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Vox

Vox

Vox was a British music magazine, first issued in October 1990. It was published by IPC Media and was later billed as a monthly sister-magazine to IPC's music weekly, the New Musical Express. Its final issue was in June 1998

330 articles

List of articles in the library

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Anthrax: Persistence Of Time

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, October 1990

THIS TIME NEW YORK moshers Anthrax sound like they're really pissed off….at least, that's what they'd like you to believe as they hurl their third ...

Bewitched: Brain Eraser

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, October 1990

DRUMMER BOB BERT once slammed skins for such New York underground rock superstars as Sonic Youth and Pussy Galore. Now he has decided to try ...

Bob Dylan: The Untouchable

Report by Nick Kent, Vox, October 1990

HIS HOUSE IS FALLING DOWN, HE FREAKS OUT HIS BANDS MAKING UP SONGS MID-GIG, AND HE SPORTS A NICE LINE IN HOODED ANORAKS. BUT WHEN ...

Caron Wheeler: Wheeler Dealer

Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, October 1990

DELE FADELE TALKS SOUL TO SOUL TO A WOMAN TAKING CONTROL OF HER LIFE ...

Cheap Trick: Busted

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, October 1990

CHEAP TRICK ARE THE champions of the FM pop/rock ditty, a position they have proudly hung onto, through the great American punk apocalypse right to ...

Dream Command: Fire On The Moon

Review by Stuart Maconie, Vox, October 1990

DREAM COMMAND HAVE evolved, at least in part, from The Comsat Angels, and this is a fact you are not likely to forget as Fire ...

George Michael: Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 (Epic)

Review by David Quantick, Vox, October 1990

"I WAS EVERY little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy and I guess that was enough for me" burbles George on 'Freedom '90', a tune about ...

Crazy Horse, Neil Young: Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Ragged Glory

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, October 1990

LIKE BOB DYLAN (his closest creative counterpart) Neil Young likes to keep his audience on its toes. For every critically acclaimed 'classic' that is punched ...

Happy Mondays: Ryders On A Storm: Happy Mondays in The Altered States of America

Report and Interview by Betty Page, Vox, October 1990

"GET THAT THING off, man... get that dangerous f***ingmotherf***ing thing off!" Shaun Ryder has just had the tip of my sleek black Olympus micro-cassette machine ...

Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers: Seven Turns

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, October 1990

LAST YEAR'S EPIC DREAMS boxed set satisfactorily covered the full history of these good ol' Southern boys and their particular brand of rock 'n' blues. ...

The Dogs D'Amour: Straight??!!

Review by David Quantick, Vox, October 1990

I REMEMBER THIS LOT when they were impeccably authentic New York Dolls copyists, with Arthur Kane barnets and Johnny Thunders riffs and excess onstage falling-over. ...

Adamski: Dr Adamski's Musical Pharmacy

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, November 1990

THE IMPISH PETER PAN of dance-pop, Adam Tinley is like that toddler in the Fisher Price ad feeling his way around the knobs and switches ...

Morrissey: Bona Contention

Interview by Len Brown, Vox, November 1990

Morrissey could probably have done without the last year, and there's a been a few none too kind hacks and hackettes who say we could ...

Fredric Dannen on Hit Men

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Vox, November 1990

Barney Hoskyns talks to Fredric Dannen, author of a chilling study of the American record industry. ...

Grateful Dead: Bring Out Your Dead

Report and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, November 1990

Hey, man. Whatever happened to the summer of love? It’s taking dedication a bit far when in a year, three fans die at Grateful Dead ...

Judas Priest: Pain Killer

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, November 1990

HOT ON THE heels of their recent court victory (where Judas Priest were found not guilty of causing the deaths of two young men through ...

Neil Young: This Young Will Run and Run

Interview by Nick Kent, Vox, November 1990

NEIL YOUNG'S manager Elliot Roberts told me: "He's doing interviews now because he's got things he wants to say. There's a lot of things going ...

Paul Simon: Rhythm Of The Saints

Review by David Quantick, Vox, November 1990

FOUR YEARS AFTER GRACELAND and Paul Simon returns with another album of Third World inspired pop music, this time songs recorded with Brazilian musicians. Rhythm ...

Pet Shop Boys: Behaviour (Parlophone)

Review by Betty Page, Vox, November 1990

THE VEXED QUESTION is: what do we expect of The Pet Shop Boys? We expect, perhaps, in no particular order: excellent tunes, impossible-to-forget hooks; wry ...

Shane MacGowan, The Pogues: Shane MacGowan: Dark Side of the Hooligan

Profile and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, Vox, November 1990

Shane MacGowan has not been a happy man since the 'natural living' days of punk. Now he's disillusioned with the Pogues and a recent medical ...

Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Without A Net

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, November 1990

THE GRATEFUL DEAD are the kind of rocking teenage combo who are at their very best when they're playing wild and free in front of ...

The House Of Love: Burning Down The House

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, November 1990

The House Of Love became a house of ill repute as they binged, boozed and vindalooed their way through the tour that never ended, burning ...

The Replacements: All Shook Down (Sire)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, November 1990

THE REPLACEMENTS were always Paul Westerberg's outfit and on All Shook Down one can't help but deduce that this is a solo album with the ...

The Shamen: En-Tact (One Little Indian)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, November 1990

THE PHUTURE is now. The Shamen once riffed and jangled in anoraks, got into splintered hip-hop iconoclasm for the magnificent In Gorbachev We Trust album ...

Woody Guthrie, Curtis Mayfield, Sinead O'Connor: 'The Star Spangled Banner'

Comment by Dave Marsh, Vox, November 1990

WHEN SINEAD O'CONNOR refused to allow 'The Star Spangled Banner' to be performed at her late August concert at the Garden State Arts Center in ...

Jose Feliciano, Woody Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Mayfield, Sinéad O'Connor, Sir Mix-a-Lot: 'The Star Spangled Banner'

Comment by Dave Marsh, Vox, November 1990

WHEN SINEAD O'Connor refused to allow 'The Star Spangled Banner' to be performed at her late August concert at the Garden State Arts Center in ...

Van Morrison: Enlightenment

Review by Max Bell, Vox, November 1990

VAN MORRISON HAS TWO SONGS THESE DAYS. There is the casually crafted one which often climaxes with Van reciting the litany of great soul artistes ...

ZZ Top: Recycler

Review by Max Bell, Vox, November 1990

THE TEXAS TWISTERS RETURN with a vengeance for Recycler, pursuing their scorched earth policy on a record that's so hot it'll burn your eyeballs out. ...

Happy Mondays: Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches (Factory)

Review by Betty Page, Vox, December 1990

IT MAY TAKE a while for the nation to be convinced of Happy Mondays' worth, to believe that they're not drug-dealing lowlife scum pissing around ...

Inspiral Carpets: Cowabunga!

Report by Betty Page, Vox, December 1990

THE MUTANT HERO TURTLES HAVEN'T HIT JAPAN YET, BUT FOR THE MOMENT THE LOCALS ARE OBSESSED WITH A DAFT LITTLE COW WITH SPIRALLY EYES. WE ...

Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin: Jimmy Page

Interview by Nick Kent, Vox, December 1990

In days of yore, communication breakdowns with the press suggested Jimmy Page was a dazed and confused prince of heavy metal. With Zeppelin reissues breaking ...

Paul Simon: Across The Tracks: The Rhythm of the Saints

Interview by Gavin Martin, Vox, December 1990

'Obvious Child' "I THOUGHT IF anything was going to be a single it would be that. I thought that as soon as we recorded the drums, ...

The Cure: Mixed Up Kid

Interview by Betty Page, Vox, December 1990

If Disintegration led to just that for self-confessed 'English werewolf in Crawley' Robert Smith, what on earth will happen to him with the release of ...

Angelo Badalamenti, Julee Cruise: Angelo Badalamenti: Music From Twin Peaks (Warner Bros.)

Review by Betty Page, Vox, January 1991

A PEAK EXPERIENCE ...

Blue Cheer: Highlights And Lowlives (Nielbung); Blitzkrieg Over Nuremburg (Thunderbolt)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, January 1991

BLUE CHEER were once championed as being the loudest band in the world. By today's standards of mega-volume Blue Cheer may sound pretty tame, but ...

Donald Fagen, Steely Dan, Walter Becker: Steely Dan: Desperate For Dan

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, January 1991

No, there won't be a Steely Dan reunion. But the good news for those still checked in at the Hotel California is that songwriting partners ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: First Charlatango In Paris

Interview by James Brown, Vox, January 1991

The story so far… Completely unknown nine months ago and still reeling from a Number One hit album. The Charlatans have just made their first ...

The Sundays: They Do Like Sundays

Interview by Len Brown, Vox, January 1991

They do like the sundays in japan, where their three-rs album title was renamed for local pronunciation and they like 'em in the States. Despite ...

Was (Not Was): Was it Good for You?

Interview by Gavin Martin, Vox, January 1991

Far-out funksters Don and David was have worked with all the greats: The Stones, Dylan, Madonna — and Jonathan Ross. Gavin Martin caught them relaxing ...

Edie Brickell: Edie Rising

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, February 1991

After the unexpected and phenomenal success of her debut LP, Edie Brickell reinvented herself for Rolling Stone magazine but ultimately had to tell the truth. ...

EMF: An Unbelievable Rise To Fame

Profile and Interview by Betty Page, Vox, February 1991

EMF ARE YOUNG, GOOD-LOOKING, LOUD AND HAVE BAD ATTITUDES. THEY ARE ALSO AMAZINGLY SUCCESSFUL. IS IT DOWN TO HYPE OR TALENT? BETTY PAGE INVESTIGATES. ...

Joe Ely: Ely Rider

Interview by Gavin Martin, Vox, February 1991

Joe Ely hocked all he owned to get his latest album released, making him the loan star of the Lone Star state. Gavin Martin meets ...

Ocean Colour Scene: New Midland Talent: Ocean Colour Scene

Profile and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, February 1991

THE SAGA SO FAR: Manchester is out, Liverpool is in (again), Bristolians are as sore as ever and good London bands don't exist. Where this ...

? and the Mysterians, The Sir Douglas Quintet, 13th Floor Elevators: Tex-adelia: 13th Floor Elevators and others

Retrospective by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, February 1991

The stomping ground for much of the action that took place during the "Psychedelic '60s" is usually considered to be San Francisco, where bands such ...

Alexander O'Neal: Alexander O’Neal

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Vox, March 1991

WHATEVER happened to the black ladykiller, that oversized teddy bear in a Versace suit serenading womankind with a cordless microphone in one hand and a ...

Combat Rock

Retrospective by Steven Wells, Vox, March 1991

From protest to punk, rock'n'roll has provided the soundtrack to every conflict since World War II. Reaching its climax in Vietnam. Steven Wells gets up ...

Dinosaur Jr: Doin' The Dinosaur

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, March 1991

Will Dinosaur Jr go monster now they're signed with the corporate might of Warners? Edwin Pouncey says Oi! to the band who claim The 4-Skins ...

Havana 3am — Our Man In Havana

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, March 1991

Ex-Clash man Paul Simonon doffs his skid-lid and steers his Harley onto the hard-rock shoulder for a bit of a chin about his new band, ...

Joni Mitchell: Night Ride Home

Review by Betty Page, Vox, March 1991

IT'S HARD not to be daunted the sheer quality of Joni Mitchell's back catalogue. Her recorded output stands behind her like a set of carved ...

Rick Astley: Never Gonna Give Who Up?

Report and Interview by David Quantick, Vox, March 1991

Tear down your glossy posters. For the days of teen idolism are over — according to the improved, longer-lasting Rick Astley. A new album and ...

Sun Dial: Bright Light Rising

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Vox, March 1991

FOR THE NEXT BIG THING, avert your tired eyes from Manchester and focus instead on Wandsworth, South London, where Sun Dial sit, waiting to rise ...

Tanita Tikaram: Everybody's Angel

Review by Max Bell, Vox, March 1991

WHETHER IT'S by design or by some happy accident, Tanita Tikaram's third album finds the oddball girl-in-woman's-clothing locating her real voice at last. ...

Tanita Tikaram: All Grown Up with Nowhere to Go?

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, March 1991

TANITA TIKARAM DOESN'T think she is famous and can't bear to call herself a celebrity. ...

Transvision Vamp: Whatever Happened To Baby James?

Interview by Betty Page, Vox, March 1991

Exploiter or exploited? Rock Bitch or just bitched at? Either way Wendy James just lurrves the attention – and the dosh. Betty Page probes for ...

Chickasaw Mudd Puppies: 8 Track Stomp (Wing)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1991

WE'VE GOT a weird one here. The Chickasaw Mudd Puppies, for those who don't know, take their name from a river running through Alabama, though ...

Cowboy Junkies: Whites Off Earth Now!!

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, April 1991

PICTURE THE SCENE in 1986. The Junkies are lurking in their garage with a two-track machine and single microphone, ready for a jam session. But ...

Jesus Jones: Ego Freak Out

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, April 1991

NOT YOUR AVERAGE ROCK'N'ROLLER – THAT'S MIKE EDWARDS, PRIME PROPHET OF JESUS JONES, WHO SHUNS SEX'N'DRUGS AND READS MACHIAVELLI ON TOUR. STEPHEN DALTON SOAKED UP ...

Joni Mitchell: Joni Rides Home

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Vox, April 1991

JONI MITCHELL MAY HAVE CUT HER MUSICAL TEETH DURING THE ERA OF LOVE AND PEACE BUT SHE TAKES NONE TOO KINDLY TO COMPARISONS WITH TODAY'S ...

Lenny Kravitz: Lenny Be Me

Interview by Bruce Dessau, Vox, April 1991

Lenny Kravitz doesn't want an image. It's music that matters. He'd rather be in a studio and miserable than outside having fun. Bruce Dessau tracked ...

Morrissey: Kill Uncle

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, April 1991

"I DON'T WANT to be judged any more... I would rather be just blindly loved". Alas, those days are long gone, and Morrissey knows better ...

R.E.M.: Out Of Time (WEA)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1991

THEY MUST have scratched their heads at Burbank when R.E.M. delivered Out Of Time. Far from capitalising on the success of Green, where America's most ...

Spacemen 3, Spiritualized: Spaceman 3: Two Into Three Won't Go

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, April 1991

...OR, WE TWO WERE THREE. THE SPACEMEN THREE, THAT IS. PETER AND JASON, TO BE PRECISE. BUT WHILE THIS PAIR OF SPACE CADETS WERE ONCE ...

Susanna Hoffs: When You're A Boy

Review by Betty Page, Vox, April 1991

AS THE BANGLES' chief vocalist and front-person, Susanna Hoffs played a key part in creating some fine, off-the-wall pop songs and soaring ballads. In their ...

Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991 (Columbia)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, May 1991

Sign Of The Times ...

The Beautiful South: Sneaking Beauties

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, May 1991

PAUL HEATON GLOWERS like Mister Punch's suicidally depressed uncle with a killer migraine and inflamed piles. He is not a happy man. ...

Chickasaw Mudd Puppies: The Chickasaw Mudd Puppies: Puppy Love

Profile and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, May 1991

Pull the straw out of your teeth and take your pardners for a new kind of dance. The Chickasaw Mudd Puppies are here and they're ...

Electronic: Return of the Supergroup

Interview by Betty Page, Vox, June 1991

Supercharged sex monsters or battery-fuelled dinos? Either way, Electronic are having none of it. But Betty Page did have a top day out ...

Jane's Addiction: The Shocking Truth

Interview by Paul Elliott, Vox, June 1991

"Okay, so we do music from time to time. But we can control it..." Jane's Addiction have cleaned up their habits of late, but just ...

The Fall: Mark E Smith: Not Falling, Soaring

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1991

MARK E SMITH'S REPUTATION precedes him like massed stormtroopers on the horizon. Fourteen years on, the Fall frontman still sets everyone on edge, either in ...

American Music Club, Mark Eitzel: Mark Eitzel: Tortured Soul

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, June 1991

MARK EITZEL, founding member of the American Music Club, stands before us accused of being "a melancholy angel of doom", a manic depressive with a ...

Nils Lofgren, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young: Nils Lofgren: Nils' Desperados

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, June 1991

A lovely guy, Nils Lofgren. Ask Bruce, Neil, Bob, Lou or Keef. Rock's shortest top sidekick tells Max Bell about life with the E Street ...

Sonic Youth: Dirty Boots (DGC)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, June 1991

WALKING ON MUDDY WATERS: Sonic Youth attempt to produce an easy listening album and fail gloriously. ...

Big Audio Dynamite II: The Globe

Review by Max Bell, Vox, July 1991

WORD IS THAT BAD II and Sony Music Entertainment are about to part company so I approached The Globe expecting to hear a contract-filling finale ...

Cathy Dennis, D Mob: Cathy Dennis: Cathy Comes Home

Interview by Betty Page, Vox, July 1991

Currently the UK's biggest female success Stateside, "D Mob Diva" Cathy Dennis returns to her native Norwich only to be met with a resounding... who ...

Cher: Love Hurts (Geffen)

Review by Paul Elliott, Vox, July 1991

INEVITABLY, THE title song is a cover of the Everly Brothers standard, as covered previously by journeyman Brit rockers Nazareth. A pub singer staple, 'Love ...

Curve: Flexible Friend

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, July 1991

Zitty, teenaged and fresh from a garage they are not; as for being indie, ask Dave Stewart. Stephen Dalton sees what it takes to lurve ...

Electronic: Electronic

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, July 1991

IT'S THE DREAM ticket – two prime movers from the two most significant British pop groups of the '80s unite to form a unique presidential ...

Living Colour: Paint It Black

Interview by Paul Elliott, Vox, July 1991

So Elvis is the King of rock'n'roll, huh? Well he don't mean shit to Living Colour as they rap with Paul Elliot about the roots ...

New Model Army: Clogged Up In Geneva

Report and Interview by David Quantick, Vox, July 1991

Are New Model Army really stupid bastards? How often do they change their underwear? What do people say in hairdressers? Is everyone in Switzerland cuckoo? ...

Rain: Tougher Than Weather

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, July 1991

RAIN ARE A CLASSIC POP GROUP in the tradition of Liverpool's finest — four boys who play rock'n'roll and aren't afraid to think big. And ...

The Pixies: Road To Gnomewhere

Interview by Bruce Dessau, Vox, July 1991

The Pixies are in L.A. Charles Michael Kitteridge Thompson IV is driving his dirty yellow caddy fast. With the stereo playing loud. Bruce Dessau thumbed ...

The Wedding Present: Seamonsters (RCA)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, July 1991

BY NOT HI-jacking the groovy train in order to revive a flagging career, The Wedding Present now stand virtually alone amongst their mid-'80s indie contemporaries. ...

The Wonder Stuff: Never Loved Elvis

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, July 1991

THE WONDER STUFF are turning into a Madness for the '90s. Both outlived most of their contemporaries to develop their root sound along the lines ...

Cher, Sonny & Cher: Cher: Self Made Woman

Interview by Mal Peachey, Vox, August 1991

CHER'S FAME USED TO BE BY PROXY, THAT OF HER PARTNERS. BUT A DAZZLING MOVIE CAREER PASSED THE REINS OF FORTUNE INTO HER OWN HANDS. ...

Rain: A Taste Of...

Review by Max Bell, Vox, August 1991

LIVERPOOL'S LIKELIEST LADS, Rain have been allowed to develop away from the parochial glare of current city-based hype, and their debut album is well hard ...

Taj Mahal: Like Never Before

Review by Max Bell, Vox, August 1991

TAJ MAHAL HASN'T BEEN HEARD in such a pristine setting since his Columbia heyday, and after too many years of his slogging for well-meaning but ...

The Mock Turtles: Heroes On A Hard Sell

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, August 1991

MUTANT NINJA? NO WAY, DUDE. These turtles dig artistic respect more than pizza. And though main-man Coogan was once a computer boffin. there's no scope ...

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty: Into The Great Wide Open

Review by Max Bell, Vox, August 1991

NOW TOM PETTY has developed the taste, his second solo album finds him in experimental mood. The post-Byrds vein of downbeat romantic country pop is ...

Van Halen: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

Review by Paul Elliott, Vox, August 1991

IN DAVID LEE ROTH, Van Halen had — and lost — more than a singer. The all-Amerlcan rock hero and then some, Roth was the ...

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine: From Cardboard City To Celebrity Central

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, September 1991

A Top 20 Single in Britain, feted in the USA and Japan...Suddenly Carter are hot. But it's been a long, hard haul for this duo ...

Lloyd Cole: Strings Attached

Interview by Bruce Dessau, Vox, September 1991

Lloyd's Cole's new album has more strings on it than an episode of Thunderbirds. In an Irish TV studio, as an orchestra tunes up, Bruce ...

Motörhead: Meltdown

Review by Paul Elliott, Vox, September 1991

FIFTY-NINE MOTORTUNES in one three-CD package? Now that's overkill. Meltdown is near perfect both as an introduction to Motörhead and as a means of replacing ...

Squeeze: Play

Review by Max Bell, Vox, September 1991

TEN YEARS AGO Squeeze released East Side Story, an album of obvious class and as English as the 'Go To Work On An Egg' slogan. ...

The Black Crowes: Nod's As Good As A Wink To A Black Crowe

Report and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, September 1991

Currently America's hottest new Faces, The Black Crowes have made a huge name for themselves with just one ass-kickin' LP, mucho slagging off of "the ...

The Mock Turtles: Two Sides

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, September 1991

AS THE MUSICAL coffers of the '60s increasingly come to resemble a stretch of what used to be the South American rain forests, a band ...

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty: Petty Larceny

Profile and Interview by Adam Sweeting, Vox, September 1991

HEIR TO DYLAN or Bel Air airhead? Sometime Wilbury Tom Petty is 40 with kids, and even though his new album with the Heartbreakers is ...

Tom Waits: The Early Years Volume I (Edsel)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, September 1991

LONG BEFORE he became the rather self-conscious Harry Dean Stanton type he is today, Tom Waits used to intone straight-to-the-heart-of-the matter barroom blues, most of ...

British Electric Foundation: The Soul World In His Hands

Interview by Bruce Dessau, Vox, October 1991

It's taken Martyn Ware nine years and a good lawyer to make The British Electronic Foundation's second album, a compilation of soul classics "interpreted" by ...

Guns N' Roses: Welcome To My Nightmare

Interview by Nick Kent, Vox, October 1991

Guns N' Roses are undoubtably the biggest noises in rock. But for how long? Would you buy two simultaneously released LPs at full price? Will ...

The Pixies: Pixies: Trompe Le Monde

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, October 1991

WHEN SHAKEY WROTE the one about music being the food of love and wanting excess of it, little did he know that one Black Francis ...

Sexism

Comment by Betty Page, Vox, October 1991

YOU EXPECT IT FROM HEAVY METAL, BUT NOW RAP AND INDIE HAVE JOINED THE SEXIST ASSAULT ON women: LYRICS, SLEEVES, and lecherous behaviour at gigs. ...

Talk Talk: Laughing Stock

Review by Betty Page, Vox, October 1991

BACK IN 1981, Talk Talk were a laughing stock. Branded "the new Duran Duran", their melan­choly pop was largely ignored. They survived the '80s by ...

Thin White Rope - Taut

Interview by Keith Cameron, Vox, October 1991

IT'S A TRIBUTE to their dramatic way with all things guitarological that Califor­nia's Thin White Rope are as well known for other peo­ple's songs as ...

Tin Machine: Tin Machine 2

Review by Max Bell, Vox, October 1991

FIRST THINGS first. Tin Machine now sound like an expensive hobby, though that may be what they are, since Bowie took his chums to Sydney ...

Dire Straits: On Every Street (Vertigo)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, November 1991

AND ON EVERY CD player...they wish. ...

Erasure: Gdansk for the Memories

Report and Interview by David Quantick, Vox, November 1991

East-West relations continue to thaw, and what better cultural emissaries to Poland than Erasure's sparky popsters Andy Bell and Vince Clarke? On a recent jaunt ...

Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion 1; Use Your Illusion 2 (Geffen)

Review by Paul Elliott, Vox, November 1991

THE BAND'S ex-manager Alan Niven described Use Your Illusion I and II as "Pink Floyd's The Wall meets Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti." Niven was on ...

Primal Scream: Politics of Ecstasy

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, November 1991

Bobby Gillespie met DJ Andy Weatherall on the road to Damascus (or was it Brighton?), and in a flash of blue light discovered a dance ...

Talk Talk Chat Back

Interview by Betty Page, Vox, November 1991

Mark Hollis takes minimalism to its limit with a one-note solo on Talk Talk's new album, Laughing Stock. Still, a solo, like life, is what ...

Teenage Fanclub: I Was a Teenage Fannie

Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, November 1991

Has rock'n'roll gone soft? Live they sound like the outbreak of World War III, but off-stage Glasgow grungers Teenage Fanclub discuss new-world realpolitik and go ...

Wet Wet Wet: Sweat Sweat Sweat

Interview by Bruce Dessau, Vox, November 1991

Clydeside's best are not just Level 42 in kilts, as Bruce Dessau discovers. When their last album failed to go mega platinum, the band found ...

Daniel Lanois, U2: Daniel Lanois and U2: Five Men and Achtung Baby

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, December 1991

The new U2 album — released on November 18 — is "rougher and harder-hitting than anything we've done before" …Producer Daniel Lanois talks to Max ...

Genesis: We Can't Dance (Virgin)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, December 1991

GENESIS'S 17TH album arrives some five years after Invisible Touch. As befits these sedate Home Counties chaps, We Can't Dance is the product of modest ...

James: Standing Room Only

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, December 1991

It's taken eight years for Manchester pop princes James to become a BIG DEAL. But before the stadia of the world are rocked, there's that ...

Marc Almond: Round The Horn

Interview by Betty Page, Vox, December 1991

Marc Almond may be mellowing in middle age, but who's he trying to kid that he's the Englebert Humperdinck of the '90s? Betty Page meets ...

Taj Mahal: Playing The Cosmic Blues

Retrospective and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, December 1991

BACK IN THE '60S when he was fronting the Rising Sons with Ry Cooder, they used to call Taj Mahal a cosmic intellectual blues player. ...

U2: Achtung Baby

Review by Max Bell, Vox, December 1991

BONO VOX once mentioned in passing that if and when he ever published a volume of his poetry, the title of said tome would be ...

Belinda Carlisle: Christmas Crackers

Interview by David Quantick, Vox, January 1992

It may be Christmas but it's the season of no fun for Belinda Carlisle. VOX found her heavy with child, enslaved by her hormones and ...

INXS: The Lizard of Oz

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, January 1992

Blending cosmopolitan pretension, uptempo dance rock and smart media moves, Michael Hutchence has managed the impossible — to make INXS a world famous, high grossing ...

Lou Reed: Reed 'Em And Weep

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, February 1992

At the age of 48, Lou Reed is better disposed to write sedate six-string symphonies about mortality than feedback musings on the subject of scoring ...

MC5 Alive

Report and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, February 1992

THE recent reissue of MC5's incendiary live album Kick Out The Jams, with the contentious "motherfuckers" rap reinstated in place of the toned down "brothers ...

My Bloody Valentine: The Sound Of Violence

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, February 1992

My Bloody Valentine inspire purple journalistic prose and surreal interpretation. But live, they just enjoy inflicting pain. Reading covers its ears while Stephen Dalton shoegazes ...

The Sugarcubes: Still Crazy after all these Beers

Report and Interview by Bruce Dessau, Vox, February 1992

IF IT'S 4.30 on a Friday afternoon, it must he Reykjavik. Actually, it turns out to be Keflavik, 40 minutes away from Iceland's capital city ...

Aerosmith: Tigers of Wang Twang: Aerosmith: Pandora's Box (Columbia)

Review by Paul Elliott, Vox, February 1992

"THERE ARE JUST a very few bands that wang my twang like Aerosmith," conceded the deer-stalkin' wild man of rock, Ted Nugent, in one of ...

Moe Tucker, Velvet Underground: Velvet Underground: No Moe Reunions

Report and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, February 1992

MAUREEN TUCKER, drummer and mother of five, has scotched rumours concerning any further Velvet Underground reunions. ...

Cowboy Junkies: Black-Eyed Man

Review by Max Bell, Vox, March 1992

TORONTO'S CELEBRATED Cowboy Junkies have never seemed to pay fashionable music much at­tention. Back in '86 they recorded an extraordinary set of bluesy covers called ...

David Byrne: Blind Fury

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, March 1992

If you should bump into David Byrne on his forthcoming world tour, for God's sake don't mention the word "renaissance". Talking Heads are no more, ...

Blur, Diesel Park West, Jesus Jones: Diesel Park West/Blur/Jesus Jones: From The Soup Kitchen To The Stars

Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, March 1992

Food Records' charity knees-up included tasty appetisers of Diesel Park West, an entrée of Blur and the piece de resistance, Jesus Jones. Stephen Dalton tucked ...

The High Llamas: Apricots (Plastic Records)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, March 1992

SEAN O'HAGAN, formerly of the admirable Microdisney but now pursuing a solo path with the latter's rhythm section in tow, is a man with much ...

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine: At Home With Carter

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, April 1992

Carter can't seem to stay out of the headlines – but they're valiantly resisting the pressures of fame. Stephen Dalton toured Fruitbat's new house. ...

k.d. lang: Ingénue (WEA 26840)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1992

POPULAR OPINION has had it that, on her latest album Ingénue, k.d. lang has skirted the Country style as if it were an unpleasant cesspit ...

Little Village: Little Village

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1992

INITIAL REACTION to Little Village — a sort of super-ish group-type thing — leads one to ponder the question: why? Was this summit meeting of ...

David Byrne: More Songs About Psychos: David Byrne: Uh-Oh (Luaka Bop/Sire)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1992

DAVID BYRNE has always enjoyed looking at the globe from the most unusual perspectives. He used to draw ephemeral pictures of the States on an ...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Ich Bin Ein Chiliburger

Report and Interview by David Quantick, Vox, April 1992

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest album BloodSugarSexMagik is powerful enough to blow anyone's socks off — so perhaps that's why David Quantick found them ...

Ride: Going Blank Again

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, April 1992

GROWING UP in public is the unhappy lot of any semi-competent British indie band and, as probably the most able floppy-fringed wan-faced contenders of the ...

Annie Lennox: Beaten By The Curve Ball: Annie Lennox: Diva (RCA)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, May 1992

SOMETIMES you come home and they've moved the furniture. ...

Del Amitri: Hangin' With The Del Boys

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, May 1992

Fashion? Del Amitri – the most polite boot-wearing, outsize sideboard-toting popsters in the Northern Hemisphere – couldn't give a Flying Scotsman ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: Manual Overdrive: The Jesus And Mary Chain: Honey's Dead (blanco y negro BYNLP 26)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, May 1992

SINCE THEIR last album, 1989's impressive but thinly spread Automatic, a host of fledgling noise outfits have weighed in with claims for the Mary Chain's ...

PJ Harvey: Dry (Too Pure CDD010)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, May 1992

SHE WOULDN'T LET IT DRY ...

Pavement: Slanted And Enchanted (Matador)

Review and Interview by Keith Cameron, Vox, June 1992

Cracked Geniuses ...

The Black Crowes: The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion (Def American 512 263-2)

Review by Paul Elliott, Vox, June 1992

ONE DAY, maybe soon, The Black Crowes will be the biggest rock'n'roll band in Atlanta, Georgia — and following that, the world. Their debut LP ...

The Levellers: An Honest Crust

Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1992

The Levellers have a reputation for being anarcho-veggie activists, thanks to folksy songs about travellers and police oppression. Yet their Crass-for-the-'90s image is not strictly ...

XTC: Times They Are A Changin'

Interview by David Quantick, Vox, June 1992

Most XTC-ellent! After a three-year Bill and Ted-styled sojourn in history, pop's eccentric gurus have returned with a new LP, Nonsuch. Singer Andy Partridge waxes ...

Faith No More: Angel Dust (Slash 828 321-2)

Review by Paul Elliott, Vox, July 1992

IN THE '90s, rock Is changing — or at least, public tastes are changing. Nirvana's Nevermind has topped the US album chart and is now ...

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana: Kurt Cobain: I'm Not Gonna Crack!

Profile and Interview by Michael Azerrad, Vox, July 1992

Poisoned by the chalice of instant success, bedridden with road-rash after a ton of amp-smashingly intense gigs – what's happened to Nirvana's tortured singer and ...

Dazed and Infused: The Summer of Love

Retrospective by Miles, Vox, August 1992

"You had to be there" Barry Miles travels back in time. IT'S 25 years since the Summer of Love freaked its way into the ...

Glenn Frey: Strange Weather

Review and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, August 1992

The Eagles are up there with rock's all-time greats. Over the years they've sold some 80 million records, thanks largely to that polished Western fantasy ...

James: First We Take Manhattan

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Vox, August 1992

And then we take — Alton Towers? In preparation for their Fourth of July bash at the noted Midlands leisure resort, James have been touring ...

Sonic Youth: Dirty

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, August 1992

WHEN NIRVANA released their epoch-making Nevermind, their ambitions extended no further than selling as many copies as Sonic Youth's major label debut, Goo. As chance ...

Bruce Springsteen: Talking To The Boss

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Vox, September 1992

FOLKLORE TELLS us there was a time, about 25 years ago, when meeting the stars was a simple matter. You just had to hang out ...

Julian Cope: A Rune With A View

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, September 1992

Powerful things, ley lines. They can make Julian Cope commune with rocks, and cause his old boss Bill Drummond to break the silence he's kept ...

A Question of Indie Pendence

Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Vox, October 1992

Since their birth in the mid-'70s, independent labels have progressed from the bedroom to the boardroom. Now the majors are muscling in on the act ...

Happy Mondays: ...Yes Please!

Review by Max Bell, Vox, October 1992

HAPPY MONDAYS' fourth album arrives in a cloud. The nest of vipers stirred by Shaun Ryder's interview with the NME last year is one factor ...

Tom Robinson Band: Tom Robinson: Living In A Boom Time

Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, October 1992

ACROSS ELEVEN TRACKS, recorded live on tour in Ireland earlier this year, Tom Robinson reinvents himself as a solo folk singer. But where some faded ...

Tom Waits: The Lie In Waits

Interview by Peter Silverton, Vox, October 1992

TOM WAITS is in Paris wrestling with the truth. As usual the truth is losing, but that's what happens when you're promoting your first album ...

PJ Harvey: Harvey's Frisco Dream

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, November 1992

PJ Harvey hit the states for a lightening tour and took it by storm. "It's like a film," says Polly. "I think they're a bit ...

R.E.M.: Automatic For The People (Warner Bros 9362-45055-2)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, November 1992

DESPITE THE crew's best attempts to shift course, the good ship R.E.M. appears to be heading inescapably towards that dreamland reserved for rock bands with ...

Labelled With Love

Report by Stephen Dalton, Vox, December 1992

Everyone from Prince to Frank Sinatra has done it, but what compels pop stars to become music biz moguls with their own record labels? Untameable ...

Lucinda Williams: Sweet Old World

Review by Max Bell, Vox, December 1992

LUCINDA WILLIAMS may have suffered from the songwriter's identity crisis in recent years. Her early work for Folkways hinted at a desire to investigate Country ...

Madonna: Erotica (Maverick/Sire)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, December 1992

NOW WE'VE ALL been in bed with Madonna, and studied her Sex, this Erotica business seems determined to encourage a few mind-games with the intent ...

Prince: Love Symbol

Review by Paul Elliott, Vox, December 1992

A SINGLE TITLED 'Sexy Motherfucker', and now a self­-parodying rock soap opera with an androgynous sex symbol for a name? Clearly the new Vice President ...

Public Enemy, U2: Public Enemy and U2: The Chuck and Bono Show

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, December 1992

When U2's tour brought Public Enemy to the Deep South, where segregation is still an issue, Chuck D did his best to pour napalm on ...

Ministry: The Man From Ministry

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Vox, December 1992

AFTER A promising start, Ministry headman Al Jourgensen put his career into reverse, burying the band in a hideous dark noise which has transformed them ...

Jason Donovan: Identitiy: Jason Donovan — What's Your Problem?

Interview by Mal Peachey, Vox, January 1993

Jason Donovan was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1968. Neighbours made him a teeny idol in 1986, and SAW made him a pop star. He ...

Leonard Cohen: The Future (Columbia)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, January 1993

A PRESIDENTIAL term of office in the making, Leonard Cohen's The Future is designed to see all those buggers out. It will captivate those who ...

Neil Young: Young's Winter Warmer

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, January 1993

Twenty years after Harvest, Neil Young has released Harvest Moon. But don't look for parallels — there aren't any, he says. ...

Nirvana: Incesticide (Geffen)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, January 1993

THE TITLE could be a swipe at the legions of bootleggers, whose unwelcome attention Nirvana attracted the moment they attained superstar status. In fact, this ...

The Wedding Present: Wedding Sells

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, January 1993

Twelve Top 30 hits into 1992, David Gedge tells VOX that indie giants the Wedding Present are "not fashionable any more". ...

Dinosaur Jr.: Dinosaur Jr: Where You Been

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, February 1993

WITH SCRUFFY, laid-back dudish-ness currently the viable rockin' role model for today's young unemployables, the time is right for the return of the man who ...

The Wedding Present: Hit Parade II

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, February 1993

IT WAS A BRILLIANT CONCEPT — and it worked. One single per month in 1992, breaking records and mocking the industry machine, as they clanged ...

Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth: Dinosaur Jr.: Walk The Dinosaur

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, March 1993

J. MASCIS IS a grunge fashion guru; all others turn to his band Dinosaur Jr. for inspiration. Indeed, the Seattle scene all but sprang from ...

Jonathan Richman: I, Jonathan

Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, March 1993

WHEN JONATHAN RICHMAN and The Modern Lovers first surfaced with Roadrunner, late in 1976, the studied '60s simplicity of their garage band arrangements and Richman's ...

Mick Jagger: Wandering Spirit (Atlantic)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, March 1993

REMEMBER THAT SCENE in Performance, where James Fox's Chas tells Mick Jagger's Turner: "You'll look funny when you're 40"? Well, the rock'n'roller's fear of that ...

Adorable: Against Perfection

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1993

PIOTR FIJALKOWSKI'S gloomy, doomed romantics are rock revisionists from the old school. Obviously inspired by the likes of Echo And The Bunnymen and The House ...

Butthole Surfers: Independent Worm Saloon (Capitol)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, April 1993

WITH THEIR last album, 1991's half-hearted Pioughd, the Butthole Surfers appeared to be relying on a well-cultivated knack for elaborate in-jokes, almost to the exclusion ...

Duran Duran: The Wedding Album

Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, April 1993

NEARLY 12 YEARS ON, and Messrs Le Bon, Taylor and Rhodes are still peddling the same kind of prosaic pop which was their calling card ...

Living Colour: Stain

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1993

VERNON REID'S POSITION at the forefront of the Black Rock Coalition gave Living Colour's first two albums, Vivid and Time's Up, a biting, satirical edge, ...

Lovecraft: interview

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, April 1993

ASK LOVECRAFT to describe themselves, and they'll tell you they're a London-based, five-piece rock'n'roll band. In the flesh, they're a gorgeous, sexily-clad, cosmopolitan collection of ...

Radiohead: Pablo Honey (Parlophone)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, April 1993

JUDGING FROM THE debut by this Oxford four-piece, the post-Nirvana grunge fall-out would appear to have infiltrated even the well-mannered climes of English suburban guitar ...

Senseless Things — Sense And Sensibility

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, April 1993

BEST KNOWN FOR RAUCOUS POP NUGGETS such as 'Too Much Kissing', young guns Senseless Things have toughened up, toting a beefed-up sound and an uncompromising ...

Senseless Things: Empire Of The Senseless

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, April 1993

ALWAYS UNABASHED about their reverence for the work of those more intuitively gifted than themselves, the Senseless Things have hitherto struggled to sustain their workmanlike ...

Van Halen: Right Here, Right Now

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1993

THERE'S A CHINESE PROVERB which says that you cannot eat a steamed bun in one mouthful. In other words, don't bite off more than you ...

Soft Machine: Who Was That Masked Voice?

Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Vox, April 1993

So what if Elvis Presley isn't available for commercial breaks these days? Just get someone in who can impersonate him — the Hofmeister bear, for ...

Aerosmith: Get A Grip

Review by Max Bell, Vox, May 1993

THE 'SMITH'S CONTINUED RENAISSANCE is so perfectly realised on Get A Grip you start to wonder what preservatives they put in their drugs. Giving up ...

Suede: Who Loves A Lad In Suede?

Report and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, May 1993

Suede were touted 'the best new band in Britain' before they even left the blocks, now, as they release their debut album, VOX delves behind ...

The Fall: The Infotainment Scan

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, May 1993

FALLWATCHERS might have expected serious new directions after the band's recent severance from Polydor, but their Permanent debut finds human word-processor Mark E Smith digging ...

Björk

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1993

With Icelandic indie stadium-fillers The Sugarcubes on seemingly permanent hold, singer Bjork Gudmundsdottir launches her solo career this month with a single, ‘Human Behaviour’. She ...

Blur: Modern Life Is Rubbish (Food)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, June 1993

Wasting Their Time ...

Dodgy: The Dodgy Album

Review by Max Bell, Vox, June 1993

DODGY HAVE BEEN TAGGED prime contenders in '93, and even if that prophecy proves a kiss of death, their debut album certainly makes lots of ...

Bob Mould, Sugar: Ground Sugar

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1993

After the candy-coated calm of Sugar’s Copper Blue comes the breeding, howling storm of Beaster. And the man at the helm, Bob Mould, ain’t about ...

Revolution Rock

Essay by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1993

Ever since Woody Guthrie scratched "This Guitar Kills Fascists" on his six-string, musicians have exploited rock's confrontational possibilities, from anti-racism to sexual revolution, in a ...

Robert Plant: Fate Of Nations

Review by Max Bell, Vox, June 1993

FATE OF NATIONS is Robert Plant's seventh solo album. Must be some mystic significance there for you Zen and Manic Nirvana freaks. Robert too, judging ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Symphony For The D'Evil: Terence Trent D'Arby: Symphony Or Damn (Columbia)

Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, June 1993

BY RIGHTS, of course, Terence Trent D'Arby should have achieved superstar status years ago. That he hasn't is entirely his own fault. ...

The Dogs D'Amour: The Dogs D' Amour: More Unchartered Heights Of Disgrace

Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, June 1993

IT'S HARD TO RESIST the immediate temptation to write The Dogs D'Amour off as relics of that late-'80s sleazeball revolution that threw up Guns N' ...

Donald Fagen: Kamakiriad (WEA 9362452302)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, July 1993

BEYOND THE STEELY DOME ...

Tears For Fears: Elemental

Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, July 1993

THEY RULED THE WORLD... they ran the world. They sowed the seeds of love... they got divorced. Quite an achievement for a duo who released ...

Teenage Fanclub: Sells like Spirit

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, July 1993

From the budget-priced Bandwagonesque to best mates with Nirvana and Saturday Night Live — it was but a short Sunday drive for Teenage Fanclub in ...

Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground: "We Will Confront The Myth…"

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, July 1993

It was only rock'n'roll before The Velvet Underground brought potent drugs and pervy sex to the party. 25 years after their last live high, they've ...

Babes In Toyland: Rock And Roll Babes

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, August 1993

Deposit your 'feminist rock' preconceptions at the door, pigeonhole fans. Babes In Toyland were playing raucous licks long before the Riot Grrrls left finishing school... ...

Manic Street Preachers: Gold Against The Soul

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, August 1993

ONCE IT HAD BECOME OBVIOUS that MI5 had nothing to fear from four mascara'd bedroom situationists fond of carving lumps out of their own flesh ...

Manic Street Preachers: Dead End Street?

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, August 1993

The revolution will not be… stretched to a second album, they once proclaimed. However, their initial dreams of world domination unrealized, what the Manic Street ...

U2: Zooropa

Review by Max Bell, Vox, August 1993

WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE in exchange for your soul? U2 bartered their time for a new album, made quickly. What started out as an impromptu ...

Eugenius: Smart Moves?

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, September 1993

From the tranquillity of their rural recording location, "Nirvana's favourite band" Eugenius bemoan the very events which triggered their meteoric rise to stardom. ...

4 Non Blondes: Non Blonde Ambition

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, October 1993

Less than a year ago no-one had heard of San Francisco's 4 Non Blondes; now, sales of their debut LP are going crazy. Is there ...

Cocteau Twins: Botanic Rites

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, October 1993

Three years after their split from spiritual home 4AD Records, the Cocteau Twins return with a new album, Four Calendar Cafe, looking to eclipse the ...

Nirvana: Winners Get Scars, Too

Book Excerpt by Michael Azerrad, Vox, October 1993

Nirvana's meteoric rise was a classic example of the American Dream in action — until heroin turned it into a nightmare for singer Kurt Cobain. ...

Pearl Jam: Untitled

Review by Max Bell, Vox, November 1993

FACT: ROCK BANDS must find things to write about. Charting the righteous struggle between decency and depravity, the topic which seems to fuel Pearl Jam, ...

Pet Shop Boys: Very (Parlophone)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, November 1993

A BANG, a crash, a highbrow cultural reference – and the best Pet Shop Boys album yet drops in for cream tea and scurrilous gossip. ...

Kate Bush: Shake Your Booties: Kate Bush: The Red Shoes (EMI)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, November 1993

THINK OF THE most unlikely pop collaborators you can imagine. Now double them. Forget it, because Ms Bush got there before you: Lenny Henry, Prince, ...

Buffalo Tom — Buffalo Stampede

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, December 1993

AS GRUNGE BECOMES the kind of monster the genre once rallied against, Buffalo Tom's old-fashioned ideals keep them on a back-breaking tour of America's Badlands. ...

Crash Test Dummies: Things that make you go mmm...

Interview by Craig McLean, Vox, 1994

Crash Test Dummies smile and say "cheesy" in a desperate bid to avoid rock'n'roll pretentiousness. So why is frontman Brad Roberts still so serious? ...

The Orb: Live '93 (Island COO 8022)

Review by Lisa Verrico, Vox, January 1994

Q. WHAT'S THE difference between The Orb in concert and The Orb in the studio? A. An amazing light show, a revolving spiky symbol and ...

Elastica: Pulling Power

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, February 1994

Elastica may look rough, but their impoverished image is all part of the game. Inspired by such bands as The Buzzcocks and Wire, and pursuing ...

Lisa Lisa: LL—77 (Pendulum CHR 6062)

Review by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, March 1994

LL'S COOL JAM ...

The Fall: Mark E. Smith: What's Your Problem? Hippies

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, March 1994

Inspired by the title of an Albert Camus novel, Mark E Smith formed The Fall in Manchester in 1977. Smith's snarling vocal style and sharply ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: Return to Madchester

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, March 1994

After a few indiscretions, Manchester's adopted sons The Charlatans are keeping their motor running with the help of Ambient hippy Steve Hillage... ...

Björkabout

Interview by Graham Reid, Vox, April 1994

From earthquakes in LA to cyclones Down Under, wherever Björk walks, mesmerized crowds and natural disasters follow ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain, Oasis, Primal Scream: Creation Records: Creative Accounting

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, April 1994

Primal Scream, Jesus And Mary Chain, Boo Radleys... Creation has nurtured a family of provocative rock rebels. Alan McGee looks back on the first ten ...

Primal Scream: Give Out But Don't Give Up (Creation CRE 146)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1994

Dancing with Mr G ...

Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Snoop Doggy Dogg: What's Your Problem? Absent fathers

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, April 1994

SNOOP DOGGY Dogg, born Calvin Broadus, was brought up by his mother in the working-class suburb of Long Beach, Los Angeles. From early adolescence, when ...

Carleen Anderson, Madeline Bell, Rhoda Dakar, N'Dea Davenport, Pauline Henry, Marsha Hunt, Denise Johnson, Dee C Lee, Shara Nelson: The New Soul Rebels

Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, April 1994

Singing hairdos? Not any longer. Britain's new breed of single black females are feisty, independent and take no prisoners ...

Beck: Def Beck

Profile and Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, June 1994

How can Beck be a Loser? He's ridiculed MTV, yet it still gives heavy rotation to this Kansas runt and his band of OAPs. ...

George Jones: High-Tech Redneck (MCA MCAD 10910)

Review by Fred Dellar, Vox, June 1994

AT LEAST George hasn't lost his sense of humour. The album sleeve depicts him leaning on a car that sports the numberplate IDOSHOW. Which kinda ...

Kathy Mattea: Walking Away A Winner (Phonogram)

Review by Michele Kirsch, Vox, June 1994

THE TITLE speaks volumes for Mattea's earthy alto, which swells with cola-commercial can-do positivity, even on the sad songs. While this is a vocal quality ...

Shania Twain: Shania Twain (Phonogram 514 422-2) 8

Review by Michele Kirsch, Vox, June 1994

HEAR MY TWAIN A-COMIN' ...

The Beastie Boys: Beastie Boys: Ill Communication (Capitol/Grand Royal EFP222 9)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, July 1994

BEARING A blatant allusion to their monstrous 1986 debut Licensed To Ill and a clutch of guitar-mayhem tracks recorded back in their native NYC, the ...

Bernard Butler, Suede: Bernard Butler: Gentleman And Player

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, July 1994

When his father died last year, Bernard Butler used his guitar to assuage his grief. Now Britain's most important guitar hero since Johnny Marr has ...

Jamiroquai: Jay Kay, What's Your Problem? Not Being Black?

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, July 1994

JAMIROQUAI'S 24-year-old Jason Kay (aka Jay Kay) was brought up in Ealing, West London, by his jazz-singer mother, Karen Kay. Inspired by the likes of ...

Beck, Body Count, Dead Kennedys, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Guns N' Roses, Madonna, N.W.A, Iggy Pop, Prince, The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Essential Guide To "Explicit" Albums

Guide by Stephen Dalton, Vox, August 1994

Back in 1985, one seemingly harmless song led a woman to take unprecedented action against the American recording industry. Thanks to her moral crusade, albums ...

The Lemonheads: I Get The Feeling I'm Being Bullshitted

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, August 1994

IT'S A SHAME about Evan. Maybe we have a case of wrong time, wrong place, but dark moods are written all over his scowling, handsome, ...

Kyuss: Sky Valley (Elektra)

Review by Neil Perry, Vox, August 1994

HAILING FROM THE golf-crazed, blue-collar Californian oasis of Palm Springs, the almost surreally heavy Kyuss apparently honed their ferociously stoned metallic vibe with "generator parties", ...

Oasis: Shake'n'vac

Report and Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, August 1994

They rant against rock'n'rollers in leather keks, yet their hotel-trashing, drug-snorting lifestyle is becoming legendary. Are Oasis hypocrites or Britain's most sussed rock band? ...

Prince: Come (WEA)

Review by Gavin Martin, Vox, September 1994

THIS IS THE last ever album to be released by 'Prince' before he metamorphoses, full time, into a 'Symbol', and it reeks of salacious sex, ...

Bryan Ferry: Zealous Guy

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Vox, October 1994

Managerial divorce, marital problems, writer's block… times have been hard for Bryan Ferry, but the "artist who makes records" has entered his Arabic period with ...

Chrissie Hynde: "Guys in bands are pussies"

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, October 1994

Should Kurt Cobain have unplugged his fax or Evan Dando blabbed about crack? Should Brian Jones have smoked in public? Chrissie Hynde has the answers ...

Massive Attack: Protection (Circa)

Review by Gavin Martin, Vox, October 1994

Direct Hit ...

Woodstock '94: Dirty Weekend

Report by Andrew Mueller, Vox, October 1994

Only the pissing rain made Woodstock '94 faithful to the original. Mostly, it was a hyped-up, chaotic gathering of middle-class punters and middle-order bands. ...

Primal Scream, Andrew Weatherall: Andy Weatherall: Pick and Remix

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, November 1994

Andy Weatherall twiddled the knobs that turned a Primals ditty into a House classic, and got himself a job for life. ...

Blur: Who needs a used Merc, anyway?

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, November 1994

Mr Cholmondley-Warner may not have rated Blur good enough for the Mercury Music Prize, but Damon Albarn isn't losing sleep over it — hit singles, ...

Luscious Jackson: The New York four-piece couch their songs of womanhood in a laidback, yet energetic, jazzy groove…

Report and Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, November 1994

NATURAL INGREDIENTS, the first full-length album from female New York four-piece Luscious Jackson, is the follow-up to World Clique that Deee-Lite never made – funky, ...

Oasis: Man City Slickers: Oasis: The Haçienda, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Vox, November 1994

Having stormed into the album chart at Number One, Oasis return to Manchester's Haçienda — giving their hometown its greatest night since the height of The ...

Transglobal Underground: International Times (LP/CD/MC NAT38)

Review by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, November 1994

World piece ...

Elastica: Things that make you go URGGHHH!

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Vox, December 1994

JUSTINE FRISCHMANN sings and plays guitar with Elastica, a band whose cool balance of ingenuousness and ingenuity should shortly eclipse her other claims to fame as ...

Green Day: "It's the Drugs"

Report and Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, December 1994

Californian group Green Day have sped through the past year, with more than a little help from their friends Billy Whizz and Bob Hope. And ...

Nirvana: Unplugged In New York (Geffen)

Review by Gavin Martin, Vox, December 1994

THE "unplugged" format, more often utilised to spring-clean a musty back-catalogue than carve out a way forward, provided Kurt Cobain with a much-needed window in ...

Offspring: Go Ahead, Skate Punk…

Interview by Neil Perry, Vox, December 1994

A post-Grunge street revolution or just a flash in the pan? Either way, Offspring are the kids' choice... ...

Radiohead: The Bends (Parlophone TPS7372)

Review by Craig McLean, Vox, 1995

THIS TIME last year, there was abject fear in the Radiohead camp. The band were in Micky Most's Rak studios in London, in the middle ...

M People: Bizarre Fruit (DeConstruction)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, January 1995

Excess baggage ...

Oasis: The Making of Definitely Maybe

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, January 1995

From fourth on the bill at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut to the fastest-selling independent debut album in the UK, it's been a staggering year ...

Nirvana, Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam: Reluctant Hero

Comment by Andrew Mueller, Vox, January 1995

After years of putting Eddie Vedder down, Kurt Cobain's final retribution was to pass him Grunge's crown of thorns. But will he be able to ...

Sheryl Crow: Natural Born Thriller

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, January 1995

Sheryl Crow's songs provided the soundtrack for a killer road trip in Kalifornia, but she's got mixed feelings about Hollywood's continuing shoot-to-be-hip violence. Happiness isn't ...

The Stone Roses: Second Coming (Geffen)

Review by Gavin Martin, Vox, February 1995

TIMING CAN count for a lot in the fickle world of pop. When they released their eponymous first album in 1989, just in time to ...

Coolio: Natural Born Chiller

Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, March 1995

Ice-T, Ice Cube, LL Cool J... The West Coast of America is famous for its frozen rappers. Now cometh the latest million-selling iceman: Coolio ...

Moby... Dickhead?

Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, March 1995

Intelligent Techno god or the world's next fascist dictator? Moby likes to piss people off, and he's very good at it... ...

Chic, Rattle and Roll

Overview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, April 1995

From models to mods, designer girlfriends to X Girl, it's a fine thread between fashion and rock 'n' roll. VOX explores the world of pop ...

Menswear: This Year's Model

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, April 1995

When record companies went window-shopping last year, they all wanted to buy Menswear. Without even releasing a single, the band's reputation stands more upon the ...

PJ Harvey: To Bring You My Love (Island)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, April 1995

POLLY JEAN HARVEY has never been afraid to let the masculine side of her personality underscore her feminine traits. The shock of the new most ...

Weezer: The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, April 1995

Weezer may have written a million-selling debut album full of sparkling punk-pop songs, but it means nothing to super-nerdy frontman Rivers Cuomo. He's 23; time ...

Pulp: Cocker The North

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, May 1995

Jarvis Cocker, the only kid in his Sheffield classroom who wore lederhosen, didn't have a girlfriend till he was 19. Now he's a pin-up and ...

Black Grape, Happy Mondays: Black Grape: Forget It All For An Instant

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, July 1995

After all the pills, thrills and bellyaches, Shaun Ryder felt peckish — so he nipped off to Kentucky Fried Chicken. It took him three years ...

Teenage Fanclub: Grand Prix (Creation CRE173)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, July 1995

Top Gear! ...

The Chemical Brothers, DJ Shadow, Dreadzone, Earthling, Massive Attack, Portishead, Renegade Soundwave, Tricky, Andrew Weatherall, The Wild Bunch: Trip Hop: Where The Beats Have No Name

Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, July 1995

Trip-hop is now part of pop's international language — but the pioneers of Britain's most successful musical export in years refuse to admit it exists... ...

Bon Jovi: These Days (Mercury 5282482)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, August 1995

RETURNING FROM their minor flirtation with funky modernity and relatively short hair on Keep The Faith, Jon and the boys swing back into classic Jovi ...

Buffalo Tom: Sleepy Eyed (Beggars Banquet BB0177)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, August 1995

"SHE'S A tangerine, made in California. She's a sunny day." Bill Janovitz surely knows how to set a scene and now that Buffalo Tom mirrors ...

Boot Camp Clik, Jeru the Damaja, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Method Man, Mobb Deep, Keith Murray, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Ol' Dirty Bastard, Redman, Wu-Tang Clan: Hip Hop: The Empire State Strikes Back

Report by Angus Batey, Vox, August 1995

Snoop and Dr Dre's tales of the 'hoods of South Central may have redirected the media's fickle attention to the West Coast, but New York ...

Kyuss: ...And The Circus Leaves Town (WCA 7559-618112)

Review by Neil Perry, Vox, August 1995

STONED CALIFORNIA bass freaks Kyuss have done it again: they've created an album that's as different from last year's Sky Valley as that was from ...

Naughty By Nature: Naughty But Nice

Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, August 1995

Born in the ghetto, Naughty By Nature intend to stay there, despite the band's success ...

Pearl Jam, Neil Young: Neil Young: Mirror Ball (Reprise 9362 45934-2/4/1)

Review by Max Bell, Vox, August 1995

FIRST THINGS first. It's age before beauty. Young before youth. Finally, the worst kept secret in rock — that Neil Young was recording an album ...

The Chemical Brothers: Exit Planet Dust (Junior Boys Own XOUSTCD1)

Review by Lisa Verrico, Vox, August 1995

Guerrillas in the chemist ...

The Chemical Brothers: Chemical Abuse

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, August 1995

Last year, the Chemical Brothers were just a couple of DJs with a legendary reputation for drug taking. Now they're almost as famous as the ...

Therapy?: Infernal Love (A&M 540379)

Review by Lisa Verrico, Vox, August 1995

Tender loving Cairns ...

Jayne County, Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Man Enough To Be A Woman, Jayne County (Serpent's Tail. £11.99)

Book Review by Fred Dellar, Vox, September 1995

County crows ...

Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill (Maverick)

Review by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, September 1995

THE LATEST signing to Madonna's stable, this debut is striking in its maturity. ...

Black Grape: It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah! (Radioactive)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, September 1995

YOU KNOW the story. Just over two years ago, it all went pear-shaped for Shaun Ryder. Smack addiction, bitter infighting and musical stagnation finished off ...

Skunk Anansie: The Year Skunk Broke: Skunk Anansie

Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, September 1995

Two indie EPs have been enough to catapult Skunk Anansie from British cult status to the silver screens of Hollywood. VOX joins them for a ...

Björk: Call Of The Wild: Bjork

Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, October 1995

Bjork hasn’t let two years of critical kudos and VIP bullshit go to her head. As she heads out on a major world tour, VOX ...

Black Grape, Happy Mondays: Shaun Ryder: Sleazy Ryder

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, October 1995

In the first of a series never, ever to be continued, Shaun Ryder presents his passport to the land of a thousand karma sutra babes. ...

Sleeper: Tourbus Tales: Sleeper

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, October 1995

Please give up this feature for people carrying children or heavy shopping... ...

AC/DC: Ballbreaker (Elektra)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, November 1995

Black In The Saddle ...

Black Grape: Spills 'n' Thrills and Jelly Aches

Report and Interview by Johnny Cigarettes, Vox, November 1995

After breaking and entering the album charts at Number One, BLACK GRAPE decided to drag their scuzzy, 24-hour party on the road. VOX gets over-friendly ...

Blur: Can't Fight This Fleeing: Blur: The Great Escape (Parlophone)

Review by Paul Moody, Vox, November 1995

"I'm not walking out of this/I want to stay this way forever" — Blur, 'Blue Jeans', 1993 ...

Money Mark: Mark's Keyboard Repair (Mo'Wax)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, November 1995

Boys To Man ...

Ash: Turn Up, Check In, Rock Out!

Report by Steven Wells, Vox, December 1995

These days, most teenagers leave school and sign on. But not ASH – they play loud punk rock, trash hotels and party till they puke. ...

Smashing Pumpkins: Don't fear the weeper: Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (Hut)

Review by Ted Kessler, Vox, December 1995

WELL, COME ON IN, Mr Corgan. What will it be today? Let's see… Perhaps the whip-cracking, bitch-baiting, wrap-around metal thong? No? What about the cherubic ...

Pulp: Different Class (Island)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, December 1995

WHERE, ONE wonders, does he do the dishes? The pre-eminence gris of kitchen-sink drama has spent so long washing other people's dirty linen, the plumbing ...

Public Enemy’s Back Pages

Retrospective by Ian Fortnam, Vox, 1996

WITH INDIEDOM firmly in the grip of the inane and the insipid, the doleful delinquents of 1986 were in dire and desperate need of a ...

The Partridge Family: The Tragedy of Danny Bonaduce

Retrospective by Ian Fortnam, Vox, 1996

EVEN NOW, after almost three decades of relative sanity, it's utterly impossible to erase the excruciatingly impish image of Danny Bonaduce from the nation's collective ...

Garbage: Litter from America!

Interview by Steven Wells, Vox, April 1996

SAN FRANCISCO: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is being projected onto the fire curtain while the stage is being prepared for Garbage. The soundless ...

Fun Lovin' Criminals: Fun Lovin’ Criminals: The Illegals Have Landed

Interview by Ian Fortnam, Vox, September 1996

Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak somewhere in, er, Denmark, as those Fun Lovin' Criminals unload their arsenal of jazz, blues and hip-hop on 90,000 ...

Evan Dando, The Lemonheads: Evan Dando

Interview by Johnny Cigarettes, Vox, November 1996

I HAVE REASON to believe that Evan Dando has been drinking. It's not so much his appearance – grimy T-shirt, flared polyester trousers crudely cut ...

Alisha's Attic: All About Eaves: Alisha's Attic: Alisha Rules The World (Mercury)

Review by Johnny Cigarettes, Vox, December 1996

IN THE '50s AND '60s, people would often pursue a pop career as a stepping stone to becoming a "family entertainer", hoping, in the long ...

Chuck D, Tricky: Chuck D and Tricky: Conversation Terrorists

Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, December 1996

It was a most unlikely summit meeting when Chuck D, Public Enemy's motormouth mainspring and founding father of political rap, met Bristol maverick Tricky, hip-hop's ...

Bill Drummond, Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction: The Chronicled Mutineers: Bill Drummond and Mark Manning

Profile and Interview by Gavin Martin, Vox, December 1996

THE TWO self-proclaimed Zen masters speed through the lush and leafy lanes of England's green and pleasant land to meet us at the train station. ...

Spice Girls: What's The Piquancy…?: Spice Girls: Spice (Virgin)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, December 1996

THEY'RE NOT MANUFACTURED! They're not the female Take That! They drink, swear, shag and write their own songs! They believe in "girl power" and use ...

Wilco: Last Twang in Town

Interview by Keith Cameron, Vox, May 1997

THE WAITRESS next door to the Blue Note desperately wants to come, but she couldn't get the night off work. "Oh, it'll be fantastic!" she ...

Foo Fighters, Nirvana: Foo Fighters: Happy Dave Is Here Again

Interview by Stuart Bailie, Vox, June 1997

Dodgy facial furniture aside, Dave Grohl is, without doubt, the most well-adjusted man in rock as he prepares to lead Foo Fighters onto further glory ...

Mary J. Blige: Mary J Blige: Material World

Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, June 1997

WHAT'S THE most embarrassing item of clothing you've ever bought? ...

Primal Scream: 'Star'

Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, June 1997

The songTHE SECOND single to be taked from Primal Scream's forthcoming Vanishing Point LP, 'Star' finds Bobby Gillespie drawing on his personal vocabulary of revolutionary ...

The Smiths' Backpages

Retrospective by Ian Fortnam, Vox, June 1997

They were the darlings of the '80s bedsit generation, a loner, a muso and their mates who created British Pop pretty much from scratch. Ten ...

Coolio: To Live and Thrive in LA

Interview by Gavin Martin, Vox, September 1997

Since 'Gangsta's Paradise' took over the world's radio-waves last year, untold riches and COOLIO have been close bedfellows. But does it make him happy? Despite ...

DJ Krush: MiLight (Mo' Wax)

Review by Lisa Verrico, Vox, September 1997

TOKYO! BUM RUSH THE SHOW ...

Oasis: Here's Looking At You, Our Kid: Oasis: Be Here Now (Creation)

Review by Dele Fadele, Vox, September 1997

OASIS ARE CAUGHT in the eye of a hurricane. What a shitstorm the Gallagher brothers have been through at the hands of the tabloids and ...

Radiohead: The Dour & The Glory

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, September 1997

You join us in Belgium where RADIOHEAD are currently entertaining a rather large festival crowd. So let's slip away with frontman THOM YORKE as he ...

Sneaker Pimps: Young Sole Rebels

Interview by Andy Crysell, Vox, September 1997

Having shaken off the trip-hop tag, SNEAKER PIMPS believe they could be, actually, a bit goth. They're having us on, right? VOX catches up with ...

Morrissey: This Bloke Isn't Funny Anymore: Morrissey: Maladjusted (Island)

Review by Stephen Dalton, Vox, September 1997

ANOTHER YEAR, another Morrissey album. His ninth, incredibly, though you'd be hard-pressed to name the whole lot, never mind recommend them. Which, in itself, is ...

Faith No More: 33 Gleibe Freiheit, Hamburg

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Vox, January 1998

The Fifth Element ...

LL Cool J: Tellin' it like it is

Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, January 1998

Million-selling rap king, actor, ladies' man and now a no-holds-barred autobiographer… who in their right minds could resist LL COOL J? ...

INXS: Michael Hutchence 1960-1997

Obituary by Andrew Mueller, Vox, January 1998

THAT MICHAEL HUTCHENCE should fail to reach his 40th birthday is, perhaps, no surprise in itself – his career was distinguished by a wholehearted subscription ...

Patti Smith: Patti noises off

Interview by Gavin Martin, Vox, January 1998

PATTI SMITH, the cultural dynamo who claims to have "several decades left in me yet" is never one to court convention. With no plans to ...

Roni Size and Reprazent: Collective Consciousness

Report and Interview by David Stubbs, Vox, January 1998

Dust off your bus pass and get down with RONI SIZE and REPRAZENT. There's Bristol beats aplenty, Genghis Khan gets a look in, and skipping ...

The Pogues, Shane MacGowan: Shane MacGowan: It's A Long Way From Tipperary

Retrospective by Ian Fortnam, Vox, January 1998

AS PUNK PASSION dissipated and died, choking on its own irrelevance, a generation of serial venters were suddenly deprived of its primal, therapeutic effect. The ...

Shola Ama: The Next Generation: Shola Ama

Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, January 1998

An 18-year-old with attitude who thinks global and acts loco ...

Press Officers: Trying to Keep the Customer Satisfied

Report and Interview by Steven Wells, Vox, February 1998

When you're the PRESS officer for a rock group, life's about fending off the scum press, nannying drug-addled lead singers... and punching out the odd ...

The High Llamas, Stereolab: Stereolab, The High Llamas: 9.30 Club, Washington DC

Live Review by David Stubbs, Vox, February 1998

WASHINGTON DC encapsulates all America's contrasts in extremis. Up on Capitol Hill, they're running the country. Over at the White House, he's running the world. ...

Aerosmith: A Question of Snort: Walk This Way by Aerosmith with Stephen Davis (Virgin) *****

Book Review by Ian Fortnam, Vox, March 1998

Underage girls, serial drug abuse. How far is too far? The Toxic Twins show the way. ...

All Saints: They Know Where It's At

Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, March 1998

And finally we have lift-off. Yes, 'Never Ever' may have taken its time getting there, but Britain's finest all-girl band have hit Number One, and ...

Terry Callier: TimePeace (Talkin' Loud) ****

Review and Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, March 1998

Long-lost singer-songwriter's classy comeback ...

Madonna: Immaculate Projection: Madonna: Ray Of Light (Maverick/WEA) *****

Review by Angus Batey, Vox, April 1998

Music, motherhood and much, much more: real revelation from the world's most famous single parent ...

Madonna: Mother of Reinvention

Retrospective by Gavin Martin, Vox, April 1998

With a new image and a new album MADONNA comes to 1998 in bullish form. Here, we assess the Material Girl's metamorphosis from disco diva ...

David Byrne, Morcheeba: Morcheeba: Calm before the storm

Interview by Jack Barron, Vox, April 1998

They were quietly successful with their dark, hip-hop textures and Skye-scraping vocals. Now, with their genre-defying second LP, Big Calm, MORCHEEBA are quietly heading for ...

Simple Minds: Neapolis ***

Review by Dele Fadele, Vox, April 1998

IF THE YOUNG Jim Kerr; who fronted Johnny And The Self Abusers in the late '70s tailspin of punk, knew what fate had in store ...

Kula Shaker: Cool, karma & collected

Interview by Chris Roberts, Vox, May 1998

Those mystical'n'magical types, KULA SHAKER are back, and this time they're watching what they say. Which is no surprise after their last round of foot-in-mouth ...

Pulp: Neuroses Grow On You: Pulp: This Is Hardcore (Island) ***

Review by Gavin Martin, Vox, May 1998

Gathering storm clouds, gruesome sex and self-flagellation: dim the lights for Pulp's very own horror movie ...

Massive Attack: The Next Level: Massive Attack: Mezzanine (Virgin) *****

Review by Andy Crysell, Vox, May 1998

Storming comeback from the Bristol sound system innovators ...

Spice Girls: The Spice Girls: The Girls Can't Help It

Report and Interview by Jerry Thackray, Vox, May 1998

They were supposed to have sunk without a trace by now, but it seems that everyone still wants a piece of the SPICE GIRLS. Certainly ...

David Bowie: Best Of 1974/1979 (EMI)

Review by Ian Fortnam, Vox, June 1998

Where the first instalment of this condensed collection of Bowie's "best" work covered the formative innocence of the man's glam rock period, 1974/1979 finds the ...

Lo Fidelity Allstars: Mind Blowing!: Lo-Fidelity Allstars: How To Operate With A Blown Mind (Skint) *****

Review by Andy Crysell, Vox, June 1998

Violently impressive debut from the new pop/funk/rap/punk/techno/everything else heroes ...

Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland: Scott Weiland: No More Mr Vice Guy

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Vox, June 1998

As leader of the Stone Temple Pilots, he took lots of drugs, sold lots of records and was hated by the critics. Now he's off ...

Janet Jackson: The Jackson Fave: Janet Jackson: Ahoy, Rotterdam

Live Review by Angus Batey, Vox, June 1998

"When I was 17 I did what people told me Did what my father said and let my mother mould me But that was ...

Stereophonics: The Stereophonics

Interview by Ian Fortnam, Vox, June 1998

"Only in America," postulates a booming Welsh baritone, "could they have a museum dedicated to a fucking soft drink." ...

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