THIS MONTH'S CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE...

Henry Diltz Henry, who took this month’s cover

Theories, rants, etc.

MOJO welcomes correspondence for publication. Write to us at: MOJO, H Bauer Publishing, The Lantern, 75 Hampstead Road, London, NW1 2PL. E-mail to: mojoreaders@bauermedia.co.uk

Be Glad We Had Some Time

Outlaw country great, master songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson left us on September 28.

DECEMBER 1965 …Jackson C. Frank confirms Blues Run The Game

Out of the blues: the hapless Jackson C.

What are the oddest video cameos?

Double-take that: Arnie gives Angus Young a lift;

Analogue Switch-On

Win! A GO Bar Kensei DAC from iFi Audio.

Dave Barbarossa and Adam And The Ants

Destiny knocked in Wood Green. And then Malcolm McLaren offered a mad journey with no rules.

Ballad Of A Young Man

THE HOT NEWS AND BIZARRE STORIES FROM PLANET MOJO

40 YEARS LATE, CREATION CULTS THE LOFT PREPARE THEIR DEBUT!

Kings of the Hill: The Loft’s Peter Astor

PETER PERRETT

The Only Ones’ resurgent exile talks 30 years asleep, the “diseased world” of art and crying at films.

Shabaka Hutchings

Brit jazz’s woodwind warrior exults in Björk’s Vespertine (One Little Indian, 2001).

HEAVY FRIENDS GATHER FOR A LIVE CELEBRATION OF MARK LANEGAN AT 60

ON DECEMBER 5, a mouth-watering one-off tribute concert

WHY DULCIMER-AND-BEYOND VISIONARY DOROTHY CARTER’S TIME IS NOW

Double exposure: Dorothy Carter vibrates on in 1976.

ALDOUS HARDING FRONTING THE BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND? TRY THE STRANGE BREW OF NAIMA BOCK

Tales from the dark side: Naima Bock creates

BEYOND OASIS AND RIDE, ANDY BELL PUTS HIS HAND ON THE GLOK

BEST KNOWN as a founder member of Ride

MOJO PLAYLIST

Hear ye, the month’s best funky soul, disco malaria and yob rock.

The lodestars of folk, old-time and Americana survived an actual tornado to deliver one of MOJO’s albums of the year. Not bad for the “Martians” of contemporary music. “Even in the folk world we were weird,” say Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

Getty Images THE LEAVES ARE BEGINNING TO change

BABY WE'LL BE FINE

A QUARTER CENTURY SINCE THEIR INCEPTION, CINCINNATI-VIA- BROOKLYN'S NEUROTIC OUTSIDERS HAVE SURVIVED STAGE FRIGHT AND LOCKDOWN BREAKDOWN TO TAKE THEIR NERDY, SERIOUS ALT-ROCK INTO ARENAS AND BEYOND. NOW THE NATIONAL'S MULTITUDE OF FANS INCLUDES TAYLOR SWIFT, BUT THEY STILL RECALL WHEN A CROWD OF 50 WAS A LUXURY. "WE FELT PROFOUNDLY UNCOOL," THEY TELL TOM DOYLE

THE STRANGE BIRTH OF SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

With roots in the Welsh-language rock scene, and informed by acid house and psychedelic rock, 1996’s head-spinning debut Fuzzy Logic came with an armful of hits. Soon, Howard Marks, Steely Dan and Oasis were all drawn into their slipstream. “People in mega-cities are hip to everything,” say the band and intimates, “but it might not be the best place to make something unique.”

NEIL INNES was the musical marvel of THE RUTLES, PYTHONS and THE BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND, with a genius for treating sittiness seriously and vice versa. Five years since he passed, his wife's memoir, an upcoming tribute show and a Bonzos box set mean 2024 ends in celebration, yet in his time the business treated him shabbily. "It's a massive body of work," friends and colleagues tell JIM IRVIN, "but he got rather overlooked."

Barrie Wentzell, Shutterstock TO THOSE WHO FIRST SAW

THE BEST OF 2024

THE MUSIC AND MUSICIANS THAT MATTERED IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS

“Brian Told Me He Hates Most Music Films”

Eno – Gary Hustwit’s portrait of pop’s über-egghead – was anew kind of rock doc, one that was literally different every time you viewed it. David Sheppard’s mind remains boggled.

“Noel’s Got A Divorce Going Down. It Is What It Is.”

Oasis’s reunion news melted ticket sites and fans’ minds alike. But perhaps, reckons Pat Gilbert, we should have seen it coming.

“I Think She Almost Enjoyed Herself!”

Twenty-two years on, Beth Gibbons’ Lives Outgrown was the extraordinary return of a singular talent we’d almost given up on. “She’s happy to work at a glacial pace,” learns Martin Aston.

ON YOUR MOJO CD THIS MONTH...

David Kaptein, David James Swanson, Ross Halfin, Aliyah

“I Don’t Want To Be A Cult! I Can’t Bear It”

How Street-Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence by Will Hodgkinson gave flesh to the enigma of Felt, Denim and Mozart Estate. “I was very stunned,” its subject tells Ian Harrison

“I’m Looking For That Cool Breeze”

Jack White’s stripped-down de-invention brought a fresh new energy to his music, but what was it – and his guerrilla campaign – all about? Andrew Male cracks the code.

“Bowie Was Bawling His Eyes Out”

AKA, the Ziggy-era anniversary box set: only two years late but worth the wait, says Mark Paytress (with help from Ken Scott).

“THE BEST THING I’VE HEARD ALL YEAR!”

WHO NEEDS ALGORITHMS? THE MAKERS OF OUR BEST ALBUMS OF 2024 RECOMMEND THE MUSIC THAT MOVED THEM.

MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY

As 2024’s Archives III box underlined, NEIL YOUNG’s late ’70s were as fertile as they were confounding. Entering his thirties in romantic and career turnaround, he hit a streak, from Zuma to Live Rust , as brilliant and unpredictable as any before or since. Along the way there’d be The Last Waltz, Like A Hurricane and “Eat a peach”. “It wasn’t about Neil trying to remain relevant,” discovers GRAYSON HAVER CURRIN. “It was him trying to keep moving as fast as possible.”

Not the end of the world

Josh Tillman’s latest grand orchestral apocalyptic vision is bleak but joyfully delivered. By Tom Doyle. Illustration by Bill McConkey.

BaBa ZuLa

★★★★ İstanbul Sokakları GLITTERBEAT. CD/DL/LP Turkish psych legends

Rough justice

Sixty years on, Ireland’s finest troubadour is still calling out the wicked and refining his skills.

JAZZ

Vazesh ★★★★★ Tapestry EARSHIFT MUSIC. CD/DL Expansive studio

DeWolff

Southern comforts: DeWolff follow their dreams to Alabama.

Tighten up

The king of Ethio-jazz cuts loose in Tel Aviv.

Contrarian western

Boundary-pushing guitarist digs deep into tradition to reinvent the bluegrass wheel. Again.

AMERICANA

Silkroad Ensemble With Rhiannon Giddens ★★★★ American Railroad

Dora Morelenbaum

★★★★ Pique MR BONGO. CD/DL/LP Dora explores

The will and the way

The final chapter of Robert Forster and Grant McLennan’s exquisite songwriting journey gets the definitive send-off across four LPs and seven CDs.

Toward the light

Revealing live performances by the mystic guitarist unearthed.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan

Dark stars: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan conjure

Two sevens clash

1977 debut sound from the smartest band around, expanded.

Melanie

Vocal hero: Melanie’s true worth is her voice

U2

Nuclear energy: U2, raw and unpolished on …Atomic

Devoto Flow

The Manc post-punk spooks’ mighty oeuvre back on vinyl.

The sadness of King George

The reflective work of a reluctant high-flyer reveals its true value 50-plus years on.

Sur Le Plage

Unearthed from rock obscuria’s basement, Seasick Steve’s secret past in French yacht-disco.

Taylor Swift

The Millennial Springsteen: MOJO’s version. By Victoria Segal

FILTER BOOKS

We All Shine On: John, Yoko, & Me

The long goodbye

Elton’s story (re)told in flashbacks and farewell tour footage. By Tom Doyle.