Carole King's Tapestry gets Legacy treatment (which means loads of bonus tracks)

I feel guilty for liking Carole King's Tapestry. It's probably becuz I hang around a load of garage punk sorts who only like things filled with fuzz and shouting. However, chances are, there's about 300 Carole King compositions in your collection. Aretha Franklin. Yep. King wrote for her. The blissed out psych of The Porpoise Song? It's her again! So with that explanation, I'll soldier on.

A new edition of Carole King's '71 album Tapestry will see release in April bolstered by live versions of its tracks recorded in '73 and '76. The first disc of the two-CD set includes the original album in remastered form plus the bonus studio cut "Out in the Cold."

Original producer Lou Adler also supplies track-by-track commentary in the liner notes. Disc two rounds up album tracks in sequence, taped in 1973 in Boston and Central Park, plus at a 1976 show at the San Francisco Opera House. 15 weeks at No. 1, 22 million copies sold worldwide... not normally things we crow about on these pages... but for an LP that features It's Too Late, Natural Woman and I Feel the Earth Move, I ain't gonna argue.

Coxon talks of Blur risk (no, not the board game)

Remember Blur? Yeah man, they were pretty popular a few years back huh? Yeahyeah... that guy Damon Albarn was in 'em... he's hangin' 'round with cartoons and bass players from The Clash now eh? What about the rest of 'em? Well, Alex James is makin' cheese and Rowntree... the drummer?... is standing... as an MP. Wasn't there another guy? Translucent sort...

Former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon has admitted that it's probably going to be some time before the band are reconciled, stating that the potential risk involved would be the main obstacle to any reunion. "I suppose the rumours are based on some sort of fact," said Coxon, referring to steady stream of whispers that seem to be omnipresent. "It's kind of naive to expect a group to get back together after years of not really communicating really well and under that amount of pressure. But steps have been made to talk."

The Roots have a new LP coming out with loads of guests on it

Have you been on the NME website recently? The text is so large that you can only assume that readers of the NME are either nearly blind or, have the mental age of a toddler. Anyway, hopping over there with the precise intent of stealing a story, unable to find out much of interest, I noticed that ace Hip-Hoppers The Roots are wheeling out the big guns to collaborate on their next LP.

Featuring on their Rising Down album will be the mighty Mos Def, Q-Tip, Lupe Fiasco and Common... and we should be hearing it later this year. Also, Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump is featuring... and as you can probably tell, he's a no-hope loser from a guitar band that only idiots like. I mean... c'mon... Patrick Stump? What kinda name is that? Anyway, hip hop mavericks are hard to come by these days, so do yourself a favour and buy The Roots back catalogue...

The story of Chess Records to hit the big screen

For me, Chess Records is the most iconic of all Americas record labels. Motown, Sun and Stax are more famous, but the real deal lies is the rooks and checkmates. There's so many amazing Chess releases... Muddy Waters, Etta James, Rotary Connection, Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley... hell... Rocket 88 (regarded as the first rock 'n' roll single ever) was a Chess piece!

And now the label, established by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess is to hit the big screen. The movie, titled Cadillac Records (presumably something to do with the Chess brothers famously selling records from the boot of their car way back when), will see Beyoncé playing the role of Etta James and Adrien Brody playing the role of Leonard Chess. Who gets to play at being Muddy? A certain Jeffrey Wright.

The Gil Evans Orchestra 'Out Of The Cool'

We don't really cover a whole lotta jazz at Electric Roulette, and for no other reason than the fact that I've been obsessing about Impulse Records all week (Stax and Cold Chillin' are getting some serious competition in the 'My Fave Record Label' stakes), I thought I'd lay a recommendation on y'all and suggest you treat yourselves to a copy of The Gil Evans Orchestra's Out Of The Cool (Impulse, 1960). Proper jazzers (and I wouldn't even begin to class myself as a member of that rarefied league) tend to regard this beautifully mellow, minimalist masterpiece as the pianist / arranger's best work outside of his collaborations with Miles Davis (Birth Of The Cool, Miles Ahead, Porgy & Bess and Sketches Of Spain), but personally I'd put this right at the pinnacle of Evan's whole back cat. Arranged for a 14 piece orchestra comprising piano, trumpet, trombones, flutes, piccolo, bass, alto, tenor & soprano sax, tuba, bass and drums, the Out Of The Cool session simply produced music of jaw-dropping beauty.

Jimmy Page adds further fuel to the fire of 'Will Led Zeppelin really get it back on for a world tour?'

Just about everyone is reporting on this... so you may have already heard about it... but hey, we need the traffic as well (and we like Led Zeppelin... who doesn't?) Anyway, Jimmy Page has spoken to reporters in Japan, about the reunited band's possible tour plans and the speculation cement mixer has churned into overdrive.

After the success of their one-off O2 show, Page, speaking to reporters in Tokyo (repokyo's?) said that it would be impossible to make any decisions about staging more shows until Robert Plant finishes touring with Alison Krauss. However, Jim said “I can assure you the amount of work that we put into the O2, for ourselves rehearsing and the staging of it was probably what you put into a world tour". Oh, Jim... you're such a tease. Anyway, if you wanna catch Plant and Krauss, they're playing...

Review - The Opiates' Anatomy of a Plastic Girl EP

Reading these pages, looking at our masthead thing, you could be forgiven for thinkin' that Electric Roulette is anti anything that could be mistaken for modern music. 'Electronics? Man! Geddouttahere! Unless you mean Kraftwerk or The United States of America LP!' Think that? Well, you're wrong. It's only a matter of time before I start sticking Underground Resistance videos up. So with that, let's have a look at  The Opiates' new release, Anatomy of a Plastic Girl EP... which, if you haven't guessed by now, is an electronic outing.

Set for release in March, this EP precedes an LP called Hollywood Under The Knife, and if Anatomy of a Plastic Girl is anything to go by, it could be pretty decent. It touches various bases before settling in your brain. Yep. There's a bit of Detroit techno. Yep. That's be acid-house there. Hang on. That's a bit like Goldfrapp. Oh yes. That's definitely Kraftwerk there...

What? Another documentary? Yep... and this time we're talkin' 'bout disco king Arthur Russell

I think it's pretty fair to say that Arthur Russell was a bit of a maverick. He could play cello, compose, sing... and make some of the most usual and goddam funky disco you ever did hear. Russell's career bridged New York's downtown, rock, and dance music scenes and he collaborated with artists as far flung as Allen Ginsberg to David Byrne. For a true testament to him, you should go and dig out Dinosaur L's Go Bang. That was Arthur. That was Arthur making dance music like you've never heard in your life! And if it's good enough for Larry Levan's Paradise Garage...

So with that, after doubts over its release, Matt Wolf’s documentary on Russell will receive its premiere in Berlin early next month. Wild Combination: A Portrait Of Arthur Russell will trace the many musical worlds Russell inherited over his career, which means digging into Dinosaur L, Indian Ocean and Loose Joints... and more! We lost Russell to AIDS in '92, aged 40, and since then, his profile has been raised significantly. Berlin International Film Festival will host the premiere of the documentary from Februrary 13 and it's expected to make its way over to the UK in the next month. Click here to visit the official website and click over to watch a trailer (you should watch it... it looks great)

Joy Division documentary

Oh no... not Joy Division again... lissen up, I understand you perfectly clear. Everyone likes Joy Division, but we don't take kindly to force feeding and canonising. I understand I really do. Just because they're the hippest band in the whole wide world doesn't mean that we should start to ignore. There's a new documentary out which is nothing to do with Control which looks great. Using Victorian style images of Manchester, jottings from Rob Gretton’s notebooks, moving interviews with Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, talking heads from Peter Saville, Malcolm Whitehead, Genesis P. Orridge and, most significantly, Ian Curtis’ 'other woman', Annick Honoré. If you go to see this, you'll also hear the tale of Bernard Sumner hypnotising Curtis in an effort to ease his psychological turmoil... and, get this, hear the actual tape recording of the session. I'm not sure when it's out...

New wild blues bands - King Salami & The Cumberland Three and The Vanjas

It seems to us here that a few new bands are forming around Europe recently who are executing a wild take on 1960s rhythm and blues. From London we have King Salami & The Cumberland Three, who recently released their first single on Butterfly Records. In King Salami they have a fantastic showman (who passion and knowledge of r’n’b is exemplary) and a frantic backing band, all of whom have worked in several hot rockin' London combos over the past few years - and know how to put on a show. And indeed you can catch their live act most weekends somewhere in the capital and often beyond too.

And following the recent coverage of The Branded, here is another dose of heavy r’n’b from Sweden in the shape of Stockholm’s The Vanjas. Mixing blues covers (e.g. 'Shake', 'What I'd Say') alongside their own material, they are ready to showcase their music all over Europe very soon. You wouldn’t want to miss them, for The Vanjas are sharply dressed, incendiary groovers.

Do keep us informed of other similarly styled bands forming out there; we maybe seeing the birth of a new scene!

See King Salami & The Cumberland Three on Myspace here

See The Vanjas Myspace page here

Via Modculture

Live Review - The Slippery Belle Burlesque

Ever looked at your life and thought "hell... I'm not s'posed to be here in this dead wood job! I always saw myself hangin' 'round nearly nude glamourous women, transvestites, magicians and gettin' drunk whilst dancing to Rocket 88!"

Of course, we can't all be Lou Reed... and thankfully, you can make all your rock'n'roll dreams come true and you won't have to get addicted to heroin to boot! So where is this decadent and indulgent world of sin? Sign me up! I WANT IN! Well, for residents of Manchester, you can strut toward The Slippery Belle Burlesque ball and get your kicks! Believe me. I went on Sunday and I'm definitely goin' again! HOT DIGGITY!

You'll be wantin' times and addresses won't you? Read on while I get my tittyshaker 45s out...

Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings to tour UK and Eire

If you've just read and said "Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings? Why should I care?" then I advise that you stop reading right now and click over to see the soul titan in action. When you've picked your jaw off the floor, start reading again.

Okay. So what's the scoop? Well, the dazzling Sharon Jones and her Dap Kings are touring the UK and Ireland in April! Forget Amy Winehouse... the real deal is here and boy, she's gonna kill you with that voice of hers. Actually kill you. You'll die on the dancefloor the happiest motha who ever grinned.

Where they playin'? All dates are in April... 10th Button Factory Dublin, 11th Mint Lounge Manchester, 12th Concorde 2 Brighton, 13th Yardbird Birmingham, 15th The Sage Gateshead, 16th 17th 18th Jazz Café London, 19th Fiddlers Bristol... and finally, they'll be making an appearance on Jools Holland's Later. Catch 'em... then try and catch yer breath. Now, like I said earlier, read over the jump for the stunning 100 Days 100 Nights...

Review - The Five Aces Shout and Shimmy!

Just for the record, The Five Aces is nothing to do with cans of Ace. This lot are not tramps who get wasted on whatever their shrapnel can pay for (well, not to my knowledge at least) because, if this band was a drink, they'd be scotch on th' rocks. Anyways. I had a weird moment with this LP. Pickin' it up, I looked at the cover and thought 'this looks great!' then, found out that the guy who designed our website banner did the cover. Do I give the album a kicking because I don't want to give the impression that this is a boys club that all promotes each others wares with a mixture of lies and kindness?

Thankfully, there's nothing to dislike about this cracking LP. You dig Booker T & The MGs? You like the mod-jazz of Georgie Fame at his best? You're gonna love this album then. Hell, if my word ain't good enough for you, Mark Lamarr loves 'em as well (describing them as "the Small Faces meeting The Poets and jamming with Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker at a late night 60s blues session")

Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue to get re-release

I've never heard Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue LP. Apparently, it's a killer. So why ain't I got it? Well, sure 'nuff, I dig The Beach Boys, but hell, I ain't paying over £100 on an LP by a drummer. So shoot me. Anyway, good news is that the classic album is to get a re-release... and it's not some poxy limited run.

Wilson's LP has been out of print for over 15 years thanks to arguments about who owns it and all that, but now, it's set to see the light of day again with a two-disc CD reissue and, for vinyl junkies, a repress on 180g. The CD will include the original album’s 12 tracks alongside unreleased songs from the sessions as well as one disc dedicated to unreleased tracks from Wilson’s proposed follow-up album “Bamboo”.

Should be out on May 13 in the US, it will likely see release the day before in the UK.

Review - The Urges 'Psych Ward'

v., urged, urg·ing, urg·es. v.tr.

1. To force or drive forward or onward; impel. 2. To entreat earnestly and often repeatedly; exhort. 3. To stimulate; excite: “It urged him to an intensity like madness” (D.H. Lawrence). 4. To move or impel to action, effort, or speed; spur.

There's nuthin' I'd like more than to leave that dictionary definition up as, in it's own way, is a perfect review of The Urges' Psych Ward LP. However, that'd be shortchange for you dear reader. Instead, let's have a look... sound-fer-sound at one of the best garage LPs I've heard in ages.

Ebay Watch: Leon's Creation 'This Is The Beginning'

Is it me, or has all the text on this record sleeve clearly been done with a felt tip pen? It isn't even written straight! Some letters are darker than others where they've been 'gone over' too many times! The ham-fisted attempt at making the 'T' of 'Creation' into a crucifix! Man this is a great record sleeve. Jesus Freak concept, junior-school graphic design, and a brutally unflattering band photo. "Hey, yeah, you, Afro dude, you and the honky at the front with the crap goatee and awful sun glasses, why doncha try and look like you're taking a dump or something, yeah, really strain, ok, great, yeah, looks good, lets get this shot and get the hell outta here so I can go to Rymans and pick up some more Crimson Red felt tip pens..."  Perfect.

...and the music doesn't disappoint...

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds announce European tour details

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds are going back on the road for the first time in three years, promoting the band's 14th album - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, which should hit the shelves on 3rd March. That's a couple of weeks after a single from the album (also called Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!) is released (18th February).

UK dates are sparse (no Manchester date yet again), but if you happen to be near any of the following venues, you can order tickets from 9am on February 1st.

Lisbon Colliseum (April 21)
Porto Coliseum (22)
San Sebastian Polideportivo (24)
Barcelona Razzmatazz (25)
Marseilles Docks Du Suds (26)
Amsterdam Music Hall (28)
Paris Casino Du Paris (29)
Brussels Forest National (May 1)
Dublin Castle (3)
Glasgow Academy (4)
Birmingham Academy (5)
London Hammersmith Apollo (7)
Oslo Spektrum (16)
Stockholm Annexe (17)
Copenhagen KB Halle (19)
Berlin Tempodrom (21)
Prague Sazka Arena (24)
Vienna Gasometer (25)
Zagreb In Music Festival (June 3)
Belgrade Arena (4)
Salonika Moni Lazariston (6)
Athens Lycabetus Theatre (7)

Nick Cave website

The Charlatans gives away new album for free - no newspapers involved

The Charlatans is one of those bands I appreciate more every year - as the British music scene gets ever more stale, they're still around knocking out the greatest hits and producing some decent new tunes too - the latest of which is You Cross My Path - the band's 10th studio album.

And best of all, you can download it for free from the band’s official website and Xfm.co.uk from March 3rd, with 'physical' copies available via Cooking Vinyl from May 19th on CD and as a strictly limited deluxe edition vinyl 45s box set. I've heard a few tracks live and they were pretty decent.

Why free? Well, they probably don't need the money. Although that's never stopped U2 and the Rolling Stones from squeezing those extra pennies.

Charlatans website

New Band: Thee Attacks

It's not hard to knock out a rehashed 60s guitar riff - the hard work is making it sound authentic. And that's something Thee Attacks do with some style.

Hailing from Aalborg in Denmark, The Attacks describe themselves as 'a melodic garage band of the kind you didn't think they made anymore' - and if you happen to be crying out for some fast-paced rhythm and blues with a rough-edged vocal, thumping drums and a guitar sound straight out of 1966, you should give them a try. Likewise if you love The Sonics, the original Nuggets box or early Who/Kinks.

But don't take out word for it - check out the band's MySpace page for plenty of tunes, background on the band and a step back in time. I bet they're a cracking live act.

Thee Attacks MySpace page

Rockness 2008 line-up - and it doesn't really rock

Rockness - the name screams Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, AC/DC or Kiss, but Rockness 2008 falls a bit short really, promising ex-Housemartin Fatboy Slim, Razorlight and The Editors. Suddenly your back garden sounds appealing.

Other names on the bill include The View, Digitalism, The Cuban Brothers, The Cribs, CSS, Hadouken! and an endless stream of flavour of the month DJs. If that's still a bit underwhelming, the organisers have confirmed a string of top acts have still to be announced very soon, including further headline acts.

There's also the usual wacky entertainment, pubs, bars (including a cocktail bar) and much more that you'll find out about at the website. It takes place on the 7th and 8th June, with tickets available from 26th January for £100 (weekend) or £115 (weekend with camping).

Find out more at the Rockness website

Lenny Kravitz - latest has-been pushing product with the Daily Mail

There's been a bit of heated debate over Jean Michel Jarre's decision to give away music with last weekend's Daily Mail. But that was last week - and next week another has-been is trying his luck with the same paper - Lenny Kravitz.

Yes, everyone's favourite radio-friendly rocker of the late 90s is back, with a new album on February 4th, 2008. And to celebrate the launch, he is destroying the last shreds of his credibility by giving away a CD with the Mail on Sunday, featuring six exclusive tracks from Lenny’s brand new album It Is Time For A Love Revolution as well as six of his greatest hits.

Without a hint of irony, Stephen Miron, Managing Director of The Mail on Sunday said “We’re delighted to be offering our readers yet another first. Securing an artist of Lenny Kravitz’s calibre is testament to The Mail on Sunday’s commitment of offering the finest music exclusively to the public.”

The CD is free with the Sunday February 3rd edition.

Lenny Kravitz website

Hang on... Two good songs by The Osmonds?

Y'know Mr Fuzz alluded to the fact that Crazy Horses wasn't the only rockin' acid track by The Osmonds? Well, curiosity got the better of me and I had a delve... and found this fuckin' insane video of the grinning inbreeds kickin' out Music Through The Ages. This glitterfest takes in Sly and the Family Stone, The Beach Boys and... unbelievably... prog and Moog. Yup. Watch it. You prolly won't believe y'eyes.

Scarlett Johansson covers Tom Waits.

I godda be honest with you here. I don't really know who Scarlett Johansson is. If this picture here is anything to go by, she's from Hollywood and will get a chest cold if she carries on. Anyways, looking at her, you wouldn't have her down as a Tom Waits fan wouldya? Well, Scarlett Johansson's interpretations of Tom Waits songs, will hit stores this spring and will be called Anywhere I Lay My Head.

Johansson collaborated on the LP with Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Celebration's Sean Antanaitis and TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek, who produced. The track list sports 10 Waits covers and one original track, but full details have yet to be announced.

Having a delve, this broad (I'm not sexist... I'm jus' tryin' tuh sound cool) has sung before on a charity LP and, quite surprisingly, made an appearance with the Jesus & Mary Chain at last year's Coachella festival. Still, Tom Waits still looks better in jus' a cardigan and pop socks...

Super Furry Animals let fans choose setlist... SFAOK!

Super Furry Animals are just about the only band you can trust at the minute. Not including all those other bands you can trust. Furthering their claim to be the soundestest guys in moozik, SFA have announced that they will let fans choose the setlists for their upcoming US shows by voting online.

The band, who will play Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight and are giving fans the opportunity to weigh in on their favourite songs via a "voting widget" on their Beggars Group blog (click here).

According to the site, "The results are being tracked in real-time - Super Tuesday style - and will be fed to the band as they course around the US in support of 'Hey Venus'." Click here for our review of Hey Venus.

Rock 'n' Roll T-Shirt sir? Perhaps sir would dig something more soulful?

There's loads of band t-shirts knocking around... there always has been. However, if you wanna be a bit cooler, then going off the beaten track is where it's at. With that, you should pay a visit to A-non clothing.

Okay, their logo is cruddy and some of the tees have BA Baracus on... but keep digging and you'll find a nice selection of shirts that sport the Tamla Motown logo (see picture dufus), Studio One, Moog, 303s, Blue Beat, Lennon, Joy Division and the New York Dolls.

The price is around £20 and they stock Vintage Wash tees, Men's tees, women's tees, hats, hoodies... all the usual. Gwan. Pay 'em a visit!

Hi. My name is Zit and I'm reading Punk....

Think you know about punk huh? You know all about The Passion Killers, Open Sore, Cock Sparrer, Fruit Eating Bears and the Acme Sewage Co? Nah. Me neither.

Bu' guess whut? You CAN find out about them pus faced oiks who just about managed to learn a chord in between bout of Airfix glue and Spesh at Punk77. It's a site devoted to all things punk and is split into sections like UK Punk, US Punk, an A-Z of bands, Women in Punk, Book, The Roxy Club and which cheap kicks to git if you wanna shout Gabba Gabba Hey! with some real authority. Okay. One of those is a lie... but it should be there.

It features loadsa snaps of punkers in full schloppy gore, some of which you won't have seen before (I mean, summa these bands don't get much press y'know?). Get on the pimple vibe.

Sleeveface - The best idea EVER.

The idea Sleeveface is simple. You take a sleeve. You take a face. You make Sleeveface. Although, that said (and this pleases me greatly), it's a vinyl only affair (I mean, I spose you could try it with an MP3).

If you click here, you can visit the Facebook group, or click here to visit the main site and see pictures of Mozza shooting roses, Brenda Lee sporting some shiny eighties football shorts and John Denver having a look at an Airplane DVD. You can join the group and add photos of you posing with your fave face sleeve or email the brains behind the outfit at submit@sleeveface.com

This is, quite simply, one of the best ideas I've ever come across. Join in the fun... and the more ridiculous the better! You'll have to go some way before you top the picture that features a dog with Barbara Streisand's head... happy snapping kiddies!

One Good Song: The Osmonds 'Crazy Horses'

As far as I can tell, almost everything The Osmonds ever did sucked beyond all reason. They were the living end, a buncha perma-grinning freaks in glitter flares whose emptyheaded sub-Jackson 5 bubblegummery was custom built solely to distract America from the Vietnam War, social breakdown, Watergate etc etc...and yet, somehow they managed to produce THIS MONSTER, 'Crazy Horses', one of my all time favourite singles, a wacked-out psychedelic-soul stomper which comes fully equipped with insane wailing vintage synths, crazy guitar breaks, thumping drums and a fat brass section. Amazingly, a brief Googling has revealed that this is far from The Osmonds only acid-soul nugget, but until I dig all those out the crate, here's the quite-good-sometimes Osmonds, with 'Crazy Horses'. (PF)

Grup Çığrışım. You dig?

I fuckin' love this!

Patti Smith gets all arty and shows her stuff in Paris

What is it with singers man? They think they can turn their hand to anything.. usually art. I mean, you don't get Dali tryin' his hand at Spanish folk LPs do you? (Do you?) Anyway, Patti Smith is to exhibit a selection of her artwork, including drawings and photography, at a prestigious Parisian gallery.

“Land 250”, named after the supreme grand punkstress’ Polaroid camera, sees Smith exhibit 250 polaroids, including photos of poet Arthur Rimbaud’s cutlery and Jimi Hendrix’s guitar. Some 25 drawings also feature in the exhibition at Fondation Cartier, alongside found objects, including a stone from the River Ouse in Sussex where novelist Virginia Woolf committed suicide.

Smith has also recorded explanations of her artwork to be played in the gallery. Herve Chandes, the director of Fondation Cartier, said: “Everything Patti does is very emotional, but this is particularly personal to her. It is an immensely romantic, lyrical show which I think will reveal a side to her that not many people have seen before.” It runs from March 28 to June 22.

New Band: Walton Hesse

Caught you lookin' at legs didn't I bucko? Well, stop yer dirty thoughts and start thinkin' more sleaze. Wha'? You're confusing me man! Don't worry. Woe betide a man who can't dig Walton Hesse. This buncha degenerate country kickers are rolling around the mud with the pigs and moonshine and (when the acid has worn off) they just about manage to stand for long enough to make an awesome refried country fuzz!

Shit. These kids have been to hell, escaped, only to git takin' down by Bason 'n' Brock down to the penitentiary with The Midnight Special! Along the way, they dug the sounds of Hank, Prince Billy, Zappa, some spotlight kid called Beefheart and a fistful of grimy garage 45s to make an unholy God-fearing racket... and if that ain't paradoxical enuff, they're from the North of England too.

Nick Mason for President (make 'em make 'em clap to this)

Obama who? Hillary? Shiyet. Too many 'L's man. There's only two people I'd have for prez and that's Eric B and...

..former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason. What the fu...

Get yer maypoles out! Pentangle to do full summer tour!

Too often, when a super influential grooop gets it back on, everyone cheers, then worries, then follows up with some happiness or disappointment. That's the way the Wicker Man crumbles eh? Well, prepare for that roller coaster of emotion again as the original line-up of Pentangle have announced a UK tour taking place in the summer.

Bert Jansch, John Renbourne, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox will call off any long standing feuds and make like a groovy thing on their ‘Sweet Child 40th Anniversary Tour’. Each gig will begin at 8pm (should you remember them first hand and need a cocoa fix) and will see the band play two sets, each lasting an hour.

Tickets for the tour go on sale on January 28. So where are they playing? Read over Rover...

The Federals: Garage! Garage! Garage!

Hey kids! Do you like GARAGE ROCK MUSIC? REAL LOUD, ASS-KICKING, SYMPATHETIC SOUNDS OF DETROIT STYLED GARAGE ROCK MUSIC? And maybe do you like...GOING PLACES? PLACES WHERE THERE IS SOME ASS KICKING SYMPATHETIC SOUNDS OF DETROIT STYLED GARAGE ROCK MUSIC BEING PLAYED REAL LOUD, Y'KNOW, LIKE YOU JUST SPECIFIED A PREFERENCE FOR? SURE YOU DO! SO WHY DONCHA GO SOME PLACE AND WATCH ASS-KICKING SYMPATHETIC SOUNDS OF DETROIT STYLED GARAGE ROCK OUTFIT THE FEDERALS PLAY KICK-ASS GARAGE ROCK ALREADY? GO ON! GET OUTTA HERE!

(Read over for tour dates, coherent description of the band, etc)

History of Rock 'n' Roll Hair t-shirt

Looking for a new hairstyle? Inspiration is at hand in the form of the History of Rock 'n' Roll Hair t-shirt.

Yes, everyone who was anyone (with hair) is here - from the Beatles to Bowie and the Ramones to Robert Smith, not to mention countless others you can enjoy picking out. Not enough big perms for my liking, but you can't have everything.

Available on Etsy on a 100 per cent cotton t-shirt, it can be yours for $17.99 (around £9).

Find out more at the Etsy website

Via Retro To Go

Review: Shapes and Sounds Volume 2

You may recall our review of Shapes & Sounds (Orange & Red Beams from the BBC Archives 67-69) which was, in short, like listening to the best psych show ever. Live performances from Timebox and Tomorrow and no doubt other brilliant bands beginning with 'T', interspersed with jolly BBC radio jocks proclaiming groovy sounds from way out! Now, Top Sounds have pulled out the shy younger brother from behind the legs to say hello. So come on... let's give a wave to Shapes and Sounds Volume Two (Shades of Deepest Purple From The BBC Archives 1967-1971).

This second installment continues where the last one left off... with pace. Tune after tune lines up, ready to kick you in the balls in a bid to blow your mind. Wha'? Well, live, many of the studio FX aren't present, so what is missing in sonic adventure is made up for in toughness...."Hey! I like that! It's sort of frantic! Don't you agree?"

One Good Song: Cozy Powell's 'And Then There Was Skin'

What's this? Heavy breakbeated proggy thing by famous drummer? As sampled by DJ Shadow? Yup. It's Cozy Powell's 'And Then There Was Skin' which can be found for next to nuthin' on the b-side of Dance With The Devil (which is not so great).

New Spiritualized LP and tour

Is it a wall of sound? Is it psychedelia? Is it the blues gone wrong? Electronics? Is it the Velvets meets Brian Wilson? It's Spiritualized... it's all of the above.

"The album release date has been confirmed as being mid May, more info to follow very soon including new tour dates..." Not giving anything away huh? Well, if you go to the official Spiritualized site, that's all it says about the big news.

Through MySpace, it also says that the follow up to 2003’s Amazing Grace will happen on the 19th of May which will mean a world tour. The Spaceman and cohorts were recently confirmed for this year’s Coachella festival in the US (alongside Kraftwerk and Portishead and... uh... others) but will it be full rockin' band or acoustic mainline? In the words of J "...that's it for acoustic mainlines, after that we're going electric..."

Last-ever Sheffield Brighton Beach

After a brief return to the venue, Friday February 1st will be the last-ever Brighton Beach at the City Hall in Sheffield.

The main room has gone a bit too indie/Britpop these days (a waste of that flashing dancefloor), but you're guaranteed top notch 60s Soul, Northern, Jazz, Garage, Psych and Freakbeat in Room 2 from DJs Gav Needham & Gav Arno. All on original 45s naturally.

Admission is £5 advance and the night runs from 10pm until 3am. If you want to know more, check out the website.

Find out more at the Brighton Beach website

My Name Is Potato by Rita Pavone

You heard right. Her name is potato.

Beginners guide to... Lee Hazlewood

Why bother?

Let's not mess about here. Lee Hazlewood is one of the most underrated people i