MOJO October 2022 ''Sound On Sound'' Interview

Not a bad article, when you consider that Mojo is a very "mainstream" popular mag, rock-pop (and thus somewhat backwards) oriented. I would have liked to see more on Bill's unique contributions to music - and the incredible range he has covered, and basically made his own. The unique song-writing style that's given rise to literally hundreds(!) of world-class songs, the guitar, obviously (the article could have mentioned the prominent folks who rate him as No.1 - as a pointer to a new generation of readers). The E-bow. The E-bow. The "ambient" magical instrumentals which take us to other realms (has any other musician produced a body of work even close to that particular sub-section of BN's output?). Did I mention the E-bow? I mean, come on - have these folk who are paid to write about contemporary music not yet realised there's a whole new universe of guitar music out there, with a different sound!

Also a four-star review of the Red Noise set in Record Collector magazine. Sadly, though, the review reads as if the reviewer wrote a lively essay about something that really enthused him but was then edited down to 150 words or so.

I have seen three reviews of the Red Noise box set, in Mojo, Classic Rock and Prog. They have all been excellent - scoring 4 out of 5, or 9 out of 10. It's clear that, even if what Bill was trying to do was not fully understood or appreciated at the time, it most certainly is now.

Looking forward to it!

Just noticed that Prog Magazine have a very nice review of the Red Noise reissue. (It's the issue of the magazine with Fripp on the cover.) I gave an interview to Prog last week which I think will appear in the next issue.

I've also now have read the whole Mojo piece and it turned out to be very thoughtfully written by James McNair, to whom I'm grateful for his interest and care.

It's strange though, how these reissue box sets have brought fresh media attention after more than 40 years. I'm not complaining, of course. I'll take as much of that as I can get. But it would be nice if my more current work could grab a bit more of the limelight. 😉😃

Only today picked up a copy of Mojo and not had time to read the entire piece yet, but I glanced at the closing words, (always a good way to get a feel for the whole article,) and read John Leckie's comment that 'all Bill needs is an editor.'

Well, as much as I love John, I'll respectfully take issue with that comment, and for the following reasons: It implies that some kind of 'quality control' is needed, that some of the work is not as good as it could be. But, who is to say what is good and what isn't? What one editor might erase a different editor might keep. What one editor might think 'sub standard' another editor might deem essential and perfect. It just comes down to personal taste and musical bias, there are no absolutes in art.

If an editor favours classic rock, he may not be particularly disposed towards jazz or ambient or avant music and would therefore edit in favour of the former. It''s entirely subjective. and avoids generalisations. I can understand that, if you're chasing commercial success, and an editor thinks he knows what formulas might help achieve such results, he will probably edit out anything that negates a potential success. That's what many producers are hired to do, to make hits, to aim at mainstream success, that's how they earn their money after all. But an artist doesn''t consider such things, he is dedicated to following the muse and damn the torpedoes.He has to do what he has to do.

Editors are valuable for magazines and tv documentaries and so on, where numerous contributers are involved in producing the final product, (though they don't always get it right.) But a true artist and an editor are polar opposites. It becomes an imposition, a vendetta, a negation of vison and mission. An artist needs the opposite: the freedom to express whatever he wants, whenever he wants. You don't have to like it, or agree with it, but it has the right to be what it is. It's unbounded, boundless, free...

By the way, don't think for one minute that the fact that I'm a prolific musician means that any of this music comes easy to me. It's an absolute joy to create it, and I love the process, but its creation requires intensely hard work, deep thought and great and loving care. 😉

I'm looking forward to reading it after I pick up a copy from the newsagent. Mentioned on front cover, I note:

Mojo dropped through the letterbox yesterday - a six page feature on Bill which is more than has ever been done in thirty years of the magazine's lifespan.

James McNair does a sympathetic and creditable job of bringing those who are only aware of Be - Bop into the present.

Oddly enough, on the letters page there is a letter from an American reader who requests an article on Bill Nelson!

My only thoughts on the whole thing are that the opening 'splash page' is a picture of Be - Bop circa Futurama which could so easily be a portrait of Bill in more recent times.

Also, in the albums section, there could've been far more selected from more recent times - two post Red Noise choices is just insufficient. At least Sailor Bill is in there, but Jazz Of Lights, And We Fell Into A Dream etc. etc.

However, good to finally see an article which has more contemporary elements to it, and one would hope that those who possess little knowledge of what Bill has done for the larger part of his lifetime may be made curious to explore beyond the band he is commonly known for......

Interesting to know how Bill himself feels about the feature, and hope you're feeling much better Bill.

Four stars for Sound On Sound.......hmmmm.😐