Jimmy Cliff, unseen Beatles and the greatest bassline on record!

Jimmy Cliff, unseen Beatles and the greatest bassline on record!

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold December 1, 2025 Duration: 1:03:41

Twenty pounds of headlines plus rants, theories and the odd slice of old hokum: served hot. Which this week involves …

 

… Jimmy Cliff and how his versatility worked against him

 

… the Conjuror? Eyeball Tickler? The Concert in the Egg? Hieronymus Bosch painting or late-period Oasis B-side?

 

… Motown, Jacksons, Beatles, Chili Peppers? What’s the greatest bassline on record?

 

… what you notice watching the new Beatles’ Anthology 4

 

... why the leading edge of novelty is the internet

 

… from Eddie Cochran to the Bonzos, Can, Hawkwind, Costello and Stone Roses: the pioneering life of label-boss Andrew Lauder

 

… when did it become impossible to date records by their sound? And when did they stop sounding like glorious accidents?

 

… Joan Armatrading? Carole King? Dido? Which singer-songwriters are legends?

 

… what’s “stuck culture”?

 

… is Tomorrow Never Knows the only one-chord wonder?

 

… the link between Good Times, Another One Bites the Dust and Rapper’s Delight

 

… whalebone corsets, butchers’ knives: Nick Cave and the art of 18th century lyric-writing

 

… “Graham Coxon was a trumpet player and plays the guitar like a trumpet!”

 

Plus birthday guest Kevin Walsh: which musicians are freaks and which cheerleaders?

 

Hear Wilton Felder’s isolated bass on the Jackson 5’s’ I Want You Back’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z91l_lPz1oc


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There’s a particular kind of conversation about music that happens between friends who’ve spent a lifetime immersed in it-not as distant critics, but as participants in the culture. That’s the atmosphere you’ll find in Word In Your Ear, a podcast from Mark Ellen, David Hepworth, and Alex Gold. With a collective eighty years of writing and broadcasting for titles like Smash Hits and Mojo, and shows from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" to VH-1, they don’t just recount history; they unpack the stories behind it with the ease of a shared laugh. This podcast grew naturally from their work on the late, great magazine The Word, where they began recording over thirteen years ago, building a dedicated following who found something genuinely special in the mix. Each episode weaves together music, commentary, history, and interviews, moving seamlessly from deep-dive analysis of a seminal album to a frank chat with a surprising guest, all delivered with the warmth and wit of a late-night chat. It feels less like a formal show and more like you’ve been invited to pull up a chair in a room where the anecdotes are plentiful and the expertise is worn lightly. The result is a consistently engaging listen that treats music not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing part of our lives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Word In Your Ear
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