"One journo called Murder Most Foul better than anything on Tempest. What a lazy thing to say, geezer obviously haven't heard the record." Alexis Patredis, at the Grauniad. He once gave a Dylan gig one star, complete with every tired old journo cliche of the period. He knows nothing. Especially about the half dozen great songs on Tempest.
Forum: Tell Me

Could I suggest a band of peculiar British reprobates from the Notting Hill area on the early 1970s counter culture? The story comes complete with spiked yoghurt. This is Hawkwind - Do Not Panic .....
Forum: Tell Me

Got a proof copy of the book just before Christmas, and finally reviewed it for ye olde International Times. It's a brilliant book, very funny and insightful, some great footnotes, a broad perspective, and this is someone who rates Black & Blue AND Love You Live. I tijhnk maybe it's one of the best on the MUSIC - really shifts perspective on some of the songs that are very familiar
Forum: Tell Me

Now put behind a password barrier. "Private video Sign in if you've been granted access to this video"
Forum: Tell Me

Great interview. I love this: "But rock and roll was high energy, explosive and cut down. It was skeleton music, came out of the darkness and rode in on the atom bomb and the artists were star headed like mystical Gods."
Forum: Tell Me

Reviewed the new WHO album for The Arts Desk. The first two songs, Detour, Beads, Break the News, Rockin in Rage and She Rocked MY World are great Who songs IMHO, Roger especially good on the last three, esp the two slower songs. Townshend has this rock-infused musical theatre way of writing - goes back to By Numbers I'm sure - and it's Who Are You and Numbers that this album resembles.
Forum: Tell Me

Yes I bought the first complete show CD, too. There's 11 out of the 3 tracks that are unissued, and half a dozen that reappear unedited. The sound quality is fantastic - new tape transfers, and as Kramer says, the tapes stay in good nick on account of whale oil ... Moby Dick's sweat
Forum: Tell Me

Well, reading through the links and Stepping Stone and Burning Desire seem to be aborted after about the 2 minute mark, so perhaps we arent missing too much there, but it's a real shame that Power of Soul with "some very 'outside tonality' lines" and the Voodoo/Purple closers aren't in this set. Damn! But Kramer indicated that everything usable they had from the orig
Forum: Tell Me

I'd guess those missing tracks either never made it to tape, were damaged or were incomplete, because according to Eddie Kramer, everything they have is on this set, and it all sounds incredible TBH
Forum: Tell Me

Band of Gypsys was one of the first LPs I bought, from Square Records in Wimborne, home to the Tivoli where Ron recorded his Mad Lad, around 1977 or 78, and the shop still exists, amazingly. Amazingly, too, the complete four sets, unedited and in sequence, were released yesterday by the Hendrix people in a 5CD 8LP set under the name Songs for Groovy Children. In my mind this should be headline n
Forum: Tell Me

Thanks a million Rocky! Much appreciated ....
Forum: Tell Me

Reviewed Mad Lad for The Arts Desk the other week, a really enjoyable fun homage, and Ben and Imelda on it are really good. Forgot/couldnt be bothered about posting it around - who reads this stuff anymore anyway? But if you do - enjoy.
Forum: Tell Me

The movie is fantastic, I'd say easily the best, most powerful, most intimate and intense footage, and the movie is great, there are invented characters, invented histories, I'm intrigued as to what hand Dylan had in that. Here's my review feature for The Arts Desk about the film and the boxed set - and a new interview with Scarlet Rivera, the violinist on Desire etc.
Forum: Tell Me

Reviewed Negative Capability for The Arts Desk - and here it is, what a fine album, up there with her best. https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/cd-marianne-faithfull-negative-capability
Forum: Tell Me

Here's a link to my review feature on More Blood More Tracks for The Arts Desk, and it's one of the most compelling sets, even if it is just one album across six long discs. If you like more blood with your tracks, this one's for you.
Forum: Tell Me

I've reviewed Egypt Station for The Arts Desk - where I published the Twickenham Stones review in the summer (#bestgigoftheyear) - here is the link for Macca heads. I really really liked a bunch of songs, though I reckon it's 57 minuts could have been cut to 45 or so... But it's just great stuff, catchy as hell, some good riffery and a lean feel to it, except for the melodic fecund
Forum: Tell Me

I wouldnt rate what Hoskins has to say about Dylan, literature, Nobels, or anything other than AOR nostalgia fests. "I studied English at university so I have a sense of what great writing is" - for God's sake. He does not get it at all, and thinks his floundering is critical acuity.
Forum: Tell Me

My first Stones gig after a lifetime as a fan .... reviewed for The Arts Desk. A great, raw, louder than war performance. Hope you enjoy the read.
Forum: Tell Me

Here's a link to my Gospel Bob review feature, with guitarist Fred Tackett talking about those 1979-1981 tours - it's up on The Arts Desk, and a full Q&A is on my Art Poetry Music wordpress blog --- links below. It is a fantastic set, at his peak as a stage performer Fred Tackett Q&A
Forum: Tell Me

I reviewed the London 1966 concert - and a bit of the complete set - for The Arts Desk. A genius at the first twist of cosmic powers get no platformed by English liberals "with a social conscience". The Arts Desk - The Real Albert hall Concert video:
Forum: Tell Me

The most exciting music from the Stones for many years, from the studio. Jagger sounds like he is on fire and drowning at the same time. After years of mannerism, he really lets go, Keith pursues minimalism witrhg beautiful results, Charlie's time is eternal time, and Ron may have played some of his best guitar with the Stones. Each song may clock in at under four minutes, but this music is
Forum: Tell Me

From The Arts Desk, the review text if the subscription panel pops up. I'm loving this new album, can't wait to exchange an online reviewer's stream for a proper CD ROLLING BACK THE YEARS TO THE DEEP CHICAGO BLUES (http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/cd-rolling-stones-blue-lonesome) It’s a been a good year for the Stones as they play into their sixth decade – a free fest
Forum: Tell Me

From more or less one full listen via the record label's internet stream (plus the internet-prereleased tracks), a review on The Arts Desk of Blue & Lonesome. It's great, it holds up without any sag, the seams don't break, the energy is in the room, you can just tell this comes off the cuff and in the pocket. It's a great and special album in the Stones canon. You wonder i
Forum: Tell Me

Went to the press preview on Monday morning, and a review is up on The Arts Desk, here's the link: Out of the broadsheet reviews, the Telegraph art critic Mark Hudson's was the best, while the Guardian's is typically sour puritanical old crap from critics of a certain age for whom the Rolling Stones can only disappoint with ye olde 'sell-out'. Still gets four s
Forum: Tell Me

Yes, that's right.
Forum: Tell Me

Farewell, Lemmy.... Very sad day, but at least he made his 70th on Christmas eve... Met him back on 2006 to interview Lemmy for the BBC Hawkwind documentary that went out the following year - he's well worth watching.
Forum: Tell Me

Just put up a blog about Bob Dylan's Dream, Lady Franklin's Lament, the tune he used, and a 16th century Irish air, Cailín Óg a Stór, from which the tune originally stems. 500 year history in one immortal Dylan song!
Forum: Tell Me

Yes I'd like to get a hearing of some of hte 18 disc set - hotel room and Johannas especially! The interactive mix-your-own site that has just gone up is interesting too - in the review I posted on The ARts Desk, I put foward exactly that idea for some of these tracks -the hboxed set beyond the CD format kind of thing - turned out out be predictive text... Mr D - my email for dropboxing
Forum: Tell Me

I think for most listeners the 2CD set has all the best of the outtakes and rehearsals. The 6CD set I reviewed benefits from more Visions (five, I think) and muliple takes of the lesser-known Highway 61 songs, which are great. There is quite a lot of stuff wher you think, well that's good but the drum's all wrong or they havnt nailed the organ yet, or, that tack piano sound is getting r
Forum: Tell Me

JimmyTheSaint - I will! Thanks for your comments on the review too - I'll message again later when I have a moment. If you can find the right deal though, the 6cd really gets in to you, esp VISIONS versions, but the 2disc set picks the standout tracks. Need to chec kif the complete piano/voice version of She's Your Lover Now is on there - it's the clincher! Tim
Forum: Tell Me