A Beginners Guide To...Jay-Z

Why Bother?

YEAH! Why bother, right? That's what I'd like to ask Micheal Eavis right now! "Jay-Z: Why bother?" Whydya bother desecrating the saced "Glasto" Headline Slot with This Sort Of Thing, huh? I mean, I've no problem with black artists playing Glasto, just as long as they're reassuringly old / reassuringly smiley / reassuringly part of some African dance troupe I read about in the Independent / and most importantly: Real Far Down The Bill, OK? Look at Jay-Zed in this picture: he just looks so angry! I mean, what if he's angry at us? Is Micheal Eavis really gonna take responsibility for inviting an angry black American to come over here, take our headline slots, and potentially BROADEN OUR HORIZONS AND OPEN OUR MINDS with SOME MUSIC I MIGHT NOT HAVE HEARD BEFORE? Yeah! Like I really go to "Glasto" to broaden my horizons! The headline slot is for middle of the road white indie bands who happen to be doing well at the time: EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT!

Beginners guide to... Gram Parsons

Why bother?

Gram Parson's legacy is a blighted one. He invented country rock as we know it, which was then stolen and plundered by the likes of The Eagles and Poco. That doesn't mean you should dismiss him. Far from it. Gram's take on old time country could switch you on to the originals, which will improve your life no end. On top of that, you get to dig some of the greatest country tunes ever made.

Essential purchase

To be honest, it's difficult to choose just one. Both of Gram's solo LPs, 'GP' and 'Grievous Angel' are masterpieces. However, for a starting point, the Flying Burrito Brothers' 'The Gilded Palace of Sin' is your best bet. This album saw Gram at his most focused... and possibly at his most sober... leaving you with a document of firebrand country and rock 'n' roll which will leave your hair on end and your heart well and truly broken. It's also available as a twofer coupled with 'Burrito Deluxe'.

Beginner's Guide To...The Go-Gos (and beyond)

Why bother?

Because they had 'the beat'. And to be honest, probably still have it. Go ask Belinda Carlilse, maybe it's fallen down the back of her sofa or something. Yeah, Belinda Carlisle. Heaven Is A Place On Earth. Don't like that record? You're a snob. Belinda started her career drumming (under the name Dottie Danger) for hardcore punk combo The Germs (who also featured future Nirvana sideman Pat Smear), then in 1978 formed The Go-Gos with a buncha other LA punkettes and schlepped up and down the Sunset Strip playing dank new-wave hang-outs for beer money. Their first 45 was the stunning surf-pop chain-gang girl chant of 'We Got The Beat', released on the punker-than-thou Stiff Records. Ie: The Go-Gos were not empty-headed bubblegummers. They were the realest of deals, and kick the ass of every indie-kid preconception you have about 'em.

Beginners guide to... Lee Hazlewood

Why bother?

Let's not mess about here. Lee Hazlewood is one of the most underrated people in rock 'n' roll. The brains behind Nancy Sinatra and a gift for killer tunes and a wit so dry that it bleaches your bones on impact. Folk, country, psych, good time rock 'n' roll... even funk... Mr Hazlewood had it all.

Essential purchase

Hazleheads will probably argue this one forever as Lee cut many fine LPs. Which one to start with? For my money, the best place to start is Trouble Is A Lonesome Town. Trouble... is a record that features Lee in supreme story-teller mode, backed by acoustic guitar and occasional gob-organ and drum. Hazlewood paints a detailed picture of this fictional town and it's brilliantly odd inhabitants... "but you won't find it on any map". Take one step forward or one step back "and you're in Trouble."

Beginner's Guide To... Sesame Street Records

Why bother?

Because for ten years between 1974 and 1984, Sesame Street Records was one of America's most successful independent labels, putting out over 70 LPs of goggle-eyed pop Muppetdelia, releasing music spanning the genres from funk to spoken word, blues to disco. Ladies and gentlepuppets: The Fuzzy-Felt Stax. A pioneering, progressive company, Sesame Street Records was held up by leaders of the early 70s Muppet Rights movement as a model for the fully integrated muppet / human workplace.

Essential Purchase: My Name Is Roosevelt Franklin (1974)

Franklin Roosevelt was a baaad muvva...shut yo' mouth! The funkiest, down-est brother ever to strut down the Sesame Street sidewalk, Franklin's character was eventually dropped from the show in the mid 70s after complaints about his potential 'bad influence' on kids. He was just too real for dem squares. Franklin was a jive-talking, superfly dude who laid down smooth raps about the alphabet, days of the week and traffic safety. This LP is just great value, loadsa sampler-ready schoolyard chants, hip dialogue and some bone-fide funk /soul cuts. Roosevelt also put out a 45 in 1976: Roosevelt Franklin Counts / Roosevelt Franklin's Alphabet. Download the album here.

Beginner's guide to... The Byrds

Why bother?

Let's not beat around the bush. The Byrds are one of the most important groups to grace our speck in the universe... and were also brilliantly flaky. What more d'ya want from a band? Great tunes? Spade fulls. Shifting shapes and sounds? Check. Too many Bob Dylan covers? It was the sixties man! Psych, country, folk, rock... it's all there in The Byrd back pages...

Essential purchase

There's quite a few. The best place to start is the blinding 5th Dimension which features a band transforming from Mop Top to Drop Out. Tracks like I See You and What's Happening?!? need to have a home in every self respecting collection. Sweetheart of the Rodeo is also a must, being the entry point to country rock (of course, you should really be buying part-time Byrd Gram Parsons' LPs, but we're talking 'bout the Byrds).

Beginner's guide to...Roxy Music

Why bother?

Because in its early days, Roxy Music was one of Britain's most experimental and creative bands - an alternative to the glam and throwaway pop that dominated the airwaves. And it gave the world Brian Eno.

Essential purchase:

The first three albums - Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure and Stranded - are all worthy of your attention. But for me, For Your Pleasure is the one - including as it does the band's finest tune (In Every Dream Home a Heartache) and the last recordings with Eno. 

Beginner's guide to... Bubblegum Psychedelia

Why bother?

Fans of psych often seek out the heaviest and most tripped out records in an effort to flip a wig. However, the more gentle side of psychedelia offers some stunning work... ambitious... dreamy... epic... but doesn't ever feel the need to ram it down your throat. Replace overdriven guitar solos in favour of complex production and sounds that shift shape and hue and you're ready to immerse yourself into the cinematic world of bubblegum psych.

Essential purchase: A Teenage Opera

Forget SF Sorrow is Born. Forget Pepper. THIS is the finest musical suite of the sixties. Featuring the dazzling production and arrangements of the legendary Mark Wirtz (read our interview with him here) and the big pop smash of Excerpt From A Teenage Opera (or 'Grocer Jack' as it's better known), the LP is a masterpiece of popsike. Each track leaps from the speakers in a flurry of a thousand brilliant ideas fighting it out in glorious cinematic harmony. Mr Rainbow is a marvelous slice of sixties pop whilst On A Saturday is probably the most gorgeous record ever made on these shores. Stories intertwine... horns rise out of mandolins... thunderous drums rumble over fuzz guitars... this album truly has it all. If you own working ears, you need this album. 

Beginner's guide to... Jimmy Page

Why bother?

With the recent regrouping of Led Zeppelin, it's worth peering into their back pages. Of course, you all know about the output of the mighty Zep, but what about the side projects?  Jimmy Page is responsible for some cracking records without his band mates. One of the world's finest guitarists is also quite deft behind the mixer too...

Essential purchase: Chris Farlowe - Moanin'

One of the most underrated 45s ever release, Jimmy Page turned a pretty bog standard track into a blistering behemoth of a track that features super heavy guitars, saucy horn sections and sitars. Farlowe delivers one of the most passionate vocal performances ever cut to wax. This monster as more ideas than your average long player and is in to kick you in the balls, and out again in well under three minutes.

Beginner's guide to... The Kinks

Why bother?

Quite simply, I can't think of a greater songwriter who encompasses all that is great and awful about Englishness than Ray Davies. From grand pop to kitchen sink dramas, Ray's pen had it all. Not only that, Ray was backed by some of the finest musicians to ever grace a 45. Dave Davies could pull a ferocious riff from nowhere, or sing the sweetest harmony to Ray's nasal drawl. Quite possibly the most underrated band who ever lived.

Essential purchase:

Village Green Preservation Society A masterful LP that no record collection can afford to be without. At odds with most of its peers, instead of looking to Asia for inspiration, instead, Ray dwells in grimy seaside towns, back alleys and crown green bowling clubs. If you want an honest picture of modern Britain, this album stills holds all the cards. Inspired. Picture Book and the title track will still blows minds now.

Beginner's guide to...Terry Hall

Why bother?

Because he's a British institution, writer of much great music and even greater lyrics and an influence to many - check out how many people wanted to sing some Specials tunes with him on this year's festival circuit. Oh yes, and he wrote the lyric "wish I had lipstick on my shirt instead of piss stains on my shoes". Genius.

Essential purchase:

The Specials by The Specials. It's a no-brainer really, a stunning hybrid of punk, vintage ska, anger and pointed lyrics that still has the same impact today as it did over 25 years ago. Just listen to Nite Klub, Concrete Jungle, A Message To You Rudy and Too Much Too Young - and tell me I'm wrong. As influential as the Sex Pistols - and all from Jerry Dammers' Coventry bedroom, rather than a trendy boutique in London.

Beginner's guide to...Lou Reed

Why bother?

Because he was the leading light in the Velvet Underground and a man who has continued to produce interesting music for over 40 years. And everyone loves a grump, especially a talented one.

Essential purchase:

Well, the easy option would be some Velvet Underground or Transformer, Reed's Bowie-produced bestseller and home to his trademark Walk On The Wild Wide and that ode to heroin addiction, Perfect Day. But you really need a copy of the follow-up,  Berlin. As bleak as it is beautiful, Berlin is a concept album of sorts, covering drug use and depression. Buy it, live with it for a few weeks and grow to appreciate its brilliance.