THE PERRETT SKETCH

Had I not read Peter Perrett’s dig at Bob Dylan [Uncut, August], I probably would not have bothered to write this. Dylan’s recent original albums, from Time Out Of Mind to Tempest, have elicited some of the best songs of the millennia (“Early Roman Kings”, “Thunder On The Mountain”, “Tin Angel”, “Roll On John”, to name a few).

I was curious to hear his “An Epic Story” on August’s CD compilation, having never heard of him or his previous band The Only Ones. After listening to his cut, I had to play it again to see if it was actually as trivial as I heard it the first time: “An Epic Disappointment”. No wonder I have none of his previous material; he isn’t fit to lick Dylan’s boots (of Spanish leather) as a songwriter. If this song is representative of the overall quality of the wordsmithery on How The West Was Won, it is hard to see why this would be Album Of The Month.

Speaking of tragically abysmal wordsmithery, I could sincerely not

believe how laughable the songs from Public Service Broadcasting and Shabazz Palaces on the CD were. They made me pine for someone like MC 900 Foot Jesus to be resurrected, or Beck to make another Odelay-style album. Style remains no substitute for substance – unless, of course, one does not understand the difference, which seems to be where western culture is at, at the moment. Michael Northuis, USA