Creation Records' legacy is in danger: not of being forgotten, but of being dominated on one front by their most-cited signing, and diminished on another by its founder’s propensity for letting his ego do the talking. Upside Down: The Creation Records Story aims to redress the balance, reminding people that a) the label had a formidable roster long before Oasis appeared on the scene to lash its reputation to Brit-pop lad-culture and b), Alan McGee is one canny operator.
Launching with a £1000 bank loan, McGee swiftly amassed a raft of impressive signings, whose collective work has stood the test of time and then some: Teenage Fanclub, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Saint Etienne and Super Furry Animals, to name a few. And, of course, the Gallaghers, whose signing has long passed into Glasgow lore (try finding an introduction to King Tut’s that doesn’t mention the association).
By 1995, McGee had been anointed Godlike Genius by a suitably-impressed NME (reflecting a level of popular renown rarely acquired by a label boss) and by its demise in 1999, Creation had had a significant hand in shaping the decade’s popular musical landscape – an influence its founder was more than aware of, even at the time. “I was absolutely delusional” he explains in Danny O’Connor’s documentary. “I thought I was up there with Beethoven or Shakespeare, that I was creating metaphysical history.”
While his more recent cause célèbre haven’t come close to defining the zeitgeist a second time (Semi Precious Weapons anyone?), his professed love for Errors and Avi Buffalo suggest he hasn’t lost his ear for excellence quite yet. Nor his opinionated disposition: whether appointing Will.i.am the “true successor to Sly Stone” or rating Charlotte Church “on the same level as Kevin Shields”, McGee’s remains quite the contrarian.
No comments:
Post a Comment