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An Audience With David Crosby: “I can’t claim to be wise!”

Sam Richards
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An Audience With David Crosby: “I can’t claim to be wise!”
In memory of David Crosby, who passed away aged 81, we revisit our final interview with the singer-songwriter from Uncut Take 293, October 2021 “I’ve been having a fairly good time, man,” admits David Crosby, logging into Zoom from his home in the “stunningly beautiful” countryside near...

In memory of David Crosby, who passed away aged 81, we revisit our final interview with the singer-songwriter from Uncut Take 293, October 2021

“I’ve been having a fairly good time, man,” admits David Crosby, logging into Zoom from his home in the “stunningly beautiful” countryside near Santa Barbara. It certainly sounds like there are worse places to be locked down. “I’m looking out through a bunch of trees at some cow pasture. It’s a sunny day, absolutely lovely – California at its best!”

He has his dogs to walk, a pool to swim in and a garden where he and his wife grow vegetables – and pot, naturally. “But I have also been working on records at long distance with my son James and with my other writing partners. It’s not as much fun as doing it live and in person, but we have been able to make pretty good music, in spite of the fact that we couldn’t get in the same room. So that’s been life! I’m feeling pretty happy and I’m really loving making music.”

Thanks to social media, Croz has also gained a reputation for generously sharing his findings from 79 years spent on this planet. Does he enjoy being a wise old oracle now? “I dunno, man, I made so many mistakes that I can’t claim to be wise! But I’m kinda happy with my role right now. There’s a bit of curmudgeon in there. Some of it’s gonna piss people off, I’m sure. But that’s not my aim. My aim is to be funny if I can, and insightful if I can.” Then again, “There’s some people I might want to piss off!”

Your songs are flowing faster than at any time since the ’60s. What do you attribute that to?
Jacob Tanner, Shrewsbury

Well, that’s easy. I learned a long time ago, when I wrote “Wooden Ships” with Paul Kantner and Stephen Stills, that you can write really good songs with other people. Most of my compatriots in this business want all of the credit and all of the money, and so they don’t do that. I’ve found that it’s really fun and it generates good art. I didn’t come for the money and I don’t care about the credit, but I do really care about the songs. My son James is a perfect example; he’s grown into, if anything, an even better writer than I am. He wrote the best song on this record, “I Won’t Stay For Long”. The other people that I write with – Michael League, Michelle Willis, Becca Stevens, Michael McDonald, Donald Fagen – these are all people that I picked because they’re all incredible writers, they’re a joy to write with. And it’s extended my useful life as a writer by 10 or 20 years. I think I would have petered out a while ago without it.

What was it like to write a song with Donald Fagen and how does that work in practice?
Besty, via email

Donald’s not a wide open sort of person, he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. He knew going in that Steely Dan was my favourite band. But it’s taken a while for him to trust me enough [to collaborate]. My son wrote the music, I contributed something to the melody. [Fagen] just sent the words and stood back to see what would happen. He knew what our taste was and he knew what we would probably try to do. He’s an extremely intelligent guy and I think he knew
what would happen. We know his playbook pretty well, so we deliberately went there – complex chords, complex melodies. We Steely Danned him right into the middle of this as far as we could! And fortunately Donald liked it, so I couldn’t be more grateful. I feel like one of the luckiest guys in the world, truthfully.

Do you have any memories of going on film sets with your father, cinematographer Floyd Crosby?
Lyle Bartlett, via email

Yeah, I do. He’d be shooting at a little fake Western town out in the valley someplace, and I’d get to run around. It was something he was a little reticent to do, ’cos I was kinda a wild kid and he was a very serious guy. My dad was not a fun guy – he was a not a good dad, either. But he was really good at his job. What films did I get to see being made? High Noon. The motion picture that he shot was really quite beautiful, but it had crappy music which screwed it up for me.

Are you still miffed about McGuinn and Hillman’s rewriting of “Draft Morning” [from The Notorious Byrd Brothers]?
Cosmic Andy, Edinburgh

Lord, no! It’s all fine. I don’t really remember [what happened], man. I think I had it one way and they changed it, that must’ve been it. It’s ancient history and I don’t really do ancient history that much. Could I have done more with The Byrds? Yeah, sure. But human lives do not go on parallel paths and we’re all always getting closer or further away from the people around us. What happened is that I encountered Stephen Stills and he swung really hard. He could play a kind of music that The Byrds couldn’t play and it appealed to me tremendously. I wanted that, and I really didn’t want to go in the direction that Chris and Roger wanted to go in, of becoming more country. I’m glad they did go there because they kinda invented that country-rock stuff, and they did a really good job. But it wasn’t where I wanted to go.

Have you ever considered a tour where you play If I Could Only Remember My Name in its entirety?
Roger Way, via email

I have. But Garcia’s dead, and that puts quite a crimp in it. Nobody else plays the way he did. And there’s no point trying to duplicate what happened there without him, ’cos he’s all over it. There was a certain magic that happened every time he and I picked up two guitars. If you listen to the beginning of [album outtake] “Kids And Dogs”, we’re playing a game with each other where we’d count: one, two, three, play! Each time we’d play a note, and neither of us knows what note the other guy’s gonna play. So it’s really random and it can go really wrong! Or it can go really right. And if you hear us, we’re doing that game, playing with each other, and then we hit a chord that’s so good that Garcia starts laughing, and you can hear him laughing on the tape. That’s what used to happen every time.

Is it true that Miles Davis kicked you out of his house when he played you his version of “Guinnevere” and you didn’t hear any resemblance to your song? Mike L, Southend

That’s a little more extreme than what actually happened. I didn’t really get it, the first time that I heard it. It was actually a really good record that he’d made, and I loved it in hindsight. But we just didn’t hit it off at first contact. And it’s a shame, because he was very kind to me and he had done a lot of good things for me – he liked my music or he would not have recorded it, it’s that simple. He’s also one of the main reasons The Byrds got a contract with Columbia. When we sent our tape in, he was a hero at that point – jazz was big – and he was on Columbia. So they went to him and said, ‘Hey Miles, whadda we do with this?’ And he said, ‘Sign ’em!’ And that’s why we were on Columbia. The guys who ran the company didn’t have any clue. Miles was a prickly guy and he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, but I love him. He was a fine cat, and brave. And I’m totally honoured that he cut my tune.

How did you feel about selling your publishing? What is the first thing you bought with the money?
Josip Radić, Zagreb, Croatia

I was not happy about doing it, but I was glad that I could do it. It wasn’t what I would have chosen to do, but since I lost both of my income streams, I didn’t have a choice. They don’t pay you for records any more and we can’t tour because of Covid, so what do you expect us to do? They’re starting the tours back up again but now I’m too old to do it. I can’t do bus tours any more, it just beats the crap outta me. I’m turning 80. I mean, never say never… I might do a residency – a week in New York, a week in LA, that kind of thing. But I don’t see me going on the road again. What I did with the money was pay off the house. And if you saw the smile on my wife’s face when I told her the house was paid off, you’d know why I did it!

What is the most memorable encounter you’ve ever had with another musician?
Jerry McGuire, via email

One time, Stills and Hendrix and I played for a while, at Stills’ beach house. That was pretty good. But probably the best was visiting The Beatles when they were making Sgt Pepper. I came in and I was very high. They sat me down on a stool in the middle of the studio and rolled up two six-foot tall speakers on either side of me. Then, laughing, they climbed the stairs back to the control room and left me there. And then they played “A Day In The Life”… At the end of that last chord, my brains just ran out my nose onto the floor in a puddle. I didn’t know what to do, I was just stupefied.

Who was the inspiration for the famous David Crosby moustache?
Zoran Tučkar, via email

Ah, it just grew there! I didn’t have any mentors or heroes that had moustaches that I can think of. It just happened on my lip and I didn’t wanna cut it.

John Cale – Mercy

Tom Pinnock
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John Cale – Mercy
If rock fully sparked into life in the mid-’60s, then those pioneers are now well past collecting their pensions. Some are gone, of course, others creatively spent. A select few, over the last few years, have entered a new creative realm: here, the white-hot urgency of youth is regained, this time...

If rock fully sparked into life in the mid-’60s, then those pioneers are now well past collecting their pensions. Some are gone, of course, others creatively spent. A select few, over the last few years, have entered a new creative realm: here, the white-hot urgency of youth is regained, this time tempered with the wisdom of age and the bittersweet passing of time. The results have been stunning: there’s Rough And Rowdy Ways, of course, and Blackstar, along with Leonard Cohen’s final trio, Roy Harper’s Man & Myth, McCartney III, Bill Fay and Mavis Staples’ recent work, and so on. When an album may be your last, there’s every reason to not go quietly into that good night.

When a latterday masterpiece is a chance to either distil your craft or launch into wild new adventures, it’s no surprise which of those Cale has gone for on Mercy, his first album since 2012’s Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood. If a reminder is needed, this is the experimentalist who left Wales for New York City, who played in La Monte Young’s Theatre Of Eternal Music, who brought much of the pioneering squall to The Velvet Underground and changed rock music, who stuck with Nico and helped her make some incredible solo albums, and who produced pivotal records by the Stooges, Patti Smith and Happy Mondays.

Of course, he’s never stopped experimenting: two decades ago he got into hip-hop through Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and, pushing 81, he’s still enraptured by Earl Sweatshirt, Kendrick Lamar and Chance The Rapper. This century, his music has been invigorated, with 2005’s rocky BlackAcetate and its future-funk follow-up among his best. He’s spent the last decade honing his live craft, delving into his whole catalogue, and reassessing past triumphs, most notably on 2016’s M:FANS, a reworking of 1982’s Music For A New Society.

All that now feels like taking stock before pushing off into the great unknown – for Mercy is the most out-there work Cale has made in some time, a hermetically sealed, hallucinogenic journey that’s as neon-lit and gothic as its cover art. The presence of Cale’s voice – familiar, rich and avuncular – almost disguises just how radical much of the music is. For instance, the glitchy, doomy crawl of “Marilyn Monroe’s Legs (Beauty Elsewhere)”, created in collaboration with Cale’s favourite Actress, is brought into the light by the Welshman’s low croon and high falsetto, flitting hypnotically between a few notes. Even so, it’s the most difficult piece here, as much sound design as song, seven minutes long and positioned up front as track two.

Later in the record, “The Legal Status Of Ice”, featuring Fat White Family and first performed live by Cale and his band pre-pandemic, demonstrates just how far-out Cale is determined to go. It begins as industrial trip-hop with a one-note vocal line and a hip-hop-inspired “pour that liquor out” refrain, before transitioning into brilliant mutant dancehall with descending chords, droning synths and a spitting drum machine. Cabaret Voltaire were inspired by the churn of the Velvets, and here it sounds like Cale is returning the favour.

While Fat White Family’s grubby fingerprints are pretty faint, that’s testament to just how involved Cale is with every facet of Mercy: he plays almost every instrument, with collaborators generally credited with “additional” roles. Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering is the most obvious contributor, joining Cale on the bad-trip R&B of “Story Of Blood” – her solemn, deep voice occasionally has an air of Nico about it here, which can’t have escaped Cale’s attention.

Two tracks on, he turns to more obvious consideration of his old collaborator on “Moonstruck (Nico’s Song)”, a hyperpop ballad with queasy, unreal strings and a tender refrain about a “moonstruck junkie lady”. As two chords seesaw over an endless sequenced bassline, Cale’s processed vocals mass as he pays a bruised tribute: “I have come to make my peace…” You imagine the song’s subject would have particularly enjoyed the sub-bass rumble that subsumes the track in its final minute.

It’s not the only time Cale weaves his history into the record either. The video for “Night Crawling”, Mercy’s first single and its most accessible track by a mile, depicts an animated Cale and Bowie cruising around New York’s nightspots, as they did in real life. It’s the only track here that could have fitted on Shifty Adventures…, and it shows how far Cale’s come in the past decade. Amid the electronic sturm und drang, there are musical references to his past too, such as the hymnal chord changes in the middle section of “Time Stands Still”, reminiscent of one of his stately ’70s storytelling ballads, such as Fear’s “Buffalo Ballet”. Elsewhere, the piano intro to “Story Of Blood” is almost identical to the verse melody of that same record’s centrepiece, “Gun”.

Lyrically, he’s in typically opaque form, whether building a song around a handful of conversational lines, or harking back to the disjointed vividness of Paris 1919 – “With the camels standing senseless / From driving through the night” on “Not The End Of The World”, or “The grandeur that was Europe / Is sinking in the mud” on “Time Stands Still”. “I Know You’re Happy”, its lilting chorus and Tei Shi’s melodramatic vocals almost suitable for a TikTok clip, depicts an unequal relationship, the narrator glumly coming to terms with the fact their partner is only content “when I’m sad”.

The final track, one of Mercy’s strongest, finds some hope amid references to suicide and despair. “If you jump out your window / I will break your fall / I’ll hold you close and keep you calm / Wherever you decide to go”, sings Cale over metronomic piano that’s not unlike the musician’s pounding accompaniment on the Velvets’ “I’m Waiting For The Man”. Here, instead of being violent and physical, it’s brutal in a different way: mechanised, relentless and shrouded in thick reverb. At times like this, Mercy recalls the digital distortion of Low’s Double Negative, the clipped onslaught creating its own beauty.

As “Everlasting Days” degrades into claustrophobic drum and bass, with Animal Collective’s vocals cut-up and pitch-shifted, we’re reminded of Bowie’s Blackstar, not only sonically, but in its creator’s audacity and boundless enthusiasm for the new, the strange, the disconcerting. If this were to be the last we hear from Cale – and let’s hope there’s more to come – he’d at least be departing on a triumph, with an uncompromising, thoroughly modern trip into the twilight, to places where even his collaborators and acolytes would fear to tread. Rage, rage.

Guided By Voices – La La Land

Peter Watts
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Guided By Voices – La La Land
Since making their second comeback in 2017, Guided By Voices have continued to record at a vicious lick while maintaining standards of quality control that seem frankly unreal. La La Land is their 14th album since the band’s return, and they’re all good – sometimes great. Perhaps Robert Pollar...

Since making their second comeback in 2017, Guided By Voices have continued to record at a vicious lick while maintaining standards of quality control that seem frankly unreal. La La Land is their 14th album since the band’s return, and they’re all good – sometimes great. Perhaps Robert Pollard learnt from the previous comeback between 2010 and 2014, a “classic lineup” reunion that never really delivered on the goodwill. When that fell apart, it seemed like the end of the road. In 2016, Pollard brought out a Guided By Voices album called Please Be Honest, which featured him playing every instrument. That didn’t really work either. So Pollard, who is nothing if not persistent, tried again, this time recruiting a band that included old hands Doug Gillard and Kevin March on guitar and drums respectively, with accomplished newbies Mark Shue on bass and Bobby Bare Jr on second guitar. This time, it gelled. And how.

The new lineup are everything that people love about GBV – eclectic, quirky, provocative, melodic, clever, unexpected – but with greater depth and texture and a more pronounced sense of mischief. Their productivity is unparalleled, beginning with 2017’s August By Cake, an exuberant double. Of their 14 releases, two are doubles and another, 2019’s Warp And Woof, had 24 tracks, nearly all of which came in at around 90 seconds or less. While 2017’s sparkling How Do You Spell Heaven and 2019’s heavy-rocking Zeppelin Over China are probably the best, they are all worth your time. Sure, there’s no “Motor Away” or “Game Of Pricks” from the glory days but every album has a mood and two or three special moments: there’s the skronky title track from 2018’s Space Gun, the ace ’90s throwback “My Wrestling Days Are Over” from 2019’s Sweating The Plague, the power pop marvel “My (Limited) Engagement” from 2021’s It’s Not Them… or the epic “Who Wants To Go Hunting?” from last year’s superb Tremblers And Goggles By Rank.

La La Land picks up where that album – their second of 2022 – left off. That means “longer songs… more adventurous structures”, as Pollard tells Uncut. It’s exemplified by the six-minute centrepiece “Slowly On The Wheel”. Pollard manages to pack plenty of twists into even a 90-second song, so six minutes of GBV brings mondo hyperactivity, with the song starting from a minimalist single-chord solo and ending in a blaze of stadium rock thunder. In between comes jangle, heavy metal and eastern chord progressions. It’s followed by the equally fluid “Cousin Jackie”, which sounds like Zeppelin doing doo wop, has the album’s most delirious vocal and boasts a delightful portfolio of drumming from March, who like the rest of the band has to demonstrate consistency within a versatile framework.

Both these tracks, like the best bits of Tremblers…, sound like The Who’s wilder psych-pop symphonies – but if you don’t like that, hang around a minute or three and GBV will have something else to offer. Opener “Another Day To Heal” (the only sub-two-minute song) and “Face Eraser” bring a jerky punk-like energy, while “Ballroom Etiquette” is all about the R.E.M. jangle – plus a lyric that nonchalantly drops the word “fastidious” into a catchy waltz (“I just like the sound of the word,” admits Pollard). “Released Into Dementia” has some of The Flaming Lips’s lysergic drawl, while “Instinct Dwelling” has an intro that sounds very much like the start of Queen’s “Flash’s Theme” before developing into a similarly ominous march. Later, the genteel thrash of “Wild Kingdom” gives way to ballad “Caution Song”, one of the few songs where you can almost anticipate what is going to come next. “Who wants a sad song these days?” asks Pollard on a lyric that otherwise comes across like Dada Morrissey.

Pollard’s lyrics are often abstruse but with memorable lines and a perverse rhythmic charm like the opening to “Instinct Dweller” with its “crypto woman” and “thermometer child”. Pollard’s love of wordplay concludes with “Pockets”, which explores all the different types of pocket, from pool tables to pockets of resistance to places “to cram a jammed fingered glove”. It’s a wonderful example of Pollard’s ability to write a song about almost anything, taking a melody or concept and running with it, and then doing it again, and again, and again, over and over, with spirit-raising results. The one after this will be called Welshpool Frillies, by the way.

Pink Floyd announce The Dark Side Of The Moon 50th anniversary reissue

Rhian Daly
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Pink Floyd announce The Dark Side Of The Moon 50th anniversary reissue
Pink Floyd have announced a special 50th anniversary reissue box set of their iconic album The Dark Side Of The Moon alongside a book, new music videos and more. ORDER NOW: Curtis Mayfield is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Pink Floyd – Animals (2018 Remix) review ...

Pink Floyd have announced a special 50th anniversary reissue box set of their iconic album The Dark Side Of The Moon alongside a book, new music videos and more.

Over the last five decades the record has become one of the best-selling albums of all time and is widely regarded as one of the most influential albums in history.

The new box set will arrive days after the 50th anniversary of its UK release (which was on March 16, 1973) on March 24 and will celebrate the seminal record through a newly remastered version of the original release. The reissue will feature a CD and gatefold vinyl of the album, plus Blu-Ray and DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions.

In addition, it will also include another Blu-Ray disc of Atmos mix plus CD and LP of The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974’. The live recording will also be released independently on CD and vinyl on the same day as the box set, marking the first time it will be available as a standalone album.

Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon box set
‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ box set cover. Image: Press

A book titled Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon: 50th Anniversary will also arrive on March 24. Curated by photographer Jill Furmanovsky and created in collaboration with the band, it will feature rare and previously unseen photos taken during the Dark Side Of The Moon tours between 1972 and 1975.

Elsewhere, Pink Floyd will celebrate the milestone anniversary by inviting a new generation of animators to create music videos for any of the songs on the album as part of a new competition.

Animators can enter up to 10 videos – one per song on the tracklist – and a winner will be selected from a panel of experts, including the band’s drummer Nick Mason, their creative director Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell, and the British Film Institute (BFI). Submissions can be entered until November 30, 2023 – for more information, visit the band’s official website.

Fans will also be able to experience The Dark Side Of The Moon at planetariums around the world as the band recall their successful stargazing events at the London Planetarium in 1973. Back then, only images of stars and constellations could be shown while soundtracked by the music but thanks to advancements in technology the 2023 events will feature visuals of the solar system and beyond.

The new show will split between the album’s 10 tracks, in chronological order, with each having a different theme – some of which will look to the future, while others will offer a retro acknowledgement of Pink Floyd’s visual history. Fans are advised to contact their local planetarium for screening details.

Last year Pink Floyd released a special benefit single called “Hey Hey Rise Up” to raise money for humanitarian charities aiding those affected by the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war. In December the band revealed they had raised £500,000 for the cause through the song.

Of that figure, £450,000 reportedly came from single sales and streaming revenue, while the remaining £50,000 was contributed by frontman David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason.

The money will be distributed between five humanitarian charities: Hospitallers, The Kharkiv And Przemyśl Project, Vostok SOS, Kyiv Volunteer and Livyj Bereh.

“So many great times…” Neil Young on David Crosby

Rhian Daly
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“So many great times…” Neil Young on David Crosby
Neil Young has honoured David Crosby, who has died aged 81. Writing on his Archives website Young said, "David is gone, but his music lives on. The soul of CSNY, David’s voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and excit...

Neil Young has honoured David Crosby, who has died aged 81.

Writing on his Archives website Young said, “David is gone, but his music lives on. The soul of CSNY, David’s voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together. ‘Almost Cut My Hair’ ‘Dejavu’, and so many other great songs he wrote were wonderful to jam on and Stills and I had a blast as he kept us going on and on. His singing with Graham was so memorable, their duo spot a highlight of so many of our shows.

“We had so many great times, especially in the early years. Crosby was a very supportive friend in my early life, as we bit off big pieces of our experience together. David was the catalyst of many things.

“My heart goes out to Jan and Django, his wife and son. Lots of love to you. Thanks David for your spirit and songs, Love you man. I remember the best times!”

“I CAN’T CLAIM TO BE WISE…” READ UNCUT’S FINAL INTERVIEW WITH DAVID CROSBY HERE

Earlier, Crosby’s other former CSNY bandmates Graham Nash and Stephen Stills paid tribute to Crosby

David Crosby
David Crosby in 2011. Image: Spencer Platt / Getty Images

Sharing a black and white photo on Instagram of his and Crosby’s guitar cases next to one another, Nash wrote that it was with “a deep and profound sadness” that he learned about Crosby’s death.

“I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years,” he continued.

“David was fearless in life and in music. He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world. He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most. My heart is truly with his wife, Jan, his son, Django, and all of the people he has touched in this world.”

Graham Nash and David Crosby performing together in 2000
Graham Nash and David Crosby performing together in 2000. Image: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Images

Meanwhile, Stills wrote, “He was without question a giant of a musician, and his harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of genius. The glue that held us together [in CSN and CSNY] as our vocals soared, like Icarus, towards the sun. I am deeply saddened at his passing and shall miss him beyond measure.”

Crosby co-founded The Byrds alongside Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke in 1964, after performing on the acoustic coffeehouse circuit and in other bands, including Les Baxter’s Balladeers.

He was critical to their creative evolution from Beatles-inspired folkies to electric 12-string revolutionaries taking trad arr to a new dimension, bringing John Coltrane into psychedelic pop and beyond. His work with them culminated in 1967’s Younger Than Yesterday. He also appeared on their fifth record, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, before he was fired from the band in 1967.

Crosby later produced their 1973 reunion album, Byrds.

IN 1967, Crosby discovered Joni Mitchell playing in a Florida club. He went on to produce her debut album, Song To A Seagull.

A year after leaving The Byrds, Crosby formed Crosby, Stills & Nash with Nash and Buffalo Springfield’s Stephen Stills. The supergroup won Best New Artist at the 1969 Grammys following the release of their self-titled debut album and played their second ever gig at Woodstock. their self-titled debut in 1969. Joined by Neil Young, they released Déjà Vu the following year.

Together, Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young) released eight studio albums; their last was 1999’s Looking Forward.

Outside of CSN/Y, Crosby often collaborate with Nash, releasing four studio albums together.

Aside from their own records, Crosby and Nash quickly became the go-to harmony vocalists for other acts of the ‘70s, including their bandmates Stills and Young. Elsewhere, they appeared on Mitchell’s “Free Man In Paris”, James Taylor’s “Mexico” and Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender”.

Crosby‘s solo career began with 1971’s If I Could Only Remember My Name. He released a few more solo albums through the ’80s and ’90s, before a 20-year break. He enjoyed a successful late creative surge, however, releasing five albums since 2014. His latest solo release was 2021’s For Free, named after a Mitchell song he recorded for the album.

In 2019, he became the focus of his own documentary, David Crosby: Remember My Name. The film was produced by Cameron Crowe and was nominated for Best Music Film at the 2020 Grammys.

Crosby was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice – first, with The Byrds in 1991 and again with Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997.

David Crosby
David Crosby. Image: Gijsbert Hanekroot / Redferns

Aside from Nash and Stills, tributes have been paid across the board to Crosby. Brian Wilson wrote: “I don’t know what to say other than I’m heartbroken to hear about David Crosby. David was an unbelievable talent – such a great singer and songwriter.

“And a wonderful person. I just am at a loss for words. Love & Mercy to David’s family and friends.”

Elsewhere, David Gilmour shared a photo of the pair together. “We sang together, we played together and had great times together,” he wrote. “I’ll miss The Croz more than words can say. Sail on.”

“Grateful for the time we had with David Crosby. We’ll miss him a lot,” Jason Isbell tweeted.

Screaming Trees bassist Van Conner dies aged 55

Arusa Qureshi
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Screaming Trees bassist Van Conner dies aged 55
Van Conner, the bassist and co-founder of Washington band Screaming Trees, has died at the age of 55. The news was confirmed by Conner's brother Gary Lee, who also played guitar in the band. He wrote in a social media post on January 18: “Van Conner bassist and song writer of Screaming Trees di...

Van Conner, the bassist and co-founder of Washington band Screaming Trees, has died at the age of 55.

The news was confirmed by Conner’s brother Gary Lee, who also played guitar in the band. He wrote in a social media post on January 18: “Van Conner bassist and song writer of Screaming Trees died last night of an extended illness at 55. It was pneumonia that got him in the end. He was one of the closest friends I ever had and I loved him immensely. I will miss him forever and ever and ever.”

Lee had previously shared on Facebook that his brother had been unwell, writing three days ago: “He’s still pretty out of it but he’s coming back again. It’s going to be a long road for him but his family is giving him a lot of support. He has many more songs to write.”

Last year, Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan passed away at his home in Killarney, Ireland on February 22, aged 57.

Let me put this letter on Van’s grave. ???????????????Van Conner bassist and song writer of Screaming Trees died last…

Posted by Gary Lee Conner on Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Conner co-founded Screaming Trees alongside his brother, Lanegan and drummer Mark Pickerel in Ellensburg in 1984. Though they became widely associated with the grunge genre, they were known for their hard rock and psychedelic sound.

They produced several EPs and eventually signed with SST Records, releasing their second record Even If And Especially When in 1987. They then signed with Epic Records in 1990 and released their major label debut album Uncle Anesthesia – which was co-produced by Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell – in 1991.

Screaming Trees had success with the single “Bed Of Roses” and released their most successful album Sweet Oblivion in 1992. Its lead single “Nearly Lost You” was included on the soundtrack of Cameron Crowe’s romantic comedy Singles.

After an extended hiatus, they released Dust in 1996. But due to tensions in the band, they announced their official break-up in 2000. A previously unreleased album, titled Last Words: The Final Recordings, was their last record, arriving in 2011.

Mike Johnson, who has played in Dinosaur Jr. and Lanegan’s band, paid tribute to Conner, writing on Twitter. “Rest in Peace and Power to one of the very greatest, a true gentleman and great songwriter/musician Van Conner you will be dearly missed by so many. Love to you forever.”

See more tributes below.

 

The National share new single “Tropic Morning News”, announce album and UK shows

Damian Jones
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The National share new single “Tropic Morning News”, announce album and UK shows
The National have shared their new single "Tropic Morning News" and announced full details of their forthcoming ninth album First Two Pages Of Frankenstein. ORDER NOW: Curtis Mayfield is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: The National: How we made “Bloodbuzz Ohio” Th...

The National have shared their new single “Tropic Morning News” and announced full details of their forthcoming ninth album First Two Pages Of Frankenstein.

The record will be released on April 28 via 4AD and as previously reported Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens, will all feature on the album with Swift on the track “The Allcott” and Bridgers featuring on two songs – “This Isn’t Helping” and “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend”. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.

After teasing new single “Tropic Morning News” on Tuesday (January 17), the band have delivered on their promise and shared the rousing song. You can listen to it below.

Co-written with frontman Matt Berninger’s wife Carin Besser, the track takes its title from a phrase Besser invented to describe the regrettably routine practice of doomscrolling, according to a press release. “The idea of referring to the darkness of the news in such a light way unlocked something in me,” said Berninger. “It became a song about having a hard time expressing yourself, and trying to connect with someone when the noise of the world is drowning out any potential for conversation.”

According to Berninger, the record initially stalled as he navigated “a very dark spot where I couldn’t come up with lyrics or melodies at all. Even though we’d always been anxious whenever we were working on a record, this was the first time it ever felt like maybe things really had come to an end.”

“We managed to come back together and approach everything from a different angle, and because of that we arrived at what feels like a new era for the band,” added guitarist/pianist Bryce Dessner.

You can view the full track list below.

“Once Upon A Poolside” (feat. Sufjan Stevens)
“Eucalyptus”
“New Order T-Shirt”
“This Isn’t Helping” (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)
“Tropic Morning News”
“Alien”
“The Alcott” (feat. Taylor Swift)
“Grease In Your Hair”
“Ice Machines”
“Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)’
“Send For Me”

The National have also announced a full UK/EU and North American tour which includes a special show with Patti Smith on August 18 at New York’s Madison Square Garden and shows in Leeds, Glasgow and London’s Alexandra Palace in September.

Tickets go on sale on January 27 at 10am local time. Support will come from Soccer Mommy, The Beths and Bartees Strange.

You view the full list of dates below:

MAY
20 – Chicago Auditorium Theatre *
21 – Chicago Auditorium Theatre *
24 – Washington The Anthem *
26 –  Boston Calling Festival
28 – Bottlerock Festival
30 – Los Angeles Greek Theatre *

JUNE
2 – Troutdale McMenamins Edgefield *
3 – Troutdale McMenamins Edgefield *
4 – Redmond Marymoor Park *
5 – Burnaby Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park *

AUGUST
1 – The Met Philadelphia ~
3 – New Haven Westville Music Bowl ~
7 – The Fillmore Detroit ~
8 – Madison The Sylvee ~
9 – Minneapolis The Armory ~
11 – Denver Mission Ballroom ~
15 – Nashville Ascend Amphitheater ~
16 – Atlanta Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park ~
18 – New York Madison Square Garden with very special guest Patti Smith and her band

SEPTEMBER
21 – Dublin 3 Arena *
23 – Leeds First Direct Arena *
24 – Glasgow OVO Hydro Arena *
26 – London Alexandra Palace *
29 – Amsterdam Ziggo Dome ^
30 – Berlin Max-Schmeling-Halle ^

OCTOBER
1 – Munich Zenith ^
4 – Madrid WiZink Center ^
5 – Porto Super Bock Arena ^
6 – Lisbon Campo Pequeno ^

Support:
*Soccer Mommy
~The Beths
^ Bartees Strange

The Bad Ends’ Bill Berry: “Lyrically, the thread of this record is death and dealing with it”

Stephen Deusner
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The Bad Ends’ Bill Berry: “Lyrically, the thread of this record is death and dealing with it”
R.E.M.’s Bill Berry tells us about The Bad Ends, his ‘Athens supergroup’ with Five Eight frontman Mike Mantione, in our JANUARY 2023 issue of Uncut, available to buy here. Athens, Georgia, is the kind of town where two local legends can just bump into each other on the street and start a ba...

R.E.M.’s Bill Berry tells us about The Bad Ends, his ‘Athens supergroup’ with Five Eight frontman Mike Mantione, in our JANUARY 2023 issue of Uncut, available to buy here.

Athens, Georgia, is the kind of town where two local legends can just bump into each other on the street and start a band. In 2017, R.E.M. co-founder and occasional Love Tractor guitarist Bill Berry was minding his own business when he was collared by Five Eight frontman Mike Mantione, who was working on songs for what he thought would be a solo album. “I immediately asked Bill, ‘Would you play on my record?’ I’m sure he thought I was crazy.”

Quite the opposite. “It was actually good fortune for me,” says Berry. “His invitation was alluring. It had been two decades since I was in any way involved with making a record. Of course I wanted to hear the stuff before committing. Frankly, I wouldn’t have signed up if I thought the material was beneath my arrogant standards. But I liked the first song he sent so much that I immediately enlisted into this man’s army.”

Together, they worked these songs out at Mantione’s home in Atlanta. “I’m a total fanboy,” he admits, “and the whole time I kept thinking, ‘Oh my god! Bill Berry’s in my house.’” Berry initially thought he’d been conscripted as a guitarist, but he soon settled into his familiar role as a drummer. The band was cemented with a homemade Italian meal courtesy of Mantione’s mom. “Pasta properly prepared makes any activity afterward a pleasure,” smiles Berry. “Fuelled by meatballs, we had our best rehearsal that night,” confirms Mantione. “As he was leaving, I remember Bill saying, ‘I think I’m in a band again.’”

The duo eventually called themselves The Bad Ends, added a few more local musicians, and recorded a powerful, poignant debut, The Power And The Glory, which captures the frantic jangle of Athens’ heyday but marries it to melancholy observations about music, ageing, friendship, and death. For Berry, it marked a surprising first: “Until this project, I’d never recorded a full album in Athens. It was wonderful to finish at night and be such a short drive to my own bed.”

“The way Bill works is very different from the way I work,” says Mantione. “I’m like, ‘Play the song through once and we’re ready to go out and play it live.’ Bill’s like, ‘Let’s do it again.’ And again. And again. The 20th time through, we’d rush over to Mike Albanese’s Espresso Machine studio and get it down before we forgot anything.”

Mantione calls The Power And The Glory “depressed dad rock. It’s music as a human consolation prize for having to die”. But it’s a fun world-weariness, thanks to his sharp guitar riffs and Berry’s always inventive rhythms. First single “All Your Friends Are Dying” recounts a local Big Star tribute, organised in the wake of Alex Chilton’s death in 2010, with Mantione noticing all the people who weren’t there: “There were some pretty big holes onstage / And more than anything else I wanted to hear them filled”.

“Lyrically, the common thread on this record is death and dealing with it,” says Berry. “Would I have wanted to produce a record like that 40 years ago? Absolutely not. But at my current age, the concept of death occurs to me with greater frequency than when I was in my twenties. Many of my friends have died. Mike just wrote about it so beautifully.”

The Power And The Glory is released by New West Records on January 20.

Noel Gallagher announces new album Council Skies, shares single “Easy Now”

Tom Skinner
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Noel Gallagher announces new album Council Skies, shares single “Easy Now”
Noel Gallagher has announced a new album called Council Skies – listen to the single "Easy Now" below. ORDER NOW: Curtis Mayfield is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut The former Oasis singer-songwriter is due to release his fourth studio record with the High Flying Birds on June 2 ...

Noel Gallagher has announced a new album called Council Skies – listen to the single “Easy Now” below.

The former Oasis singer-songwriter is due to release his fourth studio record with the High Flying Birds on June 2 via Sour Mash. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.

Following on from 2017’s Who Built The Moon?, the full-length project sees Gallagher reclaiming his past and paying homage to his Mancunian roots. Council Skies is described as the musician’s “most varied and accomplished solo record to date”.

“It’s going back to the beginning. Daydreaming, looking up at the sky and wondering about what life could be … that’s as true to me now as it was in the early ’90s,” Gallagher explained of the upcoming album.

“When I was growing up in poverty and unemployment, music took me out of that. Top Of The Pops on TV transformed your Thursday night into this fantasy world, and that’s what I think music should be. I want my music to be elevating and transforming in some way.”

Gallagher has previewed the LP with the psychedelia-inspired single “Easy Now”, which is accompanied by a Colin Solal Cardo-directed official video. Milly Alcock (House Of The Dragon) stars in the visuals, while Gallagher makes a cameo appearance. Tune in above.

Council Skies was recorded at the singer’s own Lone Star Sound Recording Studios in London, while its string parts were recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studio.

Produced by Gallagher with long-time collaborator Paul ‘Strangeboy’ Stacey, the album also features performances from Johnny Marr on three tracks, including recent single ‘Pretty Boy’.

Additionally, the deluxe edition of Council Skies boasts remixes by The Cure frontman Robert Smith (“Pretty Boy”), Pet Shop Boys (“Think Of A Number”) as well as various live recordings and instrumentals.

Gallagher teased his new era last week by sharing a behind-the-scenes video on social media.

He previously said that his next solo album would have a largely “orchestral” sound. “There is a track on the album called “Dead To The World”, which is one of the best songs I have ever written,” Gallagher explained.

Other songs set to feature on Council Skies include “I’m Not Giving Up Tonight”, “Trying To Find A World That’s Been And Gone” and “Love Is A Rich Man”. Check out the full tracklist and cover artwork below.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 'Council Skies' official album artwork
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – ‘Council Skies’ official cover artwork. CREDIT: Press

1. “I’m Not Giving Up Tonight”
2. “Pretty Boy”
3. “Dead To The World”
4. “Open The Door, See What You Find”
5. “Trying To Find A World That’s Been And Gone”
6. “Easy Now”
7. “Council Skies”
8. “There She Blows!”
9. “Love Is A Rich Man”
10. “Think Of A Number”
11. “We’re Gonna Get There In The End” (bonus track)

Deluxe album – disc two

1. “Don’t Stop…”
2. “We’re Gonna Get There In The End”
3. “Mind Games”
4. “Pretty Boy” (Instrumental)
5. “Dead To The World” (Instrumental)
6. “Council Skies” (Instrumental)
7. “Think Of A Number” (Instrumental)
8. “I’m Not Giving Up Tonight” (David Holmes Remix)
9. “Think Of A Number” (Pet Shop Boys Magic Eye 12” Remix)
10. “Pretty Boy” (Robert Smith Remix)
11. “Council Skies” (The Reflex Revision)
12. “Flying On The Ground” (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21)
13. “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21)
14. “Live Forever” (Radio 2 Session, 08.09.21)

Gallagher is scheduled to play several outdoor headline gigs this summer in support of Council Skies with a variety of support acts, including Feeder, Goldie Lookin Chain, The Zutons, Tom Meighan, Primal Scream and Future Islands. You can see the full itinerary below and purchase tickets here.

JULY
21 – PennFest, Buckinghamshire
28 – London, Crystal Palace Bowl

AUGUST
5 – Essex, Audley End House and Gardens (with The Zutons and Tom Meighan)
19 – Monmouth, Caldicot Castle (with Feeder and Goldie Lookin’ Chain)
20 – Hardwick Festival, Sedgefield, Country Durham
26 – Manchester, Wythenshawe Park (with Primal Scream and Future Islands)

Introducing the Ultimate Music Guide to Elvis Presley

John Robinson
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Introducing the Ultimate Music Guide to Elvis Presley
BUY THE ELVIS PRESLEY DELUXE ULTIMATE MUSIC GUIDE HERE When Elvis died in 1977 it was big news all round the world – with the notable exception of my primary school. During a morning assembly in the new school year, my headteacher addressed a hall of cross-legged children with the solemn news t...

BUY THE ELVIS PRESLEY DELUXE ULTIMATE MUSIC GUIDE HERE

When Elvis died in 1977 it was big news all round the world – with the notable exception of my primary school. During a morning assembly in the new school year, my headteacher addressed a hall of cross-legged children with the solemn news that a very famous singer had recently died. “Does anyone know who that was?” she asked. We, all only familiar the recent TV news coverage about Elvis, thought the question was probably rhetorical.

“That’s right,” she said. “I’m talking about Bing Crosby.”

John Lennon famously said that before Elvis there was nothing, but that wasn’t strictly the case. As you’ll read in this latest Ultimate Music Guide, there was a whole previous generation of pop singers, and Bing – so beloved on my headteacher – was the guy routinely quizzed about Elvis’s rise. What did he think? Would it last? Bing – not engaging with the rock revolution per se – observed that perhaps Elvis would do well to try some different styles of song. Good advice, as it turned out.

Bing wasn’t the only one to help the writers of NME and Melody Maker register the impact of this new singer, and his new sound. Among the manufactured rivalries (“Elvis v Pat Boone”; “Elvis v Johnnie Ray” “No Presley without Haley”) created at the time by a British press struggling for information in an enormous world, Johnnie Ray makes the wise observation that Elvis is a force helping to make the world smaller. Such is the demand for Elvis’s music, Ray notes, his records are being released at the same time in the USA and England.

The NME isn’t slow to pick up on the fact that Elvis isn’t just a singer, but a force which portends far more. He has “swarthy good looks” and “sex appeal”, and it’s this which gives him the power to unsettle parents. And in so doing, they imply, sow the seeds for something remarkable and generational to follow.

What comes next for Elvis, and for the world, you can read in this comprehensive guide, in a selection of gems from our archive of historic Elvis writing. We’ve also done what you might have thought impossible: we’ve mase sense of Elvis’s many hundreds of recordings, finding our way through a baffling profusion of budget compilations, indifferent film soundtracks and outtakes to bring you a definitive guide to the absolute pick of Elvis’s extraordinary catalogue. The landmark early sessions. The religious ones. The decent film soundtracks. The comeback records and the late classics. You’ll find it all inside.

Whether it’s through the music, or a fantastic new film like Baz Luhrmann’s current biopic, new people are always having their heads turned by Elvis. Hopefully we can help you navigate your way through his kingdom.

Enjoy the issue.

Buy a copy of the magazine here. Missed one in the series? Bundles are available at the same location…

Elvis Presley – Ultimate Music Guide

Uncut
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Elvis Presley – Ultimate Music Guide
Joining celebrations for what would have been his 88th birthday (and with his new biopic nominated at the 2023 Oscars), we present the Ultimate Music Guide to Elvis Presley. Telling the story of how Elvis became The King – and finding a way through all the records, to bring you a guide to his very...

Joining celebrations for what would have been his 88th birthday (and with his new biopic nominated at the 2023 Oscars), we present the Ultimate Music Guide to Elvis Presley. Telling the story of how Elvis became The King – and finding a way through all the records, to bring you a guide to his very best music. “Because I love you too much, baby…”

Buy a copy of the magazine here. Missed one in the series? Bundles are available at the same location…

50 years of AC/DC – It’s a long way to the top

John Robinson
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50 years of AC/DC – It’s a long way to the top
IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP …if you want to be the biggest hard rock band in the world. With AC/DC on the point of their 50th anniversary, Uncut charts their first steps. You join us in Sydney, Australia, where a major 1960s pop star is signing up new talent: including his younger brothers. From ...

IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP …if you want to be the biggest hard rock band in the world. With AC/DC on the point of their 50th anniversary, Uncut charts their first steps. You join us in Sydney, Australia, where a major 1960s pop star is signing up new talent: including his younger brothers. From their dabblings in glam, to their first classic lineup, we learn how AC/DC’s audaciously simple sound was hewn from the rock, and their true leader emerged. “Malcolm had no ego,” one former member tells John Robinson. “He knew what he wanted. He wanted a great band,” in the latest issue of Uncut magazine – in UK shops from Thursday, January 12 and available to buy from our online store.

The photographs suggest he’s wearing a surgical gown and a top hat, but the drummer claims to have been in costume as a jester. The bass player has on a crash helmet, for he has come as a motorcycle cop. One of the guitarists is jump-suited and platform-booted.

Most strikingly, the lead guitarist is wearing a liberal interpretation of a school uniform, which has been made by his sister from velvet. It might not all sound like much, considering the cannons, bells and airborne women of their stage presentations since, but this – in April 1974, a support gig, staged on a swimming pool roof – is the first breakthrough moment in the history of AC/DC.

“We looked so colourful,” remembers Dave Evans (red striped jacket, cropped vest top), singer in the band’s original lineup. “At that time Australia was still in the hippy hangover, tie-dyed shirts and beards and so on. George Young, who was our producer, had a mind for what was going on in England and he had seen Slade. We had a big show coming up, and he asked us to have outfits made.”

So you embraced glam rock?

“Fuck off!” says Dave, down the line from the home of his Argentinian promoter. “No-one called it ‘glam’. It was a new and contemporary look. They wanted us to look modern, and like a British band. People wore those clothes when they went out on a Friday and Saturday night.”

This contrasted with the headline act for the event in Sydney’s Victoria Park: Flake. “We were a jeans band,” says Robert Bailey, Flake’s bass player. “Angus and Malcolm were in costume. The drummer was dressed like a wizard, the bass player like a biker. They were into that kind of thing: Gary Glitter, Marc Bolan, all that sort of stuff was rating well in Australia.”

As Dave Evans recalls it, the effect of AC/DC’s changed appearance was instantaneous. The band had been playing live since the start of 1974 and those among their following who made it to the park’s natural amphitheatre were impressed with AC/DC’s vibrant appearance. The real change, however, was in their lead guitarist.

“Something transformed in him,” says Dave. “Dressed as a schoolboy he wasn’t Angus Young any more; he was a character. He ripped it up! He ran across the stage, rolled on his back. We were looking at him, like “What?” All of a sudden he had an alter ego. The schoolboy outfit was the catalyst.”

PICK UP THE NEW ISSUE OF UNCUT TO READ THE FULL STORY

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ Hanging Rock gig shared as Kingdom In The Sky documentary

Will Richards
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Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ Hanging Rock gig shared as Kingdom In The Sky documentary
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have shared footage of their recent gig at the iconic Hanging Rock as a TV special – watch Kingdom In The Sky below. ORDER NOW: Curtis Mayfield is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut The pair played the legendary venue as part of their 2022 Australian tour ...

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have shared footage of their recent gig at the iconic Hanging Rock as a TV special – watch Kingdom In The Sky below.

The pair played the legendary venue as part of their 2022 Australian tour behind collaborative album Carnage.

Now, it has been immortalised in a TV special from ABC, which features a host of tracks from the performance as well as interview snippets with fans discussing their relationship to Cave and Ellis’ music.

Watch Kingdom In The Sky below.

As promised by Cave, after the Australian tour he began work on a new album with the Bad Seeds, sharing some early lyric ideas with fans last week.

Last year, Cave said he was planning on writing a new album once his touring commitments had wrapped up, and last week confirmed that the album-writing process is underway.

Responding to a question from Fred about his plans for 2023, Cave wrote on his blog, The Red Hand Files: “My plan for this year is to make a new record with the Bad Seeds. This is both good news and bad news. Good news because who doesn’t want a new Bad Seeds record? Bad news because I’ve got to write the bloody thing.”

He went on to reveal the he started the process at 9am on New Year’s Day. “It is now January 6. Nearly a week has passed and I’ve written a few things but they aren’t very good, or maybe they are, it’s difficult to tell,” he said.

Nick Cave’s last album with The Bad Seeds, Ghosteen, came out in 2019.

Yellow Magic Orchestra drummer Yukihiro Takahashi has died, aged 70

Elizabeth Aubrey
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Yellow Magic Orchestra drummer Yukihiro Takahashi has died, aged 70
Yellow Magic Orchestra drummer Yukihiro Takahashi has died, aged 70. The influential musician's death was first reported in The Japan Times following a statement released last week. While a cause of death wasn't shared in the statement, reports from Japanese media outlet Sponichi suggested he ...

Yellow Magic Orchestra drummer Yukihiro Takahashi has died, aged 70.

The influential musician’s death was first reported in The Japan Times following a statement released last week.

While a cause of death wasn’t shared in the statement, reports from Japanese media outlet Sponichi suggested he caught pneumonia in early January, which worsened.

The musician underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour in 2020. He later tweeted that he was expecting to undergo more treatment following his surgery after revealing that he had additional health problems.

Born on June 6 1952, Takahashi took to music from a young age, following the influence of his older brother. He learned how to play the drums by playing with college musicians while still in high school.

By the time he was just 16, Takahashi was already a studio drummer and had started to pick up work both as a drummer in various bands and playing drum parts for television commercials.

His work first rose to prominence in Japan when drumming in Sadistic Mika Band and then later via the release of his 1977 debut album, Saravah!

In 1978, he became one of the founders of Yellow Magic Orchestra and their self-titled debit album cemented Takahashi as one of the best drummers of his era, as well as one of the founders of synthpop.

Their debut album sold over 250,000 copies in Japan and entered both the Billboard 200 and Billboard R&B charts. In the UK, Computer Game/Firecracker entered the Top 20.

The band went on to release seven albums in total and alongside this, Takahashi released an abundance of his own material too, making twenty solo albums in total.

Recently, Takahashi’s solo work was reissued on vinyl. His debut Saravah! was reissued in 2019 via We Want Sounds, and Neuromantic was reissued for the first time in over 40 years in 2021.

He was also a member of the electropop group Metafive, a collective he formed with Keigo Oyamada, Yoshinori Sunahara, Towa Tei, Tomohiko Gondo, and Leo Imai after they worked together as Takahashi’s backing band on his 2014 tour.

Tributes from across the music world have come in for Takahashi.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takahashi’s bandmate in Yellow Magic Orchestra, shared a single grey square on social media shortly after the news broke.

The band Sparks wrote: “Saddened to hear about the passing of Yukihiro Takahashi of Yellow Magic Orchestra and beyond. It was an honour to cross paths on occasion throughout the years.”

Erol Alkan tweeted: “RIP…Yukihiro’s version of “Drip Dry Eyes” was a personal obsession of mine over lockdown.”

You can read some more of the many tributes below:

This is a developing story – more to follow

Watch John Cale’s video for new song “Noise Of You”

Will Richards
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Watch John Cale’s video for new song “Noise Of You”
John Cale has shared a brand new song and video from his upcoming solo album Mercy – watch "Noise Of You" below. ORDER NOW: Curtis Mayfield is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: The Velvet Underground review The founding Velvet Underground member will release Mercy, ...

John Cale has shared a brand new song and video from his upcoming solo album Mercy – watch “Noise Of You” below.

The founding Velvet Underground member will release Mercy, his first solo album in a decade, on January 20 via Domino.

“Noise Of You” follows Weyes Blood collaboration “Story Of Blood” in previewing the album, and Cale said of it: “I don’t tend to romanticise the idea of love. It represents ‘need’ and that’s not something I’m particularly comfortable with.

“When it gets ahold of you though – don’t let go – no matter how many times you mess it up!”

Of its official video, director Pepi Ginsberg added: “I was so inspired by John’s relationship to process and collaboration and wanted to mirror his approach to art in this video for “NOISE OF YOU,” which John describes as a love song.

“Setting out to make a ‘moving’ portrait of John, we have mapped images and video of John’s life over his former home of New York City, creating a conversation between past and present, reflecting the way that distant, and sometimes dissonant, voices can reach across divides of space and time to speak their own language of love.”

Watch the “Noise Of You” video below.

The collaboration-heavy new album also features turns from Animal Collective, Fat White Family, Sylvan Esso, Laurel Halo, Tei Shi, Actress and more.

The first preview of Mercy was released back in August in the form of the single “Night Crawling”, which came with an animated video that saw Cale hitting the streets of New York in the 1970s with David Bowie.

The songs are his first new music since his 2020 single “Lazy Day” and his collaboration with Kelly Lee Owens on “Corner Of My Sky”.

A rescheduled UK tour is also set to begin next month. See the dates below:

FEBRUARY 2023
6 – Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall
8 – London, The Palladium
10 – Bexhill-On-The-Sea, De La Warr Pavilion
11 – Birmingham, Town Hall
12 – Cambridge, Corn Exchange

The Strokes share early version of “The Modern Age” from new box set

Damian Jones
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The Strokes share early version of “The Modern Age” from new box set
The Strokes have shared an early version of "The Modern Age" from their forthcoming box set The Singles - Volume 01. ORDER NOW: Curtis Mayfield is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut Entitled "The Modern Age (Rough Trade Version)", this version was first issued on an EP of the same nam...

The Strokes have shared an early version of “The Modern Age” from their forthcoming box set The Singles – Volume 01.

Entitled “The Modern Age (Rough Trade Version)”, this version was first issued on an EP of the same name through Rough Trade in January 2001, six months ahead of the release of their debut album ‘Is This It’. You can listen to it below.

It also opens their new box set which is set to drop on February 24, 2023 via RCA Records/Legacy Recordings.

The collection features every 7 inch single from their debut, 2003 follow-up Room On Fire and 2006’s First Impressions of Earth as well as rare B-sides from the original single releases.

All ten singles will be pressed on black vinyl, with the artwork from each original release replicated in the package. It is available to pre-order here now.

Videos for all ten A-sides, including “Hard To Explain”, “Last Nite”, “Reptilia”, “Juicebox” and “Heart In A Cage”, were also recently released in high definition.

Meanwhile, guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. recently discussed the “magical” experience of working with Rick Rubin on the band’s upcoming new album.

The Strokes’ ‘The Singles – Volume 01’ box set. Image: Colin Lane

The Strokes recently completed a recording session with the legendary producer in the mountains of Costa Rica.

“I don’t think if I told you what it looked like and what it was, you’d fully understand the ‘magical-ness’ of where we were and how it was to record like that,” he said.

“It felt really touching that one of his favourite recording experiences was this one he just had right now.”

Of the band’s future, Hammond added: “I really think what excites me about wanting to play music and continue doing it is, I don’t think we’ve written our best songs yet. I really feel that in my gut.”

The band are set to support Red Hot Chili Peppers for their forthcoming tour of North America which kicks off in March.

The Strokes will also headline Kilby Block Party that same month alongside Pavement, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Pixies. Any remaining tickets can be bought here.

John Fogerty regains ownership of Creedence Clearwater Revival catalogue after 50-year battle

Greta Brereton
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John Fogerty regains ownership of Creedence Clearwater Revival catalogue after 50-year battle
After 50 years of fighting for his songs, John Fogerty has finally regained ownership of Creedence Clearwater Revival's discography. ORDER NOW: Curtis Mayfield is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut As per Billboard (via Variety), founding member Fogerty has bought a majority interest ...

After 50 years of fighting for his songs, John Fogerty has finally regained ownership of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s discography.

As per Billboard (via Variety), founding member Fogerty has bought a majority interest in the global publishing rights to his extensive Creedence Clearwater Revival catalogue from Concord Records.

Concord acquired the band’s discography in 2004 — when they bought out Fantasy Records, owned by the late music and film mogul, Saul Zaentz — and restored CCR royalties to Fogerty in good faith that same year.

The 77-year-old would have soon had some US publishing rights restored to him under a US law that caps copyright on intellectual property at 56 years maximum, however, he and his wife Julie decided to leverage for majority control of worldwide rights too.

Speaking to Billboard about the acquisition, Fogerty said: “The happiest way to look at it is, yeah, it isn’t everything. It’s not a 100% win for me, but it’s sure better than it was. I’m really kind of still in shock. I haven’t allowed my brain to really, actually, start feeling it yet.”

He also took to Twitter on January 12 to share the news, writing: “As of this January, I own my songs again.”

“This is something I thought would never be a possibility,” he said. “After 50 years, I am finally reunited with my songs. I also have a say in where and how my songs are used. Up until this year, that is something I have never been able to do.”

Fogerty, his rhythm guitarist brother Tom, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford started Creedence Clearwater Revival in El Cerrito, California, in 1959. The band released a number of hit singles during their career, including “Proud Mary”, “Fortunate Son”, “Bad Moon Rising”, “Up Around The Bend” and “Have You Ever Seen The Rain”, before disbanding in 1972.

They signed to Zaentz’s Fantasy Records in 1968 under an onerous contract. In 1980, Fogerty chose to relinquish all rights to the band’s music to Zaentz in an effort to get out of it, sparking a long and bitter legal battle between the two.

This included a failed plagiarism lawsuit filed by Zaentz against Fogerty over one of the latter’s own songs that he no longer held rights for, and striking a publishing deal that eventually fell through.

Zaentz funded much of his film production career from Creedence royalties, producing 1975’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, 1984’s Amadeus and 1996’s The English Patient, which all won awards at the Oscars. He died from complications from Alzheimer’s disease in 2014.

H.C. McEntire – Every Acre

Stephen Deusner
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H.C. McEntire – Every Acre
“Shadows”, a standout on H.C. McEntire’s new album, ends with a muted chorus of frogs and crickets and other Carolina wildlife. It’s a stark yet vivid cacophony of natural sounds, which the singer-songwriter recorded near her former home in North Carolina. It arrives like quiet punctuation a...

“Shadows”, a standout on H.C. McEntire’s new album, ends with a muted chorus of frogs and crickets and other Carolina wildlife. It’s a stark yet vivid cacophony of natural sounds, which the singer-songwriter recorded near her former home in North Carolina. It arrives like quiet punctuation at the end of that gently despairing song, the “amen” after a prayer – yet you’d swear you could hear those noises throughout Every Acre, perhaps even on every album she’s ever made. In her solo career and stretching back even to her work with the bands Bellafea and the great Mount Moriah, McEntire has always found inspiration in the Tarheel countryside and in its long musical history: she has turned the state’s forests and hollers and rivers and snakes and deer into songs that pay no attention to the boundary fences between gospel and country and folk and psychedelic rock.

Eclectic and immersive and unabashedly beautiful, Every Acre is the culmination of McEntire’s long collaboration with North Carolina. Every one of these songs includes a line like “cattails catching all the copperheads” or “yield is rich with yellow pine” and “steady picking out bobcat skulls”. She’s in love with these sights, but she also loves the way those words sound, the way “vidalias” falls off a Southern tongue: vih-day-lee-uhs, that last syllable a long and molasses-slow breath. Listening to this album, you get the sense that these songs are specific not just to the Tarheel State, but to those acres on the Eno River, just a few miles from Durham but a world away from any city, where she lived for a decade before relocating last year.

Even as she’s tethered to the terrain around her home, McEntire branches out musically on Every Acre. When Mount Moriah disbanded and she went solo with 2018’s Lionheart, her music was rooted in a muddy strain of country and folk, with clear inspiration from acts like Indigo Girls and Lucinda Williams as well as Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette. On that album and especially on songs like “Baby’s Got The Blues” and “Red Silo”, the music allowed her to evoke her upbringing in the western end of the state, revelling in the details of an outdoor childhood. Her 2019 cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Houses Of The Holy” signalled a shift toward psychedelic rock on 2020’s Eno Axis. (In a wink, though, she recited the lyrics to “Stand By Your Man” during the outro on that cover, as though such disparate songs emanated from the same human urge.)

Every Acre picks up that psych-rock thread, as McEntire gives her band a little more freedom to cut loose. Bassist Casey Toll and drummer Daniel Faust have been playing with her for years, yet they sound more inventive here, rooting “Rows Of Clover” and “Soft Crook” in intricate Crazy Horse rhythms. She and guitarist/co-producer Luke Norton make space for rumbling guitar licks and even a lengthy solo at the end of “Turpentine” (which features backing vocals from Indigo Girl Amy Ray). The droning sitar on “Big Love” evokes a bucolic trippiness, as does the forest ambience that undergirds closer “Gospel Of A Certain Kind”: more wind and rain and another chorus of frogs. At times Every Acre sounds like Pink Floyd if they’d started out in rural Appalachia rather than the UFO Club.

“Dovetail” is a straightforward hymn, complete with churchly piano and a melody that owes as much to 19th-century poet and composer Fanny J Crosby as to North Carolina old-time icon Alice Gerrard. The lyrics conjure a parade of different women and their shared yet often unspoken desires: churchgoing wives who “eat only after they pray” and others, more reckless, who “chase their whiskey with wine”. Toward each and every one of them McEntire displays a landslide of compassion, partly because she sees a little of herself in their cautions and traumas and wants. Every one of these songs is a big-hearted meditation on love and sex and faith and especially healing, as though what roots us to our own lands is loss and grief and recovery.

With its steady gallop and funereal piano, “Rows Of Clover” could be McEntire’s dreamy reimagining of Zeppelin’s “No Quarter”, but it reveals a grieving, sobbing heart, as she buries a “steadfast hound” in the yard: “It ain’t the easy kind of healing”, she declares, “when you’re down on your knees, clawing at the garden”. There’s a similar tragedy, a similar grave, on every acre, and while healing is never easy, it’s the hardship that makes everything so much sweeter.

Whitehorse – I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying

Rob Hughes
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Whitehorse – I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying
Prior to forming Whitehorse in 2010, married couple Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet had each made a string of singer-songwriterly albums that followed all manner of musical directions. Both also had a shared history in Sarah McLachlan’s band, while Doucet was, for a time, leader of Vancouver in...

Prior to forming Whitehorse in 2010, married couple Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet had each made a string of singer-songwriterly albums that followed all manner of musical directions. Both also had a shared history in Sarah McLachlan’s band, while Doucet was, for a time, leader of Vancouver indie-rock types Veal. The varied stylistic elements of their work seemed to find an ideal home in the fluid sensibility of Whitehorse, whose first few releases veered from tape-loop folk to roots-rock to a bluesy kind of cinematic noir.

Eight albums in, Whitehorse now prove themselves masterful exponents of timeless country. I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying is an album that follows a lineage that runs from the likes of George Jones and Melba Montgomery to Emmylou and Gram, from Johnny and June through to My Darling Clementine. Like fellow Canadian Daniel Romano, Whitehorse adopt and transmute genres in a way that feels convincing rather than contrived, as if blessed with a deeper understanding of the art of country dynamics. Harmonies are key here, their voices either blending to aching perfection on heartbreak ballads or else finding urgent motion on rockabilly-ish songs like “Manitoba Bound”, which rattles along at a fair lick.

They also happen to be highly capable players, slipping readily between picked guitar, bottleneck slide and pedal steel. Above all, they’re very fine singers in their own right, interchanging leads throughout. McClelland just about shades it with the wonderful “If The Loneliness Don’t Kill Me” and “The Road”, the latter an expansive hymn to winding curves, motel curtains and flashing neon: “Reading signs / Chasing yellow lines / Tracing fingers over gas station maps”. And while she goes full ’70s Dolly on “Bet The Farm”, Doucet evokes the boozy Bakersfield country of Gram Parsons on the despairing “I Might Get Over This (But I Won’t Stop Loving You)”, its protagonist in the kitchen at last call, surrounded by leftovers and wine. Sometimes playful, sometimes poignant, Whitehorse may have just found their ideal territory.

Curtis Mayfield, Sounds Of The New West Vol 6, Bob Dylan: inside the new Uncut

Michael Bonner
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Curtis Mayfield, Sounds Of The New West Vol 6, Bob Dylan: inside the new Uncut
In August, 2016, I spent the afternoon with Terry Hall in London’s St Pancras Hotel for an Uncut cover story about The Specials’ miraculous comeback. Hall – sharp, dryly humorous – considered how, as the youngest member of the band, he had handled their rise to fame during the late ’70s. ...

In August, 2016, I spent the afternoon with Terry Hall in London’s St Pancras Hotel for an Uncut cover story about The Specials’ miraculous comeback. Hall – sharp, dryly humorous – considered how, as the youngest member of the band, he had handled their rise to fame during the late ’70s.

“It was weird and happened in a very short space of time,” he told me. “Our first retainer was £70 a week or something. It was four times what I had been earning. I just bought sweets, drugs, whatever. It was very hard. It wasn’t for one second in my head to be a success and sell records. It was about being in a band. Then suddenly people start to listen to what you’re saying when nobody’s listened to you – at school, family – before. That’s fantastic, but there is a big cost, mentally. It is weird when you’re treated like shit and then people adore you.”

The death of Hall – just two days before this issue of Uncut went to press – robbed us of one of the great frontmen of the past 40 years – a magnetic, impassive figure who proved to be remarkably resilient outside The Specials, with Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield and in numerous collaborations. But it’s impossible to underscore the influence and legacy of Hall and The Specials – and how that magnificent reunion reasserted their importance in the 21st century. You’ll find a more fulsome tribute from John Lewis in this month’s issue.

Our cover story finds us celebrating another major artist who helped combat discrimination, injustice and inequality in his music: Curtis Mayfield. “He was a history maker, one of the pioneers,” says The Temptations’ Ron Tyson, who wrote with Mayfield in the ’70s. “When you think about what’s going on in the world today, Curtis was writing about these things years ago! He wrote songs with meaning that still mean something today. When you write great songs they live on and on.”

Another artist who continues to write great songs, of course, is Bob Dylan. Damien Love has undertaken a typically forensic deep dive into Dylan’s latest archival treasures – aka Fragments – Time Out Of Mind Sessions: Bootleg Series Vol. 17. There’s also Tom Tom Club, Yo La Tengo, Linda Thompson, Killing Joke and much more.

We’re committed to new music – some of which, we hope, will also enjoy the lengthy afterlife of Mayfield and The Specials. Within these pages, you can read about Spencer Cullum, Sunny War, Mary Elizabeth Remington and many more fresh-faced and exciting discoveries. You can also hear some of these upstarts on this month’s free CD – the sixth volume of our Sounds Of The New West series. After such a lot of work – most notably by Tom and Marc – I’m thrilled and relieved it’s worked out so well.

As ever, let us know what you think.

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