Letters… Plus the Uncut crossword

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FABGEAR

Imaginemyreactionwhenyour recentissuelandedonmy doormat…TheBeatles!Again! Haven’ttheybeendonetodeath?I mean,greatbandandall–butwhat onearthistherelefttosayabout them?Well,that’swhatIthought untilIactuallybotheredtoread thecoverstory.RichardWilliams’ elegantintroductionteedmeup perfectlyforthisfreshtakeonsucha famousalbum.Ienjoyedreading whatthelikesofJohnnyMarr,Roger McGuinn,WayneCoyneandothers hadtosayabouttheirfavourite tracks.Butthemostinteresting commentstomecamefromSean OnoLennonandDhaniHarrison–whopresumablyknowtheirfathers’ worksinsideout.Initialmisgivings aside,thiswasabrilliantcover story!PeteJordan,Dorset Thanks,Pete.Inthegrandscheme ofthings,we’venotdonethat manyBeatlescovers.But,yes, regardless:findingfresh treatmentsforoldfavourites isanincrediblyimportantpart ofwhatwedohere.(MB)

SUMMERLOVIN’

GreattoreadthearticleonThe Lovin’Spoonful’s“SummerInThe City”intheSeptemberissue,oneof themostatmosphericsinglesofthe era.ThearticlementionsQuincy Jones’1973coverversionofthe track,howeveryoumissed mentioningthebestcoverofthe song–BBKing’sversionissuedasa 45in1972onABCintheUSAand ProbeRecordsintheUK–andtaken fromhisGuessWhoalbum.BB’s powerfulvocalsandstingingguitar licksturnedthesongintoablues classic.TonyBurke,Bedford Hey,Tony.That’sagreatcall.We couldbewrong,butthere’snot manysongsthathavebeen recordedbyButtholeSurfers,Isaac HayesandDavidEssex….Quincy andBB’sversionsareacutabove.

Toppermost:The BeatlesattheTop OfThePopsstudio, June16,1966

DEUSEXMACHINA

LauraBarton’sBigRedMachine pieceinyourSeptemberissuewasa fineread.I’vediscoveredsomanyof theartistsinvolved–TheNational, BonIver,FleetFoxes–through Uncutsoitwasgreattofindthemall inoneplace.LikeMichaelinhis welcomeletter,Iwasalsosurprised tolearnthatRobinPecknoldand JustinVernonhadonlymetonce before.Maybeit’smyinnocentideas abouthowalignedbandsrelatewith oneanother,butIassumeditwasall BBQsatLongPond.Butanyway, thanksforagreatpieceandanother greatissue.SamPearce,Cornwall

Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner of Big Red Machine: heading to a BBQ at Long Pond?

SUPERFLY GUY

Thanks to Graeme Thomson for his excellent profile of Curtis Mayfield. Generally, I’ve really appreciated the recent improved focus on black artists in the magazine – Steel Pulse, Stevie Wonder, Sonny Rollins, Prince, Gary Bartz, Sly Stone, Leon Bridges – but the Mayfield piece felt especially timely. I was particularly moved by Paul Weller’s comments about Mayfield, citing his spirituality and humanity. In this current climate, full of division and rancour, we need artists like Mayfield more than ever – positive forces whose music is unifying and spiritually enriching. Move on up, indeed.

Mick Sharp, London

KURT COMMENTS

Ah, great Nirvana cover story [August issue]. I saw the band a few times on their 1991 tour: at Reading, at the Kilburn National Ballroom and also on The Word. The gigs were amazing – it was great to see Nirvana rule both outside on a festival bill and inside at their own headline show. My friend Nick and I had never been to a TV studio before but despite the artificial setting – enhanced by lots of enthusiastic rallying from the director –Kurt and co came on and tore the place apart. Most people remember Kurt’s opening comments about Courtney Love, but what sticks out in my memory is the gleeful, anarchic energy of their brief performance.

Pete Nixon, Eastbourne

…Enjoyable cover story of Nirvana. I like three or four songs. I tend to think they are a tad overrated; their exalted legacy having to do more with being a powerful and important cultural touchstone during a specific moment along the pop culture timeline. And yet... what could have been.

Bo Hopkins, USA

SKIES ARE BLAU

I've been buying your magazine on and off for many years. My best source for music inspiration here in Norway.

Circa 2015 there was a song on your monthly CD with Karl Blau, “Fallin Rain”. Me and my wife were driving when that song started playing, the skies opened and the sun shone through. It was kind of a life changer moment that we think fondly of, even today.

So I had to get the album, Introducing Karl Blau. Karl Blau personally sent it signed in the mail. I couldn’t believe it!

I think of Karl Blau as one of those

great creative artists in the realm of Captain Beefheart, Fred Neil, Jackson C Frank, Beck, but still very hard to place.

He is huge in the underground, but I personally hope more people in the world would discover him, because he's a gem.

Thank you so much, Uncut magazine, for introducing Karl Blau to me.

Frank Stenersen, via email

DYLAN REVISITED REVISITED

Thanks very much for another great Dylan CD. I thought your Highway 61 Revisited Revisited from some years back was terrific, but this new one is also up there. “To Ramona” and “Precious Angel” are both wonderful readings and “Too Late” another example of the master’s throwaway genius, there is not a duff track on there and in these tough times this was a very welcome addition to the hallowed Dylan canon. Great to see the magazine still thriving despite it all.

Phil Gregory, Australia

Thanks, Phil!

COMMUNICATION SHAKEDOWN

In his review of the new album by Big Big Train [September issue], Johnny Sharp is mistaken in saying that the song “Atlantic Cable” tells “the story of the first transatlantic phone lines”. As the author of the book that encouraged Gregory Spawton to write a song about this subject, I hope you’ll permit me to point out that the Atlantic cable of 1866 enabled messages to be sent by telegraph between Ireland and Newfoundland. This remarkable triumph of Victorian engineering revolutionised the sending of messages between the Old World and the New – which could previously only be done by ship – and the song finds a perfect home on an album devoted to the theme of communication.

Stephen Roberts, via email

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HOW TO ENTER

The letters in the shaded squares form an anagram of a song by Nick Cave. When you’ve worked out what it is, email your answer to: competitions@uncut.co.uk. The first correct entry picked at random will win a prize. Closing date: Wednesday, September 15, 2021. ThiscompetitionisonlyopentoEuropeanresidents.

CLUES ACROSS

1 Rolling Stones album with the sound of pop? No, it was much more than that (1-6-4) 7 (See 34 across) 10 New David Crosby album requiring no payment to purchase (3-4) 11 “We could go to Deptford, Catford, _______, Digbeth, Mansfield, ah, anywhere in Albion”, Babyshambles (7) 12 Song that features a “low-neck sweater” (3-4) 13+20D Strangely he left TV ad on for Bob Dylan album (4-3-5) 16+24A Lip smackers on the bottom? Not to be wiped, plead Wolf Alice (4-6-3-6) 18 “Your ____ and bones turn into something beautiful”, from Coldplay’s “Yellow” (4) 19 Duo whose debut album gave us Happiness (5) 21 A bit of onstage nonsense results in a 1980 No 1 (4) 24 (See 16 across) 26+28A As Terry is coming around, here’s a song by The Velvet Underground (6-3) 30+14D The Who taking steps to express frowns and laughter (4-6) 32 Ocean Colour Scene were the first band to perform on TV show ___ Friday (3) 33 Connection between David Bowie, Elvis Presley and The Eurythmics (3) 34+7A Originally by The Shirelles, it was also a hit for Manfred Mann (3-2-2) 35 Keith ____, was a member of The Yardbirds and Renaissance (4) 36 (See 22 down)

CLUES DOWN

2+5D “Head out on the highway, looking for adventure and whatever comes our way”, 1968 (4-2-2-4) 3 Cocteau Twins’ debut album, their career was just blossoming (8) 4 His hits in the ’60s included “Well I Ask You” (4-4) 5 (See 2 down) 6+18D TV noises an untidy aspect on album from The Long Ryders (6-4) 8 Album from John Martyn is a plus (3) 9 A bit of disco dancing to Led Zeppelin music (4) 10 US satirical underground band with 1968 album It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest (4) 14 (See 30 across) 15 Band that started off in Showbiz (4) 17 Alt.rock musician with a “Devil’s Haircut” (4) 18 (See 6 down) 20 (See 13 across) 22+36A “I want to live, I want to give”, opening line to 1972 song (5-2-4) 23 1966 US No 1 for The Association, later covered by David Cassidy (7) 24 “______ rose, dreamed I saw a ______ rose”, from U2’s “In God’s Country” (6) 25 “How many years can a mountain exist, before it is washed to the ___”, from Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” (3) 27 The first article to include name of a single by Primal Scream (4) 29 Aretha Franklin, Def Leppard and The Wannadies in agreement over title for album (4) 30 James Taylor gives it a wave on album (4) 31 Post-industrial electronic band that could wind you up (4)

ANSWERS:TAKE291

ACROSS

1JustLooking,9Automatic, 10+14DDeltaKream, 11OneLove,15+30AStrange Fruit,18Shatter,20Use Somebody,23+22AFatboy Slim,25Next,28One, 32Bravery,33+29AGetOut, 34Amy

DOWN

1JealousGuy,2SetMeFree, 3Limbo,4+12AOnThe Border,5Incubus,6God, 7Pulse,8Play,13+21DReady OrNot,16NeonBible,17 Everybody, 19 Tool, 22 Star, 24 Arena, 26 Comb, 27 Stay, 30+7A Fat Pop, 31 USA

HIDDEN ANSWER:

Come As You Are

CROSSWORD COMPILED BY:

Trevor Hungerford

OCTOBER 2021

EDITOR Michael Bonner EDITOR (ONE-SHOTS) John Robinson ART EDITOR Marc Jones REVIEWS EDITOR Tom Pinnock CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Sam Richards SENIOR DESIGNER Michael Chapman PRODUCTION EDITOR Mick Meikleham SENIOR SUB EDITOR Mike Johnson PICTURE EDITOR Phil King EDITOR AT LARGE Allan Jones CONTRIBUTORS Jason Anderson, Laura Barton, Mark Bentley, Greg Cochrane, Leonie Cooper, Jon Dale, Stephen Dalton, Stephen Deusner, Lisa-Marie Ferla, Michael Hann, Nick Hasted, Rob Hughes, Trevor Hungerford, John Lewis, April Long, Alastair McKay, Gavin Martin, Piers Martin, Rob Mitchum, Paul Moody, Andrew Mueller, Sharon O’Connell, Michael Odell, Erin Osmon, Pete Paphides, Louis Pattison, Jonathan Romney, Bud Scoppa, Johnny Sharp, Dave Simpson, Neil Spencer, Terry Staunton, Graeme Thomson, Luke Torn, Stephen Troussé, Jaan Uhelszki, Wyndham Wallace, Peter Watts, Richard Williams, Nigel Williamson, Tyler Wilcox, Jim Wirth, Damon Wise, Rob Young

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: David Vintiner/ Camera Press PHOTOGRAPHERS: Richard Saker, Steve Gullick, Cat Stevens, Michael Putland, David Tonge, Anna Webber TEXT AND COVERS PRINTED BY Gibbons UK Ltd

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