I have written on several occasions on this blog about how there has been no single greater influence on my musical taste in the last decade than 'Uncut' magazine, and how this magazine has completely changed my listening habits, particularly in terms of introducing me to the alt-country scene (as introduced here).
One of my original ideas for this blog was a project where I would explore each track on the seminal 'Sounds of the new west' CD from 1998, and I did the first few tracks in posts here, here, here and here. I have fallen a little behind on this project (4 tracks down, 16 to go!) but fully intend to get back to it, as these tracks and bands still mean a lot to me.
The key legacy of Uncut, actually (as well as all 150 issues which I have), has almost certainly been CDs like this and others, which have fallen into two categories:
1.Taster compilations of mostly new stuff out that month (e.g., unconditionally guaranteed);
2. Thematic compilations
CDs in category 1 have introduced me to more bands than I could even start to list, but a few that spring to mind (defined as bands whose albums I bought as a direct result of hearing them on one of these CDs) are Lift to Experience, Mark Mulcahy, Jim White, Marah, Songdog, The Mendoza Line, Clem Snide, Tom McRae, Slobberbone, Sufjan Stevens and, of course, The National (of which more to follow), and basically every band on 'Sounds of the new west'. These CDs became a trusted and reliable pointer for my musical antennae, accompanied by the high quality reviews in the magazine itself, and were collectively responsible for many hundreds of euros spent on music and many many happy hours of listening. Of course, I did not chase every song on every CD, but few months went by without at least 2 good leads to follow up.
The second category of CD was much more variable overall. There are quite a few Uncut CDs which never came out of the wrapper (usually collections of very old songs which inspired someone like the Rolling Stones); I know if I trust them on the new stuff, I should trust them on the old, but Uncut has always struggled on a fine line between homage to old stuff I know does nothing for me and the urge to reach into the future with bands which seem to me removed from the older stuff by a vast gulf. Other CDs featured sets of cover versions (e.g., Dylan, Springsteen), many recorded specifically for the occasion, and these usually brought a few gems to light. And then there were the stone-cold classic compilations, of which 'Sounds of the new west' stands as not only the best Uncut compilation ever, but also probably the best compilation of any kind I have ever heard for consistency of quality and theme; other good ones included follow-up alt country compilations, and one I remember very fondly called 'Only love can break your heart'.
My main problem (or disappointment) with Uncut in recent years is that the taster CDs have effectively vanished, and thematic CDs adorn the cover most months; I approach the newsagent every first friday of the month in hope of a good compilation, but too often my hopes are cruelly dashed.
However, this month's 'Uncut' (November 2009) is issue (take) 150 and they have taken the occasion to list the top 150 albums of this decade (whatever the f**k it is supposed to be called), and have marked the occasion with a CD containing songs by many of the artists on that list (Ryan Adams, Richmond Fontaine, Lambchop, Bright Eyes, Calexico, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Wilco, and others); that is a pretty impressive list and it is a very very good CD.
Regarding their top 150 list, they state by way of introduction that it was unashamedly a specialist's list, with no concessions to eclecticism or commerce; this has always been the great thing about Uncut, when they could put an album no-one heard of then or since (Sunhouse's wonderful 'Crazy on the weekend', for example) as album of the month.
Thus, delving into the list, I of course was comparing it to my own collection, and found that I owned 6 of the top 10 (Fleet Foxes, Ryan Adams, Arcade Fire, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Wilco and the White Stripes), 14 of the top 20 and overall 66 of the top 150. I had expected more correspondance with my tastes, given the massive influence, but I still know that there would not be anything like that level of agreement with an equivalent list in any other music magazine.
In the editorial of the magazine, the editor, Allan Jones, admits that everyone will have at least one album they are amazed was omitted, and for me there is really only one jaw-dropping shock:
Where the hell is 'Boxer' by the National?
I cannot say any more of the amazement and disappointment I felt on this score, and it makes me know that Uncut and I have perhaps just grown too far apart, and that our once close relationship will never be the same again.
Anyway, moving to what they did put high up, I will end this post with a few clips from a selection of their top 10 (+1) CDs of the decade so far:
11 Flaming Lips 'Yoshimi battles the pink robots'
As with all Flaming Lips CDs, I did like around half of this a lot, particularly the title track shown below, which I have very fond memories of live in concert in Cork in 2007 (wth a sing-song just like that captured below);
10 Fleet Foxes; again, I liked quite a bit of this album, but can't say I loved it, but 'White winter hymnal' (below) is far and away my favourite (followed by 'Mykonos', which appears not on the album but, appropriately enough, on an Uncut CD):
9 Ryan Adams 'Heartbreaker': Whiskeytown were my first major discovery from an Uncut Album of the Month recommendation, and 'Stranger's Almanac' remains one of my favourite albums. His solo stuff was of course far more variable in quality, but 'Gold' had mostly great songs. I was less impressed by 'Heartbreaker', but 'Oh my sweet Carolina' (below) is gorgeous:
3 Wilco 'A ghost is born'; this is probably my least favourite Wilco album (see my review of their latest eponymous one here) but 'Spiders (Kidsmoke)' is undeniably powerful and quite cool:
Their top album of the decade was The White Stripes' 'White blood cells'. Now, clearly this should have been 'Boxer' but, leaving aside this obvious fact for a moment (and it is a struggle), I have this and several other White Stripes CDs, and none have done that much for me. My favourite is probably 'Elephant', and mostly for the quiet ones ('You've got her in your pocket' is just beautiful). However, I accept that this lack of enthusiasm relates to my aforementioned problem with 'old' music (particularly the blues). In fact, the White Stripes are probably the band that best straddle the two faces of Uncut which point in such seemingly opposite directions. Anyway, I do enjoy the roll and energy of 'Hotel Yorba', so will finish with that:
I imagine I will keep buying Uncut every month because there is always something there for me, and the writing is excellent, but I need more of the direct contributions to my musical education provided by the taster CDs - I am sure I am not the only reader who pines for them!
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