1960s
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Wilde FlowersSunday, 10 January 2016
Though Soft Machine were the first band to suggest Canterbury could be musically noteworthy, the appearance of Caravan’s debut album in late 1968, Kevin Ayers' post-Soft Machine solo outing two years later, and the subsequent arrivals of Gong,... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Jon Savage's 1966Sunday, 03 January 2016
January 1966 is a half a century back but some of the music released 50 years ago this month remains fresh, vital and timeless. With its biting invective and energy, Bob Dylan’s “Can You Please Crawl out of Your Window” will never lose its visceral... Read more... |
DVD: The Czechoslovak New Wave - A Collection, Vol. 2Monday, 28 December 2015
Distributor Second Run’s second collection of the Czech New Wave (strictly speaking, Czechoslovak, although the three films included here are from the Czech side of the movement) reminds us what an astonishing five years or so preceded the Prague... Read more... |
Best of 2015: Reissue CDsSunday, 27 December 2015
Revealing a new story which completely rewrites an existing one is not easy in the world of reissues. With so much already known, and with pop and rock history constantly being revisited, it’s always surprising when a fresh tale is told. And it’s... Read more... |
Hangmen, Wyndham's TheatreTuesday, 08 December 2015
Just what constitutes reasonable behaviour in an enlightened society? Not long ago, the death penalty fell under that umbrella in Britain, and state-sanctioned killing as punishment for the crime of, well, killing is just the kind of twisted irony... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Velvet UndergroundSunday, 06 December 2015
How many live versions of “Heroin” are necessary? The new four CD set The Complete Matrix Tapes includes, yes, four. One per disc. If that seems excessive, consider this: one version previously appeared, in the same mix, on last year’s reissue of... Read more... |
Ronnie Spector, BarbicanFriday, 04 December 2015
Their songs are some of the most joyous of the Sixties, their glistening doo-wop close harmony and pealing early rock 'n roll guitar sound heady with innocent romance and youthful energy. At the Barbican last night, Ronnie Spector, whose band The... Read more... |
CD: Senegal 70Tuesday, 24 November 2015
There was a magic moment in West Africa when, shortly after independence, in countries like Mali, Guinea and Senegal, the new leaders financed and encouraged new dance bands – telling them to dig deep into their own traditions and no longer feel... Read more... |
The Two Pigeons, Royal BalletFriday, 20 November 2015
With real live birds fluttering across the stage, and a sweetly happy ending – hurrah for young love! – Frederick Ashton's 1961 The Two Pigeons can look like mere frothy fantasy, precisely the kind of trivial, uncomplicated... Read more... |
Imagine: The Last Impresario, BBC OneWednesday, 18 November 2015
Nearly 20 years ago the West End was in a lather of excitement about a show called Voyeurz. A "musical revue" set in a nightclub on Manhattan, it was all about a young girl venturing into the uncharted caverns of her own sexuality, and it was... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Judy Dyble, Trader HorneSunday, 15 November 2015
After Judy Dyble left Fairport Convention in May 1968, it was her replacement Sandy Denny who picked up critical kudos as the ensuing years unfolded. Dyble, though, did not drop off the face of the earth and, if credits were looked at closely enough... Read more... |
CD: Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the UniverseSaturday, 07 November 2015
There's something reassuringly resistant to modernity about Jeff Lynne. In much the same way that his cast iron Brummie accent and demeanour have remained unchanged despite decades in Los Angeles, so his music remains in a late 20th century... Read more... |
