50 • UNCUT• OCTOBER 20
ARCHIVE
STEREOLAB
EmperorTomatoKetchup/Dots
AndLoops/CobraAndPhases
GroupPlayVoltageIn theMilky
Night(reissues,1996, 1997, 1999)
WARP/DUOPHONICUHF
9/10,8/10,6/10
Avantgroop’simperial-phasealbums,
reissued withextras
IfStereolab’sfirstthree
albumspaintedthemas
intrepidexperimenters,
graftingtogetheralien
genres– ’50sexotica,
krautrock,Frenchye-ye–
intopeculiarshapes,bythetimeof1996’s
EmperorTomatoKetchuptheyhadflowered
intosomethingmarkedlyclosetoa pop
group.ProducedbyTortoise’sJohnMcEntire,
“Cybele’sReverie”and“Metronomic
Underground”smoothLætitiaSadier’s
wistfulvocalsandSeanO’Hagan’sstrings
intosleekavantbubblegum;undeniably
catchy,evenastheyretaina senseofthe
unexpected.Thefollowingyear’sDotsAnd
Loopsfeelsa touchlessimmediatethan
itspredecessor.It’slaid-backandloungier
inmood,trackslike“MissModular”and
“PrisonerOfMars”blendingthedreamy
whimsyof’60spsychedeliawiththe
rhythmsofbossanova.1999’sCobraAnd
PhasesGroup...receiveda distinctlymixed
receptiononrelease,andwhileit’scertainly
inconsistent– 16minutesof“BlueMilk”tries
thepatience– todayitscharmsaremore
evident:take“Fuses”,anecstatictumble
ofbleep-bloopelectronics,saxblartsand
spiritedvibraphonethatsoundslikelittle
else,pastorpresent.
Extras:8/10.Allthreealbumsarereissued
withalternatetakes,four-track demos and
unreleasedmixes.
LOUISPATTISON
ALIFARKATOURÉ
Savane(reissue, 2006)
WORLDCIRCUIT
8/10
BelatedvinyldebutforWestAfrican
bluesman’s acclaimed 2006 swansong
LikeJohnnyCash’slast
albums,AliFarkaTouré’s
remarkablefinalrecordings
wereovershadowedby
declininghealth.Diagnosed
withterminalbonecancer,
Mali’sbluesyguitargodfatherreluctantly
torehimselfawayfromhisdayjobasa small-
townmayortomaketwolatemasterpieces,
hisguest-heavysoloswansongSavane
andhisGrammy-winningcollaboration
withToumaniDiabaté,InTheHeartOfThe
Moon. Recordedina makeshifthotelstudio,
SavanewasreleasedposthumouslyinJuly
2006,earninguniversalacclaimandhelping
toboosttheglobalprofileofWestAfrican
“desertblues”artistssuchasTinariwen
andTamikrest.Morethana decadelater,
safelydistantfromtheemotionallycharged
rapturesthatinevitablygreeteditsrelease,
doesSavanestillliveuptoitsloftyreputation
onthiscrispvinylremaster?Onthewhole,it
emphaticallydoes.Likethetitletrack,“Erdi”
and“LediCoumbe”confirmFarkaTouré’s
reductivebutnotinaccuratereputationas
anAfricanJohnLeeHooker,couchinghis
burnishedgrowlsinhonkingharmonica,
foot-shufflingDIYpercussionandsharply
plucked guitar shards. But perhaps more
LIKEJUSTabouteverything
elseinthelivesofAfrican-
Americansthroughthose
turbulenttimes,gospelmusic
wasina stateoffluxinthe
late1960sandearly1970s.As
RobertF Dardenarguesinhisinsightfulnotes
forTheTimeForPeaceIs Now– LuakaBop’s
indispensablesetofundeservedlyobscureand
oftensupremelyfunkypaeanstotheAlmighty
andrighteouspleasforunityandunderstanding
- muchofthatchangewasa responsetothemore
secular-mindedsuccessesofgospelroyaltylike
theStaplesfamilyandArethaFranklin.SlyAnd
TheFamilyStonewereanotheractthatadded
anearthierforceandfervourtothesounds,
harmoniesandrhythmstheyfirstlearnedin
church.GroupslikeAndraéCrouchAndThe
DisciplesandMightyCloudsOfJoywould
ultimatelyepitomisea moremodernbrandof
gospelwhentheytookthegritandgustoofStax-
styleR&BandthesymphonicplushnessofPhilly
soulandputtheminserviceoftheLord.
Alas,it wasnotthefateofmostactshereto
achievethesameprominenceasthesenew
gospelsuperstars.Instead,The Time For Peace Is
Nowcelebratesthe
achievementsof
TheSoulStirrers,
The Mighty
Revelaires,TheReligiousSoulsandmanymore
whotouredregionallyandrecordedlargelyfor
tinylabelsorfleetinglyforbiggerones,likeThe
TriumphsforVee-JayorTheFloydFamilySingers
forSavoy.Howeverminorthese45smayhave
seemedatthetime,togethertheyconstitutea
majordiscoveryforanysoulfanregardlessofhis
orherdenomination(orutterlackthereof).And
whileJesusmayremainatthecentreofthesongs
here(thisis gospelafterall),trackslikeJames
Bynum’s“WeAreInNeed”arefarmoreexplicitly
aboutthestruggletofindhispresenceorfollow
histeachingsinsucha troubledworld.OrasThe
FloydFamilySingersputit in“TheSignOfThe
Times”– a possiblyunprecedentedsynthesisof
proto-discoflairandquasi-apocalypticgloom
- “WhyinthenameofGodcan’tourleaderssee/
What’shappeningtohumanity?”
Whetherit’stheradicalisedSpinners-likedoo-
wopoftheFloyds’“WeDon’tLoveEnough”,or
thepoignantblendofjubilationandfrustration
inTheSoulStirrers’“I’mTryingToBeYour
Friend”,somanysongsherebysoulDJGreg
Belsonconfoundtheusualdistinctionsbetween
thesacredandtheprofaneinAmericanmusic.
In that respect,The TimeForPeaceIs Nowis
everybitasfascinating
andcompellingas
TheEcstaticMusic
OfAliceColtrane
Turiyasangitananda,
thecompilationof
private-pressashram
recordingsbythejazz
outlierthatlaunched
LuakaBop’sWorld
SpiritualityClassics
seriesin2017.Hopefully,
futureinstalmentswill
bejustasnourishingfor
wearysouls.
Extras:7/10 .Photos
andnotesbyJonathan
Lethem,RobertF Darden
andPastorKeithL
W hit ney.JASON ANDERSON
VARIOUS ARTISTS
World Spirituality Classics2: The Time For Peace Is Now
LUAKABOP
9/10
Almighty paeans: compelling collection of underrated soul 45s
THE SPECIALIST
The
Religious
Souls
TheFloyd
Family
Singers
Willie
Scott
