In this issue

539 Christmas In this issue: ABBA exclusive interview + Their 40 Greatest Songs; Best Of 2022 review; Joe Strummer’s solo career in photos; Right Said Fred’s post-punk pre-history; Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band “lost boy”; The Cowsills’ bubblegum pop; Johnnie Taylor, Stax smoothy; the story of Skid Row; and much more

CORPS AND EFFECTS

Brixton synthpop group, Hard Corps, split prematurely in the 80s, with much of their work coming out posthumously. They tell Ian Shirley how they made their best-loved single, Je Suis Passée

10+ mins

Jerry Lee Lewis 1935-2022

The title of the 2006 duets project that gave Jerry Lee Lewis his biggest-selling album in a career stretching over half a century was both a reverential nod to fallen comrades, and the typically  showman-like brag of a rock’n’roll bad boy nicknamed The Killer.

5 mins

musictovisit

Bob Stanley carries pop’s baggage everywhere Staring down the Middle Of The Road

4 mins

maconblack

Ian McCann considers soul brothers and sisters, and blues siblings

4 mins

davidquanticklikes

...to write a column for Record Collector. Yay Remembering when 60s went 80s

4 mins

auteurtoauthor

Luke Haines writes the shuk out of rock’n’roll Prolific, moi?

3 mins

33% minutes with...Don Was

Bassist, producer, and filmmaker Don Was was born Don Edward Fagenson in Detroit in 1952. With school friend David Weiss he enjoyed his first success in Was (Not Was) when they hit the UK  Top 10 with 1987’s Walk The Dinosaur.

5 mins

THE RIGHT STUFF

Clothes-swapping with Ian Curtis? Teaching songs to Bob Dylan?? Miming with David Bowie? Getting punched by Mick Jagger? There’s a lot you don’t know about the pre-fame career of Right Said Fred, contends Joel McIver of their “avant-garde” years…

10+ mins

Magic Man

As guitarist in an early incarnation of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band when they made career-defining albums such as Trout Mask Replica, Jeff Cotton, aka Antennae Jimmy Semens, had a first-hand view of the bizarre and often terrifying and traumatising working methods of the artist formerly known as Don Van Vliet. He lived to tell the tale just and went on to create more heady psychedelia with Mu. He then dropped off the rock'n'roll radar... until now, as Cotton returns with a solo album that draws on many of the ideas and unfinished songs he began work on back in the early 70s. \"I love the guy,\" he tells Mike Barnes about Beefheart. \"But it took years of hindsight to be able to process it.\"

10+ mins

Johnnie Taylor – Smooth Operator

Although his biggest hit came after he left the label, Johnnie Taylor was one of the bestselling - and most consistently brilliant artists to record for the legendary Stax. He remains a sorely underrated soul artist, a "seducer-showman" suffused with polish and grit, regarded by some as the missing link between Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye. Jack Watkins sings his praises.

10+ mins

All in the family

The inspiration for David Cassidy et al, The Cowsills are the pop family that stayed together: 57 years after their recorded debut, they are making some of the best music of their lives their first new album in 30 years, Rhythm Of The World, was released last month. Bill Kopp talks to Bob, Paul and Susan Cowsill about the rain, the park, the fun, the horror - including an abusive father - and other things.

10+ mins

Skid Row – The Crazy Gang

New Jersey’s Skid Row have 36 years on the clock and a clutch of platinum records on the wall, but far from resting on the laurels of their peak successes back in the early 90s, they’re now back on ebullient form with their first album in 16 years, The Gang’s All Here. With a new frontman and a bright future, the band feel they’ve got a new lease of life. “How lucky are we?” founder member Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo and vocalist Erik Grönwall ask John Tucker.

10+ mins

ABBA – The History Book on the Shelf

For years, music fans have debated about which are the finest songs ever by the likes of The Beatles, the Stones, Bowie, Springsteen, and Kate Bush - those artists widely regarded as all-time greats. But how about ABBA? Surely, postMamma Mia! the movie and musical and decades of mainstream adoration, they have earned their place in the pantheon and their catalogue merits serious evaluation. Pete Paphides believes so and, in this ABBA Special, picks their 40 (plus one) Best Songs. Then, on page 100, RC enjoy a rare encounter with one half of the group's peerless songwriting partnership...

10+ mins

Benny Andersson – "We learned from The Beatles"

And now to meet the man behind those 40 (plus one) amazing songs... Along with Björn Ulvaeus, ABBA's chief melodist, Benny Andersson, comprises what is finally - after years of being dismissed as pop lightweights - regarded as one of the great songwriting partnerships, up there with Lennon-McCartney, Jagger-Richards, Holland-Dozier-Holland and Wilson-Love. And with the Voyage album, their first for 39 years, and the ABBA Voyage concert spectacular featuring virtual avatars going on 'til well into 2023, ABBA are poised at last to be hailed as true immortals. But what was it like to make their first ABBA music since 1982? How have they managed to pick up after so lon-----g? "It was like it had been three weeks, not 40 years," Andersson tells Pete Paphides in this rare interview.

10+ mins

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Record Collector Magazine Description:

Record Collector Magazine is a monthly magazine dedicated to all aspects of record collecting, from the latest releases to rare and vintage vinyl. It is published by Metropolis Group The magazine covers a wide range of topics, including:

* New releases: Record Collector Magazine reviews new albums from all genres, including rock, pop, jazz, blues, and classical music.
* Reissues: The magazine also reviews reissues of classic albums, as well as box sets and compilations.
* Rare and vintage vinyl: Record Collector Magazine features articles on rare and vintage vinyl, including profiles of record labels, artists, and producers.
* Collecting tips: The magazine provides tips on how to start collecting records, how to care for your collection, and how to find the best deals.
* Record collector interviews: Record Collector Magazine interviews record collectors from all walks of life, from celebrities to everyday people.

Record Collector Magazine is known for its high-quality journalism, its informative and engaging articles, and its commitment to providing its readers with the latest news and information about the record collecting world.