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The Feelies - Maxwell’s, Hoboken, New Jersey, May 9, 1986 Some cool news this week — Rhino is releasing a live Replacements album, recorded in 1986 at the late/lamented Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ. An amazing show, which I actually singled out a few...

The Feelies - Maxwell’s, Hoboken, New Jersey, May 9, 1986

Some cool news this week — Rhino is releasing a live Replacements album, recorded in 1986 at the late/lamented Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ. An amazing show, which I actually singled out a few years back in an Invisible Hits column for Pitchfork. So good, and it’ll be nice to have it in cleaned up form. 

But what else was happening at Maxwell’s in 1986? The Feelies played there, of course. So check out this solid audience tape of them tearing through the bulk of both The Good Earth (released that month) and Crazy Rhythms, plus several typically fantastic covers. A rarity here is the frantic/furious rendition of the VU’s “Head Held High,” which I don’t think the band played all that often. God bless the Feelies – you’ve picked up their new album, right? 

Set 1

Slow Down / On The Roof / Fun To Be Happy / Original Love / The Good Earth / Two Rooms / The Last Roundup / Too Far Gone / Moscow Nights / Forces At Work

Set 2

Let’s Go / Tomorrow Today / The High Road / She Said She Said / Slipping (Into Something) / Head Held High / Loveless Love / The Obedient Atom / Raised Eyebrows / Crazy Rhythms / I’m A Believer / Fa Cé-La / Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (Except Me And My Monkey) / Sedan Delivery

And hey – tangentially related, Yo La Tengo just announced that they’re doing those Hanukkah shows again this year. Traditionally, these happened at Maxwell’s but now they’re happening at the Bowery Ballroom. Will this be the year I finally fly out? Probably not, but in these crazy times, who knows? 

The Feelies The Replacements Maxwell's yo la tengo
Mend the Fuse: Faces Instrumentals Don’t usually send y’all over to Spotify, but just this once, because I put together this playlist of killer Faces instrumentals. The Rod-less Faces! It’s really nice, sorta like McLagan, Wood, Lane and Jones’...

Mend the Fuse: Faces Instrumentals

Don’t usually send y’all over to Spotify, but just this once, because I put together this playlist of killer Faces instrumentals. The Rod-less Faces! It’s really nice, sorta like McLagan, Wood, Lane and Jones’ version of Booker T. and the M.G.’s or the Meters, with a few other elements thrown in as well. Crank it. 

the faces ron wood ronnie lane ian mclagan kenny jones rod stewart
John Coltrane Sextet - The Penthouse, Seattle, Washington, September 30, 1965 Big O has outtakes from Coltrane’s massive Live in Seattle double LP. Blammo! Stewart Voegtlin wrote about the gig in Arthur Magazine a few years back: The show—130...

John Coltrane Sextet - The Penthouse, Seattle, Washington, September 30, 1965

Big O has outtakes from Coltrane’s massive Live in Seattle double LP. Blammo!

Stewart Voegtlin wrote about the gig in Arthur Magazine a few years back: The show—130 minutes, professionally recorded, released later as Live in Seattle—came three months after the release of Coltrane’s monumental Ascension, two months before the leader’s penultimate farewell, Meditations. Standards and originals are played. Ponderous intros are atomized by ecstatic solos. Notes dissolve into noise. Noise dissolves into pure sound. Themes struggle within a framework so volatile it shares more likeness with a riot than music. Whether you choose to believe rumors the players gobbled up LSD before hitting the stage doesn’t change opinion turned fact: this quartet could summon chaos like no other. That night in Seattle, Coltrane & Co. ground away at reality and its tyranny of time until any semblance of form surrendered to the void.

Lineup:
John Coltrane (ss, ts)
Donald Garrett (cl, b)
Pharoah Sanders (ts)
McCoy Tyner (p)
Jimmy Garrison (b)
Elvin Jones (d)

john coltrane donald garrett Pharoah Sanders mccoy tyner jimmy garrison Elvin Jones
The Lost Albums of Neil Young Shocking but true! I wrote the cover story for this upcoming issue of Uncut! I know, I can barely believe it either – I’ve enjoyed this magazine since I was just a kid, so it was definitely an honor and a privilege to...

The Lost Albums of Neil Young

Shocking but true! I wrote the cover story for this upcoming issue of Uncut! I know, I can barely believe it either – I’ve enjoyed this magazine since I was just a kid, so it was definitely an honor and a privilege to put together this piece (which is by far the longest music-related work I’ve done). 

Uncut’s John Mulvey says: “For this issue’s cover story, Tyler Wilcox has tried to work out what still languishes in Neil Young’s archives. Tyler’s research and interviews give a shape and substance to the sequence of legendary albums – including Chrome Dreams, Homegrown and Hitchhiker – that have been the subject of so much intense speculation for decades. As with Giles Martin discussing the Beatles’ “Carnival Of Light” in Uncut a couple of months back, it’s a tale full of revelation and promise: a reminder that the stories of our greatest heroes remain far from complete – perhaps even that of Elvis Presley, the subject of another deep and provocative piece in this issue.” 

Anyway – the issue should be available in the next few weeks all over the place. Go get a copy, for the love of god! 

neil young uncut magazine
John Fahey - The Unknown We’ve had plenty of Fahey-inspired music on Bandcamp Monday, but never the man himself. This mysterious late-period recording emerged a few weeks back with little fanfare. The only info from Concrete Pig Records: “This is...

John Fahey - The Unknown

We’ve had plenty of Fahey-inspired music on Bandcamp Monday, but never the man himself. This mysterious late-period recording emerged a few weeks back with little fanfare. The only info from Concrete Pig Records: “This is from a cassette tape John gave me back in 98. It was not labeled with song titles or even a name of the album.” The Unknown might not be The Great Lost Fahey Album, but it is pretty cool, with murky noise, delay-ed out guitar, field recordings and other unidentifiables wafting through the mist. Just another ghostly transmission from Blind Joe Death from beyond the grave. 

bandcamp monday john fahey
Daniel Bachman / Elkhorn - Rhizome, Washington, DC, June 10, 2017 A million thanks to James Adams for passing along his excellent recording of this stellar double-bill from last month. Elkhorn’s The Black River on Debacle Records is one of 2017′s...

Daniel Bachman / Elkhorn - Rhizome, Washington, DC, June 10, 2017

A million thanks to James Adams for passing along his excellent recording of this stellar double-bill from last month. Elkhorn’s The Black River on Debacle Records is one of 2017′s best, with Jesse Shephard (acoustic 12-string) and Drew Gardner (electric) traveling into heady, hypnotic zones. Here, they’re joined by drummer Ian McColm, who gives The Black River tunes a wonderfully restless undercurrent. Don’t know if he’ll be collaborating with Elkhorn on future recordings, but on the strength of this set, it wouldn’t be a bad idea!

Then we’ve got Daniel Bachman, guitar soli master, delivering some seriously great sounds. Dan plays a handful of tracks from his 2016 self-titled record on Three Lobed, and then dives into some covers of Al Wilson, Lemuel Turner, Jack Rose and Roy Harvey and Leonard Copeland, before capping the night with an exploratory droner (with McColm joining in on shruti box, I believe?). 

James said it best: “The Great Koonaklaster was definitely lurking in the shadows.”

Thanks again to James for the recording/pics, and to the musicians for giving the go-ahead to share here. 

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daniel bachman elkhorn american primitive takoma school
The Sloppy Heads - Live at WFMU for Three Chord Monte with Joe Belock, January 23, 2017 In case you were wondering: Useless Smile, the debut full-length from Brooklyn’s Sloppy Heads, remains one of my favorite albums of 2017. (My review is here and...

The Sloppy Heads - Live at WFMU for Three Chord Monte with Joe Belock, January 23, 2017

In case you were wondering: Useless Smile, the debut full-length from Brooklyn’s Sloppy Heads, remains one of my favorite albums of 2017. (My review is here and you can get it here). And now, thanks to WFMU and the Free Music Archive, you can check out a very nice live-in-the-studio session taped earlier this year. And hey, if you’re anywhere in the NYC area, you should totally go to this upcoming gig at Secret Project Robot, featuring the Sloppy Heads, Oneida and Gold Dime.  

sloppy heads wfmu free music archive Oneida
Rangda - Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee, March 26, 2017 Joel at Sweet Blahg has shared his terrific recording of a rare Rangda gig, taped at last spring’s Big Ears Fest. So nice. “Over the course of their discography-spanning set,...

Rangda - Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee, March 26, 2017

Joel at Sweet Blahg has shared his terrific recording of a rare Rangda gig, taped at last spring’s Big Ears Fest. So nice. 

“Over the course of their discography-spanning set, Bishop/Chasny/Corsano expertly choogle their way through 6 shorter Middle Eastern-influenced psychedelic jams with intense precision…but the real story here is the expansive, explosive 20+ minute “Plain of Jars” to close, which exemplifies why I was so excited to see this particular project at this particular festival.”

Photo: elijohnsonphotography.com 

rangda sir richard bishop Big Ears Festival ben chasny Chris Corsano
Tom Armstrong - The Sky Is An Empty Eye [[bandcamp monday]] Last year’s Imaginational Anthem: The Private Press, was one of the best compilations in quite some time, bringing to light a host of extremely obscure guitarists from the 1970s and 1980s....

Tom Armstrong - The Sky Is An Empty Eye

[[bandcamp monday]] Last year’s Imaginational Anthem: The Private Press, was one of the best compilations in quite some time, bringing to light a host of extremely obscure guitarists from the 1970s and 1980s. Over on Aquarium Drunkard, I wrote: “The knee-jerk reflex is to point to Fahey, Basho, Kottke and Bull when casting about for comparisons — and those dudes do loom large occasionally. But each track feels more like listening in on an artist’s own personal universe.” Tom Armstrong’s track on The Private Press was especially unique and strong – and now Tompkins Square has brought out his entire 1987 LP. On The Sky Is An Empty Eye, Armstrong layers both electric and acoustic guitars that spiral and spin in beguiling, unexpected directions. It’s accessible, absorbing stuff, but doesn’t really fall into any American Primitive or new age-y category, as far as I can tell. Check it out, decide for yourself. 

tom armstrong tompkins square private press bandcamp monday
Various – ‘Le Son de l’Infini’ (Volume 4): 1974-1980 | Musique du Monde Catching up with some recent Musicophilia mixes – everything is pretty much golden over there, but this one is particularly nice. Check it out. “‘Le Son de l’Infini’ has been...

Various – ‘Le Son de l’Infini’ (Volume 4): 1974-1980 | Musique du Monde

Catching up with some recent Musicophilia mixes – everything is pretty much golden over there, but this one is particularly nice. Check it out. 

“‘Le Son de l’Infini’ has been spinning in the back of my mind for a long time, each of these tracks mentally bookmarked for mixing over many years. Then I realized the thing that ties them all together, and that I was looking for in a mix: they are all cyclical, all comprised of spinning, turning patterns. This spinning repetition creates both a feeling of stillness and of constant movement, perhaps inspired by minimalist works like Steve Reich’s, or by southeast Asian Gamelan, or by European folk rounds. The range of sounds and moods here is wide: aspirational cosmic Krautrock, loose and rolling funk-jazz, tense electronics, peaceful to almost violent post-punk, and beyond.  There is simple beauty, darkness, joy, loss, mystery, near-chaos.“

mix roxy music Robert Wyatt heldon this heat penguin cafe orchestra
Feral Ohms / Sunwatchers - Union Pool, Brooklyn, New York, June 24, 2017 Summer Thunder, indeed! This morning, I’m listening to the Eric PH / NYC Taper recording of two blazing afternoon sets in Brooklyn from Feral Ohms (Ethan Miller’s latest band)...

Feral Ohms / Sunwatchers - Union Pool, Brooklyn, New York, June 24, 2017

Summer Thunder, indeed! This morning, I’m listening to the Eric PH / NYC Taper recording of two blazing afternoon sets in Brooklyn from Feral Ohms (Ethan Miller’s latest band) and Sunwatchers (whose self-titled spiritual jazz skronk debut was a fave from last year). Alice Coltrane cover alert! Thanks to all involved – pics by PSquared Photography. 

nyc taper feral ohms sunwatchers alice coltrane COMETS ON FIRE
“Down By The River” - Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 28, 1970 Hey there, my summer break is over — and I just wrapped a huge Neil Young project. More on that to come! But in the meantime, let’s...

“Down By The River” - Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 28, 1970

Hey there, my summer break is over — and I just wrapped a huge Neil Young project. More on that to come! But in the meantime, let’s celebrate with a half hour’s worth of “Down By The River” from 1970. Is this the longest version ever? Not sure. But it is long! And amazing. Neil gets very “out” at times, as Whitten, Talbot, Nitzsche and Molina hold down that mesmerizing beat. This is an audience recording so there’s plenty of haze here, but I think that is kind of appropriate, right? Be on my side!

neil young and crazy horse
Alice Coltrane - University of California, Berkeley, April 23, 1971 A rare (fairly lo-fi) document of Alice live onstage in the early 1970s. (This is one unbroken mp3, since that’s the only way I’ve got it at the moment). 1. Journey in...

Alice Coltrane - University of California, Berkeley, April 23, 1971

A rare (fairly lo-fi) document of Alice live onstage in the early 1970s. (This is one unbroken mp3, since that’s the only way I’ve got it at the moment). 

1. Journey in Satchidananda 
2. unidentified 
3. Africa  

Alice Coltrane: Piano, Harp
Archie Shepp: Tenor Sax and Soprano Sax
Frank Lowe: Tenor Sax
Jimmy Garrison: Bass
Clifford Jarvis: Drums 

alice coltrane john coltrane archie shepp jimmy garrison clifford jarvis frank lowe
FLYING NUN RECORDS EXTRAVAGANZA Three hours well spent! Brian Turner’s WFMU show this week was dedicated to New Zealand’s amazing Flying Nun record label, and he dug deep into the archives for a set filled with live jams and rarities. To add even...

FLYING NUN RECORDS EXTRAVAGANZA

Three hours well spent! Brian Turner’s WFMU show this week was dedicated to New Zealand’s amazing Flying Nun record label, and he dug deep into the archives for a set filled with live jams and rarities. To add even more good times, label founder Roger Shepherd, Hamish Kilgour (The Clean / Mad Scene) and Francisca Griffin (Look Blue Go Purple / Cyclops) all pop up for interviews. Tally ho!

flying nun records hamish kilgour the clean new zealand wfmu the chills the bats the verlaines look blue go purple
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