No excuses can hide the criminal actions of a Nazi fellow-traveller in this admirably objective documentary, suggests MARTIN HALL
‘His music has been the true soundbeat of his political heart’
CHRIS SEARLE speaks to guitarist Gary Boyle
Gary Boyle (centre) with the Mike Westbrook Band, 1972
PAUL DONOVAN relishes a fascinating exploration of the leading lights of the Labour right in the 1970s
BEN LUNN alerts us to the creeping return of philanthropy and private patronage, and suggests alternative paths to explore
A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
OF all the albums that the multiple formations of the Mike Westbrook bands have made from duos, trios, to full orchestras and his present “Band of Bands,” the Live, 1972 album, now reissued, gives us the freest expression of Westbrook’s music.
Over half a century on, its power and liberated sounds create an uncanny unity with the free improvisation much more common in now-times.
The guitarist on the 1972 album was the outstanding Gary Boyle, whose soloing throughout the album’s seven long tracks radiates the influences of Ornette Coleman, a strong dose of the blues, and if you listen closely on such tracks as Spaces, you can hear the far echoes of the sitar and his Indian birthplace.
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