"I'm not stupid and I refuse to pretend to be," Howard Devoto explained to the NME in 1977, as to why he left the Buzzcocks. It probably seemed to be a pretentious declaration from an asshole at the time, but listening to what Devoto went on to create with Magazine, it's clear that he was meant for more than just punk: Devoto's lyrics are highly literate, and his delivery is so idiosyncratic and so nuanced that I'd be hard-pressed to compare him to any other vocalist.
"This is a...simple...request. A song called 'Give Me Everything'," Devoto tells the audience on this out of print live album. Few people could pull off that line (only Devoto's friend and fan Morrissey comes to mind right now), but Devoto completely owns it. "We love you, Howard," audience members scream in a kind of response later in the set, to which Devoto simply says, "Oh, shut your traps."
Although Devoto's strange, enigmatic persona can sometimes make me forget it, Magazine is not all about him; it is the music that elevates what Devoto does and makes it work. The guitar playing of John McGeoch (who later played for Siouxsie and the Banshees) is especially notable: dramatic, experimental, and sadly underrated.
When I first got my hands on this album, I played it so loud that a glass on my desk got shaken to the edge, fell off, and broke.
To Download (via MediaFire):
Magazine - Back To Nature: Boston '79.
Gracias. Estoy de acuerdo contigo, McGeoch está muy infravalorado.
ReplyDeleteWOW, Thanks so very much for this, I've had the first three tracks from this for years now but it is fantastic to get the full gig.
ReplyDeleteSaw them two days ago (1/11/11) at Komedia, Bath, and in London 2009, and they are still great.
Steve Murray, Bristol UK