STACK NZ June 2016 Issue 74

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Terry Reid
The Other Side Of The River
British singer-guitarist Reid turned down frontman
roles for Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple to pursue
his own path through blues, rock, folk, Brazilian
music and much more, which only lead to cult
status. His most acclaimed album is River (1973)
where, especially on the second side, he explored ideas akin to the
stretching jazz-folk of Tim Buckley and an almost weightless, dreamy
ambience. It's an album to hear. This double vinyl/single CD pulls together
alternate takes, short sketches and revisions of River songs and other
previously unreleased material from those sessions, which includes guests
like Gilberto Gil and the Ikettes on wide-ranging, often genre-defying
songs. Reid branches off into funky country, Southern soul, Brasilia, stately
acoustic folk and much more. River remains the starting point on Reid and
this eavesdropping collection (we hear him stop and start songs) is here if
you want more, albeit less focused.
Prince
Prince
His 1978 debut For You
announced him, but this, a year
later – now reissued on vinyl –
established him with I Wanna
Be Your Lover, Why You Wanna
Treat Me So Bad? and I Feel For
You (the latter winning him a
songwriter Grammy when Chaka
Khan covered it). The album is
mostly r'n'b funk, sometimes
stripped back and given electro-
pop flourishes (Sexy Dancer
with heavy breathing). There are
Jacko-like ballads, but the pop-
funk provided the platform for
his breakthrough Dirty Mind the
following year. The Prince (as we
knew him) story begins here.
Paul McCartney
Pure McCartney
Available in double disc, 4CD
or 4LP formats, here's a non-
chronological, self-chosen
overview of Macca's vast post-
Beatles career. In the full version
it includes songs from his first
low-key solo album, through
Wings and, pleasingly, to some
by his experimental side-project
Fireman with producer Youth, plus
Hope for the Future (2014) for
the Destiny video game. Crafted
or corny pop, raw rock'n'roll,
sooky ballads (and gems like My
Valentine), quiet folk, nods to
electronica... Whatever you think
of him, this is an impressively
broad overview of one of the
great songwriters of the past 60
years.
visit
30 JUNE 2016
MUSIC
By Graham Reid
There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973)
He'd enjoyed a successful self-titled solo album (after the
Simon and Garfunkel break-up) with the hits Mother and
Child Reunion and Me and Julio, but here he confidently
extended his interest in music beyond pop/folk/rock and
scooped up influences from the Caribbean (Take Me to the
Mardi Gras ), doo-wop/gospel (the Dixie Hummingbirds on
She Loves Me Like a Rock) and classical music (Bach on the
insightful American Tune). St Judy's Comet is a lovely, self-
referencing lullaby and the melody of Tenderness could have
come from the '40s. Nice stuff.
Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)
Jammed with radio-friendly songs (the title track, 50 Ways
to Leave Your Lover and Gone At Last with Phoebe Snow),
this was also typically reflective (My Little Town, Night
Game) and political (Silent Eyes is about Israel being in the
crosshairs). The execution is impeccable (jazz musicians
and Patti Austin) and Simon – again – had something to say
about himself and our world.
Surprise (1996)
On this companion to its excellent predecessor You're The
One, Simon again made the personal (family, self-doubt,
disillusionment) into universal concerns. Yet he was also
ambivalent, evocative and dryly witty. His comeback
was complete after just two disappointing albums in the
'90s (Rhythm of the Saints and The Caveman). Brain Eno
provided sonic effects and the players included Bill Frisell,
Herbie Hancock and Steve Gadd. At 64 he was still pushing
himself.
So Beautiful or So What (2011)
By this point many perhaps felt they'd had enough Simon
in their lives already. But they missed this slow-burner
which sounds as current as newspaper headlines, woven
through with stories and questions, and – as on Graceland
– his astute lyrics and voice were just part of the world-
music textures. Mortality might have been on his mind (he
was 70) but he came alive on this release. Recommended.
His recording career started over half a century ago and
his new album Stranger to Stranger is his 13th studio
outing under his own name. So – setting aside his work
with Art Garfunkel and assuming you already have
Graceland – where to start with Paul Simon?
PAUL SIMON
And also...
His debut solo album The Paul Simon Songbook, recorded in London in
1965, contains seeds of genius (I Am a Rock, The Sound of Silence, etc)
and is worth attention. There are also many compilations (notably last year's
Ultimate Collection which included some S&G songs) if you want to cheat,
but Paul Simon's albums are best appreciated in their entirety.
For more interviews, reviews and overviews from Graham Reid
visit