Blackhill's manager Andrew King continues to sling mud on Glen...

As I wrote in the book recently published by Recommended Records, Glen was a really funny chap, sometimes a comedian, but he had a huge spirituality and a rare deepness for the typical worn rock standards. With a very ugly memory, pulled out of his usual hat of cheap falsehoods for the bad "Mojo" magazine, Blackhill's manager Andrew King says: "Glen always claimed that he was a junkie who cured himself of heroin taking lots of acid".

Apart the ethic question of talking about a dead person in such horrible way, this memory is totally false, there's nothing in Sweeney's personal story that can be related with heroin or other hard drugs. 

Glen always claimed... what?!

I was so pissed off and outraged that I sent to the magazine this short letter:

"Dear editorial staff, on page 102 of your latest issue (issue 331 of June 2021), in an article dedicated to Third Ear Band's "Macbeth", Ian Harrison manages to write more than three thousand lines without mentioning yours truly, curator of the CD booklets remastered by Cherry Red, author in 1996 and 2020 of the only two volumes dedicated to the band (the last one published by Recommended Records), curator since 2009 of Ghettoraga, the band's official online archive.

Add to this some questionable recollections of Andrew King, one of which was even insulting to Glen Sweeney, related to his alleged heroin addiction.
Is this your idea of journalism?"

Asking Glen's partner and my friend Carolyn Looker what she thinks about it, she writes me: 

"Ciao Luca. Brilliant letter to Mojo! I'm debating weather to write to them also. I was furious at first by Andrew Kings ridiculous words about Glen but actually its such a stupid and unbelievable thing to say that l'm sure no-one will take it seriously. Its such a pity that he gets interviewed for his memories as they are now ramblings of a senile old man. In interviews with other band members things have been said which were totally untrue also and made me very angry. I guess Glen did annoy a lot of people and also talk nonsense and put them on!!! He was a very strong personality and the guys were all happy to follow his ideas at the time.

Peace love and freedom...

Carolyn".

All in all, this is a typical cynic way to make music journalism for the most magazines, disinterested in providing objective information to their readers. It's better to gossip, to feed falsehoods and clichés, to exaggerate things as an adolescent would do in his bedroom in front of the poster of his favorite rock star. This is the rock imagery on which rock magazines speculate (and I've ever detested it!). 

As long as they have readers....

no©2021 LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

The idea of journalism of "Mojo" magazine...

The same old story. A one-page long article dedicated to TEB's "Macbeth" on the last issue of Mojo magazine (# 331, June 2021) with useless Andrew King's memories on the band (one on Glen quite distasteful...) and  some vague considerations by overvalued 'rock star' Paul Weller. Author Ian Harrison doesn't spend a word to inform the readers that the CD reissue was edited by me, that a book on the band has been recently published, that since 2009 this free Web archive does exist...
 

This is their idea of journalism, based on evident acts of remotion of facts. The question here is not that to express a judgement about things, but the basic right for a reader to be informed about the facts that happened.

Just this.   

But at Mojo they are so pretentious and arrogant to rewrite the history of popular music... Very sad, indeed. 

 

no©2021 LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

Spirits Burning's new album with Ursula Smith playing in one track!

 

Just today Noh Poetry Records sent to me the press release about Spirits Burning's forthcoming album involving 'our' Ursula Smith on violin in one track ("Strolling into the Future" (listen to it HERE). 

Here below the full text:

 

"Spirits Burning Featuring Family Members of King Crimson, Steeleye Span, Tangerine Dream, Van Der Graaf Generator, & Curved Air Release New Instrumental Album.

California – “Evolution Ritual” is the 16th studio album from the Spirits Burning collective. It includes 17 new songs, and is the band’s first acoustic-based instrumental album. The album features an impressive group of violinists and other instrumentalists: violinists David Cross (King Crimson), Steeleye Span family members Peter Knight and Jessie May Smart, Hoshiko Yamane (Tangerine Dream), Graham Smith (Van Der Graaf), Darryl Way (Curved Air), and Jonathan Segel (Camper Van Beethoven); wind/reed players David Jackson (Van Der Graaf), Theo Travis (Soft Machine), Bridget Wishart (Hawkwind), Robert Rich, and Dave Newhouse (The Muffins), as well as famed novelist Michael Moorcock on harmonica. The album also includes performances by bassists Alan Davey (Hawkwind) and Steve York (Dr. John), drummer Albert Bouchard (Blue Öyster Cult), percussionist Monty Oxymoron (The Damned), pianist Cyrille Verdeaux (Clearlight), guitarist Harry Williamson, cellist Ursula Pank (Third Ear Band), and others musicians.

Says founding member and band leader Don Falcone, “ ‘Evolution Ritual’ builds on the mystery and connectivity of our past releases, this time focusing on acoustic instruments and real-world sounds. The album mixes folk (English, Greek, and Americana), prog, experimental, and other music genres. The contributions each musician made to this album are amazing. I hope everyone enjoys this change of pace, before we return to our next space rock adventure.”

Since 1998, Spirits Burning has brought together over 265 musicians (from the family trees of Blue Öyster Cult, Gong, Hawkwind, Van Der Graaf Generator, and many other groups). Musicians (such as Clearlight’s Cyrille Verdeaux) have recorded parts in our home base in Northern California, while captain Don Falcone has also done remote recordings (such as flying to Austin to record Michael Moorcock). Other crew members (such as Bridget Wishart and Albert Bouchard) have recorded their parts in their respective local studios. The result is an ongoing series of albums created by an incredible array of musicians.

Evolution Ritual is available now on CD, or as a digital album.

Titles:
1. Evolution Ritual – featuring Monty Oxymoron & Bridget Wishart
2. Caves – featuring Darryl Way, Monty Oxymoron, & Bridget Wishart
3. The Laws Of Umber – featuring David Jackson, Bridget Wishart, & Steve York
4. Abandoned Habitat – featuring Michael Moorcock & Mick Slattery
5. The Dream Find – featuring David Cross, Cyrille Verdeaux, & Robert Rich
6. Far & Away The Lands Escape, Bias Of Recency – featuring Graham Smith
7. Strolling Into The Future – featuring Albert Bouchard, Andy Dalby, & Jessie Mae Smart, Ursula Smith
8. Shadow Language – featuring Bridget Wishart
9. Seasiders – featuring David Jackson, Michael Moorcock, & Jonathan Segel
10. Lookout Point – featuring Alan Davey
11. Outside World – featuring Jonathan Segel & Bridget Wishart
12. Your Better Angels – featuring Peter Knight
13. As The Sky Was Being Painted – featuring Alan Davey & Harry Williamson
14. Theatre On The Other Side Of The Sea – featuring David Jackson & Michael Moorcock
15. Alternating Universes – featuring Theo Travis & Steve York
16. Spruce – featuring Harry Williamson
17. Night Of The Moon Dial – featuring Hoshiko Yamane

Official release date: June 4, 2021
To purchase CD/Digital Album or Digital Album: https://spiritsburning.bandcamp.com/album/evolution-ritual
To purchase CD: "Spirits Burning "Evolution Ritual" CD"

For more Spirits Burning information:
http://www.spiritsburning.com
https://www.facebook.com/spiritsburning

 

no©2021 LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).