2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

jULY 2019 • UNCUT• 45

jULIANCOPE
Autogeddon ONCE UPON A TIME

8/10

OccasionallyoverlookedCopeanti-car
LP reissued forthefirsttime
Originallyreleasedin 1994
afterCopehadbeendropped
fromIsland,Autogeddon
wasconceivedasthefinal
partofa trilogythatincluded
PeggySuicideandJehovakill.
Whileit wasn’tcompletelyignored,it was
slightlyeclipsedbythesimultaneoussuccess
ofHeadOn, whichseemedtorepresentCope’s
transitionfroma musicianwhocouldwrite
toanacclaimedauthorwhomademusicon
theside.Thisrepackagedreissuefeaturesa
remasteredversionoftheoriginalalbum,plus
sixadditionaltracksfromthesameera– the
four-track“ParanormalInTheWestCountry”
EPand“ConspiracistBlues”/“HighwayBlues”
7-inch.Thealbum– recordedwithMichael
Mooney,DonaldRossSkinner,RoosterCosby
andThighpaulsandra– containedeighttracks,
eachrecordedina singletakeandlargely
focusedaroundman’sdangerousobsession
withthemotorcar.Whileseveralsongswere
acoustic,theelectricguitarwaspresenton
dumbStoogesrock“IGottaWalk”andthe
wiggy“Ain’tButTheOneWay”,whilethe
albumclosedwiththeextendedpsychedelic
electronicaof“STARCAR”.FamiliarCope
themesdominate– ecology,fame,prehistory

• andthesearelacedwithhistypicalblend
  ofhumourandrighteousness.Thebonus
  tracksarefabulouslystrange,includingthe
  demented“Krankenhausmusik”,cultish
  singalong“Avebury”andsurreal,somewhat
  cruel“ConspiracistBlues”.
  Extras:8/10.Bookand postcards, plus bonus
  tracks.P ete rWatts

DOVES
LostSouls/TheLastBroadcast/
SomeCities (reissues, 2000, 2002, 2005)
UNIVERSAL

8/10,8/10,7/10

Weatherbeatentriogetbackin thering
Dovesburnedoutasfast
astheyrose,butduring
theirfive-yearascentthe
Manchesterbandproduceda
runofprettymajesticalbums
thatprovideda soulful
alternativetothelikesofColdplayandOasis
andpavedthewayforthereal-alewarmthand
stirringanthemsoftheirpalsElbow.These
firstthreealbumsarenowbeingreissued
ascolouredvinyl2LPsfollowingtheband’s
reunionannouncementlastDecember,having
calledit a dayin 2010 afterpromotingtheirlast
record,KingdomOfRust, bywhichpointthey
weregoingthroughthemotions.Therewas
alwaysa wearinessaboutDovesbuttheywore
it beautifully,turningtragedy(theirstudiofire,
RobGretton’sdeath)tocrumpledeuphoriaon
LostSouls, wheretheirdancerootsasSubSub
andmemoriesofnightsat theHaçiendashaped
“HereIt Comes”and“TheCedarRoom”into
comedownclassics.Buoyedbywhatfeltlike
irresistiblemomentum,TheLastBroadcast
arrivedtwoyearslaterfullofbuccaneering
energyanda bonafidehit(“ThereGoesThe
Fear”),evenreachingNo1, muchliketheir
2005 follow-up,SomeCities, whichsawthem
takestockoftheirachievementsandsettleon
a formulaforsuccess:fewsurprises,just songs
thatgreetyoulikeanoldfriend.
Extras: None.Piers Martin

Patchmein:

MortGarson

(standing)

watchesan

engineer

grapple

with a Moog

ARCHIVE

AlthoughMortGarsonfails

toneta singlementioninRe/

Search’stwo-volumeIncredibly

StrangeMusiccompendium,his

niche-interestelectronicrecords

havebeensampledbythelikes

ofDJShadowandThePharcyde,andanyexotica

orMoogobsessiveworththeirsaltwillknowhis

name,if nothisstory.

TheCanadianJuilliardgraduate’staleis

initiallyoneofconventionalaccomplishment:

afterservinginthearmy’sSpecialServices,

hebeganworkingasa sessionall-rounder,

composing,orchestrating,arrangingand

sometimesplayingpiano.Duringthe’60she

notchedupcreditsonhigh-profilepopalbums

includingGlenCampbell’sByTheTimeI Get

ToPhoeni xandGlennYarbrough’ssetofRod

McKuencovers,TheLonelyThings, plusboth

DorisDay’sSentimentalJourneyandLatinFor

Lovers. Addtheco-writingofthe 1963 hit“Our

DayWillCome”andanarranger’screditonThe

Sandpipers’“Guantanamera”andyouhavethe

resuméofa backroom,soft-popmaster.

AllofwhichmakesGarson’slaterelectronic

outputmorecompellinglypeculiar.After

meetingRobertMoogwithhisinventionat

theAudioEngineeringSociety’sLosAngeles

conventionin1967,hechangedmusicalcourse,

thatyearreleasingwhat’swidelyacceptedas

thefirstalbumtofeaturetheMoog,a far-out

guidetoastrologicalsignscalledTheZodiac:

CosmicSounds, withinputfromfellowelectronic

enthusiastPaulBeaver.It’sMotherEarth’s

Plantasia from 1976, though, that tops Garson’s

shortrunofnovelelectronicrecords.Originally

a freegiftwithanypurchasefromLAplantshop

MotherEarthandwithmattresssalesfrom

Sears,it capitalisedonbestsellingbookThe

SecretLifeOfPlants, whichclaimedthatplants

wereresponsivetomusicandthat“hearing”it

wouldencouragethemtogrow.

Tothatcrazilyunscientificend,Garson

composed 10 psych-poptrackswithaneasy-

listeningpanache,combiningsynthesised

echoesofhisorchestralpast– notablyonthe

bittersweet“ConcertoForPhilodendronAnd

Pothos”– withtheMoog’ssignature“futuristic”

sounds.It seems“YouDon’tHaveToWalk

A Begonia”demandeda tuneascomically

gaucheasthetitleis daft,but“Swingin’

Spathiphyllums”setsupa dazzlinglysweet

danceofswoopingstrings,a repeatedpiano

motifandpillowsofrushingsynth,while“A

MellowMoodForMaidenhair”conjuresthe

finalscenesofsomeEuropean’60sspyflickand

“SymphonyForA SpiderPlant”throwsforward

toJaneWeaver.There’salsoa mixofwidescreen

Hollywoodglamourandgalumphingsynth

in“Baby’sTearsBlues”that’shardtoresist,

underliningasit doesGarson’sfusingoftwo

verydifferentaesthetics.

Regardlessofitscontextandkitschcachet,

MotherEarth’sPlantasiais anunqualified

charmer,thankstoGarson’sskillintranslating

sophisticatedorchestralthemesintoa simpler,

electronicexpressionandatleastsimulating

emotioneventhoughhissubjectwassosingularly

abstract.Botanicallybogus,yes– butentirely

genuine in its own way.sHarOn O’COnneLL

MORT GARSON

MotherEarth’sPlantasia

SACREDBONES

7/1 0

First reissue of highly collectable ’70s electronic oddity

rediscovered

Uncovering the underrated and overlooked