Letters… Plus the Uncut crossword

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ACATHOLIC EDUCATION

YourexcellentfeatureonMarianne Faithfull[Juneissue]stirredmany memories–asIamalsoanex-inmate ofStJoseph’sConventinReading!I wasayearbehindMarianneatthe conventandwasalsotaughtEnglish byMrsSimpsontoA-level.Shewas aclassicgrammarschoolEnglish teacher–wellqualified,experienced andeffective–butshehadatough jobfrom1963–’66whenourearswere tunedtothelyricsofTheBeatles,The RollingStones,JoanBaezandBob Dylan.Shefoundawaythrough, however,andinspiredme,aswellas Marianne,withtheRomanticpoets.

Mariannewascertainlyaknown presenceintheschoolbyherfifth year.Thequalityofhervoicehad beenrecognisedearlyonandthe equallybelovedMissBailey,our musicteacher,workedwithher.A yearortwobeforesheleft,Marianne sangthesolosopranopartsofthe MessiahinaChristmasproduction –Iwasinthechoir.Hervoicewas quitebeautiful–strongandclear.

Wewerealldesperatetogetout fromtheconventandawayfrom boringReading,whichthenhad minimalentertainmentfacilities. Londonwasonlyhalfanhouraway, andoldergirlsfoundtheirwayto partiesthere.WhenMarianneleft schooltomakeherfirstsingleweall admiredtheclassyescapetunnel shehadmadeforherself,although whenIheardhervoiceontherecord itseemedratherthintomeandnot likethestrongervoiceIhadheard liveatschoolevents.Ihavebeen verysadreadingaboutexperiences shewentthroughovertheyears,but shehasemergedastheultimate survivorandaninspirationtoa youngergeneration.Iwilllook forwardtohearinghernewalbum –MrsSimpsonwouldhavebeen delightedthatherteachinghad inspiredhermostfamousstudent tocreateanewworkofart.

Rockon,Marianne!

AlisonSkinner,StJoseph'sConvent 1959–’66

Amazingletter,Alison.Thankyou somuchforwriting.[MB]

ALEXTHEGREAT

AlexPaterson’schoicesforMyLife InMusic[Julyissue]wereinspired! Beingofsimilarage,thegood doctor’sselectionremindedmeofmy ownyouth.T.Rex’s“GetItOn”was oneofthefirstsinglesIeverbought –andIstilllovetheevergreen ElectricWarrior.Ialsopurchased AliceCooper’sKillerwhenfirst unleashed.Iagreethatthefour classicAlicealbumsAlexmentioned arebyfarthegroup’sbest.

BowieandEnobothgowithout saying–titans,especiallyduring their’70sheyday.

KingCrimsonhavealways circumventedtheproglabel–my favouritealbumoftheirsbeingthe trulyuniqueLarks’TonguesInAspic.

WithKraftwerk’sstatusasoneof themostinspiringforerunnersof electronicinnovationandPrince FarIdoingwhathedidbeston UnderHeavyManners,thatjustleft MaharishiMaheshYogitobringup therear–whosephilosophyIcan totallyrelateto.And,yes,wedoall needalittlebitofloveafterwhat we’veexperiencedthispastyearor so.HatsofftotheOrbmanforhis exceedinglygoodtaste!

Convent escapee Marianne Faithfull at home in Reading, October 1964

PeteMoore,Brighton

BOB’SFULLHOUSE

Welldone,Uncut,forthebrilliant DylanAt80feature.I’mnotamassive Bobfan.Somuchso,Istillmaintain NashvilleSkylineishisfinestalbum, eventhoughIgatherit’snothighly regardedbydevotees.Nevertheless, Ireckon…Skylineisprobablyoneof the greatest (and shortest) records of all time.

Anyway, when Uncut dropped on the doormat, I rolled my eyes when I saw Dylan was the cover star… yet again! But the feature turned out to be a revelation. The eyewitness reports from the multitude of people who have crossed his path over the years was a brilliant angle to tell the story from a new perspective. So hats off to the Uncut team for coming up with that idea and providing fresh insight on this iconic figure.

Stephen Hope, Glasgow

…Just a quick note to say thanks for a great magazine. Years ago I used to subscribe, but in 2009 I became a dad and so had other priorities. Only now do I find I have time to properly engage with music once more.

The album of Dylan covers drew me in. I thought I’d heard all possible treatments, but what a collection!

The interview with Stephen Stills also prompted me to revisit Déjà Vu, an album that I haven’t listened to properly for years, and goodness, what a feast for the ears that is.

I’ve also sought out new music based on your reviews. It feels good to be back in the groove.

Jason Rose, Musselburgh

Good to have you back, Jason. …I realise I’ve missed the boat for your July issue letters page; but regardless, praise where praise is due. I haven’t purchased a copy of Uncut for some time (no reflection on the magazine itself), but still have cherished copies – including Sounds Of The New West CDs from back in the day. I decided I couldn’t pass up on your June issue on such an occasion as celebrating Dylan’s 80th and was looking forward to the read.

What I wasn’t expecting was to enjoy the CD, as for me covers rarely improve on the original tracks. Well, I haven’t stopped playing said CD! The interpretations are in most cases so different and unique compared with the original that it’s been great to hear songs I know and love done in a fresh and inspiring way. I also discovered that I’d missed out on Ambient Americana. I’ll be keeping my eye out for future issues now.

Thanks for your work.

Antony Taylor, via email

Cheers, Anthony! High praise indeed.

…Just got my copy of the June Dylan issue today. The CD is an absolute gem. Wonderful interpretations of Dylan classics! Congratulations on a great job to everyone involved in this project. This CD is a keeper.

Andy Lachapelle, Plainville, CT

ARRAY OF SUNSHINE

Take 290. Finally an edition with no Dylan, Floyd, Neil Young or Paul McCartney. Much more like it and more representative of the vast array of artists you could be featuring. Well done. Keep it up, please.

Steven Leiper, via email

But Steven – we humbly believe that every issue of Uncut features a wide variety of music coverage, regardless of the cover artists. You’ll have noticed by now that we have McCartney in this issue – but there’s also Nirvana, Sly Stone, Sparks, Altın Gün, Angélique Kidjo, Amy Winehouse, Rodney Crowell, Grateful Dead, Rodrigo Amarante, Arooj Aftab and lots more besides.

PAST FUTURE PERFECT

BRAVO! Your Ambient Americana CD is brilliant! The music fits exactly with the rebirth of sombre relief the world needs now. Kudos to the staff in charge of compiling the songs. Here in America, Uncut represents the last vestige of music appreciation remaining on Planet Earth. Keep bringing us the future while respecting the past!

Craig Schwab, Glendale, NY

WELCH RAREBIT

Although I knew that Bob Welch had been in Fleetwood Mac, it was only on listening to the …1969 To 1974 boxset that I realised the contribution he made over the five albums he was in the band. There were some great songs and a definite move towards the West Coast/AOR sound that would make them huge just a couple of years after he left. I just wondered if he might be worthy of an article. I’ve not seen anything written about him in the many issues of Uncut that I’ve read over the years

Nick Burke, Sheffield

Thanks, Nick. His work on Future Games and Bare Trees, particularly, is excellent – so an appreciation of his work is not out of the question.

RAB IT UP

I was wondering if you’d consider including the recent death of Rab McCullough in your next obituary section? Rab – who sadly passed away on Saturday, May 22 – was a legend in Belfast and further afield, a blues guitarist who played with many of the greats, including Van Morrison, Hubert Sumlin, Rory Gallagher and Jimi Hendrix – who, when speaking to Rab before their gig in Whitla Hall Belfast 1969, said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re saying, but I love the way you’re saying it” – a reference to Rab’s Belfast accent. Thanks for listening.

Ciaran Cunningham, via email

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HOW TO ENTER

The letters in the shaded squares form an anagram of a song by Nirvana. 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, July 14, 2021. This competition is only open to European residents.

CLUES ACROSS

1 I was wondering if you had any old stuff by Stereophonics. You do? No, I don’t want to buy it, thanks very much (4-7) 7 (See 30 down) 9 A preprogrammed and unthinking album release from The Jesus And Mary Chain (9) 10+14D Mate larked around to new Black Keys’ music (5-5) 11 “I’m no dog, I’m a dolphin”, 1990 (3-4) 12 (See 4 down) 15+30A Billie Holiday song or record label for BBC’s John Peel sessions (7-5) 18 Feeder’s 21st chart single gave them their big break (7) 20 “Painted faces fill the places I can’t reach/ You know that I could ___ ________”, 2008 (3-8) 23+22A His Greatest Hits album in 2006 was titled Why Try Harder (6-4) 25 An album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band is to follow immediately (4) 28 A single from Ed Sheeran (3) 29 (See 33 across) 30 (See 15 across) 32 Band that made “An Honest Mistake” (7) 33+29A A performance from Chvrches? Leave this place now! (3-3) 34 Acclaimed film documentary of songstress who died in 2011 (3)

CLUES DOWN

1 “I was feeling insecure”, 1971 (7-3) 2 I’ve got an early release from The Kinks (3-2-4) 3 West Indian dance to perform to a Throwing Muses album (5) 4+12A Eagles album that edged its way into the charts (2-3-6) 5 US alt.rockers who asked on album If Not Now, When? (7) 6 “You know I didn’t mean what I just said/But my ___ woke up on the wrong side of his bed”, from Oasis’s “Little By Little” (3) 7 A throbbing beat on Pink Floyd album (5) 8 Album that is not the work of Squeeze (4) 13+21D With or without preparation, The Fugees made it to No 1 (5-2-3) 14 (See 10 across) 16 Nibble one awkwardly with Arcade Fire (4-5) 17 All the people that made this a hit for Tommy Roe in 1963 (9) 19 Instrument of Fear Inoculum wielded by alt.metal band (4) 21 (See 13 down) 22 Arts movement providing song for Primal Scream (4) 24 Not quite stadium rock from Todd Rundgren (5) 26 “Lend Me Your ____”. ’50s song covered by The Beatles and included on Anthology 1 album (4) 27 Remain in place for performances by David Bowie, Bernard Butler and Hurts (4) 30+7A Music for the overweight dad from Paul Weller (3-3) 31 States this is an album by King Crimson (3)

ANSWERS:TAKE289

ACROSS

1+9AEverybodyKnows ThisIsNowhere,11Poet, 12Lotus,14Tanx, 17Dish,19NutRocker, 20+16AGreenOnions, 21Legend,23Carnage, 28Sea,29Sahara,34Eat

DOWN

2+10AVoicesInTheSky, 3Rain,4+14DBandOnThe Run,5DownUnder,6+32A KeepTalking,7Odessa,8 Stay,9Typhoons,13Encore, 15Nice,18Skids,22Grace, 23Catch, 24 Relax, 25Alive, 26+33A Eight Miles High, 27Us, 30 AFI, 31 Ash

HIDDEN ANSWER

“NotDark Yet”

AUGUST 2021 BandLab UK Limited Griffin House 135 High Street Crawley West Sussex RH10 1DQ

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: AJ Barratt PHOTOGRAPHERS: Harry Benson, Martyn Goddard, Rona Lane, Robert Altman, Andy Willsher, Simon Broughton THANKS TO: Johnny Sharp, Lora Findlay

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