2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

JOHNRENBOURN

Unpentangled:
TheSixties Albums CHERRY TREE

8/10

FreedfromThePentangle,
Renbourn’s slyartistryshines
Collectingtogether
thesixalbums
Englishguitarist
JohnRenbourn
releasedoutside
folk-rocksupergroup
Pentanglethroughthe’60s,
Unpentanglingoffersa welcome,
broaderpictureofa playerravenous
inhisdesiretopushhisplayinginto
new,surprisingconfigurations.Two
albumswithAmericanfolksinger
DorrisHenderson,ThereYouGo!
(1965)andWatchTheStars(1966),
matchRenbourn’sfluidplaying
withHenderson’sstrident,rich
delivery– shereallyknewhowtotake
a songtotown.TwosoloRenbourn
albums,JohnRenbournandAnother
Monday, bothfrom1966,offerequal
partsinstrumentalbluesminiatures
andruggedfolksongs,Renbourn’s
deliverya littlehesitant;thesame
year’scollaborationwithlong-time
sparringpartnerBertJansch,Bert&
John, provesthateitherasmembers
ofPentangle,orasfriendsrecording
anoff-the-cuff,lo-ficollectioninthe
kitchen,JanschandRenbournwere
madetoplaytogether,weavingsilver
skeinsoflustrousmelodyaround
eachother.Therealrevelation,
though,is 1968’sSirJohnAlotOf...,
whereRenbournworksmedieval
musicintohisarmoury;theopening
renditionofWilliamByrd’s“TheEarle
OfSalisbury”stillstartleswithits
unexpectedfluency.A revolution
in waiting, this album.

Extras:5/10. Booklet with liner notes.

JONDALE

SCREAMINGTREES

SweetOblivion (reissue, 1992)

HNE/PURPLE

9/10

TheTrees’finesthour,burnished

to shine

ThestoryofScreaming

Treesoftenstartsand

endswiththeirbrief

grungedalliance:

theirhit“NearlyLost

You”appearedonthe

Singlessoundtrack,andthegroup

weresweptupinpost-Nirvana

mayhem.Buttherewasalwaysmuch

moreto ScreamingTrees.Formedin

themid-1980s,theirearlyconnections

hadthemsettlinginwitha numberof

differentcircles– theywereproduced

bySteveFiskandreleaseda splitwith

BeatHappening,aligningthemwith

K Records’indieaesthetic;someoftheir

’80salbumswerereleasedonGreg

Ginn’sSST,makingthemerstwhile

labelmatesofthelikesofMeatPuppets,

SonicYouth,SaccharineTrustand

Slovenly.Thegroupdynamicwas

combustible,buttheirvocalist,Mark

Lanegan,hadthegreatestvoiceon

thescene,andtheirsongsmoved

inunpredictabledirections;psych,

raga-rockandfolkalllandedinthere,

somewhere.SweetOblivionwaswhere

it allcametogether,finally.Theguitars

werethick,corrosive,drenching

everythinginlayersofwhite-lightfuzz;

thesongsfelttighter,yettheplaying

wasstillwild,andLanegan,hisvoice

deepandcraggy,wasa monolithic

presence.Theyshouldhavebeenhuge.

Extras:5/10.A discofB-sides and other

material.JON DALE

TRAFFIC

TheStudio Albums 1967–74

UMC/ISLANd

8/10

Astonkillers:boxsetcollects

Brum colossi’sfirstsix

“WhenI wasa

youngboy,I livedfor

rock’n’roll,” la ment s

SteveWinwood

onTraffic’s 1974

swansong,Where

TheEagleFlies, theSpencerDavis

Group’s“blue-eyed”soulboyalready

a time-servedwarhorseat 26.The

Birminghamsupergroupremained

hugeinAmericalongaftertheir

stylegotoldforBritishfans,Traffic’s

evolutionintoa bongo-totingjamband

withjazzpretensionsa littlevanilla

forkidswiggingoutto Yes.However,

this6LPretirementgiftshowsTraffic

keptsparklyforlongerthanmost

SmallFacesultrasmightimagine.

ThekillercombinationofWinwood

andwoodwindsuppliedenough

A-gradematerialthattheycouldafford

to leavehitsingles“PaperSun”and

“HoleInMyShoe”offtheir 1967 debut

L P,MrFantasy, andthegoodtimes

keeprollingontheirself-titled 1968

follow-up.Thepsychedeliclighting

fadesupthereafter,but1970’sJohn

BarleycornMustDiehashorn-yfun

aplenty(“EmptyPages”pre-empting

thechoirboyfandangoofGenesis),

whilethetitlesplurgeoff1971’sTheLow

SparkOfHigh-HeeledBoyscouldhave

beentransplantedontoJohnMartyn’s

SolidAirwithoutfearofrejection.

Traffic’sfade-outcouldhavedonewith

someediting,buttheiryouthwasfar

fromwasted.

Extras:6/10.Facsimilepromotional

postersforeach album.

JIMWIRTH

YARdBIRdS

LiveAndRare

REPERTOIRE

8/10

BBCsessions,Europeanliveshows

and more

TheYardbirdsarea

legendarygroupfor

somegoodreasons

(“HappeningsTen

YearsTimeAgo”;

“Stroll On”; all

thoseguitarists)butalsosomebad

ones(chieflythedisorderlystateof

theircatalogue).This4CD/1DVDset

doesa responsiblejobintryingto

reconcilethosepositions,imposing

valuableorderoverJuly1966–March

1968,whenthingswerebothvery

exciting(BlowUp)andalsopretty

confusing(advertsformilkshakes

andtoothpasteanda KeithRelfsolo

single).Allarepresentandcorrect

here,alongwithBBCsessionaudio

goingbacktoClaptonand1964.The

arguablesellingpointis thebandlive

withJimmyPage:violinbowwellin

placeby’67;“WhiteSummer”and

“DazedAndConfused”by’68.Just

asinterestingis thedocumentary

evidenceofoneera’spracticeofpop

musictransformingintosomething

elsecompletely.

Extras:5/10.Liner notes.

JOHNROBINSON

JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 49

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RockIstNichtTot:1977–2018.

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