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Love – The Blue Thumb Recordings

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Love – The Blue Thumb Recordings

'Forever Changes' cast a long shadow over Arthur Lee’s career – even in its immediate aftermath. With heroin addiction having pretty much ensured the break-up of the Love line-up that made the record, Lee took a two year break, formed a new group, and returned with two albums. The first, 'Four Sail', concluded Love’s business with Elektra records. The second, for new label Blue Thumb, was the double 'Out Here'. All round, it was an exemplary action for this enigmatic and perplexing figure. Attempting to break the ties between himself and his dark, psychedelic masterpiece, Lee recorded with a stripped-down band. The notoriously travel-shy Lee even came to England, in winter, to promote it. I interviewed him while he sat on a paraffin stove, and his coat caught fire. “I’m burning,” he said suddenly, and he leapt up, beating out smoke from his shaggy fur coat. 'Out Here', the reason for such a perilous trip, is ultimately half a great album marred by two excessively long tracks – and seriously weighed down by “Doggone”’s endless drum solo. Yet a handful of songs are truly up there with Lee’s best. The pleading, folksy “Listen To My Song”, the trademark melodic intricacy of “I Still Wonder” and “Gather Round”, an almost Pete Seeger-like protest song built around inter-weaving, escalating, chiming guitars. The downside, though, is the presence of too many unworthy, frivolous songs, and sadly, 1971’s follow up, 'False Start' is even more dominated by this breezy, carefree approach. Inane material like “Slick Dick” and “Flying” are the norm, and even though the album opens with “The Everlasting First”, Lee’s collaboration with close friend Jimi Hendrix, even that fires up only intermittently. The highlight of this three CD set is a spitting live version of 'Out Here'’s garage-funk blast, “Stand Out”. It’s sourced from the same tour recordings presented here as the bonus disc, “Live In England 1970”, where Lee explores all five Love albums with searing and seething intent – but also with soaring passion. MICK HOUGHTON

‘Forever Changes’ cast a long shadow over Arthur Lee’s career – even in its immediate aftermath. With heroin addiction having pretty much ensured the break-up of the Love line-up that made the record, Lee took a two year break, formed a new group, and returned with two albums. The first, ‘Four Sail’, concluded Love’s business with Elektra records. The second, for new label Blue Thumb, was the double ‘Out Here’.

All round, it was an exemplary action for this enigmatic and perplexing figure. Attempting to break the ties between himself and his dark, psychedelic masterpiece, Lee recorded with a stripped-down band. The notoriously travel-shy Lee even came to England, in winter, to promote it. I interviewed him while he sat on a paraffin stove, and his coat caught fire. “I’m burning,” he said suddenly, and he leapt up, beating out smoke from his shaggy fur coat.

‘Out Here’, the reason for such a perilous trip, is ultimately half a great album marred by two excessively long tracks – and seriously weighed down by “Doggone”’s endless drum solo. Yet a handful of songs are truly up there with Lee’s best. The pleading, folksy “Listen To My Song”, the trademark melodic intricacy of “I Still Wonder” and “Gather Round”, an almost Pete Seeger-like protest song built around inter-weaving, escalating, chiming guitars.

The downside, though, is the presence of too many unworthy, frivolous songs, and sadly, 1971’s follow up, ‘False Start’ is even more dominated by this breezy, carefree approach. Inane material like “Slick Dick” and “Flying” are the norm, and even though the album opens with “The Everlasting First”, Lee’s collaboration with close friend Jimi Hendrix, even that fires up only intermittently.

The highlight of this three CD set is a spitting live version of ‘Out Here’’s garage-funk blast, “Stand Out”. It’s sourced from the same tour recordings presented here as the bonus disc, “Live In England 1970”, where Lee explores all five Love albums with searing and seething intent – but also with soaring passion.

MICK HOUGHTON

Anne Briggs – The Time Has Come

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Anne Briggs – The Time Has Come

By the time Anne Briggs came to record this, her second album proper, she was already on her way out of a folk scene she had helped transform during the 1960s, when she had flitted through Albion’s folk clubs and pubs like an untamed nature spirit. Belonging to country rather than town, disinclined to stay anywhere for long, Briggs had a mercurial quality that chimed with the strangeness of English folksong – it was easy to imagine encountering her materialising in the mists above Blackwater Side or rambling through the greenwood, lurcher in tow, exactly as the cover of The Time Has Come depicts her. The urge for freedom that would lead her to vanish (leaving a third album complete but unissued) was there in her singing. Blessed with a skylark of a voice that was usually unaccompanied, Briggs would inhabit a song rather than deliver it note perfect. It was a quality better suited to the traditional fayre with which she made her name than to the originals and covers here – her versions of “Reynardine” and the rest remain timeless, whereas The Time Has Come gets by more on period charm. By this time Anne was accompanying herself – adequately but no more - on guitar and (unusually for 1970) bazouki. The real problem is material too slight for her wildness. “Fire and Wine”, borrowed from a friend, is a campfire singalong, “Ride Ride” a tepid re-run of “Railroad Bill”, “Everytime” and “Tidewave” half-formed ideas. Add a couple of ho-hum instrumentals and you’re half an album down. The remainder, though, has real strength. The title track – already covered by Pentangle among others – retains an easy charm, and “Tangled Man”, “Wishing Well” (written with Bert Jansch) and “Sandman’s Song” show a songsmith in the making. Best of all comes Lal Waterson’s “Fine Horseman”, whose mood of languid romance is perfectly captured by vocals that ripple with love and lust. An imprefect creation, then, but one of immense charm. NEIL SPENCER

By the time Anne Briggs came to record this, her second album proper, she was already on her way out of a folk scene she had helped transform during the 1960s, when she had flitted through Albion’s folk clubs and pubs like an untamed nature spirit.

Belonging to country rather than town, disinclined to stay anywhere for long, Briggs had a mercurial quality that chimed with the strangeness of English folksong – it was easy to imagine encountering her materialising in the mists above Blackwater Side or rambling through the greenwood, lurcher in tow, exactly as the cover of The Time Has Come depicts her.

The urge for freedom that would lead her to vanish (leaving a third album complete but unissued) was there in her singing. Blessed with a skylark of a voice that was usually unaccompanied, Briggs would inhabit a song rather than deliver it note perfect.

It was a quality better suited to the traditional fayre with which she made her name than to the originals and covers here – her versions of “Reynardine” and the rest remain timeless, whereas The Time Has Come gets by more on period charm.

By this time Anne was accompanying herself – adequately but no more – on guitar and (unusually for 1970) bazouki. The real problem is material too slight for her wildness. “Fire and Wine”, borrowed from a friend, is a campfire singalong, “Ride Ride” a tepid re-run of “Railroad Bill”, “Everytime” and “Tidewave” half-formed ideas. Add a couple of ho-hum instrumentals and you’re half an album down.

The remainder, though, has real strength. The title track – already covered by Pentangle among others – retains an easy charm, and “Tangled Man”, “Wishing Well” (written with Bert Jansch) and “Sandman’s Song” show a songsmith in the making. Best of all comes Lal Waterson’s “Fine Horseman”, whose mood of languid romance is perfectly captured by vocals that ripple with love and lust. An imprefect creation, then, but one of immense charm.

NEIL SPENCER

Q&A With Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys

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Q&A With Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys

UNCUT: You seem to have reigned in the excess on this one. RHYS: When Rough Trade picked us up, Geoff Travis said, "Can you make us one of those pop records?" So we recorded a load of songs and initially we were going to choose heavier songs but in the end we tried to make our idea of a pop record. U:Apart from your debut, this is the first Furries album without artwork by Pete Fowler. Why's that? GR:Yeah, he's done every record since (i)Radiator(i). It was a band decision to cut the line after ten years, which was really difficult because he's a genius. We were more upset than he was. This record has a very eleborate surrealist screenprint by the Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami. U: Where does the title come from? GR:That's from the beginning of "Into The Night". Then we noticed slightly too late that it's the title of a That Petrol Emotion EP. Guto and I are big fans, and we reckoned it wasn't necessarily a bad thing to be named after a That Petrol Emotion song.

UNCUT: You seem to have reigned in the excess on this one.

RHYS: When Rough Trade picked us up, Geoff Travis said, “Can you make us one of those pop records?” So we recorded a load of songs and initially we were going to choose heavier songs but in the end we tried to make our idea of a pop record.

U:Apart from your debut, this is the first Furries album without artwork by Pete Fowler. Why’s that?

GR:Yeah, he’s done every record since (i)Radiator(i). It was a band decision to cut the line after ten years, which was really difficult because he’s a genius. We were more upset than he was. This record has a very eleborate surrealist screenprint by the Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami.

U: Where does the title come from?

GR:That’s from the beginning of “Into The Night”. Then we noticed slightly too late that it’s the title of a That Petrol Emotion EP. Guto and I are big fans, and we reckoned it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to be named after a That Petrol Emotion song.

Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!

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Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!

Serious shortages of imagination and integrity force most bands to use the old back-to-basics approach as an excuse for a mediocre record. Super Furry Animals possess both qualities in abundance, yet 'Hey Venus!', their eighth album in 12 years and by no means a stinker, must rank as their least adventurous. Having proved over time that they're capable of almost anything, the conservative guitar-driven power-pop of 'Hey Venus!' comes as a minor disappointment, particularly after 'Love Kraft''s epicurean agenda. Cosy strumalongs such as "Show Your Hand" and "Suckers" reveal a group plump in their comfort zone, tuned into Wogan, able but unwilling to stretch themselves. Like dining at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant only to be served a very good burger and chips, one senses something magical missing. By the same token, perhaps because they've spoiled us in the past, it's easy to overlook the handsome craftmanship of 'Hey Venus!' when listening out for the Furries' nuttier nuances, which aren't indulged: the whole thing clocks in below 37 minutes; the longest song doesn't reach five. The Motown swagger of "Runaway", for example, could be Gruff Rhys' "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted?" as he croons the satisfying couplet, "We may have fought with teeth and nails/I still recall your banking details". Huw 'Bunf' Bunford, meanwhile, does a marvellous Roy Orbison turn on the tremulous "Battersey", something George Harrison might've penned for 'Cloud Nine', and Cian Ciaran, over "Rhagfyr"'s balalaika and strings, offers a tender Gene Clark-style vocal. These, at least, are the surprises. Sparky and deliriously tuneful, "Neo Consumer" and "Baby Ate My Eightball" – standard SFA fare given a '70s AOR glaze – don't tell us anything we didn't already know about this intrepid bunch. Without a doubt, 'Hey Venus!' is an attractive album with a broad appeal – Rough Trade wanted a pop record and got one – but it also feels like a missed opportunity, a consolidation of affairs rather than a step forward. PIERS MARTIN

Serious shortages of imagination and integrity force most bands to use the old back-to-basics approach as an excuse for a mediocre record. Super Furry Animals possess both qualities in abundance, yet ‘Hey Venus!’, their eighth album in 12 years and by no means a stinker, must rank as their least adventurous.

Having proved over time that they’re capable of almost anything, the conservative guitar-driven power-pop of ‘Hey Venus!’ comes as a minor disappointment, particularly after ‘Love Kraft”s epicurean agenda. Cosy strumalongs such as “Show Your Hand” and “Suckers” reveal a group plump in their comfort zone, tuned into Wogan, able but unwilling to stretch themselves. Like dining at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant only to be served a very good burger and chips, one senses something magical missing.

By the same token, perhaps because they’ve spoiled us in the past, it’s easy to overlook the handsome craftmanship of ‘Hey Venus!’ when listening out for the Furries’ nuttier nuances, which aren’t indulged: the whole thing clocks in below 37 minutes; the longest song doesn’t reach five. The Motown swagger of “Runaway”, for example, could be Gruff Rhys’ “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted?” as he croons the satisfying couplet, “We may have fought with teeth and nails/I still recall your banking details”. Huw ‘Bunf’ Bunford, meanwhile, does a marvellous Roy Orbison turn on the tremulous “Battersey”, something George Harrison might’ve penned for ‘Cloud Nine’, and Cian Ciaran, over “Rhagfyr”‘s balalaika and strings, offers a tender Gene Clark-style vocal.

These, at least, are the surprises. Sparky and deliriously tuneful, “Neo Consumer” and “Baby Ate My Eightball” – standard SFA fare given a ’70s AOR glaze – don’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about this intrepid bunch. Without a doubt, ‘Hey Venus!’ is an attractive album with a broad appeal – Rough Trade wanted a pop record and got one – but it also feels like a missed opportunity, a consolidation of affairs rather than a step forward.

PIERS MARTIN

Ringo Starr – Photograph: The Very Best Of Ringo Starr

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Ringo Starr – Photograph: The Very Best Of Ringo Starr

As hostilities increased between Lennon and McCartney in the wake of the Beatles’ split, Ringo Starr sensibly took on the role of a musical Switzerland. Benefitting from a neutrality which allowed him to write with Harrison (“Photograph”) flirt with Bolan (“Back Off Boogaloo”) and receive gilt-edged musical hand-outs from Lennon (“I’m The Greatest”) he became, for a while, at least the most successful solo Beatle. It couldn’t last. By 1974 single “(It’s All Down To) Goodnight Vienna” his Monte Carlo-via-Colombia lifestyle had brought him to a point where even zero star reviews were an act of kindness. Boasting a mere five tracks from the last thirty years, this cuts to the chase, recalling Ringo’s own salty assessement of his talents in “Early 1970” : “I can play guitar A-D-E/ I don’t play bass ‘cos it’s too hard for me.” PAUL MOODY Pic credit: PA Photos

As hostilities increased between Lennon and McCartney in the wake of the Beatles’ split, Ringo Starr sensibly took on the role of a musical Switzerland. Benefitting from a neutrality which allowed him to write with Harrison (“Photograph”) flirt with Bolan (“Back Off Boogaloo”) and receive gilt-edged musical hand-outs from Lennon (“I’m The Greatest”) he became, for a while, at least the most successful solo Beatle. It couldn’t last.

By 1974 single “(It’s All Down To) Goodnight Vienna” his Monte Carlo-via-Colombia lifestyle had brought him to a point where even zero star reviews were an act of kindness. Boasting a mere five tracks from the last thirty years, this cuts to the chase, recalling Ringo’s own salty assessement of his talents in “Early 1970” : “I can play guitar A-D-E/ I don’t play bass ‘cos it’s too hard for me.”

PAUL MOODY

Pic credit: PA Photos

V Festival: Uncut’s roll of honour

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Far away from the mud and mayhem of Chelmsford, it seems time to discuss who really impressed us this weekend. Who were the best band? What was the greatest moment? Who annoyed the hell out of us yesterday evening on the Channel 4 Stage? Read on and find out… Best Band: The Stooges There wasn’t another group this weekend who even came close to the majesty of these motor city heroes. Iggy was on top form, scaling the stage and smashing up his microphone stand near the end of ‘Funhouse’, while Ron Asheton stood motionless, cranking out driving riffs and blitzkrieg solos. Have they still got it? Do you need to ask? Iggy PopBest Song: ‘Fuck Forever’ – Babyshambles Their new album might have had rave reviews so far (including this from Uncut’s Editor Allan Jones), but the biggest surprise of V Festival was that they played a gripping set, with Doherty nearly back to being the raucous showman of four years ago. This final song was the band’s best, Pete even playing the drums at the end as the song disintegrated. In a good way, mind you. Pete DohertyBest Moment: Tim Booth on Tony Wilson In the middle of James’ set on the main V Stage, singer Tim Booth paid tribute to Factory Records’ Tony Wilson, praising “his intelligence, [and] his vitality”. The amazing part was that the whole audience, thousands of them, raised their hands in the air, clapped and cheered. A fitting tribute to the great man. Tim BoothMost Popular Group: The Killers / Foo Fighters Jointly the best-received bands, these two American behemoths drew mass crowds to the main stage on both nights. The roar when The Killers flew into ‘When You Were Young’ was incredible. Brandon FlowersWorst Performer: Lily Allen This ‘accolade’ must go to Ms Allen, who, in addition to putting on an irritatingly high-pitched East London accent throughout at least three of her songs, attempted several soul-inflected vocal improvisations, which, with her exceptionally weak voice, were just horrible. Lily AllenBest Frontman: Jarvis Cocker Scrambling for time on the press cabin laptops we didn’t have time to write about Jarvis’ performance over the weekend – and what a performance. As the last chord of his cover of ‘Paranoid’ rang out, Cocker was silhouetted in a statuesque pose on top of a monitor. What a star. Jarvis Cocker All in all, there was some fantastic music on show, and it’s a shame there weren’t enough hours in the day to blog about it all. V might be the most corporate festival (it’s a closely fought competition, though), but there was still some utterly fantastic, life-affirming music to see. Words: Tom Pinnock

Far away from the mud and mayhem of Chelmsford, it seems time to discuss who really impressed us this weekend. Who were the best band? What was the greatest moment? Who annoyed the hell out of us yesterday evening on the Channel 4 Stage? Read on and find out…

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Carling Weekend Countdown: Bloc Party

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Carling Weekend Countdown: Bloc Party

This weekend sees the start of the annual Carling Weekend – a three day festival of some of the biggest and the best of the world’s rock bands. Starting this Friday (Aug 24) the event’s headliners include Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Razorlight. Throughout the week, Uncut will be previewing some of the must-see bands. Bloc Party are one of them. Playing the Main Stage on Saturday in Reading and Sunday in Leeds, the London band will be playing material from their second album titled - not entirely in keeping with the festival spirit - A Weekend In The City. The work of a self-consciously maturing band, this is an album by people who have got to the top only to find things are pretty dark when you get there. Sex, drugs and occasional violence are some of the album’s abiding themes, while the lyrics of singer Kele Okereke – like his memorable declaration “East London is a vampire…” – see the band unafraid of sticking their neck out. It’s dark stuff, but all that emotional turmoil makes for an explosive live show. Powered by Okereke’s impassioned vocals, and the spiky guitar playing of the wonky-haired Russell Lissack, Bloc Party are an excellent mixture of passion and fashion, and are definitely worth a look. Bloc Party appear on the main stage in Reading on Saturday and Leeds on Sunday, alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire, Eagles Of Death Metal and The Shins.

This weekend sees the start of the annual Carling Weekend – a three day festival of some of the biggest and the best of the world’s rock bands.

Starting this Friday (Aug 24) the event’s headliners include Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Razorlight.

Throughout the week, Uncut will be previewing some of the must-see bands.

Bloc Party are one of them. Playing the Main Stage on Saturday in Reading and Sunday in Leeds, the London band will be playing material from their second album titled – not entirely in keeping with the festival spirit – A Weekend In The City.

The work of a self-consciously maturing band, this is an album by people who have got to the top only to find things are pretty dark when you get there. Sex, drugs and occasional violence are some of the album’s abiding themes, while the lyrics of singer Kele Okereke – like his memorable declaration “East London is a vampire…” – see the band unafraid of sticking their neck out.

It’s dark stuff, but all that emotional turmoil makes for an explosive live show. Powered by Okereke’s impassioned vocals, and the spiky guitar playing of the wonky-haired Russell Lissack, Bloc Party are an excellent mixture of passion and fashion, and are definitely worth a look.

Bloc Party appear on the main stage in Reading on Saturday and Leeds on Sunday, alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire, Eagles Of Death Metal and The Shins.

Cut Of The Day: Flying Burritos Cover Trucker Classic

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Cut Of The Day: Flying Burritos Cover Trucker Classic

Today's youTube video clip comes coutesy of US TV in 1971. This clip of the Chris Hillman led Flying Burrito Brothers shows off a great live performnce of the classic 60s trucker song 'Six Days On The Road.' The song originally written by furtniture removals guys Earl Green & Carl Montgomery was made a hit by Dave Dudley in 1963. Check out the Burrito's great version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwPTYimAE7E

Today’s youTube video clip comes coutesy of US TV in 1971. This clip of the Chris Hillman led Flying Burrito Brothers shows off a great live performnce of the classic 60s trucker song ‘Six Days On The Road.’

The song originally written by furtniture removals guys Earl Green & Carl Montgomery was made a hit by Dave Dudley in 1963.

Check out the Burrito’s great version here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwPTYimAE7E

Green Man — Devendra, “olde English folk” and rain, rain and more rain

Michael Bonner
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Barely off site, but here’s how it was. Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks just wound it up on the main stage with the new addition of Sleater Kinney’s Janet Weiss behind the drum kit, and with a few choice words to some of their UK friends: “We endorse The Cribs, but not fucking Kasabian”. It’s something to do with a recent weekend at V Festival, apparently, and frankly we can’t say we blame him. The Jicks themselves remain something of an acquired taste – you can’t help but feel Malkmus’ skill is in elegantly slack guitar playing and couplets of the tossed-off variety, while sometime here feels overwrought or overdone. But still, there’s some fine moments and it’s worth staying to hear Malkmus’ between-song bon mots. Prior to The Jicks, Herman Dune played one of the sets of the weekend, David Herman Dune and his band play eerily beautiful songs like ‘Wish That I Could See You Soon’, tales of long-distance romance and life on the road beat out on trebly acoustic guitar and slipshod drums. There’s Devendra Banhart, looking sharp in tight black waistcoat and crisp white shirt, debuting a number of tracks from his new album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon backed by his Hairy Fairy band and bouncing round the stage rapping a shaker for a climactic ‘Just Like A Child’. Seasick Steve keeps it stripped down in the Folkey Dokey tent, a set of gnarled, bare-ass blues that lack gloss but make up for it with raw, earthy showmanship. Meanwhile, Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys flipped the notion solo sets have to be earnest yawn fests, wheeling onstage a billboard-sized testcard, dressing as a newsreader and an aeroplane captain, and during a climactic ‘Skylon’, relating the tale of a dramatic mid-air terrorist attack as friends dressed as air marshals and terrorists act out the warfare with fake TNT canisters and plastic guns. Although why the terrorist is wearing a Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers helmet remains unclear. In many ways, Green Man has moved far from its roots in bread-and-butter folk, so former Pentangle man John Renbourn feels pretty special, his set of dexterous baroque guitar and Celtic traditionals received with hushed awe. Meanwhile, out on the Literature tent, Shirley Collins performed the last of her three academic talks, a historical piece on old Romany song complete with ancient-sounding recordings of traveller’s songs. Directing Hand find their roots in the traditionals, too, although they spin out the influence in strange, experimental directions. Led by Alex Neilson, a young Scottish percussionist who’s been sharing the stage with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Directing Hand recast olde English folk as a broiling, improvised racket of freeform drums, sweeping harp, and throaty, undulating yodeling courtesy of his collaborator Vinnie Blackwall. It’s impressive stuff, but like the shins-deep mud plains that now cover much of the site, rather something of an endurance test. Still, it’s testament to Green Man’s spirit that even a spot of rain can’t ruin a good time. Roll on next year. LOUIS PATTISON

Barely off site, but here’s how it was. Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks just wound it up on the main stage with the new addition of Sleater Kinney’s Janet Weiss behind the drum kit, and with a few choice words to some of their UK friends: “We endorse The Cribs, but not fucking Kasabian”.

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Knocked Up

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Knocked Up

DIR: JUDD APATOW | ST: SETH ROGEN, KATHERINE HEIGL, PAUL RUDD What happens if the father of your baby is someone you normally wouldn’t look at twice? There’s an easy answer to that – “it rhymes with shmahmortion”, as someone delicately puts it; or there’s trying to make the best of it. I think we can agree the second option has greater comic potential, even if a sentimental fade-out is pretty much a given. On the face of it, this is just another high-concept romantic comedy, albeit with more belly laughs than most. But this summer’s US sleeper makes it two home runs on the bounce for The 40 Year Old Virgin writer-director-producer Judd Apatow, who must now be counted a cultural force to be reckoned with. And just as Virgin made a star out of Steve Carell, Knocked Up introduces a new comedy hero in the portly shape of 25-year-old Canadian Seth Rogen. An amiable, hairy, beer-bellied slob, Rogen has been enlivening the margins for a few years – but unless you’re an avid fan of Anchorman and The 40 Year Old Virgin you’re unlikely to know the name or recognise the face. In the US, his biggest claim to fame had been supporting roles in two short-lived sitcoms from the Apatow production line – Freaks And Geeks and Undeclared – both cancelled in their prime, but hip, funny cult items set in high school and college, respectively. It’s easy to see Knocked Up as the latest installment in Rogen’s sentimental education – not least because several more graduates from these shows also feature. Jay Baruchel, Jason Segel and Martin Starr play Ben’s house-mates: stoners and slackers who refuse to admit their student loan days are over. Pretty, goal-oriented blonde Alison (Katherine Heigl, from Grey’s Anatomy) is hardly the type to be attracted to Ben, but we can understand what he sees in her. And he’s funny, which goes a long way. If this odd couple routine is a tad obvious, you might think gags about obstetricians and epidurals have been done to death over the years. But Apatow likes these people too much to let them stay caricatures – we do, too – and don’t underestimate his knack for spreading zingers left, right and centre. Even the most hackneyed set-ups get a boost from his taste for vulgar mischief (two candid sex scenes are standouts). In this movie – as in The 40 Year Old Virgin – you can sense the American Pie generation growing up and settling down; but they’re definitely not going without a fight. A lot of the juiciest stuff here comes from the extreme contrast between Ben’s buddies (haphazardly applying themselves to cataloguing movie star nudity for an internet start-up) and Alison’s uptight sister, Debbie, and unhappy husband, Pete (Apatow’s wife, Leslie Mann, and Paul Rudd), whose marital woes don’t auger well for the expectant couple. At 39, and with two kids of his own, Apatow’s own sympathies are evidently split, if not quite evenly. The blokes definitely get a more indulgent eye, and probably more of the running time than the story would demand. Even so, apparently gratuitous episodes like Rogen and Rudd’s drug-addled trip to Vegas and Mann’s freak-out in front of an apologetic club doorman are going to be replayed long after the film’s conventionally pat and over-extended wrap-up has been forgiven and forgotten. As for Rogen, he has a couple more projects coming down the pike this year, Superbad and The Pineapple Express, both of which he’s also written. Comparisons with Will Ferrell don’t seem premature – we may even be looking at the next Bill Murray. A new star is born. TOM CHARITY

DIR: JUDD APATOW | ST: SETH ROGEN, KATHERINE HEIGL, PAUL RUDD

What happens if the father of your baby is someone you normally wouldn’t look at twice? There’s an easy answer to that – “it rhymes with shmahmortion”, as someone delicately puts it; or there’s trying to make the best of it. I think we can agree the second option has greater comic potential, even if a sentimental fade-out is pretty much a given.

On the face of it, this is just another high-concept romantic comedy, albeit with more belly laughs than most. But this summer’s US sleeper makes it two home runs on the bounce for The 40 Year Old Virgin writer-director-producer Judd Apatow, who must now be counted a cultural force to be reckoned with. And just as Virgin made a star out of Steve Carell, Knocked Up introduces a new comedy hero in the portly shape of 25-year-old Canadian Seth Rogen.

An amiable, hairy, beer-bellied slob, Rogen has been enlivening the margins for a few years – but unless you’re an avid fan of Anchorman and The 40 Year Old Virgin you’re unlikely to know the name or recognise the face. In the US, his biggest claim to fame had been supporting roles in two short-lived sitcoms from the Apatow production line – Freaks And Geeks and Undeclared – both cancelled in their prime, but hip, funny cult items set in high school and college, respectively.

It’s easy to see Knocked Up as the latest installment in Rogen’s sentimental education – not least because several more graduates from these shows also feature. Jay Baruchel, Jason Segel and Martin Starr play Ben’s house-mates: stoners and slackers who refuse to admit their student loan days are over.

Pretty, goal-oriented blonde Alison (Katherine Heigl, from Grey’s Anatomy) is hardly the type to be attracted to Ben, but we can understand what he sees in her. And he’s funny, which goes a long way.

If this odd couple routine is a tad obvious, you might think gags about obstetricians and epidurals have been done to death over the years. But Apatow likes these people too much to let them stay caricatures – we do, too – and don’t underestimate his knack for spreading zingers left, right and centre. Even the most hackneyed set-ups get a boost from his taste for vulgar mischief (two candid sex scenes are standouts). In this movie – as in The 40 Year Old Virgin – you can sense the American Pie generation growing up and settling down; but they’re definitely not going without a fight.

A lot of the juiciest stuff here comes from the extreme contrast between Ben’s buddies (haphazardly applying themselves to cataloguing movie star nudity for an internet start-up) and Alison’s uptight sister, Debbie, and unhappy husband, Pete (Apatow’s wife, Leslie Mann, and Paul Rudd), whose marital woes don’t auger well for the expectant couple.

At 39, and with two kids of his own, Apatow’s own sympathies are evidently split, if not quite evenly. The blokes definitely get a more indulgent eye, and probably more of the running time than the story would demand.

Even so, apparently gratuitous episodes like Rogen and Rudd’s drug-addled trip to Vegas and Mann’s freak-out in front of an apologetic club doorman are going to be replayed long after the film’s conventionally pat and over-extended wrap-up has been forgiven and forgotten.

As for Rogen, he has a couple more projects coming down the pike this year, Superbad and The Pineapple Express, both of which he’s also written. Comparisons with Will Ferrell don’t seem premature – we may even be looking at the next Bill Murray. A new star is born.

TOM CHARITY

This Is Shane Meadows

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This Is Shane Meadows

The action takes place in a small town, probably near Nottingham, left ruined by the multiple idiocies of Thatcherism. The focus is on a few boys, either just entering or leaving adolescence, who don’t have much of a paternal role model or, really, much of a purpose to their lives. One day, a charismatic figure arrives to galvanise them into some kind of action. There’s an explosive and terrible act of violence. Followed, finally, by a sort of redemption. Which Shane Meadows film are we talking about here? 24/7? This Is England? A Room For Romeo Brass? These are some of the very best and most humane British films of the past decade or so. Once Upon A Time In The Midlands (not included in this box set) is a bit closer to primetime sitcoms. Dead Man’s Shoes is bleaker, more barbaric – and, perhaps significantly, set in Derbyshire rather than Nottinghamshire. But really, they’re all the same film. The repetition isn’t necessarily a problem, of course. Meadows keeps working over the reasons why working-class males are driven to psychotic extremes, and consequently you could just about sell him as an East Midlands Scorsese. He’s certainly as sentimental about where he comes from, and as keen to find poetic resonances in ordinary lives. Like Scorsese, Meadows knows how to use a good tune: as Bob Hoskins shaves and Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” blares out in 24/7 (1997), the prospect of ballroom dancing with his aunt is invested with thrilling Dionysian potential. Meadows has his own De Niro, too, in the awkward shape of Paddy Considine: weird, intense, uncomfortably funny, often absolutely terrifying. He is not remotely funny in Dead Man’s Shoes (2004), mind, the slow and horrifying revenge thriller that Considine wrote with Meadows. As Richard (Considine) meticulously torments the gormless bullies who hounded his brother to death, the atrocities he commits are made righteous and plausible by the seriousness of his manner. In A Room For Romeo Brass (1999), Considine’s Morell initially appears to be a figure of fun, a “bloody gizzoid”. A loner who crashes into the lives of Romeo (Andrew Shim) and Gavin (Ben Marshall), Morell falls for Romeo’s sister (the brilliant and unheralded Vicky McClure, Meadows’ finest actress, who also excels as Lol in This Is England) and dreams, like Bob Hoskins in 24/7, of taking her to the only paradise he can imagine: Scarborough. Soon, though, Morell is revealed as an authentically deranged stalker, threatening first Gavin, then Gavin’s depressed, unemployed father. It’s Meadows’ best film, emotionally complicated and hugely moving, with Considine at his most strange and compelling. You wonder, if Considine had played Combo rather than Stephen Graham, whether This Is England (2007) might have been an even better one. Graham is very good as the National Front gauleiter, a corrupting force in the boisterous, noble community of skinheads led by Woody (Joseph Gilgun). But you miss Considine’s wired nuances, and at times Meadows’ morality, his drive to find goodness, overwhelms his storytelling gifts. Morality and a drive to find goodness are two of Meadows’ greatest attributes, too. He’s a hopeless romantic and a social realist, a fine comic (he plays “Man With Saucepan On Head” in 24/7, you’ll note) and the king of manly tearjerkers. At the end of This Is England, Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) ends his brief flirtation with the NF by flinging an England flag into the sea. Clayhill’s cover of “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” is playing, and you could take one of Morrissey’s lines as the key to all of Meadows’ films; “See the life I’ve had could make a good man turn bad.” Meadows, though, has more faith in the human spirit. No matter how much hardship they endure, his good men don’t stay bad forever. EXTRAS: Commentaries, documentaries, shorts, trailers, deleted scenes and a graphic novel animation of Dead Man’s Shoes. JOHN MULVEY

The action takes place in a small town, probably near Nottingham, left ruined by the multiple idiocies of Thatcherism. The focus is on a few boys, either just entering or leaving adolescence, who don’t have much of a paternal role model or, really, much of a purpose to their lives. One day, a charismatic figure arrives to galvanise them into some kind of action. There’s an explosive and terrible act of violence. Followed, finally, by a sort of redemption.

Which Shane Meadows film are we talking about here? 24/7? This Is England? A Room For Romeo Brass? These are some of the very best and most humane British films of the past decade or so. Once Upon A Time In The Midlands (not included in this box set) is a bit closer to primetime sitcoms. Dead Man’s Shoes is bleaker, more barbaric – and, perhaps significantly, set in Derbyshire rather than Nottinghamshire. But really, they’re all the same film.

The repetition isn’t necessarily a problem, of course. Meadows keeps working over the reasons why working-class males are driven to psychotic extremes, and consequently you could just about sell him as an East Midlands Scorsese. He’s certainly as sentimental about where he comes from, and as keen to find poetic resonances in ordinary lives. Like Scorsese, Meadows knows how to use a good tune: as Bob Hoskins shaves and Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” blares out in 24/7 (1997), the prospect of ballroom dancing with his aunt is invested with thrilling Dionysian potential.

Meadows has his own De Niro, too, in the awkward shape of Paddy Considine: weird, intense, uncomfortably funny, often absolutely terrifying. He is not remotely funny in Dead Man’s Shoes (2004), mind, the slow and horrifying revenge thriller that Considine wrote with Meadows. As Richard (Considine) meticulously torments the gormless bullies who hounded his brother to death, the atrocities he commits are made righteous and plausible by the seriousness of his manner.

In A Room For Romeo Brass (1999), Considine’s Morell initially appears to be a figure of fun, a “bloody gizzoid”. A loner who crashes into the lives of Romeo (Andrew Shim) and Gavin (Ben Marshall), Morell falls for Romeo’s sister (the brilliant and unheralded Vicky McClure, Meadows’ finest actress, who also excels as Lol in This Is England) and dreams, like Bob Hoskins in 24/7, of taking her to the only paradise he can imagine: Scarborough. Soon, though, Morell is revealed as an authentically deranged stalker, threatening first Gavin, then Gavin’s depressed, unemployed father. It’s Meadows’ best film, emotionally complicated and hugely moving, with Considine at his most strange and compelling.

You wonder, if Considine had played Combo rather than Stephen Graham, whether This Is England (2007) might have been an even better one. Graham is very good as the National Front gauleiter, a corrupting force in the boisterous, noble community of skinheads led by Woody (Joseph Gilgun). But you miss Considine’s wired nuances, and at times Meadows’ morality, his drive to find goodness, overwhelms his storytelling gifts.

Morality and a drive to find goodness are two of Meadows’ greatest attributes, too.

He’s a hopeless romantic and a social realist, a fine comic (he plays “Man With Saucepan On Head” in 24/7, you’ll note) and the king of manly tearjerkers. At the end of This Is England, Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) ends his brief flirtation with the NF by flinging an England flag into the sea. Clayhill’s cover of “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” is playing, and you could take one of Morrissey’s lines as the key to all of Meadows’ films; “See the life I’ve had could make a good man turn bad.” Meadows, though, has more faith in the human spirit. No matter how much hardship they endure, his good men don’t stay bad forever.

EXTRAS: Commentaries, documentaries, shorts, trailers, deleted scenes and a graphic novel animation of Dead Man’s Shoes.

JOHN MULVEY

Neil Young Album Details Emerge

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Neil Young Album Details Emerge

Neil Young has just completed work on his latest album 'Chrome Dreams II' which is due for release on October 16. Neil Young played the album to record label Reprise yesterday (August 19) continuing a playback tradition that goes back to 1969. 'Chrome Dreams II' features three songs revisited from the 1977 album 'Chrome Dreams' that Neil Young planned but didn't complete, as well as seven brand new recordings. The playback in Burbank, California was to 100 people, and lasted just over an hour. The album produced by 'The Volume Dealers' - NY and Niko Bolas features two epic tracks that clock in at eighteen and a half minutes and thirteen minutes respectively. Neil Young's last release was 'Living With War' in May 2006. More information is avaialable from Neil Young's official website here.

Neil Young has just completed work on his latest album ‘Chrome Dreams II’ which is due for release on October 16.

Neil Young played the album to record label Reprise yesterday (August 19) continuing a playback tradition that goes back to 1969.

‘Chrome Dreams II’ features three songs revisited from the 1977 album ‘Chrome Dreams’ that Neil Young planned but didn’t complete, as well as seven brand new recordings.

The playback in Burbank, California was to 100 people, and lasted just over an hour. The album produced by ‘The Volume Dealers’ – NY and Niko Bolas features two epic tracks that clock in at eighteen and a half minutes and thirteen minutes respectively.

Neil Young’s last release was ‘Living With War’ in May 2006.

More information is avaialable from Neil Young’s official website here.

Green Man — Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan and Robert Plant

Michael Bonner
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Green Man. It’s all sylvan meadows, scampering deer, Hobits dancing in secluded woodland glades. Oh, OK, like all festivals this summer it’s a big sheet of grey mud and a big sheet of grey sky. But Green Man is different. Active since 2003, this festival’s distinct positioning, sat in various progressively burgeoning locations in the heart of the South Wales countryside, and its selective spirit – olde-tyme English folk, wyrd American psychedelia and the occasional burst of electronica just to confuse matters – has shaped up to be something of a gem for punters tired of festival homogenity. Little wonder a spree of similar boutique festivals like Latitude have sprung up in its wake. So yeah, it’s muddy. But it’s fun. On Friday night, the artist formerly known as [Smog], Bill Callahan and his harpist beau Joanna Newsom lit the wicker. But it’s Saturday things really get going. Six Organs Of Admittance is the best of the afternoon’s entertainment. Today consisting of Six Organs helmsman and sometime Comet On Fire Ben Chasny and his girl, Elise Ambrogio of Magik Markers, Six Organs whip up a savage, distinctly erotic storm of folk, acid rock and dirty blues. He’s on rhythm guitar, she’s onlead, and they face each other, leaning in, lips almost touching, weaving out beautiful fingerpicked folk songs or letting rip with caterwauling rock solos that strip the enamel off your teeth. And there’s even a cover of ‘Fire Of The Mind’ by Coil just to show you what sort of freaky headspace these two share. Yeah, Green Man might be a folk festival, but anyone coming here expecting oak-smelling traditionals might be in for a shock. PG Six battles off the downpour with cranked up, jammy electric folk. Manchester’s Rick Tomlinson, aka Voice Of The Seven Woods, switches between guitar and a Turkish saz, stringing out druggy Eastern melodies augmented by screaming violin and the funkiest drumming this side of ‘Sex Machine’. Oh, and there’s James Yorkston, who barely seems to have started his set as he announces “this is the last song” and launches into a twenty minute take on ‘The Lang Toun’ that builds to numerous cacophonic climaxes. Put it this way, if you’re expecting a day of rustic folk, this’ll be Dylan at Manchester Free Trade Hall all over again. What else? Well, genuinely with hand on heart, Green Man has the best food of any festival I’ve ever attended. Yesterday’s spicy fish and goat’s cheese wrap from the Arabic café was beyond excellent, and although I’m yet to brave the twenty minute queue for Pieminister, everyone who has done so has described the food in religious terms. Less certain about the rest of the shopping fare – the world’s first biodiesel fuelled pinball arcade, anyone? – but the site’s well worth a bit of an explore regardless. After Saturday night’s headliners, then – a beautiful,serene set from freak-folk’s leading lady Vashti Bunyan, a well-received set from New York’s proggy, complex Battles, and a show closer from Robert Plant And The Strange Sensation who dust down ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and play it note perfect – it’s up the hill in search of the party. We couldn’t find the campfire, but we did find the Rumpus Room, which far from resembling Ned Flanders’ basement, is instead a tent of chemically enhanced punters frugging into the night to  a soundtrack of glam rock, Arabian funk, and other 7” curios from the likes of DJing old hands like Richard Norris from The Grid. It’s like Sean Rowley’s Guilty Pleasures, except you don’t recognise any of the tune, but it really doesn’t matter. In short, then, Green Man: it’s wet, but a whole lot of fun. Catch you tomorrow. LOUIS PATTISON

Green Man. It’s all sylvan meadows, scampering deer, Hobits dancing in secluded woodland glades. Oh, OK, like all festivals this summer it’s a big sheet of grey mud and a big sheet of grey sky. But Green Man is different.

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The Stooges Blow V away With Frenzied Set

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The Stooges Blow V away With Frenzied Set

The Stooges turned in one the definitive sets of the weekend at V Festival in Chelmsford tonight (August 19). Coming onstage at 8.20pm, Iggy Pop exclaimed "we are the fucking Stooges", before launching straight into "Funhouse" highlights "Loose" and "Down On The Street". Pop was active throughout the set, climbing speaker stacks, running around the stage and jumping down to meet the audience countless times. As at Glastonbury this year, Pop kept cool by continually pouring bottles of water over himself. The Stooges went on to perform their best-loved songs over their forty-five minute slot, including "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "1970", to an incredibly appreciative audience. Earlier on the Channel 4 Stage, Manic Street Preachers drew a large crowd for a hit-laden set, which included "Motorcycle Emptiness" and "Australia". Although James Dean Bradfield's guitar was mostly inaudible for the first few songs, this was soon sorted out, with Bradfield telling the crowd: "It's my shit amps!" Uncut will be blogging from V Festival all weekend bringing you updates from the action, so take a look at Uncut’s festival blog.

The Stooges turned in one the definitive sets of the weekend at V Festival in Chelmsford tonight (August 19).

Coming onstage at 8.20pm, Iggy Pop exclaimed “we are the fucking Stooges”, before launching straight into “Funhouse” highlights “Loose” and “Down On The Street”.

Pop was active throughout the set, climbing speaker stacks, running around the stage and jumping down to meet the audience countless times.

As at Glastonbury this year, Pop kept cool by continually pouring bottles of water over himself.

The Stooges went on to perform their best-loved songs over their forty-five minute slot, including “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “1970”, to an incredibly appreciative audience.

Earlier on the Channel 4 Stage, Manic Street Preachers drew a large crowd for a hit-laden set, which included “Motorcycle Emptiness” and “Australia”.

Although James Dean Bradfield’s guitar was mostly inaudible for the first few songs, this was soon sorted out, with Bradfield telling the crowd: “It’s my shit amps!”

Uncut will be blogging from V Festival all weekend bringing you updates from the action, so take a look at Uncut’s festival blog.

Rilo Kiley Showcase New Album At V Festival

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Rilo Kiley Showcase New Album At V Festival

Rilo Kiley debuted a number of tracks from their new album at V Festival in Chelmsford this afternoon. They mainly performed songs from "Under The Blacklight", out this Monday (August 20), including "The Moneymaker", "Close Call" and "Breakin' Up". The LA group played to a small but highly enthusiastic crowd in the JJB/Puma Arena, also previewing fan favourites including "Does He Love You?" Just after Rilo Kiley, Guillemots played a well-received set on the Channel 4 Stage, performing songs such as "Annie Let's Not Wait" and "Trains To Brazil", before signing off with an extended and percussion-heavy rendition of "Sao Paulo". Uncut will be blogging from V Festival all weekend bringing you updates from the action, so take a look at Uncut’s festival blog.

Rilo Kiley debuted a number of tracks from their new album at V Festival in Chelmsford this afternoon.

They mainly performed songs from “Under The Blacklight”, out this Monday (August 20), including “The Moneymaker”, “Close Call” and “Breakin’ Up”.

The LA group played to a small but highly enthusiastic crowd in the JJB/Puma Arena, also previewing fan favourites including “Does He Love You?”

Just after Rilo Kiley, Guillemots played a well-received set on the Channel 4 Stage, performing songs such as “Annie Let’s Not Wait” and “Trains To Brazil”, before signing off with an extended and percussion-heavy rendition of “Sao Paulo”.

Uncut will be blogging from V Festival all weekend bringing you updates from the action, so take a look at Uncut’s festival blog.

“The fucking Stooges”: the greatest rock and roll band?

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We've just come back from The Stooges at the JJB/Puma Arena, sweaty, exhausted and exhilarated. Rarely have we ever seen a performance so elementally powerful, and rarely have we had the urge to get right down the front and go mad like we did tonight. "We are the fucking Stooges," says Iggy. Kicking off with 'Loose' and 'Down On The Street' is quite a beginning, but following it up with '1969' and 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' is something else. Then you get 'TV Eye', then 'No Fun', then '1970'. This is some show - these are more like nihilistic hymns than songs, more like forces of nature than constructed tunes. Iggy scales the speaker stack, undoing his trousers. He jumps down to meet the crowd, and the bouncers stand up on the rails, telling each other to push us down if we try to invade the stage. This isn't Snow Patrol, that's for sure. The Stooges are mostly over 60, but it's hard to believe how hard they rock. We might be sweaty, we might be exhausted, but we've just seen one of the best gigs we're ever likely to see. Long live The Stooges. Words: Tom Pinnock

We’ve just come back from The Stooges at the JJB/Puma Arena, sweaty, exhausted and exhilarated. Rarely have we ever seen a performance so elementally powerful, and rarely have we had the urge to get right down the front and go mad like we did tonight.

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Rilo Kiley and Guillemots: a mid-afternoon treat

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Their audience may have been tiny (to be brutally honest, the smallest we've seen in the JJB/Puma Arena this weekend), but every single one of them was hopelessly devoted to Rilo Kiley. Except the guys who were just hopelessly devoted to singer Jenny Lewis and her heart-stopping wardrobe, that is. The energy from the audience was palpable, even when Lewis and the band ran through new songs from their very-shortly-forthcoming album 'Under The Blacklight'. Dressed up in his usual formal tie and waistcoat, Blake Sennett looked every bit the dapper US indie gentleman, while Lewis, squeezed into a sparkly hotpant combo, was a quintessential frontwoman minx. All the better for their breathily sexual songs, however, like 'More Adventurous''s 'Portions For Foxes' and 'Breakin' Up' from their latest record. As usual, Lewis' voice was pure loveliness, especially on closer 'Does He Love You?'. A great band, unfairly overlooked amid V's more 'casual listener' audience. Crossing over to Guillemots on the Channel 4 Stage, we managed to catch the end of their set, including 'Annie Let's Not Wait' and a mammoth 10-minute version of 'Sao Paulo', which ended with thirteen people on stage banging drums and tambourines. We assume they were another band, but next time pick a more recognisable one for your stage invasion next time Mr Dangerfield, ok?! We're now getting slightly over excited about Iggy & The Stooges in the JJB/Puma Arena later on... Words: Tom Pinnock

Their audience may have been tiny (to be brutally honest, the smallest we’ve seen in the JJB/Puma Arena this weekend), but every single one of them was hopelessly devoted to Rilo Kiley. Except the guys who were just hopelessly devoted to singer Jenny Lewis and her heart-stopping wardrobe, that is.

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Seth Lakeman: rocking the psych-folk zeitgeist?

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Having just seen Seth Lakeman on the JJB/Puma Arena at V Festival, we're pleased to report the Devon folk sensation's performances have got quite daring - yes, Lakeman seems to have dropped some lemon drops, toddled off to visit the fairies in the woods and gone psychedelic. Ok, maybe we're exaggerating - Seth has gone to visit the piper at the gates of dawn, but only on one song. Joined by his three-piece band for the rest of the set, it was on 'Kitty Jay', the Folk Awards' star's most famous track, and his solo piece, that he really shined. With his band offstage, Lakeman launched into the song, his violin swooping and sliding like John Cale's viola, but never overshadowing his singing. At the end of the track, Lakeman upped the pace and, with his violin bathed in a cavern of reverb, turned out an unbelievable violin solo. Far out, man. The rest of Lakeman's set seemed to cast him more in the mould of a British Bright Eyes than a 'trad' folk singer, never a bad thing. Watch this space. Words: Tom Pinnock

Having just seen Seth Lakeman on the JJB/Puma Arena at V Festival, we’re pleased to report the Devon folk sensation’s performances have got quite daring – yes, Lakeman seems to have dropped some lemon drops, toddled off to visit the fairies in the woods and gone psychedelic.

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Sunday at V: the mud, the mud, the horror, the horror

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It's raining today in Chelmsford. It's only midday and the site is already churned up to a mudbath. Out with the wellies, then, and on with the show. Today, we'll be checking out Iggy & The Stooges, Rilo Kiley, Manic Street Preachers, The Killers, Seth Lakeman and many, many more. Rodr...

It’s raining today in Chelmsford. It’s only midday and the site is already churned up to a mudbath. Out with the wellies, then, and on with the show.

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Primal Scream destroy our eardrums with some techno-punk delights

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"Not bad for a bunch of old cunts, eh?" says Mani at the end of Primal Scream's set - and he isn't wrong. Following up their triptych of electro-punk terrorism albums with the watered-down Stones-lite of 'Riot City Blues' wasn't the Scream's brightest idea, but tonight they redeem themselves. Gone are the gospel singers of that album's overblown tour, leaving the band stripped down to a tight six-piece. The group are electrifying: a hailstorm of fuzz and techno beats, Stooges' energy and My Bloody Valentine noise. Even 'Riot City Blues' tracks are given the make over, draped in harder and punchier arrangements. Primal Scream's stylistic leaps over the last twenty-odd years could have led to a disjointed set, but it all somehow made sense, 'Loaded' fitting perfectly next to the likes of 'Swastika Eyes' and 'Burning Wheel'. If only they'd played 'Kowalski', then the night would have been perfect. They do, however, debut a new song, 'Can't Get Back', which Bobby claims is about "mumble...mumble....drugs....". Business as usual, then. It sounds like a continuation of 'Riot City Blues'' back to basics rock, but via the MC5 fuzzfest of 'Evil Heat''s 'City'. It bodes well. We also managed to check out a bit of Foo Fighters' headline slot on the main stage, beginning when Dave Grohl came out to play a strangely anti-climactic solo version of 'Everlong', before the full band launched into the mighty 'Monkey Wrench'. It's undeniable that the Foos put on a fantastic rock show. Although they pursue lowest common denominator crowd-pleasing in the way they drop out to let the audience sing the chorus of every single song, they do it so well, and it's so life-affirming, they effectively elevate the singalong to the status of high art, ahem. Everyone knows the words to every song and it's a real communal event. God Bless Dave Grohl. Next week he'll surely be uniting Israel and Palestine with the dumb rock thrills of 'All My Life' or 'Low'. Words: Tom Pinnock

“Not bad for a bunch of old cunts, eh?” says Mani at the end of Primal Scream‘s set – and he isn’t wrong.

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