E180: David Toop on Dr. John + Collusion + Scott Walker audio

Joining us all the way from Santa Barbara for this episode is Darrell M. McNeill, director of operations at the Black Rock Coalition and author of a new 33 1/3 study of the Isley Brothers' mighty 1973 album 3 + 3. We start by asking our guest about his '90s contributions to the Village Voice and his involvement with the B.R.C.. Crediting his dad for his own childhood love of the Isleys, Darrell tells us how he came to write about the band. We discuss their unique history across six-plus decades, arriving at the dramatic game-changer that was 3 + 3. Inevitably referencing Jimi Hendrix — an Isleys sideman in the mid-'60s — we ask Darrell about the group's pioneering hybrid of R&B and rock and their covers of classic songs by Carole King, James Taylor et al. A special nod, of course, to Jimi's incalculable influence on kid brother and budding guitar genius Ernie. From the Isleys to Isaac Hayes: following two clips from Ira Robbins' 1995 audio interview with the sometime Stax superstar, we discuss such radical milestones as 'Theme from Shaft' and Hot Buttered Soul's version of Bacharach & David's 'Walk On By'. After a brief digression to salute the 50th anniversary of long-time RBP contributor John Broven's seminal 1974 book Walking to New Orleans, Mark talks us out with quotes from newly-added interviews with Janis Joplin (1969) and Beatles session guitarist David Spinozza (1971). Jasper then wraps up the episode with remarks on Destiny's Child (2003) and The Comet is Coming (2019). Many thanks to special guest Darrell M. McNeill. His book on the Isley Brother's 3 + 3 is published by Bloomsbury and available now. Pieces discussed: The Isleys: first time winners again!, The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3, The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3 = Super Success, Ernie Isley: Pride of the Isleys, Isaac Hayes audio, Fats Domino & His Orchestra: Saville Theatre, Behind The Sun: New Orleans, 'See You Later Alligator': Bobby Charles, Janis Joplin: Janis Superhypermost!, Paul McCartney: Working with Paul — A Session Musician Speaks, Kelly Rowland: Real Girl Talk, Michie Mee is the First Lady of Toronto Hip-Hop and The Comet is Coming: Interstellar Apocalypse.

In this episode we're joined by the esteemed Joe "Mr. C" McEwen, who Zooms in from L.A. to reminisce about his storied career as a writer, DJ and A&R man. We begin in our guest's native Philadelphia, where his teenage mind was blown by a James Brown show in 1966, and follow him up to his adopted Boston. He recalls his early reviews for The Boston Phoenix and revisits his 1975 homage to Sam Cooke for The Real Paper. His 1977 encounter with a 19-year-old Michael Jackson prompts discussion of a comparatively low point in the future superstar's career. From the same year, Joe's profile of Joe Tex leads into clips from the late Cliff White's glorious audio interview with the country-soul legend who'd just scored a hit with the discofied 'Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)'. We discuss Tex's place in the southern soul pantheon before moving on to the marvellous Lost Soul compilations "Mr. C" assembled in 1982. We hear about Joe's A&R years at Columbia and then Sire/Reprise, taking in reminiscences of British bands Ride, Primal Scream and My Bloody Valentine. He also revisits his working friendships with Sire founder Seymour Stein and with previous RBP podcast guests Geoff Travis, Alan McGee and Rob Dickins. We hear about his role in the '90s "alt.country" phenomenon via the signing of Uncle Tupelo and his subsequent association with spinoff bands Wilco and Son Volt. We conclude with the Sire signing of Muscle Shoals legend Dan Penn for 1994's Do Right Man album. Mark talks us out with quotes from newly-added library pieces about sometime Ikette P.P. Arnold (1967), the Stones' Keith Richard(s) (1969), doomed dub poet Mikey Smith (1983) and the deeply druggy Alice in Chains (1993)... after which Jasper wraps up the episode with his thoughts on pieces about laptop pop (2001) and Kendrick Lamar (2012). Many thanks to special guest Joe McEwen. Pieces discussed: Sam Cooke, Michael Jackson, Joe Tex: The Soul Of An Underdog, Joe Tex audio, Lost Soul, Vols. 1-3, Uncle Tupelo live, Uncle Tupelo: Are you ready for the alt. country?, Wilco: Last Twang in Town, Dan Penn: Once More With Feeling, P.P. Arnold, Keith Richard(s), Mikey Smith: Poet and His Roots, Alice in Chains: Misery loves company, Laptop punk and the powerbook pop and Kendrick Lamar: Inside the Year's Best Album.

In this episode the marvellous Mark Williams Zooms in from mid-Wales to regale us with tales from the heyday of the UK's underground press and his later involvement with the L.A. punk scene. We start in mid-'60s Newcastle – where our guest drummed with beat combo the Jailbirds – and move on to his days at the Birmingham Arts Lab via a flat above London's hallowed 2i's coffee bar. A return to the capital in late '68 brings Mark to the offices of leading underground paper International Times (a.k.a. it) and his irregularly-recompensed stint as the editor of its "Plug & Socket" music section. A weekend in the arms of Janis Joplin is among the highlights of his it tenure before he departs to launch the short-lived Strange Days – for which he was due to interview Jimi Hendrix on the day after the guitarist died. It being 50 years since the first Knebworth festival, we revisit that Allmans-headlined "Bucolic Frolic" and discuss the phenomenon of such gatherings. Jumping forward five years, we hear about our guest's years in Los Angeles and his work with Slash (the publication and the label) – the Germs connection leading into clips from a 1983 John Tobler audio interview with Joan Jett. Finally we hear about the 1981 launch of Felix Dennis' splendidly opportunistic New Music News and Mark's memories of editing his hilarious pal Tom Hibbert. Mark talks us out with quotes from newly-added library pieces about teen heartthrob Bobby Vinton (1962), the broken-through Doors (1967), infamous Stone/Beatles lawyer/manager Allen Klein (1969) and southern-soul Mecca Muscle Shoals (1970)... after which Jasper wraps up the episode with his thoughts on militant (and prescient) rappers Dead Prez (2003) and the enduring influence of Chic (2021). Many thanks to special guest Mark Williams. Pieces discussed: Janis Joplin: Janis, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones: Free Concerts,When the Allman Brothers Band Headlined the First Knebworth, Cancel the inquest: the festival she lives, Knebworth: Great music but a non-event, Letter from Britain, L.A. Punk: Pogo-ing On The Fault Line, Joan Jett audio, It's Tom Hibbert's World, Bobby Vinton, The Doors, Allen Klein, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Dead Prez and The Chic Effect.

In this episode we welcome John Doran and Luke Turner to downtown Hammersmith and invite them to talk about their much-loved and newly-revamped Quietus "webzine". (That's Noughties-speak, for all you kids out there.) The intrepid duo look back on the 2008 birth of their baby and reflect on its survival and evolution over the subsequent 16 years. Quotes from pieces they wrote about Kanye West (2008) and Britpop "fakestalgia" (2014) prompt thoughts on such much-missed Quietus writers – and RBP contributors – as S(teven)Wells, Dele Fadele and Neil Kulkarni. Mention of a recent Quietus piece about Yoko Ono leads us to clips from Mark Kemp's 1992 audio interview with the pioneering avant-gardist whose life and work are celebrated in an exhibition at London's Tate Modern (15 February to 1 September, 2024). Ardent fans of Ono's woefully-overlooked solo albums, John and Luke talk about the relentless racist/misogynist abuse she's suffered as "the woman who broke up the Beatles" [sic]. Staying in the demi-monde of downtown New York transgression, we pay tribute to departed jazz-punk No Waver James Chance, another Quietus anti-icon, before Mark winds up the episode with quotes from newly-added library pieces about the Beatles (1963), the Temptations (1970), Kurtis Blow (1981), Jerry Dammers (1990) and Glen Campbell (1999). Finally, Jasper rounds things off with remarks on Atlanta's overshadowed rappers Goodie Mob... Many thanks to special guests John Doran and Luke Turner. Read the Quietus at thequietus.com, and find their books, including Jolly Lad and Men at War in all good bookshops. Pieces discussed: Kanye West: Sensitive Soul, Modern Life Isn't Rubbish: The Trouble With Britpop Nostalgia, Yoko Ono audio, Q: Why Interview James Chance? A: Because He's There, Bow To The Devilish Prince: James Chance Interviewed, Downtown icon James Chance cuts loose, It's the Beatles! Part 5: How To Avoid The Stage Door Crowds... Enter Through The Roof, Temptations: no trouble pleasing their audience, Kurtis Blow: Rap-sody in Blow, Mandela's Day — The Journey To Freedom, Glen Campbell: "I could have gone the same way as Elvis" and Goodie Mob: World Party

In this episode we're joined from Nashville by acclaimed critic, author and broadcaster Ann Powers for a discussion of her new Joni Mitchell book. Starting in Ann's native Seattle, we hear about her early '80s pieces for The Rocket before moving on to her stints at the San Francisco Weekly and the New York Times. Mention of Piece by Piece, the 2005 book she wrote with Tori Amos, leads us to clips from Steven Daly's 1998 audio interview with Amos and a broader conversation about the wave of female singer-songwriters that engulfed pop music in the '90s. Ann's noughties move to California and the L.A. Times prompts discussion of the "dreamlike" night she spent chez Prince on New Year's Eve, 2008. From there we jump to the life and music of an artist Prince admired more than most: Joni Mitchell, subject of Ann's remarkable new book Travelling. With particular focus of 50-year-old jazz-rock masterpiece Court and Spark, we explore the richness and complexity of Joni's '70s work, her deep engagement with the Black American experience, and the worship she's experiencing in the wake of the recent "Joni Jams". Many thanks to special guest Ann Powers. Travelling: on the Path of Joni Mitchell is published by Harper Collins and available now from all good bookshops. Pieces discussed: Ride the Unicorn: Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Tanita Tikaram, Tori Amos (1998), My Night with Prince, Joni's Jazz-rock and Fusion's Big Bang, A New Canon: In Pop Music, Women Belong at the Center of the Story, Louise: Sheepish in wolverine's clothing, Millie Jackson: The Poor People's Queen and Chvrches: "It only takes two seconds to say: I don't agree with white supremacy."