The Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench is about to release a solo album, You Should Be So Lucky, produced by the legendary Glyn Johns. In this star-studded archive piece from Uncut’s December 2011 issue (Take 175), Johns takes us through producing and engineering The Beatles, the Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and more – not a bad CV, you could say… Interview: Graeme Thomson
Something like two decades ago, when I was Features Editor of NME and making some pragmatic decisions involving coverage of second and third-tier Britpop bands, I had a kind of argument with Laurence Bell, the owner of the Domino label.
This week’s excuse for briskness is I have a longish review of Real Estate to write for the mag, but some good news in here: not least the appearance of a mighty stash of Fela Kuti albums on Bandcamp and some predictably weird mixtapes, compiled by John Fahey, fetching up on Soundcloud.
The new issue of Uncut went on sale at the end of last week, with a cover story by Peter Watts on The Ramones that celebrates the 40th anniversary of a band of punk misfits from Forest Hills, New York, who revolutionised rock’n’roll, the opening lines of one of whose earliest songs, “Blitzkrieg Bop”, gives its name to this month’s free CD.
Strong haul of rad gumbo here, as we’ve taken to saying. Never thought I’d want to hear another Hold Steady album after the last one, but “Teeth Dreams” pretty much reaffirmed the faith. And if you’re that way inclined, I can recommend the new Men album, too; their best, I think.
The new issue of Uncut arrives in UK shops this Friday – though subscribers should hopefully find their copies plonking through the letter box a day or two early. We celebrate 40 years of the Ramones with an extensive cover story by Peter Watts, who’s interviewed surviving band members as well as many of their co-conspirators, friends and peers. To compliment Peter’s terrific piece, we’ve compiled a list of the 50 Greatest American Punk Albums (plus singles and compilations), from the pivotal years of 1975 to 1983.
A week of revelations here, I suppose, since a bunch of albums that I’ve had to strategically redact from recent lists, until they’re formally announced, can now be identified and previewed.
Please note, then, the appearance of new albums by Damon Albarn, Elbow and Real Estate among the 20-odd things below. The Real Estate is especially fantastic – more like Felt and The Feelies than ever, maybe – and I’ll try and write something more extensive about it in the next week or so.
Thurston Moore's black metal band Twilight have announced their new album and decision to split up.
Moore joined Twilight in 2012 and III: Beneath Trident’s Tomb, due for release on March 17, will be his first album with the band. However, it will also be his last after the group announced their decision to separate immediately.
Alongside Moore, Twilight consists of Stavros Giannopoulos (Atlas Moth), Wrest (Leviathan), N Imperial (Krieg), and producer Sanford Parker. The band's previous two albums, Twlilight and Monument To Time End.
