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Baker's Dozen

Love Songs And Monster Songs: Jad Fair's Favourite Albums
Sean Kitching , March 22nd, 2023 10:20

As Half Japanese gear up for a brand new album this summer and a UK show in September, frontman Jad Fair takes Sean Kitching through thirteen favourite records from Howlin’ Wolf to Lord Invader

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Bob Dylan – The Basement Tapes

It was released several years after it was recorded. But the first release of it is not the one that I’m really most fond of. The mix was not one that I think really did it justice. It would have been about five years ago, maybe more, it was reissued as a multi-album release and those mixes are the ones to listen to. I think they’re better by far. It just seemed like they were on such a roll at the time. They were recording probably several new songs each day and it was Bob Dylan and The Band and there was such a chemistry between them, which is not always the case with all of Bob’s albums. I am a big fan of Bob Dylan. A few years ago, Half Japanese had a show in Paris and after the show, someone came up to me and asked me “Do I like The Bob?” I said: “Bob Dylan, yeah”. He said “No, the Bob”. And I said “Oh, Bob Marley, yeah” and he said “No, the Sponge!” And I said “Oh, SpongeBob, yeah, I like the Bob”.