Albert Tatlock

In general I'm much more into the Americana Wilco than the art-rock Wilco, but when Art of Almost reaches that point where it takes flight, it makes me want to leap up and punch the air. Haven't felt that about any Wilco track before. Usually, the extreme emotions have been of the wistful sweet sadness variety.

Also, because of the name, my mental image of reading this story was of Ronnie Barker meeting Sir George.

Porridge got to the USA? Great news. Yes, luckily Sir George didn't tell ne to 'Naff orrff'

Thanks guys - it's always tricky not to come off sounding like boasting or something when telling these sort of stories, but I hope VC is the better for the odd personal reflection. I used to enjoy it much more when people treated VC much more as a magazine to which they were contributing with fleshed out reviews, personal stories etc. I suppose now those who want to write paragraphs have their own blogs for that sort of thing.

And I agree with Moss -my money was on Something - given his fondness for George and the way he encouraged him to write more.

Just a little story from yesterday that the many Beatles fans here might appreciate. Needless to say, as you will probably already know, he is a lovely, lovely man.

The wife and I had the greater part of a day around Avebury and its related nearby neolithic sites, followed by calling in at the house of Sir George Martin. He and his wife welcome visitors once a year for charity, as part of the national scheme whereby usually private gardens are opened up to the public. It was all happening between 2 and 5 pm. We arrived around 3:30 and there was a short queue of around half a dozen people waiting in line for a quick chat with Sir George sat on garden chairs outside his house in the warm afternoon sun. He was looking quite dapper in a straw hat and that easily recognisable well spoken voice was carrying across to us as we waited. There were about a hundred people spread around the garden, mostly either lazing on the grass or having a cup of tea in the patio/conservatory area. Some were hardcore Beatles nuts who produced elaborately wrapped special edition books and stuff for Sir George to sign, and for a while there were two guys videoing him from a distance as he talked to people - which I thought was a bit much. But everyone was nicely respectful and the whole event was very relaxed.

I am a Beatles nut in the music sense, but I have never collected obsessively, or even read more than two or three books about them. I do like to pick up odd facts here and there though. In fact, I don't even have a copy of the full catalogue at present - I had all the vinyl when I started buying music, but they have all gone and I have not got round to getting all the CDs - though was seriously tempted by the remasters. One day ... will make do with the 5 or 6 I've got and the rest are indelibly burned into my brain so its no hardship.

So, there I was in line and the knees were starting to go a bit wobbly. My wife kept me grounded in as far as she hardly knew who he was. She grew up under a communist regime so although illicit Beatles were the height of student fashion, she was more interested in sports and did not have the time or money to get much exposure to any western music (apart from the officially sanctioned Boney M). I had only slipped a couple of CD insert slips into my pocket for an autograph on the way out of the house in the morning. I briefly thought about planning a list of questions (of course millions were possible) but decided to keep things 'natural' and just go with the flow at the time. However, I did decide to use those two CD insert slips in order to prevent my getting tongue-tied.

The couple before me wanted photos taken with Sir George, so I obliged, which actually took a while since they originally gave me their iPhone in video mode. That kind of broke the ice when we did meet, and after a few pleasantries I produced my couple of CD inserts - Revolver and Abbey Road. I asked which one he preferred and that would be the one to sign. He chose Abbey Road and then I asked which was his favourite track. His first response was "Well, I can tell you my least favourite" and pointed at Maxwell's Silver Hammer - saying "Bloody awful". I was so taken aback by his lack of diplomacy (the perogative of the old I guess) and we both chuckled openly. I pressed him for his favourite, and after a few seconds consideration he drew a short line next to Come Together. I really did not expect that choice. I wanted to ask why Abbey Road and Why that track, but I am not the most clear speaker, and during our conversation so far there had been a few glitches with Sir Georges hearing problem and his probable difficulty in lip reading my mumblings. So I didn't want to labour the point. In the final couple of minutes he answered my wife's quesstion - why he had decided to agree to recording the Beatles at the very beginning. I had heard this sort of answer from him before, but to hear him describe it to you while looking you in the eye felt special. How, though not the best musically, they had this charisma, charm and wit that made you want to spend time with them and miss them when they left, how he felt that if he could capture that on record he might be on to something, etc. etc. No one was spending that much time with Sir George (a good thing of course given his age and he had been at it since 2pm in the hot sun), so we then moved on - after of course parting with many thanks and making it quite clear how much enjoyment he has given me over the years.

A walk around the garden followed and a cup of tea was in order - served by the redoubtable older ladies of the village. Lady Judy Martin was sitting on the next table - and you could tell why all the Beatles had fancied her back in the day. I wasn't conciously trying to earwig, but I did hear her talking about hunting jackals in the Libyan desert on horseback before she got married - which is very bizarre and I have no further details to add!

No photo of me with Sir George - I'm not really into that - it just seemed extra crass given the circumstances of a nice little chat at a table. A photo is an artifact but a handshake and eye contact is a memory. Thank you Sir George!

Listening on headphones. Looking forward to hearing a fat rip of this..

I'm changing my stance on extraneous merchandising. I'd like to buy the album with an accompanying microchip to embed in my skull containing Smileys on a permanent loop. Then I'd be permanently walking round like some beaming blissed out loon. Would you be able to tell the difference though...

... And if Pat did produce this then GOOD WORK. I am planning to meet Sir George Martin on Sunday (he opens his garden for charity once a year). I'll tell him to take a listen...

Yeah, quite a few shows I've been to since there's been a little mention of it and how we've all moved on - by we I mean London in general & JT.

Btw - you seem to be the only one with a barge-pole long enough to have dared to post here :-)

... for the record, i would love this album if it were just fart noises and a kazoo.

The only time I tried to make an album it was exactly that. A bit of a niche Market I must admit. If you're interested I can get you a copy for a good price. I'm sure I still have some copies in the garage.

As Janice would say, "I'll give it foive"

... And if that doesn't mean anything to you, have a look at this - about half way through. It became a national catch-phrase.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIWbjIw9YrM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Really like Dawned on Me, and Sun King, I mean Sunloath. Already sounds great with this stream on headphones - lots going on in my head. And thank goodness the moon/June rhyming of WTA has gone. Not at the end yet - looking forward to Smileys. Whole Love now - another pure pop gem - right up my street.

Came across this this morning while searching for a The Whole Love review at the Guardian (not there yet). It was written a few weeks ago.

Posted just to provide some sort of reference to those newer members asking questions I've seen from time to time about this 'infamous' event. And there are plenty of details I had never heard before - though with two very different perspectives it's hard to tell quite how to interpret what may or may not have occurred.

I don't have a particular angle to state on it other than happy that whatever demons were involved at that time have been vanquished. "Just the facts, ma'am".

There was also the "C*cksuckers" gig at Glastonbury - I could see that as a joke that wasn't taken very well, or maybe it was just a similar bad day at the office.

Anyway. I'm pretty sure we Brits and JT have all kissed and made up now. No tongue was involved though in case you're asking.

The Worst Gig We Ever Played

Paul Lester

The Guardian

Thursday 4 August 2011 23.00 BST

.... scrolling down to the bottom ....

Wilco

Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 1997

Maybe if I'd known about Jeff Tweedy's problems – the migraines, the addiction to painkillers to control them, the depressive illnesses – I'd have been more understanding. But there's having problems, and there's taking those problems out on 2,000 people who've paid to see you. Wilco mythology holds this as the gig where Tweedy (above) lost his temper with an unenthusiastic audience; my memory is different. I recall a musician who, from the start of the gig – the last of a world tour – gave every sign of wanting to be anywhere else. Going through the motions would be too generous a description: there was no motion about the set whatever. That's why the audience lost interest. And that, in turn, is when Tweedy started cursing and castigating us. One reviewer said this was the point at which the gig caught fire. Again, my memory is different: this was the point at which the band stopped giving half a stuff about what anyone thought. And for the encore? Tweedy didn't even bother coming out. Instead a roadie emerged to sing a ramshackle version of Black Sabbath's Iron Man. There's a coda. A while later I was buying CDs at the Virgin Megastore in central London. Jeff Tweedy was at the till next to me. I turned to him, smiling, and said I had tickets to see Wilco the following evening, and that I hoped he was feeling happier than he had been last time he'd been in London. "I'll feel however the fuck I want to fucking feel," he said, or something along those lines, and turned away. Fuck you, too, Jeff. Michael Hann

http://www.guardian....igs?INTCMP=SRCH

And here is the article referred to above - from the actual time. I myself had never seen this before either, and is quite strange:-

The Independent

Wilco / Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Nick Hasted

Monday, 21 April 1997

Wilco's singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy was maimed by rock 'n' roll, tamed by rock 'n' roll, named by rock 'n' roll, according to the most wistful song on his band's sprawling new double album, Being There. The record is a reverie on the sounds and excitements of the past, on what it means to play rock 'n' roll, and to listen to it. Wilco believe in rock 'n' roll in a touching, silly way - as a sacred essence. It's faith that gives them charm, but also sets their music's limits. On the last night of their British tour, faith and music were stretched to breaking- point. For a riveting half hour, it seemed to everyone who heard them, absurdly but undeniably, that rock 'n' roll itself was hanging in the balance.

 

For an hour before that, it was just a gig. Wilco strolled on, looking like Seventies hippies, and played like it, too. They exchanged scissor- kicks, and stretched their songs into "jams". "I want to fuck you up with rock 'n' roll," Tweedy sang, but it didn't seem likely. Until it dawned on Wilco that no one in the unmoving audience cared what they did. It was business as usual on a blase London Sunday. But to Tweedy, such behaviour at a gig was unacceptable - an insult to rock 'n' roll. He wasn't going to let it pass. He stopped the music, to spit his contempt at the crowd. He called them "snotty Brits". He offered to fight them.

 

Then he sang a song. On record, "Kingpin" is unremarkable. In the heat of Tweedy's fury, it became gigantic. He began delicately, as if he was playing to himself now. But every word had new meaning. Singing "hand- claps", he mimed the motion spastically to the crowd. Wilco drowned him in squalling noise, till all you could hear was three words - "I'm not kidding" - sung over and over, the singer still, staring, raging. Assaulted by indifference, the band were revelling in revenge. Finally, they walked off. And the crowd, in awe, stomped them back.

 

Wilco returned almost sheepishly, and Tweedy made peace. But the night's transformation wasn't finished, he knew more had to be done. So he hurled himself into the crowd, to touch as many people as he could, to make them move. He was a rock 'n' roll anti-body, a gig's desperate cure. He was forcing them to remember what a gig was for.

 

As the emotions Wilco had tapped died down, you could hear how ordinary much of the music was, why some of the indifference had occurred. But for precious minutes, everyone's sights had been raised. Sometimes, faith is enough.

http://www.independe...on-1268489.html

Oh, and Nels is an alien according to JT as evidenced by what goes on with The Art Of Almost ...

From that video excerpt it's not the kind of think I would seek for a whole album but I like the variety it would contribute towards and the atmosphere it was generating until that snippet was cut short.

Can't comment on Mojos scoring policy, but I think they gave Richmond Fontaine a 4 And described it a a classic - which made me feel good as I have huge respect for WV and have a London show and a free record store appearance lined up for next month. Plus it puts Wilcos score into perspective as very hopeful too of course.

4 stars out of what? Sorry, I'm not familiar with Mojo.

Sorry - 4 out of 5.

Mojo gives it 4 stars and is correspondingly praiseworthy about most of the tracks - though they find the mix uncohesive : what with the gentler slower tracks spread here and there. Not a problem for me - was Revolver cohesive? They did like Smileys at the end. I think JT just wanted to write something that would make Remembering all the verses of Mountain Bed feel like a breeze in comparison. Apparently Capitol City has seen them 'infected' by the spirit of jazz - not something I look forward to particularly, hence my choice of phrase. They thought I Might was a bit Dylan by numbers but I loved that tv performance from a while back. Anyway, all in all left me feeling very positive for September what with this and the venerable Richmond Fontaine too.

P.s. Skimmed the review when out shopping so can't post a full version etc. There's a 2 minute type interview with JT of about half a dozen q&a as a side piece to the full page feature.

 

well actually you are still missing some bonus tracks..the only version of the album that has all the tracks is the Itunes one.

The evil double-crossing bastards!

Did the deed yesterday. Pleased to see that there was the double 'extras' CD available right up front on initial release, and without any extraneous bits and pieces, so maybe someone listened to my earlier grumbling.

Ta very much.

When I heard it on a stream I was only vaguely interested, but the quality of the sound for the video was much better and I like it now. Glad its on the second extras CD.

It seems to me to have a very Abbey Road uncluttered sound - maybe that bass and the 'space' between the instruments, or something ...

Chin chin!

Well, thank you very much. I was looking forward to watching this but now you've burst my balloon with that spoiler picture.

That's personal opinion...

Exactly. Which is why I did not want to respond as a counter to what you said (and tried to make that clear), just an explanation of my views. So I find it strange that you are taking me to task a bit. I can exactly see where different people stand and why, I just wanted to put out a message to anyone at the record company who might be reading that there are people who would like to go for a no frills package as long as it included the maximum music in one format (and could therefore be a bit more expensive) released once. Oh well.

Not going to comment on the order, but I'm pretty sure you've missed bböp off the list

okay, i got the four new roadcase shows uploaded, finally.

Thank you kind sir. Will listen on the morrow!

 

All "art fighting the evil corporation" naiveté aside, money make the world go round, and Jeff has kids to feed. The music is the most important aspect of it all, that goes without saying, but the entire appeal of buying the merchandise is for the sake of collection and showing everyone you're a fan of these wonderful artists. Playing a record is best when you can hold the case in your hands and explore pages containing info about the recording process, lyrics printed to give you a possible insight in the the creator's mind, and artwork to admire.

Don't want to counter what you say per se as an argument, but I would add that

(1) I have family priorities as far as money goes too, and I would rather spread what I spend on music around more artists rather than buy deluxe bundles from fewer.

(2) In my (long) experience hearing music is often best when you know NOTHING about the artist. Unknown Stax/soul artists on a tinny (yes tinny not tiny) transistor radio, new punk rock singles exploding out of nowhere ... etc. I vote for imagination over information every time.

just my 2 cents (plus $25 for shipping).

Yup - all valid points. When I said 'just the music' I meant a hard copy of some kind rather than digital - old enough to be stuck in my ways. Just grates with me and always will.

Personally I am only interested in the music not all the merchandising fluff that makes up packages around it, and I resent having to double up on purchases just to get odd tracks. I thought that dBpm might make a break and play it straight down the line, but looks like they're up to the usual record company games. That said, purchases in the past have allowed access to download extra content later, so hopefully the same might apply here (not sure what happened with W(TA) since I sort of ignored most of that).

Toby: did you ever actually see BS? If so, count me as super jealous. I love that band.

Sir Toby to you

I was 12 in '74, but 4 years later the Top Rank was the place to get in to for some underage drinking/clubbing etc.

Brinsley Schwarz - Live at the Top Rank Cardiff

Good God, that's a blast from the past.

To answer the question - a big fat zero. Just changed jobs - budget been on hold.