Volume all star

A pretty amazing week of new arrivals kicked off with the arrival of the beautiful thing pictured above; the Third Man/Revenant Paramount Records box set (Volume One, I should note). Lots to talk about there, not least the 800 tracks, and once I’ve had a deeper and more extensive listen I’ll try and blog about it properly.

You are, I guess, never finished with Neil Young. A few weeks ago, as we were wrapping up an Uncut Ultimate Music Guide special dedicated to him, the news came through that Young was moving on again. Just as we thought we’d put together a comprehensive survey of all his recorded work, another Archives Performance Series release crept onto the schedules.

In an archive piece taken from Uncut’s January 2005 issue (Take 92), we look back at Dylan in 1975, when he turned the crisis of a deteriorating relationship into one of rock’s most compelling dramas. This is the story of Blood On The Tracks, the album that marked the demise of Dylan’s marriage – and his artistic rebirth. Words: Nick Hasted

Jack White has spoken out about his thoughts on digital versus analogue recording, saying that digital formats have "proven to be anything but fail-safe" when it comes to the preservation of music. Speaking to The Atlantic, White commented: "A lot of the digital formats in the last 20 years have proven to be anything but fail-safe. The tapes break or the information can't be retrieved."

Jams, folks. Please take ten minutes to watch the excellent clips below from Natural Child and Chris Forsyth. The image above is the cover of Forsyth’s tremendous forthcoming album, which I’ll try my damnedest to write about in the next day or two.

Bob Dylan was joined on stage by Jeff Tweedy and Jim James last night [July 24] for a cover of "The Weight" by The Band. The performance took place on the AmericanaramA tour at Farm Bureau Live, Virginia Beach. You can watch footage of the performance below. This is not the first time The Band's presence has been felt on the AmericanaramA tour.

No, unfortunately “Bright Phoebus” isn’t being reissued. But what prompted me to dig it out this week was the news of Bright Phoebus Revisited, a concert tour this autumn that promises the album recreated live by every Waterson they could find, along with various guests including Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley. The dates are London Barbican (11), Warwick Arts Centre (12), Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (14), Brighton Dome (15) and Bristol Colston Hall (16). Could be interesting: amazing record.

The controversial new David Bowie video is streaming once again on YouTube after being banned by the site. A spokesperson for Bowie said that the promo for "The Next Day" single had been removed from the streaming site as it "contravened their terms of use".

Towards the end of the V&A’s terrific David Bowie Is… exhibition, tucked away on a wall next to the handwritten lyrics for “Heroes” and a postcard from Christopher Isherwood, are a set of door keys that have evidently seen better days.

Bob Dylan has been voted an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the first time a rock musician has received the high honor. The Academy is an exceedingly exclusive club to join. Beside the honorary members, a scant 250 members populate the New York-based institution, with new inductees only to replace the dead. Honorary members are rare, too; there are a mere 82, only 12 of whom are American.