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Chris
Spencer's favourite Australian rock albums
Most
of my favourite albums are entrenched in the seventies, when I was but an old
teenager, listening to the radio at every opportunity, seeing bands and going to
buy their albums soon after. Most
of the text for this section will be taken from various publications, principally the
Australian Rock Discography.
Richard
Clapton: Goodbye Tiger This
album represents one of the pinnacles of Australian rock music.
Clapton, essentially a singer-songwriter, working within the security of
numerous band line-ups, wrote his best lyrics on this album.
He never reached the same heights again, particularly with his melodies,
visions and observations of urban Australia.
In some ways his lyrics mirrored those of Bruce Springsteen, discussing
cars and current issues of modern Australia.
Capricorn Dancer remains another of his strongest songs both in
melody and feeling, while several songs off his first album are more stark and
intense. However after Hearts on
the Nightline, his work has rarely reached the heights of this period. Disappointingly,
the album was only ranked at #88 on the Edge’s Australian Top 100.
Stuart Coupe pointed out that on his first album, there were Van Morrison
comparisons; “his was electric
folk meshed with a poetic sensibility sung with a touch of blue-eyed soul that
occasionally moved to a bluesy growl. It
was lazy, expansive music that reeked of summer and a carefree existence very
much like the romanticised Australian lifestyle.
Goodbye Tiger was a moving lament for lost youth and a changing
landscape.” The
album was given a major review in RAM but I don't know who wrote it.
The reviewer felt by this his fourth album that he had successfully
achieved an integration of words and music, discarding the introspective
observer to a singer surrounded by musicians, although none co-write with him. The
reviewer highlighted such songs as I Can Talk to You (growling heavy
metal bounce), Goodbye Tiger (atmospheric web of sad sweetness), Wintertime
in Amsterdam (starkly compelling slow sweep), Out on the Edge Again
(jagged staccato attack). ------------- Stunning
and totally obscure heavy progressive with wild pyrotechnic organ and utterly
demented guitar work. Great female
singer. Side one is particularly
good with excellent heavy versions of The Wrong Time, Southern man, Indian
Rope Man. Side two offers an
extended sprawling I Am the Walrus, and their own freaky work-out Out
to Lunch. Great textured
cover.” (Auguste Fayne). I
have to confess that this album remains one of my favourite albums from the
seventies. While its detractors
(among the few that have actually heard the album) correctly claim it is an
album of covers, it is the passion in which they are performed which impresses
me. Ian McFarlane wrote a
very graphic description of the organist’s playing on one particular track.
I hope Ian doesn’t mind me reproducing the paragraph in full.
To hear a woman sing lead on Neil Young’s Southern Man is an
inspiration: it’s a new song in the hands of Faye Lewis. “What
a phenomenal album it is: while the
album is certainly heavy and progressive it does have it’s faults.
The production quality is kinda low-fi at times; [but] it’s a fantastic
progressive album, a hard-hitting gem full of acidy, wah wah-fuelled leads,
femme vocals and some of the most awesomely heavy and stunning Hammond organ
playing to be heard on record anywhere. The
album’s piece de resistance is a surging rendition of Haven’s Indian Rope
Man. McPhee stick closely to
the Julie Driscoll’s version, yet the band’s seven minute arrangement is
very impressive. As the song builds
to its crescendo and the rhythm section drives every onwards, Deverall goes
completely nutso on the organ. He practically hammers the hapless instrument into submission
in a bid to wring the last ounce of raw emotion and sound from its twisted guts!
This frantic roller-coaster ride of
a song stands as one of the defining moments in the history of Aussie
progressive rock, one of the most amazing performances by a band on record for
the entire era” (I. McFarlane, Freedom
Train #3, 1996). ---------- Russell
Morris: Bloodstone This
album found a favourable review in Go Set (28.8.71), written by Ed
Nimmervoll. In the review EN noted
that because of a lot of pre-publicity, the album had a lot to live up to, and
EMI had to recoup a lot of money. (I
can’t imagine why, as most of the backing is very basic, unless of course
there were a thousand takes, and most of the tapes were re-done).
EN continues “On this album, Morris does emerge as an interesting
songwriter, with a sense for drama and emotion, lyrically and melodically,
establishing on the whole something quite his own.”
EN at one stage caught himself comparing Morris with Elton John.
While EN points out that both Cadd and Warren Morgan provide the piano
backing to several songs, the cover does not identify on which track they play.
“But it’s always Morris’ voice that holds the focus, carries most
of the drama, the feeling and the melody. He’s
packed all the songs with a lot of interest, particularly lyrically... [The]
songs are either about love or romanticised tales.
With this album Morris enters the field of the serious, sophisticated
songwriter.” EN rated the album 8/10. “After
a string of lighter weight, albeit beautifully sung and crafted pop songs, [came
this first album], using the then-heavyweights of the local recording scene.
Aside Sweet Sweet Love, the other highlights here are Goodbye,
Heaven Shines and Saints and Sinners.” (Pete Best, Ten Albums
That Shook Australia, Herald Sun, 9.1.94). The
highlight of this album is the first track on side two, The Cell.
While Morris has written some other distinctive songs in his career, for
me, this song remains among my top favourite Australian songs of all time,
perhaps only bettered by Golden Miles.
Given the amount of time taken to record this album, the arrangements are
deceptively sparse. Similarly, the
lilting piano accompaniment proffered by Brian Cadd (presumably) on this song is
very sympathetic to the arrangement. Since
listening to this song in the early
‘70s, the melody and lyrics have remained engraved in my brain, such is the
intensity of the song. The song is one of the few which I can listen to
repeatedly, along with the Friends’ version of By the Time I Get to
Pheonix. I must confess, that unrequited love has a large part to play
in the legacy of The Cell. The
words suggest a spurned lover but they could be related to another situation,
the symbolism of the cell can be multi-faceted. I can recall a radio interview with Morris at the time,
and he said the words “just came to him’ rather than working or re-working
endlessly.” Another
plus for the song is Morris’ vocals, how he imparts passion and emotion into
the lyrics: Broken and shattered like pieces of glass... one is able to
virtually hear the smashing of shards of glass in his voice. Listening to music
during our formative years, can mean that song association will remain with us
for our lifetime. Thus it has for
me. I can hear great songs
(although fewer than when I first began to listen to music seriously) but they
are forgotten within weeks. Why do
some songs affect people and not affect others?
Unfortunately because this song only appears on vinyl, I always listen to
side two of this album, and have disregarded many of the songs on side one.
Of the songs on side one, O Helly and Jail Jonah’s Daughter
stand out, while on side two the Gambler’s Lament is only saved by
Russell’s exquisite vocals, Ride Your Chariot has a couple of neat
hooks (both melodically and on the piano accompaniment) and Sweet Sweet Love
is one of best three or four songs Morris has written (Wings of an Eagle
being another). In
January 1994, the Herald Sun ran a two page article on the Top Ten Australian
albums titled Ten Albums That Shook a Nation. Bloodstone did not make this list, but it made the
Consolation Classics, or I suppose the supplementary list.
Pete Best wrote “ The radio-friendly Sweet Sweet Love might be
the song by which you remember this record, but it is far from being the
highlight here. Goodbye, Heaven Shines, and Saints and Sinners are
all winners.” Alan
Howe writes in an article in the Sunday Review, 1991 which “ at the
time it was Australia’s most expensive and featured a who’s who of better
musicians of the day. Bloodstone
bristled with exceptional melodies, charming stories and pitiable characters.
Morris talks of the saints and sinners of skid row.
The saints are the Salvos, but the sinners are looked upon kindly -- the
abstemious and the alcoholic. The
hit single, Sweet Sweet Love, couldn’t prevent the album becoming the
greatlost classic of Australian music. The
only ordinary thing about the album was the cover.
The original artwork, which had been laboured over for weeks and is said
to have been spectacular was lost forever when the car on whose back seat it lay
was stolen from a Melbourne street.” (More
inventive progressive rock loaded with great guitar work and complex
arrangements. Vocally weak but very
strong instrumentally. Beautiful
gatefold sleeve.” (Auguste Fayne). Ed
Nimmervoll was given the task to say a few words about the album for an
advertising insert in Go Set, on behalf of the Mushroom record company,
so I guess his view will be rather complimentary. “This album bursts with an odd mixture of progressive
sounds and infectious commerciality. The
band has a great interest in invention without forgetting the entertainment side
of the music. Despite a rough
recorded sound, this manages to shine through.” “One
of the most original bands to have been developed in Australia”
(Ed Nimmervoll, reviewing the album for Go Set 1.9.73).
EN considered the album an original album, even by world standards, and
was the first since Spectrum. “Madder
Lake offer something totally new and refreshing.
It’s complicated, aggressive music, a tightly knit arrangement of all
their parts... it’s all intricately woven into punchy, complex pieces that
reveal concrete structures after a few listens.
Goodbye Lollipop is a good example of where within one song the
band can encompass a great number of musical transitions and changes of mood.
They’re more successful however where they hold to one idea and explore it
fully.” A fault was that they
tried to cram too many ideas into too few songs.
“Still Point is a very exciting, tense, extremely original and
fresh-sounding album ... of musical promise.” “Superbly
crafted progressive rock ... with a unique sound, imaginative arrangements ...
an impressive release [but] stylistically limited.” Ian McFarlane, From the
Vault vol 1, #2. “Madder
Lake’s brand of progressive psychedelic blues was the most innovative of the
period. It was an adventurous work,
brimming with superbly arranged material, appealing sounds and imaginative
lyrical themes.” (I. McFarlane, Freedom
Train #3,). -------- Ed
Nimmervoll gave this album enormous exposure in Go Set, with a track by
track detailed description. EN
remarked that this album represented a remarkable progression from their first
album, which he rated highly. Personally
I prefer this album to their first, with Fly Without Its Wings being the
highlight, closely followed by What the World Needs Now is a New Pair of
Socks. Spectrum was the first
heavy rock band I ever heard. Fresh
down from the Mallee I was taken to a church hall somewhere in Malvern, and
there I experienced the rumble of the bass and hammond organ both via the
vibrations through the floor and via my eardrums.
I didn’t understand the music at all, and I must confess Rudd’s
lyrics are a bit obscure at times, but hey... I was experienced!
The only other time I can remember being so affected by amplification as
I was on that afternoon, was at another rock concert in the eighties where the
sound was so loud, that I felt every note in my chest, as the soundwaves pulsed
my breath away. (My ears didn’t handle it too well either!) EN
began his review: “Spectrum have grown and expanded their music immeasurably
since the first album. All those
elements which made Spectrum Part One a remarkable album have been
exploded into so many more facets and avenues, [despite losing a great drummer
in Kennedy]. Most important is
Rudd’s growing confidence to express a variety of emotions and thoughts within
his lyrics.” However even though this is a double album, EN points out that
another song of Ross Wilson’s (Son of a Son of Sitting Bull) was
omitted. I presume that it was part
of their live set. EN’s
track listing went something like this: But That’s Alright (lyrically
strong), Love’s My Bag (a love blues song), Your Friend and Mine
(a hard changing piece about drugs), Play a Song that I Know (a tribute
to good rock and roll), What the World Needs Now (opens with several
minutes of piercing electronic improvisations), Virgin’s Tale (rousing
bit of musical erotica), Fate Worse than Death (song of a whistling
rapist), Tell Me Why (a short acoustic piece), The Sideways Saga
(performed more often by Murtceps), Do the Crab (an instrumental),
Trust Me ( features haunting mystical feel, Tibetan chimes and recorder),
Fly Without its Wings (Rudd gets to play his inventive guitar solo) while
the other songs EN talks more of the lyrical side rather than the music. “
Superb progressive piece, instrumentally quite similar to Egg or early Soft
Machine with long passages of improvisation and some heavy nightmarish
sequences but also many finely structured songs. Instruments to the fore are Lee Neale’s piano, electric
piano and organ, Rudd’s distinctive guitar work.
There are also some good brass arrangements in places plus the odd bit of
harpischord and recorder. Bill
Putt’s bass playing is solid and precise as always. Rudd seemed to be torn between straight songwriting and
ambitious experimentation -- it’s an interesting struggle on this great double
album.” (Auguste Fayne). “
The band stretched the limitations of its art on this double set.
Yet to his credit, Rudd succeeded in keeping the material spontaneous and
injected an element of humour the first album lacked.
A confident, divergent work with the band embracing full-on rock on some
tracks.” Ian McFarlane, From the Vault Vol 1, #2. “Milesago
was a wittier, less calculated work than the band’s debut album, and
show-cased a more confident and adept Rudd.
The album contained a staggering array of inventive and impressively
structured material, ranging from breezy uptempo songs like But That’s
Alright, Love’s my Bag, Virgin Tale and the four part Sideways
Saga to beautifully atmospheric cuts like Fly Without its Wings and
the title track.” Ian McFarlane, From
the Vault Vol 2, #3. The
album was reviewed in the UK New Music Express in 1971:
“Unlike many double albums, Milesago has very little weak
material. The music produced by the
four piece group is witty, inventive and ranges from quiet acoustic numbers to
full blooded rock and roll. Yet despite this divergence in styles you don’t lose sight
of the group itself. The secret is
change and Spectrum have managed to use change to their musical advantage.
There are no definite plans for the album to be released in England,
which is depriving a lot of people of some very good music.” ------- The
Sports were a popular Melbourne band, formed in 1976 featuring an expressive
vocalist in Steve Cummings and talented guitarists Martin Armiger and Andrew
Pendlebury. Influenced by rock,
rockabilly, country and new wave, the band recorded several exquisite new wavish
pop songs that charted well, particularly in Melbourne.
National success followed but as the original members left the band had
less impact. After supporting Graham Parker on his tour of Australia
during 1978, the band was invited to tour with him in Europe and England.
Records were released in the US also, but did not make a big impact in
either Europe or the States. The
band undertook several large tours around Australia, released several more
singles and the fourth album, but were obviously no longer progressing and
called it a day at the end of 1981. After
the band disbanded Cummings ventured onto a fruitful solo career, occasionally
collaborating with Pendlebury who also has recorded three instrumental guitar
albums. Armiger moved into production in TV and stage as well as rock music. All albums are available on cd. ------ Stuart
Coupe continued his article from the Edge but was less descriptive with
the second album. He suggests the
highlights as Love on the Radio, Saturday Night, Love’s not Good Enough
and Mercedes Ladies. SC says
that while the next album, Straight, was a good album, with “hindsight
it’s possible to see that the Skyhooks best work had been completed.
However with the first two albums, they had created two bona fide
Australian rock ‘n’ roll classics and forever changed the face of the music
industry in this country.” “It
was a slicker more mature offering than the first album. Yet in some ways it did not capture the band in the same raw
manner, although their wit and style were very much in evidence.
Macainsh’s songs were still thought provoking and forceful.
The standouts are Love’s not Good Enough, & the Other
Side, both accurate and bitter-sweet observations of human relations. (Ian McFarlane, From the Vault Vol 1, #4). “It
is undoubtedly one of the best and most important records produced here ...
Macainsh’s lyrics and music will shoot down those sceptics who believed he
wouldn’t be able to repeat the quality of the group’s first lp.” Pat
Bowring, The Sun. PB added
that he thought Every Chase a Steeple was his favourite track on the
album and that is was one of the best compositions to come out of Australia. Paul Comrie-Thompson writing for the Rolling Stone,
also agreed with PB. (I beg to
differ! Don’t these guys listen
to side 1? Love’s Not Good Enough is miles better with its use of
dynamics even if I don’t know what a mogadon is.
SM of the New Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1983, agreed writing:
The ambivalent selfishness of modern romance is summed up in this song.” Anthony
O’Grady wrote in RAM: “This is one helluva album.
The energy level is again ferocious, a full frontal attack that gives the
sensation of being inside an active war zone.
Shirley’s vocals are twice as good as on the previous album, a move
from distinctiveness to near magnificence.
You can dance to it, you can listen to it and it’s rewarding either
way.” The
album garnered a major review in Rolling Stone -- a whole page with
picture, July 1975. Paul Comrie-Thompson
offered the following categories the band could fit into: Teenage glitter band,
intellectual message band, Non-commercial underground band.
PCT gave reasons why each of these classifications were not apt.
Later he spent half the review discussing the structure of the worst song
on the album -- Every Chase a Steeple (I’m not a big fan of Symons’
writing but they did offer some relief to Macainsh’s work).
“The music behind Macainsh is influenced by Daddy Cool, Frank
Zappa, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, early Mothers of Invention,
Jim Morrison and the Doors. There
is heavy fuzz guitar, light guitar, country bass, hyper-active bass, brass,
moog, multi-level mixing, light mixing.” ----- JJ
Francis I
can’t recall seeing many interviews or reviews of this guy’s work, but while
looking through some back copies of Go Set recently, I have come across a
few items. ZN suggests that the
Sydney Go Set had different contents to that of Melbourne’s and if this
is so, perhaps Francis was featured more often in the Sydney edition than he was
in Melbourne. John Graham had a
regular column, in the Planet magazine/paper, and reviewed acoustic
music, this album being one. His
first reaction was: how did the hell did they manage to get such a shithouse
sound on his guitar and what did they do to his voice, which sounds 10 times as
good live. JG pointed out that
Francis was born in the USA, and that his work sounds vaguely of Cat Stevens at
times. He considered the better
tracks to be Train and Why do You Think I’m Leaving (which in
live performance are incredible). A
bloody good songwriter. “Exhibits
varying directions and a mixture of expressions. Francis’s high standard of musicianship, thought and
songwriting gently rippled throughout... virtually a live studio album” (Darel
Nugent, Go Set). Ear
for Music
was a short lived music paper in the early seventies. It had a big review section, but also had articles on hi fi
and musical instruments. John
Forest reviewed this album for the paper. He
concentrated on Francis the man and his philosophies, rather than the music.
“Francis’ voice is strong, flexible, rough when it should be, tender when
necessary. The words are always clear, the songs have a basicaly simple form,
and the words fall together well, except on Play Mumma Play, which sound
a bit contrived. Every track is different from the others in style, form,
rhythm, melody, sound, instrumentation, always interesting.
Spacious, peaceful beauty is expressed in God’s Garden, raunchy rock
and roll sounds in Bop Right Over You, and Rock ‘n’ roll Lament,
fast urgency and intelligent use of echo in Steel Man.” JF’s
favourite track is Liberated Roadside Lady, and the album is “definitely worth
listening to”. “
A progression from the first album... better and tighter arrangements, new ideas
and more concentration” (Darel Nugent, Go Set).
Simple Ben was also released as a single to promote the Morning
of the Earth album. Disc
and Tape Review
raved: “ Francis is among the handful of truly original creative Australians
on the scene. This new album is
world class in musianship, production and composition right down to the quality
of Francis’ throaty soulful voice and his artistry with lyrics and melodies.
A great album.” I
never saw many reviews of any of Francis’ albums, although the second is a
warm favourite of mine, especially side two of this album, and the track Countryside
Angelus which closes side one. (In
fact I have only ever seen two reviews of his four albums).
I suppose Francis originating north of the Murray did not help his cause
in Melbourne much. This album was reviewed in Go Set, the reviewer
indicating that this was his best by far: “A gritty mixture of folk and rock
rhythms overlaid with the Francis voice, a searing blend of brutality and
honesty.” The remainder of the
review discusses a prominent Sydney vocal teacher singing praises of the
previous album (excuse pun). Beginning
with Mess O’ the Blues, Francis launches into another strong album.
The song sets the standard and only on one or two occasions, does it drop
from this level. His gravelly voice is restrained -- he never seems to extend
himself -- but the song is driven
by a rollickin’ piano. A
Christian Woman Came is a rocky blues track, while Sometimes is a
plaintive ballad highlighted by the use of flute.
To the End features some great fuzzy guitar work.
One of the weaker tracks lead off side two -- The Big Show: it has
some frantic electric guitar but doesn’t save the song.
The flute accompanies acoustic guitar on 3.A.M. Moonlight while The
Cherry Song is a throwaway with some silly lyrics.
Francis’s voice can be compared to Matt Taylor’s:
they’re both honest with no pretentions, a bit raw, but with plenty of
character. Paul
Conn, in his 2000 Weeks, wrote
that the album continued the style of his previous albums, except on The Big
Show, which despite the appalling production contains some extremely biting
lyrics about the rock business. PC
rated the album 4. ----- Some
albums, for whatever reason, become ingrained in the brain, and never lose their
appeal. For me this is one of those. I
can recall that I was introduced to Lowndes’ music on Chris Winter’s show Room
to Move, I saw him perform only two or three times, yet the power of his
voice is substantial. It’s
captured superbly on this generally sparsely produced album.
A couple of songs rock out with the help of a band; the sound achieved is
a loose jam type mix, rather than being a clinical perfect rendition.
One song here plays over and over in my mind.
To Rosalind is a simple ballad, yet its treatment by Lowndes is
fascinating. It’s melody and
phrasing are still fresh in my mind today, and still after 20 years, I break
into song with a couple of the key phrases.. “ Hello Rosalind, far away, I am
sitting here today with the sun upon my face ...”
The treatment given to the ballad Till Time Brings Change is very
understated, yet it stands up well when beefed up. The
testimony of a good song is how well the song stands up when recorded by other
artists. Jeannie Lewis does a
fantastic version of Till Time Brings Change, and John Farnham also did a
credible version. Strong titles on this album include Lazybones, The House is
Burning, Time Brings Change and of course To Rosalind. MDeH
who reviewed the album for Go Set, also had a high opinion of the album.
MDeH thought most of the lyrics were introspective, autobiographical.
S/he also would’ve liked to have “matched Lowndes’ voice with a big
band, such as The Daly Wilson Big Band.
The musicians are impressive, Chris Gilbey has done a remarkable job,
both in his choice of musicians and with his interpretation of Lowndes’
songs.” MDeH felt the better
songs were Lazybones, the haunting Sweet Sunny World, Till Time
Brings Change and Town of Fear.
“The album is a must in everyone’s record collection.
It’s a brilliant album”. Margret
MacIntyre was very complimentary of this album in her very extensive review for
the paper Living Daylights. While
suggesting that the barriers between rock and folk are torn down by this album,
MM suggests this is the best album Australia has produced! Big statement!
His vocals are very heart-rending. The
album kicks off with Lazybones (one of those punchy song which is
impossible to keep still to, infectious and raunchy), Town of Fear (a
gentle acoustic track), Bundeena Sands (light rocky track with a nice
guitar solo from Mark Punch), Sweet Sunny World (lyrics of Bernard
Hartman sung by Lowndes to a wistful, yearning melody), Till Time Brings
Change (loveliest song on the album, with its urgent brass and beautiful
piano solo by Ian Mawson), Rising of the Tide (features the bass playing
of Dave Ellis and some biting, pessimistic lyrics) while the last song, The
House is Burning sees the band cranking right up.
“You will be rewarded with one of the best albums to surface this
year.” Mouth
Music
After
the dismal commercial sales of his former album, Lowndes financed this album
himself, which means its even more difficult to find than the former.
It lacks the immediate warmness of the first album, and takes a bit more
time to get into. Strong songs are It’s
Good To See Your Smiling Face and Loser which is a mighty vehicle for
Lownde’s voice. After this,
Lowndes disappeared from the music scene, to concentrate on theatre, religion
and life in general. He has
re-surfaced in the early nineties but now prefers jazz. The
reviewer for Juke was not too impressed. Aside of not liking the cover, s/he felt that Lowndes had too
much to do with the album, playing most instruments and producing and arranging:
having a third person to evaluate would have been beneficial.
“[Lowndes] is a passionate songwriter, highly personal, very memorable.
His voice is unmistakable, ear-catching, and satisfying. His words bear listening.” In
contrast, the reviewer for Rolling Stone was more positive. Andrew Jones
thought no one had captured Lowndes’ voice on record as he himself had on the
opening track: It’s Good to See Your Smiling Face.
The country and western flavour of the album gives it more appeal than
its predecessor. AJ also felt the
production was too polished, with the players not being able to “cut loose”.
Other titles are summarised thus: “Won’t be Long (has a warm
sneaky feel), Loser (most commercial), Separation (C&W waltz),
Travellin’ (drooly rock ballad), Tear (rager), Sails of
Sadness (has an epic, Jim Webb feel), Did I See You Tremble (one of
the weaker songs), Yesterday’s Flowers (painfully anachronistic).
------ Stuart
Coupe was a student at the same university in South Australia at the same time
as members of Redgum. Coupe was
given the task, or more likely he volunteered, to review the album for the Edge
magazine’s Australian Top 100, where this album was ranked a dismal 96.
“Redgum hated lots of things -- the economy, the Festival of Arts,
American domination, laminex pizza bars, rich people, Malcolm Fraser (the then
Australian prime minister), etc. They
sang about it in a fresh, naive way that was reminiscent of a youthful,
embittered, protest orientated Bob Dylan (who incidently they also sent up, but
none of these ditties were recorded on vinyl), Like Dylan, Schumann had a
whining voice that sounded like a cow with it’s foot caught in a barbed wire
fence. Later Redgum developed into
a cliched sloganeering bunch who forged a lucrative career out of finding
popular causes and making hit singles out of them, but on this album, they
delivered a simple and heartfelt album, that was kinda like a leftie rag with a
sense of humour set to music. And on songs like Peter the Cabby, they captured
superbly the life of everyday working Australians in a way that no one, until Weddings
Parties Anything could match.” “A
refreshingly honest collection of angry songs with hard hitting lyrics and
strong melodies. Firing the hip,
their topical targets include culture snobs (One More Boring Night),
degradation of aborigines (Carrington Cabaret), economic politics (Critique
in G), middle class liberals (Beaumont Rag), worker oppression (Killing
Floor, Raggin’), Joh Bjelke Petersen (Letter to BJ), and foreign
domination of Australia (HMAS Australia, Servin USA).
With their urban folk style and very Australian content.”
(uncredited reviewer, Melbourne Age?). The
reviewer for Juke, Al Webb, had similar sentiments to those expressed
above: “There’s always something to be said for angry music that works, for
rebellious music that is so full of clever lyrics and metaphors.
The effectiveness of Redgum rests fairly and squarely on their lyric
content. The music, a raw
updated version of Australian traditional and folk music, merely serves as a
backdrop to Schuman’s lead vocals. Acoustic
guitar, flute, fiddle, tin whistle, mandolin and the occasional does of electric
guitar, bass and drums represents the extent of their music and the resulting
understatement is one of Redgum’s major strengths.
The lyric content ranges from social values on a personal level (One
More Boring Night), to wide ranging critiques on the economy, but these
topics are handled with wit and musical appeal that the album is totally
engaging start to finish. HMAS
Australia is the central song both to the concept of Redgum and to this album as
a whole. What Redgum gloss over in
complexity they make up for in the potency of their sting.
All the issues they broach are seen from the underdogs’ point of
view.” A summary of the issues:
Struggling immigrants (Killing Floor), TV (One More Boring Night in
Adelaide), loneliness of the late night cab driver (Peter the Cabby),
rich man’s daughter relationship (So Goodbye).
“There’s more than a modicum of humour over the album, highlighted in
Critique in G.” ------- SpiritBluefish
BRCD 002Feb 2001 (PO
Box 38, North Stathfield 2137) I've
got to be straight up and announce my bias before reviewing this cd: I
considered Eastick's first solo album, The Southern Line, to be among my
ten favourite albums of the past ten years.
Big call, but the cd had it all. Great
vocals, great songs, great guitar playing.
And the good news is that Mal has the cd available again through his own
Bluefish label, having had it re-mastered and altered the track listing. Even
better news is that Eastick has a new cd out.
It follows the same pattern as the first, several instrumentals, good
song writing and fantastic guitar playing.
Of the twelve tracks, 5 are instrumental on which Eastick displays his
dexterity at playing the guitar. Unlike
other guitar players, Eastick varies his playing, from choppy chords to fluid,
soaring licks on both plain and slide guitar, to raunchy solo-ing or rollicking
boogies. The
album kicks off with the instrumental Jungle Funk, which as the title
suggests is a funky, relaxing welcome to the album. The E Street Shuffle, the next instrumental is one of
the best tracks on the album, with its boogie feel and chunky, fat chord sounds
- Just the thing for all those air-guitar players. Nearly
halfway in, on the track Talkin' 'Bout my Baby, I'm over coming my
prejudices about the change of vocalists. John
Makey has replaced John Eriwata, whose smooth, rich vocals I really enjoyed.
However Makey's singing on this track is polished and matches the feel of
the song. Eastick
is considered to be among the top blues' guitarists in Australia, and this cd
shows why. The material here isn't
strickly blues, more r 'n' b, with a bit of raunch, which gives Eastick more
license to show his guitar skills in other genres. On this album, bass player Ian Lees has a bigger hand in the
song writing, perhaps reflecting a more cooperative band approach to writing the
songs. I
thoroughly enjoyed this album, and it follows on Eastick's performance on the
ABC Studio 22's performance last year - one of the best.
rating 8 (cjs). --------
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