He said of this: “The way ‘R U Mine?’ has gone we are more into doing songs like that for now. We are kind of into the idea of doing a record that is like ‘Evil Twin’ and ‘R U Mine?’.”

The band are in the midst of a lengthy stint across the USA and Canada as support to The Black Keys on their US arena tour and will make their second appearance at Coachella Festival this weekend.

Jack White – Blunderbuss

Michael Bonner
-
0
Jack White – Blunderbuss

Love'll play some dirty tricks on ya. Jack White goes noirishly solo... He may call himself White, but there's always been a touch of noir about Jack. This is a man, let's not forget, who owns guitars adorned with the visages of '40s vamps like Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake, and whose home base studio in Nashville is named after The Third Man. So it's perhaps not too surprising to find that on his first solo album, recorded in that very studio, Jack White has fallen amongst dangerous women and treacherous men - some of whom, song lyrics being such a tricky, amorphous matter of metaphor and maybe, may be Jack himself. Recorded by Vance Powell, a man splendidly blessed of both name and beard, with whom White has previously worked on Raconteurs recordings, it's a surly, spiky piece of work, on which the few shafts of sweetness are soon soured with guilt, recrimination and reproach. Jack himself is clearly not precious about his own role, pragmatically switching between keyboards, guitars and bass according to each track's needs, alongside a core crew that includes Carla Azar on drums, Bryn Davies on bass, Olivia Jean on guitar and Brooke Waggoner on keys, with occasional extra colour furnished by mandolin, fiddle, pedal steel and clarinet, and the welcome attentions of a trio of soulful backing vocalists whose number includes Jack's ex-wife Karen Elson. Confounding expectations as usual, the first sound heard on the album is not guitar but a lovely Fender Rhodes piano figure that leads into the rolling R&B groove of "Missing Pieces". Sketched through briefly-glimpsed memories of a liaison, it carries a sharp moral about being careful how you deal with obsessional love. "Sixteen Saltines", which follows, uses terse bursts of imagery - "Lipstick, eyelash, broke mirror, broken home" sums up one girl's character with not a syllable too many - to depict how jealousy breeds paranoia, its edgy manner reflected in the brusque guitar riff and splashy cymbals. Love, clearly, is the brooding heart of the matter here, with protagonists trapped in a co-dependency of dark desire. "Freedom At 21" and "Love Interruption" present this as a sado-masochistic dichotomy, the girl in the former using her new-found freedom to trample ruthlessly over his affections with "no responsibility, no guilt or morals", while the latter, more warmly acoustic piece finds the victim prostrate before such pain: "I want love to roll me over slowly," claims the narrator, "stick a knife inside me and twist it all around". It couldn't be more perfectly film noir if James M. Cain had scripted this relationship, our hero exulting in the sweet pain of some spider-woman's stilettos piercing his spirit. From there, the album slips into a more general survey of lax morals and scummy behaviour. "Hypocritical Kiss" and "Trash Tongue Talker" - on which Jack essays some stylish, Nicky Hopkins-esque piano - both launch heat-seeking missiles aimed at the shame of treacherous betrayers; while "Weep Themselves To Sleep" employs two simultaneous itchy, edgy guitar breaks to animate another undercurrent of paranoid speculation, with noble "men who fight the world" battling against the "rules that try to bind them", their struggle etched in vicious, bloody imagery. It's a blend of romance, neurosis and violence akin to a James Crumley novel, and when it's done you're more than ready for the relief of "I'm Shakin'", a cover of the Little Willie John R&B hit on which, save for pronouncing nervous "noyvus", White sounds uncannily like Robert Plant in full Zep splendour, over a great swingy blues groove. As the album approaches its final reels, though, one starts to suspect, in best psychological-thriller manner, that the real, underlying subject of Jack's attacks is, yes, himself. "It turns me on when the song takes over me," he admits in "Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy", another ostensible putdown, this time with multi-tracked piano parts riding a New Orleans second-line shuffle; before nervously admitting in "Take Me With You When You Go" that when left to pursue his desires unrestrained, he risks unconsciously harming others. It leaves hanging the question of whether, if and when he gets to go, he'll ever be able to successfully escape his own self. Which is, of course, the fate of every man who ever walked alone down those mean streets. Andy Gill

Love’ll play some dirty tricks on ya. Jack White goes noirishly solo…

He may call himself White, but there’s always been a touch of noir about Jack. This is a man, let’s not forget, who owns guitars adorned with the visages of ’40s vamps like Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake, and whose home base studio in Nashville is named after The Third Man.

So it’s perhaps not too surprising to find that on his first solo album, recorded in that very studio, Jack White has fallen amongst dangerous women and treacherous men – some of whom, song lyrics being such a tricky, amorphous matter of metaphor and maybe, may be Jack himself. Recorded by Vance Powell, a man splendidly blessed of both name and beard, with whom White has previously worked on Raconteurs recordings, it’s a surly, spiky piece of work, on which the few shafts of sweetness are soon soured with guilt, recrimination and reproach. Jack himself is clearly not precious about his own role, pragmatically switching between keyboards, guitars and bass according to each track’s needs, alongside a core crew that includes Carla Azar on drums, Bryn Davies on bass, Olivia Jean on guitar and Brooke Waggoner on keys, with occasional extra colour furnished by mandolin, fiddle, pedal steel and clarinet, and the welcome attentions of a trio of soulful backing vocalists whose number includes Jack’s ex-wife Karen Elson.

Confounding expectations as usual, the first sound heard on the album is not guitar but a lovely Fender Rhodes piano figure that leads into the rolling R&B groove of “Missing Pieces”. Sketched through briefly-glimpsed memories of a liaison, it carries a sharp moral about being careful how you deal with obsessional love. “Sixteen Saltines“, which follows, uses terse bursts of imagery – “Lipstick, eyelash, broke mirror, broken home” sums up one girl’s character with not a syllable too many – to depict how jealousy breeds paranoia, its edgy manner reflected in the brusque guitar riff and splashy cymbals.

Love, clearly, is the brooding heart of the matter here, with protagonists trapped in a co-dependency of dark desire. “Freedom At 21” and “Love Interruption” present this as a sado-masochistic dichotomy, the girl in the former using her new-found freedom to trample ruthlessly over his affections with “no responsibility, no guilt or morals”, while the latter, more warmly acoustic piece finds the victim prostrate before such pain: “I want love to roll me over slowly,” claims the narrator, “stick a knife inside me and twist it all around”. It couldn’t be more perfectly film noir if James M. Cain had scripted this relationship, our hero exulting in the sweet pain of some spider-woman’s stilettos piercing his spirit.

From there, the album slips into a more general survey of lax morals and scummy behaviour. “Hypocritical Kiss” and “Trash Tongue Talker” – on which Jack essays some stylish, Nicky Hopkins-esque piano – both launch heat-seeking missiles aimed at the shame of treacherous betrayers; while “Weep Themselves To Sleep” employs two simultaneous itchy, edgy guitar breaks to animate another undercurrent of paranoid speculation, with noble “men who fight the world” battling against the “rules that try to bind them”, their struggle etched in vicious, bloody imagery. It’s a blend of romance, neurosis and violence akin to a James Crumley novel, and when it’s done you’re more than ready for the relief of “I’m Shakin'”, a cover of the Little Willie John R&B hit on which, save for pronouncing nervous “noyvus”, White sounds uncannily like Robert Plant in full Zep splendour, over a great swingy blues groove.

As the album approaches its final reels, though, one starts to suspect, in best psychological-thriller manner, that the real, underlying subject of Jack’s attacks is, yes, himself. “It turns me on when the song takes over me,” he admits in “Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy”, another ostensible putdown, this time with multi-tracked piano parts riding a New Orleans second-line shuffle; before nervously admitting in “Take Me With You When You Go” that when left to pursue his desires unrestrained, he risks unconsciously harming others. It leaves hanging the question of whether, if and when he gets to go, he’ll ever be able to successfully escape his own self. Which is, of course, the fate of every man who ever walked alone down those mean streets.

Andy Gill

Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light

Michael Bonner
-
0
Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light

Spiritualized’s seventh album is a lavish and sentimental paean to rock’n’roll... Heartbreak, drug addiction, near-death experiences… Few other musicians have spun their personal tribulations into song as vividly as Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce over the last couple of decades. Not that the author himself necessarily sees it that way. Pierce has regularly complained that the break-up narrative of Ladies And Gentleman… is a journalistic invention, and that songs such as “Medication” and “The Twelve Steps” shouldn’t be interpreted as literal readings of his own experiences. He’s even dismissed those who made the apparently straightforward connection between his last album, 2008’s Songs In A&E, and the time he was rushed to hospital suffering from bilateral pneumonia. Perhaps that’s why, despite a troubled gestation during which Pierce was housebound for almost a year following another round of debilitating medical treatment, Sweet Heart Sweet Light resists all attempts to impose a convenient backstory. As always, there are lyrical teases – “Sometimes I wish that I was dead/ ‘Cos only the living can feel the pain,” runs the conspicuous first line of the lilting “Little Girl” – but on the whole this is a sanguine and at times even sentimental record. Life may be tough, it counsels, but everything will be OK as long as we gather our loved ones around us and submit to the healing power of rock’n’roll. “Play loud and drive fast” instruct the sleeve notes, and some of Sweet Heart Sweet Light’s finest moments recall the gleeful motorik chug of prime Spacemen 3 – albeit with a busload of string players and the cream of the UK’s free jazz scene along for the ride. Yet despite the presence of experimental musicians such as Evan Parker and Finn Peters skronking away in the background, it’s Pierce’s formative, canonical influences that continue to dominate the Spiritualized sound. His homages may often be clunky – when you name an album Sweet Heart Sweet Light and its first song “Hey Jane”, it’s pretty obvious who you’re channelling – but they are always lavish and heartfelt. “Get What You Deserve” and “Headin’ For The Top Now” kick up a righteous stink, with Pierce running through his full repertoire of stock rock’n’roll rhetoric. He “ain’t got time to make no mistakes”, he “ain’t gonna stop until I die” and at one point he’s even “living my life on a prayer”. Confirmation that he’s regurgitating these vintage clichés with a sly grin on his face is provided when he starts retelling a nursery rhyme in the style of James Ellroy (“Mary, Mary quite contrary/ How does your future go? / Backstreet dealin’, midnight stealing’/ Oh, does your mother know?”). As a contrast, there are Pierce’s ‘pop’ efforts – his attempts to write in a classic, sumptuous Brill Building style. “Little Girl” and “Too Late” – originally intended for Marianne Faithful or Candi Staton, until Pierce got “the fear” – are actually pretty glorious. But “Life Is Problem”’s over-egged Jesus metaphors are too much to stomach, and “Freedom” is unforgivably syrupy. Spiritualized’s scorching two-chord burners can generally withstand most of the orchestral indulgence thrown at them, but on some of these slower numbers, Pierce’s songwriting staggers under the weight. The Roundhouse Choir are deployed rather too greedily, occasionally sounding more Godspell than gospel. And whether you view the appearance of Pierce’s giggling 11-year-old daughter Poppy on “So Long You Pretty Thing” as a touching moment or a cloying indulgence probably depends on your attachment to Pierce’s whole sentimental journey up until this point. The song itself is a typical Spiritualized extravagance, nudged along by blossoming strings and a sterling banjo part courtesy of The Magic Numbers’ Romeo Stodart, before finally bursting into a jubilant extended coda on which Pierce appears to be joined by most of the fifty or so musicians and singers on the album, all swaying in unison. It’s undeniably stirring, but also a little bit ridiculous. Just like rock’n’roll itself, then. Sam Richards Q&A Jason Pierce Did any overarching themes present themselves as the album started coming together? The overriding idea was I was going to make a pop record – not a pop record like you’re going to find on a rack in Boots or something, but a record that doesn’t ask too much of the listener ahead of time. I had to have treatment for a disease I had, and I knew the treatment was going to take it out of me, so I figured I’d make a pop album and make it easy on myself. Hah! Little did I know that it wasn’t going to be easy. What I learned along the way is that when you make distorted or abstract music you put up a kind of barrier. But with pop music there’s nowhere to hide – everybody understands the medium. I felt really exposed. What did you learn about the songs from playing them live at the Royal Albert Hall last year, when you premiered the whole album in its entirety? Not a lot. It was a proper inconvenience, that was. I didn’t do it to say ‘Hey, I’ll show you what I’ve been doing’, it was more that I didn’t know what the hell to do otherwise. I’d just about got through my treatment at that stage and I wasn’t very fit. It just threw up a whole lot of indecision. The studio is all about the meticulous details, but live is like being under a huge waterfall that you can’t capture. It was weird mixing the two things up. INTERVIEW: SAM RICHARDS

Spiritualized’s seventh album is a lavish and sentimental paean to rock’n’roll…

Heartbreak, drug addiction, near-death experiences… Few other musicians have spun their personal tribulations into song as vividly as Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce over the last couple of decades. Not that the author himself necessarily sees it that way.

Pierce has regularly complained that the break-up narrative of Ladies And Gentleman… is a journalistic invention, and that songs such as “Medication” and “The Twelve Steps” shouldn’t be interpreted as literal readings of his own experiences. He’s even dismissed those who made the apparently straightforward connection between his last album, 2008’s Songs In A&E, and the time he was rushed to hospital suffering from bilateral pneumonia.

Perhaps that’s why, despite a troubled gestation during which Pierce was housebound for almost a year following another round of debilitating medical treatment, Sweet Heart Sweet Light resists all attempts to impose a convenient backstory. As always, there are lyrical teases – “Sometimes I wish that I was dead/ ‘Cos only the living can feel the pain,” runs the conspicuous first line of the lilting “Little Girl” – but on the whole this is a sanguine and at times even sentimental record. Life may be tough, it counsels, but everything will be OK as long as we gather our loved ones around us and submit to the healing power of rock’n’roll.

“Play loud and drive fast” instruct the sleeve notes, and some of Sweet Heart Sweet Light’s finest moments recall the gleeful motorik chug of prime Spacemen 3 – albeit with a busload of string players and the cream of the UK’s free jazz scene along for the ride. Yet despite the presence of experimental musicians such as Evan Parker and Finn Peters skronking away in the background, it’s Pierce’s formative, canonical influences that continue to dominate the Spiritualized sound. His homages may often be clunky – when you name an album Sweet Heart Sweet Light and its first song “Hey Jane”, it’s pretty obvious who you’re channelling – but they are always lavish and heartfelt.

“Get What You Deserve” and “Headin’ For The Top Now” kick up a righteous stink, with Pierce running through his full repertoire of stock rock’n’roll rhetoric. He “ain’t got time to make no mistakes”, he “ain’t gonna stop until I die” and at one point he’s even “living my life on a prayer”. Confirmation that he’s regurgitating these vintage clichés with a sly grin on his face is provided when he starts retelling a nursery rhyme in the style of James Ellroy (“Mary, Mary quite contrary/ How does your future go? / Backstreet dealin’, midnight stealing’/ Oh, does your mother know?”).

As a contrast, there are Pierce’s ‘pop’ efforts – his attempts to write in a classic, sumptuous Brill Building style. “Little Girl” and “Too Late” – originally intended for Marianne Faithful or Candi Staton, until Pierce got “the fear” – are actually pretty glorious. But “Life Is Problem”’s over-egged Jesus metaphors are too much to stomach, and “Freedom” is unforgivably syrupy. Spiritualized’s scorching two-chord burners can generally withstand most of the orchestral indulgence thrown at them, but on some of these slower numbers, Pierce’s songwriting staggers under the weight.

The Roundhouse Choir are deployed rather too greedily, occasionally sounding more Godspell than gospel. And whether you view the appearance of Pierce’s giggling 11-year-old daughter Poppy on “So Long You Pretty Thing” as a touching moment or a cloying indulgence probably depends on your attachment to Pierce’s whole sentimental journey up until this point.

The song itself is a typical Spiritualized extravagance, nudged along by blossoming strings and a sterling banjo part courtesy of The Magic Numbers’ Romeo Stodart, before finally bursting into a jubilant extended coda on which Pierce appears to be joined by most of the fifty or so musicians and singers on the album, all swaying in unison. It’s undeniably stirring, but also a little bit ridiculous. Just like rock’n’roll itself, then.

Sam Richards

Q&A

Jason Pierce

Did any overarching themes present themselves as the album started coming together?

The overriding idea was I was going to make a pop record – not a pop record like you’re going to find on a rack in Boots or something, but a record that doesn’t ask too much of the listener ahead of time. I had to have treatment for a disease I had, and I knew the treatment was going to take it out of me, so I figured I’d make a pop album and make it easy on myself. Hah! Little did I know that it wasn’t going to be easy. What I learned along the way is that when you make distorted or abstract music you put up a kind of barrier. But with pop music there’s nowhere to hide – everybody understands the medium. I felt really exposed.

What did you learn about the songs from playing them live at the Royal Albert Hall last year, when you premiered the whole album in its entirety?

Not a lot. It was a proper inconvenience, that was. I didn’t do it to say ‘Hey, I’ll show you what I’ve been doing’, it was more that I didn’t know what the hell to do otherwise. I’d just about got through my treatment at that stage and I wasn’t very fit. It just threw up a whole lot of indecision. The studio is all about the meticulous details, but live is like being under a huge waterfall that you can’t capture. It was weird mixing the two things up.

INTERVIEW: SAM RICHARDS

Spacin’, “Deep Thuds”

John Mulvey
-
0
Spacin’, “Deep Thuds”

Last year, I spent a fair amount of time listening to a mighty blown-out Philadelphia band called Purling Hiss, whose mainman Mike Pollize was sprung from another excellent local band called the Birds Of Maya. This week, I’ve got caught up with another moonlighting member of Birds Of Maya, Jason Killinger, who’s resurfaced with an amazing album called “Deep Thuds” under the name of Spacin’. The Richie Records/Testoster Tunes blurb for “Deep Thuds” sells it pretty perfectly: “. It’s five blasted anthems of basement motorik fuzz-rock and a couple of circular ambient explorations that’ll send ya’ searching for Visine and peanut butter cups.” A slightly different way of putting it, maybe, is that Spacin’ moves in a very similar way to the best bits of Purling Hiss’ messy oeuvre (my old piece about them is here). The Comets On Fire-like noise jams aren’t so prevalent; for that sort of thing, try another fine new Richie/Testoster album, “Vengeance, Man” by King Blood, which I’ll try and write about soon. Instead, Spacin’s songs mostly sound like kin to Purling Hiss’ more obviously tuneful stand-outs like “Run To The City” and “Been Teased”. References again would be Big Star, and Ariel Pink’s super-fuzzy early recreations of FM rock. Killinger’s key trick, though, is to graft a certain wasted variant of classic rock– check out their blood-drip mangling of the Stones’ tongue logo - onto the glazed mercury chug of the Velvets. The opener, “Empty Mind”, does this perfectly, unravelling into a jam that then morphs into one of those “circular ambient explorations”. This one is called “Some Future (Burger)”, and it’s a terrific kosmische afterburn, fractionally suggesting Ash Ra Tempel reborn as a Goner band. The other ambientish thing is titled “Oh, Man”, a lo-fi Latino jam with, again, Kraut undertones, that occasionally sounds like Santana in a wardrobe. Not the most glowing recommendation in theory, perhaps, but it sounds terrific. Crowning glory, though, is a song called “Sunshine No Shoes” in which all of Killinger’s whacked-out, melodic sensibilities casually crystallise into a blindingly great song. It’s available to download here for free, and I really can’t recommend it enough. Have a listen and, as is traditional, please let me know what you think. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

Last year, I spent a fair amount of time listening to a mighty blown-out Philadelphia band called Purling Hiss, whose mainman Mike Pollize was sprung from another excellent local band called the Birds Of Maya.

This week, I’ve got caught up with another moonlighting member of Birds Of Maya, Jason Killinger, who’s resurfaced with an amazing album called “Deep Thuds” under the name of Spacin’. The Richie Records/Testoster Tunes blurb for “Deep Thuds” sells it pretty perfectly: “. It’s five blasted anthems of basement motorik fuzz-rock and a couple of circular ambient explorations that’ll send ya’ searching for Visine and peanut butter cups.”

A slightly different way of putting it, maybe, is that Spacin’ moves in a very similar way to the best bits of Purling Hiss’ messy oeuvre (my old piece about them is here). The Comets On Fire-like noise jams aren’t so prevalent; for that sort of thing, try another fine new Richie/Testoster album, “Vengeance, Man” by King Blood, which I’ll try and write about soon.

Instead, Spacin’s songs mostly sound like kin to Purling Hiss’ more obviously tuneful stand-outs like “Run To The City” and “Been Teased”. References again would be Big Star, and Ariel Pink’s super-fuzzy early recreations of FM rock. Killinger’s key trick, though, is to graft a certain wasted variant of classic rock– check out their blood-drip mangling of the Stones’ tongue logo – onto the glazed mercury chug of the Velvets. The opener, “Empty Mind”, does this perfectly, unravelling into a jam that then morphs into one of those “circular ambient explorations”. This one is called “Some Future (Burger)”, and it’s a terrific kosmische afterburn, fractionally suggesting Ash Ra Tempel reborn as a Goner band.

The other ambientish thing is titled “Oh, Man”, a lo-fi Latino jam with, again, Kraut undertones, that occasionally sounds like Santana in a wardrobe. Not the most glowing recommendation in theory, perhaps, but it sounds terrific.

Crowning glory, though, is a song called “Sunshine No Shoes” in which all of Killinger’s whacked-out, melodic sensibilities casually crystallise into a blindingly great song. It’s available to download here for free, and I really can’t recommend it enough. Have a listen and, as is traditional, please let me know what you think.

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

Blur announce massive reissue campaign

Michael Bonner
-
0
Blur announce massive reissue campaign
Blur are set to celebrate the 21st anniversary will a comprehensive reissue campaign. All seven of the band's studio albums are to be re-released on July 30 in expanded Special Edition formats, each featuring a bonus disc of previously unreleased material, booklets, and more. The band are also pla...

Blur are set to celebrate the 21st anniversary will a comprehensive reissue campaign.

All seven of the band’s studio albums are to be re-released on July 30 in expanded Special Edition formats, each featuring a bonus disc of previously unreleased material, booklets, and more.

The band are also planning a 21-disc box set, collecting all seven Special Editions, plus four more discs of rarities, three DVDs including three and a half hours of previously unreleased material, a collectable 7″ single of the rare and previously unreleased live recording of Seymour-era Blur song “Superman”, and a deluxe hardback book with liner notes based on a brand new interviews with the band.

Finally, there will be vinyl box set containing all seven albums in a sturdy hard case. Each LP will also be sold separately.

Blur will also headline a show in London’s Hyde Park later this year. The band will be joined by New Order and The Specials at the concert on August 12, to coincide with the Olympics closing ceremony.

Blur 21: The Box Tracklist:

CD1 – Leisure Remastered

01. She’s So High

02. Bang

03. Slow Down

04. Repetition

05. Bad Day

06. Sing

07. There’s No Other Way

08. Fool

09. Come Together

10. High Cool

11. Birthday

12. Wear Me Down

CD2 – Leisure Bonus Material

01. I Know (Extended Mix)

02. Down

03. There’s No Other Way (Extended Version)

04. Inertia

05. Mr Briggs

06. I’m All Over

07. Won’t Do It

08. Day Upon Day (Live)

09. There’s No Other Way (Blur Remix)

10. Bang (Extended Version)

11. Explain

12. Luminous

13. Berserk

14. Uncle Love

15. I Love Her (Demo Version) (Fan Club Single)

16. Close (Fan Club Single)

CD3 – Modern Life Is Rubbish Remastered

01. For Tomorrow

02. Advert

03. Colin Zeal

04. Pressure On Julian

05. Star Shaped

06. Blue Jeans

07. Chemical World

08. Intermission

09. Sunday Sunday

10. Oily Water

11. Miss America

12. Villa Rosie

13. Coping

14. Turn It Up

15. Resigned

16. Commercial Break

CD4 – Modern Life Is Rubbish Bonus Material

01. Popscene

02. Mace

03. Badgeman Brown

04. I’m Fine

05. Garden Central

06. For Tomorrow (Visit to Primrose Hill Extended Version)

07. Into Another

08. Peach

09. Bone Bag

10. Hanging Over

11. When the Cows Come Home

12. Beachcoma

13. Chemical World (Reworked)

14. Es Schmecht

15. Young and Lovely

16. Maggie May

17. My Ark

18. Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Made for Two)

19. Let’s All Go Down the Strand

CD5 – Parklife Remastered

01. Girls and Boys

02. Tracy Jacks

03. End of a Century

04. Parklife

05. Bank Holiday

06. Bad Head

07. The Debt Collector

08. Far Out

09. To the End

10. London Loves

11. Trouble in the Message Centre

12. Clover Over Dover

13. Magic America

14. Jubilee

15. This Is a Low

16. Lot 105

CD6 – Parklife Bonus Material

01. Magpie

02. Anniversary Waltz

03. People in Europe

04. Peter Panic

05. Girls and Boys (Pet Shop Boys 12” Remix)

06. Threadneedle Street

07. Got Yer!

08. Beard

09. To The End (French Version)

10. Supa Shoppa

11. Theme From An Imaginary Film

12. Red Necks

13. Alex’s Song

14. Jubilee (Acoustic) (BBC Radio 1 Session, 1994) *

15. Parklife (Acoustic) (BBC Radio 1 Session, 1994) *

16. End Of A Century (Cadena 40 Principales Acoustic Version)

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD7 – The Great Escape Remastered

01. Stereotypes

02. Country House

03. Best Days

04. Charmless Man

05. Fade Away

06. Top Man

07. The Universal

08. Mr Robinson’s Quango

09. He Thought of Cars

10. It Could Be You

11. Ernold Same

12. Globe Alone

13. Dan Abnormal

14. Entertain Me

15. Yuko and Hiro

CD8 – The Great Escape Bonus Material

01. One Born Every Minute

02. To the End (La Comedie) (Feat. Francoise Hardy)

03. Ultranol

04. No Monsters in Me

05. Entertain Me (Live It!) (Remix)

06. The Man Who Left Himself

07. Tame

08. Ludwig

09. The Horrors

10. A Song

11. St Louis

12. Country House (Live at Mile End)

13. Girls and Boys (Live at Mile End)

14. Parklife (Live at Mile End)

15. For Tomorrow (Live at Mile End)

16. Charmless Man (Live At The Budokan)

17. Chemical World (Live At The Budokan)

18. Eine Kleine Lift Musik

CD9 – Blur Remastered

01. Beetlebum

02. Song 2

03. Country Sad Ballad Man

04. M.O.R.

05. On Your Own

06. Theme from Retro

07. You’re So Great

08. Death of a Party

09. Chinese Bombs

10. I’m Just a Killer for Your Love

11. Look Inside America

12. Strange News from Another Star

13. Movin’ On

14. Essex Dogs

CD10 – Blur Bonus Material

01. All Your Life

02. A Spell (For Money)

03. Woodpigeon Song

04. Dancehall

05. Get Out of Cities

06. Polished Stone

07. Bustin’ + Dronin’

08. M.O.R. (Road Version)

09. Swallows in the Heatwave

10. Death Of A Party (7” Remix)

11. Cowboy Song

12. Beetlebum (Live Acoustic Version)

13. On Your Own (Live Acoustic Version)

14. Country Sad Ballad Man (Live Acoustic Version)

15. This Is A Low (Live Acoustic Version)

16. M.O.R. (Live In Utrecht)

17. Death Of A Party (Live In Utrecht)

18. Song 2 (Live In Utrecht)

CD11 – 13 Remastered:

01. Tender

02. Bugman

03. Coffee and TV

04. Swamp Song

05. 1992

06. B.L.U.R.E.M.I

07. Battle

08. Mellow Song

09. Trailerpark

10. Caramel

11. Trimm Trabb

12. No Distance Left to Run

13. Optigan I

CD12 – 13 Bonus Material

01. French Song

02. All We Want

03. Mellow Jam

04. X-Offender (Damon/Control Freak’s Bugman Remix)

05. Coyote (Dave’s Bugman Remix)

06. Trade Stylee (Alex’s Bugman Remix)

07. Metal Hip Slop (Graham’s Bugman Remix)

08. So You

09. Beagle 2

10. Tender (Cornelius Remix)

11. Far Out (Beagle 2 Remix)

12. I Got Law (Demo)

13. Music Is My Radar

14. Black Book

CD13 – Think Tank Remastered

01. Ambulance

02. Out of Time

03. Crazy Beat

04. Good Song

05. On the Way to the Club

06. Brothers and Sisters

07. Caravan

08. We’ve Got a File On You

09. Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club

10. Sweet Song

11. Jets

12. Gene By Gene

13. Battery in Your Leg

14. Me, White Noise (Hidden Track)

CD14 – Think Tank Bonus Material

01. Money Makes Me Crazy (Marrakech Mix)

02. Tune 2

03. The Outsider

04. Don’t Be

05. Morricone

06. Me, White Noise (Alternate Version)

07. Some Glad Morning (Fan Club Single)

08. Don’t Be (Acoustic mix)

09. Sweet Song (demo)

10. Caravan (XFM Session, October 2003) *

11. End Of A Century (XFM Session, October 2003) *

12. Good Song (XFM Session, October 2003) *

13. Out Of Time (XFM Session, October 2003) *

14. Tender (XFM Session, October 2003) *

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD15 – Rarities 1 (Seymour & Leisure Era)

01. Dizzy (Seymour Rehearsal & Demo)

02. Mixed Up (Seymour Rehearsal & Demo)

03. Birthday (Seymour Demo) *

04. Sing (To Me) (Sing Demo) (Fan Club Single)

05. Fool (Seymour 4-Track Demo) *

06. She’s So High (Seymour Rehearsal) *

07. Won’t Do It (Demo) (Fan Club Single)

08. I Know (Falconer Studio Demo) *

09. Repetition (Falconer Studio Demo) *

10. High Cool (7” Master) *

11. Always (I’m Fine Early Version) *

12. Come Together (Demo) (Fan Club Single)

13. I’m All Over (Demo) *

14. Wear Me Down (Demo) *

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD16 – Rarities 2 (Modern Life is Rubbish Era)

01. I Love Her (Alt Version) *

02. Popscene (1991 Demo) *

03. Beached Whale (4-Track Demo) *

04. Death Of A Party (Demo) (Fan Club Single)

05. Pap Pop (4-Track Demo) *

06. Pressure On Julian (Demo) *

07. Colin Zeal (Demo) *

08. Sunday Sunday (Demo) *

09. Never Clever

10. Advert (Demo) *

11. Star Shaped (Demo) *

12. She Don’t Mind (Blue Jeans demo) *

13. Coping (Andy Partridge version) *

14. Sunday Sleep (Sunday Sunday Andy Partridge Version) *

15. 7 Days (Andy Partridge Version) *

16. Kazoo (Turn It Up Early Version) *

17. The Wassailing Song (The 7” Giveaway at Hibernian Club, Fulham)

18. When The Cows Come Home (demo) *

19. For Tomorrow (Mix 1 – Early Demo) *

20. Magpie (Early Demo) *

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD17 – Rarities 3 (Parklife & The Great Escape Era)

01. Parklife (Demo) *

02. Clover Over Dover (Demo) *

03. Jubilee (Demo) *

04. One A Minute (One Born Every Minute Demo) *

05. Badhead (Demo) *

06. Far Out (Electric Version) *

07. The Debt Collector (Demo) *

08. Trouble In The Message Centre (Demo) *

09. Rednecks (Take 1) *

10. Rednecks (Take 2) *

11. Alex’s Song (Demo) *

12. Cross Channel Love (Home Demo) *

13. Ernold Same (Demo) *

14. Saturday Morning (Demo) *

15. Hope You Find Your Suburb (A.K.A. Eine Kleine Lift Musik Vocal Demo) *

16. Rico (Fade Away Demo) *

17. Bored House Wives (Entertain Me Early Version) *

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD18 – Rarities 4 (Blur, 13, Best Of & Think Tank Era)

01. Beetlebum (Demo) *

02. On Your Own (Mario Caldato Jr Mix) *

03. Woodpigeon Song (Original Full Length) *

04. Battle (Jam, Mayfair Studios 11 August 1999) *

05. Caramel (Ambient Version) *

06. So You (Alternative Version) *

07. Squeezebox (Music Is My Radar Alternative Version) *

08. Jawbone (Black Book Alternative Version) *

09. “1” (Bill Laswell Session, 2000) *

10. “3” (Bill Laswell Session, 2000) *

11. Sir Elton John’s Cock *

12. Avoid The Traffic *

13. Money Makes Me Crazy (Deepest Darkest Devon Mix)

14. Don’t Bomb When You’re The Bomb *

15. Nutter *

16. Piano *

17. Kissin’ Time

18. Fool’s Day

19. Track tbc

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

DVD1 – Showtime: Live at Alexandra Palace, 7 October 1994

01. Lot 105

02. Sunday Sunday

03. Jubilee

04. Tracy Jacks

05. Magic America

06. End Of A Century

07. Popscene

08. Trouble In The Message Centre

09. She’s So High

10. Chemical World

11. Bad Head

12. There’s No Other Way

13. To The End

14. Advert

15. Supa Shoppa

16. Mr Robinson’s Quango

17. Parklife

18. Girls And Boys

19. Bank Holiday

20. This Is A Low

DVD2 – The Singles Night – Live at Wembley, 11 December 1999

01. I Know *

02. She’s So High *

03. There’s No Other Way *

04. Popscene *

05. For Tomorrow *

06. Chemical World *

07. Girls And Boys *

08. To The End *

09. Parklife (With Phil Daniels) *

10. End Of A Century *

11. Country House *

12. The Universal *

13. Charmless Man *

14. Beetlebum *

15. Song 2 *

16. On Your Own *

17. M.O.R. *

18. Tender *

19. Coffee & TV *

20. No Distance Left To Run *

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

DVD3 – Rarities

01. B.L.U.R.E.M.I (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999) *

02. No Distance Left To Run (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999)

03. Tender (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999)

04. Battle (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999)

05. Beetlebum (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999) *

06. Bugman (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999) *

07. Trimm Trabb (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999) *

08. Mellow Song (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999) *

09. Song 2 (Live 13 at London Depot, 10 March 1999) *

10. Seymour: Dizzy *

11. There’s No Other Way (BBC Eggs & Baker) (Blur’s 1st TV Performance) *

12. To The End (La Comedie) Feat. Francoise Hardy (French Promo Video)

13. It Could Be You (Japanese Promo Video) *

14. Music Is My Radar (Promo Video)

15. Out Of Time (Promo Video)

16. Crazy Beat (Promo Video)

17. Good Song (Promo Video)

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

7” Single (Previously Unreleased)

01. Superman (Recorded December 1989 at The Square in Harlow, Essex)

The Black Keys: ‘We didn’t want to be rock stars’

Michael Bonner
-
0
The Black Keys: ‘We didn’t want to be rock stars’
Dan Auerbach, frontman of blues duo The Black Keys, has said in a new interview that he and drummer Patrick Carney 'didn't want to be rock stars'. Speaking to Interview Magazine, Auerbach said that success doesn't matter to the band. He explained: "We don't have expectations or dreams, because thos...

Dan Auerbach, frontman of blues duo The Black Keys, has said in a new interview that he and drummer Patrick Carney ‘didn’t want to be rock stars’.

Speaking to Interview Magazine, Auerbach said that success doesn’t matter to the band. He explained: “We don’t have expectations or dreams, because those will always just bite you in the ass. We’re very content with where we are and the speed we’ve been going. The only way we got through was by keeping our expectations very low. We didn’t want to be rock stars.”

He added: “It’s not about success. Whatever happens, it doesn’t matter. I would like to not go bankrupt or get some incurable disease, but other than that, I’m just happy to keep going.”

In the same interview, Auerbach said that he wasn’t “typical frontman material”, stating that he doesn’t crave the spotlight. “Some people love being on stage and really open up, and I’m sort of the opposite of that,” he said. “I don’t crave the spotlight. I’m still not comfortable even talking on stage.”

The Black Keys recently featured on a brand new episode of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain’s cult travel show No Reservations. The programme aired in the United States earlier this week.

The Black Keys headlined the first weekend of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California on April 13 – and return to the site this Friday night (April 20) for the festival’s second weekend.

Stone Roses photography exhibition to open in London

Michael Bonner
-
0
Stone Roses photography exhibition to open in London

An exhibition featuring photographs of the Stone Roses taken by Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery and Ian Tilton is set to open in London this summer. Running from June 13 to August 12, the exhibit coincides with the Manchester band's comeback shows in Manchester and at a number of European festivals. The Stone Roses: The Third Coming is being called The Definitive Stone Roses Exhibition and will feature over 70 images of the band as well as memorabilia. The exhibition, which takes place at Whiteleys Shopping Centre in Bayswater, London, will be made up of live, on the road, in the studio and previously unseen portrait shots of the iconic group, and has been curated by Dave Brolan. Of the exhibition Brolan says: "These three photographers – Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery and Ian Tilton – have, between them, captured pretty much every major artist of the last 30 years, many as they were still unknown or emerging... Together, they helped shape the image of The Stone Roses." Ian Brown and the band will play V Festival and T In The Park this summer, along with slots at Benicassim, Optimus Alive, Fuji Rock, Tennent's Vital, NorthSide and Hultsfred. Meanwhile, the group recently revealed the full support bills of their Heaton Park reunion shows, with Primal Scream, Beady Eye and Plan B heading up the support slots on each of the three nights from June 28 to July 1.

An exhibition featuring photographs of the Stone Roses taken by Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery and Ian Tilton is set to open in London this summer.

Running from June 13 to August 12, the exhibit coincides with the Manchester band’s comeback shows in Manchester and at a number of European festivals. The Stone Roses: The Third Coming is being called The Definitive Stone Roses Exhibition and will feature over 70 images of the band as well as memorabilia.

The exhibition, which takes place at Whiteleys Shopping Centre in Bayswater, London, will be made up of live, on the road, in the studio and previously unseen portrait shots of the iconic group, and has been curated by Dave Brolan. Of the exhibition Brolan says: “These three photographers – Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery and Ian Tilton – have, between them, captured pretty much every major artist of the last 30 years, many as they were still unknown or emerging… Together, they helped shape the image of The Stone Roses.”

Ian Brown and the band will play V Festival and T In The Park this summer, along with slots at Benicassim, Optimus Alive, Fuji Rock, Tennent’s Vital, NorthSide and Hultsfred.

Meanwhile, the group recently revealed the full support bills of their Heaton Park reunion shows, with Primal Scream, Beady Eye and Plan B heading up the support slots on each of the three nights from June 28 to July 1.

Pixies give away free four-track EP

Michael Bonner
-
0
Pixies give away free four-track EP
Pixies are giving away a new free EP from their official website. The EP consists of four live tracks which were recorded during the band's set at Coachella in 2004, including their hit singles "Monkey Gone To Heaven" and "Caribou" and is available to be downloaded now from Pixiesmusic.com. The ...

Pixies are giving away a new free EP from their official website.

The EP consists of four live tracks which were recorded during the band’s set at Coachella in 2004, including their hit singles “Monkey Gone To Heaven” and “Caribou” and is available to be downloaded now from Pixiesmusic.com.

The show was the first time the influential band had played together for over 11 years and they posted a message about the set on their website, writing: “We have a special treat for you. This week, finding ourselves between two consecutive weekends of Coachella for the first time ever, we thought it fitting to rifle through the Pixies vault in search of an apt celebration. So, we’re very pleased to bring you a completely free download of 4 tracks from Pixies memorable ’04 Coachella performance.”

Pixies completed a full US tour last year, playing their 1989 album Doolittle sequentially in its entirely. They haven’t scheduled any further shows since that tour came to an end.

The tracklisting for ‘Coachella ’04 EP’ is as follows:

‘U-Mass’

‘Monkey Gone To Heaven’

‘Hey’

‘Caribou’

John Lydon distances himself from 35th anniversary re-release of Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’

Michael Bonner
-
0
John Lydon distances himself from 35th anniversary re-release of Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’
John Lydon has distanced himself from the scheduled re-release of Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen" next month. On Monday [April 16], it was announced the band's controversial classic would be re-released on May 28, almost 35 years to the day that it first hit shelves and ruffled feathers around th...

John Lydon has distanced himself from the scheduled re-release of Sex Pistols’ “God Save The Queen” next month.

On Monday [April 16], it was announced the band’s controversial classic would be re-released on May 28, almost 35 years to the day that it first hit shelves and ruffled feathers around the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

With this year’s 35th anniversary re-release also coinciding with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Lydon has released a statement claiming he is unhappy with the “campaign to push ‘God Save The Queen‘ for the Number 1 spot over the Jubilee weekend”.

He commented: “It is certainly not my personal plan or aim. I am proud of what the Sex Pistols achieved and always will be but this campaign totally undermines what the Sex Pistols stood for. This is not my campaign.”

Lydon continued by acknowledging that although he is “pleased” that a new generation of music fans are being given the chance to discover the punk legends’ music, he wants “no part in the circus that is being built up around” the release.

He concluded that he was instead focusing on Public Image Ltd his post-Pistols band who are preparing to release their first album for 20 years – also on May 28.

Public Image Ltd, who made their live comeback last month, are also set to release an EP titled ‘One Drop’ this Saturday [April 21], to coincide with this year’s Record Store Day.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ stolen guitars recovered by police

Michael Bonner
-
0
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ stolen guitars recovered by police

Five vintage guitars stolen from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been recovered by the police. The gear, which included Petty's 1967 12-string blonde Rickenbacker 360 and his 1965 Gibson SGTV Junior, as well as a Fender Broadcaster belonging to bassist Ron Blair, and guitars belonging to Scott Thurston and Mike Campbell, was stolen from the band's rehearsal space in Los Angeles last week. One man has now been arrested in conjunction with the robbery, reports TMZ, who add that the guitars have yet to be returned to the band. The band had been offering a $75,000 (£48,000) reward for the safe return of the instruments and said on their website that there would be "no questions asked" to anyone with information on the whereabouts of the guitars. The guitars were taken from a studio in Culver City, Los Angeles, where the band was rehearsing for their US tour, which is set to open in Broomfield, Colorado, today [April 18]. The European leg of the tour is due to kick off in Dublin on June 7, before two sold-out dates at London's Royal Albert Hall on June 18 and 20. The band also headline the Isle of Wight Festival alongside Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam.

Five vintage guitars stolen from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been recovered by the police.

The gear, which included Petty’s 1967 12-string blonde Rickenbacker 360 and his 1965 Gibson SGTV Junior, as well as a Fender Broadcaster belonging to bassist Ron Blair, and guitars belonging to Scott Thurston and Mike Campbell, was stolen from the band’s rehearsal space in Los Angeles last week.

One man has now been arrested in conjunction with the robbery, reports TMZ, who add that the guitars have yet to be returned to the band.

The band had been offering a $75,000 (£48,000) reward for the safe return of the instruments and said on their website that there would be “no questions asked” to anyone with information on the whereabouts of the guitars.

The guitars were taken from a studio in Culver City, Los Angeles, where the band was rehearsing for their US tour, which is set to open in Broomfield, Colorado, today [April 18]. The European leg of the tour is due to kick off in Dublin on June 7, before two sold-out dates at London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 18 and 20.

The band also headline the Isle of Wight Festival alongside Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam.

The 16th Uncut Playlist Of 2012

John Mulvey
-
0
The 16th Uncut Playlist Of 2012

Business somewhat overshadowed this morning by the awful news about Levon Helm. Over the past couple of days though, these are the records we’ve been playing in the Uncut office. Special mention this week to the Neneh Cherry/Thing collaboration, and to the two new releases on Testoster Tunes. Have a listen to ”Sunshine No Shoes” by Spacin’ here if you have a moment: rapidly becoming addicted to this one. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey 1 The Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Big Moon Ritual (Silver Arrow) 2 Everything But The Girl – Eden (Edsel) 3 The Pre New – Music For People Who Hate Themselves (Pre War Black Ghetto) 4 Blue Oyster Cult – The Essential Blue Oyster Cult (Legacy) 5 Various Artists – Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974 (Sublime Frequencies) 6 Gaggle – From The Mouth Of The Cave (Transgressive) 7 Taragana Pyjarama – Tipped Bowls (Kompakt) 8 Om – Advaitic Songs (Drag City) 9 Neneh Cherry & The Thing – The Cherry Thing (Smalltown Supersound) 10 ”Uncut’s Spotify Southern Rock Playlist 11 The Walkmen – Heaven (Bella Union) 12 The Tallest Man On Earth – There’s No Leaving Now (Dead Oceans) 13 Sugar – Beaster (Edsel) 14 Cian Nugent – My War Blues/Grass Above My Head (VHF) 15 LAND – City Of Glass (Important) 16 SpaceGhostPurrp – Mysterious Phonk: Chronicles Of SpaceGhostPurrp (4AD) 17 MV & EE – Space Homestead (Woodsist) 18 Spacin’ – Deep Thuds (Richie Records/Testoster Tunes) 19 King Blood – Vengeance, Man (Richie Records/Testoster Tunes) 20 Motion Sickness Of Time Travel - Motion Sickness Of Time Travel (Spectrum Spools)

Business somewhat overshadowed this morning by the awful news about Levon Helm. Over the past couple of days though, these are the records we’ve been playing in the Uncut office.

Special mention this week to the Neneh Cherry/Thing collaboration, and to the two new releases on Testoster Tunes. Have a listen to ”Sunshine No Shoes” by Spacin’ here if you have a moment: rapidly becoming addicted to this one.

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

1 The Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Big Moon Ritual (Silver Arrow)

2 Everything But The Girl – Eden (Edsel)

3 The Pre New – Music For People Who Hate Themselves (Pre War Black Ghetto)

4 Blue Oyster Cult – The Essential Blue Oyster Cult (Legacy)

5 Various Artists – Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974 (Sublime Frequencies)

6 Gaggle – From The Mouth Of The Cave (Transgressive)

7 Taragana Pyjarama – Tipped Bowls (Kompakt)

8 Om – Advaitic Songs (Drag City)

9 Neneh Cherry & The Thing – The Cherry Thing (Smalltown Supersound)

10 ”Uncut’s Spotify Southern Rock Playlist

11 The Walkmen – Heaven (Bella Union)

12 The Tallest Man On Earth – There’s No Leaving Now (Dead Oceans)

13 Sugar – Beaster (Edsel)

14 Cian Nugent – My War Blues/Grass Above My Head (VHF)

15 LAND – City Of Glass (Important)

16 SpaceGhostPurrp – Mysterious Phonk: Chronicles Of SpaceGhostPurrp (4AD)

17 MV & EE – Space Homestead (Woodsist)

18 Spacin’ – Deep Thuds (Richie Records/Testoster Tunes)

19 King Blood – Vengeance, Man (Richie Records/Testoster Tunes)

20 Motion Sickness Of Time Travel – Motion Sickness Of Time Travel (Spectrum Spools)

Simone Felice – Simone Felice

Michael Bonner
-
0
Simone Felice – Simone Felice

After undergoing emergency open-heart surgery in 2010, Simone Felice appears to have taken solace in first principles. Having stepped away from the Felice Brothers in 2009 and put The Duke & The King on hiatus, his solo debut is simple and earthy, leaning on little more than organ, warm acoustic guitar and his wondrous singing, every note carrying the betraying quaver of a man who feels a little too much. Felice’s voice has a devotional quality and the music here is often similarly hymnal. Recorded in an old church, a barn in the woods and a disused school, the songs are full of space. The funky edges and pop mischief evident on The Duke & The King’s two albums are almost entirely gone, replaced by a quiet, powerful intensity which sometimes recalls the work of another drummer-gone-solo, former Fleet Fox Joshua Tillman. The rousing gospel-blues of “You & I Belong”, with its handclaps and unison singing, is an anomaly. More often Felice is trying desperately to keep a bad world at bay. On “New York Times”, a haunting piano ballad, he lifts a litany of ills – the fate of an American Indian, the Iraqi dead, coke deals, a child-killer – from the front page and places them squarely on his own shoulders. “Charade”, six minutes of voice and bare-boned acoustic guitar, is riveting yet painfully raw. The school girls’ choir and churchy organ on “Hey Bobby Ray” can’t disguise a palpable intimation of dread. Elsewhere the mood is elegiac. Felice ponders the fate of childhood friends on “Dawn Brady’s Son” and the gorgeous, soulful “Stormy-Eyed Sarah”; on “Ballad Of Sharon Tate” and “Courtney Love”, on which the Hole singer becomes a totem for every reckless move any of us have made, he laments those doomed by dark infamy. The closing “Splendor In The Grass”, swept by viola, is ultimately affirming, yet acknowledges that being “one step away from her is a small death”. Graeme Thomson

After undergoing emergency open-heart surgery in 2010, Simone Felice appears to have taken solace in first principles. Having stepped away from the Felice Brothers in 2009 and put The Duke & The King on hiatus, his solo debut is simple and earthy, leaning on little more than organ, warm acoustic guitar and his wondrous singing, every note carrying the betraying quaver of a man who feels a little too much.

Felice’s voice has a devotional quality and the music here is often similarly hymnal. Recorded in an old church, a barn in the woods and a disused school, the songs are full of space. The funky edges and pop mischief evident on The Duke & The King’s two albums are almost entirely gone, replaced by a quiet, powerful intensity which sometimes recalls the work of another drummer-gone-solo, former Fleet Fox Joshua Tillman.

The rousing gospel-blues of “You & I Belong”, with its handclaps and unison singing, is an anomaly. More often Felice is trying desperately to keep a bad world at bay. On “New York Times”, a haunting piano ballad, he lifts a litany of ills – the fate of an American Indian, the Iraqi dead, coke deals, a child-killer – from the front page and places them squarely on his own shoulders. “Charade”, six minutes of voice and bare-boned acoustic guitar, is riveting yet painfully raw. The school girls’ choir and churchy organ on “Hey Bobby Ray” can’t disguise a palpable intimation of dread.

Elsewhere the mood is elegiac. Felice ponders the fate of childhood friends on “Dawn Brady’s Son” and the gorgeous, soulful “Stormy-Eyed Sarah”; on “Ballad Of Sharon Tate” and “Courtney Love”, on which the Hole singer becomes a totem for every reckless move any of us have made, he laments those doomed by dark infamy. The closing “Splendor In The Grass”, swept by viola, is ultimately affirming, yet acknowledges that being “one step away from her is a small death”.

Graeme Thomson

Levon Helm in ‘final stages of cancer battle’

John Mulvey
-
0
Levon Helm in ‘final stages of cancer battle’
The Band's Levon Helm is said to be in the final stages of his "battle with cancer". The news about the 71 year old drummer and vocalist with the country rock group was revealed on http://www.levonhelm.com by his family. A message to fans reads: “Dear Friends, Levon is in the final stages of...

The Band‘s Levon Helm is said to be in the final stages of his “battle with cancer”.

The news about the 71 year old drummer and vocalist with the country rock group was revealed on http://www.levonhelm.com by his family. A message to fans reads:

“Dear Friends, Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey.”

It continues: “Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration… he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage… We appreciate all the love and support and concern. From his daughter Amy, and wife Sandy.”

The Band released their debut album, ‘Music From Big Pink’, in 1968, and went on to perform at the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969.

Their final show in 1976, which saw guest appearances from Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris and Neil Young, was the subject of the acclaimed Martin Scorsese documentary, The Last Waltz. The band went on to reform in the early 1980s, splitting for good in 1999 upon the death of Rick Danko.

Levon Helm won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2010 with ‘Electric Dirt’ and in 2012 for the live album ‘Ramble At The Ryman’.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse live date confirmed

Michael Bonner
-
0
Neil Young & Crazy Horse live date confirmed
Neil Young & Crazy Horse have been confirmed to play the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco in August. The Festival - which takes place at the Golden Gate Park - runs from August 10 - 12. The line-up also includes Jack White, Foo Fighters, Beck, Metallica and Stevie Wonder. Visit http://...

Neil Young & Crazy Horse have been confirmed to play the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco in August.

The Festival – which takes place at the Golden Gate Park – runs from August 10 – 12.

The line-up also includes Jack White, Foo Fighters, Beck, Metallica and Stevie Wonder.

Visit http://lineup.sfoutsidelands.com/ for further details.

In February this year, Neil Young & Crazy Horse played at the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year in Los Angeles for honoree Paul McCartney. This was Young’s first show with Crazy Horse since their Greendale tour ended in March, 2004.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse release their new album, Americana, on June 5.

PJ Harvey, Jonny Greenwood, Kate Bush receive Ivor Novello Award nominations

Michael Bonner
-
0
PJ Harvey, Jonny Greenwood, Kate Bush receive Ivor Novello Award nominations
PJ Harvey, Kate Bush and Adele have landed nominations for best album at next month's Ivor Novello awards, the first time that all the nods in the Best Album category are for women. Two of Adele's tracks, "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You" are up for the Most Performed Work award, while s...

PJ Harvey, Kate Bush and Adele have landed nominations for best album at next month’s Ivor Novello awards, the first time that all the nods in the Best Album category are for women.

Two of Adele’s tracks, “Rolling In The Deep” and “Someone Like You” are up for the Most Performed Work award, while she will battle it out with Florence And The Machine and Ed Sheeran for Best Song.

Lana Del Ray’s “Video Games”, James Blake’s “The Wilhelm Scream” and Nero’s “Promises” are up for Best Contemporary Song. Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood also gets a nod in the Best Original Film Score category for his work on We Need To Talk About Kevin.

The British songwriting awards ceremony will take place in Grosvenor House, London in May. See Theivors.com for more information and below for the full list of nominations.

Best Song Musically and Lyrically

‘Rolling In The Deep’ by Adele

‘Shake It Out’ by Florence and the Machine

‘The A Team’ by Ed Sheeran

Best Contemporary Song

‘Promises’ by Nero

‘The Wilhelm Scream’ by James Blake

‘Video Games’ by Lana Del Ray

Album Award

’21’ by Adele

’50 Words For Snow’ by Kate Bush

‘Let England Shake’ by PJ Harvey

Best Original Film Score

Life In A Day

The First Grader

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Television Soundtrack

Leonardo

Page Eight

The Shadow Line

PRS for Music Most Performed Work

‘Rolling In The Deep’ by Adele

‘Someone Like You’ by Adele

‘The Flood’ by Take That

Patti Smith announces UK tour

Michael Bonner
-
0
Patti Smith announces UK tour
Patti Smith has announced a UK tour in support of her new album, Banga. Patti's dates are: September 4th Newcastle O2 Academy 5th Glasgow O2 ABC 7th ­ Manchester Academy 9th ­ Leeds O2 Academy 10th ­ Cambridge Corn Exchange 12th Brighton Dome 13th...

Patti Smith has announced a UK tour in support of her new album, Banga.

Patti’s dates are:

September

4th Newcastle O2 Academy

5th Glasgow O2 ABC

7th ­ Manchester Academy

9th ­ Leeds O2 Academy

10th ­ Cambridge Corn Exchange

12th Brighton Dome

13th ­ London Troxy

Tickets are available at www.artistticket.com and www.gigsandtours.com, and via the 24 Hour Ticket Hotline: 0844 811 0051.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday April 20, with a presale to Patti’s fans via her website on Wednesday April 18.

These shows are in addition to the live dates in June which have already been announced:

June

25th Wolverhampton Civic

26th Cardiff Coal Exchange

28th Bath Forum

30th Hop Farm Festival, Tunbridge

Banga is released on June 4 through Sony.

Chuck Berry makes a mark on Uncut

Uncut
-
0
Chuck Berry makes a mark on Uncut

If you can't quite make it out, that’s Chuck Berry’s signature, top left in the picture above of a couple of pages from the April issue of Uncut. It was sent to me by Uncut reader Scott Ford, who lives in St Louis, Missouri, home of course to the immortal Chuck, and was accompanied by a great email that I’ve copied below. Scott had enjoyed our Snapshot feature in the mentioned issue, which had showcased some terrific shots by former NME photographer Joe Stevens in 1965. They were among the first Joe ever took, at what was billed as the New York Folk Festival, at which Chuck appeared with Muddy Waters, Johnny Cash and Mississippi John Hurt, who got Joe his tickets for the concert, held at Carnegie Hall. Joe recalled how he’d wandered about backstage, taking pictures of whoever he ran into – which included in one dressing room Chuck, Muddy and Chuck’s guitarist at the time, whose name Joe didn’t know. Cue an inspired attempt by Scott to find out who it was, by asking none other than the mighty Chuck himself. Here’s Scott’s email: “Allan, I am emailing you from St. Louis, MO, the home of legendary Chuck Berry. I recently have been picking up the last few copies of Uncut at my local bookstore. I love the magazine and look forward to each upcoming issue. “I wanted to take a moment out to give feedback on a feature on the New York Folk Festival held in July of 1965. I enjoyed the words and photography by Joe Stevens. Please let Joe know that on Wednesday, April 11 I had a pair of tickets to see Chuck Berry at a small venue that he plays at once a month called Blueberry Hill. At 85 years old, the man still puts on a hell of a show, but does have moments of showing his age. “After the performance, I got the opportunity to have Chuck sign the issue of Uncut with his photo on page 60 from the New York Folk Festival. As Mr. Stevens has suggested in the story, he wandered around dressing rooms and stumbled upon Chuck and Muddy, and asked if anyone knew the name of Chuck's guitarist who is also pictured. So, I personally asked Mr. Berry about the event and if he recalled who the guitarist was. He looked up at me with a smile and all he said was, "Sonny." “Unfortunately, that is all he stated. I have no clue who that is. “It's exciting to have had the grandfather of rock’n’roll autograph a couple of unique personal items including the April 2012 issue of Uncut. I am attaching a few photos, and again simply thought you may enjoy this story. I look forward to the next issue of Uncut, and love the layout and look of the magazine. It will be a sad day in rock-n-roll history at the passing of this man, but it will be one heck of a rock’n’roll funeral. I wish you a great day. Scott Ford” After reading Scott’s email, I have to say I felt immediately inclined to investigate the possibility of moving to St Louis. Imagine getting the chance to see Chuck Berry once a month at a venue like Blueberry Hill. Hell’s teeth. Who would pass up a chance like that? Anyway, thanks to Scott for getting in touch. Have a good week. Allan

If you can’t quite make it out, that’s Chuck Berry’s signature, top left in the picture above of a couple of pages from the April issue of Uncut. It was sent to me by Uncut reader Scott Ford, who lives in St Louis, Missouri, home of course to the immortal Chuck, and was accompanied by a great email that I’ve copied below.

Scott had enjoyed our Snapshot feature in the mentioned issue, which had showcased some terrific shots by former NME photographer Joe Stevens in 1965. They were among the first Joe ever took, at what was billed as the New York Folk Festival, at which Chuck appeared with Muddy Waters, Johnny Cash and Mississippi John Hurt, who got Joe his tickets for the concert, held at Carnegie Hall.

Joe recalled how he’d wandered about backstage, taking pictures of whoever he ran into – which included in one dressing room Chuck, Muddy and Chuck’s guitarist at the time, whose name Joe didn’t know.

Cue an inspired attempt by Scott to find out who it was, by asking none other than the mighty Chuck himself. Here’s Scott’s email:

“Allan, I am emailing you from St. Louis, MO, the home of legendary Chuck Berry. I recently have been picking up the last few copies of Uncut at my local bookstore. I love the magazine and look forward to each upcoming issue.

“I wanted to take a moment out to give feedback on a feature on the New York Folk Festival held in July of 1965. I enjoyed the words and photography by Joe Stevens. Please let Joe know that on Wednesday, April 11 I had a pair of tickets to see Chuck Berry at a small venue that he plays at once a month called Blueberry Hill. At 85 years old, the man still puts on a hell of a show, but does have moments of showing his age.

“After the performance, I got the opportunity to have Chuck sign the issue of Uncut with his photo on page 60 from the New York Folk Festival. As Mr. Stevens has suggested in the story, he wandered around dressing rooms and stumbled upon Chuck and Muddy, and asked if anyone knew the name of Chuck’s guitarist who is also pictured. So, I personally asked Mr. Berry about the event and if he recalled who the guitarist was. He looked up at me with a smile and all he said was, “Sonny.”

“Unfortunately, that is all he stated. I have no clue who that is.

“It’s exciting to have had the grandfather of rock’n’roll autograph a couple of unique personal items including the April 2012 issue of Uncut. I am attaching a few photos, and again simply thought you may enjoy this story. I look forward to the next issue of Uncut, and love the layout and look of the magazine. It will be a sad day in rock-n-roll history at the passing of this man, but it will be one heck of a rock’n’roll funeral.

I wish you a great day.

Scott Ford”

After reading Scott’s email, I have to say I felt immediately inclined to investigate the possibility of moving to St Louis. Imagine getting the chance to see Chuck Berry once a month at a venue like Blueberry Hill. Hell’s teeth. Who would pass up a chance like that?

Anyway, thanks to Scott for getting in touch. Have a good week.

Allan

1...620621622...1,270Page 621 of 1,270

SHOP UNCUT