These days we're more than used to music magazines providing a giveaway CD with each edition. Mojo and Uncut, the two leading British ones, do it every month. But back in the day when we still had weekly magazines here, they would regularly go the extra mile.
In 1995 Melody Maker gave away a small book with one of their March issues with a set of articles about lost albums they considered deserving of re-evaluation. Written by their staff team of the time, and they had a talented roster, it's a neat period piece, and I still flick through it occasionally leading me back to the individual records focused on there. I treasure my copy anyhow but as this blog indicates, I am the type who would.
Since the early Seventies when Nick Kent and Charles Shaar Murray were first signed up by the NME and subsequently played such important roles in turning that paper's fortunes around, Melody Maker had definitely played second fiddle to its biggest rival. It was generally seen as less credible and as a result its writers seemed to try harder, but it was always an interesting read anyhow and this small book shows it at its best.
1. Neil Young - Time Fades Away (1973 )
Allan Jones, the paper's editor, wrote the first piece. He was a few years older than most of his colleagues, having been on Melody Maker's staff since way back into the Seventies. Jones had particular taste music-wise, tending to champion what's now generally termed Americana. So it was appropriate that he opted for Neil Young here.
He chose Time Fades Away, a live album and a commercial and critical flop at the time of its release. Jones argues that it was one of his most important records, for its sheer bloody mindedness if nothing else, making him the artist who became so revered by critics and fans over time. Made at a phenomenally harrowing moment of Young's life, following the death through overdose of his guitarist and friend Danny Whitten, (which Young blamed himself for), as well as through his struggles with the music industry and fellow musicians who didn't always match the high expectations he set for himself.
Time Fades Away isn't exactly always an easy record to listen to but Jones makes a good case for its importance. It's one of the best pieces of journalism I've read by him. In many respects he was Melody Maker's equivalent to NME's Nick Kent for much of the Seventies and as with the paper he wrote for he often had to cede next to best.
It's clearly something that irritated Jones and still grates. As editor of Uncut he still makes a point of excluding Kent's articles from collections of writing from the Seventies which they periodically release. I would say that for the most part Kent is a far better writer though Jones makes a very strong case for himself here though he does use the 'f' word far too much. Back to the point I made earlier about Maker writers trying too hard on occasion. But the article definitely makes you want to hear the record so in that respect it's a job very well done.
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