It was hardly a long haul, coming together in 1965 and burning out by 1968, but in the words of Papa John: "We had so much fun for two years, there was no more fun to be had."Yet in that time, The Mamas & The Papas became the USA's pop royal family, the American Beatles. Like The Beatles, they were four instantly recognisable, distinct personalities, with the same ready wit, entertainment value and high visibility factor. John Phillips and wife Michelle, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty looked and sounded like no other band in the land.
With both 2002's Stories Often Told and the previous year's Tremendous Efforts, Toronto's Sadies established themselves as feverish pluralists, twisting honky tonk, psychedelia, surf and punk into new forms. More meditative, this fifth LP hones the Southern harmonies and guitar-pickin' crosstalk of the brothers Good (Dallas and Travis) while augmenting the band with the likes of Robyn Hitchcock. "As Much As Such" and "A Good Flying Day" sound like reluctant outtakes from The Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday.
Kerry has a long face. At the time of writing Bush leads in the polls by 10 per cent. Despite everything. If only the volatile, human Howard Dean hadn't scared the Democrats into playing safe. Moore's documentary mostly doesn't, but if it can't swing the election, history might deem it a failure, a rebel yell forgotten at daybreak. We live in interesting times, which sucks.
Considering all the Vietnam literature/cinema, Moore isn't doing anything new. He's doing necessary protest for the 21st century. He manipulates our emotions brilliantly, and is certainly a force for good.
When Nancy Sinatra performed in Oslo in 2002, Norwegian newspaper VG carried a front-page photo with the headline "Tragic". Yet when she performed this year at Morrissey's Meltdown in London, a wander through the auditorium during the legendary "These Boots Were Made For Walking"elicited scenes reminiscent of a walkabout by Robbie Williams. Style rules over substance, in the capital at least. And it's undoubtedly style rather than content that's on show on this quasi-comeback album, for which she dresses herself in the musical equivalent of the finest threads.
