First Issue Review – UNCUT

Uncut is the latest title from IPC and is a music and movies magazine. The title has succeeded in doing something many magazines aspire to do; it looks more like a stylish coffee table book than a monthly magazine and is a modern cultural publication to be seen with.

Editor Allan Jones has brought to UNCUT many aspects from his former title, Melody Maker. It is strong on detail, features are in-depth and are written with a passion and the powerful visuals enhance the stories. The two aspects of the magazine, music and film are not kept separate, but are combined in many of the articles, for example an interview with Quentin Tarrantino focuses on the filmmaker’s favourite music.

Many of the stories are written from a hard news angle, which sets the title apart, and above, similar publications. It is not all serious stuff though, each month UNCUT serves up a celebrity recipe, this month it is Robert DeNiro’s Banana-Stuffed French Toast. Film fanatics will love looking back at Clint Eastwood’s film career and music maniacs will relish the interview with Adam Duritz of Counting Crows fame. You can tell UNCUT is targeted only at enthusiasts. It doesn’t even introduce Duritz as a Counting Crows member: people that buy UNCUT know and they don’t want to go back to the basics.

Whether it is an article about Sam Peckinpah, Billy MacKenzie or Beavis and Butt-Head, features are rarely less than 3 pages. Nearly half the magazine is given over to reviews, which are also very analytical, and longer than a traditional piece, but they tell it like it is. There is also an excellent gallery of music and movie stills.

Anybody that has not heard of any of the artists mentioned in here should not waste their money on UNCUT, but dedicated film and music buffs should subscribe now.

UNCUT has 162 pages, 27 of which are adverts: this gives an ad:ed ratio of 83:17. Advertisers include Volvo, Becks, Caffreys, Eat Soup and various music publishers.