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Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon

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Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon

Whatever indictments may quite reasonably be brought against Jackson Browne, he will be forever able to mitigate the soporific horrors lurking in his own catalogue by pointing to his vital role in setting Warren Zevon loose. By 1975, Zevon had spent a very long time getting nowhere much. He’d served as an itinerant session player and songwriter (Everly Brothers, The Turtles, Manfred Mann) and slogged as a wannabe folk singer (three inconsequential singles in 1966 as half of a duo called Lyme & Cybelle, one disregarded solo album, 1969’s – inaccurately titled, it turned out – “Wanted Dead Or Alive”). Uninspired by the one career apparently still open to him, writing advertising jingles, Zevon decamped to embittered exile in Spain, playing in bars and writing songs not obviously calibrated for maximum commercial appeal – songs called things like, for example, “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner”, about a Scandinavian mercenary wandering the wars of post-colonial Africa (this later appeared on 1978’s “Excitable Boy” and, rather hearteningly, actually got played on the radio). Browne wangled Zevon a deal with Asylum, recalled him to Los Angeles, and produced this enduringly marvellous record. There are any number of reasons why the album shouldn’t have worked – the decision to deluge Zevon’s essentially orthodox ballads with the bombast of Hollywood’s rock aristocracy was a flagrant temptation of hubris. The opening track, for example, “Frank And Jesse James”, is an utterly straightforward folk narrative of the life of the titular gunslingers, which could have been written at any point since the presidency of Chester A. Arthur. Which is to say that on paper it, like most of Zevon’s songs. would prompt few people to summon the assistance and input of Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, The Eagles’ Don Henley and Glenn Frey, The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson, Phil Everly, and Bonnie Raitt. Though Zevon’s songs stood up perfectly steady on their own merits – something confirmed by the bonus disc of demos and alternate versions accompanying this reissue – they responded brilliantly, if almost counter-inuitively, to Browne’s silk-sheets-and-deep-pile production and the almost hysterically opulent accompaniment of the all-star cast he assembled.. Zevon, a baleful, bleakly witty writer with a sighing snarl of a voice, clearly relished his designated role as the grit in the oyster, the alien body around which pearls coalesced. He’s a sneering, sarcastic premonition of Elvis Costello on rueful confessions-of-a-songwriter romp “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” and exquisitely cruel character sketch “The French Inhaler” (“Your face looked like something/Death brought with him in his suitcase”) but both are the more effective for the incongruous, epically lush arrangements Browne shrouds them in (the latter of that pair, indeed, is laugh-out-loud preposterous in its latter stages). He’s a sort of West Coast Springsteen on “Mohammed’s Radio”, singing one for the lost and lonely, those seeking solace in the sounds crackling through the speaker (the song was later covered by Linda Ronstadt, and it may at least be said that it wasn’t quite as gruesome as her celebrated desecration of Costello’s “Alison”). And he’s a contemporaneous rival to fellow Los Angelean court jester Randy Newman on self-mockingly funky “Join Me In L.A.” and “Desperadoes Under The Eaves”. It says something, perhaps, about the ambivalence and self-loathing festering beneath the cocaine haze of mid-70s radio rock that the abovelisted backing personnel, Don Henley and Glenn Frey in particular, were willing to join in on lines like “If California slides into the ocean/Like the mystics and statistics say it will/I predict this motel will be standing/Until I pay my bill”. The career founded by “Warren Zevon” turned out to be as erratic, volatile and startling as, well, Warren Zevon. The demons that drove him would hound him to commanding heights (notably 1978’s “Excitable Boy” and 1987’s “Sentimental Hygiene”) as well as detours both constructive (collaborations with musicians and authors including R.E.M., Hunter Thompson, Carl Hiaasen, among many others) and less so (periodic sojourns in an assortment of drying-out clinics). That his death from lung cancer in 2003, aged just 56, came straight after a sequence of presciently-titled albums – “Life’ll Kill Ya”, “My Ride’s Here” – was precisely the sort of bleak cosmic joke Zevon would have appreciated, and in which he revelled, on a near-perfect album which he would never quite equal. ANDREW MUELLER

Whatever indictments may quite reasonably be brought against Jackson Browne, he will be forever able to mitigate the soporific horrors lurking in his own catalogue by pointing to his vital role in setting Warren Zevon loose. By 1975, Zevon had spent a very long time getting nowhere much. He’d served as an itinerant session player and songwriter (Everly Brothers, The Turtles, Manfred Mann) and slogged as a wannabe folk singer (three inconsequential singles in 1966 as half of a duo called Lyme & Cybelle, one disregarded solo album, 1969’s – inaccurately titled, it turned out – “Wanted Dead Or Alive”). Uninspired by the one career apparently still open to him, writing advertising jingles, Zevon decamped to embittered exile in Spain, playing in bars and writing songs not obviously calibrated for maximum commercial appeal – songs called things like, for example, “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner”, about a Scandinavian mercenary wandering the wars of post-colonial Africa (this later appeared on 1978’s “Excitable Boy” and, rather hearteningly, actually got played on the radio).

Browne wangled Zevon a deal with Asylum, recalled him to Los Angeles, and produced this enduringly marvellous record. There are any number of reasons why the album shouldn’t have worked – the decision to deluge Zevon’s essentially orthodox ballads with the bombast of Hollywood’s rock aristocracy was a flagrant temptation of hubris. The opening track, for example, “Frank And Jesse James”, is an utterly straightforward folk narrative of the life of the titular gunslingers, which could have been written at any point since the presidency of Chester A. Arthur. Which is to say that on paper it, like most of Zevon’s songs. would prompt few people to summon the assistance and input of Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, The Eagles’ Don Henley and Glenn Frey, The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson, Phil Everly, and Bonnie Raitt.

Though Zevon’s songs stood up perfectly steady on their own merits – something confirmed by the bonus disc of demos and alternate versions accompanying this reissue – they responded brilliantly, if almost counter-inuitively, to Browne’s silk-sheets-and-deep-pile production and the almost hysterically opulent accompaniment of the all-star cast he assembled.. Zevon, a baleful, bleakly witty writer with a sighing snarl of a voice, clearly relished his designated role as the grit in the oyster, the alien

body around which pearls coalesced.

He’s a sneering, sarcastic premonition of Elvis Costello on rueful confessions-of-a-songwriter romp “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” and exquisitely cruel character sketch “The French Inhaler” (“Your face looked like something/Death brought with him in his suitcase”) but both are the more effective for the incongruous, epically lush arrangements Browne shrouds them in (the latter of that pair, indeed, is laugh-out-loud preposterous in its latter stages). He’s a sort of West Coast Springsteen on “Mohammed’s Radio”, singing one for the lost and lonely, those seeking solace in the sounds crackling through the speaker (the song was later covered by Linda Ronstadt, and it may at least be said that it wasn’t quite as gruesome as her celebrated desecration of Costello’s “Alison”). And he’s a contemporaneous rival to fellow Los Angelean court jester Randy Newman on self-mockingly funky “Join Me In L.A.” and “Desperadoes Under The Eaves”. It says something, perhaps, about the ambivalence and self-loathing festering beneath the cocaine haze of mid-70s radio rock that the abovelisted backing personnel, Don Henley and Glenn Frey in particular, were willing to join in on lines like “If California slides into the ocean/Like the mystics and statistics say it will/I predict this motel will be standing/Until I pay my bill”.

The career founded by “Warren Zevon” turned out to be as erratic, volatile and startling as, well, Warren Zevon. The demons that drove him would hound him to commanding heights (notably 1978’s “Excitable Boy” and 1987’s “Sentimental Hygiene”) as well as detours both constructive (collaborations with musicians and authors including R.E.M., Hunter Thompson, Carl Hiaasen, among many others) and less so (periodic sojourns in an assortment of drying-out clinics). That his death from lung cancer in 2003, aged just 56, came straight after a sequence of presciently-titled albums – “Life’ll Kill Ya”, “My Ride’s Here” – was precisely the sort of bleak cosmic joke Zevon would have appreciated, and in which he revelled, on a near-perfect album which he would never quite equal.

ANDREW MUELLER

Leonard Cohen: Behind The Scenes, Part 7!

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Leonard Cohen: Behind The Scenes, Part 7!

Hallelujah!: LEONARD COHEN SPECIAL In the December issue of Uncut, we celebrate Leonard Cohen's comeback by getting the inside story from his bandmates on their extraordinary year on the road. Here at Uncut.co.uk over the last month, we’ve been posting the full, unedited transcripts of those interviews in an exclusive seven-part online series. In the final instalment, we present: WILFRED LANGMAID. He's been a critic for New Brunswick's English-language newspaper The Daily Gleaner for over 25 years, and written often about Cohen during that period, including coverage of the first night of the "comeback" tour in Langmaid's hometown of Fredericton. He also happens to be an Anglican chaplain. UNCUT: Were you aware of when Cohen arrived in town? LANGMAID: The (Fredericton) show was a Sunday night, and he arrived on Wednesday or Thursday. It was the poorest-kept secret in the city. Maybe it was the nature of Fredericton, or maybe it was just that his grace filled people. But he was walking around, down the path by the river, and no one accosted him. One fellow yelled across the street and thanked him for coming, and he just smiled and went about his way. They were here working out the kinks, for the first show in 15 years. He chose Fredericton knowing there'd be a community where, if the show had had burps and wrinkles, it would have all been forgiven. Even the way he began with the East Coast Canadian leg of the tour, he was working out all sorts of kinks, literally amongst friends. What can you tell us about the venue? The Playhouse is tiny, in the 700-people range, and the tickets sold out in minutes. It was an unusual audience for the venue. There were certainly Fredericton residents who liked his music and had snapped up the tickets. But there were others who were die-hards, passionate fans, who could pick songs by the first lick. There were people from their twenties right up to their seventies. There was all this uncertainty, because none of us knew what was going to happen. I'm sure that anyone who went to Glastonbury, say, later in the tour, would have been excited as well. But they had an idea what they were going to be hearing. There was no idea with us. There was a nervous energy about the place, a buzz you don't usually get. People settled in their seats a lot earlier than usual. Fredericton is notorious for last-minute walk-ups, there was none of that. The seats were filled easily 15 minutes before the show. I walked into the lobby, and you could throw a cannon-ball and not hit a soul. Leonard was obviously nervous too. We were in the fourth row, and could see him pacing back and forth backstage. Everyone was in their seats waiting. Thankfully he didn't keep us waiting long. He came on at 5 past the hour. And three hours of magic followed. What was the response when he arrived on stage? Even when he appeared on the stage, there was a two-minute standing ovation. Not a note was playing. Just the fact that he was there. We just rose to our feet. He looked out with that nervous, shy smile, and kept bowing and nodding his head; a sheepish grin, but certainly loving every moment of it. He knew that we were thrilled to have him there. And we certainly knew, based on what he said, but more importantly what he did musically and artistically, that he was really thrilled to be with us. There must have been some misgivings, some second thoughts: "Oh, my heaven! I'm really doing this!" But the band were in the pocket right from the get-go. Leonard did well from the outset, but he seemed a little jittery, for the first couple of songs; he made reference to it. But by the fourth song, "Bird on the Wire" - that was in the four-spot. The nervousness was gone. He was fully engaged, and just sailing along. He was at his best. The voice was far stronger than I expected. The energy was strong. He was playful throughout the evening. He was gracious, he was thinking on his feet. It became clear in hindsight, having read accounts of other shows, that some "ad-libbed" lines were well-rehearsed - being a "60-year-old kid with a crazy dream…" But other moments were clearly off the cuff. People would say things, respectfully, between songs, and he would banter back and forth, and it was all very playful. At the start of set two, when he was getting the keyboard programmed for "Tower of Song", he pressed a wrong button, and laughed and had to put his glasses on. He was literally feeling his way. "So Long Marianne" was completely transformed - a totally different cadence, 4/4, not 3/3. He defined it in a different way, as Dylan would. For those of us who were fanatics, we'd hear those early licks and go: "Oh, yeah!" We're going to get "Who by Fire…" "Oh, it's this. It's that…" It was a feeling I have not had since Grateful Dead concerts. Just joy. Having written about music since the late '70s, this was way up there at the top. We never thought we'd see him again, let alone in our hometown. Do you think the location of the first show was significant? Montreal is only an 8-hour drive from Fredericton. And especially back in Leonard's heyday as a poet, there was a huge community of poetry experts in Fredericton, at the university of New Brunswick where I work, and so he made more than passing reference to that, and criticisms they gave him. He spoke of Bliss Carmen from a century ago; Desmond Pacey, a literary critic and professor, and that got a personal chuckle from the audience, where it turned out there were relatives of Pacey. Really cool… And what about after the show finished? What was the mood like? It wasn't a crowd that scattered immediately afterwards. We all realised that we'd been part of something really, really special. Something we knew that we'd never experience again in our lifetime. There were people who were dismissing it as it as an out-of-town try-out. It was far more than that. Had things gone off the rails, there might have been all sorts of adjustments, even to the band. But it went so well, we saw what the rest of the world went on to enjoy. We saw the template. We didn't get something that was discarded once it moved into bigger venues. We saw a well-organised exhibition of an extraordinary canon of material. There were tweaks and additions, later. But we got the basic, beautiful skeleton of what has become a triumphant comeback. NICK HASTED

Hallelujah!: LEONARD COHEN SPECIAL

In the December issue of Uncut, we celebrate Leonard Cohen’s comeback by getting the inside story from his bandmates on their extraordinary year on the road. Here at Uncut.co.uk over the last month, we’ve been posting the full, unedited transcripts of those interviews in an exclusive seven-part online series.

In the final instalment, we present: WILFRED LANGMAID.

He’s been a critic for New Brunswick’s English-language newspaper The Daily Gleaner for over 25 years, and written often about Cohen during that period, including coverage of the first night of the “comeback” tour in Langmaid’s hometown of Fredericton. He also happens to be an Anglican chaplain.

UNCUT: Were you aware of when Cohen arrived in town?

LANGMAID: The (Fredericton) show was a Sunday night, and he arrived on Wednesday or Thursday. It was the poorest-kept secret in the city. Maybe it was the nature of Fredericton, or maybe it was just that his grace filled people. But he was walking around, down the path by the river, and no one accosted him. One fellow yelled across the street and thanked him for coming, and he just smiled and went about his way. They were here working out the kinks, for the first show in 15 years. He chose Fredericton knowing there’d be a community where, if the show had had burps and wrinkles, it would have all been forgiven. Even the way he began with the East Coast Canadian leg of the tour, he was working out all sorts of kinks, literally amongst friends.

What can you tell us about the venue?

The Playhouse is tiny, in the 700-people range, and the tickets sold out in minutes. It was an unusual audience for the venue. There were certainly Fredericton residents who liked his music and had snapped up the tickets. But there were others who were die-hards, passionate fans, who could pick songs by the first lick. There were people from their twenties right up to their seventies. There was all this uncertainty, because none of us knew what was going to happen. I’m sure that anyone who went to Glastonbury, say, later in the tour, would have been excited as well. But they had an idea what they were going to be hearing. There was no idea with us. There was a nervous energy about the place, a buzz you don’t usually get. People settled in their seats a lot earlier than usual. Fredericton is notorious for last-minute walk-ups, there was none of that. The seats were filled easily 15 minutes before the show. I walked into the lobby, and you could throw a cannon-ball and not hit a soul. Leonard was obviously nervous too. We were in the fourth row, and could see him pacing back and forth backstage. Everyone was in their seats waiting. Thankfully he didn’t keep us waiting long. He came on at 5 past the hour. And three hours of magic followed.

What was the response when he arrived on stage?

Even when he appeared on the stage, there was a two-minute standing ovation. Not a note was playing. Just the fact that he was there. We just rose to our feet. He looked out with that nervous, shy smile, and kept bowing and nodding his head; a sheepish grin, but certainly loving every moment of it. He knew that we were thrilled to have him there. And we certainly knew, based on what he said, but more importantly what he did musically and artistically, that he was really thrilled to be with us. There must have been some misgivings, some second thoughts: “Oh, my heaven! I’m really doing this!” But the band were in the pocket right from the get-go. Leonard did well from the outset, but he seemed a little jittery, for the first couple of songs; he made reference to it. But by the fourth song, “Bird on the Wire” – that was in the four-spot. The nervousness was gone. He was fully engaged, and just sailing along. He was at his best. The voice was far stronger than I expected. The energy was strong. He was playful throughout the evening. He was gracious, he was thinking on his feet. It became clear in hindsight, having read accounts of other shows, that some “ad-libbed” lines were well-rehearsed – being a “60-year-old kid with a crazy dream…” But other moments were clearly off the cuff. People would say things, respectfully, between songs, and he would banter back and forth, and it was all very playful. At the start of set two, when he was getting the keyboard programmed for “Tower of Song”, he pressed a wrong button, and laughed and had to put his glasses on. He was literally feeling his way. “So Long Marianne” was completely transformed – a totally different cadence, 4/4, not 3/3. He defined it in a different way, as Dylan would. For those of us who were fanatics, we’d hear those early licks and go: “Oh, yeah!” We’re going to get “Who by Fire…” “Oh, it’s this. It’s that…” It was a feeling I have not had since Grateful Dead concerts. Just joy. Having written about music since the late ’70s, this was way up there at the top. We never thought we’d see him again, let alone in our hometown.

Do you think the location of the first show was significant?

Montreal is only an 8-hour drive from Fredericton. And especially back in Leonard’s heyday as a poet, there was a huge community of poetry experts in Fredericton, at the university of New Brunswick where I work, and so he made more than passing reference to that, and criticisms they gave him. He spoke of Bliss Carmen from a century ago; Desmond Pacey, a literary critic and professor, and that got a personal chuckle from the audience, where it turned out there were relatives of Pacey. Really cool…

And what about after the show finished? What was the mood like?

It wasn’t a crowd that scattered immediately afterwards. We all realised that we’d been part of something really, really special. Something we knew that we’d never experience again in our lifetime. There were people who were dismissing it as it as an out-of-town try-out. It was far more than that. Had things gone off the rails, there might have been all sorts of adjustments, even to the band. But it went so well, we saw what the rest of the world went on to enjoy. We saw the template. We didn’t get something that was discarded once it moved into bigger venues. We saw a well-organised exhibition of an extraordinary canon of material. There were tweaks and additions, later. But we got the basic, beautiful skeleton of what has become a triumphant comeback.

NICK HASTED

Blur’s Original Line-Up To Rehearse In 2009

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Blur’s Original Line-Up To Rehearse In 2009
Blur's original line-up are set to rehearse together in the new year. Frontman Damon Albarn confirmed that the four-piece are meeting up to play for the first time since sessions for 2003's "Think Tank" this afternoon (November 25), according to NME.COM. Speaking before a performance of his opera,...

Blur‘s original line-up are set to rehearse together in the new year.

Frontman Damon Albarn confirmed that the four-piece are meeting up to play for the first time since sessions for 2003’s “Think Tank” this afternoon (November 25), according to NME.COM.

Speaking before a performance of his opera, “Monkey: Journey To The West”, at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, Albarn said: “Blur are certainly going to rehearse and see if we sound like we used to.”

The band’s last full album with all four original members was 1999’s “13”, with guitarist Graham Coxon only featuring on one track on its follow-up “Think Tank”.

The “Monkey…” performance will be broadcast on Saturday (November 29) on BBC Radio 2.

The Prodigy To Release Free Download On Wednesday (Nov 26)

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The Prodigy To Release Free Download On Wednesday (Nov 26)
The Prodigy will give away the title track of their new album "Invaders Must Die" as a free download tomorrow (November 26). The song can be downloaded on Wednesday from 7.30pm on the band's website, TheProdigy.com, and will be available for the next week. "Invaders Must Die", the follow-up to 200...

The Prodigy will give away the title track of their new album “Invaders Must Die” as a free download tomorrow (November 26).

The song can be downloaded on Wednesday from 7.30pm on the band’s website, TheProdigy.com, and will be available for the next week.

“Invaders Must Die”, the follow-up to 2004’s “Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned”, is released on March 2 2009.

The tracklisting is:

“Invaders Must Die”

“Omen”

“Thunder”

“Colours”

“Take Me To The Hospital”

“Warrior’s Dance”

“Run With The Wolves”

“Omen Reprise”

“World’s On Fire”

“Piranha”

“Stand Up”

Paul McCartney: ‘I Don’t Think What I’m Doing Is Ever That Important’

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Paul McCartney: ‘I Don’t Think What I’m Doing Is Ever That Important’
Paul McCartney has explained that he's always so keen to experiment musically because he doesn't think what he's doing "is ever that important". Speaking to The Guardian, he also stated that the mythical song "Carnival Of Light" shows him at his most experimental. "Because I'm enjoying myself, I n...

Paul McCartney has explained that he’s always so keen to experiment musically because he doesn’t think what he’s doing “is ever that important”.

Speaking to The Guardian, he also stated that the mythical song “Carnival Of Light” shows him at his most experimental.

“Because I’m enjoying myself, I never see anything that I do as a risk, I just see it as a bit of fun,” McCartney said. “In The Beatles we didn’t even think Sgt Peppers was a risk at the time. The newspapers did. One said: ‘The Beatles have dried up, they’ve not come out with anything for six months, they’re finished!’ And we were there, sniggering, thinking ‘Ha!’

“But I like pushing the boundaries a little bit because it keeps things fresh. The key is that I don’t ever think what I’m doing is ever that important.”

Referring to people’s perception of John Lennon as the most experimental Beatle, McCartney said: “Being far out is not something I’m known for too much, but I do enjoy that side of things. If you look at things I’ve done, from “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road”, which is kind of out-there, to “Carnival Of Light”, which is so out there it hasn’t even been released, you can see I like experimenting.”

Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ Heading For Christmas Number One

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Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ Heading For Christmas Number One
Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is likely to be this year's Christmas Number One when it's released by the eventual winner of 'The X Factor'. The song, originally on Cohen's 1984 album "Various Positions", has increased in popularity through a number of covers in recent years. John Cale, Jeff Buckley...

Leonard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah” is likely to be this year’s Christmas Number One when it’s released by the eventual winner of ‘The X Factor’.

The song, originally on Cohen‘s 1984 album “Various Positions”, has increased in popularity through a number of covers in recent years.

John Cale, Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright are among the artists who have covered the song.

‘X Factor’ contestant Diana Vickers performed the song during the show recently, leading to accusations of favouritism from the show’s producers.

Have a look at our Leonard Cohen online special behind the scenes on his tour.

Guns N’ Roses Album Is A ‘Venomous Attack On China’

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Guns N’ Roses Album Is A ‘Venomous Attack On China’

The Chinese government has dubbed Guns N' Roses' new album "Chinese Democracy" a "venomous attack" on the country. The Communist party's newspaper, the Global Times, stated that the album "turns its spear point on China". When asked about the piece by BBC News, foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said: "According to my knowledge, a lot of people don't like this kind of music because it's too noisy and too loud." One line, 'blame it on a Falun Gong', on the title track of the band's long-awaited album refers to the controversial spiritual movement reportedly persecuted by the Chinese government. For more music and film news, visit Uncut.co.uk.

The Chinese government has dubbed Guns N’ Roses‘ new album “Chinese Democracy” a “venomous attack” on the country.

The Communist party’s newspaper, the Global Times, stated that the album “turns its spear point on China”.

When asked about the piece by BBC News, foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said: “According to my knowledge, a lot of people don’t like this kind of music because it’s too noisy and too loud.”

One line, ‘blame it on a Falun Gong’, on the title track of the band’s long-awaited album refers to the controversial spiritual movement reportedly persecuted by the Chinese government.

For more music and film news, visit Uncut.co.uk.

Telepathe: “Dance Mother”

John Mulvey
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Much as I love the TV On The Radio album, I wonder sometimes if all the hype surrounding David Sitek might be a bit out of hand. For a start, reading some of the stories about “Dear Science”, you’d be forgiven for imagining that he made the entire record single-handed, when in fact virtually all the songwriting was handled by the band’s vocalists and, perhaps, creative heart, Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone. Then there’s the perception that, as a producer, Sitek has an unfallible magic touch; that everything he touches turns to hipster gold. Actually, his CV isn’t entirely unblemished, as some of us who were left nonplussed by, say, the Celebration records can testify. Sometimes, Sitek’s aesthetic can be as smothering as it is opulent. A case in point, I guess, was that Scarlett Johansson album from earlier this year, where Sitek’s massed synth architecture was presumably designed as a counterpoint to Johansson’s offhand vocals, at once chilly and oddly conversational. For me at least, it didn’t really work, but it’s clearly a juxtaposition that Sitek likes. For here’s the debut album by Telepathe, from Brooklyn somewhat inevitably, and while once again it would be dumb to ascribe unbounded Machiavellian qualities to Sitek, they’re a duo whose vision seems pretty well-suited to the hook-up. Melissa Livaudais and Busy Gagnes have diffident, airy voices, and to his credit, Sitek often gives them plenty of space to breathe in the nine songs on this excellent record. The comparative spaciousness of “Dear Science” is followed up here, so that the layers of gushing vintage synths are built up gradually. “Devil’s Trident” is quite brilliant, overlapping streams-of-consciousness unravelling while the instrumentation gracefully increases; by the end, it seems as if the Antibalas horn section, so prominent on the TV On The Radio album of course, may even have crept in to thicken out the mix. There’s something trancey, even a little witchy, about “Devil’s Trident” and other tracks here like “Lights Go Down”. Although the gear may in some cases date from the ‘80s (and judging by a few pics, some of the outfits may, too), it’s hard to find obvious antecedents: imagine “Hounds Of Love” if Kate Bush were replaced by The Raincoats or The Slits springs to mind this morning, though it seems quite a way off the mark to be honest. Perhaps more accurately, much of “Dance Mother” feels like an upgrading of the ‘80s 4AD sound; the translucent grandeur of “Can’t Stand It”, particularly, is heavily redolent of the Cocteau Twins. The twitching beats that orbit round so many of the tracks, on the other hand, are clearly informed by various derivatives of R&B and hip hop. But the resulting music is a kind of obscurely catchy art-pop, where the street beats have been transformed into something mystical and otherworldly. There are plenty of groups working in this area at the moment, all hazy chanting, imprecise exoticism, a hint of rituals being enacted beneath Williamsburg warehouse spaces: High Places, Rings, Effi Briest and even Chairlift are all making good music not a million miles from this. But “Dance Mother” is the best and most powerful manifestation of the scene thus far, I reckon. Here’s their Myspace. Have a listen and, as ever, let me know what you think.

Much as I love the TV On The Radio album, I wonder sometimes if all the hype surrounding David Sitek might be a bit out of hand. For a start, reading some of the stories about “Dear Science”, you’d be forgiven for imagining that he made the entire record single-handed, when in fact virtually all the songwriting was handled by the band’s vocalists and, perhaps, creative heart, Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone.

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Animal Collective Song Leaked By Grizzly Bear?

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Animal Collective Song Leaked By Grizzly Bear?
Grizzly Bear have been accused of leaking a song from Animal Collective's forthcoming album. Internet legal enforcer Web Sheriff identified the Brooklyn group's blog as the 'global-leak-source' of "Brothersport", the final song from "Merriweather Post Pavilion". However, Grizzly Bear now appear to...

Grizzly Bear have been accused of leaking a song from Animal Collective‘s forthcoming album.

Internet legal enforcer Web Sheriff identified the Brooklyn group’s blog as the ‘global-leak-source’ of “Brothersport”, the final song from “Merriweather Post Pavilion”.

However, Grizzly Bear now appear to have denied that they were the first to leak the song.

In an email to the band, Web Sheriff said: “Both the individuals collectively trading/performing as ‘Grizzly Bear‘ and indeed, yourself [singer Ed Droste] are personally liable to our said clients for all commercial and other losses arising from this blatant act of piracy.”

Grizzly Bear posted an apology to the band and label Domino on the blog, but have now added in a separate post that they weren’t the first to leak the song.

“The song was played on a French podcast or radio program. Someone (not me) ripped the song. Many blogs posted the track. I was one of those blogs,” explained Droste.

“It was my belief this was already ‘out there’ and was essentially like a hype track that would just further excite Animal Collective fans (myself included), so I wrongfully figured it was fair game. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the unofficial ‘leak’ with the official label-sanctioned ‘leak’.

“If I’ve offended anyone in the Animal Collective family with my excited post, I apologize. It was meant to generate even more excitement for what will surely be a great album, and yes the Web Sheriff is just doing his job.”

Grizzly Bear side-project Department Of Eagles will play Club Uncut at The Borderline on December 3.

Read Uncut.co.uk‘s Wild Mercury Sound blog on Animal Collective’s “Merriweather Post Pavilion” here.

The Beatles’ iTunes deal has ‘stalled’

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The Beatles’ iTunes deal has ‘stalled’

Negotiations to put The Beatles' back catalogue on the iTunes Store have "stalled", according to Paul McCartney. The former Beatle explained that Apple Corps and EMI haven't been able to agree on the terms that will result in the band's work finally being available to buy online. McCartney told BBC News: "We'd like to do it. We are very for it, we've been pushing it. But there are a couple of sticking points, I understand. "EMI want something we're not prepared to give 'em. It's between EMI and The Beatles I think - what else is new? "But I really hope it will happen because I think it should." All four of The Beatles' solo releases are currently available on iTunes, along with a number of covers of Beatles material.

Negotiations to put The Beatles‘ back catalogue on the iTunes Store have “stalled”, according to Paul McCartney.

The former Beatle explained that Apple Corps and EMI haven’t been able to agree on the terms that will result in the band’s work finally being available to buy online.

McCartney told BBC News: “We’d like to do it. We are very for it, we’ve been pushing it. But there are a couple of sticking points, I understand.

“EMI want something we’re not prepared to give ’em. It’s between EMI and The Beatles I think – what else is new?

“But I really hope it will happen because I think it should.”

All four of The Beatles‘ solo releases are currently available on iTunes, along with a number of covers of Beatles material.

The Final Round-Up

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We now have the entire judges' deliberations over who should win the Uncut Music Award posted here on this blog, so I thought it might be useful to provide links to all the separate posts in one place. I was prompted, in part, by this message from Terry, who did all the recording and transcribing for us. "As the fellow Uncut entrusted to listen in on the judges' deliberations and transcribe their words of wisdom," he writes, "I think it might be useful for readers to know that the discussions are being posted on site chronologically. Taken in isolation, the verdicts on some albums may not come across as clear as they might if one takes the time to read the whole lot in order. Just a small point, perhaps, but I feel we get a better vibe of what went down by looking at the complete picture." 1 Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Ago" 2 Elbow - "The Seldom Seen Kid" 3 Drive-By Truckers - "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" 4 Felice Brothers - "Felice Brothers" 5 Fleet Foxes - "Fleet Foxes" The Raconteurs - "Consolers Of The Lonely" 7 Radiohead - "In Rainbows" 8 Vampire Weekend - "Vampire Weekend"

We now have the entire judges’ deliberations over who should win the Uncut Music Award posted here on this blog, so I thought it might be useful to provide links to all the separate posts in one place. I was prompted, in part, by this message from Terry, who did all the recording and transcribing for us.

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John Lennon ‘forgiven’ for ‘bigger than Jesus’ remarks

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John Lennon ‘forgiven’ for ‘bigger than Jesus’ remarks
John Lennon's claims that The Beatles were "bigger than Jesus" have been 'forgiven' by a semi-official Vatican newspaper. L'Osservatore Romano put Lennon's comments in March 1966 down to youthful showing off. Writing to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Beatles' "White Album", the paper said L...

John Lennon‘s claims that The Beatles were “bigger than Jesus” have been ‘forgiven’ by a semi-official Vatican newspaper.

L’Osservatore Romano put Lennon‘s comments in March 1966 down to youthful showing off.

Writing to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Beatles‘ “White Album”, the paper said Lennon‘s quotes were just “showing off, bragging by a young English working class musician who had grown up in the age of Elvis Presley and rock’n’roll and had enjoyed unexpected success”.

Lennon‘s comments caused widespread outrage in parts of the US in 1966, and lead to a number of death threats and the high profile burning of Beatles records and memorabilia.

Paul Weller Helps Out On Steve Cradock’s Kundalini Target

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Paul Weller Helps Out On Steve Cradock’s Kundalini Target
Paul Weller has lent a helping hand to his bandmember Steve Cradock's debut solo album. The guitarist, a member of Ocean Colour Scene and Weller's group, will release "The Kundalini Target" in February 2009. The album is set to feature ten tracks, including "Running Away", "Beware Of Falling Rocks...

Paul Weller has lent a helping hand to his bandmember Steve Cradock‘s debut solo album.

The guitarist, a member of Ocean Colour Scene and Weller‘s group, will release “The Kundalini Target” in February 2009.

The album is set to feature ten tracks, including “Running Away”, “Beware Of Falling Rocks” and “Ask The Sound”.

Talking about the album, Paul Weller said: “These are great songs of humanity, family values and family love. It’s about being inspired by life and love.”

Cradock is currently producing an album by Weller‘s son Natty Weller.

Nick Cave Opens Noisy UK Tour In Brighton

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Nick Cave Opens Noisy UK Tour In Brighton
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds kicked off their UK tour last night (November 23) with a ferocious and noisy show at the Brighton Centre. With a large proportion of the set drawn from the band's recent album, "Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!", the band began their set with "Hold On To Yourself" and the record's...

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds kicked off their UK tour last night (November 23) with a ferocious and noisy show at the Brighton Centre.

With a large proportion of the set drawn from the band’s recent album, “Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!”, the band began their set with “Hold On To Yourself” and the record’s primitive title track.

Watched by boxer Chris Eubank, Cave also found time to perform a number of classics, including “Red Right Hand”, “The Mercy Seat” and “God Is In The House”.

For a full report on the gig by John Robinson, check out the Uncut Live Reviews blog.

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds played:

“Hold On To Yourself”

“Dig, Lazarus, Dig”

“Tupelo”

“A Weeping Song”

“Nature Boy”

“Red Right Hand”

“Midnight Man”

“God Is In The House”

“People Ain’t No Good”

“Moonland”

“The Mercy Seat”

“Deanna”

“We Call Upon The Author To Explain”

“Papa Won’t Leave You Henry”

“Get Ready For Love”

“Straight To You”

“The Lyre Of Orpheus”

“Hard On For Love”

“Stagger Lee”

Keith Richards To Release Album Of Jazz Standards?

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Keith Richards To Release Album Of Jazz Standards?
Keith Richards may release an album of jazz standards, after his private covers of classic songs is leaked on the internet. Over 20 versions of standards by the Rolling Stones guitarist, including Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", have been released on the web, prompting Richards to sugg...

Keith Richards may release an album of jazz standards, after his private covers of classic songs is leaked on the internet.

Over 20 versions of standards by the Rolling Stones guitarist, including Judy Garland‘s “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”, have been released on the web, prompting Richards to suggest a release may be in the pipeline.

According to The Telegraph, the guitarist wrote on a fan forum: “I’ve never planned [a release] befoe, but maybe no I should; I’ll think about it.”

Some of the covers that have surfaced include Richards‘ versions of Jerry Lee Lewis‘ “She Still Comes Around”, Fats Domino‘s “Blue Monday”, Andy Williams‘ “Let It Be Me” and Tammy Wynette‘s “Apartment No 9”.

Crystal Antlers And Delta Spirit To Play First Club Uncut Of 2009

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Crystal Antlers And Delta Spirit To Play First Club Uncut Of 2009

Two of the most exciting American bands of 2009 have been confirmed to play the first Club Uncut of the year. Crystal Antlers and The Delta Spirit will be gracing our monthly showcase at London’s Borderline on January 27. Crystal Antlers have received plenty of praise from us already, ever since the Long Beach psych-punks released their first extraordinary EP. This will be one of their very first UK shows. The show will also be one of the first on these fair shores for another Californian band, The Delta Spirit. The quintet – a little like Cold War Kids, on first acquaintance – will be releasing their fine debut over here in the spring. Tickets for this auspicious evening will go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday November 25) at www.seetickets.com, and will cost £7. And don’t forget: this month’s Club Uncut takes place on Wednesday (November 26), when we’ll be playing host at the Borderline to Wild Beasts, Threatmantics and The Invisible.

Two of the most exciting American bands of 2009 have been confirmed to play the first Club Uncut of the year. Crystal Antlers and The Delta Spirit will be gracing our monthly showcase at London’s Borderline on January 27.

Crystal Antlers have received plenty of praise from us already, ever since the Long Beach psych-punks released their first extraordinary EP. This will be one of their very first UK shows.

The show will also be one of the first on these fair shores for another Californian band, The Delta Spirit. The quintet – a little like Cold War Kids, on first acquaintance – will be releasing their fine debut over here in the spring.

Tickets for this auspicious evening will go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday November 25) at www.seetickets.com, and will cost £7.

And don’t forget: this month’s Club Uncut takes place on Wednesday (November 26), when we’ll be playing host at the Borderline to Wild Beasts, Threatmantics and The Invisible.

Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy Finally Released In The UK

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Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy Finally Released In The UK
Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" has finally been released today (November 24), 15 years and a day after the band last put out an album, 1993's covers collection ""The Spaghetti Incident?"". Although the album is officially released today, a number of copies were available to buy yesterday (Novem...

Guns N’ Roses‘ “Chinese Democracy” has finally been released today (November 24), 15 years and a day after the band last put out an album, 1993’s covers collection “”The Spaghetti Incident?””.

Although the album is officially released today, a number of copies were available to buy yesterday (November 23) in London.

100 bike couriers took 15 advance copies round to shops in the capital, and one fan, Scott Mitchell, was reportedly the first person to own the album in the UK.

However, some fans have claimed that their pre-ordered copies arrived last week.

Guns N’ Roses‘ last album of original material, double collection “Use Your Illusion I & II”, in 1991.

Only vocalist Axl Rose remains from the original line-up.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Brighton Centre, November 23, 2008

John Mulvey
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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds began their British tour last night with an occasionally scrappy, but ultimately triumphant 19-song set at the Brighton Centre in Cave’s adopted hometown – a fact he addressed with repeated thanks to “the beautiful people of Brighton”. If there was an inciden...

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds began their British tour last night with an occasionally scrappy, but ultimately triumphant 19-song set at the Brighton Centre in Cave’s adopted hometown – a fact he addressed with repeated thanks to “the beautiful people of Brighton”.

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Bruce Springsteen’s New Single Out For Free Today (Nov 24)

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Bruce Springsteen’s New Single Out For Free Today (Nov 24)
Bruce Springsteen is giving away the title track of his new album, "Working On A Dream", as a free download today (November 24). An MP3 of the song is available from iTunes store and Brucespringsteen.net now - however, the song can only be downloaded at a price from tomorrow (November 25). "Workin...

Bruce Springsteen is giving away the title track of his new album, “Working On A Dream”, as a free download today (November 24).

An MP3 of the song is available from iTunes store and Brucespringsteen.net now – however, the song can only be downloaded at a price from tomorrow (November 25).

“Working On A Dream”, the follow-up to 2007’s “Magic”, is released on January 26 2009.

The album was recorded with the E Street Band and produced and mixed by Brendan O’Brien, who has worked on the last three Springsteen releases.

Manics’ Richey Edwards ‘Presumed Dead’

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Manics’ Richey Edwards ‘Presumed Dead’
Richey Edwards, Manic Street Preachers' missing lyricist and sometime guitarist, has been legally declared 'presumed dead' for the first time. Edwards disappeared in February 1995, after having been last seen in London. His car was later found abandoned in a car park at Wales' Severn Bridge. No ev...

Richey Edwards, Manic Street Preachers‘ missing lyricist and sometime guitarist, has been legally declared ‘presumed dead’ for the first time.

Edwards disappeared in February 1995, after having been last seen in London. His car was later found abandoned in a car park at Wales’ Severn Bridge.

No evidence of his later whereabouts has been uncovered, however, despite numerous alleged sightings around the world in the last 14 years.

The lyricist’s parents, Graham and Sherry Edwards, have resisted declaring their son ‘presumed dead’ in the past.

Edwards‘ presence still looms large in the band he founded – Manic Street Preachers are currently recording an album using only his unused lyrics with Nirvana, Pixies and PJ Harvey producer Steve Albini, and still pay his share of their royalties into a bank account.

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