A band that can open with 'The Light Pours Out Of Me' can't really go wrong and as this latest incarnation - dubbed Magazine version 6.0 by Mr Devoto - showed, they've got the back catalogue and they're not afraid to use it.
When Magazine reformed in 2009 there was a sense of it being an exercise in experimentation, rather than a full blooded reunion. Always too arch to do the obvious, God forbid 'play the game', you got the impression that Magazine needed a reason to justify breathing life into the old corpse again after twenty odd years. And we're not talking pension plan top ups here (although I'm sure it's a pleasant by-product).
Here at the pleasingly full Slade Rooms - that's pleasingly full of Old Men - we got our answer. Alongside, 'Permafrost' 'Thank-You' and 'Motorcade' we get a brand new shiny song. A new Magazine song. A new Magazine song in 2011.
OK, let's rewind. It's been reported for some time that the band were working on new material and no doubt an album's in the works. But in amongst a 45 minute greatest hits set (this was a warm up for their Hop Farm Festival appearance supporting Iggy & The Stooges and Morrissey, in Kent...you couldn't make that up, could you?) up pops one previously unheard of song to confound us.
On one listen it owes something of a debt to Joy Division, with a naggingly familiar Hookyesque foundation. Time will tell, but it fitted in with a set that illustrates why Magazine have stood the test of time so well, why they are so often referenced and why they will probably bear listening to in another 20 years.
Having said all that there is still that element of cabaret as with all reformations. Barry Adamson's other commitments mean that Jon 'Stan' White has stepped into the old Jazz Devil's shoes for this tour. Big shoes to fill and while White can't hope to be the same character as Adamson had become by the 2009 dates, he certainly did a good job musically (although I know others would disagree).
It's the same dilemma as guitarist Noko faces. Clearly a good musician in his own right, but how much is he (can he) give of himself, when he's got the sizable task of filling in for the late, great and criminally under-rated John McGeoch? To a lesser extent Noko is also covering for 'Correct Use Of Soap' era guitarist Robin Smith, [edit: see comments for correction to my schoolboy error] but it's McGeogh's work that always fought with Dave Formula's keyboards for attention. Both running through Magazine's back catalogue like the greeting on a seaside stick of rock.
It's the same dilemma as guitarist Noko faces. Clearly a good musician in his own right, but how much is he (can he) give of himself, when he's got the sizable task of filling in for the late, great and criminally under-rated John McGeoch? To a lesser extent Noko is also covering for 'Correct Use Of Soap' era guitarist Robin Smith, [edit: see comments for correction to my schoolboy error] but it's McGeogh's work that always fought with Dave Formula's keyboards for attention. Both running through Magazine's back catalogue like the greeting on a seaside stick of rock.
So how good are Magazine 6.0? I've no idea and to be truthful nobody will have until we get to hear the result of those new recordings.
What I do know is that live they're doing justice to a great and much neglected body of work and if the version 6.0 lineup can recapture some of the magic of those first three albums then Magazine will have found their reason to justify their reformation.
Badly shot clip from way too far back, but you get the picture.
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3 comments:
Your point about Noko having to capture two different previous Magazine guitarists' sound is correct but Robin Smith is not onw of the two. Smith was not the "Correct Use of Soap" era guitarist for Magazine. John McGeoch was the guitarist on that album. Yes, Robin Smith played guitar on Magazine's tour to promote that album but his job then was to reproduce McGeoch's guitar sound from the three Magazine albums to that date, (which the live recording "Play" shows he achieved almost flawlessly). Smith went into the rehearsal studio with the bank after that tour but left, reportedly, because he was given inadequate recognition for his song-writing contribution. Perhaps some of his contribution(compositional but not performance) made its way onto the last 80s Magazine album, Magic Murder and the Weather but the recorded guitarist on that album was Ben Mandelson. Mandelson did have a different sound from McGeoch and in my view unfortunately that sound was mixed way down by Martin Hannett. During the 2008/2009 reunion Magazine performed at least one song from Magic, The Honeymoon Killers. Noko nailed Mandelson's guitar part. So, we have two guitarists who have been called upon to reproduce John McGeoch's guitar parts from the first three albums, Noko and Smith. Having seen both of them live Noko just wins, but only by a song: Smith did not quite get the stereo guitar from Because You're Frightened quite right but Noko nailed it. We will never know whether that was because new guitar effects technology makes it easier for Noko to recapture a sound probably more attributable to Martin Hannett than McGeoch (since it was quite an uncharacteristic sound for McGeoch).
Spot on Grainy - got to hold my hand up to that one - schoolboy error. I should have remembered that Robin Smith's only recorded work with Magazine was 'Play' and yes it does suggest he may well have been very capable of reproducing the McGeoch sound.
I'm afraid my memory is obviously not what it used to be!
Thanks for commenting - much appreciated.
It was actually old Ultravox guitarist Robin Simon..according to "sources" (!) he could replicate McGeoch's guitar parts almost flawlessly (although he didn't get the riff right to The Light Pours Out Of Me),however when it came to songwriting or original guitar ideas he was left wanting,so he and the band parted company....
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