TOM VERLAINE: Sad news

JANE CLINTON / THE GUARDIAN Tom Verlaine, the frontman, songwriter and legendary guitar player of the New York City band Television, has died aged 73. His death was announced by Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Patti Smith, who said that he died “after a brief illness”. Verlaine, who was born Thomas Miller in Denville, […]

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AMY WINEHOUSE: News – the long read

Roisin O’Connor / THE INDEPENDENT The new Amy Winehouse biopic will focus on her “extraordinary genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did”. Or so we were told. But then we saw the pictures. Marisa Abela was pictured outside London jazz bar Ronnie Scott’s, with the singer’s signature beehive in disarray; black eyeliner smeared […]

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GRAMOPHONE: The best new classical albums this week (January 20, 2023)

GRAMOPHONE: New recordings of Bruckner’s Symphony No 7, Mozart’s Violin Concertos Nos 3-5 and more Paavo Järvi has already recorded Bruckner’s Symphony No 7 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra for Sony/RCA, an album reviewed by Rob Cowan in September 2009, who wrote: ‘Järvi offers an extremely beautiful performance, responsively played and, most crucially, sensitive […]

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MINGUS: Right Now (Numbered 140g Clear Vinyl LP) by Charles Mingus

With Clifford Jordan on tenor, John Handy on alto, Jane Getz on piano, and Dannie Richmond on drums, Charles Mingus went into San Francisco and whipped up a storm. This LP contains two compositions over 23-minutes each: “New Fables” and “Meditation (For A Pair Of Wire Cutters).” “New Fables” features a ten-minute solo from Jordan, […]

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NEIL YOUNG: Hitchhiker (Limited Edition CD)

The unreleased solo acoustic album recorded in 1976, which includes includes solo, acoustic songs recorded in 1976 at the Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, California and featuring 2 previously unreleased songs! More information to follow… 1. Pocahontas 2. Powderfinger 3. Captain Kennedy 4. Hawaii 5. Give Me Strength 6. Ride My Llama 7. Hitchhiker 8. […]

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Farewell Aldebaran (CD) by Judy Henske and Jerry Yester

First ever legitimate reissue of lost classic! “A gorgeous blossom of exotic folk-pop, Farewell Aldebaran was mostly overlooked when it was first released in late 1969. Maybe its snarling rockers, genteel ballads and gothic mood pieces made it too difficult to fit into conventional musical categories, or perhaps it simply fizzled due to lack of […]

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RY COODER: Well worth investigating

They tell us ….. Limited edition 6CD Box Set featuring influences and six FM broadcasts from 1972, 1974, 1989 and 1995. Whether serving as a session musician, solo artist, or soundtrack composer, Ry Cooder’s chameleon-like fretted instrument virtuosity, songwriting, and choices of material encompass an incredibly eclectic range of North American musical styles, including rock […]

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MASSIVE ATTACK: The long read

Misunderstood masterpiece or unmitigated disaster? Massive Attack’s 100th Window at 20 The trip-hop collective’s fourth album left both fans and critics scratching their heads. But, with the project’s themes of digital paranoia, political tumult and anti-war sentiment, Ed Power argues that it’s never been more relevant Twenty years ago, Massive Attack’s golden streak went up […]

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PODCAST: One of our picks of the day

GRAMOPHONE: Adam Walker on French music for flute This week’s podcast sees acclaimed flautist Adam Walker join Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford to talk about his two new albums of French music, both released on Chandos Records. The first, ‘French Works for Flute’, sees him joined by pianist James Baillieu in music by Franck, Widor, Saint‑Saëns […]

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FLEETWOOD MAC: Mick Fleetwood thinks band is ‘done’ after Christine McVie’s death

Mick Fleetwood has said it is currently “unthinkable” for Fleetwood Mac to continue as a band following the death of Christine McVie. The drummer told reporters on the Grammy Awards red carpet that he thinks the legendary band is probably “done”. “I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been […]

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ROGER WATERS: Oh dear

Polly Samson, Pink Floyd lyricist and wife of David Gilmour, accuses Roger Waters of ‘antisemitism to your rotten core’ Waters says he entirely refutes the ‘incendiary and wildly inaccurate comments’ by former bandmate’s wife Pink Floyd lyricist Polly Samson has accused the band’s co-founder Roger Waters of being “antisemitic to your rotten core”, in an […]

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BRIAN ENO / TELEVISION – the long read

GUARDIAN / RICHARD WILLIAMS ‘They felt like a possible future’: how Brian Eno and I recorded Television’s first demos hen Tom Verlaine wrote his great lyric about Broadway looking so medieval, he wasn’t thinking about the rather down-at-heel recording studio in an office building where his band, Television, made their first demos in December 1974. […]

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Blurring the boundary between classical music and jazz – the long read

GRAMOPHONE: Composer and pianist Iain Farrington surveys the interwoven history of classical and jazz as his new album, ‘Gershwinicity’, is released on the Somm label lthough the terms ‘classical’ and ‘jazz’ are frustratingly vague for such a broad wealth of music, they provide a useful distinction for two different musical traditions. When the two styles […]

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SCHUBERT: Our podcast of the day

GRAMOPHONE In 2019, Joyce DiDonato and Yannick Nézet-Séguin performed Schubert’s great song-cycle in concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and Erato were on hand to record it. James Jolly caught up with the multi-Gramophone Award-winning mezzo to talk about her unique approach to the work. As one of a handful of women singers who have […]

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CCR / Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty wins music rights

Following a 50-year legal battle, the founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival now owns the global publishing rights to the iconic rock band’s songs. It came after Mr Fogerty, 77, bought a majority stake in the rights to the band’s catalogue from Concord Records, which has owned the rights since 2004 —//— At its peak, […]

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‘It speaks straight from the heart’: Bryan Ferry, Adele and Engelbert Humperdinck on Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love

THE GUARDIAN / Annie Zeleski When Adele covered Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love on her debut album 19, her interpretation was a sparse piano ballad that exuded tortured romantic longing. “The lyrics are just amazing and summed up exactly what I’d been trying to say in my songs,” Adele said then. “It’s about […]

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SCHUBERT: Our podcast of the day

GRAMOPHONE: Joined by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the American mezzo takes a different approach to this song masterwork In 2019, Joyce DiDonato and Yannick Nézet-Séguin performed Schubert’s great song-cycle in concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and Erato were on hand to record it. James Jolly caught up with the multi-Gramophone Award-winning mezzo to talk about her […]

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