Come Back Again... with Chris Spencer

A Magical Mystery Tour: 1967-1971
The David Fraser Tapes: Volume One
Canetoad Records CTCD 028
Various Artists
Keeping Records
16 tr cd

First up let me wish all our regular readers a healthy and prosperous 2002 and I hope your record finds this year are exciting and rewarding - both financially and emotionally. And remember an oft quoted motto - If you don't look, you'll never find what you¹re looking for.

This month's review is of another great Canetoad release. Where would we be without the services and enthusiasm for Australian music provided by David McLean at Canetoad? This release should be another embarrassment for all the major record companies in Australia who do very little to resurrect some of our lost and under-rated musical heritage.

The title of this compilation, comes from a cover version of the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, as recorded by The Strangers. An apt choice, because this collection is certainly a magical aural experience and at times mysterious. Magical because it contains recordings of bands unheard in public before, eg Langford Lever Group, Phase Two, Thursday's Children and 5-4-3-2-1, as well as issuing recordings of other well known groups but which have never seen the light of day prior to this release. It's mysterious because there are groups here of which nothing is known: Network and Love Affair. Hopefully members of these two groups will find this CD and provide some more background for Australian music researchers.

The collection begins with the pop sounds of one of Melbourne's acknowledged most accomplished bands, The Strangers moving through soul before finishing with the heavier, bluesier sounds of the Langford Lever Group and 5-4-3-2-1. The recordings reflect their superb harmonies and tight arrangements. For Beatles' fans there is another cover of a Lennon McCartney song - With a Little Help from my Friends recorded by The Graduate. The Party Machine, an early group of Ross Wilson are featured here, and four covers of the Young Rascals indicates an appreciation of that band, and perhaps proving the band were more influential among musicians than previous envisaged. Other pop groups included here are The Graduate, Perfection, Happy Together and Nineteen '87.

The John Rupert Group continue the soul influence, while the Ram Jam Big Band provide two R 'n' B staples in It's a Man's World and James Brown's Papa's Got a Brand New Bag. While I enjoyed the pop and clean sounds of the earlier tracks, I must confess my enjoyment in hearing the heavier sounds of the Langford Lever Group.

The origin of the collection rests with David Fraser who was a producer at a small studio in Melbourne, who had the foresight to keep duplicates of the many groups he recorded a the BEA studios. The liner notes were written by Keith Glass whose group, Cam-Pact appears on the album. Glass was an integral part of Melbourne's music scene and his close proximity to the action is reflected in his studious notes and assessment of many of the groups featured here.

Another winner for Canetoad - Rating 9/10.

Canetoad Records
PO Box 1039
Potts Point 1335

Previous columns
December: The Models - Models Melbourne
October: Steve Tallis - The Sacred Path Of The Fried Egg - Anthology Volume One Maylands To The Gates Of Hell (1962-2001)
September: Broderick Smith - Too Easy
August: Three Aztecs and a Chain - Down The Beaten Track

Chris Spencer is author of the "Who's Who of Australian Rock'. He can be contacted through Moonlight Publishing.