2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

NICJONES

“Ifpeoplestillliketherecords,great!”

revelations

ARCHIVE

ENDLESSBOOGIE

Volumes I, II NO QuartEr

8/10

Impossible-to-getfirstalbums

bygrizzledpsychmaestros

make a heroicreturn

BornoutofTuesday-

nightjamsbya

groupofMatador

Recordsemployees

andrecorddealer

Paul“TopDollar”

Major,EndlessBoogiemadetheirlive

debutopeningforStephenMalkmus

& TheJicksin2001.Fouryearslater,

thebandwerestilla largelycasual

concernwhentheywereinvitedto

crossthepondfortheSlint-curated

ATPFestival.Needingsomemerchto

sell,EndlessBoogiepressedtheirfirst

runofLPs,drawingthetracksfrom

theirtroveofrehearsaltapes.Another

unnamedalbumwascobbledtogether

soonthereafterandmostlygivenaway

tofriends.Needlesstosay,copies

havebeenmuchcovetedbyMajor’s

collectorbrethren.Thesixsongs

spreadacrossNoQuarter’sdouble-CD/

double-LPreissueoffera roughand

extra-ramblingversionofthesound

thatwouldachieveitsfullgloryon

2010’sFullHouseHeadand2013’s

LongIsland. Ofcourse,fewfanswill

mindthatthebandpreferredtotake

thelongwayround.Oneoftwotracks

thatnearorsurpassthe25-minute

mark,“MorningLineDirt”is a garagey

CrazyHorsepsych-outparexcellence.

Likewise,“CameWind,Game

Finish”willlevelanyonewhoever

believedthatthetwogreatestalbums

of 1973 wereZZTop’sTresHombres

andHawkwind’sSpaceRitual. The

dubiousfidelityqualityofthese

historicdocumentsonlyaddstotheir

contents’airofgrottyauthenticityand

infectiousspontaneity.

Extras:None.JASONANDERSON

rOrYGaLLaGHEr

BluesCHESS

8/10

From the Mississippi to the Liffey...

Gallagherfound

myriadsimilarities

betweentheblues

andtraditional

Irishmusic(“Alotof

wailing,bendingof

notes,melancholy,minor-keythings”)–

whichmayexplainwhyfewbornsofar

fromtheDeltahaveeverplayedit with

suchconviction.Comprising 90 percent

unreleasedmaterial,this36-track,3CD

setchroniclestheIrishguitarist’sblues

affinitythroughouthissolocareer,from

1971 untilhisdeathin1995.Withthe

discsthemedas“electric”,“acoustic”

and“live”,thereareguestsessionswith

hisAmericanbluesheroes,including

MuddyWatersandAlbertKing,

country-blueswonderssuchas“Whole

LotofPeople”and“BlowWindBlow”,

whichshowcasehisfinger-picking

dexterity,slideheavenonthebrilliant

“I Could’veHadReligion”andHendrix-

stylepyrotechnicson“AllAround

Man”,while“LeavingTownBlues”was

recordedfora PeterGreentributeLP

shortlybeforehediedandspotlightshis

stompingmandolinandvibrant,husky

vocals.Thefinaldisccloseswithhim

talkingabouttheblues:“Theultimate

dreamis thatin 50 years’timeoneof

yoursongsmatcheda bluesclassic.

Thatwouldbesomethingforyour

tombstone.”Thisboxis hismonument,

andit’sa mightyoneindeed.

Extras:7/10 .Extensiveand

informativebooklet.NIGEL WILLIAMSON

NICJONES

anIntroduction to Nic Jones

tOPIC

8/10

Trad-arrvisionary’struncated

greatest hits

ThatNicJonesneeds

anyintroduction

remainsa great

shame;hadthe

thwack-and-twang

guitaristnotbeen

seriouslyinjuredwhenhiscarcollided

witha bricklorryin1982,hemight

have had several boxsets’ worth of

materialbynow.Jones

survivedtheaccidentbut

playingonwasnevera

prospect,thoughheis in

stoutenoughhealthto

havecuratedthisselection

ofhisrecordingsthatthe

reinvigoratedTopiclabel

hasaccessto(hisfirst

fourLPs,recordedfor

Leader,havingeffectively

beencapturedand

killedbytherightsholders).Several

songsfromGame,Set,Match– a 2006

livecollectionconcoctedfrom1970s

folk-clubtapes– gettheirvinyldebut,

whileabsolutebeginnersshould

startwith“FarewellToTheGold”,

oneoffourtracksfilletedfrom1980’s

BobDylan-approvedPenguinEggs.

Romantic,rapturous,restrained.

Extras:8/10.Fragilebutgame,Jones

sangata handfuloffestivalsfrom

2010–13,andfurtivelyrecordeda few

songs,too.Hithertounheardtakesof

BillWorsfold’simmigrantrhapsody

“IOnlySpokePortuguese”andJones’s

ownecstatichymntobeing,“Now”,

offertheprospectthatmoremight be

tocome.Beglad.JIMWIRTH

rONNIELaNE

JustFora Moment:

Music1973–1997 uNIVErSaL

9/10

122-trackmarvel,plusgorgeousin-

depth bio, finallyrectifiesthewrong

Amodpioneerin

theSmallFaces,

RonnieLanewas

a musicalfireball

fromtheget-go.His

rewiringduringthe

Faces’waningdays,though– think

“OohLaLa”– signalleda visionary

shift,anenigmaticintenttoshatter

rock’shoity-toitystatusquo.Indeed,

heglidedintoanart-is-everything,

commerciality-be-damneduniverse.

Scoresofcompositions,magical

genreshuffles,splendidbacking

musicians,plusthedoomedSlim

Chance tour followed; meanwhile,

capitalismdisapproved.Hisstardom,

fandomand,sadly,hishealthsoon

dwindled.JustForA Momentis the

firsttrueefforttooverseeLane’ssolo

years,andit’sa doozy.“Anymorefor

Anymore”,“RollOn,Babe”,andallthe

shoulda-beensmashesarehere,but

songaftersongrevealsLane’sguile,

humour,spontaneity– inbrilliant

lyrical,musicallyexpansive,even

philosophicalways.Liverecordings

fromhisUKdays,highlightedby

a 1973SlimChancetakeon“Flags

AndBanners”,arepriceless,while

Texas-basedpickup-bandrecordings

fromhisend-timesrevealthesame

dedicationandexpressionism.

Long-buriedstudiotracksemergeas

revelatory:“Lonely”,eternalMotown

soulwitha rivetingbasslinearc,is pure

gold;“PissheadBlues”,a seven-minute

taleoflifeandlunacygluedtoChuck

Berry/“YouNeverCanTell”riffs,is a

roaring,ramshackledelight.

Extras:7/10:Livebonus cuts and

more.LukETORN

PI N kFLOYD

theDivisionBell:

25thanniversary Edition

PINkFLOYDrECOrDS

7/10

1994 Floydbattleshipreleased

as a blue-vinyldoublealbum

Itgotsomewithering

reviewsonrelease

(“It’svery,very

b or i ng,”w rote

theNME. “Their

accountantswillbe

pleased”),buthistoryhasbeenkind

tothislate-eraFloydLP.Notbecause

it wassonicallygroundbreaking

oranything,butbecauseit is the

reassuringsoundofFloydbeing

Floyd,nottomentionthelastouting

forkeyboardistRickWright.Its

slow-burningsongsaredominated

byDavidGilmour’sslo-mo,hands-

freeguitarsolosand,withoutRoger

Waters,thelyricslackspleen– theonly

causticmomentcomeswhenWaters

is indirectlyquotedonthecountry-

tinged“LostForWords”,whereheis

clearlyreferencedasa man“engulfed

ina feverofspite” who,whenaskedto

wipetheslateclean,tellsGilmour“to

pleasegofuckyourself”. Watersalso

hasa walk-onroleintheratherlovely

“PolesApart”,filledwithreferences

tohimandSydBarrett.Elsewherethe

burblingelectronicaof“KeepTalking”

samplesStephenHawking(usinghis

quotesfroma BTadvert,noless);“Take

It Back”referencesU2;while“High

Hopes”is a moving,bucolicmeditation

ontheband’searlydaysinCambridge.

Extras:4/10. Blue vinyl.JOHN LEWIS

46 • uNCut • JuLY 2019

ronnieLane

(back,left)

andSlim

Chanceon

the road

“I

t’sabout

nowism– it’sa

biteclectic!”is

howNicJonesexplains

“Now”,oneoftwo

newlyrecorded

songsonTopic’s

AnIntroductionTo

NicJones. “Now

is neitherpast

norfuturebut

somewherein

between.That’sthe

timewealwaysare.”

Beingin themoment

hasbeenJones’sthing

since a 1982 road

accidentendedhiscareer.

Livingquietlyin Devon,he

spendshisdays,“Thinking.

Playingtheguitar

occasionally.Reading.

Watchingthesnooker.”

However,hisreputation

• basedupon1980’s
  extraordinaryPenguin
  Eggsandhisdeleted
  1970salbums– remains
  huge,albeitsomewhat
  mystifyingtothemaster
  trad-rearrangerhimself:
  “It’samazingratherthan
  pleasing.I’vebeendown
  here for years doing

nothing,andif peoplestill

liketherecords,great!”

Accompaniedbyhisson

Joe,Jonesmadesome

unexpectedfestival

appearancesin theearly

2010s,andhasnotruled

outperformingagain:“I’d

liketoplaytheguitar,butit

takesa longtimetowork

out.About 30 years!The

firstfewyears[afterthe

accident], I didn’tdoa thing

onguitar.I hadtorelearn

everything:English,allthe

swearwords.They’rethe

key words.”JIM WIRTH

DAvE PEABoDy/REDfERNs