As is the brutal way with deadlines on monthly magazines, yesterday afternoon I had to send out a request to all of Uncut's writers for their albums of the year lists, so that we can start the long and meticulous process of compiling a Best Of 2014 chart.
When Sinéad O’Connor tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992, she brought into focus her gifts for music, controversy and self-publicity in one fairly explosive package.
There is a song on "Aerial", Kate Bush's eighth and possibly best album, called "Bertie". "Here comes the sunshine," it begins, "Here comes that son of mine/Here comes the everything/Here's a song and a song for him." Nine years later, here, perhaps is a show for him: an unexpected comeback; a ravishing absurdity; a launchpad for his theatrical aspirations. Our pleasure may, to some degree, be collateral.
Kate Bush last night (August 26) made her return to stage after a 35 year absence in a show that begun as a typical concert but evolved into a theatrical spectacular. This report contains spoilers.
The three-hour show saw Bush recreate the second side of her classic 1985 album Hounds Of Love as a fully realised stage production, with theatrical sets, costumes, effects and lighting. The same treatment was then given to the second side of her 2005 album Aerial.
Tonight, August 26, Kate Bush returns to the stage for her first live shows in 35 years. To celebrate, here’s our cover story from the archives (June 2010, Take 157), in which Uncut takes a phantasmagorical trip into suburbia to learn the untold story of Kate Bush’s masterpiece, Hounds Of Love. "She ain’t daft. People shouldn’t be fooled by the mystical hippy stuff, this girl is very, very tough." Story by: Graeme Thomson__________
This is the full text of my interview with Hurray For The Riff Raff in New Orleans, that appeared in the print edition of Uncut a couple of months ago. I've added a lot of music to listen to as you read; not just by Alynda and the Riff Raff, but by some of the other New Orleans musicians who are critical to the story.
Vashti Bunyan has shared a new song, entitled "Across The Water".
Listen to the track below, which comes from the artist's new album Heartleap, which is released on October 6 via FatCat. The LP follows her 1970 debut Just Another Diamond Day and 2005's comeback album Lookaftering. The new album was produced by Bunyan herself and was primarily recorded in her own studio.
