Magazine - The Complete John Peel Sessions
As we all know by now, after after authoring Buzzcocks' 1976 debut Spiral Scratch EP and changing the face of the UK's musical landscape almost single-handedly, singer/guitarist Howard Devoto left the band by the end of that same year to form his next project, Magazine.
Bored with what he perceived as the rapid codification of a genre that, at least initially, was about breaking established rules, Devoto was seeking a forum for greater artistic and musical expression that welded punk's rebellious energy to prog's shifting song structures, and emboldened further by incorporating daring textural experiments and strange, abstract lyrics. Instrumentation in this new band would include driving drum beats, propulsive basslines, icy keyboards, and guitars that alternately buzzed, fizzed, and shattered like glass. Magazine, it seems, set the template for not-prog prog bands like Radiohead.
Personally, the element that drew me deeper into Magazine's twisted little world wasn't Devoto's proto-Thom Yorke bit, although that's a pretty compelling part of the band's overall appeal. No, for me, John McGeoch's ground-breaking guitar playing was the real highlight. Veering back and forth between straightforward, overdriven punk power chords and the fractured, angular, atmospheric style that would become a hallmark of post-punk and new wave, McGeoch blazed an original path and to this day remains undercredited for his contribution to modern rock's 6-string vocabulary.
Anyway, I've decided to cherry-pick four hot tracks from Magazine's new Complete John Peel Sessions release. These live-in-the-studio tunes reveal a side of the band previously hidden by their more studied studio albums--a side marked by shit-hot ensemble playing and an ability to groove in a way that few other bands of their ilk were capable of doing. Witness their mighty cover of Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" and try keep in mind that these are pasty, white English boys.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the tunes. Be sure to pick up a copy of this record at Amazon.com, Newbury Comics, or any other fine retailer of quality music.
Magazine - Complete John Peel Sessions - 02 - The Light Pours Out of Me
Magazine - Complete John Peel Sessions - 04 - My Mind Ain't So Open
Magazine - Complete John Peel Sessions - 09 - TV Baby
Magazine - Complete John Peel Sessions - 10 - Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
Bored with what he perceived as the rapid codification of a genre that, at least initially, was about breaking established rules, Devoto was seeking a forum for greater artistic and musical expression that welded punk's rebellious energy to prog's shifting song structures, and emboldened further by incorporating daring textural experiments and strange, abstract lyrics. Instrumentation in this new band would include driving drum beats, propulsive basslines, icy keyboards, and guitars that alternately buzzed, fizzed, and shattered like glass. Magazine, it seems, set the template for not-prog prog bands like Radiohead.
Personally, the element that drew me deeper into Magazine's twisted little world wasn't Devoto's proto-Thom Yorke bit, although that's a pretty compelling part of the band's overall appeal. No, for me, John McGeoch's ground-breaking guitar playing was the real highlight. Veering back and forth between straightforward, overdriven punk power chords and the fractured, angular, atmospheric style that would become a hallmark of post-punk and new wave, McGeoch blazed an original path and to this day remains undercredited for his contribution to modern rock's 6-string vocabulary.
Anyway, I've decided to cherry-pick four hot tracks from Magazine's new Complete John Peel Sessions release. These live-in-the-studio tunes reveal a side of the band previously hidden by their more studied studio albums--a side marked by shit-hot ensemble playing and an ability to groove in a way that few other bands of their ilk were capable of doing. Witness their mighty cover of Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" and try keep in mind that these are pasty, white English boys.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the tunes. Be sure to pick up a copy of this record at Amazon.com, Newbury Comics, or any other fine retailer of quality music.
Magazine - Complete John Peel Sessions - 02 - The Light Pours Out of Me
Magazine - Complete John Peel Sessions - 04 - My Mind Ain't So Open
Magazine - Complete John Peel Sessions - 09 - TV Baby
Magazine - Complete John Peel Sessions - 10 - Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
posted by The Public Image at 10:35 AM
1 Comments:
I like these. Let's have all of the tracks available.
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