It’s the title of his new album, his first on the legendary jazz label, Blue Note. it’s also an apt introduction to an interview in which Van Morrison talks freely about his work, his background in Belfast, his brushes with the music industry – and about what made him what he is.
Irish jazz releases are rare enough and this one (recorded in Kinsale of all places) looks and sounds the real deal with artwork to match the classic Blue Note house style.
For all we might want to harp on about cutting edge this and radical that, the records which have made the big bucks over the past few years have been by nice, slightly middle-of-the-road, predominantly female singer songwriters.
Beauty And Crime might not convert the masses but it’d be nice to think there’s a place for such literate otherworldliness in the big, bad game of rock.
It’s certainly the most energised and stylistically wide-reaching of all his solo albums to date, bringing together pretty much every musical direction he’s taken in a career that stretches back almost 30 years.
Well it’s one for the money Two for the show
US3 GET READY . . .
. . . Now go cats go! When a critic talks about awarding his favourite gig, album and band of the year accolades to the same outfit then we gotta be talking about something special. In this case it’s transatlantic Jazz Rappers US3. And the, er, critic in question: MR. STUART CLARK
The Beach Boys, Beatles and – whisper it – Fleetwood Mac are all on the menu as Sunderland’s Field Music give emo, New Rave and whatever else is 'in' this week the cold shoulder.
THE CRITICS PANEL WHO VOTED FOR THE TOP 30 ALBUMS AND SINGLES OF THE YEAR ARE AS FOLLOWS: BILL GRAHAM, LIAM FAY, GEORGE BYRNE, STUART CLARK, LORRAINE FREENEY, TARA McCARTHY, GERRY McGOVERN, NEIL McCORMICK, DERMOT STOKES, OLIVER P. SWEENEY, SIOBHAN LONG, STEVE AVERILL, ANDY DARLINGTON, COLM O’HARE, JOE JACKSON, HELENA MULKERNS, DAN OGGLY, CATHY DILLON, NIALL CRUMLISH, OLAF TYARANSEN, PATRICK BRENNAN, JACKIE HAYDEN AND NIALL STOKES.
Contrary to popular belief we’re not familiar with every venue in the country, but below – with the aid of our Hotpress student reps – we provide a guide to some of our favourite student hang-outs
Gareth Murphy’s Atlantean project takes Irish music on a journey of depth and discovery that sees it flirt with Arabic, Spanish and Indian stylings, Jah Wobble and Eno, all under the influence of maverick filmmaker Bob Quinn.
It's head-scratching, nail-biting, on-the-tip-of-your-tongue time again, as GEORGE BYRNE presides over our renowned annual music quiz [this is for the year 2000]
They are young, smart and full of self-belief. Their ambitions are boundless, their talents rich and varied. For a generation of young Irish women, the world is awash with possibilities.
From actors to musicians, models to politicians, women are redefining what it means to be female and Irish. Their role-models are women who have achieved greatness, who have made us sit up and pay attention. Not content to bask in someone else’s glories, they believe every woman should aspire to be the best at what they do.
These are the women for whom second best is an anathema. They are the future. To introduce the Hot Press-selected crew: Tanya Sweeney and Louise Hodgson.
As he prepares for the release of his band s third album, Cold And Bouncy, high llamas mainman
sean o hagan tells an awestruck
nick kelly exactly why there s always been a Beach Boys element to his music.
You wanted the best, you got GENE SIMMONS. Here, the motormouth frontman of KISS, the world s greatest showband, talks about sex and women at length (quelle surprise), discusses his Jewish heritage, explains why Kierkegaard and Nietzsche obviously never got laid, and announces to an increasingly bemused JOE JACKSON that he Gene, that is possesses the world s smallest penis.
RADIOHEAD are just about to release one of the most uncompromising and controversial records of the year in Kid A. As the band prepare for their upcoming Irish dates, mainman THOM YORKE talks about the genesis of a record that seems destined to divide rock fans for years. Not to mention Bono, Britney and Alicia Silverstone! Interview: DAVE FANNING
When the offer came to produce the new Rolling Stones album in Dublin what answer could Don Was give but a resounding ‘Yes’. Mick, Keef & Co. are the latest in a long and impressive list of the man’s studio credits which includes Bob Dylan, The B-52’s, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and Paula Abdu. But throw in the small matter of the career of Was (Not Was) and the musical rehabilitation of errant Beach Boys’ genius Brian Wilson and we’re talking major industry player here. Bill Graham takes up the story . . .
