STACK #230 December 2023

MUSIC FEATURE

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just being hurtful boundary. Elton’s distinctive honky-tonk piano goes off on Live by the Sword – we can see the reflected sparks flying all a-blur from his multi-ringed, bejewelled fingers. Muddy Waters cover Rolling Stone Blues winks toward the band’s name inspiration and beginnings. Here, The Stones’ core trio of Jagger, Richards and Wood keep it tradish with bluesy guitars and harmonica that’s simply saturated in soul. The geezers are rough diamonds, we’re reminded. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts The messy, pivotal, and all-so-sudden experience of being a teenage girl has so rarely been reflected upon quite as starkly as we get to see on Guts, Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album. continued HEAVY HITTERS Holiday

of that special kind of girl-jealousy Lacy, and the syncopated party stomp Get Him Back! , but every one of these tracks holds a special spot in the well-rounded collection. It’s clear from Guts ’s opening moments that anyone who thought Rodrigo was a ’plant’ or pan-flash was sorely, blessedly mistaken. Dolly Parton, Rockstar The lady who can play Yakety Sax backwards and in heels (oh, and is also an 11-Grammy winning, 26-time number one song-releasing, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who’s donated more than 200 million books to kids through her Imagination Library program) is back with Rockstar ! But she ain’t doing it alone; the roll call on this 30-track collection (featuring 21 rock classics and nine originals) looks like the guestlist for Elton John’s vow renewals ceremony. We’re talking Paul McCartney, Mick Fleetwood, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, Sting, Richie Sambora, Steve Tyler, and, of course, that aforementioned pianist himself. That’s barely scratching the surface, so get your ears around Dolly’s latest while reading our track-by track on page 26 right now!

Having previously released the first two albums in her ’Taylor’s Version’ series ( Fearless and Red , both in 2021), Taylor Swift threw herself into her next two album re-recordings this year. The first (and third in the series) was Speak Now , which instantly gave us a profound reminder of just how young the artist was when these tracks (including hits like Back to December and Mine ) were written. With over a decade more experience and the confidence of age, her vocals give a truly powerful shot of adrenaline to the record’s songs, creating tangible and technicolour stories. In October came the re-recording of the album which became Swift’s defining crossover moment from country-pop starlet to bona fide popstar: 1989 , originally released in 2014. Expanded from 13 to a massive 21 tracks, the new version includes five previously unreleased ’from the vault’ cuts which Taylor recorded during the 1989 sessions but eventually chopped from its track list, and the re recorded Bad Blood remix featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar. THE SWIFT SET

Unapologetic and without the veneer of soft, modest femininity, Guts is a bold, matter-of-fact record which delivers diary entries about what it feels like to navigate the chaotic and electric years of your late teens. Stand-outs include ballad-turned-punk opera Vampire , astonishingly candid admission

ALSO CONSIDER... Taylor Swift, Midnights

The Beatles, 1962 - 1966 (red reissue) and 1967 - 1970 (blue reissue) For Fab Four fans, here’s a gift more precious than rubies or

While we’re on the subject of Taylor Swift, we’ve got to mention last year’s Midnights . You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating: Taylor Swift did not end up the first ever artist to completely fill out the Top 10 Billboard chart with her own tracks from the one album (yes, it happened this time last year, just ten days after release) for nothing! Midnights is a sophisticated, evocative, and thoughtfully-detailed effort, in which the musician remains the queen of plucking out little moments of observational interaction – the kind which we all have lodged in the pleats of our brains, and which pop into remembrance every now and again.

sapphires: the reissues of The Beatles’ 1962-1966 (the Red Album) and 1967-1970 (the Blue Album) releases! This year marks the 50th anniversary of the albums, and as a hearty salute, both have been expanded with extra material. The Red Album contains 12 additional tracks added chronologically, including some of George Harrison’s earliest works, and the band’s covers of some classic rock and R&B tracks which influenced their own sound. Meanwhile, the Blue Album has gained itself nine extra cuts, including Blackbird, Glass Onion, and the brand new song – assembled with the help of machine-assisted audio restoration – Now and Then , which completes John Lennon’s piano and vocal demo from the ’70s with parts played by the late Harrison and surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Both CDs’ booklets feature new sleeve notes, penned by revered British music critic, author and journalist John Harris.

30 DECEMBER 2023

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