Letters… Plus the Uncut crossword

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AFTERTHEGOLDDUST

Thanksforanexcellentin-depth reviewofNeilYoung'sArchivesVolII: 1972-1976boxset[Januaryissue].Iam oneoftheluckypeoplewhobagged acopyfromthe3,000onofferfrom Neil'sArchivesonlinestoreinthe USAforaprincelysumofover£200, astheEuropeanretailsiteshadsold out.Thereisnodoubtthatthemusic isgolddustandit'shardtobelieve thatsomanyoftheseunheard originalsandsuperbalternativeand liveversionshavebeenlockedaway forover40years.Neilcouldhaveput outseveralmorefirst-ratealbums duringthe1970shadhechosentodo so,butatleastwehavethemnow(or atleastsomeofthem,aswhoknows howlongitwillbeuntilweget ArchivesIII,coveringthelater1970s).

However,thedelightoffinally gettingtheseunreleasedsongsis rathertainted.Amongthe10CDset aresixalready-releasedalbums,so insomecasesfansalreadyhave originalvinylandCDversions.Then thereisthemassivepricetagand thedifficultyofactuallygetting holdofthelimited-editionset:a second‘deluxe’issueofthesameset hasnowbeenbelatedlypromised forMarch,alongwitha‘normal’ retailversion.

Thereareotherissuesincluding thewayYoungtendstoreleaseonly partsofconcerts,aswiththelive materialincludedhere,andhow therearealotofsongsstillbeing heldback.HadNeilomittedallthe albumsthatfansalreadyhavethen thesetcouldhaveencompassed muchmoreofhisunreleased1970s studioandlivework,forwhichwe nowawaitArchivesIII!Asitis ArchivesIIendsawkwardlyin mid-1976inthemidstofanintense creativeperiod.So,forexample,we havethestudioversionof“Likea Hurricane”,butnoliveversion.

NeilcouldtakealeafoutofDylan's bookandstraightforwardlygetthe unreleasedsongsoutforfanstobuy. Afterallit’saboutthemusic.

JohnBentley,NorthYorkshire

Thanks,John–andthankstoJohn JoblingandIanCapeswhoalso wroteinaboutthis.IagreeDylanis theexemplaronhowarchival releasesshouldbemanaged.Neil hasalwaysfollowedhisowncourse, butperhapsinthisinstancehe mighthavebeenwisetoadopta consistentstrategytoareleaseas anticipatedasArchivesII.But, blimey,themusicisverygood.[MB}

Not yet on the beach: Neil Young, 1973

YEAR-ENDRESULTS

It’salwaysenjoyabledigestingyour year-endlist[Janissue].Often predictableinparts,frequently surprising.Whatdidtakemeaback wasyourchoiceoftheDrive-By TruckersatNo4.Youaresoright inyourassessmentofthemasan importantband.Iusedtodistribute theirCDsinmycountrywhenthey wereonNewWest.However,you chosethewrongalbum.While TheNewOKisexcellentinitsown right,withitsverypertinentand appropriatesongs,TheUnravelingis theoneyoushouldhavechosen. Thequalityofthesongsare consistentlystrongerandjustas relevantpolitically.I’mreallynot surehowyoucouldhaveignoredthe JonathanWilson,Luluc,Sturgill Simpson,JeffTweedy,Matt Berningertomentionafew. However,youmadeenoughgood calls–theFleetFoxescertainly deserveditspositionatNo2.

I’mstillnottotallysoldonthe Dylan,butperhapsIneedmoretime withit.Thanksforalwaysproviding sometalkingpointseveryyear!

DavidTowers,Johannesburg

…Idemandarecount!I’dnevereven heardofDianaJonespriortoyour reviewofSongToARefugee [Novemberissue],andwow!It'sheartbreaking,beautiful,tragic,poignant, andtouchinginequalmeasure.Just asimportantlyit’srelevanttowhat's happeningintheworldrightnow. Before hearing this, my Top 3 albums of the year were The Unraveling, Good Souls Better Angels and Rough And Rowdy Ways. But with apologies to the Drive-By Truckers, Lucinda and Bob, Diana Jones’s is the finest new album I’ve heard this year.

David Tags Taylor, Thurnscoe, Yorks

…Congrats on another year of varied and interesting music journalism, and another no doubt hotly contested end of year list! Yours was a strong selection with some great records, but also some great omissions, and I'll rant about a few of those now....

Taylor Swift’s Folklore was probably the most glaring omission. It’s a fantastic record in so many ways, more confirmation of a huge talent, and possibly my No 1 album of 2020. I would also have included 2020 albums by Four Tet, Osees, Mike Polizze, Once & Future Band, Soccer Mommy, Jonathan Wilson, Swamp Dogg, Grimes and My Morning Jacket. Of those, the Osees record is phenomenal, MMJ’s is up there with their very best, and Once & Future Band makes the old sound new in all the best ways. I’d have placed Haim much higher, too.

I predicted you’d rank Dylan’s latest opus as your No 1. Mine would have been Rolling Blackouts CF’s, which I’ve played constantly and unveils new layers of joy each time I hear it. Folklore is a very close second. Or maybe first....

Giles Lewis, via email

Huge gratitude to everyone who wrote in about our Review Of The Year, either to thank us for turning them on to a hitherto unheard record or to (gently) berate us for omitting a personal favourite from our poll. I realise we can’t please everyone all the time, but I’m encouraged by the tone of the debate around the poll. I think everyone agrees that, despite everything, 2020 was a good year for new music. And there’s a lot more to come in 2021, I’m delighted to say – I’d encourage you to check out the Weather Station feature on page 60, which sets a very high bar, early on, for the year ahead.

BACK TO THE FUTURAMA

I was telling my wife yesterday about when I was 16 and how my best mate and I bussed and hitchhiked our way down to Stafford (of all places) for a music festival. I made the point that the music was brilliant but that there’s no way I’d let a teenager do such a thing today... Imagine my surprise when I got home found my copy of Uncut had arrived with an article on the Futurama Festival in Stafford (1981) on the first page I opened. How freaky! I remember vividly Theatre Of Hate opening with “Legion” and the crowd going nuts. Bauhaus were amazing despite the tights and 23 Skidoo too were very odd and very good. Headliners Gang Of Four, even though I was a big fan, were not so good on the night. We slept in a massive tent set up in a field. Shocked to realise it was nearly 40 years ago – and doubly shocked my dear old mum and dad let me go!!

Steve Fraser, Middlesbrough

GIMME SOME TRUTH

I’ve been reading Uncut for a long time now and it only now occurred to me to ask if you might publish an article on The Undisputed Truth... you probably remember their biggest hit “Smiling Faces”. What prompted me to ask is the guitarist from that band is one of my tennis buddies. He has tons of great stories and is a great, affable guy! Ken Meyer Jr, via email Certainly among the most radical of Motown acts, Ken; their 10-minute version of “Ball Of Confusion” is mind-blowing.

VINYL JUDGEMENT

Rudge of New Zealand in his choice of Highway 61 Revisited Revisited and Sounds Of The New West. I’d add the other Americana CDs, More Sounds Of The New West, the Best Of Americana 2001, Americana 2004, Americana 2012, The New Frontier and Sounds Of The New West Class Of 2016 and Sounds Of The New West Volume 5. Also, Eight Miles High (19 Tracks Inspired By The Byrds), Long Time Gone(15 All-New American Music Classics), Like A Hurricane (A Tribute To Neil Young), Across The Great Divide (Music Inspired By The Band) and Global A Go Go (Celebrating 20 Years Of World Music). Every one a great comp and all stored in neat plastic slip cases!

Tony Burke, Bedford, UK

Thanks for taking such good care of them, Tony; each one of them is a precious part of Uncut’s history.

ROVER’S RETURN

I recently subscribed to Uncut again after a hiatus from music magazines. One of the biggest draws for me are the album reviews and the prospect of finding a new musical love that I have never heard of. Uncut is excellent for covering a good range of artists, many of which are under the radar, but my only criticism would be that many of the reviews don’t actually give a good impression of what the musical sound is and almost every review is 7 or 8 out of 10. Having said that, I will spend the next month listening through most of them on Spotify waiting for a gem to jump out that I can buy on vinyl. I bought the Drew Citron album last month which was a lovely little find –so thanks! Stuart Hawthorn, Ayr Thanks for rejoining the Uncut family, Stuart. I hope you continue to find plenty more new music in each issue.

MICK TYAS R.I.P.

Hello… any chance of an obituary for Mick Tyas? Mick was a wonderful guy. A talented musician. A multiinstrumentalist. A member of The Whisky Priests for many years, including their most recent lineup. He did a lot of work in recent years with Whisky Priest founder Gary Miller. Latest band, The Chime Hours, played but two gigs. Mick Tyas, County Durham lad, died of Covid-19 in Darlington Hospital today, November 25, 2020.

Mick Marsden, via email

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HOW TO ENTER

The letters in the shaded squares form an anagram of a song by Neil Young. 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, January 13, 2021. ThiscompetitionisonlyopentoEuropeanresidents.

CLUES ACROSS

1 I’ve seen Talking Heads, but never again (4-2-1-8) 9 A complimentary copy of last years’ album by Iggy Pop (4) 10+18A I’ve got ages to go, so here’s an early single from The Rolling Stones (4-2-2-2-4) 11 Those people who are unaware that this Tracey Ullman song was written by Kirsty MacColl (4-4-4) 14 INXS album giving out a sudden thrill (4) 16 Their last album to chart was 1968’s The Village Green Preservation Society (5) 18 (See 10 across) 20 Before the birth of music by Nirvana (2-5) 23 Sensational Alex Harvey Band hit that was a cover of a 1968 hit (7) 25 Their albums included The Colour Of Spring and Spirit Of Eden (4-4) 28 Katrina named album after her backing band (5) 30 Captain Beefheart looking a bit fishy on album _____ Mask Replica (5) 31 “The only sight I wanna view is that wonderful picture of ___”, Joe Brown (3) 32 (See 13 down) 34+22D A steady stream of music coming from Pearl Jam (4-4) 35 Travis, Feeder and The Wombats all had singles of this title (4) 36 Record label that showcased Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash (3)

CLUES DOWN

2 Direction that Elvis Costello took for album in 2003 (5) 3 Mournful song for final album by progrockers The Nice (5) 4 Ron Tucker remixing an instrumental by B Bumble And The Stingers (3-6) 5 (See 11 down) 6 Fred’s in remixing a Beach Boys’ album (7) 7 A bit of nightwork results in an album for The Calling (3) 8 Genesis song taken from a drama, maybe (4) 11+5D “So put me on a highway and show me a sign, and ____ __ __ ___ _____ one more time”, 1975 (4-2-2-3-5) 12 “There’s a feeling I get when I look to the ____”, from Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven” (4) 13+32A “Me and Mary, we met in high school when she was just 17”, 1981 (3-5) 15+17D “And when I ask you to be nice, you say you’ve gotta be _____ __ __ ____ in the right measure”, 1979 (5-2-2-4) 19 Album featuring that highly distinguished female singer Annie Lennox (4) 21 1982 hit with opening line “Looking from a window above, it’s like a story of love” (4-3) 22 (See 34 across) 24 Sleepy Jackson album featured in a festival overseas (6) 26 Americans who sang of “Africa” (4) 27 Ellie Goulding single that scorched up the charts to No 1 (4) 29 She was frontwoman for indie rockers Skunk Anansie (4) 33 In her mid-forties, __ Subversa was frontwoman for punk band The Poison Girls (2)

ANSWERS:TAKE283

ACROSS

1+9ATomorrowNever Knows,10+36AImploding TheMirage,11Millie,13Free Bird,14OhGirl,15Yeah, 16Gus,18ToTheEnd,21 Closer,23Opel,24+4DSnap OutOfIt,27Fog,28TLC, 30+26ARadarLove,32Hell, 34Abba

DOWN

1TakeMeOut, 2Moonlighting,3Rossi, 5NoParlez,6VioletHill, 7Raining,8Aged,12Ellie, 17Street,19E.S.P.20Dot, 21Cell,22Stool,24South, 25Older,29Chad,30REM, 31+37ARagDoll,33Lol,35Be

HIDDENANSWER: “ThunderRoad”

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