“The Ouroborus” – that is, the icon of the snake or dragon eating its own tail – appears to some a statement of the brutality of nature. To others of a Gnostic disposition it symbolises the duality of the divine and earthly in mankind. But most commonly, it’s taken simply to mean the endless cycles of death and rebirth that characterise life on this planet. As such, it’s an image that looms large in the world of Goat, the ever-mysterious and endlessly revivifying collective whose latest album marks another adventure above and beyond this particular plane of reality. This may be a band that has named albums both “Requiem” and “Oh Death”, yet this eponymous salvo proves yet again that transcendence and metamorphosis are their watchwords. Goat sees this ever-unpredictable outfit summoning rhythmically-driven rituals in unmistakable, uplifting and scintillating style, equally adept at ignitiing dancefloors and expanding minds.
‘One More Death’ and ‘Goatbrain’ are spectacular curtain-raisers, embodying a hedonistic spirit driven by incisive funk and possessed by merciless fuzz/wah-drenched guitar. Yet elsewhere, the band’s love of hip hop is the fuel for the end-credits-epic album closer ‘Ourobourus’ which marries infectious chant to breathless Lalo Schifrin-style breakbeat action. And which also means ultimately, like the titular oldest allegorical symbol in alchemy, we’re right back where we started. As Brad Dourif’s character Hazel Moates intones in the 1979 movie Wiseblood, “Where you come from is gone; where you thought you were going weren’t never there. And where you are ain’t no good unless you can get away from it”; in Goat’s eternal now of renewal and revelation, there’s never been a more potent means of escape.
‘Bleak and frightening “A Little Bit Of Grace And Decay” is also unfathomably beautiful’ MOJO **** 4 JSTARS. ‘Beguiling understated score to The Graceless Age: The Ballad Of John Murry’ UNCUT 8//10 ‘A thing of true beauty…….A powerful reminder of just what a major songwriter and artist John Murry is’
The Soundtrack to accompany the Award winning Documentary “The Graceless Age: The Ballad Of John Murry”. Written and performed by John Murry and Mike Timmins (Cowboy Junkies).
This haunting film is the story of American singer songwriter John Murry, who was on the cusp of greatness after the release of his highly acclaimed album “The Graceless Age” (Released in 2013), when his world fell apart. Addicted to heroin and creatively exhausted, he washed up on the shores of Ireland, a broken man. Now, he retraces his steps back to Mississippi into the dark heart of American life and faces his demons- a neglected childhood, traumatic assault, and resulting years of opioid addiction.
Written and performed by John Murry and Mike Timmins (Cowboy Junkies). “Ever since we finished recording “A Short History of Decay” back in 2016, I’ve been waiting for John Murry to return to my studio. I had been working on some ideas for the film score for John’s doc when he finally reappeared. He had three days to kill in Toronto, so we decided to get together, sit around and play some music.
No real plan and no real goal, just play and enjoy each other’s company. This album is the result of that visit. It’s a “sort-of” soundtrack album to the film, it contains some score pieces, as well as some of the solo recordings that John and I made when he was here in Toronto, some of which also became a part of the score” Mike Timmins.
“The Garden Of Jane Delawney” was released in April 1970, but Trees were back in the studio to record the follow-up within five months, the intervening time seemingly spent listening to Steeleye Span’s debut album “Hark! The Village Wait” (released that June) and – at least occasionally – to each other. Having jostled for position a little inelegantly over the course of the first record, Trees benefited from a Bedford-van boot camp, gigging giving them a better command of group dynamics. All Phil Manzanera acid flash on the first album, guitarist Barry Clarke’s contributions take on a more measured, Quicksilver Messenger Service tone, his guitar flickering around the edges of songs rather than screaming into centre stage. Vocalist Celia Humphris also finds a new range, and if she cannot do traditional warhorses like “Polly OnThe Shore” and “Geordie” with the same conviction as a Shirley Collins or an Anne Briggs, she no longer sounds like she is just impersonating a folk singer.
Her two-layered vocal helps make “Murdoch” by far the best of Trees’ self-written songs. Bassist BiasBoshell reckons his tale of a mysterious awful up in the mountains came to him in a dream. With a subtle, insistent guitar and keyboard refrain, it’s certainly a piece that burrows into the subconscious, Trees discovering the passage behind the cupboard that leads from After Bathing At Baxter’s-era Jefferson Airplane into Stevie Nicks-age Fleetwood Mac.
However, if their compositions are tighter (opener “Soldiers Three” is a stylish fake medieval round), Trees still yearned to stretch out; their take on Cyril Tawney’s“Sally Free And Easy” bursts its banks to become a 10-minute guitar sprawl, but it’s a mark of their new-found unity that Costa and Clarke queue up in an orderly fashion to decorate “Streets Of Derry”, another spectacular journey from rustic inner space to the wild West Coast.
First released in 2014, ‘Big Music’ marked a significant chapter in the Simple Minds’ legacy. Next month, the band will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special limited edition reissue.
For the first time, ‘Big Music’ will be available on 140g opaque orange double vinyl, alongside a deluxe double CD edition featuring bonus tracks, cover versions, and remixes by Johnson Somerset. Simple Mind’s 2014 Album “Big Music” is the sound of a group in retrospection to their artistic heyday, drawing upon irresistible, hook-laden synth-pop and riotous glam rock. Their first release for five years, “Big Music” signalled a triumphant return to form and referenced the group’s core influences through covers of The Doors, Patti Smith and The Stranglers.
Out now to celebrate National Album Day, Simple Minds’ 2014 album “Big Music” has been reissued for its 10th anniversary. Remastered by Phil Kinrade at AIR Studios, the album features key tracks including ‘Blindfolded‘, ‘Midnight Walking‘ and lead single ‘Honest Town‘.
Some of the greatest Minneapolis musicians of the late 1980s would pass through the band Golden Smog, though you might not know it by reading the credits; for contractual reasons, Soul Asylum vocalist Dave Pirner, Jayhawks guitarist Gary Louris, Replacements drummer Chris Mars and others all appear under pseudonyms on the band’s 1992 debut EP.
The group took their name from a nickname given to Fred Flintstone in The Flintstones episode “Hot Lips Hannigan”, which, in turn, was a parody of singer Mel Tormé’s nickname (The Velvet Fog).
With a name drawn from a Flintstones episode and a penchant for all-covers set-lists, the loose-knit group began as talented friends just having a good time, and that spirit pervades “On Golden Smog“, whose five songs include alt-rock and alt-country takes on Bad Company (“Shooting Star”), The Rolling Stones (“Back Street Girl”), Thin Lizzy (“Cowboy Song”) and more. For Record Store Day 2022, this rousing collection will be available on vinyl as a limited edition 12” with an etching on the B-side.
A chronicle of the history of Jethro Tull from1964 to the present day and compendium of memorabilia, rare photographs and a worldwide discography, Additional material is being added to the books. Vol 1, ‘Spin me back down the years’, a fan’s eye view of the band and Vol 2, ‘The Boy Scout Manual’, will be extended.
Much to the excitement of Jethro Tull fans worldwide, a new two-volume book ‘Spin Me Back Down The Years! A Comprehensive Guide to the History and Pre-History of One of the Greatest Rock Bands of the 1960’s, 70’s and Beyond!’ written by Pat Kent is now available.
“As a lifelong Jethro Tull fan I was approached to consider writing a book about the band at a press conference for the dance group Pan’s People in 2014. The publisher at the time was looking for a book of around 200 pages. It didn’t take long to realise that would not be sufficient to tell the story of a band that was soon to span 50 productive years playing around the world and selling well in excess of 60 million records. The book has been a labour of love for the three of us, myself, Charlie Kenney and Erin Ward, dedicated to a band that has provided the soundtrack to our lives.” – Pat Kent, author
Book Editions The books are unofficial documents containing a fan’s eye view of the history of the band looking at the contributions of the musicians as a collective. They also contain a compendium of memorabilia, photographs and a worldwide discography.
The history covers the pre-Tull days of Ian Anderson, Jeffrey Hammond, John Evans, Barrie Barlow and Glenn Cornick’s involvement in those early line-ups in Blackpool of ‘The Blades’ and the ‘John Evans Band’ through Mick Abrahams and Clive Bunker’s time in and around Luton in ‘McGregor’s Engine’; as well as chronicling Martin Barre’s progression through various bands and musical styles in ‘The Noblemen’, ‘The Motivation’, ‘The Penny Peeps’ and ‘Gethsemane’ before fate, chance, luck and talent brought them together in the eventual guise of ‘Jethro Tull’.
The book will be released in three editions, each containing two volumes. The standard edition will be available in hardback and paperback.
Volume One – ‘Spin me back down the years’ – a history of the band as recounted by Pat Kent with contributions from Charlie Kenney, Erin Ward and other fans who detail some of their recollections. Lengthy interviews with Martin Barre and Dee Palmer and further input from Peter John Vetesse, DonAirey, Eddie Jobson, Andy Giddings, Clive Bunker and more.
Volume Two – Volume Two – ‘The Boy Scout Manual’ – will contain, additional images of rare memorabilia, photographs, many previously unseen, selected from our own collections, as well as from renowned photographers across the years, including, Carl Dunn, Joe Astromowicz, Tom Holsclaw, Chris Fenger and Martin Webb. This volume will also incorporate biographies of some of the key members, and an insight into the post-Tull art work of Jeffrey Hammond along with a comprehensive look at the worldwide singles collection of Charlie Kenney along with other discographies and listings of filmed performances.
The Deluxe Edition Same as above but it will come in a presentation box housing two 12”x12” volumes along with reproduction handbill, poster, passes and photographic memorabilia. The edition will also contain a vinyl pressing of an acetate belonging to Clive Bunker of a 1968 recording featuring ‘Clive Bunker & Friends’.
Pre-order now on Music Glue and Gonzo Multimedia. Pre-order links will also be advertised via The Jethro Tull Group Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/tullgroup). A link to the pre-order will also be added to this updates page.
Simple Minds’ 1984 album “Sparkle in The Rain” was reissued back in 2014 as a 4CD+DVD super deluxe edition. Long out of print, that box set is being made available again, newly presented, but without the DVD. Long regarded as one of the jewels in the band’s catalogue, 1983’s “Sparkle in The Rain” kicked off a run of three consecutive Number 1 albums in the UK for Simple Minds and delivered the classic hit singles ‘Waterfront’, ‘Up on The Catwalk’ and ‘Speed Your Love to Me’.
The box set features the original album on CD 1, a selection of B-sides and rarities on CD 2 and then what was a previously unreleased Glasgow Barrowlands concert across the last two CDs.
“Sparkle in the Rain” will be released on 22nd November 2024, via Virgin/UMR.
Plasticland is an American Neo-Psychedelic and Garage rock (revival) band, formed in Milwaukee,Wisconsin, in 1980 with two members of Arousing Polaris, Glenn Rehse and John Frankovic.
Several guitarists and drummers would rotate in and out of the band over time, but Glenn Rehse and John Frankovic have remained the core of the band. Dan Mullen was the second guitarist for most of the 1980s recordings and live appearances. Brian Ritchie, later of The Violent Femmes, played guitar briefly with the band on early recordings. Multiple singles, EPs, compilation appearances, studio and live albums appeared in the 1980s and early 1990s. Several compilation CDs chronicle the band’s earlier years.
“Color Appreciation” (1984), their first album, was on the French Lolita label. Enigma Records in the US reissued the album in 1985, self-titling it, with track alterations and substitutions. Enigma subsidiary label Pink Dust released the next two albums, “Wonder Wonderful Wonderland” (1985) and “Salon” (1987).
For “Wonder Wonderful Wonderland” the label wanted the band to use Paul B. Cutler, a producer and guitar player with The Dream Syndicate, but the band “generally ignored his advice”. German label Repulsion issued their final studio album, “Dapper Snappings” in 1994, though it was recorded several years earlier.
Two very different live albums were also released. “You Need a Fairy Godmother” (1989) and “Confetti” (1990) were both issued by Midnight Records. The former was recorded with Plasticland backing one of their musical heroes, Twink, legendary drummer of The Pretty Things and The Pink Fairies. “Confetti” consists of various live performances edited together.
The duo of Glenn Rehse and John Frankovic, with new bandmates, are still performing, having opened for Blue Cheer last in November 2007. In January 2008, John Frankovic and Victor Demichei retired their services from the group.
The group has been sustained by Glenn Rehse and new guitarist Leroy Buth (previously of the legendary Milwaukee punk rock group The Lubricants). In 2024, Plasticland released “Spree”, which was recorded in 2006 and 2013. The 2006 session featured Frankovic and original drummer Victor Demichei. The 2013 session featured Andy Kaiser on bass and Mike Koch on drums.
In 2015, Plasticland were inducted into the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Hall of Fame, “Plasticland” (Enigma – 1984 – “Color Appreciation” French version by Lolita Records)
The Fat Angel Sings 