THIS MONTH'S CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE…

Adam Clair Adam is the author of Endless

HANDLE WITH CARE

NEW MUSIC 2022

HALFWAY TO PARADISE

Chewing on life’s gristle, George would sometimes glimpse the Godhead. It’s what makes his 30 Greatest Songs so fascinating

ALL BACK TO MY PLACE

THE STARS REVEAL THE SONIC DELIGHTS GUARANTEED TO GET THEM GOING

Theories, rants, etc.

MOJO welcomes correspondence for publication. E-mail to: mojoreaders@bauermedia.co.uk

Detroit Wanted Him

Motown-signed singer, songwriter, producer and dramatist R. Dean Taylor left us on January 7

MARCH 1965 …the Motortown Revue hits Britain!

Hitsville UK: (clockwise from left) Motortown Revue stars

Who crossed the ‘cool’ barrier?

Let us solve the niggling rock mysteries and halfremembered enigmas that plague your waking hours

Wolfgang Flür and Kraftwerk

It began with a Close Encounter: iner tia and cycling brought his beat to an end

A ’Loaf Supreme

The mighty Meat Loaf, the force of nature who brought the epic, crazed and fantastical to rock, left us on January 20

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN DESTROY DELUSION, EMBR ACE DHARMA ON CLUBHOUSE LP 11

Stuart gets focused; Sarah Martin fights introversion; (from

O Brother, Where Art Thou

Edgar Winter and friends from ZZ Top, Eagles and The Beatles pay tribute to late blues sibling Johnny

Stuart A. Staples

Tindersticks’ inimitable voice kneels before Townes Van Zandt’s Our Mother The Mountain (Poppy, 1969)

KEN BOOTHE

The reggae elder on number ones, losing every thing and fighting back

UNSINK ABLE DUSTMAN-TURNED-POP STAR JOHN OTWAY RACKS UP 5,000 GIGS

I’m Free: John Otway gets ready for some

PEACE, LOVE AND POETRY! THE HEALING JAZZ ADVENTURES OF ALABASTER DEPLUME

Taking courage: Alabaster DePlume, not safe, but magical. Chris

AMA ZONE ROKIA KONÉ STEPS OUT OF MALI AND INTO THE WORLD OF U2 AND R.E.M.

“I WAS A little shocked when I heard

MOJO PLAYLIST

Buckle up! For trip-reggae, folk hymnals and belt-loop boogie

How the “lovable puppy” of The Lemonheads went to the dark side and took his time crawling back. With It’s A Shame About Ray’s 30th birthday in sight, is it time for him to grow up? “I’m trying my best,” insists Evan Dando.

Portrait by ALYSSE GAFKJEN IT’S A COLD,

I CAN HEAR MUSIC

Loved alike by Beatles and Ramone RONNIE SPECTOR’s voice rings through the ages. But the guts she had to survive persecution by her husband Phil even more extraordinary. Since her death in January, her records and her story speak louder than ever, in defiance of those who would shackle her. “She was a free discovers SYLVIE SIMMONS.

WALL OF HEARTACHE

FIVE STELLAR RONNIE SPECTOR PERFORMANCES, BY LOIS WILSON

An endearing hotchpotch of homespun grooves and mordant Northern wit, YARD ACT are Britain’s busiest buzz band. But can they compete in the big leagues while still keeping it DIY? “What we’ve realised,” they tell A NDREW PERRY, “is that we can have it both ways.”

Getting in on the… Yard Act: (from left)

IT HURTS ME TOO

KAREN DALTON was the real thing: a dust-bowl folk singer who astonished her ’60s peers until drugs and an allergy to the bright lights threw her music into shadow. Only now, as a bumper reissue of her key In My Own Time album hoves into view, is her voice – and those of her devotees – being properly heard. “She could do the magic,” they tell VICTORIA SEGAL

TEARS FOR FEARS BUILD SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR

Ex-powerpop misfits from Bath, CURT SMITH and ROLAND ORZABAL found themselves as hit-making faces in early-’80s synth pop. After ’83 debut The Hurting, 1985 saw their obsession with primal scream therapy meet new drivetime sensibilities and dominate the US charts. But things had grown too big too fast. “With success came the shit we didn’t like,” recall the band and associates. “The dream became to become forgotten…”

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

CHAOTIC, INTENSE AND DISBANDED ATTHE HEIGHT OFTHEIR POWERS BY THEIR FREAKED-OUT MAINMAN, NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL’S CULT STATUS WAS INSTANTLY ASSURED. NOW A NEW BOOK ABOUT THE BAND AND THEIR ECCENTRIC ELEPHANT 6 ALLIES DIGS DEEPER INTO THE MYSTERY. “THERE WERE MOMENTS OF REAL BEAUTY, AND THERE WERE MOMENTS OF REAL DESPAIR,” DISCOVERS ITS AUTHOR, ADAM CLAIR

WILD WILD WEST

The Cramps, The Germs, The Go-Go’s... no one captured punk rock in LA like Slash magazine house snapper MELANIE NISSEN. As a vibrant new book of her work from 1977 to 1980 underlines, the rules were there were no rules. “There was no one to say, ‘Don’t do that,’” she tells DANNY ECCLESTON

A QUIET REVOLUTION

Peter Jackson’s Get Back trilogy has shed new light on a gripping subplot: the emergence of GEORGE HARRISON and his chafing at his status in The Beatles. But his discomfort wasn’t new, and his flowering as an artist would soon bear extraordinary fruit. “George was finding his independence,” discovers TOM DOYLE, “and he wouldn’t be dominated.” PLUS: GEORGE'S 30 GREATEST SONGS: in and out of The Beatles. AND: PAUL McCARTNEY : “I think what George did was phenomenal.”

“HE DIDN’T SOUND LIKE ANY OTHER GUITARIST”

Never before printed in full, PAUL McCARXNEY’s words on the 10th anniversary of his bandmate s untimely death cut to the heart of the creative relationships in The Beatles. “George always brought something to all the songs,” he told MICHAEL SIMMONS

Cracked Actor

Who will the New Zealand shapeshifter channel this time? Bowie? P.J.? Neil? Tom Doyle marvels at a singer of many voices. Illustration: Vince Pastiche

FILTER ALBUMS

A Place To Bury Strangers ★★★★ See Through

“I went back and forth with the visions.”

Aldous Harding speaks to Tom Doyle

Shiver and shake

It’s back to the future for the ex-Smith on an epic adventure into the dark nooks of his psyche. By Pat Gilbert

Come as you are

Liverpool duo nail their true colours to the mast

Midlake

★★★★ For The Sake Of Bethel Woods BELLA

Park Jiha

Off the wall: Park Jiha lurches from wafting

AMERICANA

Sean Taylor ★★★★ The Beat Goes On SEAN

Dizzy spells

The wonderful and frightening world of Dan Bejar continues its expansion

Eddie Vedder

★★★★ Steady Eddie: Vedder still has the ability

JAZZ

Binker & Moses ★★★★★ Feeding The Machine GEARBOX.

FILTER ALBUMS EXTRA

Federico Albanese ★★★★ Before And Now Seems

Patti Smith on Substack

Few artists are as suited to Substack as

A House through time

A previously unreleased performance from 1964: the show of a lifetime and significant historical document of the Delta blues revival. By David Fricke

FILTER REISSUES

Various ★★★ Swedish Pop & Beat 1963-1969 RIVERSIDE.

Various

Pure spirit: jazz pianist Mike Longo (second right)

Horns of a dilemma

From new radical to reborn experimentalist: the pioneering saxophonist on two vinyl box sets.

Canned sadness

Shut away for half a century, a soul legend’s shelved recordings make it into the light and on to vinyl. For collectors only, says Jim Irvin

Sammi Smith

★★★★ Looks Like Stormy Weather 1969-1975 ACE. CD/DL

REISSUES EXTRA

Dennis Alcapone & Lizzy ★★★★ Soul To Soul

Capital Charge

This month’s hidden room in rock ’s mansion of mystery –a migrant reacts to the metropolis

Ash Ra Tempel and solo

Following Berlin’s astral travellers along their myriad paths, Andrew Male

HOW TO BUY

10 The Cosmic Jokers The Cosmic Jokers KOSMISCHE

Strength of strings

Authorised biography of a great, genial American guitarist makes the perfect accompaniment to his music.

FILTER BOOKS

Denim And Leather: The Rise And Fall Of

Every Little Thing

Get Back makes it to Blu-Ray. Nearly eight hours later, Danny Eccleston feels like he was in The Beatles

Love to lugs you, baby

Win! A pair of super-fine Meze Audio LIRIC headphones!