Iain Matthews

Biddulph Up In Arms

18th April, 2007

/ 05 September 2007

Matthews leaned back, his eyes
closed, and delivered a noteperfect,
a capella Woodstock. The
roots singer hasn’t cut a new
album for three years, but choice
tunes from his massive back
catalogue caught him in jovial,
thoughtful mood and, with backing
from a Dutch keyboardist who
underscored Matthews’ acoustic
guitar with sympathetic jazz
improvisation, we were treated to
an artist attuned to his audience.
At the close, Matthews grinned
broadly. Not all old dogs need new
tricks.

Reviewed by Simon Jones
Back to Issue 338

It’s Me: Classic Texas Soul 1965-72

11 July 2013

Depending on whether his
guitar or his voice was at the
forefront, Copeland had
confident footholds in both the
blues and soul scenes of the southern states of the US.
While his six-string prowess
helped pay the bills in the
50s, working with the likes of
Sonny Boy Williamson and
Freddie King, it’s Copeland the
crooner who takes c…

Dr Dee

17 April 2012

If John Dee can be regarded as one of the world’s first Renaissance men, then surely Damon Albarn is the latest? Yet where lesser mortals find out that their arrogance is inversely proportionate to their talent when it comes to penning an opera – for record or stage – Albarn unquestionably triumphs with Dr Dee.

At Sing Sing Prison

20 November 2008

Johnny Cash struck paydirt in
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late 60s, and others soon
followed. Film-makers David
Hoffmann and Harry Wiland tried
to take the venture one step
further in 1972, after initially
trying to film and teach the
inmates of upstate New York’s
infamous Sing Sing prison. The
idea was hatched to …

The Electric Lucifer

16 October 2009

Bruce Haack made a series of
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embarking on this classic slice of
electronica and acid-rock. Based
around the concept of the eternal
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it’s a psychedelic song-cycle on
which Haack used the Moog and a
whole host of other, homemade
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Avant-garde and outsi…