To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
Latest editorial
Reg Meuross and Woody Guthrie: don’t miss!
STEVE JOHNSON recommends a stunning new tribute from one great folk artist to another
Reg Meuross, 2019
[Rachel Snowdon/CC]
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
Fire and Dust, A Woody Guthrie Story
Reg Meuross
THE recent release of the film A Complete Unknown has hopefully raised further interest about the influence of Woody Guthrie on Bob Dylan’s early career. It therefore seems appropriate for an album paying tribute to the life and times of America’s great folk troubadour to be released, especially by an artist like Reg Meuross whose own career writing and singing songs about social injustice places him firmly in the Guthrie tradition.
Commissioned by The Who’s Pete Townsend, who also plays on two tracks, and following on from his most recent album Stolen from God about the transatlantic slave trade, this album is the culmination of four years’ research into the life and times of the dustbowl balladeer receiving the nod of approval from Guthrie’s daughter Nora.
Similar stories
New releases from Ninebarrow, Amit Dattani, and Lonan
STEVE JOHNSON salutes the mellifluous tones and clear-minded political message of a uniquely relevant Birmingham-born singer-songwriter
WILL STONE applauds a comprehensive survey of love in its many moods and musical forms
TONY BURKE revels in the publication of previously unreleased tracks by the great US folksinger