The Story Behind the Sleeve

Welcome…

“I knew at some point I was going to cry. I start playing

On the record

The latest batch of releases in Charly Records’ mammoth

Simon says

Our columnist salutes his friend and label success story John Grant – whose new album, Love Is Magic, is out this month and is a further exploration of his multi-faceted creativity

My Name Is Safe In Your Mouth

My new album is… a panoramic piece of work –- broad

IAN PEEL’S LINER NOTES

Working on a recent vinyl reissue project, I realised that one of its biggest challenges didn’t exist back in the day – and it’s a complication that’s very specific to this era of the vinyl revival…

STUDIO SNAPSHOT

Minus drummer Michael Clarke, The Byrds (l-r Roger

MATT BERRY

The IT Crowd star and National Album Day ambassador’s love of prog was kickstarted by Mike Oldfield’s debut, a landmark album that, as he tells Steve Harnell, he remains in thrall to 30 years on

The dark knight rises

Despite possessing an awe-inspiring back catalogue, Seattle survivor Mark Lanegan remains an enigma. Following the release of With Animals, his second full-length album with British multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood, the singer tells Dan Biggane how music was his saviour…

UNEASY TIMES

Cornershop returned this summer with a new single. Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayres meet Jonathan Wright to look back on the band’s early years and ahead to a much-delayed new album in 2019

SATURDAY GIGS

Hookworms are one of the year’s biggest stories. Jonathan Wright hears strange tales of self-reliance, reinvention and touring – but only in the evenings, at the weekend or during the holidays…

INTO THE MYSTICAL

Brit rockers Uriah Heep’s fourth album, Demons And Wizards, was the first with what is regarded as the definitive line-up, and saw them create a dark fantasy world. Sean Egan explores the band’s musical high point and BMG’s latest Art Of The Album reissue…

STADIUM TO STADIUM

An art-rock superstar hiring a disco producer could have been the end of David Bowie’s career. Instead, he went global. With a new boxset chronicling his stadium years, John Earls speaks to five key collaborators to get the inside story of his most turbulent decade

LEAVE A GUIDING LIGHT ON

They’ve re-released classics, rarities and hitherto unheard masterpieces by some of the greatest musicians to have graced our stereos, and picked up Grammy nominations for their work. Without the boss’ stint on student radio, however, they might never have existed. Wyndham Wallace meets the man who switched on Light In The Attic

CHRISTMAS GIFT SUBSCRIPTION OFFER

Modern design and high-quality materials combine to

DENNIS MORRIS

Dennis Morris was still at school when he first photographed Bob Marley, and those iconic shots propelled him on a journey from Sex Pistols chronicler to full-time art director at Island Records, as Gary Tipp discovers

Classic Album PRIMAL SCREAM SCREAMADELICA

Tired of being seen as indie also-rans, Primal Scream embraced club culture, fused rock and rave and rewrote the rock ‘n’ roll rulebook, establishing themselves as a band with style and a whole lot of substance…

THE ESSENTIAL Queen

As flamboyant as they were musically diverse, the larger-than-life foursome filled stadiums across the globe and shifted millions of albums, not to mention singles, with their bombastic, mock-operatic, largely unclassifiable yet hugely accessible sound. There’s no stopping Sean Egan now…

CONCORDE MUSIC PERTH

Long-term survival is all about staying ahead of the game and outlasting your competitors. A curious Mark Alexander visits the oldest independent, family-run record shop in Scotland to find out how it’s done

BORDEAUX

The intrepid Mark Elliott jets off to the south west of France in search of 7” picture sleeves

GENESIS FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION

The prog rockers recorded their debut album during the school holidays and its minimalistic sleeve meant it was often filed wrongly in record shops

DIGGING FOR VICTORY

Discover why a trip to a thrift store in Manhattan caused record shop owner Mark O’Shaughnessy’s heart to skip a beat…

Time Capsule

Chris Parkin speaks to Kay Suzuki, founder of reissue label Time Capsule, whose releases are informed by the spirit of club pioneer and audiophile David Mancuso

Japanese new-age electronica

Beyond the cult of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, Japan has a rich tradition of long-forgotten experimental ambient music. Chris Parkin uncovers some rare vinyl gems from the East

The Vinylist CRAIG SWEETIN

Committed vinyl collector Craig Sweetin is lucky enough to work from home; he’s even luckier that his home office also doubles up as his music room

RE-RELEASES

The fourth of the now-traditional annual David Bowie

NEW RELEASES

Those of us still longing for the bulging-eyed Richard

EXTRA

Released on striking blue and red heavyweight vinyl

HOW TO BUY HIGH-END TURN TABLES

If money isn’t too tight to mention and you’re looking to splash out on a top-quality turntable, then you’d best let resident hi-figuru Paul Rigby guide you around what’s on the market

DREAM MACHINES WILSON AUDIO TUNETOT

Wilson Audio brings its unique design innovations to

PRO-JECT JUKE BOX S2

What have we here? A modern version of the old-fashioned ‘music centre’ bundle? A nostalgic Paul Rigby reviews the Pro-Ject Juke Box S2

THORENS TD 295 MK 4

Looking for a no-nonsense, no-fuss turntable that actually sounds good? Paul Rigby takes a look at one candidate – the Thorens TD 295 Mk 4