Available now: Earthworks - Earthworks Complete Deluxe
What they’re saying:
"’‘Earthworks Complete’ is a Summerfold Records box set
reissue of the entire back catalogue across the band's 20-year career. 15
titles on 20 CD's and 4 DVD discs include previously unreleased and little
known material. Documenting the 20 year history from 1987 to 2006 of one of the
UK's brightest, most travelled and best loved young jazz ensembles.
Featuring Bill Bruford with Iain Ballamy, Django Bates, Patrick
Clahar, Laurence Cottle, Tim Garland, Steve Hamilton, Tim Harries, Mark
Hodgson, Mick Hutton, Gwilym Simcock.
All audio, visual and print materials compiled and curated by Bill
Bruford with additional, original artwork by award-winning illustrator,
photographer and filmmaker Dave McKean.
This phenomenal and awe-inspiring package features the following:
Earthworks / Dig? / All Heaven Broke Loose / Stamping Ground-Live / Apart, And
Yet Apart / The Sound Of Surprise / Footloose And Fancy Free (2CD) / Random
Acts Of Happiness / Footloose In NYC (2CD & DVD set) / A video anthology
Volume 1: 2000's (2CD & DVD) / A video anthology Volume 2: 1990s (2CD &
DVD) / Earthworks Underground Orchestra / Earthworks in Santiago, Chile (CD
& DVD set: previously unreleased video) / From conception to birth (17
short tracks showing the process from demo to master, with explanatory notes
from Bill Bruford) / Heavenly Bodies Expanded (2CD 'Best Of' collection across
the entire catalogue, with explanatory notes from Bill Bruford).
"This is a heady concoction indeed, and one which joyously
breaks down all sorts of musical barriers in its path". - The Times
"It mixes up styles, moods and meters as effortlessly as it
ignores musical boundaries”. - Wall St.Journal
“Earthworks makes jazz out of just about anything handy" -
Jazziz
Listen: The Soapbox Saints - Away We Go / Let's Throw A Party!
The Soapbox Saints are a Rock N' Roll Trio from Providence, R.I.
They perform original music with a vintage twist.
These are the first two songs from their debut release.
Review: The Modernes – The Modernes EP
The Modernes – The Modernes EP (Independent)
The Modernes (a three-piece from
Akron, Ohio) play a vigorous, vibrant form of amped-up Americana on their debut
collection, which incorporates a host of different styles from surf and rockabilly
to exuberant roots rock. It’s an intoxicating blend, which is as much fun for
the listener as it sounds to be for the band.
The five tracks are bookended by a
pair of instrumentals ‘Suburban Wave’ and ‘Inland Island’, both of which pay
homage to the great surf tunes of the early ‘60s, though played with garageland
finesse, which suits them to a tee.
Unafraid of the big cover tune,
tucked in at number four is a fine version of Johnny Cash’ ‘Big River’.
Guitarist (and vocalist) Bert Franco simply doesn’t let up, splashing big
juddery chords throughout, and he’s ably supported by a rhythm section that’s
well up for the ride.
‘Last Train Home’ may well be the
pick of the bunch. Classic western themes collide with raggedy instrumental
prowess, and the whole becomes something of a rootsy tour-de-force. It’s run
close by ‘Rocking Wild’ a rockabilly number with a sparse spiky energy that
more than lives up to its title.
Rollo
Available now: I Just Can't Stop It: My Life in the Beat by Ranking Roger and Daniel Rachel
What they’re saying:
I Just Can't Stop It is the honest and compelling autobiography
from British Music Legend, Ranking Roger. As the enigmatic frontman of the
multicultural band The Beat, Ranking Roger represented the youthful and joyous
sound of the post-punk 2 Tone movement. As well as his illustrious career with
The Beat and its subsequent iterations, this absorbing book explores Roger's
upbringing as a child of the Windrush generation, touring America and his
outstanding collaborations with artists such as The Clash, The Police and The
Specials.
About the Author
Daniel
Rachel wrote his first song when he was sixteen and was the lead-singer in
Rachels Basement. He was first eligible to vote in the 1992 General Election
and now lives in north London with his partner and three children. Daniel is the
author of Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters - a
Guardian and NME Book of the Year- and Walls Come Tumbling Down: the music and
politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge - winner of the Penderyn
Music Book prize 2017.
Available now: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: The Biography by Peter Doggett
What they’re saying:
'Peter Dogett's book is a fascinating, rip-roaring and timely
re-telling of a corner of music history that was hugely important but is all
too often forgotten. The rehabilitation of Crosby, Stills and Nash's reputation
(and of Young's contributions here) is long overdue' - FRANK TURNER
At 3 a.m. on Monday, 18 August 1969, the final night of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, four men armed only with acoustic guitars faced the gaping darkness of a vast open-air audience. An hour later, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young had confounded and convinced their peers, and cemented their place in rock history. They had also made themselves, for better or worse, synonymous with Woodstock, and with the nebulous Woodstock generation which it inspired.
Between 1969 and 1974, CSNY were the most successful, influential and politically potent rock band in America. More than any of their peers, they channeled and broadcast all the radical anger, romantic idealism and generational angst of their era. The vast emotional range of their music, from delicate acoustic confessionals to raucous counter-culture anthems, was mirrored in the turbulence of their personal lives. Their trademark may have been vocal harmony, but few if any of their contemporaries could match the recklessness of their hedonistic and often warring lifestyles, as four stubborn, driven songwriters pursued chemical and sexual pleasure to life-threatening extremes.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is the first major biography of a band whose first two albums are undisputed rock classics, and which continues to attract a large and loyal following to their sporadic reunions. At the same time, Peter Doggett illuminates the pivotal years of 1960s counterculture through the story of four of its key protagonists, whose music, beliefs and relationships with each other chronicle both its trajectory and its legacy.
At 3 a.m. on Monday, 18 August 1969, the final night of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, four men armed only with acoustic guitars faced the gaping darkness of a vast open-air audience. An hour later, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young had confounded and convinced their peers, and cemented their place in rock history. They had also made themselves, for better or worse, synonymous with Woodstock, and with the nebulous Woodstock generation which it inspired.
Between 1969 and 1974, CSNY were the most successful, influential and politically potent rock band in America. More than any of their peers, they channeled and broadcast all the radical anger, romantic idealism and generational angst of their era. The vast emotional range of their music, from delicate acoustic confessionals to raucous counter-culture anthems, was mirrored in the turbulence of their personal lives. Their trademark may have been vocal harmony, but few if any of their contemporaries could match the recklessness of their hedonistic and often warring lifestyles, as four stubborn, driven songwriters pursued chemical and sexual pleasure to life-threatening extremes.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is the first major biography of a band whose first two albums are undisputed rock classics, and which continues to attract a large and loyal following to their sporadic reunions. At the same time, Peter Doggett illuminates the pivotal years of 1960s counterculture through the story of four of its key protagonists, whose music, beliefs and relationships with each other chronicle both its trajectory and its legacy.
"Engaging… [Doggett] use[s] the saga
of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young as a metaphor for the Woodstock generation
and their doomed mission to return to the garden" (The Times, *Book of the Week*)
"[A] meticulous chronicle of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young… Doggett carefully charts the stalled sessions and schemes caused by this alpha-male jostling… For fans who want detailed chronology, it will be a joy, but Doggett’s book is also a deft portrait of a golden age tarnishing even as the band sang" (Sunday Times)
"Especially good on the musicians early lives and early Seventies peak" (Choice)
"Doggett… presents a solid, steady, evenhanded portrait. He loves the music without being slavish, and pays each of the musicians their due" (Mail on Sunday)
"[A] meticulous chronicle of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young… Doggett carefully charts the stalled sessions and schemes caused by this alpha-male jostling… For fans who want detailed chronology, it will be a joy, but Doggett’s book is also a deft portrait of a golden age tarnishing even as the band sang" (Sunday Times)
"Especially good on the musicians early lives and early Seventies peak" (Choice)
"Doggett… presents a solid, steady, evenhanded portrait. He loves the music without being slavish, and pays each of the musicians their due" (Mail on Sunday)
About the Author
Peter Doggett has been writing about
popular music and social and cultural history for more than thirty years. His
books include the acclaimed There's a
Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars and the Rise and Fall of '60's
Counter-culture, The Man Who Sold the
World: David Bowie and the 1970s and Electric
Shock:From the Gramophone to the iPhone - 125 years of Pop Music.
Review: Cellos / Not Of – Split
Cellos / Not Of – Split (No List Records/Harbour House)
There’s something about split
releases that restores a little faith in humanity. It’s not all about the race
to the top, trampling down the competition and damn the torpedoes - instead
they’re all about cooperation, scene building and leg ups. I like ‘em a lot.
So, what we have here is a
four-track EP featuring two tracks apiece from Cellos and Not Of. Cellos come
from Windsor, Ontario; a city on the Detroit River that’s prone to flooding and
warm summer nights – thanks, Google – and when it comes to making cars, it’s
the Canadian equivalent of Detroit, the city on the opposite side of the river.
Anyhow, let’s take a break from lessons to talk about the band. Cellos are a
trio – guitar/vocals, bass, drums – and they make a helluva noise. Opening cut
‘Blight’ is simply astonishing. Like a slap to face and a follow up one-two,
they scream, grind, thrash and trash there way through ninety seconds of pure earhole
bliss. Lovely. Their second track ‘Head To Stone’ pummels away like Killing
Joke in a bad mood. Not too shoddy at all.
Back to the classroom. Not Of are
a two-piece (guitar, drums, both members handle vocals) from Toronto, which is
where my cousin lives, though he’s a big Coldplay fan, so probably wont have
discovered them. They too seem wholly enamoured with the concept of noise as
entertainment, though they seem keener on the whole tune thing. This isn’t
necessarily a bad thing, and their opening track ‘Tectonic Plates’ plugs
straight into that part of the brain that recognises patterns and gains instant
approval. They conclude with ‘Invitation’, another pop/noise cacophony that
hits the sweet spot.
Well done, everyone.
Tunney
Review: Karen Jonas - Lucky, Revisited
Karen Jonas – Lucky, Revisited (Yellow Brick)
Alt. country doesn’t get the
coverage it once did, especially in the UK, but there are still plenty of
artists out there, writing songs straight from the heart and ramping up the
twang, and Karen Jonas is a prime example.
For her fourth long-player Jonas
has revisited her earlier records – thus the title – and has re-recorded nine
songs that have evolved through five years of solid touring and hundreds of
gigs, together with a couple of cover tunes that I guess were itches that
needed scratching. Though it would be difficult to disagree with either her
choices or their delivery: perennial show tune ‘Lovesick Blues’ shuffles along
with enough rambunctious energy to rival Hank Williams’ classic interpretation,
and Dylan’s ‘It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry’ is slowed right
down allowing Jonas to air her pipes in a most satisfactory manner.
Amongst Jonas’ own material there
are some storming performances. Straight out the traps ‘Ophelia’ sets the tone
with guitar foil Tim Bray whipping up a country storm and Jonas laying down the
law. ‘Lucky’, originally recorded for 2014’s ‘Oklahoma Lottery’ album, retains
its classic western poker imagery and luck-of-the-draw sentiments, whilst
piling on the yearning and an extra heap of heartbreak for good measure. Recommended.
Rollo
Review: Pleasure Leftists - The Gate
Pleasure Leftists – The Gate (Independent)
Cleveland’s Pleasure Leftists have
paid their dues. They’ve been around, on and off, for the best part of a decade,
regularly releasing material, and generally mining a rich musical seam that
pays homage to the artists and labels that sprung out of the late ‘70s / early
‘80s post-punk scene, in both the UK and the US.
‘The Gate’ is their first record
since 2015’s ‘The Woods Of Heaven’ (which, together with their latest, can be
found on Bandcamp) and
continues their exploration of a genre that continues to be relevant. The
production is both pinpoint sharp and rhythmically dense, as glassy guitars and Haley Morris’s powerful vocals compete
favourably with a pummeling, no-nonsense rhythm section, enthusiastically
waving their ‘fuck art let’s dance’ banners.
It helps to take a couple songs away from the whole and listen to
them out of context. When isolated in this way ‘The Conversation’ literally
leaps from the speakers – it’s power undeniable. Think a natural merging of
Killing Joke and Skeletal Family in their early primes, and as for ‘Dancing In
The Dark’, it simply oozes aberrant menace, which is fine by me.
Rollo
Review: CLAVVS - Keeps / Fade
CLAVVS – Keeps/Fade
(Independent)
CLAVVS, from New York, is a duo
comprising of renowned producer Graham Marsh and singer-songwriter Amber Renee.
They’ve been making and releasing music since 2015 and have earned a reputation
for making dark, contemporary pop.
Their latest release is an
impressive two-track ‘single’, which thrills and delights in equal measure. Lead
track ‘Keeps’ bounces around on a beat that’s impossible to pin down, while
Renee’s vocal provides soulful footholds and hooks to grasp. ‘Fade’ is
altogether calmer, though no less intense. Marsh’s production, which draws on
trip hop and modern RnB, perfectly compliments Renee’s rich, evocative vocals.
TV has already come knocking – I suspect
radio will be next.
Rollo
Listen: Justine - Wordless Songs
Mysterious Sydney songstress Justine recorded one album in ’79,
which was never officially released. Left Ear have chosen two tracks for a 45
RPM 12” single, which they feel best highlights Justine’s unique vocal talents
and songwriting ability. Here the crafty songstress wields melancholic soul and
a funky Jazz inspired number with personal and reflective lyrics, both with an
intimate and honest approach.
Elusive Sydney songstress Justine (Bradley) almost entirely wrote, produced and arranged her sole LP in ’79, an album that was funded by a radio station as the beneficiary for emerging talent. The music was created specifically for radio play without any intention of being manufactured. Luckily however, a friend with ties to a pressing plant known aptly as ‘Midnite Flite’, managed to sneak into said plant one evening and press up a small number for the enjoyment of family, friends & those involved.
Left Ear have decided to release what they consider to be the two most significant tracks from this release onto a 12” single, now for the enjoyment of all. The A-Side will feature the haunting ‘Wordless Songs’, a melancholic soulful number which according to Justine explores the “capacity to comprehend a partner’s internal quest for authenticity and connection”. The B-side ‘Mama Didn’t Tell Ya’ is more uplifting in both tempo and arrangements comprising an extended outro, while the lyrics remain just as personal and reflective.
Elusive Sydney songstress Justine (Bradley) almost entirely wrote, produced and arranged her sole LP in ’79, an album that was funded by a radio station as the beneficiary for emerging talent. The music was created specifically for radio play without any intention of being manufactured. Luckily however, a friend with ties to a pressing plant known aptly as ‘Midnite Flite’, managed to sneak into said plant one evening and press up a small number for the enjoyment of family, friends & those involved.
Left Ear have decided to release what they consider to be the two most significant tracks from this release onto a 12” single, now for the enjoyment of all. The A-Side will feature the haunting ‘Wordless Songs’, a melancholic soulful number which according to Justine explores the “capacity to comprehend a partner’s internal quest for authenticity and connection”. The B-side ‘Mama Didn’t Tell Ya’ is more uplifting in both tempo and arrangements comprising an extended outro, while the lyrics remain just as personal and reflective.
Available now: Various Artists - 1977, The Year Punk Broke
What they’re saying:
1977 - THE
YEAR PUNK BROKE kickstarts what we hope will be a new year-based series of
compilations, celebrating the explosion of a new British phenomenon in 1977.
This triple-CD box set follows the success of the 4-CD compilation
Action Time Vision (2016), documenting Punk on indie labels, and 2017's Power
Pop/New Wave set Harmony In My Head.
Punk's Year Zero was 1976. But very few Punk records were actually
released that year. The most significant musical developments happened in 1977,
with a burgeoning, self-supporting network of clubs, performers, fanzines,
indie labels and distributors creating an unstoppable groundswell that would
revolutionise UK music and have an enduring impact on pop culture.
1977: THE YEAR PUNK BROKE reflects how a thrilling, controversial
scene developed over those tumultuous twelve months. Joined by sympathetic but
more experienced acts (Deaf School, Graham Parker, Motorhead, etc.), a welter
of new, young bands created a sonic explosion, with sub-three minute adrenalin
rushes of raw excitement.
Many of the year's major breakthrough acts and cult favourites are
included, including The Jam, The Damned, The Boomtown Rats, Buzzcocks, The
Stranglers, Generation X, Sham 69, The Only Ones, The Rezillos, Ultravox!, 999,
X-Ray Spex, ATV, The Boys and The Vibrators.
The older guard - variously labelled Pub Rock, New Wave or Art
Rock - are represented by Doctors Of Madness, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Deaf
School, The Tyla Gang, Graham Parker & The Rumour, The Gorillas, The Count
Bishops, Radio Stars, Spider and Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias.
Other key names include Motorhead (Lemmy's new venture after
splitting with Hawkwind, a metal band loved by punks) and The Heartbreakers,
Johnny Thunders' band who recorded in London. Also present are a host of
obscure indie Punk 45s and other rarities. The deluxe clamshell package
includes a weighty booklet full of illustrations, with a 15,000-word
sleeve-note and band-by-band biographies by compiler David Wells.
Review: The Soft Cavalry – S/T
The Soft Cavalry – S/T (Bella Union)
Well, this is lovely! The Soft Cavalry are husband and
wife duo Steve Clarke and Rachel Goswell, the latter a founding member
of Slowdive. Steve’s brother, Michael, produced the album.
So, very much a family affair, with a sound that harks back to the
classic dream pop LPs of the early ‘90s, but with enough contemporary
flourishes to mark them out as something far more modern and current. They’re
also eager to mix things up a bit, whether it’s the rhythmic tic of ‘Bulletproof’
or the beautifully elegiac ‘Only In Dreams’, where spectral woodwind merges
with the duo’s voices to wondrous effect.
‘Spiders’ might be the obvious single - if such things existed
anymore – where bass and keyboards entwine and entrance, not unlike The Cure in
their chart worrying pop prime. They bring things to a climax of sorts with the
slow burning epic ‘The Ever Turning Wheel’. A ponderously slow intro builds
tension and anticipation to heavenly heights before an aural reprieve is
generously granted – great stuff!
Rollo
Review: Rainbow Chan – Pillar
Rainbow Chan – Pillar (Independent)
Rainbow Chan – originally from Hong Kong, now based in
Sydney, Australia – is a new name to me, but a little research, via Google and
Bandcamp, reveals an artist on the verge of a breakthrough. Her 2017 release, a
5-tracker entitled ‘FABRICA’, ruffled a few feathers with its utterly
contemporary poptones, filtered through an avant-garde far-eastern gauze, and
‘Pillar’ continues her surge towards a kind of mainstream. It’s a record that’s
never less than interesting and for the most part a whole lot more.
Played at lower volume, there’s a hazy, slightly subdued
feel to the songs that in turn haunt and intrigue, as if we’re listening to
something that isn’t truly meant for our ears. It’s occasionally unsettling,
especially on the slower material, almost as if Chan is going to walk in at any
moment and discover our subterfuge. It’s electrifying and strangely moving.
Pump up the volume and other sides emerge; not least
Chan’s mastery of her chosen genre, a hybrid experimental pop that deserves considerable
attention.
Rollo
Led Zeppelin: Pictures show first concert, in 1968.
Photographer Jorgen Angel documented Led
Zeppelin's first concert, on 7 September 1968, capturing unique images of the
band.
The photos form part of a new book that features famous pictures
from the concert, along with photos never seen before.
The book also features pictures of the band at other concerts
photographed by Angel.
The band were called the New Yardbirds at
the time and were performing at a Danish school youth club.
The New Yardbirds comprised the four
famous Led Zeppelin members: vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bass
guitarist and keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham.
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