Uncut UK – October 2019

ANDREW

MACPHERSON, TUCKER

RANSON/PICTORIAL

PARADE/ARCHIVE

PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

OCTOBER 2019 • UNCUT• 45

“AllWeWantIs YourMoney”a (silk)
cutabovethestandardofmostoftheir
small-towncontemporaries.
Extras:7/10 .Allfoursongsfrom
thePeelSessiontheydidturnupfor
inJanuary1980,plusphotosand
recollections from Smith and Taylor.
JIMWIRTH

CREEDENCE
CLEARWATERREVIVAL
LiveAt Woodstock
CRAFT

7/10

Offtherecordfordecades,
now very muchon
JohnFogerty’s
withdrawalfrom
Woodstock’s
beleaguered50th-
anniversaryevent
wasperhapsa lost
opportunitytosethistorystraight.
DuetotheDeadhavingoverruntheir
slotonAugust 16 in1969,it wasafter
midnightwhenCCRsteppedonstage,
sotheirstatus– asbighittersridingthe
successofsecondLP,BayouCountry–
hasbeenlargelyoverlooked.No-shows
inthe 1970 Woodstockmovieand
soundtrackalbumfurtherdeprived
themofposterity.Butthisrecording
reclaimsatleastsomeoftheirfestival
clout.GivenFogerty’sclaimthat“there
werea halfmillionpeopleasleep”
atthetime,it’snosurprisetheband
aren’tquiteonbarn-burningform.But
whileit lacksflashiness,the11-song
performanceis bothrawandcooking,
a reminderofthecountry-rock/
swamp-bluespowerthat’smoved
bandsfromTheBlackKeystoWhite
Denim.Inevitably,it’sa mega-hitsset:
“ProudMary”,“BornOnTheBayou”,
“BadMoonRising”andtherest,with
a compellinglygrittyrenditionof
RayCharles’hit“NightTimeIs The
RightTime”andFogerty’svoiceon
magnificentformfor“IPutA SpellOn
You”.Minimalonstagechatallows
encore“SuzieQ”tostretchtoalmost
11 minutes,provingCCR’sreputationas
lean, mean chooglers par excellence.

Extras:None.

SHARONO’CONNELL

THECULT

SonicTemple (reissue, 1989)

BEGGARSARKIVE

7/10

Threeexpandededitions

mark 30th anniversary

Itwasperhapsan

oddplacefora Crass

devoteeanda former

cohortofMorrissey’s

toendup,butthe

IanAstbury/Billy

Duffypartnershipreturneda levelof

internationalsuccessthatJohnPeel’s

supportofDeathCultcouldneverhave

predicted.Theirfourthalbum(andfirst

withproducerBobRock),SonicTemple

completedtheirevolutionfrompost-

punkswithgothleaningstomelodic

hardrockerscastalongvaguelyGuns

N’Roseslines;it madeNo3 inthe

UKchartandNo 10 ontheBillboard

200.Thisreissueinthreeformats

• 5CDboxset,3LPs-plus-cassette
  boxsetandanexpandeddouble-LP
  edition– offersa bogglingnumberof
  variationsonthetheme,withdemo
  versions,edits,previouslyunreleased
  liverecordingsandmixes.Butthe
  originalalbumis TheCultattheir
  imperialpeak:audaciouslylongsongs
  welddark,psychedelicmotifsonto
  steamrollingrhythmsthatunderpin
  BillyDuffy’shuge,theatrically
  squealingand/ormoodilymetallic
  riffs, over which Astbury’s voice –

abluesyroarcapableofwounded

grace– riseseffortlessly.There’ssome

meat-headedplodding(“SoulAsylum”

and“WakeUpTimeForFreedom”),but

“FireWoman”,withitspowerhouse

thump-jangle-thump,thepulverising

“AmericanHorse”andGunsN’Roses/

Sabbathhybrid“SweetSoulSister”

stillpressalltherightbuttons.

Extras:8/10.Demoversions,live

recordings,replicamemorabilia

• backstagepasses,press releases.
  SHARONO’CONNELL

M I LE SDAVI S

Rubberband

RHINO

7/10

Milesdelvesdeepinto’80sR&Bon

his “lost” 1986album

Startedin1985,

justafterMiles

hadswitchedfrom

ColumbiatoWarner

Bros,Rubberband

isthesoundofthe

60-year-oldtrumpeterproviding

hisownarcanetakeon1980sR&B.

Thisalbumcomesaftertheoriginal

recordingshavebeensignificantly

reworkedinthestudio– singersand

sessionmusicianshavebeendrafted

intofillingapsintheschedule,and

somebeatshavebeen“updated”.For

instance,wheretheoriginalversion

ofthetitletrack(includedasa bonus

track)featuresa machine-likeJam&

Lewis-styleloop,the 2019 mixfeatures

a Dilla-stylebreakbeatandsomeacid

jazzflourishes.Othertracksretainthe

sonicshoulderpadsofthemid-1980s:

thedenselyorchestrateddigi-pop

andhighlyprocessedguitarsolosof

“ThisIs It”arereminiscentofMiles’s

belovedScrittiPolitti;“GiveIt Up”sees

himriffingovera Prince-stylegroove;

while“SeeI See”and“TheMaze”are

premonitionsofthemodaldigi-funk

thatMileswouldsoonexplorewith

MarcusMilleronTut u. Notallofit

works– theballadssag,andthe

reggaeton-influenced“Paradise”is ill-

advised – but much of Miles’s playing

isonfire:“EchoesInTime”seeshim

paintinganimpressionisticatonal

trumpetsolooverspacy-sounding

chordsbeforesegueing into a heavy

digi-funkgroove.

Extras:None.

JOHNLEWIS

ECHO& THEBUNNYMEN

TheJohnPeelSessions

1979–1983

RHINO

7/10

Shadowhistoryoftheband’s

golden years

TheBunnymen’searly

yearsandimperial

phasearealready

documentedonthe

peerlesssingles

compilationSong sTo

LearnAndSing. Thisset– consisting

of 21 songsdrawnfromsixsessions

thebandrecordedfortheDJ– offers

analternativetakeonthatsame

careerarc.Forthefirstsevensongs,

theembryonicBunnymenarea trio.

Theearlysongsarerudimentaryand

sparse;withonly“ThePicturesOn

TheWall”fullymatchingtheband’s

grandioseambitions.Thearrivalof

PetedeFreitasis announcedbythe

hypnotic,tribaldrummingon“All

MyColours”andimmediatelythe

bandcoheresaroundhisnimble,

intuitivepercussionandLesPattison’s

powerfulbass.Youcanheartheband’s

creativeleapon“HeavenUpHere”–

themartialpercussion,WillSergeant’s

nervyandoff-kilterguitars.“Taking

Advantage”– anearly,slowerversion

of“TheBackOfLove”– capturesthe

band’shuge,epicsound.Bythetime

theyreachthefinalsessionsincluded

here– broadcastfourmonthsapart

in 1983 – they’reonimperiousform,

showcasingsongsfromtheas-yet-

unreleasedOceanRain. Witnessa

murderous“TheKillingMoon”,a

surprisinglyjaunty“OceanRain”and

thesublime,anthemic “My Kingdom”.

Extras:None.

MICHAEL BONNER

Cultheroes:

(l-r)Ia n

Astbury,Billy

Duffy,Jamie

Stewart

JohnFogerty:

yes,CCR

played

Woodstock, too