Wishbone Ash achieved considerable success in the 1970s, during which they were among England’s most popular hard rock acts, achieving an incredible eight top 40 albums. Often regarded as one of the premiere UK live acts of the 1970s, the band toured throughout this period and into the following decades.
1972 was one of rock music’s most memorable years for regal releases – a golden age of classic albums – Exile on Main Street, Machine Head, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, All the Young Dudes, Roxy Music, Can’t Buy a Thrill, Sailin’ Shoes, Foxtrot, Demons and Wizards, Transformer and Barnstorm – by rock royalty – The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Davie Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Roxy Music, Steely Dan, Little Feat, Genesis, Uriah Heep, Lou Reed and Joe Walsh. Not least among these amazing artists and records was Wishbone Ash – and their award-winning ‘Album of the Year’ – “Argus”.
Undoubtedly the most famous of the bands’ 1970s canon, “Argus” is not only the biggest selling album of Wishbone Ash’s career – featuring the beloved fan-favourite ‘Blowin’ Free’ – but also full of memorable and timeless tunes such as ‘The King Will Come’, ‘Time Was’, ‘Warrior’ and ‘Throw Down The Sword’.
Featuring a heady blend of prog rock, folk and hard rock, “Argus” is widely considered a vital moment in the progression of twin-lead guitar harmonisation.
As they reigned supreme through the 1970s, Wishbone Ash was centred on inspired musicianship, joyful spirit and inventive songs. Their concerts were uplifting and their recorded work sublime. “Argus” remains a stunning highpoint in the band’s startling repertoire.
This is a vital addition to the Wishbone Ash catalogue.
Wishbone Ash celebrate the 50th anniversary of their classic album “Argus” with a 7-Disc multi-format box set.
The set includes:
3 CDs comprising Martin Turner’s Argus remaster, “Live at The Alexandra Palace” 1973, “Live in Memphis” 1972, 4 previously unreleased early version demos.
2 LPs – An original “Argus” replica (remastered for this release) and “Argus” Live on yellow vinyl (selected recordings from Alexandra Palace and Memphis).
A DVD including French and Swiss TV footage, “Live from the Rainbow” 1973, and an RTS Broadcast from 1974.
A 7” Single of ‘Blowin’ Free’.
A 48-page book with rare photographs and extensive liner notes featuring contributions from Andy Powell, Martin Turner and Steve Upton. “Argus” – a 50th Anniversary multi-format Box Set will be released by @Madfishlabel on 14th April 2023 to celebrate one of the most pivotal entries in the history of great British rock and prog albums.
A numbered certificate of authenticity. The band’s ultimate statement given the deluxe treatment it richly deserves.
Peter Buck’s musical collaboration with Luke Haines began as so many of them do: with a random connection. The former R.E.M. guitarist bought a painting of Lou Reed by Haines, and it sparked the thought that perhaps the two of them should work together.
Quarantine scuttled plans for the pair to play shows in support of their debut, 2020’s “Beat Poetry for Survivalists”. But, as Buck details below, the songs kept flowing. “All the Kids Are Super Bummed Out” is the sprawling double-album “monster-piece” manifesto that emerged from their efforts.
It’s a conceptual project that will leave you hoping for a sequel – although perhaps one with a less dismal subject matter. Buck shared some of the highlights from the time they spent working on the new album with UCR. The Auteurs frontman and R.E.M.’s guitarist reteam for a fever dream double LP that betters their debut
This stuff that you’ve been doing with Luke Haines feels like it completes the cycle of what you started with the initial albums that you did solo. My solo records, I just wanted to prove a point to myself. This is something I’ve never done; I’m just gonna do it. I can’t sing, fuck it. You know what? I’m not worried about it. [Laughs] I’m going to make these records – and you know, they were written and recorded, I don’t think I spent more than five days on any of those records. Yet, they have something. You don’t go through those records looking for good singing, but the songs are good and the playing is pretty amazing. With Luke, I don’t know, I [just] started sending him stuff.
The first couple of things I sent him were just things I’d written that day. “Here’s three guitars and a drum machine and a synth and a bass.” At a certain point, I kind of realized there weren’t any boundaries there. Anything I send him, he’s going to finish. Particularly with this record, my feeling was, “It’s the summer of 2021, and do I really need to write a pretty song in E Minor with a nice guitar riff?” It wasn’t what I was feeling. It wasn’t what I was experiencing. I mean, out here in Portland, we had the fires, the heatwaves, the protests when they sent the feds in and the feds turned them into riots. It was just hellacious out here, in some ways. I was just like, “Yeah, writing a song with a structure? Fuck that!” Something like “Exit Space,” it was like, “Here’s just a template of what I’m feeling like right now, and it doesn’t make sense. Here you go, Luke!”
This is a great headphone album. We were talking about “Exit Space” earlier and it’s got what sounds like a psychotic, laughing monkey. It seems like it would have been fun to conjure things like that and make them a reality. At one point, that song was like nine minutes long. Luke cut it down. He said, “I don’t know, there’s only so much of that monkey stuff that I think people can take.” And I’m like, “I don’t know, I’m always down for more monkeys on the record!” But that one, I was talking to my next-door neighbour, who is a doctor and I was like, “So, how are you doing with this COVID thing?” She said, “Oh, I’m fine. I’ve been around infectious diseases my entire life.” But she goes, “All the kids are super bummed out.” I said, “Hey Luke, I think this one might be called “All the Kids Are Super Bummed Out.” So that’s the record title and that was just purely an adult thing, how tough it is for not just her kids, but all of the kids that aren’t able to get together, aren’t going to school.
The album should really be also attributed to Scott McCaughey, Buck’s frequent collaborator (going back to ’90s R.E.M.) who was also part of Beat Poetry for Survivalists and co-wrote every song here and co-produced as well. Linda Pitmon, who is Buck and McCaughey’s bandmate in Filthy Friends, is back to play drums, too. Both of these albums are great, and you can tell everyone involved is having a good time, so can they just become a real band already?
One of the most legendary live concerts of all time. Wish I could have been there, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard surprised fans on Wednesday with the release of a new live album featuring recordings from the band’s milestone shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Entitled “Live At Red Rocks ’22”, the album includes a staggering 86 tracks from KGLW’s first-ever shows at the iconic Colorado venue, where they played three-hour marathon sets on October 10th and 11th and November 2nd, 2022.
Pulled from their three shows at the iconic Colorado venue last fall, a live album featuring every song the Australian rock band played at the iconic Colorado venue last fall. The live album follows their six releases in 2022: Butterfly 3001; Made In Timeland; Omnium Gatherum; Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And Lava; Laminated Dream; and Changes.
In addition to band members Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, Michael Cavanagh, and Stu Mackenzie, the album also features a guest appearance from vocalist Leah Senior, who opened the shows and sat in with the band, on tracks 21–23, 46–51, and 84–85. The three concerts were three-hour “marathon sets” consisting of material from throughout the prolific band’s career. King Gizz was originally supposed to make their Red Rocks debut in May of 2020. However, the pandemic led to numerous postponements.
The collection is available via Bandcamp as part of the group’s bootlegger program, meaning fans are free to distribute the audio in physical formats if they provide copies for the band to sell on Gizzverse.com (official audio master files and cover art are available here). Scroll down to listen to “Live At Red Rocks ’22”
“Live At Red Rocks ’22” arrives one day after King Gizzard shared a music video for the “Changes”song “Astroturf” featuring footage of the band tracking the song live in-studio. The band comment, “We filmed this live then overdubbed the fuck over it. Recording is fun.”
King Gizzard’s long awaited Red Rocks debut featured nine hours of ‘no repeats’ over the course of the three nights, even with a repertoire as deep as Gizz’s, it was truly an epic feat. With an impressive total of eighty-six different songs, now available to stream is the just released compilation album featuring the full shows from the famed venue.
Live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO, USA, Oct 10th, Oct 11th and Nov 2nd 2022
Recorded by: Sam Joseph, Nico Wilson, Gaspard Demulemeester and Gabe Nardin Mixed by Stu Mackenzie Cover design by Jason Galea
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard returns to Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado for three shows this June as part of an upcoming North American tour.
The mockup here is a preliminary design – the final album package will feature Jason Galea’s original artwork + mind melting op art and video feedback artwork in the spirit of the band’s live visuals. Vinyl colors are accurate, splatter colors may change.
– Limited to 1000 Splatter Vinyl Box Sets featuring 86 Tracks over TWELVE 12″ LP’s! – Custom Numbered Collectors Box w. shrink-wrap + hype sticker – Each 12″ in a custom photo board inner-sleeve – A unique hypnotic op art inner label for each 12″ – Bonus “Mega” Double-Sided Poster
Ambrose Kenny-Smith: Harmonica, Keys, Vocals, Saxophone, Percussion Cook Craig: Guitar, Keys, Vocals, Synthesiser Joey Walker: Guitar, Vocals, Synthesiser Lucas Harwood: Bass Michael Cavanagh: Drums Stu Mackenzie: Guitar, Vocals, Flute, Keys
Ten years ago The Lone Bellow emerged onto the Nashville scene and cast a musical spell with their finely crafted songs, delivered in hypnotic three-part harmony.
The Lone Bellow (Trio) is Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist and Kanene Donehey Pipkin, whose 2020 chart-topping “Half Moon Light” album spawned the Triple A radio hits “Count On Me” and “Dried Up River,” both of which hit #1 on the Americana Singles chart.
Critically-acclaimed as recording and performing artists, the band toured with Grammy and CMA award-winners Maren Morris and Kacey Musgraves. Their albums have been produced by the iconic Dave Cobb as well as Aaron Dessner of The National.
Most recently the trio completed their first self-produced album “Love Songs for Losers,” marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the band’s journey.
released January 26th, 2023 Written by Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, and Kanene Pipkin
Ground breaking doesn’t even start to describe PiL’s album from 1978. Surrounded by polemic on its release, this is arguably where post-punk started. Released in December 1978 after the Sex Pistols’ break-up, “First Issue” is considered by many to be the first post-punk album. After the punk hangover, John Lydon set out to create a new sound that would stand apart from what other contemporary bands were doing, fully aware that it wouldn’t be understood by many of his old followers. For this he counted on the help of ex-Clash guitarist Keith Levene, first-time bassist Jah Wobble and Canadian drummer Jim Walker.
“First Issue” has been lovingly reproduced from the original UK 1978 release and this special reissue also comes with a clutch of post-punk era treasures.
The 2023 LP edition includes an expanded gatefold jacket, an archive replica fold-out poster, a Pil sticker, insert, and download card for the album, the archival BBC interview, and “he Cowboy Song.” all of which were approved and coordinated with JohnLydon and his personal management. in 1976 Then Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols set the agenda for punk’s year zero with ‘Anarchy in the UK’, a song that summed up the spirit, sound and attitude of the band in one shocking package.
Two years later, the Sex Pistols were in tatters, but Rotten was as unsentimental as you’d hope. he reverted to his real name – John Lydon – and set about forming a band whose very identity kicked against press and media manipulation. featuring bassist Jah Wobble, drummer Jim Walker and guitarist Keith Levene, his new group was called Public Image Limited. the PublicImage would be limited.
PiL were a very distinct prospect from the Pistols, founded with a greater thought for rhythm, and with a sound that turned the page from snarling punk to a more experimental sound fusing rock, dance, folk, ballet, pop and dub. but that’s not to say Lydon’s new outfit lacked vitriol. ‘Public Image’ hits out against the notorious british tabloid press, who never gave Lydon an easy ride, and against his own Sex Pistols Public Image – “you only saw me for the clothes i wore”. the debut single (and the album that followed) operated as a theme song and a manifesto: “…my entrance/my own creation/my grand finale/my goodbye,” as the lyrics had it. it is, essentially, the sound of four people letting loose in a studio – and not caring what anyone else thought. the album was never officially released in the USA back in the day, its sound considered too un-commercial by major labels for an american release.
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart’s 2009 self-titled debut album was truly an out-of-nowhere smash, garnering widespread acclaim from the likes of The New York Times (“sensitive and sublime, Best of 2009), Pitchfork (Best New Music, Best of 2009) and NME (“pure indiepop to hold close to your heart,” Best of 2009) to countless indiepop forums and blogs, and landing the band a dedicated following that endures to this day.
It’s no mean feat for a young band under the spotlight and the weight of expectations to create a second album that retains the qualities of the debut that so charmed the fans and press in the first place, but against tall odds The Pains succeeded.
It’s long been one of our most-requested reissues, so we’re *super* excited to announce that we have a new pressing of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart’s second album “Belong” coming in just a few weeks! On gorgeous ice blue/royal blue splatter vinyl, and initial direct copies with bonus print while supplies last.
The 2011 follow-up “Belong” aimed for the stars and hit the mark resoundingly, full to the brim with monster tunes and polished to powerful perfection by the production and mixing team of Flood (Depeche Mode, U2) and Alan Moulder (Smashing Pumpkins, Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride). The combination was a resounding success, vaulting the Pains to a spot in the alt-rock firmament rarely reached by indiepop bands and cementing their status as one of the seminal guitar-pop bands of the era.
Originally released March 29th, 2011
Pains Of Being Pure at Heart: Kip Berman: Vox, Guitars Peggy Wang: Keyboards, Vox Alex Naidus: Bass, Backing Vox Kurt Feldman: Drums, Percussion Additional Guitars Performed By Christoph Hochheim
A track featuring on the soundtrack for “Montana Story”, a film I scored last year alongside Rob Barbato, is out everywhere digitally. Vinyl will come later. I’m very proud of my first film score and the single that closes out the film is a song called “Like A Flower” that I wrote for the film and we made a video for it and that too is also out today. More on all of this later, but for now, enjoy
“Like A Flower” by Kevin Morby from Music From “Montana Story”, A LOT to announce today. First off I am going on tour. In the US and across Europe / UK. Erin Rae, of the Erin Rae fame, will be joining me in the states. We can’t wait to get back out there!!
Lead singer/songwriter of The Icicle Works, Mercury-nominated solo artist McNabb (62) has made twenty-two studio albums since 1984. He has worked with Peter Buck, Jason Falkner, Crazy Horse, Ringo Starr, Waterboys, Lightning Seeds and Danny Thompson amongst others. Ian lives in Liverpool and performs solo or with a band as and when he can.
Hot on the heels of Ian’s ‘Space Trilogy’ and the collection of re-worked Icicle Works material known as “Ascending”, Fairfield Records of Liverpool bring you “Nabby Road”
The album features the core Power Trio of Ian McNabb (Vocal, Guitar, Keyboards), Roy Corkill (Bass) and Nick Kilroe (Drums). Ian has returned to the three-piece line up and the result is the most Icicle Works-sounding music he has made in a long time. As some of you are aware there is a long wait for vinyl at the moment, however there will only ever be 500 copies of any McNabb album released on Fairfield Records so it’s an investment.
They go very quickly so grab them now. Utopian is already selling for silly prices. The vinyl is already ordered so we hope to have it with you by June/July ’22 at the latest.
The latest chapter in Columbia/Legacy’s highly acclaimed Bob Dylan Bootleg Series takes a fresh look at ‘Time Out of Mind’,Dylan’s mid-career masterpiece, celebrating the album and its enduring impact 25 years after its original release on September 30th, 1997. ‘Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17’ follows the evolution of songs written for the album, from intimate early incarnations in the previously unreleased 1996 Teatro sessions featuring Dylan (vocals, guitar, and piano), Daniel Lanois (guitar and organ), Tony Garnier (bass) and Tony Mangurian (drums and percussion) through incandescent live renditions (also previously unreleased) showcasing Dylan and his touring ensemble channeling the songs on-stage from 1998-2001.
I heard “Time Out Of Mind’s” miracle on a preview cassette in a friend’s parked car, our jaws dropping to at least four plainly great songs from a hero who’d seemed spent. Then there was Daniel Lanois’s production: an inescapable, miasmic atmosphere thicker yet than his work on “Oh Mercy”, technologically mutating the echoing ’50s sound Dylan had requested. Twenty-five years on, “Standing In The Doorway”, “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven”, “Not Dark Yet” and “Highlands” are still peaks, and Lanois’s work still sometimes tips from essential to overwhelming, just as he and Dylan fiercely wrestled for control during the record’s fraught Miami sessions.
“Fragments“, the new five-disc Bootleg Series excavation of those sessions, reimagines “Time Out Of Mind” in a Michael Brauer remix which strips away Lanois’s arguable excesses, leaving it closer, it’s claimed, to how the music sounded in the room. It also disinters initial, autumn 1996 sessions at Lanois’s funky Teatro home studio in Oxnard, California, discovering mind-blowing sketches for a radically different, R&B-flavoured album, its death-haunted lyrics less important than Dylan’s lusty exuberance at his creative rebirth. Seemingly lesser songs now dance from the speakers, reborn.
“Fragments” also traces the work’s January 1997 shift in Miami towards its final form, adds Never-Ending Tour reimaginings of the songs and, in a fifth disc, relevant tracks already released on “Tell-Tale Signs“. That collection’s motherlode of great unreleased songs seems exhausted, the Bootleg Series now instead focusing on showing facets of Dylan’s many jewels in a new light.
It’s a moot point just how stripped back this remix really is, as Dylan’s voice retains a Sun Studio echo, and the same worked-over takes are used. The album’s vinyl incarnation also anyway steered much closer to the jumping ’50s sound Dylan wanted. Here, though, lost verses return, and that voice is the absolute focus – driven on by massive drums on “Love Sick”, left still more bereft on “Standing In The Doorway” and upfront in its gorgeous articulation of disaffection on “Not Dark Yet”.
“Dirt Road Blues”’ skipping roadhouse groove is bettered by “Million Miles”’ slinky urban simmer, its cymbals’ jazzy, crystalline glint and rock’n’roll guitar’s rough, metallic grain sounding like a Shadow Kingdom refit. The drums then stormily whip up “Cold Irons Bound”, Dylan seeing “nothing but clouds of blood” in this version. “Make You Feel My Love” is a glorious gospel ballad carried by hushed organ, “Can’t Wait” is sexy, funky and funny with a steam-hammer beat. “Highlands”, enlivened by spectral touches of wild mercury guitar, reveals its unsuspected, close connection to more phantasmagoric mid-’60s epics, as he follows “the snap of the bow” into the titular, mythic hills.
Discs 2 and 3 detail the sessions that led to this, opening with the Oxnard “Dreamin’ Of You”, wildly different to both its “Tell-Tale Signs” take and evolution as “Standing In The Doorway”. Now Dylan sounds like an Al Green loverman in a dimly lit club as dawn breaks, and feels like “a ghost in love”. “I squandered the years of my youth,” he finally confesses. “It’s a scary thing, the truth.” “The Water Is Wide” switches to a humbly prayerful folk vocal, and “Red River Shore (Version 1)” sounds straight off The Basement Tapes, Dylan deliberately choosing from a wealth of styles.
The R&B mood then returns in Miami. “Not Dark Yet (Version 1)” is more unbelievable yet, up-tempo Memphis country-soul with Willie Mitchell-style guitar. “Nah, it’s not dark yet,” Dylan decides.
“Can’t Wait (Version 1)” is a mighty take, the band meeting Dylan’s rasping roar with smashing drums. Excised lyrics are equally majestic, cutting to “Time Out Of Mind’s” heart: “Well my back is to the sun because the light is too intense/ I can see what everyone in the world is up against”; and, “I’m getting old/ Anything now can happen to anyone.” People revere Dylan’s 1979-80 ‘Gospel’ shows, captured on the Bootleg Series’ “Trouble No More”. His blues and soul singing here is still more fiercely potent, these session performances ranking among his very best.
“Cold Irons Bound” is good Lanois sonic weirdsville, guitars and keyboards blurring. “Make You Feel My Love (Take 1)” already sounds like an AOR classic Clapton would kill for, studio applause breaking out at Dylan’s sensitive balladeer singing. As the sessions progress towards their familiar destination, interest inevitably falls away. On “Not Dark Yet (Version 2)”, the tone we know locks tights, as Dylan finally accepts his words’ deathly weight
The live disc draws strongly on what sound like audience recordings of Dylan’s landmark 2000 tour, when his voice and intent were at their strongest for years. Birmingham’s “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven” is unrecognisable, of course, refashioned as the sort of lacily delicate old-time ballad “Love And Theft” would soon introduce. Nashville ’99’s “Can’t Wait” adds a reggae lope to its funk, Dylan pushing his voice hysterically high. Last comes “Highlands” in Newcastle, Australia in 2001, a shaggy-dog talking blues told in stand-up nightclub fashion, so jauntily uptempo it shaves six minutes from the album.
No one thought that Dylan would make one of his finest albums in 1997 (or maintain that hot streak for the next quarter-century). No one thought, either, that the outtakes from such sessions could fill a compelling, sometimes revelatory box set.
