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Edwin Pouncey

Edwin Pouncey

Edwin Pouncey is also known by the nom de plume Savage Pencil He is an English comics artist, musician, and music journalist. He has contributed to magazines such as Sounds ("Rock'n'Roll Zoo", etc.), Forced Exposure and The Wire. He has illustrated record sleeves for bands such as The Fall, Big Black, Sonic Youth and Rocket From The Crypt amongst others. Savage Pencil was also a member of The Art Attacks, a band who released two 7"s; 'I'm A Dalek' b/w 'Neutron Bomb' (released on the Albatross label in 1977) and 'First & Last'/'Punk Rock Stars'/'Rat City' (released on the Fresh label in 1979).

Edwin is currently a member of the "improvising drone-rock noise band" Pestrepeller, along with Peter Hope-Evans (ex-Medicine Head), Ed Pinsent, Harley Richardson, Nick Neocleous and Rob Brown. They released an album in May 2006 on Important Records, entitled Isle of Dark Magick, described in the press release as "a gem of free-improvised-found-sound-collage enriched with dark pagan folky vibes and supernatural horror noise dedicated to H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith and Austin Osman Spare."

153 articles

List of articles in the library

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Split Enz: Dizrythmia

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 15 October 1977

SPLIT ENZ are mainly a musical theatrical troupe, not that that's a slagging off because they are also talented musicians. It's just that the first ...

Frank Zappa: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 4 February 1978

GOOD EVENING ladies and gentlemen. The lights have gone down, the Zappa band are all ready, so let's get on with the show, 'cos that's ...

Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 1979

"THERE'S NOTHING like a Grateful Dead concert." This oft-quoted statement from past hand-out material was going through my head as I stumbled over the attendant ...

Mikey Dread: Who's The Man Plays Dubwise Selection Without Objection? Mikey Dread, Of Course

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 2 February 1980

MICHAEL CAMPBELL is a man of many parts. Producer of numerous dub, toasting and vocal sides he has also worked for such luminaries as King ...

The Fall: The Prestwich Horror And Other Strange Stories

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 31 January 1981

Mark Smith of The Fall discloses fragments of the "Totale Mythos" to Edwin Pouncey. ...

Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Rainbow, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 4 April 1981

Dead fans "awake" shocker ...

Black Uhuru: Red (Island ILPS 9625)*****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 30 May 1981

THE KING of reggae may be at rest, but the beat he spent his life supporting lives on. While the media have paid their varied ...

Annie Anxiety, Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, Poison Girls: Crass, Poison Girls, Annie Anxiety, Flux Of Pink Indians: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 20 June 1981

Tea and Anarchy: Edwin Pouncey sees Crass in action ...

Black Uhuru: Stepping On The Dragon

Report and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 18 July 1981

THE COACH journey from London to Bristol went quicker than I had originally expected. It hardly seemed five minutes since we were stepping aboard the ...

The Wailing Souls: Breada Gravilicious

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 5 September 1981

LLOYD "BREAD" McDONALD tells the Wailing Souls story to EDWIN POUNCEY ...

Lone Ranger: Rose Marie (Black Joy)****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 2 January 1982

THIS BRAND new selection without objection is the first released album in this country from the Lone Ranger since he last bared fangs on the ...

The Waitresses: Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful? (Polydor)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 30 January 1982

FOR STARTERS, The Waitresses first came into being through one Chris Butler, who created the group as a spillover for musical ideas that were incompatible ...

Black Uhuru: Tear It Up (Island)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 13 February 1982

BLACK UHURU'S tour of English provinces last year took place at a time when the streets were torn with riot, ironically the perfect setting for ...

The Waitresses: The Peppermint Lounge, New York

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 27 February 1982

ONE BY ONE out of the cold, graffiti-decorated dressing room, The Waitresses leap on to the stage to be greeted by a hailstorm of applause ...

The Fall: Hex Enduction Hour and Live At Acklam Hall, London 1980

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 6 March 1982

IN A constantly flowing stream of creativity, through each consecutive fad, fantasy and fashion The Fall have always strived to go against the grain to ...

The Waitresses: What The Butler Said

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 6 March 1982

THE WAITRESSES give tips to EDWIN POUNCEY on how to cure irony ...

The Viceroys: We Must Unite (Trojan)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 20 March 1982

THE CULT phenomenon, as with other realms of popular music, is also almost predominantly featured in the world of reggae. The Viceroys, a mysterious trio ...

Burning Spear: Farover (Radio)***

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 29 May 1982

TWO YEARS on from his last collection finds Winston Rodney, the African teacher, aka Burning Spear, relating the same universal message of cultural education through ...

Toyan: DJ Superstar

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 29 May 1982

Edwin Pouncey spars with TOYAN ...

Black Uhuru: Chill Out (Island)****1/2

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 12 June 1982

AFTER THE blistering scorch that came out as Red, things in the Uhuru camp just had to cool off before the next major assault could ...

X: Under The Big Black Sun (Elektra)*****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 3 July 1982

NO LESS a person than Slash magazine's very own Kickboy Face once told me that X were most popular among the inhabitants of LA's Mexican ...

King Sunny Ade: Juju Music

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 10 July 1982

IT HAS ALREADY been wisely stated elsewhere that any thoughts of tribal ceremony soundtracks brought direct from the bush by intrepid white David Fanshawe types ...

Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: 'The Message' (Sugarhill import); Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force: 'Planet Rock' (Tommy Boy import)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 31 July 1982

ALREADY WRITTEN about in rival publications but well worth another mention here to remind you of their greatness. ...

King Sunny Ade: Sunny Side Of The Beat

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 28 August 1982

Edwin Pouncey meets the 'Minister Of Enjoyment' and monarch of juju music KING SUNNY ADE ...

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Ice Cream For Crow (Virgin V2237)*****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 11 September 1982

TO THE casual observer, Captain Beefheart's vibe must appear to be similar to the window blind painting he has created to adorn his latest batch ...

The Gun Club: Gun Club: Miami (Animal) *****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 18 September 1982

IN A MUSICAL world that is forever being bedevilled and picked at by the bland spirits of so called 'new pop', the emergence of a ...

The Gun Club: Gun Club: Calling On Thunder

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 23 October 1982

IN THE beginning Jeffrey Lee Pierce was born in Texas and raised in Los Angeles. ...

Wall Of Voodoo: Call Of The West (Illegal)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 23 October 1982

THE LIGHTED office door on the cover of the second Wall Of Voodoo album is sealed shut while the tumbleweed haunted mists of Western legend ...

The Residents' Mole Show: The Roxy, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 13 November 1982

Mountains out of Molehills ...

Elvis Costello: Punch The Clock (F.Beat)****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 30 July 1983

ELVIS COSTELLO, the self-confessed Invisible Man, returns. Off come the dark glasses, the bandages are unwound and drop to the floor to reveal his latest ...

Linton Kwesi Johnson: Making History

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, October 1983

A LOT OF polluted water has flowed under the bridge since Bass Culture, Linton Kwesi Johnson's last album of poems, was released to rave critical ...

Tom Waits: Swordfish Out of Water: Tom Waits

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 15 November 1983

"WHEN YOU drive from Los Angeles to Northern California... Leaving Los Angeles is like you’re being put upon and then it gets simpler and simpler, ...

The Dream Syndicate: Medicine Men: The Dream Syndicate

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 14 July 1984

INSIDE THE Mission Theatre in sunny Santa Barbara we’ve got trouble. With less than an hour to go before The Dreams Syndicate take the stage, ...

Tom Waits: Rain Dogs

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 1985

With my head full of violent thoughts, swirling with the alcohol I've poured down myself to accomplish the task at hand, I'm just in the ...

The Bangles: Yesterday and Today

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 2 February 1985

THE 'HOUSE full' sign was proudly on display outside Boston's Paradise Theatre, a local haunt that had, so I was informed, fallen from favour by ...

Sonic Youth: Bad Moon Rising (Blast First BFFP 1) *****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 9 March 1985

FOR THEIR third assault upon the senses, and the first for their new label, New York's powerful and passionate Sonic Youth take a Creedence title, ...

Green On Red: Gas Food Lodging

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 18 May 1985

ALL OF a sudden, it’s a-happening. Seems like every LA outfit that you ever read about in these pages moons ago is over here with ...

Martin Rev: Glory Boy

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 1 June 1985

Is there life after Suicide? Martin Rev gets fired up ...

Suicide: Glory Boy

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 1 June 1985

DUE TO an allergy to cats, Martin Rev is forced to huddle next to an open window in manager/producer/believer Marty Thau's feline thronged apartment. ...

Neil Young: Old Ways

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 31 August 1985

ARE YOU ready for the country yet? If bands like the Long Ryders and Jason And The Scorchers (both of whom owe an enormous musical ...

Hüsker Dü: Marquee, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 14 September 1985

HÜSKER DON'T ...

The Replacements Drink and Drive

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 9 November 1985

Drunk on fame? Not yet or probably ever. Paul Westerberg pours out the history of THE REPLACEMENTS to EDWIN POUNCEY in Minneapolis. ...

Suicide, Alan Vega: Alan Vega: Journey Through America 1985 — Part One

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 23 November 1985

During the '70s ALAN VEGA switched New York on to a different wavelength. Ten years on, and he's seemingly blown a fuse with a 'commercial' ...

Blue Oyster Cult: Club Ninja

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 14 December 1985

HEAVY METAL groups come and go but the Cult apparently to on forever. It kinda makes you feel warm inside — at least you can ...

The Cramps: The Curse Of Elvis

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 1 February 1986

It's exploitation-a-go-go as THE CRAMPS surf back from the dead to keep a date with EDWIN POUNCEY in downtown Los Angeles. ...

Swans: Greed (K.422 KCC2)*****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 29 March 1986

GREED ALL ...

Butthole Surfers: Rembrandt Pussy Horse (Red Rhino RRE LP2)*****

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 3 May 1986

CRAZY HORSE ...

R.E.M.: R.E.M: Life's Rich Pageant

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 16 August 1986

NOW WHERE did this panther spring from? Seems like only a minute ago I was hacking my way through a jungle of ugly pop fever ...

R.E.M.: Deconstructing The Fables

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 18 October 1986

Their sight fully restored with the release of their latest creation, R.E.M. are looking straight ahead once more and enjoying Life’s Rich Pageant. EDWIN POUNCEY ...

Concrete Blonde: Concrete Blonde (IRS)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 2 May 1987

CONCRETE BLONDE have pushed themselves up towards the sun from a long ugly crack in the sidewalk called Hollywood. They're a gangly looking weed, with ...

The Replacements: Pleased To Meet Me (Sire)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 9 May 1987

THE WELCOME return of the world's most talented buncha winos. This time the noise that Minneapolis's finest are making sounds like a celebration of sorts. ...

The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu: Who Killed The JAMs (JAMs LP only)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 13 February 1988

MILKING THE MU MU ...

The Residents, Snakefinger: The Residents: The eyes of the Lord are upon us

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 30 July 1988

From eyeball lashing to Bible bashing THE RESIDENTS are back and inviting you to come spend a fright night at the opera with them. Their ...

Henry Rollins: Mean Fiddler, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 1 October 1988

THE GRAND old illustrated man of US hardcore grips the stage with his toes and hangs ten. Henry Rollins has just rolled into town again ...

Fields Of The Nephilim, Jane's Addiction, Under Neath What?: Jane's Addiction, Under Neath What?: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 1 October 1988

GOTH NIGHT in South London has brought out all the silly cowboy hats, floppy bandanas and Wayne Hussey lookalikes in full force. The crowds of ...

Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead: Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead: Dylan and The Dead

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 11 February 1989

THIS COULD be a marriage made in heaven or hell, depending on which side of the critical fence you might be sitting. The majority of ...

Ministry: The Land Of Rape And Honey (Sire LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 11 February 1989

BRIAN JOURGENSEN and Paul Barker, the men from Ministry, work together in a world of seemingly self inflicted pain and torture. A ceaseless metal-machine beat ...

The Pixies: Doolittle

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, April 1989

THAT LITTLE MONKEY with the halo hot-wired to its tiny skull – the central image for both the Pixies' latest single and this, their second ...

Swans: The Burning Word

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 20 May 1989

On their new album The Burning World the SWANS have discovered their volume control goes down as well as up and have left the harsh ...

Mudhoney: Put Mud In The Music

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 27 May 1989

Thanks to an extensive European tour, a vinyl collaboration with Sonic Youth and their own indie-chart hit LP, Seattle's MUDHONEY find themselves the latest US ...

Nirvana: Bleach (Sub Pop import US LP only)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 8 July 1989

REAL ROCK music should hurt. Like being too near an exploding plate glass window, it should get under your skin and cause you to writhe ...

Nirvana, Tad: Hard On: Nirvana and Tad

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 2 September 1989

This week EDWIN POUNCEY gets on the trail of Sub Pop, the label that brought you Mudhoney and who are about to unleash the ungodly ...

The Rolling Stones: Steel Wheels (CBS LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 2 September 1989

STERLING MOSS ...

BoDeans: Home (Slash/London LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 9 September 1989

SLASH RECORDS were one of the first American labels to offer an alternative selection of new artists to an industry bloated on feeble rock clichés. ...

Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, White Lion: Crüe To Be Kind

Report and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 18 November 1989

Lock up your heated rollers, here comes Metal mayhem. Into the heart of dorkness strode our very own rock monster EDWIN POUNCEY armed with only ...

The Residents: Cube E Show, Sadler's Wells, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 18 November 1989

SOME CLASSY joint! No beer slop pit of a venue for The Residents... Nosiree! Instead, the paying customers are treated to seats, opera glasses and ...

Nirvana, Tad: Tad, Nirvana: Astoria, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 16 December 1989

"CHECK!... CHECK!..." This is one little improvisation that the fans freezing outside were missing as Sub Pop stalwarts Nirvana struggled valiantly to balance the sound ...

The Almighty, Dangerous Toys, Faster Pussycat: Faster Pussycat, the Almighty, Dangerous Toys: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 6 January 1990

DANGEROUS TOYS wind up their set with a no-sweat rendition of their first 45, an aimless rocker entitled 'Teas'n, Pleas'n' that merely acts as a ...

The Quireboys: Not The Hoople

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 13 January 1990

• From working on building sites to recording in Hollywood, THE QUIREBOYS have had the sort of change in careers that most hard rock bands ...

Loop: A Gilded Eternity (Situation Two LP/ Cassette/CD)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 20 January 1990

NEW GOLD DREAM ...

The Cramps: Creatures From The Black Leather Lagoon

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 20 January 1990

Self-confessed "Norma Desmonds of rockabilly", THE CRAMPS are cheering the demise of a less-than-world-beating '80s and looking forward to a well-rockin' '90s. With their new LP ...

Warren Zevon: Transverse City (Virgin America LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 27 January 1990

WARREN ZEVON is one hell of an American songwriter with a brilliant — albeit sometimes cynical — eye zoomed in on the way both his ...

Mazzy Star: She Hangs Brightly (Rough Trade)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 26 May 1990

DAVID ROBACK, who with singer Hope Sandoval makes up one half of the Mazzy Star project, probably likens himself to the US equivalent of ace ...

Robert Plant: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 23 June 1990

AT ONE point during his performance this evening, Robert Plant throws back his golden locks and lets loose what sounds like an Islamic call to ...

The Lemonheads: Lovey

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 25 August 1990

IT'S PROBABLY too ironic that, just when the Lemonheads were getting somewhere, things started to abruptly shake apart. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Ween: Borderline, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 26 January 1991

"THIS SONG is called 'Squelch The Weasel'," announces vocalist Gene as he straps on an acoustic guitar. "By Ween," reminds his partner Dean, plugging in ...

? 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Grateful Dead: One From The Vaults

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, June 1991

FOR DEVOTED Dead Heads, this release is a dream come true as (not to be outdone by Dylan) the Grateful Dead open up their tape ...

Hole: Pretty On The Inside (City Slang/All formats)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 14 September 1991

TOP HOLE! ...

Rudolph Grey, Sonny Sharrock: Sonny Sharrock: Ask The Ages (Axiom/All formats); Rudolph Grey: Mask Of Light (NewAlliance/Ecstatic Peace/LP/CD)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 12 October 1991

THE JAZZ noise made here is powerful and alluring enough to snare the unwary punter into its ever-thrilling web of sound. ...

Crazy Horse, Neil Young: Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Weld/Arc-Weld (Reprise/All formats)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 19 October 1991

SOLDER OF FORTUNE ...

Wayne Kramer, MC5: MC5: Young, Powerful and Full Of Sperm

Retrospective and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 7 December 1991

It wasn't all flowers and freedom in the '60s for Detroit's finest rock'n'revolutionary band the MC5, whose legendary 1968 debut LP Kick Out The Jams, ...

Nirvana: 'Nevermind' — The Bolognese!

Report and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 21 December 1991

THE RAIN-sodden streets of Muggia (a secluded town in Northern Italy that acts as the border with civil war-torn Yugoslavia) are seemingly empty. Nirvana bass ...

Lou Reed: Magic And Loss (Sire/All formats)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 11 January 1992

LOU REED may have abandoned his 'Phantom Of Rock' image long ago, but the search for his creative mainline has continued unabated. ...

Jimi Hendrix: Stages (Polydor/CD box set only)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 8 February 1992

SINCE HIS untimely death in 1970 guitar god Jimi Hendrix has been lauded as 'The Greatest Guitarist Of All Time'. His name has been inducted ...

Big Star, Chris Bell: Big Star: Live; Third/Sister Lovers; Chris Bell: I Am The Cosmos (All Rykodisc)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 29 February 1992

SINCE THEY faded into obscurity in 1975, shortly after recording the sessions for the Third/Sister Lovers LP, Memphis pop/rock band Big Star have been lauded ...

Nirvana: Bleach (Tupelo/All formats); Hormoaning (Japanese CD only)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 7 March 1992

WHAT'S ON offer here are Nirvana's (bleached) roots, a raw-throated and perhaps over-fussy sounding debut LP that would eventually spawn a phenomenon. Bleach – with ...

Ronald Shannon Jackson, Bill Laswell, Sonny Sharrock: Bill Laswell: Mad Maxim

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 16 May 1992

Laughing in the face of musical categories, Manhattan's AXIOM label smashes through Techno stomp, space bass boogie, classical gas, Islamic rap'n'thrash, ferocious free-form jazz and ...

Phish: A Picture Of Nectar (Elektra/All formats)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 20 June 1992

YOU'VE NEVER heard of them... right? But, believe it or not, Phish (from Vermont) are very big fry in the States right now and no ...

Alex Chilton: Like Flies On Sherbert (Great Expectations/CD only)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 4 July 1992

WHEN BIG Star finally went under after their Sister Lovers (aka Third) LP failed to receive the attention it deserved at the time, a disgusted ...

Babes In Toyland: A Fête Worse Than Death

Report and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 15 August 1992

Rumble rumble rumble... whizz "WHAAAAHH!"And that's just listening to the new BABES IN TOYLAND album, long before EDWIN POUNCEY went anywhere near a rollercoaster with ...

Charles Manson: Die Flayed Alive! Charles Manson

Report by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 29 August 1992

Many reckon the swinging ‘60s ended the night followers of deranged hippy guru CHARLES MANSON broke into the home of Roman Polanski and brutally murdered ...

Television: Return of the Valve Heads

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 19 September 1992

HUNCHED AROUND a huge table which dominates the fancily decorated room that their new record company, Capitol, has allocated to them for interviews, the four ...

Leonard Cohen: The Future

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 28 November 1992

THIS RECORD HAS taken its creator, poet/songwriter/musician Leonard Cohen, four years to complete. A collection of seven originals and two cover versions that Cohen and ...

Digable Planets: Reachin' (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) (WEA/All formats)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 13 February 1993

DIGGERS WITH ATTITUDE ...

Nirvana: Never Mind The Bullets

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 27 February 1993

Deep in the woods of Minnesota, a sleepy CHRIS NOVOSELIC is just finishing a major magazine article on the Bosnian/Croatian conflict, while Steve Albini helps ...

Royal Trux: Twin Infinitives (Domino/CD only)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 5 February 1994

"NOW THAT I can get outside of myself, I can see how that record has something that might not catch on immediately," admitted Royal Trux's ...

Amon Düül (I & II): Communing With Chaos: Amon Düül II

Retrospective and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, February 1996

WHEN THE GERMAN rock explosion (now recognised as Krautrock) first hit these shores in the early 70s, the temptation to label it as a thriving ...

Sun Dial

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Ptolemaic Terrascope, April 1996

GARY RAMON is a musician who takes his psychedelia seriously. As well as being the guitarist and front-man for Sun Dial he also finds time ...

Lenny Bruce, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix, The Last Poets, Bill Laswell, Lightnin' Rod, John McLaughlin: Alan Douglas: Thee Man Who Sold The Underworld

Retrospective and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, July 1997

Now into his fifth decade at the doors of perception, label boss ALAN DOUGLAS hasworked with many of the century's underground greats, from Lenny Bruce, ...

Silver Apples: Oscillate Wildly

Retrospective and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, September 1997

After 30 years of universal neglect, New York's Silver Apples are finally getting recognition for their pioneering electronic rock. ...

Suicide: Invisible Jukebox: Suicide

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, March 1998

Every month we play a musician a series of records which they're asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of what ...

John Fahey: Blood on the Frets

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, August 1998

The original American Primitive, John Fahey's raw mixes of blues, folk and musique concrete embody the spirit of American alternative music. But during the 60s ...

Invisible Jukebox: Ken Kesey

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, September 1998

Every month we play an artist or musician a series of records which they're asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge ...

Os Mutantes: Os Mutantes; Mutantes; A Divina Comedia Ou Ando Meio Desilgado (all Omplatten FJ0RD001-3 CD)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, April 1999

IN THE 1960s Brazil declared war on rock 'n' roll. Any popular music betraying American or English influences — and that included the use of ...

The Beatles, Can, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Yoko Ono, Steppenwolf, Frank Zappa: Undercurrents #7: Fables of the Deconstruction

Retrospective by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, July 1999

In the latest in our series uncovering the hidden wiring of 20th century music, Edwin Pouncey shows how rock 'n' roll's face was changed forever ...

Iggy Pop, The Stooges: Iggy Pop: Coming Through Slaughter

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, November 1999

Where lesser rock gods have become overweight and obsolete, Iggy Pop endures. In Miami, prompted by the bitter-sweet musings of his 13th album, he reflects ...

Matato'a: Global Ear: Easter Island

Report by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, March 2000

A survey of sounds from around the planet. This month … Easter Island ...

One nation underground: ESP Disk

Retrospective by Edwin Pouncey, Jazzwise, March 2000

What record company these days would dare print "the Artists Alone Decide What You Will Hear" on their album sleeves. Well ESP Disk did in ...

Martin Rev: Strangeworld

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, April 2000

MARTIN REV might not be toppling too many new barriers, but the rhythmic and lyrical ghosts he summons up have an indefinable, haunting quality. ...

Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks Volume 16: Fillmore Auditorium 11/8/69 (Grateful Dead GD4036 3XCD)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, May 2000

ALTHOUGH GRATEFUL Dead tape archivist Dick Latvala died last year, his guiding hand still pushes along the project that carries his name. That Grateful Dead ...

Ash Ra Tempel, Coil, Julian Cope: Julian Cope's Cornucopea: South Bank Centre, London

Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, May 2000

BILLED AS "a festival of plenty" by its curator Julian Cope, the two nights spent in the company of his various label mates, old mates ...

Richard Meltzer: A Whore Just Like The Rest (Da Capo)

Book Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, May 2000

"I'M FAT, I drink too much. I feel grey, I feel old, I am old. This could be my last book," is how writer, critic, ...

Chet Baker, Terry Riley: Terry Riley: The Gift (Organ of Corti)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, May 2000

TO DATE, Organ of Corti's important release programme of rare and previously released material from master minimalist Terry Riley has been a somewhat frustrating exercise ...

Tisziji Muñoz: Alpha-Nebula — The Prophecies (Anami Music)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, May 2000

FOR MANY, the name of New York born, Puerto Rican guitarist Tisziji Muñoz will be unfamiliar, so perhaps a brief summary of his career is ...

Gary Lucas: Improve The Shining Hour: Rare Lumiere 1980–2000 (Knitting Factory)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, June 2000

THE GLITTERING career of US guitarist Gary Lucas has inevitably become overshadowed by the work he produced for Captain Beefheart during the early 80s on ...

Tisziji Muñoz: Tisjizi Muñoz

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, June 2000

Galactic guitarist ...

Royal Trux: Tramps Like Us

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, September 2000

Pound for pound, the trailer park noise symphonies of Royal Trux out-weird everything this side of Ornette Coleman and The Grateful Dead. Edwin Pouncey travels ...

Derek Bailey: String Theory

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, November 2000

FEW MUSICIANS have fully understood how to make effective use of feedback in improvised music. If anybody can crank up their output and return part ...

Radiohead: Kid A

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, November 2000

WITH THEIR FOURTH album Kid A, Oxford quintet Radiohead have caused a tsunami-sized wave of confusion by breaking with stadium rock orthodoxy to exhibit an ...

The Residents: The Primer: The Residents

Discography by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, February 2001

A bi-monthly series in which we offer a user's guide to recordings of some of our favourite musicians. This month, Edwin Pouncey takes a duck ...

Bill Laswell, Carlos Santana: Bill Laswell/Carlos Santana: Divine Light (Columbia Legacy)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, September 2001

IN 1997, PRODUCER Bill Laswell was granted access to Columbia's tape vaults where, using the original masters, he put together Panthalassa, his devoted reconstruction of ...

Destroy All Monsters, John Sinclair: Destroy All Monsters: Backyard Monster Tube and Pig/Various: Music Is Revolution (Book Beat)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, September 2001

THE RESURGENCE of Destroy All Monsters, the Detroit artists' collective group made up of founder members Mike Kelley, Jim Shaw and Cary Loren, owes much ...

Endgame: Avatar

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, September 2001

ENDGAME ARE a trio from Leicester, featuring brothers Alan and Steven Freeman, with musician, engineer and designer Jim Tetlow. ...

Gregg Bendian

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, September 2001

"KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD period was sort of like when Miles went electric," enthuses jazz percussionist Gregg Bendian about the inspirational force behind his improvised tribute ...

Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane: Alice Coltrane: Enduring Love

Retrospective and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, April 2002

AFTER HER KEY ROLE IN JOHN COLTRANE'S ECSTATIC JAZZ EXPERIMENTS OF THE LATE 60S, PIANIST AND HARPIST ALICE COLTRANE EMBARKED ON A JOURNEY INTO THE OUTER SPIRALS ...

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Dust Sucker (Milksafe)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, May 2002

THE FULL STORY of Captain Beefheart's ill-fated Bat Chain Puller – potentially his greatest musical statement after Trout Mask Replica – has already been admirably ...

The Boredoms: Drilled to Infinity

Retrospective and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, September 2002

Over 15 years, Osaka's Boredoms have mutated from a splatterpunk avant noise group to the streamlined ferocity of their current mantric percussion barrage. In London, ...

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Yanqui UXO (Constellation)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, November 2002

Veering between swarming guitar symphonies and Messiaenic tranquillity, Canadian refuseniks Godspeed You! Black Emperor are learning to love the bomb... not.  ...

John Sinclair: Invisible Jukebox: John Sinclair

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, January 2003

John Sinclair — poet, journalist and former manager of 60s revolutionary rockers The MC5 — was born in Flint, Michigan in 1941. His father worked ...

Frank Zappa: Kevin Courrier: Dangerous Kitchen – The Subversive World of Frank Zappa

Book Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, April 2003

SINCE HIS death from prostate cancer in 1993, Frank Zappa's history and collective improvisations have been celebrated and picked over by a horde of musicologists ...

Albert Ayler: Nuits De La Fondation Maeght

Review by Edwin Pouncey, Jazzwise, October 2003

Albert Ayler (tf/ts); Mary Marta Parks (v/ss); Call Cobbs (p); Steve Tlntwetss (b); A Pen Biairman (d). Rec. 25 and 27 July 1970 ...

Devo: Jade Dellinger & David Giffels: Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!

Book Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, December 2003

DEPENDING ON which side of the critical fence you were standing at the time, '70s art rock group Devo from Akron, Ohio were either "the ...

Sunn O))): Invisible Jukebox: Sunn O)))

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, July 2004

EVERY MONTH WE PLAY A MUSICIAN A SERIES OF RECORDS WHICH THEY ARE ASKED TO IDENTIFY AND COMMENT ON WITH NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT ...

Wilco: Free the Spirit: Wilco

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, August 2004

"IF I PLAYED you all the Wilco songs in chronological order on an acoustic guitar, they probably wouldn't sound that different," declares Wilco leader Jeff ...

Marissa Nadler: Death Becomes Her

Profile and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, August 2005

IN THE BACK of a small pub in South London, surrounded by a crowd of curious onlookers, Marissa Nadler tunes up her acoustic 12-string guitar ...

The Stooges: Heavy Liquid (Easy Action)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, October 2005

ASSEMBLED FROM a back catalogue of previously released sessions, rehearsals and various recording ephemera circa (1972–74) from what many believed to be The Stooges' last ...

Beirut Slump, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks: Teenage Jesus and the Jerks/Beirut Slump: Shut Up And Bleed (Cherry Red)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, February 2009

THIS COMPREHENSIVE collection of Teenage Jesus And The Jerks recordings features 'Orphans' and 'Less Of Me', both sides of their debut single for Charles Ball’s ...

Sunn O))) & Ulver: Terrestrials /Ulver: Messe I.X – VI.X

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, February 2014

THE LAST TIME American drone lords Sunn O))) and Norwegian lycanthropes Ulver came together in the studio was in 2003 for 'CutWOODED' on the cowled ...

Music Blues: Things Haven't Gone Well Thrill (Jockey)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, August 2014

THE 2006 resurrection of Athens, Georgia doom rockers Harvey Milk was a cause for celebration among those who had faithfully followed the group's precarious career, ...

Kemper Norton: Loor (Front & Follow)

Review by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, October 2014

SELF-ANOINTED slurtronic folkologist Kemper Norton’s music has been labelled mysterious, occult and uncanny, the last of these being his preferred description for the vivid sound ...

Lee "Scratch" Perry: Who was that masked man?

Retrospective by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, June 2015

The Lone Ranger, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef ride again as dancehall deejays.  ...

Aluk Todolo, Bobby Beausoleil & The Freedom Orchestra , Black Widow, Blue Öyster Cult, Graham Bond, Coven, Jimmy Page, Rudimentary Peni, Skullflower, John Zorn: The Primer: Occult rock

Guide by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, August 2016

Channelling the magick of Aleister Crowley and the neo-paganism of witchcraft, occult rock is the sound of rock 'n' roll's secret society. Edwin Pouncey reads ...

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