Uncut 2004/01 - The Best of 2003
Submitted by jim on Mon, 02/09/2004 - 12:15
Tags:
- Hamell On Trial - Oughta Go Around
- John Cale - Things
- Warren Zevon - Prison Grove
- Paul Westerberg - Crackle & Drag
- Emmylou Harris - Here I Am
- Willard Grant Conspiracy - Soft Hand
- The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road
- The Fiery Furnaces - Two Fat Feet
- Robert Wyatt - Foreign Accents
- Tahiti 80 - The Train
- Kraftwerk - Tour De France (single edit)
- Josh Rouse - Rise
- Four Tet - Slow Jam
- Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Get Down Moses
- The Waterboys - Universal Hall
Author Comments:
Standout tracks are in bold.
Good choices!
I think you might like the Zevon track a bit more than I do (I really have a hard time getting over the fact that the music is exactly the same as Emmylou's Time in Babylon off her new album; since she sings on both, somebody ripped somebody off, I'm thinking. Or not. But it still bugs me a bit, and it ain't my favorite song any way. I'm really going on too much, eh?), and I think I dig the Westerberg and Fiery Frunaces tunes a bit more. Or perhaps not.
Still, great stuff, and I *really* enjoy seeing which tracks you like.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I *knew* that song sounded familiar! Thanks, that was bugging me.
I'm glad you get a kick out of seeing what tracks leap out at me; it's a fun way for me to pad out my meager music list collection, and it makes me spend some time giving some critical thought to these mixes (although generally my criteria is "could I see myself including that track on a mix of my own some day", which isn't exactly heavy critical lifting).
I plan on doing lists like these for all the Uncut mixes I've heard, although the next couple will take me a bit, as I have to give them all re-listens. Hey, while I have you, can you tell me the year/month for the "Sounds of the New West" and "Unconditionally Guaranteed" mixes? I forgot to write them down.
I'll have to check at home. The Unconditionally Guaranteed title was used for all the bonus disks for an entire year, with only the number of the month being distinct, so the month is particularly important there.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Alrighty, I found the dates! Here are my favorites from Sounds of the New West and Unconditionally Guaranteed (2/99 edition). Thanks again for the swap; really great stuff! I liked every track on SotNW to varying degrees, so rather than bold everything, I limited myself to ones I particularly liked. And to think I still don't consider myself a country fan! I may have to revise that little bit of self-assessment sooner rather than later.
Jim, I suspect we have very different tastes in music. Well maybe not since I like all the tracks you selected, but my top five from this sampler would be quite different from yours. I would definitely include "Rise", "Universal Hall", "Oughta Go Around", and "Crackle and Drag." After that, it might be a toss-up between "Get Down Moses" "The Train", or "Two Fat Feet."
But I guess that's the beauty of Uncut's samplers - they appeal to such a wide variety of tastes in combining so many different kinds of music.
BTW, since you like the Joe Strummer song, I thought I'd ask, have you ever heard any straight-up Clash albums? If not, I'm not sure if you would like them, but you might consider trying out London Calling or the self-titled album. Maybe you could borrow it from someone, if possible.
Oh, and speaking of the Clash, I noticed you didn't comment on standout tracks from the sampler that came with the December 2003 issue. Did you not get that issue, or did you just not like the sampler at all? If the latter, I'd have to agree with you; most of those were very silly, dumb covers. I'm sorry, I know that cover artists are supposed to find their own sound, but I just have trouble accepting "White Riot" as a country song or "Death or Glory" as a slow ballad. Though I did like the Joe Strummer song that closed the sampler.
Hope life's treatin' ya well.
Our tastes probably are different, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out we have more overlap on different Uncut mixes. I'm not sure why I have that hunch, but I do. Anyway, I do like all the songs you mentioned, just not as much as the others. I *almost* included "Rise" and "Universal Hall."
I have heard many Clash songs (who hasn't?), but don't own any of the albums. Someday I plan on correcting that, probably when I can pick 'em up used for a good price. And yes, the Clash Uncut mix is one of my missing links, and your intuition serves you well. I really didn't care for that mix the first time through. Or the second time. I'm going to give it a third listen before I put up my list. At the moment though, I think the few covers that I like are the ones that tamper with the originals the least. I don't know if any of the tracks are going to pass my "would I put this on a mix of my own someday" criteria though (except the Strummer song, which is definitely the best track of the disc, IMO).
Life is good, thanks, how are things with you?
Pretty good, pretty good.
In any case, your hunch was quite right. I am in complete agreement on your thoughts on the Clash cover sampler. Yes, it's easily the worst sampler I've heard; yes, I listened to it twice and gave up; yes, the covers I liked most were the ones that tampered with the originals the least; and yes, the Strummer song was by far the best track.