Mojo Magazine Issue 220 (March 2012)

FREE CD! THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN COVERED: MOJO presents a tribute to his classic 1967 debut with Michael Kiwanuka, Palace Songs, The Low Anthem, Bill Callahan, Liz Green, Field Music, Cass McCombs and more. LEONARD COHEN: The great singer-songwriter makes lunch for Sylvie Simmons, sings, dances and discusses his "overtly spiritual" new album. And the next one. Plus: Will Oldham pays tribute to Cohen's "humour, modesty, nihilism, despair and joy."

IAN McCULLOCH: He was the ultra-cool overcoated Icarus for post-punk Scouse psychedelicists Echo & The Bunnymen, who flew too close to the sun, fell and fought back. Andrew Perry talks shyness, egos, loss and legacies with the Mac daddy.

PAUL McCARTNEY: Why is the man who wrote Yesterday revisiting the classic Tin Pan Alley love songs of the 1920s and '30s? "These songs were the roots of what The Beatles did," he tells Will Hodgkinson.

PHILLY SOUL: Gamble And Huff's Philadelphia International label was a soul brand of luxury, intelligence and empowerment in '70s America. Geoff Brown speaks to chief architect Kenny Gamble about how the sound was built.

BIG COUNTRY: Their euphoric guitar rock was a defining sound of the early '80s, undercut by the pastoral melancholy of frontman Stuart Adamson. Keith Cameron talks to the band about the dark heart of their shared legacy.

GIL SCOTT-HERON: A year on from his death, on the eve of a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Grammy, MOJO pays tribute to the Godfather of Rap with an extract from his memoir, a career overview and a tribute from his last producer, Richard Russell.

REVIEWED: Leonard Cohen / Speech Debelle / Portico Quartet / Sharon Van Etten / Lambchop / Pete Shelley's Groovy label / Simple Minds / Bitch Magnet / The Byrds / Gil Scott-Heron / Jeff Beck / Rock Family Trees / Lightnin' Hopkins / Radiohead / The Chemical Brothers / Brad Mehldau /M83 and much more!

PLUS! Thin Lizzy tape stash discovered / The Sand Band / Springsteen live / Jeremy Dellar speaks / Introducing Dan Michaelson / In the studio with Tim Burgess, Gaz Coombes and The Stranglers / Alison Goldfrapp speaks / Gary Numan / Welcome back The Sorrows / In L.A. with Beth Jeans Houghton.

AND FINALLY... the vinyl store app finder is here!