Music Reissues Weekly: Niney The Observer Presents Lightning and Thunder!

NINEY THE OBSERVER PRESENTS LIGHTNING AND THUNDER! The start of the reggae polymath

Valuable collection dedicated to the early works of the reggae polymath

Winston Holness started his own record label in 1969. Missing a finger, he became known by many folks as Niney. Born 7 December 1944, he had lost a thumb in an accident at work. By the point his imprint debuted, he had sung on a Clement “Coxsone” Dodd-produced track and was working as a salesman for other producers, including Clancy Eccles, Bunny “Striker” Lee and Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Baltimore review - the story of Rose Dugdale and the IRA art heist

★★★ BALTIMORE An enigmatic portrait of the English heiress turned violent Republican

An enigmatic portrait of the English heiress turned violent Republican

“Poor fox,” says Rose Dugdale. She is standing beside her very rich mama and papa in the grounds of their stately home, her face blooded after the killing of her first fox. She knows this vicious upper-class ritual is wrong. It’s 1951 and she is 10. Hardcore challenges to the British establishment lie ahead.

Music Reissues Weekly: Groove Machine - The Earl Young Drum Sessions

A deep dig into the studio musician integral to creating disco music

A few records changed music. One such was “The Love I Lost (Part 1)” by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes. Issued as a single by the Philadelphia International label in August 1973, its release introduced what would become a major characteristic of disco music. This was the first time a particular groove was heard; the percussive use of the drum kit’s cymbals with an emphasis on the hi-hat.

Red Island review - Madagascar miniatures

★★★ RED ISLAND An undemanding study of the post-colonial French

An undemanding study of the post-colonial French

The French military outpost on Madagascar is a “family cocoon, full of love and benevolence”, according to a character in this fictional portrait of the country in the early 1970s. Of course, as soon as we hear this claim near the start of Red Island, we assume we’re about to witness anything but.

Music Reissues Weekly: Blank Generation, Just Want To Be Myself

BLANK GENERATION, JUST WANT TO  BE MYSELF Fresh looks at N American & UK punk

Fresh looks at North American and UK punk

“I hate it, so I guess Eater have succeeded.” NME’s March 1977 appraisal of the debut single by UK punk's teen sensations was direct. In his trailblazing British punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue, Mark Perry was equally forthright when contemplating “Outside View.” “Sorry lads but this single is crap,” he wrote. “It’s not even good crap, it’s just a waste of time.”

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, Tate Modern review - a fitting celebration of the early years

★★★★ YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND, TATE MODERN A fitting celebration of the early years

Acknowledgement as a major avant garde artist comes at 90

At last Yoko Ono is being acknowledged in Britain as a major avant garde artist in her own right. It has been a long wait; last year was her 90th birthday! The problem, of course, was her relationship with John Lennon and perceptions of her as the Japanese weirdo who broke up the Beatles and led Lennon astray – down a crooked path to oddball, hippy happenings.

Bob Marley: One Love review - sanitised official version of the Jamaican icon's story

★★★ BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE  Sanitised official version of the Jamaican icon's story

The real Bob fails to get up, stand up

It was only a matter of time before Bob Marley got his own posthumous biopic, and One Love isn’t the worst you’ll see. For instance, it’s miles ahead of the Elton John flick Rocketman, and at least it’s an hour shorter than Baz Luhrmann’s bloated Elvis misfire.

Griselda, Netflix review - Sofía Vergara excels as the Godmother of cocaine trafficking

★★★ GRISELDA, NETFLIX Sofía Vergara excels as the Godmother of cocaine trafficking

How Colombia's Griselda Blanco brought vice to Miami

When Colombian drug potentate Pablo Escobar made his comment that “the only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco,” he ensured that Ms Blanco would achieve immortality in the annals of crime. Netflix’s new series about Blanco, starring and produced by Sofía Vergara, claims to depict Blanco’s life “as faithfully as possible”, though that famous line “when the legend becomes fact, print the legend” feels a bit nearer the mark.

Music Reissues Weekly: Fantastic Voyage - New Sounds For The European Canon

FANTASTIC VOYAGE - NEW SOUNDS FOR THE EUROPEAN CANON An absorbing dive into the musical ecosphere surrounding David Bowie’s ‘Lodger’ and ‘Scary Monsters’ albums

An absorbing dive into the musical ecosphere surrounding David Bowie’s ‘Lodger’ and ‘Scary Monsters’ albums

In October 1977 Glasgow punk band Johnny & the Self Abusers decided to change their name. This was a problem for Chiswick Records, who were about to release their debut single. The records were pressed, the sleeves printed and the press release issued. There was no time to recall any of it and alter the band’s name. The single was credited to Johnny & the Self Abusers.

The Holdovers review - a perfectly formed comedy that wears its perfection lightly

★★★★★ THE HOLDOVERS A perfectly formed comedy that wears its perfection lightly

Director Alexander Payne gives Paul Giamatti another plum part

Twenty years ago Alexander Payne put Paul Giamatti on the map in Sideways; here he is again, as another punctilious expert, this time not in the field of viniculture but plain old culture, of the old-fashioned classical kind. And his adversary is not a roguish friend but a spiky pupil at the boys’ school in New England where he teaches classics.