Rhythms January-February 2021 by rhythmsmag

FREE RHYTHMS DOWNLOAD SAMPLER

“We have to tell the whole history and the truth. It’s the only way we can move forward.”

READERS POLL 2020 + WRITERS BEST OF Midnight Oil Mia Dyson Marlon Williams Leah Senior Davey Lane Mic Conway Caitlin Harnett Kelley Stoltz Dave Alvin Sid Griffin Steve Kilbey

HISTORY: Nick Cave: Boy On Fire Chris Wilson Live at The Continental Steve Waugh’s India

$12.95 inc GST JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE: 303

presents 4 Sunset Concerts in King Rodney Park! FRIDAY

Sarah Blasko Archie Roach Lior/Westlake/ Adelaide Symphony Orchestra : Compassion SUNDAY

Tash Sultana Sampa The Great

SATURDAY

Midnight Oil Vika & Linda MONDAY

Midnight Oil & First Nations Collaborators : Makarrata Live LIMITE D The Teskey TICKE TS! R E S E RV E D Brothers SEATIN G

5-8 March 2021 King Rodney Park /Ityamai-itpina Adelaide womadelaide.com.au

Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fundâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an Australian Government initiative.

CD + VINYL CD + VINYL

UPFRONT Joe Bonamassa Tea JoeRoyal Bonamassa CD - JRA90712 RoyalLP Tea- JRA90711 CD - JRA90712 LP - JRA90711

Monterey International Pop Monterey Festival International Pop Festival

Blues Arcadia LiveBlues at TheArcadia Royal Mail Live at The Royal Mail CD + VINYL CD + VINYL

Duke Robillard Blues Bash Duke Robillard SPCD Blues 1423 Bash SPCD 1423

20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

07 08

Volume No. 303 January/February 2021

The Word. By Brian Wise. Rhythms Sampler #10. Our Download Card! Only available to subscribers!

Mike Elrington Aftershock Mike Elrington Aftershock

Lachy Doley Double Figures Lachy Doley Double Figures

Fiona Boyes Blues In My Heart Fiona Boyes Blues In My Heart

THE LONG RIDE

BOY ON FIRE: THE YOUNG NICK CAVE

MARK HIS WORDS

The Mason Rack Band Of Rack So FarBand The Best Mason Best Of So Far CD + VINYL CD + VINYL

Ian McFarlane pays tribute to Bones Hillman, Ronnie Peel and ‘Jac’ Kreemers. Nashville Skyline A Tribute To Bones Hillman. By Anne McCue

The Caravan Moves On: To Archies Creek By Jeff Jenkins

NEW RELEASES

32 Ezra Lee Cryin’Ezra At The LeeWheel Cryin’ At The Wheel

New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers Vol 1Freedom Rockers New Moon Jelly Roll SPCD Vol1416 1 SPCD 1416 CD + VINYL

Joel Sutton Rhythm Joel & Blues Revue Vol 1 Sutton Rhythm &LBM1CD Blues Revue Vol 1 LBM1CD

Joe Bonamassa Live At The Opera House JoeSydney Bonamassa CD At - JRA61071 LPOpera - JRA61075 Live The Sydney House CD - JRA61071 LP - JRA61075

CD + VINYL

Mike Zito And Friends AMike Tribute Chuck Berry ZitoToAnd Friends A TributeRUF1269 To Chuck Berry RUF1269

Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram ChristoneKingfish ‘Kingfish’ Ingram ALCD 4990 Kingfish ALCD 4990

Lloyd Spiegel Cut And Run Lloyd Spiegel CutLS0891 And Run LS0891

www.onlybluesmusic.com www.onlybluesmusic.com

Joe Bonamassa Redemption Joe Bonamassa CD-JRA61069 LP-JRA61070 Redemption CD-JRA61069 LP-JRA61070

Steve Kilbey’s latest project features Roger Mason on keyboards. By Ian McFarlane.

Sid Griffin has rejuvenated the classic ‘alt.country band’ The Long Ryders for some new recordings. By Brian Wise.

HISTORY

An extract from one of the most acclaimed music biographies of 2020. By Mark Mordue. Mark Mordue, author of Boy On Fire, talks to Stuart Coupe.

CHRIS WILSON: LIVE AT THE CONTINENTAL A celebrated performer, a landmark recording, an iconic venue. By Ian McFarlane.

SCENE STEALER

LOVERS’ LANE

COLUMNS

Melbourne-based singer songwriter Leah Senior released an impressive album in 2020. By Ian McFarlane. Davey Lane confronts the highs and lows of love on his compelling new album. By Jeff Jenkins.

REALITY BITES

Mic Conway and The National Junk Band’s new album gets its title from Albert Einstein. By Stuart Coupe.

AH! THAT’S BETTER.

San Francisco-based musician Kelley Stoltz released two albums in 2020. By Christopher Hollow

STILL BLASTING AWAY

Dave Alvin has an album with the eclectic outfit The Third Mind as well as a great anthology. By Brian Wise.

COVER STORIES

Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters Ronnie Earl Rise & TheUpBroadcasters SPCD Rise 1418 Up SPCD 1418

Marlon Williams teams up with Kacy & Clayton for a new album. By Chris Familton.

ON WINGED HEELS

Kim Wilson Take Back KimMe Wilson Take Me Back

MARLON’S BOUTIQUE

Elvin Bishop + Charlie Musselwhite 100 Years Of Blues Elvin Bishop + Charlie Musselwhite 100ALCD Years 5004 Of Blues ALCD 5004

10 Rhythms Readers Poll 2020 12 Rhythms Writers’ Best of 2020 19 Womadelaide Update 25 Bluesfest Update: Jimmy Barnes. By Jeff Jenkins 28 The Blues Train: Back On Track. By Jeff Jenkins.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Shemekia Copeland UncivilCopeland War Shemekia ALCD 5001 Uncivil War ALCD 5001

FEATURES

WAUGH STORIES

Cricket legend turned photographer Steve Waugh captures the spirit of cricket in India. By Stuart Coupe.

59 Cream Magazine: By Brian Wise 63 Technology: Headphones. By John Cornell. 64 Musician: Tommy McEwan. By Nick Charles. 65 33 1/3 Revelations: Lambchop’s Trip. By Martin Jones 66 Lost In The Shuffle: Motion, Geoff Muldaur. By Keith Glass 67 You Won’t Hear This On Radio: By Trevor J. Leeden Is Where The Action Is. 68 ByUnderwater Christopher Hollow

RE-COVERY (MIA DYSON)

69 Waitin’ Around To Die: 2020 In Review. By Chris Familton Album: Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs. 70 ByClassic Billy Pinnell

THE LEGEND OF ARCHIE ROACH

Twang! Americana. By Denise Hylands.

FEATURE REVIEWS: Tom Petty’s Wildflowers, Rich Davies,

Mia Dyson survived a near-death experience and returns to tour on the 15th anniversary of Parking Lots with re-imagined tracks. By Brian Wise. A national treasure, inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, returns to Womadelaide. By Meg Crawford

MIDNIGHT OIL – STILL BURNING

Headlining a different sort of Womadelaide and bringing the Makarrata Project. By Jeff Jenkins

REVIEWS Stephen Grady, Corey Legge, Caitlin Harnett, Calexico, Miguel Rios, Darren Watson, Rhodes Eyes and more.

90 Blues: By Al Hensley 91 World Music & Folk: By Tony Hillier 92 Jazz: By Tony Hillier 93 Jazz 2: By Des Cowley 94 Vinyl: By Steve Bell. 95 Film: Creem! By Brian Wise. 1. 96 Books Memoirs by Chris Frantz and Lenny Kravitz. By Des Cowley.

97 98

Books Too! It Came From Memphis and more. By Stuart Coupe Hello & Goodbye By Sue Barrett. 5

CREDITS

Managing Editor: Brian Wise

appy New Year! I hope that we can put the past year behind us and look forward to a great 2021, as gigs and festivals start up again.

Senior Contributor: Martin Jones Senior Contributors: Michael Goldberg / Stuart Coupe Design & Layout: Sally Syle - Sally’s Studio

Once again, a huge thanks to all our subscribers and advertisers for enabling us to survive the past nine months. (Thanks also to Creative Victoria and the City of Melbourne for their support).

Website/Online Management: Robert Wise Proofreading: Gerald McNamara

CONTRIBUTORS Sue Barrett

Denise Hylands

Steve Bell

Andra Jackson

Nick Charles

Jeff Jenkins

John Cornell

Martin Jones

Des Cowley

Chris Lambie

Stuart Coupe

Warwick McFadyen

Meg Crawford

Ian McFarlane

Brett Leigh Dicks

Trevor J. Leeden

Chris Familton

Mark Mordue

Samuel J. Fell

Anne McCue

Keith Glass

Iain Patience

Megan Gnad

Billy Pinnell

Michael Goldberg (San Francisco) Michael Smith Al Hensley

Jo Roberts

Tony Hillier

Bernard Zuel

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Christopher Hollow

CONTACTS Advertising: bookings@rhythms.com.au Festival Coverage Contact: denisetwang@hotmail.com Rates/Specs/Deadlines: bookings@rhythms.com.au Subscription Enquiries: subscriber@rhythms.com.au General Enquiries: admin@rhythms.com.au

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It has certainly been a challenge to keep the magazine going but I have been continually encouraged by the enthusiasm of our subscribers. That challenge was made even more difficult at the end of October when a push bike accident left me with a broken leg and a prolonged period of rehab. As I lay in hospital thinking of my folly, I was also directing my partner and friends on how to mail out the magazine! That certainly took my mind off my problems. I thank them so much for their efforts. (Some of you might know that I have had several motorcycle accidents in recent years, so it appears my next vehicle might need at least three wheels!). During the past few months, being confined to home because of an injury rather than Covid-19, I have certainly had a chance to reflect. You will notice that this issue probably has the least amount of advertising that we have had for many years. A lot of businesses have been struggling and, as we eagerly wait for the music industry to get back into gear, the situation has severely affected us as well. I want to reiterate a point that I have made consistently over the past few issues and that is how subscribers can ensure Rhythms stays healthy into the future by convincing one other person to subscribe. Or you might like to give them a gift subscription, which would be great. I am also bringing back the subscription CD, in that we will

Francesco Turrisi and Rhiannon Giddens. One of the concert highlights of the year. have a monthly CD offer for subscribers to encourage you to sign on and to convince your friends to do so. As I look at the content in this issue, I am amazed at how much we are able to cover. I don’t think there are many music magazines anywhere that cover the diverse range of music that we do. I look forward to exploring an even wider range of possibilities in the coming year. Of course, this issue features our Readers Poll and Writers Best Ofs for 2020. I always have trouble honing down my lists to a manageable number but, as I was working out what my favourites were, it occurred to me that despite the pandemic it has been a great year for music. Gigs, concerts and festivals - no. Yet the lockdown has produced some absolutely outstanding highlights e.g. Lucinda Williams’ online series Lu’s Jukebox, which otherwise might not have happened.

We are pleased to be able to bring you features on Archie Roach and Midnight Oil who will be appearing at Womadelaide’s evening concert series. Plus, we have an interview with Mia Dyson who will be at Bluesfest over Easter. (Our March/April edition will, as usual, be devoted to the festival). We also have an extract from Mark Mordue’s acclaimed biography of the young Nick Cave, Stuart Coupe’s feature on Steve Waugh (which brings another angle to the story), Ian McFarlane’s revisiting Chris Wilson’s Live At The Continental on its vinyl release, lots of new and emerging artists and stalwarts such as Mic Conway and Davey Lane. I was delighted to talk to a couple of Americana pioneers in Dave Alvin (of The Blasters) and Sid Griffin (The Long Ryders), who seem to be the perfect Rhythms heroes. It is important to note that I am exceptionally proud of the effort Australians have put into defeating the pandemic, though I am sure the battle will last for some time to come. At this time, I would normally be reporting on a trip to the Americana Festival in Nashville and other music events in the USA during September and October. Obviously, that trip did not occur and I cannot envisage an excursion to the USA until much later this year. Thanks to all the artists, labels and managers who have contributed to the latest Rhythms download card which is free to all subscribers. If you want to enjoy the music, simply subscribe and become part of the family. Until then, stay safe. Brian Wise Editor

CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR WITH SOME

SENSATIONAL SOUNDS!

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 RHYTHMS SAMPLER #10

Welcome to our Rhythms Sampler #10 in our usual handy download card format. This download is available to all print plus print & digital subscribers ONLY. You can add the songs to your library, or you can also create your own CDs with the tracks.

Subscribe to Rhythms Print or Print & Digital today and we’ll send you our EXCLUSIVE SAMPLER FULL OF GREAT

If you are not a member of the Rhythms family, then you need to join to get this fabulous sampler. Please go to rhythms.com.au/subscribe and join us. Thank you to all the musicians and record companies that have donated songs. Thank you also to the subscribers who have made this possible.

KEEP ROLLING ON

Neil Murray One of the great Australian songwriters provides a timely reminder of our heritage – just in time for Invasion Day.

LIVING IN A CHILD’S DREAM

Even From Down The Shops (Cheersquad Records) Melbourne’s best power pop trio brilliantly tackle some classic songs.

PSYCHEDELIC COUNTRY SOUL

(McCarthy/Griffin) The Long Ryders (Buffalo Haid Music / BMI) An early version of the title track of the acclaimed album of the same name FROM, In our humble opinion, one of the pioneer bands of the Americana movement.

EITHER SIDE OF THE SAME TOWN

My Darling Clementine From Country Darkness by My Darling Clementine & Steve Nieve (Produced by Colin Elliot, Michael Weston King & Steve Nieve). Written by Elvis Costello & Jerry Ragovoy. Published by: Universal Music Publishing MGB Limited/ Tune Room Inc/Steve Peter Music/Raleigh Music Publishing LIC (www.mydarlingclementnemusic.co.uk)

SOME OTHER TIME

Kelley Stoltz From the album Ah! (etc). (Agitated Records) San Francisco musician and one-man band says: “I thought it (‘Ah!’)was a perfect description of life – the joy of existence against the etcetera of it all, the struggle.”

AT THE CORNER

Mick Thomas’ Roving Commission (Thomas) Mushroom Music From the forthcoming album City’s Calling Me. (www.mickthomas.com)

TURPENTINE

Chris Wilson From Live At The Continental – one of the greatest Australian live albums of all time with Shane O’Mara on guitar and Jex Saarelaht on piano. Available now on vinyl.

YOU WILL SURELY LOVE AGAIN

Rob Snarski Written by Chris Wilson. From Song Gifts (Teardrop Records). (Courtesy of Mushroom Music Publishing) (robsnarski.com).

CROSSOVER

Emma Donovan & The Putbacks From Crossover

10.

STREAMS

The Luke Sinclair Set From the album Heavy Dreams, released January 2021, the first ‘solo’ album by Raised By Eagles frontman.

11.

16.

12.

17.

13.

18.

LIFE IS BRUT[IF]AL Andrea Keller From the album Andrea Keller Curates Monday Nights Live at the Jazzlab - Volume 2 - Meditations for 2 to 3 Players. Also appears on the album Journey Home and our reviewer Des Cowley says it “is a deeply moving work.”

GREY SKIES OVER COLLINGWOOD Bruce Hearn From the forthcoming solo album from the musician who brought us the recent Woody Guthrie tribute. Bruce has made the journey from Strange Tenant to folk trouabour.

WONDER

IN YOUR EYES

Byron Smith Byron Smith is an independent singer, songwriter and recording artist based out of Melbourne with a song about “the feelings that come when you realise the love of your life is falling out of love with you”. (byronsmithmusic.com)

TO YOU

COMING HOME

14.

19.

15.

FIRE IN THE HULL

My checque/money order for $

is enclosed.

DIAMONDS AND COAL

Rhianna Fibbins First song from the former Sideshow Brides singer’s new EP, due early 2021. https://www.rhiannafibbins.com

20. CRASH

Paula Punch From the forthcoming album, due early 2021, from the Sydney-based singer and songwriter. (www.punchpark.com/paula-punch-music)

Even, Jeb Cardwell, Mitch Dillon, Emma Donovan & The Putbacks, Rhianna Fibbins, Allison Forbes, Stephen Grady, Bruce Hearn, Freya Josephine Hollick, Wayward Johnson & The Adjustments, Andrea Keller, Don Morrison, Neil Murray, Long Ryders, My Darling Clementine, Paula Punch, Luke Sinclair Set , Byron Smith, Ron Snarski, Kelley Stoltz, Mick Thomas, James Thomson, Chris Wilson, The Winnie Blues.

ONLY GOT ONE ROAD

Winnie Blues Australian-born, Nashville based duo with the first song from their forthcoming debut album. (winnieblues.com).

Don Morrison From the newly released 40 X 40 retrospective compilation double CD by this Adelaide singer songwriter. (From donmo.com/Music/Don_ Morrison.html)

IT’S THE BIGGEST RHYTHMS SAMPLER EVER! EXCLUSIVELY FOR RHYTHMS SUBSCRIBERS:

GO TO: rhythms.com.au/subscribe

Allison Forbes First single from the forthcoming new album from Allison Forbes, who received four nominations for this year’s Golden Guitar awards. (allisonforbesmusic.com)

Stephen Grady From the album Wonder which shows his ‘in-depth, soul searching approach that shines through.’ See the CD Feature in this issue.

BRUNSWICK STREET STRUT

MUSIC....AVAILABLE ONLY TO SUBSCRIBERS

TRIPHAMMER’S

Wayward Johnson & The Adjustment Title track from the EP from the Perth-based Americana band. (facebook.com/Wayward.Johnson1/)

rhythms.com.au

READERS POLL

2020

AUSTRALIAN ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Push The Blues Away Josh Teskey & Ash Grunwald

INTERNATIONAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Letter To You Bruce Springsteen

Hermitage Ron Sexsmith

Rough And Rowdy Ways Bob Dylan

Archives Vol.1 The Early Years (1963-1967) Joni Mitchell

Live At The Forum The Teskey Brothers

Dark Matter Shane Howard

The Ghosts of West Virginia Steve Earle & The Dukes

Reunions Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

You Be The Lightning Tracy McNeil & The Good Life

But I’d Rather Be With You… Molly Tuttle

1. 9.

Ghosting Van Walker

10.

BOX SET/RERELEASE OF THE YEAR

5. 2.

2020

The Songs of Charcoal Lane Archie Roach

READERS POLL

Rosary of Tears Bakelite Radio

7. 3.

Boots 2 Vols 1-3, Gillian Welch

BEST GIG/CONCERT/FESTIVAL – BY AND AUSTRALIAN ACT

Dyson, Stringer Cloher, Womadelaide

Love Is The King Jeff Tweedy

Good Souls Better Angels Lucinda Williams

Fallow Fanny Lumsden

Sunday: The Gospel According To Iso Vika & Linda

2. 10.

You Wanted To Be The Shore Natalie D-Napoleon

All The Good Times Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

The Unraveling Drive By Truckers

Cannot Buy My Soul Various Artists

William Crighton Port Fairy Folk Festival

BEST CONCERT – BY AN INTERNATIONAL ACT

Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi Melbourne Recital Centre

Patty Griffin, Port Fairy Folk Festival/Meeniyan Town Hall 10

LIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR Live At The Forum – The Teskey Brothers Weathered - Nils Lofgren Band

WRITERS’ BEST OF

2020

BRIAN WISE

Speed, Sound, Loneliness…KV, Kurt Vile Emergency Coverage, Teddy Thompson

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Hard Luck Stories (1972 – 1982) – Richard & Linda Thompson Boots 2 Volumes 1-3 – Gillian Welch Wildflowers, Tom Petty

BEST MUSIC BOOK Paul Kelly: The Man The Music And The Life Inbetween – Stuart Coupe Looking To Get Lost – Peter Guralnick It Came From Memphis – Robert Gordon

BEST OTHER BOOK American Dirt – Jeanine Cummins Agency - William Gibson

BEST MUSIC FILM

TOP 15 ALBUMS 1. Rough & Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan 2. The Third Mind, The Third Mind 3. Good Souls Better Angels, Lucinda Williams 4. Just Like Moby Dick, Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band 5. Slow Dawn, Mark Seymour & The Undertow 6. Dark Matter, Shane Howard 7. Logan Ledger, Logan Ledger 8. World On The Ground, Sarah Jarosz 9. Ghosting, Van Walker 10. Letter To You, Bruce Springsteen 11. You Be The Lightning, Tracy McNeil & The Good Life 12. Rosary of Tears, Bakelite Radio 13. The Songs of Charcoal Lane, Archie Roach 14. The Makarrata Project, Midnight Oil 15. Have Harmony Will Travel 2, Carla Olson

Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine Laurel Canyon

BEST OTHER FILM/TV SERIES Afterlife/The Plot Against America/The Undoing/This Much I Know/

BEST CONCERT/GIG Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, Forum, Melbourne Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi, Concert Hall, Melbourne Womadelaide

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

TOP 10 ALBUMS

1. Song For Our Daughter, Laura Marling 2. Mutable Set, Blake Mills 3. Mixing Colours, Brian Eno, Roger Eno 4. Migration Stories, M Ward 5. Eight Gates, Jason Molina 6. Boots No 2: The Lost Songs, Gillian Welch 7. Rough And Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan 8. Reunions, Jason Isbell 9. Dixie Blur, Jonathan Wilson 10. Total Freedom, Kathleen Edwards

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Film Music 1976,2020, Brian Eno

BEST BOOK (MUSIC & OTHER, 2 SELECTIONS Still catching up on the last two millennia

BEST FILM (MUSIC & OTHERWISE, 2 SELECTIONS) Mystify – Michael Hutchence Nomadland

BEST CONCERT/GIG

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Brazen Hussies, Various Artists

BEST BOOK (MUSIC & OTHER) This Is: Essays On Jazz, Aaron Gilbreath Ornette Coleman: The Territory And The Adventure, Maria Golia

BEST FILM (MUSIC & OTHER) Brazen Hussies Slim And I

BEST CONCERT/GIG

Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys – The Basement, November

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

Musically it was all about Laura Marling for me… So glad I made the effort to head up to Brisbane to see her solo two days before the Covid shut down (thanks Danny R). Then the surprise early release of her album Song For Our Daughter only a month later. It was enough to tide me over.

8. Letter To You, Bruce Springsteen 9. Women in Music Pt. III, Haim 10. Homegrown, Neil Young

BEST COMPILATION The Harry Smith B-Sides

BEST BOOKS Red Hot and Blue: Fifty Years of Writing about Music, Memphis and Motherf**kers, Stanley Booth Janis: Her Life and Music, Holly George- Warren

CONCERT GIG

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

Zappa Hamilton

Richard Thompson live on Facebook June 6, 2020

A Celebration Of Life For David Olney, Various Artists, The Belcourt Theater , March Staying alive!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR Rough & Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan

DENISE HYLANDS

ANNE MCCUE

Seeing my Paul Kelly Biography in print.

MICHAEL GOLDBERG

TOP 11 ALBUMS

Managing to keep the magazine and myself going!

1. 2. 3. 4.

MARTIN JONES TOP 10 ALBUMS (In no particular order)

1. Daylight Saving, Surprise Chef 2. Carn The Boogers, Karate Boogaloo

2020

BEST CONCERT/GIG (THIS SHOULD BE EASY)

TOP 10 ALBUMS

TOP 10 ALBUMS (IN NO ORDER)

WRITERS’ WRITERS’ BEST BEST OF OF

BEST FILMS

STUART COUPE

Lu’s Jukebox (Online Concert & Album Series), Lucinda Williams Vol.10, Heartbrokers Push The Blues Away, Josh Teskey & Ash Grunwald

4. Good Souls Better Angels, Lucinda Williams 5. Living On Mercy, Dan Penn 6. Letter To You, Bruce Springsteen 7. The Beautiful Madness, Jerry Joseph 8. Don’t Waste Your Anger, The Smith Street Band 9. The True Story Of Banagun, Bananagun 10. From A View, Floodlights

Laura Marling, Brisbane, March

BEST ONLINE SERIES

BLUES

3. Rough And Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Blue On Blue, Sylvie Simmons Rough & Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan American Head, Flaming Lips Live in Santa Cruz 1973 (Bootleg), Eyes Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple Songs, Adrianne Lenker Boots #2: The Lost Songs Vol. 3, Gillian Welch

5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Imbolc, Joe Pisapia Myopia, Agnes Obel Songs For John Venn, Lou Turner How Beauty Holds The Hand of Sorrow, Ane Brun Someday, Falu & Karyshma Acoustic Storm , Elkhorn Sara’s Half Finished Love Affair, Ellen Starski Stuff Happens, Stuffy Schmitt Blonde On The Tracks, Emma Swift

1. Plastic Bouquet, Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams 2. Old Flowers, Courtney Marie Andrews 3. Self-Titled, Logan Ledger 4. Rollin’ On, Jesse Daniel 5. You Be The Lightning, Tracy McNeil & The Good Life 6. Welcome To Hard Times, Charley Crockett 7. Bad News Darlin’,Andrea & Mud

10. Shallow Graves, India Ramey

8. Country Lion, James Ellis & The Jealous Guys

BEST COMPILATION/REISSUE

9. Listening To The Music, Zephaniah O’Hora

BEST FILM

10. The Loneliness In Me, Rachel Brooke

Billie

11. All The Good Times, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings >>>

I Put A Spell On You, Nina Simone The Queen’s Gambit

>>>

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs - Vol. 1, 2 & 3 – Gillian Welch

BEST FILM (MUSIC) Slim & I

BEST CONCERT/GIG Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, The Forum, February Cedric Burnside, Peppermint Bay Hotel Tasmania, March The Schizophonics, Brisbane Hotel Hobart, March Sweethearts, The Geelong Club, November

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

Lu’s Jukebox concert series…to watch, listen and purchase: covering Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Classic 60’s Country, Southern Soul and more. 6 albums worth of Lucinda doing her thing.

BEST FILM

BEST FILM The Bookshop

with // without, Impermanence

Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace, Billie

BEST CONCERT/GIG

BEST BOOK

BEST CONCERT/GIG

Will Kimbrough, Port Fairy Folk Festival, March

8. Coriky, Coriky 9. Blue Note: Reimagined, Various Artists 10. Vodou Ale, Chouk Bwa and the Angstromers 11. Vanessa 77, Vanessa Worm

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE

My Tidda, My Sister, Marlee Silva

Soul Jazz Presents Apala Groups in Nigeria 1967,70

BEST BOOK (MUSIC)

BEST BOOK (MUSIC & OTHER, 2 SELECTIONS

BEST FILM

Liberation Through Hearing , Richard Russell The Overstory , Richard Powers

BEST FILM (MUSIC & OTHERWISE, 2 SELECTIONS) On the Record I'm Thinking of Ending Things

BEST CONCERT/GIG (THIS SHOULD BE EASY) Amanda Palmer, Hamer Hall, January

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

The Music of The Statler Brothers, Don Reid

Breaking Fast

BEST CONCERT/GIG Dana Hassall, Montgomery Church, Allison Forbes – Smith’s Alternative, Canberra – Feb

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR Kindness. Virtual hugs. Home-grown fruit, vegies, herbs, flowers. And everyone who contributed to us getting through 2020.

STEVE BELL

Robert Forster @ Black Bear Lodge (November)

HIGHLIGHT Realising just how important the role that live music plays in my life really is once it was taken away by the pandemic, and the unparalleled thrill of being back amongst the action once the restrictions gradually lifted , I’ll never take it for granted again. Also having St Kilda move to Queensland and being able to go to all of their games was an incredibly surreal distraction that in part compensated for not being able to see bands, but also a stark reminder that we were one of the ‘lucky states’. What a ridiculously strange year…

JONATHAN ALLEY TOP ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

TOP 10 ALBUMS

TOP 11 ALBUMS

1. To Love is to Live, Jehnny Beth 2. Truckload of Sky, Friends of David McComb: 3. Istanbul Sessions, Ilhan Ersahin 4. Blak Mass, Naretha Williams 5. Supa Heavy Tremors, Quakers 6. Rough and Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan 7. What's Beauty to Do?, The Apartments 14

CHRIS FAMILTON

TOP 10 ALBUMS

SUE BARRETT

1. Hoping for a Hero, Jenny Biddle 2. Grief Creature, Mary Lambert 3. Bonedigger, Allison Forbes 4. Our Two Skins, Gordi 5. The Theory of Absolutely Nothing, Alex the Astronaut 6. The Dirt and The Stars, Mary Chapin Carpenter 7. Look Long, Indigo Girls 8. Koorlangka, Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse 9. Sunwise Turn, Fiona Ross & Shane O’Mara 10. Domestic, Fred Smith

Stars album launch for One More Circle Round the Sun, Sunday February 23rd at The Caravan Club. What a venue!

1. Saint Cloud, Waxahatchee 2. JT, Steve Earle & The Dukes 3. The New OK, Drive-By Truckers 4. Boots No 2: The Lost Songs Vol 2, Gillian Welch 5. Please Leave Your Lights On, Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky 6. Love Is The King, Jeff Tweedy 7. Reunions, Jason Isbell 8. Eight Gates, Jason Molina 9. Good Souls Better Angels, Lucinda Williams 10. Old Flowers, Courtney Marie Andrews

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE I, Jonathan, Jonathan Richman

BEST BOOK

Paul Kelly, Stuart Coupe Sing Backwards And Weep, Mark Lanegan

KEITH GLASS

NICK CHARLES

The massive Triple R radiothon result The return of live music to Victorian stages: see you out there The Fall of the Donald.

TOP 10 ALBUMS

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

1. Three Chords & the Truth, Van Morrison 2. Jazz pa svenska, Swedish Folk Songs, Jan Johansson 3. Crowing Ignites, Bruce Cockburn 4. Love and Other Crimes, Liz Frencham 5. Riff Raff, Jordan Brodie 6. Fingerprints, Rod McCormack 7. Kitchen Ballads – Enda Kenny

1. Rough and Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan 2. Die Midwestern, Arlo McKinley 3. Golden Exile, James Thomson 4. Reunions, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 5. Old Flowers, Courtney Marie Andrews 6. Gold Record, Bill Callahan 7. Summerlong, Rose City Band 8. The Unraveling, Drive-By Truckers 9. Through The Years, Suicide Swans 10. You Be The Lightning, Tracy McNeil & The Goodlife

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Trees (50th Anniversary Edition) , Trees

BEST BOOK

Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain’s Visionary Music , Rob Young Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE

BEST FILM

Down in the Bottom,The Country Rock Sessions 1966,1968: The Everly Brothers

Echo In The Canyon Crip Camp

BEST BOOKS

BEST CONCERT/GIG

Up Jumped the Devil, The Real Life of Robert Johnson, Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow Otis Redding, An Unfinished Life, Jonathan Gould

Orville Peck, Spiegeltent Sydney , January

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR Releasing the debut album of my own band The Finalists!

TOP 5 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR Spring Break, Will Kimbrough Agricultural Tragic, Corb Lund Rock Bottom Fantasy, Pokey LaFarge The Meantime (10th Anniversary Edition), Randall Bramlett 5. County Seat, Will Stewart

1. 2. 3. 4.

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE M.I.C Volume 1. Charlie Parr/Ryan Culwell/ Richard Buckner/Malcolm Holcombe/ Tim Easton/The Tumbleweeds/Ramsay Midwood/Will Johnson/Gurf Morlix/Ray Bonneville/Marie/Lepanto ROOTS ON RECORD (Limited Edition)

BEST BOOKS

Boy On Fire , The Young Nick Cave , Mark Mordue "and on piano...NICKY HOPKINS”, Julian Dawson (been out a while, just got 'round to reading it)

BEST FILMS The Art Of Racing In The Rain Ford V Ferrari

BEST CONCERT/GIG None!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR Making it from A to B

>>> 15

TONY HILLIER

>>>

AL HENSLEY

TOP 10 ALBUMS (Alphabetical order) A Dark Murmuration Of Words, Emily Barker Dark Matter, Shane Howard Espiral, OKAN Home Recordings, Martin Simpson Old Wow, Sam Lee Rough And Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan Song To A Refugee, Diana Jones Te Lo Dije, Harold López,Nussa The Path Of Stones, John Doyle To Know Without Knowing, Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE TOP 10 ALBUMS 1. My Blues Pathway, Kirk Fletcher 2. Ice Cream In Hell, Tinsley Ellis 3. For Jimmy, Wes And Oliver, Christian McBride Big Band 4. Shuffle And Deal, Eddie Henderson 5. Lácher Prise, Michael Doucet 6. Live At Rosa's, Linsey Alexander 7. Stand Up!, Whitney Shay 8. Angels Around, Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio 9. Natural Energy, The Jakob Manz Project 10. Come On In, Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado

BEST COMPILATION/REISSUE The Essential, Annie Laurie

BEST BOOK Play On, Mick Fleetwood (Music) Lancaster Men, Peter Rees (Other)

BEST FILM

Hard Luck Stories (1972,1982), Richard & Linda Thompson

BEST MUSIC BOOK & NON-MUSIC BOOK Paul Kelly: The Man, The Music and The Life In-Between, Stuart Coupe A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel, Amor Towles

BEST MUSIC FILM

David Byrne’s American Utopia

TOP 10 ALBUMS The Quarantine Tapes, Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips Traditional Techniques, Stephen Malkmus In This House, Lewsberg Land of No Junction, Aoife Nessa Frances Sleepless Night, Yo La Tengo Ah! (etc), Kelley Stoltz What’s New, Tomboy?, Damien Jurado Blonde on the Tracks, Emma Swift Music from First Cow, William Tyler Confetti, Little Mix Bees, Bones and Jones

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Archives, Vol. II, Neil Young

BEST BOOK A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen, Sylvie Simmons

BEST FILM First Cow Beastie Boys Story

BEST CONCERT/GIG Dave Graney & Clare Moore, The Ponderosa (their home), November

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR? Music-wise, managing to feel closer to my favourite artists thanks to various quarantine shows and releases via Zoom. Life-wise, lockdown was hard, but it feels, for the first time in my lifetime, like the community has come together and made sacrifices to achieve something for the greater good.

Barry Charles Band, Majestic Theatre, Pomona, February

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR Resumption of Sunshine Coast Blues Club at Palmwoods Bowls Club in August after five months of lockdown. 16

BEST COMPILATION/REISSUE

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE:

Horsehead, Corner Hotel, February

The Complete Birth of The Cool, Miles Davis

BEST BOOK (MUSIC & OTHER) How Melbourne Became The Music Capital of The World, Craig Horne (Melbourne Books) The Lady Swings: Memoirs of a Jazz Drummer by Dottie Dodgion and Wayne Enstice (University of Illinois Press)

BEST FILM (MUSIC & OTHERWISE) Gaza Fight for Freedom by Abby Martin (US documenrary)

BEST CONCERT/GIG: Steve Smith and Vital Information at Bird’s Basement.

‘Akilotoa, Anthology 1994,2006, Vika & Linda

BEST BOOKS

Small Moments of Glory, Jack Howard Party Animals, Samantha Maiden

BEST FILMS

Echo In The Canyon Guillermo Vilas: Settling The Score

BEST GIG

HIGHLIGHTS

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. When I walked out of the Corner Hotel in February after seeing my all,time favourite band, Horsehead, do their first gig in 20 years, I said, “If the world ends tomorrow and I never see another gig, I die happy.” Little did I know … But during lockdown, I rediscovered Del Amitri – a seriously great band that I had overlooked in the ’90s. And I saw the mighty Melbourne Storm win another premiership.

CHRIS LAMBIE

JEFF JENKINS

WRITERS’ BEST OF

2020

Paul Kelly: The Man, The Music And The Life In Between, Stuart Coupe

BEST FILM (MUSIC & OTHER) David Byrne's American Utopia David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet

BEST CONCERT/GIG

Womadelaide. Just snuck in this global party before the curtain fell on 2020 festival fun.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

The burst of new music from locked down artists – composed, recorded and live streamed. Thank you for helping us all get through the strange stillness. And the return of AccaDacca. Bless ‘em.

TREVOR LEEDEN

ANDRA JACKSON

BEST CONCERTS

TOP 10 ALBUMS

Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi, Foundation Stage, WOMADelaide, March 7 Ezra Collective, Stage 3, WOMADelaide, March 8

TOP 10 ALBUMS

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR WOMADelaide 2020

CHRISTOPHER HOLLOW

Little Ol' Band From Texas, ZZ Top (Music) 1917 (Other)

BEST CONCERT/GIG

4. Haven, Kristin Berardi, Sean Foran & Rafael Karlen 5. Please Leave Your Light On, Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky 6. Andrea Keller Curates Monday Nights Live at Jazzlab. Volume 1, The Composers Circle. 7. The Young Ones, Josh Kelly Group 8. All That Is Not Solid, Luke Howard 9. The Sweetest Taboo, Katie Noonan 10. Forever More, Nat Bartsch

TOP 10 Jazz ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

1. Love is A Temporary Madness, Vanessa Perica Orchestra 2. This World, Mike Nock, Hamish Stuart, Julien Wilson and Jonathan Zwartz. 3. Stock, Julien Wilson

1. Slow Dawn, Mark Seymour & The Undertow 2. Letter To You, Bruce Springsteen 3. Our Two Skins, Gordi 4. Welcome to the Making of the World, Dan Flynn 5. No Weapon But Love, Icecream Hands 6. The Theory of Absolutely Nothing, Alex the Astronaut 7. Toon Town Lullaby, James Reyne 8. The Dangerous Age, Kate Ceberano, Steve Kilbey, Sean Sennett 9. A Simple Trick To Happiness, Lisa Loeb 10. One More Circle Round The Sun,Stars

I Got A Story, Lisa Richardson Ghosting, Van Walker Colour By Numbers, Leah Flanagan Driving Roads, This Way North (EP) Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso) – Vika & Linda Bull 6. Crossover, Emma Donovan & The PutBacks 7. This Is What Happiness Looks Like , Kylie Auldist 8. FANM:WOMAN, Grace Barbe 9. Push The Blues Away, Josh Teskey & Ash Grunwald 10. In The Wimmera, Danny Walsh Banned 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Goats Head Soup, The Rolling Stones

BEST BOOK (MUSIC & OTHER) Confessions of a Lighthouse Keeper, Greg Appel

TOP 10 ALBUMS 1. En Español, The Mavericks 2. The Third Mind, The Third Mind 3. The Land That Time Forgot, Chuck Prophet 4. The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs Of Mickey Newbury, Gretchen Peters 5. Walkabout, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets 6. Welcome To Hard Times, Charley Crockett 7. CHICKABOOM!, Tami Neilson 8. Hate For Sale, The Pretenders 9. Bare As Bone, Bright As Blood, The Pretty Things 10. Lacher Prise, Michael Doucet

>>>

WRITERS’ BEST OF

2020

>>>

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Gimme Some Truth, John Lennon Crooked Pieces Of Time, John Prine

BEST BOOK

Taking The World By Storm: A Conversation With Warren “Storm” Schexnider, By Yvette Landry Beyond The Mirage: An Autobiography By Arthur W. Upfield

BEST FILM (MUSIC & OTHERWISE, 2 SELECTIONS) Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson & The Band

BEST CONCERT/GIG

Two stellar shows that would not have been surpassed regardless of who was meant to come: Nick Lowe, Los Straitjackets, Jim Lauderdale – The Enmore/The Forum – February

6. Saint Cloud, Waxahatchee 7. Good Souls Better Angels, Lucinda Williams 8. LP5, John Moreland 9. The Balladeer, Lori McKenna 10. Keeper, Elliott Brood

BEST BOOK (MUSIC & OTHER)

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE

JoJo Rabbit – Director Taika Waititi Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band – Director Daniel Roher

Parking Lots, Mia Dyson

BEST BOOK (MUSIC & OTHER) 2 SELECTIONS

Paul Kelly: The Man, the Music and the Life in Between, Stuart Coupe Transparencies: Small Camera Works 1971–1979, Stephen Shore

BEST FILM (MUSIC & OTHERWISE, 2 SELECTIONS) Idiot Prayer, Nick Cave The Photographer of Mauthausen

Any day with no new COVID-19 cases

BILLY PINNELL

TOP 11 ALBUMS To Iceland ! To Iceland !, Antelodic Demons, Nathan Cavaleri Guitar Music, Nick Charles A Certain Reputation, John Dowler & The Vanity Project, 5. Rough And Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan 6. Flow, Tony Faehse 7. Daisywheel, Ruth Hazleton 8. Ordinary Man, Ozzy Osbourne 9. Letter To You, Bruce Springsteen 10. The South Lands, Floyd Thursby & Mademoiselle 11. Homegrown, Neil Young 1. 2. 3. 4.

TOP 10 ALBUMS

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

Natalie D-Napoleon's album You Wanted To Be The Shore But Instead You Were The Sea receiving so much kudos. Kamala Harris going to the White House. The Head On Photo Festival finally taking place at Bondi Beach.

BRETT LEIGH DICKS

Total Freedom, Kathleen Edwards Punisher, Phoebe Bridgers Ghosts, Cowboy Junkies Nyaaringu, Miiesha Seasonal Shift, Calexico

The Black Sorrows, Macedon Hotel, March

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

Cultivating facial growth during lockdown that was worthy of honorary membership of ZZ Top, as well as rediscovering lost treasures in the record collection.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

BEST CONCERT/GIG (THIS SHOULD BE EASY)

Natalie D-Napoleon, Duke of George, November

IAN MCFARLANE

1. The Passing Scene, Leah Senior 2. Two To One, James Williamson & Deniz Tek 3. Eternal, All India Radio 4. Daisy Wheel, Ruth Hazelton 5. 12 Stitches, John Dowler’s Vanity Project 6. Steve Tallis, Where Many Rivers Meet 7. One More Circle Round The Sun, Stars 8. West Coast Highway Cosmic, Datura 4 9. The Slow Rush, Tame Impala 10. Shore, Fleet Foxes

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE G Stands For Go, Betweens Volume 2, The Go,Betweens

SAMPA THE GREAT

BEST FILM (MUSIC & OTHER)

BEST CONCERT/GIG (THIS SHOULD BE EASY)

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

TOP 10 ALBUMS

Paul Kelly The Man, The Music And The Life In Between, Stuart Coupe The Bondi Lifesaver Sydney’s 1970s Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll HQ, Craig Griffiths

A DIFFERENT

BEST COMPILATION REISSUE Beramiada, Jackie Orszaczky

BEST BOOK:

The Indian Sun:The Life And Music Of Ravi Shankar, Oliver Craske

BEST FILM

Lynyrd Skynyrd Last Of The Street Survivors Farewell Tour (Non-musical) The Trial Of The Chicago 7

BEST CONCERT:

Deborah Conway,Willy Zygier,Alma Zygier / Memo Music Hall March 10th.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR:

Nathan Cavaleri Australian Story (ABC TV)

f 2020 was a year like we have never known before then standby for more. This year’s WOMADelaide will be unlike any you have ever experienced. For starters, there is a change of location: from Botannic Park to the smaller King Rodney Park, not far away. The festival concept has morphed into a limited-capacity, four-evening concert series from March 5 – 8, featuring two appearances by Midnight Oil, who will close the final evening with First Nations Collaborators and Makaratta Live. “We are delighted to once again welcome back Midnight Oil and, for a record seventh appearance, Archie Roach to WOMADelaide next year” said Director, Ian Scobie “2020 has been a year of extraordinary challenges, but in being able to present artists of the stature of Midnight Oil and Archie Roach, along with all the artists announced today for our reconfigured event, we are certain that WOMADelaide will truly be unmissable over the festival long weekend.” “We’re pleased and excited to be renewing our connection with WOMADelaide with these two very different shows. It’s an event with which our band has had a long and strong connection”, said Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett. “Lots of the songs which have struck the deepest chords with our audiences over the years, like ‘Beds Are Burning’, ‘Jimmy Sharman’s Boxers’, ‘The Dead Heart’ and ’Truganini’, revolve around Indigenous issues so we’re particularly inspired to be playing a special set for Makarrata Live that combines older songs like those with newer songs that share similar lyrical themes.” (Midnight Oil performed at WOMADelaide 1997 and have not played in Adelaide since 2017). The band’s Saturday night show will feature an exclusive set of classic songs from their immense back-catalogue. Monday night will see the official world premiere of Makarrata Live, a unique concert presentation of songs from their acclaimed #1 mini-album, The Makarrata Project as well as classic Oils songs which revolve around themes of Indigenous Reconciliation. This special event will feature prominent First Nations artists who collaborated on The Makarrata Project, which seeks to elevate public awareness of The Uluru Statement. Also playing on Saturday night March 6 will be sisters Vika & Linda Bull whose 2020

releases, Akilotoa – Anthology 1994-2006 and Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso) - made during lockdown and a reflection of their popular ‘Sunday sing-song sessions’ at home - have cemented their place in the hearts of the nation. Friday night March 5 will feature the farewell WOMADelaide appearance by one of Australia’s most acclaimed singersongwriters, 2020 ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, Archie Roach. This year Uncle Archie released The Songs of Charcoal Lane, a re-imagining of the heart-wrenching songs of the original album, 30 years on, and this will be the nucleus of his WOMADelaide performance. On Friday night, Sarah Blasko will celebrate the 10th anniversary and re-issue of her 2011 album, As Day Follows Night. The album saw Blasko take out Triple J Album of The Year and the ARIA for Female Artist Of The Year, went on to achieve platinum status and was listed at #19 in the book 100 Best Australian Albums. Friday night will open with the symphonic song cycle, Compassion, a unique collaboration between treasured Australian artists, singer-songwriter Lior and acclaimed

Australian composer Nigel Westlake, accompanied by a 54-piece Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Compassion draws from the rich worlds of Judaism and Islam to present a collection of profound and poetic messages surrounding the idea of compassion between human beings. Sunday night March 7 will feature Tash Sultana who will perform for the first time with a full live band. They will make their WOMADelaide debut hot on the heels of the release of their new album TERRA FIRMA, which is released in February. Also performing on Sunday night is Zambianborn, Botswana-raised Sampa The Great, who not only won the 2020 ARIA Award for Best Female Artist, but also Best Hip Hop and Best Independent Release for her stunning debut album The Return, which debuted on the Australian charts at #12. On Monday night the much-loved soulful blues outfit The Teskey Brothers hit the stage, opening for the Oils. ‘The Teskeys’ have become crowd favourites at major festivals the world over and recently took out back-to-back awards for Best Blues and Roots Album at the ARIA. 19

BY IAN McFARLANE

GONE BUT

n the space of a week during November 2020, the Australian music industry experienced the deaths of three prominent rock musicians. While not recognised by the general public as major stars, their contribution to the development of Australian rock music can never be overlooked. Ronald Robert Peel (9 August 1946 – 1 November 2020) aka Ronnie Peel aka Rockwell T. James, passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was known for his distinctive, hard driving bass playing. He started his career with Sydney combo The Mystics before joining R&B kingpins The Missing Links in 1964. Legend has it that a Sydney venue owner said the new band looked like a cross between man and ape, hence the name. The original Links’ line-up lasted until July 1965 after which a more notorious version of the band rose to prominence. Peel had already moved on to The Pleazers by that stage. Although formed in Australia,

Ronnie Peel (as Rockwell T James)

NOT

they were almost completely ignored on home turf but by circumstance came to be highly revered in New Zealand where they issued an album, Definitely Pleazers, an EP, A Midnight Rave With The Pleazers, and five singles. The Pleazers returned to Australia in late 1966. Peel joined a short-lived, revived version of Ray Brown and the Whispers before forming Rockwell T. James and the Rhythm Aces in 1967. The Rhythm Aces became the house band at Sydney’s famed Whisky A Go Go discotheque and issued the single ‘Love Power’ (February 1968). Next it was The Browns, formed with guitarist Les Stacpool originally as backing band for The Virgil Brothers. Peel and drummer Roger Felice-Andrews headed to London in 1970, where they landed a job as rhythm section for the touring line-up of hit-makers Thunderclap Newman (of ‘Something In The Air’ fame). Peel returned to Australia in late 1971 and joined Ray Brown’s new band One Ton

FORGOTTEN Gypsy. From there he joined the La De Das, then on the rise to becoming one of the country’s finest boogie rock outfits. The dynamic three-piece of Peel, guitarist Kevin Borich and drummer Keith Barber comprised a near-perfect, synchronous ensemble, capable of matching it with the likes of Daddy Cool, Coloured Balls and Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs on the thriving local pub and concert circuit. They issued the powerful album Rock & Roll Sandwich and scored hit singles with covers of Hank Williams’ ‘Honky Tonkin’’ and Chuck Berry’s ‘Too Pooped To Pop’. The La De Das were the first band to play legendary Sydney venue the Bondi Lifesaver when it opened up to rock bands in late 1972. Borich wrote the song ‘The Place’ about the Lifesaver: “All kinds of people in off the street / They keep telling me that this is the place to meet / Hey look back there against the bar / Isn’t that Rockwell T. James the recording star?”. Peel was certainly one of the more prominent rock identities who frequented the fabled ‘Wife Swapper’. By the end of 1975 the La De Das had run their course and Peel and Borich joined John Paul Young and the All Stars. While Borich soon moved on Peel stayed the distance, playing on such JPY hits as ‘I Hate The Music’, ‘Keep On Smilin’’, ‘Where The Action Is’, ‘Standing In The Rain’ and the enduring classic ‘Love Is In The Air’. Through his JPY / Vanda & Young / Albert Productions connection Peel also played on several Flash and the Pan projects. In 1976, with the help of Sherbet’s Garth Porter as producer, Peel revived his Rockwell T. James persona for two hit singles, ‘Come On Home (A Song For Anna)’ and ‘Roxanne’. He became a Countdown personality in his own right. In October 1977 Peel issued a Rockwell T. James album, Shot Of Rhythm & Blues, on Sherbet’s Razzle label. The touring line-ups of Rockwell T. James and the Rhythm Aces gained a lot of traction but Peel always reverted to his JPY and The All Stars slot as well as playing with the likes of Cheetah and Scattered Aces (with Peter Wells) into the 1980s.

Jac Kreemers Jacobus ‘Jac’ Kreemers (13 November 2020) was the original drummer for Melbourne’s progressive rock heroes Madder Lake. The band was enormously popular on the Australian scene of the early 1970s and were a major attraction at the Sunbury festivals. They were one of the first bands signed to Michael Gudinski’s label Mushroom Records, issuing the highly regarded albums Stillpoint (1973) and Butterfly Farm (1974) and scoring hits with ‘Goodbye Lollipop’ and ‘12lb. Toothbrush’. Jac Kreemers was the self-declared “hardest hitting drummer” in Australian rock but he also possessed a sprightly, somewhat eccentric approach to his playing. Guitarist Brenden Mason described him as “an unconventional drummer (who) could be on the money and then other times he could be really loose... Just the way we all played

together allowed us to be really flexible”. Brenden posted on his Facebook page on 13 November, saying “Sad news of the passing of Jac Kreemers. Luke, John, Kerry, Brenden, Michael, Drak, Andy, Ian, Tony, Colin & Steve send our sincere condolences to Jac’s family and friends. RIP Jac.” Wayne ‘Bones’ Hillman (May 1958 - 8 November 2020) was born Wayne Stephens in Auckland, New Zealand. He passed away from cancer aged 62 in his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As bass player and singer, he started out in 1976 playing in Suburban Reptiles who were, alongside The Scavengers, The Enemy, The Spelling Mistakes and The Dum Dum Boys, one of the first NZ punk bands to make an impact on the local scene. They issued two rare singles, ‘Megaton’ (1977) and ‘Saturday Night Stay At Home’ (1978). Former Split Enz guitarist / vocalist / song writer Phil Judd played with the Reptiles briefly in late 1978, which led to him, Hillman and Reptiles drummer Buster Stiggs leaving to form The Swingers. The band embraced the emergent New Wave sound with eager desire and skilful intent. Their early recordings ‘Certain Sound’ and ‘One Good Reason’ are high octane slices of danceable power pop. The Swingers moved to Australia in 1980, quickly signed to Mushroom Records and issued the #1 pop classic ‘Counting The Beat’ in January 1981. It was infectious, off-kilter and mindless in its simplicity, yet it remains one of those almost perfect pop songs that only come around once in an era. As well as Judd’s intuitive pop sensibilities and ringing opening riff to the fore, Hillman’s elastic bass lines drove the song forward. While the album Practical Jokers created some interest, their other singles failed to live up to expectations. The Swingers appeared in Gillian Armstrong’s feature film Starstruck and played on the soundtrack (1982). Things came unstuck and Judd broke up the band that May. Hillman went on to replace Peter Gifford in Midnight Oil, in time for the start of their international Diesel And Dust tour (September 1987). His first recordings with the Oils were the album Blue Sky Mining and single ‘Blue Sky Mine’ (1990). The Oils were already a phenomenon on the world stage, so it must have been a challenge for Hillman to slot into the whirlwind of activity. He certainly held his own and went on play on all the band’s subsequent albums and reunion tours. Midnight Oil paid tribute to their “dear friend” in the following statement: “We’re

grieving the loss of our brother Bones Hillman, who has passed away at his home in Milwaukee today after a cancer battle. He was the bassist with the beautiful voice, the band member with the wicked sense of humour, and our brilliant musical comrade. Bones joined Midnight Oil way back in 1987 after stints in various Kiwi bands, most notably The Swingers. He played and sang on every Midnight Oil recording since Blue Sky Mining and we did thousands of gigs together. We will deeply miss our dear friend and companion and we send our sincerest sympathies to [wife] Denise, who has been a tower of strength for him. Haere rā Bonesy from Jim, Martin, Peter & Rob.”

ANNE MCCUE

VALE BONES HILLMAN

any of Australia’s most successful musicians come from New Zealand and Bones Hillman was no exception. You will have heard Bonesy's melodic and thumping bass lines for Midnight Oil since the Blue Sky Mining album. And you will know his pure voice too, singing the backing vocals and featured on such songs as One Country - that’s him singing the high parts. If you are lucky to have seen the band play, you will have no doubt been blown away by their live performances and you are one lucky punter. When Bones Hillman announced he was leaving Nashville to play a reunion tour with Midnight Oil in 2017, our eastside community of musicians and music lovers was filled with a mixture of sadness - for ourselves - and excitement - for Bones. For many of us here, that going away get-together at The Family Wash was the last night we saw him in person because Midnight Oil did not play in Nashville on their 2017 tour. Bones and I had a conversation a few years ago for my radio show Songs On The Wire so I am able to draw on his own words to tell some of his story. We spoke of his ‘gypsy’ nature, how he didn’t like to live in one place for too long, that he could even become claustrophobic in some places. Maybe the fact that his father was a truck driver had something to do with that. “I was born to be on the road,” he said. “Yeah, he used to drive trucks, so I used to go out with him when I was a wee lad. He didn't have a passenger seat, I'd sit on a box and hold the dashboard, no seat belt.” Bones Hillman is one of the best rock bass players you will ever hear. But how did he choose 4 strings over 6, or strings at all? “I started off,” he said, “I think on a saxophone. I used to sound like a duck that had been shot. No one wanted to play bass. Bass is very unglamorous. Everyone wanted to be a lead singer or a guitar player or a drummer. So, when the little pool of kids from school said, ‘Come on, let's start a band,’ there was just this big gap on bass guitar and I went, ‘I guess I'll do it.’ Yeah, it

N O ’ N I O G S ’ T A

WH was natural for me. I understood. I could actually put records on and decipher the bass parts pretty quickly. But the guy I bought it from, I think he thought I was a complete fool because I caught the bus in on a Friday night and bought a $90 bass with my pocket money. Saturday morning, I woke up and it was out of tune, so I took it back. And he goes, ‘You have to tune it, son.’” At the time we sat down for this conversation, Bones had been in Nashville for 6 years already and he described how people could get ‘trapped’ here. I should have had an inkling then that he wouldn’t be sticking around town for too much longer. It all started in Auckland in the ‘70s where there was a thriving music scene which included bands such as Split Enz and The Suburban Reptiles. This is where he met Phil Judd, freshly out of Split Enz and ready to start a new band which became The Swingers. “We got hunted by Mushroom Records and moved across in about 1980 and arrived in Australia, which was this weird, hot place with flies and loud people,” Bones recalled. In 1981 The Swingers went to Number 1 with the gloriously catchy hit Counting The Beat. The euphoria of being at the top was shortlived, however. “It was the classic industry screw up where the label realized that they'd only given us enough money to record two songs,” he continued, “and then all of a sudden, [they

want] an album now. So, we were thrown in the studio really quickly. And then the band made a really stupid decision where we fired the original drummer. Thinking back on it, he wasn't fired because of his musical ability, he was fired because the guitar player and myself were living in squalor and he was living in a nice house with friends. So, we were burning our furniture and starving, and he had a nice bed with Bremworth carpet and stuff. So, we fired him and then, because he'd co-written a lot of the songs, we didn't record any of the catalog which we had, and we came up with another 10 new ones. “So, it was this classic thing, you become a one-hit wonder with this one song - still to this day, it's played all the time - and then we put 10 average ones on the other end of it. So, it was a really good education at 20 to get into the system and flare up overnight, and be this huge thing and then be abused by it, and come out the other end totally in debt with your tail between your legs and go, ‘Dad, can you [send me some money] to come home? I need an airfare.’” “I think I owed about a hundred thousand,” he continued. “For a 21-year-old kid, that was scary. It took a long time to clear it off.” The debt was eventually cleared through withheld royalties. It was a tough ride and left Hillman a little gun shy about the music business in general. But after a couple of years of living back at home with his

parents, it was time to leave New Zealand once more. “So, I went back to the desert with the flies (Australia) and moved into a house with Neil Finn, who at that time had just formed Crowded House,” he said. “We were living together for five years.” Was there any talk of Bones being the bass player in Crowded House? “For a little bit,” he said. “I've had on and off musical relationships with Neil. I think I played on a couple of demos for him. I was working as a house painter. I came home one night, and he said, ‘Rob Hirst from Midnight Oil rang up and they're looking for a bass player.’ And I just went, ‘Bullshit. Thanks, Neil,’ and had a shower and went to the pub with my friends and then two days later, Rob rings back and goes, ‘Why won't you return my call?’ And I thought, ‘I didn't think it was true.’ “So, I had to learn quite a lot of songs, flew to Sydney twice for two or three long auditions. And then I come back and then, ‘Can you come up again?’ By that stage, I was just like, ‘You know what, I'm happy with my life right now. I'm happy where I'm living. I've got a job. I've got some good friends. I don't really care if I get this gig or not,’ and of course, I got it. So maybe that's why I got it. “Yeah, I remember making that decision,” he continued. “It was like, you know what, it'd be great to play in this band. But if I don't get it, I'm fine.”

“Once I got the gig with Midnight Oil, I had to relocate cities, so I left everyone. I think I threw all my possessions in my one car, which was a futon, and a cassette recorder with some clothes, and a bass, and left, and then arrived in Sydney, which, anyone that hasn't been there, Sydney is a huge, fastpaced city.” Bones joined the band just in time for the release of their internationally successful album Diesel and Dust and his first recorded input for the band was on the album Blue Sky Mining. One of Australia’s most successful bands ever, they toured all over the world, making it on their own terms. Dare I use that word ‘integrity?’ Yes, I do. One can only imagine what life would have been like after Midnight Oil officially disbanded in 2002. Going from that incredible musical union, the excitement of those epic live shows, the international tours, being in the spotlight and surrounded by people for 15 years - to nothing. The silence must have been eerie. “When the band broke up,” said Bones, “I think for the first year, I sat around looking at my phone and going, ‘Well, it doesn't ring. It doesn't ring.’ I'd pick it up to check it had dial tone, and plug it into the wall, and it was sick, I'd sit there just looking at it. Well, this is weird.” So why did it end? Why did the band break up?

“I think it had just naturally run its course,” said Bones. “I think everyone was tired of it. I mean, they were playing for five or six years before I started with them and I did 15, so that's over 20 years. Everyone had children and the kids were getting older. It was losing its magic internally and I think was perfect to actually stop rather than to just bleed it out. So no, it really wasn't like a divorce. The first thing we did was we had an office in Sydney, and we closed that. We scanned all the documents and everything was digitized. And then we got email addresses. It was gradual. All of a sudden, the office had gone and that was where we always used to go for meetings or keep our stuff or whatever. It just stepped down and stepped down. We didn't actually announce that our last tour was our last tour… and we should have…” The first project he got involved with after The Oils was with old mates The Finn Brothers. They recorded an album with Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T-Rex) in The Catskills, New York. “It was this gianormous mansion place where accommodation was part of the fixture. We recorded the record up there and they mixed at London and the London Symphony Orchestra added strings. It that was all great, all was fine. We went back home and it was like, okay, tour dates will be coming in. And all of a sudden, they didn't release it.” “Tony Visconti was freaking out,” said Bones. “He's never had that happen to him in his life. I think the next record he did after that was Morrissey and it went to number one in the UK. So, he's sending me emails, ‘Why won't they released this record? What's wrong with it?’ and I'm like, ‘I don't know.’ Neil and I didn't speak for a few years after that. There's a saying, never go into business with friends and it's very damn true. We put it behind us now. We're back and close, and have man hugs, and love each other and stuff. Yeah, and so that was a really weird one. And then, as a result of that, some of the stuff that I played on did actually make the album (Way Back Down) in the end.” So, it was time to find another place to live, a new adventure. “Yeah, I just wanted to move and we decided to live in the United States. New York, I had too much stuff. Los Angeles, I've never really felt connected with the LA music scene. Someone said, ‘go to Nashville.’ I looked at it and I thought, ‘Well as a hub, as a location - it’s got an airport. It's close to east coast cities and I could live here and work globally, maybe.’ But it didn't turn out that way. Everyone that comes to Nashville all of a sudden is trapped in Nashville. “I didn't do much for the first year, except drive around, and I found the pocket of East Nashville and went, ‘Okay, this is bohemian. I can relate to that.’ Started meeting a few locals and doing a few gigs at the Family Wash and various places, then had a couple of years where I was just all over it. I mean, just so many players move to town, so I think everyone gets their little period of time in >>> 23

Anne, Billy Gibbons, Sergio, Bones the sun where, oh, he's new. Let's use him. And then all of a sudden, the novelty is gone and you realize that you live in the midst of hundreds of very talented people that do exactly what you do. “I still like living here. I don't work here much anymore and I like that because I'm more at peace with the city. And what Nashville did was the first time, I think it had turned music into a job for me and it'd never been that. It was always an escape from having a job. Nashville treats musicians harshly. Some people who are listening to this are going to say ‘Oh, he's full of shit.’ But I think it does. “Those dudes on Broadway play for hours for tip jar money and no one wants to pay to see you play in this town. I understand why they do that, but it's not for me. You're an artist, you know it. You play around the United States and people pay to see you play. You play here in Nashville; they don't pay and you still have to pay your band. That's wrong. So, I enjoy living here now, but I don't really work here anymore.” “Right now, I'm just really quite fine. If it's not my thing, I don't do it. Just do what you do well and then keep out if it from that point on.” In Nashville, Bones played with quite a list

BY SAMUEL J FELL

of artists including Elizabeth Cook, Sheryl Crow, Julie Christensen and Tim Carroll’s legendary Happy Hour band Midnight Orange. He played The Grand Ol’ Opry - which he described as a ‘wax museum’ - 120 times. And he played on my own album, Broken Promise Land, always adding a great and original part. There was nothing run-of-themill in his playing. He always sought out the melodic phrase and added to the actual composition rather than just anchoring a song. He said, “I learned years ago that if you ever got into a situation where you couldn't come up with a good idea that I just listened to the vocal melody and interpret that onto the bass and it would always get you out of a sticky situation.”

Bones chose to relocate to Milwaukee after the reunion of Midnight Oil. He said, “Yeah, I never really stay in one place that long. I like to get outside of the box and come back in again and appreciate where I am. I couldn't be one of those people that lives in the same city for 35 years. It would drive me absolutely insane.” We have missed him so much since he left town - his playing, his performances, his friendship. He contained a good amount of larrikin but was solid as a rock. Vale, Bonesy. Bones Hillman passed away from abdominal cancer on November 7th, the day after the new Midnight Oil album The Makarrata Project went Number 1 in Australia.

2021 UPDATE JIMMY BARNES: SINGER AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR HEADLINES BLUESFEST! Another bestseller shows that no one tells a better rock story than Jimmy Barnes. By JEFF JENKINS n a past life, Rhythms contributor Christopher Hollow was writing a radio show hosted by Jimmy Barnes. The weekly show, for Triple M, was a vehicle for Barnesy to tell a few rock stories. I shared an office with Chris and every week we would marvel at how Barnesy seemed to have a never-ending supply of stories about the world’s biggest rock stars. First-hand stories. It almost became a game of trying to stump Barnesy: Let’s program a Led Zeppelin track; surely, he won’t have a Zeppelin story? But Chris would return from the recording session, smiling. Yep, he had a Page and Plant story and it was a ripper. As shown by the runaway success of his three autobiographies – Working Class Boy, Working Class Man and 2020’s Killing Time – Jimmy Barnes is the greatest storyteller in Oz rock. He’s lived it. And, more remarkably, he survived to tell the tale. In Killing Time, Barnesy documents a strange encounter with a fortune teller in Los Angeles, who looks like Steven Van Zandt. “There’s a curse on you,” she informs the singer, who is simply trying to buy a bottle of vodka. “Someone very close to you is trying to kill you.” Barnesy says he didn’t think about the meeting again until years later when he started writing his books. “And I realised the gypsy woman was absolutely right – someone close to me was trying to kill me.

“I think it was me.” Reflecting on his life has helped Barnesy reconcile with his past. Before writing Killing Time, he returned to Elizabeth in South Australia where he grew up. But this time, instead of a flood of bad memories, he felt a strange sense of belonging. “I realised that I hadn’t got rid of my demons, but I could live with them.” The latest book takes its title from a song on the last Cold Chisel album, Blood Moon, which Barnesy wrote with Don Walker (seek out his performance of the song on The Sound with the Australian Chamber Orchestra; as his mate and MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo observed, it sounds like a Bond theme). “I spent most of my childhood killing time,” Barnesy explains in the book’s introduction, “waiting for something to happen. Something good. But it never seemed to come along.” It’s been a remarkable road for Barnesy, who was born James Dixon Swan in Glasgow in 1956. Who would have thought he’d become the biggest-selling music author in Australia, with more Australian number one albums than any other act (12 solo, five with Cold Chisel), plus a range of merchandise that includes the hit Christmas gift – the Screaming Jimmy alarm clock. The clock was his wife Jane’s idea. Wake up with Barnesy … screaming in your ear. “They are funny … at first, but after a while they can drive you crazy,” Barnesy acknowledges. A big seller for Christmas 2020

was the Screaming Cowboy model. To discover the origins of this version, Google Kirin J. Callinan’s ‘Big Enough’, which saw Barnesy go viral as The Screaming Cowboy In The Sky. “I didn’t even know what a meme was,” he laughs. As for Barnesy’s Zeppelin story, he had drinks with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in London in 1979. By the end of the night, he was sick of them complaining about how difficult their job was: that it was too hard to tour, and why would they anyway, when the public didn’t respect them. Fuelled by vodka – and recalling what he thought was a lacklustre performance at Adelaide’s Memorial Drive in 1972 – Barnesy let rip. “Excuse the f*ck out of me,” he began his lecture, “but if you actually delivered what you were supposed to when you played, maybe you’d get a bit more respect.” He went on. “And to talk about the punters like that is just disgusting.” Page and Plant got up to leave – with Barnesy following, berating them all the way down the stairs and up the street. Whether it’s books or records or shows or stories, Jimmy Barnes has never forgotten what it is to be a fan. And he always delivers. The latest book is an ode to family, friends and fans. “Thanks to all these people, I’m no longer killing time,” Barnesy says. “Not anymore. Now, every moment is precious.” Jimmy Barnes is playing at Bluesfest 2021. 25

EVERYTHING’S ARCHIE

5 Caravan Classics By Peter Foley

After a 13-year suburban odyssey, the much-loved Caravan Club starts a new country adventure.

he dogs bark, but the Caravan moves on. It’s been a long, strange trip for promoter Peter FEATURE Foley. The latest – and By Jeff Jenkins perhaps final – stop is a tiny town in South Gippsland, about 90 minutes from Melbourne. Foley’s first venue was his lounge room in suburban Melbourne. For his then wife’s 50th birthday, he booked Tracey Miller to do a gig at their home. “It was just such a fabulous night,” Foley recalls. “I thought, ‘Why don’t we do this again?’” Soon after, Foley hosted Dave Graney and Clare Moore, with 70 people crammed into his lounge room. There was actually a deeply personal reason for the home gigs. Foley’s son, Jack, had muscular dystrophy and required 24/7 care. “We couldn’t get out a lot,” he explains, “so the whole idea of the ‘live in the lounge room’ was to bring the world to us.” Sadly, Jack died in 2007, aged 21. “I couldn’t do a house gig after that, because that was a thing that we did with him.” Foley also struggled to return to a “regular job”. He was searching for something with meaning, “something positive for the world, to honour Jack”. He created a music venue in Melbourne’s south-east, opening the Caravan Music Club, initially at the Oakleigh Bowling Club and then at the Oakleigh-Carnegie RSL. “My lounge room became everyone’s lounge room,” he says, describing the Caravan as “a hobby that just got out of control”.

After being unable to negotiate an ongoing tenancy agreement with the RSL, the Caravan moved on in 2017. As the curtain came down at the RSL, Triple R’s Jon von Goes spoke about how Foley had “changed the fabric of Melbourne music and put Oakleigh on the map”, while Mick Thomas – a regular at the venue – proclaimed, “God bless the Caravan Club!” Melbourne filmmaker Chris Franklin made a moving documentary on the dying days of the Caravan Club at the RSL. “I’m a hearton-my-sleeve guy,” Foley admits in the film. “But I never apologise for that, because it’s emotional people that get stuff done.” In 2018, the Caravan parked itself at the South Oakleigh Club in Bentleigh East, opening with a gig by Mick Thomas. But as the coronavirus kicked in, the South Oakleigh Club closed its doors, and the Caravan was on the road again. Foley and his partners have started a new venue at the Archies Creek Hotel – “Caravan Music by the Sea” – in Archies Creek, a tiny town in South Gippsland, 15 minutes from Phillip Island and 130km from Melbourne. The venue has dining and accommodation, and during lockdown, an impressive outdoor stage was constructed. It’s a picturesque setting: the stage is framed by a gum tree; about 100 seats are perched in front of the stage, while another 100 people can enjoy a picnic vibe while sitting on the hill. Foley calls it “a little destination venue”. The town, 3km off the highway, has just 16 houses, the pub, a hall, and a tennis court.

2. Don Walker’s first Caravan show

I’m such a fan, but Don was always booked into the wrong gigs in Melbourne – suburban beer barns, where the promoters thought they’d get the Chisel crowd, and they never did. Two hundred people came to the Caravan and after the show, Don said: “Whenever we’re coming to Melbourne, you’re the first guy I’m going to speak to.”

3. Suzannah Espie’s album launch

Suzannah was really sick and shouldn’t have done the gig. But we put so much whisky into her, and the show was fragile and exquisite. People can be great players, but you also need the emotional content, something that just hits you in the gut.

4. Eliza Gilkyson, “the

female Leonard Cohen”

Very early on at the Bowling Club, we had an American artist, Eliza Gilkyson. It was a Tuesday night and only 70 people were there, but everyone would remember it. Gerald McNamara called her the female Leonard Cohen. A beautiful spirit, dreamy stories and a great narrative. It’s not easy running a music venue, even without COVID. In Chris Franklin’s awardwinning short film, Foley provided an insight into the precarious nature of promoting live music. “We turned over $1.2 million last year,” he revealed. “Our profit was $27,000. And I took a wage of $50,000. If you think that’s a very profitable business, you’re on a different planet to me. That’s a business that just hangs in there, that just survives.” But Foley loves it. “I don’t know what else to do,” he admits. “I couldn’t go and do a regular job again.” Of course, there’s more to being a successful promoter than just having a venue and booking an act. Anyone who has attended

1. Ross Hannaford’s final gig

It was booked for a Thursday, but Ross couldn’t get out of bed. Three hundred people turned up and we had to send them home. We rescheduled for the Tuesday and it was magical. A triumph of the human spirit.

a Caravan gig knows that Foley has a knack for creating a magical vibe in the room. He wants the punters to feel something emotionally. “And that validates the art for me.” Foley’s approach is simple: “I can handle losing a buck, but I cannot handle unhappiness … we are, after all, in the happiness business.” He’s hosted nearly 2000 gigs, including many shows by Aussie legends such as Ross Wilson, Joe Camilleri, Stephen Cummings and Russell Morris, as well as gigs by international artists such as Todd Rundgren,

Ron Sexsmith, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lloyd Cole and Margo Price. The new venue has already had gigs by Mick Thomas, The Black Sorrows, Tim Rogers and Henry Wagons, and Foley is looking forward to creating many more magical memories. The Caravan of happiness rolls on. “I think I’ve been carried along by the Caravan,” Foley smiles, “more than I’ve carried the Caravan along.” Head to www.archiescreekhotel.com. au for more info. Chris Franklin’s Closing the Caravan documentary can be seen at www.franklinimage.com.au

5. Chris Wilson,

the night Lou Reed died

We had so many great moments with the big fella. Just after Lou Reed died, he was doing a gig with the Crown of Thorns. After the show finished, Chris was prowling around the stage and started banging out ‘Waiting For The Man’. The rest of the band didn’t know what to do, but they went back on stage and it was a great way to finish the night. Chris just knew how to seize the moment and make everyone in the room feel something.

SCENE STEALER

Photo: Courtesy of The Bellarine Times

Melbourne-based singer songwriter Leah Senior released the impressive album The Passing Scene and is now gearing up for live shows and a new album

BACK ON TRACK

Fans have helped the legendary Blues Train stay on the rails.

he irrepressible Hugo T. Armstrong is one of the most positive and enthusiastic people you could meet in the music industry. He’s got a heart like a locomotive, though he was a little flat when he spoke to Rhythms. “It’s been a rollercoaster,” Armstrong said. “At times there’s been optimism, and other times it’s been complete and utter despair.” Armstrong runs the longest-running blues venue in Australia – and one of the most unusual. It’s a moving train on the Bellarine Railway near Geelong. Four acts, four carriages, with patrons moving from carriage to carriage during a night of dinner, drinking and dancing. Armstrong was just 26 when he started the Blues Train. At the time, he was on the road with The Badloves, working at Melbourne’s PBS FM and DJing at Michael Gudinski’s Mercury Lounge. He built the Blues Train into one of Victorian music’s most successful tourist attractions. Over the past 26 years, it’s brought more than 200,000 people to the Bellarine Peninsula, providing many benefits for the community. “They’re on the Blues Train for five hours and they stay in town for two days,” Armstrong points out. On March 14, 2020, a packed Blues Train partied as Jimi Hocking, Tracey Barnett, The McNaMarr Project and Vic Polyik’s Blues Cosmonauts played. The patrons had no idea it was the last train to Queenscliff. The Blues Train has endured some tough times over the years – surviving the insurance price hike after 9/11 as well as the GFC. But it was derailed by COVID-19. 28

The business was planning to reopen in October, but Victoria was struck by a second lockdown. “The second wave is what really obliterated us,” Armstrong says. Some businesses were able to “pivot”. “But we can’t pivot. We’re a social gathering business – social distancing is not our business.” Armstrong was burning the midnight oil, trying to work out how the Blues Train could operate on a reduced model – “we’ve done the maths a thousand times”. He said the Blues Train needed to sell about 80 per cent of its tickets to break even. “We need a gathering.” Armstrong was forced to put the business into “hibernation”. But he launched a GoFundMe campaign to help get the Blues Train back on track. And the fans rallied. By mid-December, more than 500 people had donated more than $43,000. And many people bought gift cards and Blues Train merchandise, including stubby holders, caps, beanies and CDs. Armstrong appreciates the federal government’s JobKeeper support, though he’s bemused that people think it solves all of a business’s problems. “Wages were only 30 per cent of our expenses and we’ve lost 100 per cent of our income.” He itemised all of his expenses at the GoFundMe page, including rent, electricity, insurance and equipment storage. The campaign aims to raise $70,000, which will cover the expenses – $10,000 a month – until JobKeeper runs out in March. In footy-mad Victoria, Armstrong had a simple analogy to explain the situation that

By Jeff Jenkins

many businesses faced during the pandemic: Is it a season-ending injury or a career-ending injury? “At the moment, we’re treating it as a season-ending injury,” he declared in September. “We’ll be back.” Armstrong is grateful for the mental and financial support he received. The local tourism association called him every fortnight to check on his mental health, and the music industry charity Support Act helped with some personal bills. “Accepting that help has been the most humbling and challenging experience,” says Armstrong, a proud man, who has successfully run a selfsufficient business for nearly three decades. “I can’t speak highly enough of the work they do.” He looks forward to hosting a fundraising night for Support Act when the Blues Train is back on the rails. Yes, Hugo T. Armstrong never lost heart, always believing he would once again be saying, “All aboard!” It was not the end of the line, just a temporary derailment. And while he awaits the train’s return, he’s been busy showcasing Blues Train acts at some live streaming events in November, as well as some gigs at the Pelican Bar in Queenscliff in December and January. “At times it’s been hard for us all to keep our chins up,” Armstrong admits, “but our beloved Blues Train community has loved us, supported us, and had our back, so we could come back in 2021.” Yep, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The Blues Train’s GoFundMe page can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/thebluestrain2020

o you recall the last time you had one of those spine-tingling moments as you heard something for the first time and it took your breath away? That ‘Eureka!’ moment? Music can do that to you. For me it was hearing Leah Senior’s recent album The Passing Scene, an album of minimally adorned yet enthralling folk rock songs. The audio quality is dry yet clean, the emotions simple yet heartfelt. Songs such as ‘Evergreen’, ‘Graves’, ‘Ocean Quilt Lady’, ‘Jesus Turned Into A Bird’ and the title track have an effortless way of working themselves into your brain and heart and staying true. I’ve come in late on connecting with Senior’s music. This is the Melbourne-based singer songwriter’s third album, following on from Summer’s On The Ground (2015) and Pretty Faces (2017), all issued on the King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard label Flightless. Certainly not a prodigious work rate but remarkable for an independent artist of her stature. “Yeah, I feel like I’m a slow writer and I don’t write many songs so the songs that end up on the album are the songs that I’ve written for the album. I don’t have a lot of things left over,” she explains as our Zoom session gets underway. “I like thinking about it as an LP of music, definitely. I’m always writing with an album in mind. The Passing Scene took a while because it morphed. It went in a different style of writing. I ventured away from my normal, more straight up folk music. It took a while for it to feel cohesive to me. It went in a few different directions before I settled on what I wanted to do. I like to think about an album as a cohesive body of work.” With COVID-19 lockdown restrictions having been in place this year, I wondered how she has coped without playing live? “I guess in a professional sense everything’s stopped but as a creative person I feel much better off in a lot of ways. I’m pretty happy. I’m a total introvert so it’s been a good time to create, so I’ve coped pretty well since the whole lockdown thing. I’ve been writing and demoing new material. You have more time but there’s less stuff happening so you have less to draw on, which can be a challenge. I’ve gone into technical land, playing lots of classical guitar, painting, but not putting the pressure on.” The revelation for me in connecting with Senior’s music is its timeless nature, like she’s an old soul who has tapped into a deep seated musical archetype with many layers and hidden meanings. The songs are playful, with a lightness of touch but the seam runs deep. She traverses folk rock and pop, with a dash

of cosmic country and an occasional dip into darker, jazzier, minor key melodies. “Prior to this album I’ve drawn most of my influences from ’60s and ’70s British folk. Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, John Martyn, Bridget St. John, Vashti Bunyan, I really love all that. I was on a road trip to northern Australia, years ago, with two girlfriends. One of them had a Nick Drake tape. I was in my late teens, very early 20s and from the moment I heard it I was totally captivated. He’s probably my favourite song writer. I went out and bought all his albums and through that I started discovering other related artists. “I guess with this album I’ve probably gone on to... when I was a kid I was absolutely obsessed with The Beatles, I still am. I’ve drawn more on that poppy ’60s-’70s kind of world, I guess. And I really like power pop, bands like Big Star.” Another thing I wanted to know is how Senior connected with the King Gizzard guys. They’re an eclectic bunch for sure and their music is far removed from folk but it seems they’re open to all kinds of genres, having the likes of Senior and Grace Cummings on the label. “Yeah, that’s a funny story. It was years ago now, I’d just played a show and I went to meet a friend at a pub. It was quite late and I got confused and went to the John Curtin instead of the Grace Darling. I realised that I’d gone to the wrong place so I bought myself a beer and went outside. I looked around and saw this group of good looking guys and I thought ‘I’ll just go over to them’. I tacked myself on to their group. I think they were wondering ‘who the hell is this?’. It was the King Gizzard boys and they’d done a show there. “I hung out with them and we were talking about Big Star and because I had my guitar with me I said ‘I can play a Big Star song’. It took me ages to tune the guitar and they were looking at me, waiting. I finally played the song. Then they asked ‘do you have any of your own songs?’, so I played them something. One of them said ‘do you have any music recorded, I want to hear it’. I’d just made my first album, I sent him the tape and he said ‘oh, we’ll put that out’. Just like that, hmmm.” For now, Senior is working towards doing shows in December and January 2021, with a new album to follow thereafter. “I’m really looking forward to playing again. Apart from that, I’m just chipping away at the next album. I’m in the writing phase, just working out what I want it to be. I haven’t got any song titles yet.” Until the next album arrives, The Passing Scene will continue to be a welcoming musical companion.

FEATURE

By Ian McFarlane

FEATURE

By Jeff Jenkins

LOVERS’ LANE

Davey Lane confronts the highs and lows of love on his compelling new album.

avey Lane is trembling as he walks backstage at Melbourne’s AAMI Park. The go-to guitarist in Australian rock is no stranger to these surroundings, having done many stadium shows over the past two decades. But tonight he is so apprehensive, he’s taken a Valium. As he walks into a private dressing room, a man rises to greet him. “I’ve heard all about you,” he says, shaking Lane’s hand. “Oh,” says Lane, smiling nervously, “I’m sure it’s all lies.” The man leans in close. “But most of what I heard about you was bad stuff.” Davey Lane is having a private audience with his idol – Sir Paul McCartney. “It was so surreal,” Lane reflects three years later. “Sometimes when you meet someone who is so famous – whose visage is so imprinted in your mind – it’s almost like you’re looking at a cartoon character when they’re in front of you.” A Beatles tragic, Lane has thousands of musical questions for Sir Paul. But he knows that McCartney has fans telling him every day how his music has changed their life. So instead, Lane remarks, “I like your jacket.”

McCartney takes it off and gestures to Lane, “Have a look at the lining – the lining’s fantastic.” Lane then mentions a song from McCartney II, ‘Temporary Secretary’, which McCartney had played at that day’s soundcheck. “Oh, do you like that one?” he replies, genuinely surprised. “I should have put it in the set list tonight.” “Surely, it’s not too late,” Lane suggests. “No, it’s too late – they’ve already printed out the set list.” Ten minutes later, McCartney is on stage. And Lane is back in his seat, wondering, “Did that really happen?” “It was a short meeting,” he notes. “But it’s one that I’ll take to my grave.” They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Lane actually passed up a potential encounter with another idol, Paul Weller, while touring Europe with Jimmy Barnes. The Jam legend walked past their Amsterdam hotel. Lane – who had a copy of All Mod Cons, The Jam’s 1978 album, in his bag – went to run after Weller, but then the usually sartorially splendid musician realised what he was

wearing. “And I decided that I didn’t want to meet Paul Weller in my tracky daks.” Lane went to do his laundry instead. Another musical hero is a guest on Lane’s new solo album, Don’t Bank Your Heart On It. Todd Rundgren wrote and sang the chorus for the single, ‘Acceptance’. “Todd has been a big influence on me,” explains Lane, who bonded with the American when he was part of his band for his 2018 Australian tour. “A guy that sings, plays everything and produces … what Todd does is a template for what I strive to do.” As well as Rundgren, the album features an array of special guests – including Jimmy Barnes, Vika & Linda, Tim Rogers, Phil Jamieson, Chris Cheney, Robyn Hitchcock, Georgia Mooney, Jet’s Mark Wilson, The Replacements’ Tommy Stinson, and King Gizzard’s Stu Mackenzie – but Lane takes centre stage. Don’t Bank Your Heart On It shows that Lane – an integral member of You Am I, who has also played with Jimmy Barnes, Crowded House, The Masters Apprentices, Charles Jenkins, The Stems and The Saints – is much more than just a sensational sideman.

The album is gloriously all over the shop, showcasing Lane’s stylistic influences, with Beatlesque flourishes, Queen-like grandiosity, garage rock, electro excursions and the occasional punky detour. In the opening track, ‘I’ll Swim Ashore’, Lane recounts the tale of a “shipwreck”, but he has managed to craft a coherent, compelling album, with a striking narrative. “I wanna create,” he sings in ‘A Clear Road’, “not destruct.” Dallas Crane guitarist Pete Satchell has a lovely description of Lane: “Davey, to watch on guitar, is a psychotic pineapple. He has a spiky, almost punk exterior, but the most tasteful playing comes from within.” Though he looks like a rock star, Lane says he was “super awkward, an introverted nerd” at school. “I twigged that my obsession with music was a way I could communicate with people.” Lane’s life changed when his dad brought home a copy of Sgt. Pepper’s when he was just six or seven years old. “I didn’t realise that music could be so colourful and kaleidoscopic.” Kaleidoscopic is a great word to describe Lane’s music. He makes eloquent, joyous rock. The lyrics, however, reflect a darker side. Don’t Bank Your Heart On It documents a couple of break-ups. Indeed, the grand single ‘You Were A Mirage’ – one of 2020’s best – comes with the savage rejoinder: “I’m just not as cavalier with who I fuck or who I hurt.” “One of my biggest failings as a human being is my inability to communicate,” Lane says. “I feel I can put into a song things I can’t put in the spoken or written word. “I’d just come out of a long-term relationship,” he adds, “and I got into something new, which was really exciting. But that all fell apart, and I felt, ‘Wow, I’m really fucking heartbroken and lonely.’ It was a pretty dark few months and that (‘don’t bank your heart on it’) was just a phrase that kept ringing in my head.” The album swings through many stages of grief, including anger, numbness, yearning,

Beatles solo album:

It has to be Brian May, the bloke with the curly hair who plays the guitar.

Lane is very respectful of Australia’s rock roots. He was instrumental in Jim Keays’ final two albums. The rock legend dug Lane as soon as he met him, remarking, “He looks like one of the Masters Apprentices from 1968!” Remarkably, Lane was not even born until the ’80s. He celebrates his 40th birthday on January 31. Before he turned 40, I asked Tim Rogers how he felt. “Great,” he replied. “Feel a bit proud. I dance better these days.” How does Lane feel? “I’m not at all hesitant about turning 40,” he says. “Of course, everyone gets older and wishes their skin was a little clearer and whatnot, but I wouldn’t trade getting older and a little wiser for being young again. “I’m just grateful, more than anything, that I still get to do what I do. That’s something not to be taken for granted. And I just want to keep enjoying that. “I think it’s something that rings true for everyone as they get older – all these things you were so hung up about as a younger person don’t really matter at all in the scheme of things. “I’m into it,” Lane concludes. “I’m into this getting older bizzo.” Don’t Bank Your Heart On It is out now

5 DAVEY LANE FAVOURITES:

That changes all the time. I’ve been listening a lot to the Plastic Ono records. And I heard a new mix of All Things Must Pass, which gave me a whole new perspective on how beautiful that record is. I love that period of all of them solo: Plastic Ono Band, All Things Must Pass and Ram.

Queen member:

hopelessness and, ultimately, acceptance, even quoting New York Dolls’ Johnny Thunders along the way. Lane is a much-loved member of Melbourne’s music community. Indeed, where would Melbourne music be without Davey Lane and Ashley Naylor? They’re the hardest-working men in showbiz, the human jukeboxes, the go-to guys when a band needs a great guitarist. (They’re also good mates, playing together in Thee Marshmallow Overcoat, playing ’60s rock.) Lane’s mates even launched a campaign – so far unsuccessful – to name an Abbotsford lane behind the Yarra Hotel ‘Davey Lane’. Charles Jenkins has relished working with Lane in The Zhivagos. “Every song he jumps on he transports it to a higher realm, one never imagined,” Jenkins says, “yet it always sounds perfect. No matter what style the song is, he brings to it an excitement and brilliance – by the bucket load! Plus, he is a magnificent songwriter and an incredible singer.” On Lane’s new album, Jimmy Barnes sings on the raucous ‘Gotcha Money On Yr Mind’. When Barnesy released his 2010 solo album, Rage and Ruin, I asked him why he liked working with Lane. “He’s just got an enthusiasm and a swagger,” he replied. “With my album, I had a lot of very slick LA players and I wanted Davey there to balance that. He brought a rock element to the record. I wanted him to get across what I do live. Also, he’s a gem to be around.” Tim Rogers appears on the closing cut, the breezily brilliant ‘I’m Yer Wonder Fool’. Rogers first worked with Lane – then still a teenager – when he played on Rogers’ first solo album, 1999’s What Rhymes With Cars And Girls. “I then asked him to come on tour,” Rogers recalls. “He was simply up for anything. Then, as now, never complains, he gets on with the job. He’s taught me a lot about having a work ethic within making music. You put in the hours, you’ll get it back somehow.”

Guitar:

Probably my Telecaster. There’s nothing too tricky about it – Telecasters are a plank of wood that you can do anything with. It’s a workhorse. I think I have about 25 guitars, which, depending on who you talk to, is either too many or not enough.

Aussie band from the ’80s:

Traveling Wilbury:

That’s a question that Homer asked Lisa in The Simpsons, and I would have to concur with Homer – Jeff Lynne, because I’m such a big ELO fan. Of course, it’s sacrilegious to not say George Harrison. Some days it’s George, some days it’s Tom Petty, but most days it’s Jeff Lynne.

Playing with Jimmy has given me a new-found appreciation for Cold Chisel, an incredible live band with great songwriting. And Icehouse – incredible pop songwriting. They were one of the driving forces of that time.

FEATURE

By Stuart Coupe

REALITY BITES

Mic Conway and The National Junk Band’s new album gets its title from Albert Einstein.

lbert Einstein apparently once said, “Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” In weird and surreal times (aka 2020) Mic Conway – along with The National Junk Band have released a new album that they hope will, in part, offer musical respite from the world we all currently live in. They’ve called it Reality Is An Illusion, making it possibly the only album of 2020 to derive its title from Albert Einstein. As Mic Conway explained to me on the day we both prepared to watch the distorted reality that was the American Presidential Election, the album was recorded last year in a pre-COVID world, and scheduled for a launch in May 2020. That suddenly stopped seeming like a good idea. So, Conway and the band decided to put it off till October. Surely things would be better by then and they could go out on tour just like the old days. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. So, Conway decided just to put the album – a very fine one I might add – out without the planned touring.

“Some of the band members have gone to ground and some are out playing with people in the places where you can actually play – so I just decided to put it out,” he says. For Conway – and the majority of musicians on the planet, the past twelve months has been extremely frustrating. As someone who plays live a real lot, Conway felt the evaporation of his work very keenly. But conversely, after recently moving from Sydney to live in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, he’s also embraced having an enforced break. “I’m a very hard-working guy but this year I’ve suddenly had a little holiday,” he says. “I’ve always worked doing my one man shows in schools and that’s been my bread and butter for a very long time, but that’s been cut out – so I’m having a rest for the first time in my life which is actually quite nice.” As is typical with Conway’s albums, Reality Is An Illusion is a mixture of original songs and reinterpretations. A standout is a wonderful take on Lennon and McCartney’s classic Beatles song Because.

“I love the Beatles and always have,” says Conway. “And I love that song because it’s full of extremely corny puns. How it turned out was that I was at a party and some of the performers also going along asked me if I’d like to play and if I could bring my musical saw. They started playing Because at the party and I thought it was such a great song for the saw – so melodic. So, I joined in and it worked really well. “At that stage we were deciding what songs to do for the album. We like to balance the originals with covers. We only had four covers at that stage, so we decided to do Because. It’s so great for the saw and it’s a really really quirky song and I love quirky songs.” It’s one of many highlights on Reality. The album’s opening song, Everything New Is Old Again is a pithy examination and satirical look at planned obsolescence, Conway taking a swipe at everything from new media to Uber. Conway sings about how there is a massive amount of new media – but no real content. Then there’s Uber. “I’m really saying that it’s OK but that it’s a company that doesn’t really own any cars. It’s a transport company without owning any means of transport. Each verse in the song has a dig at something or another – but it’s a song that’s going to become dated really quickly as everything I sing about in it will be replaced by something else. There’ll be other sorts of social media and transport services – with or without cars.” Equally captivating is ‘Sydney Steak And Kidney’, a sort of updated version of Tommy Leonetti’s classic ‘My City Of Sydney’. “I’ve always loved Sydney,” Conway says when asked how he feels the city has evolved over the years. “I wrote that song with Marcus Holden when we were asked to do something for Sydney Festival. I based it on Tommy Leonetti’s song and I thought the opening was a Spike Joneslike way of setting up a schmaltzy song and then going into some silly thing where you take the piss out of it, but at the same time I’ve always loved Sydney and I still do. I was born there.” Then there’s ‘Positvoli’, a tribute to Conway’s relatives who were active in the vaudeville scene. “That’s a dedication to my grandparents,” Conway says. “My grandfather was an old vaudevillian and played the Wurtlizer organ. He was the Wizard Of The Wurlitzer at the State Theatre in his later years, and his sisters and brothers were all vaudeville people, so I wanted to pay tribute to them. “A friend made a joke one day and the song is based on that. He said, ‘when they asked the old vaudevillian whether vaudeville would ever come back in’ he replied, ‘Positivoli’. It’s a terrible joke and most people don’t know what the Tivoli is but I loved it and made it into a song. Also, my daughter’s name is Tivoli so that was it.” It’s a gag that Albert Einstein may well have approved of.

AH! THAT’S BETTER

San Francisco-based musician Kelley Stoltz released two albums in 2020.

FEATURE

By Christopher Hollow

n music, timing is everything. It’s crucial in allowing a musician to settle into a groove and be in the flow. It must be said that the timing of 2020 for many bands has been horrendous. No shows, no recording, no chance to be together. One indie artist, however, who has found this period of shutdowns and social distancing to be his natural habitat is Kelley Stoltz. This one-man band from San Francisco can do it all. Write, sing, play, record, and mix. (He can’t master, unfortunately, that’s a dark art all of its own). Whilst many artists have been thwarted by the global pandemic, Stoltz has been in his element releasing two albums in quick succession. The wild blurt known as Hard Feelings came out in July and the year’s end saw another, even better record in Ah! (etc). It could be said that Stoltz has been working his whole career, some 12+ albums, for this moment. He first made an impression with 2001’s Antique Glow, which cemented his DIY capabilities. Since that time, his enthusiasm for creating songs and following mad ideas has never diminished.

“I guess I’m the right

model for this situation,” he says. “I’m a one-man band. I don’t have to rely on people coming over and poisoning the air.” “I guess I’m the right model for this situation,” he says. “I’m a one-man band. I don’t have to rely on people coming over and poisoning the air. That was really born 25 years ago out of learning to write songs on a 4-track recorder. For me, it was a shyness and an inferiority complex but also, just the joy of playing all the instruments and wanting to get good at them. It’s really fun to play the drums, it’s a lotta fun to think of a bass part and learn how to play

piano. I’ve also got my own studio and, these days, I’ve got so good at working fast. I can make something in a day or two and move onto the next thing without relying on anyone else. So, I’m definitely the right person for this time.” All hail the Optigan A short-lived keyboard made in the early 70s by Mattel, the Optigan was later marketed as the Orchestron. It was famously used by Los Lobos on the track ‘Angels with Dirty Faces’ and the Jon Brion soundtrack for the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. “The early inspiration for this album was the Optigan, an old child’s toy mellotron in about seven shades of brown. You put a floppy disc about the same size as a record, and it’s read by light and spun in a turntable. It’s like the Saturday cartoon sounding version of the mellotron. There’s a drum machine that I really like. I used that on three songs on this record and I was proud to use it in a Krautrock rhythmic way that was outside of its original intention. It helped me start a song called ‘The Quiet Ones’ and ‘Darkness Too’, which has a scratchy acoustic guitar from the Optigan. It was the spark that got me going on this record as instrumental rhythm beds. There’s another song called ‘Never Change Enough’ that has some nice 10cc breathy mellotron voices and a harpsichord hook that I really like. It popped out and I have no recollection of putting them on the song. It was just there one day. It was definitely like a spirit guided thing.” ‘I’ve been listening to Lloyd Cole and remembering my younger years’

Released in late 1984, Rattlesnakes was the debut album from UK band, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. As a kid, Stoltz was a big fan of the title track, which he references in a song off Ah! (etc) called ‘Darkness Too’. “I listened to Rattlesnakes a million times when I was young and I saw Lloyd Cole play solo here in San Francisco not long ago, probably around the time I was writing the song. So I wrote: ‘I’ve been listening to Lloyd Cole and remembering my younger years’. And then added, ‘I guess some things never change, a girl still needs a gun these days’. It’s a line from ‘Rattlesnakes’, re-purposed for my song. I also remember a Bob Dylan song, ‘Highlands’, where talks about sitting in a café and he says, ‘I’m listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound. Someone’s always yelling turn it down’. So, I’m proud of that one in that it seems clever. It quotes Bob’s use of Neil and Lloyd Cole’s lyric in a little couplet. It’s like I’m referring to two things in rock history and stuff that I love. I was proud of that wordplay.” Australia, it speaks for itself. In a strange twist, it was Australia that helped launch Kelley Stoltz’s career in the early 2000s – thanks to the likes of Corduroy and Raoul Records. “I was never a good flyer, so Australia always seemed to get further and further away. I absolutely loved it when I was there. I’ve been keen to get back, like, I would be just about to hit send on those tickets and then I’d think, ‘do I have enough Xanax to get there?’ I don’t know, I have got better at travelling so I want to return. That’s where everything started for me.” 33

DYSONWITH FATE W

e all know what a bad year 2020 was and we all have our own personal stories of dealing with it. Yet, there could be few tales as traumatic as Mia Dyson’s near-death experience a few months into the pandemic. “It was, probably more frightening for my husband, Carl,” says Dyson who was discovered unconscious and not breathing after an earthquake rocked their home in Riverside, a suburb of Los Angeles. Carl immediately applied CPR, revived Mia and called an ambulance. (Thank you, Carl!). The visit to hospital revealed that Dyson had a reasonably rare heart condition which, as she explains it, “basically means that I can drop dead at any time.” “The only treatment is to implant a defibrillator in my chest, which they did, which will shock me back to life if it happens again,” she adds. “So, it was pretty wild. It was scary, but it was a strange place to be.” I have caught up with Dyson by the now ubiquitous means of Zoom to talk about her forthcoming tour, which kicks off at Bluesfest, and the recording of an EP of songs from her album Parking Lots which is celebrating its 15th anniversary. “I was in this dark sort of serene, nothing place,” recalls Dyson of her terrifying brush with death. “Carl was coaxing me back to life and it got scarier the more I came back into my body. It was actually quite peaceful before that. “So, I felt super heavy and pinned down and I couldn't move or talk and I didn't know what the hell was going on but eventually we figured it out. I'm now sort of four weeks out from having that operation and still getting used to this. It's a little freaky, but now I've got this little parachute cord to pull. So, I'm pretty lucky. I'm very lucky, actually. A lot of people just don't know they have this condition and then they just die.” “Absolutely. Absolutely,” agrees Dyson when I mention that it was lucky she was not out on tour by herself. “I already felt very grateful to be alive, but this is a new dimension of that. Also, strangely less afraid of death too. I certainly I don't want to, no one wants to suffer physically, but the actually crossing over doesn't seem as scary to me anymore.” (I’ll take her word for it!) The fact that Dyson has recovered, recorded and EP - Parking Lots Revisited - based on the Parking Lots album - and will be appearing at Bluesfest to open her Australian tour is almost a miracle in itself. The EP features five completely reimagined tracks from the album, stripped down and reworked and it arrives on a download card along with the original album which has been re-released in a limited run of white vinyl. 34

Dyson recorded the tracks at Echo Magic in Ojai, California at Echo Magic with double bass by Matt Aronoff, additional keys by Lee Pardini (Dawes) and appearances from her band and the producers of this set: Erin ‘Syd’ Sidney and Daniel Wright. The five re-interpretations range from Mia’s first and last singles released from the original album - ‘Roll Me Out’ and ‘I Meant Something To You Once’ - to the strippeddown piano performance of ‘Choose’ to an energetic ‘Rivers Wide’ and a really swampy blues work out on ‘Parking Lots.’ Parking Lots took out an ARIA for ‘Best Blues and Roots Album’ in 2005 - Dyson has been nominated for five ARIA Awards overall – while The Moment earned her a nomination for ‘Song Of The Year’ at the 2013 APRA Awards. Having supported the likes of Stevie Nicks, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt and Joe Cocker, and most recently touring extensively with Dyson Stringer Cloher, Mia is set to flee her Los Angeles home for the relative safety of Australia, at least for a few months. “Actually, I spent a lot of this year doing writing for a future album,” admits Dyson who says that the idea for a 15th anniversary celebration for Parking Lots had been around for a while. “Initially I was just going to do the vinyl release but when there was all this time it came to me and my band to maybe see what it would be like to pick a few tracks - a few of my favourite tracks from the album - and just do new versions of them. Not big elaborate productions but just, what would it be like to sing it 15 years later and to re-imagine it. So, it was really fun and interesting. I really enjoyed it and it was an unexpected joy to revisit these songs because, of course, I have my regrets. I was 22 making that album and I've done a lot of growing up since then. So, I have a few regrets about the songs but it was coming to terms with that and getting a chance to sort of re-imagine them.” What regrets could Dyson possibly have about the album? After all, Matt Walker was involved in the production and Nick Launay mixed it. “No regrets about those things,” she says. “I think the main thing is I feel like singing wise I was trying to prove something and a lot of that has dropped away from me now. There's an ease and kind of authenticity that I feel I have now that I thought I had to create back then instead of just naturally embodying it. So, it's not something that probably other people would necessarily pick up on, but as the artist, there's just listening to myself then it's so different to how I sing now, in my mind anyway.” The original recordings for Parking Lots took place at a holiday house in Mt Martha, south of Melbourne, and then in a makeshift studio that Dyson created in a bungalow in her backyard.

“That's right,” recalls Dyson who adds that Lloyd Barrett co-produced, recorded and engineered the album. “We begged, borrowed and stole bits of gear and assembled this very makeshift studio. That was kind of around the time when a lot of people started making records themselves in home studios. We kind of got obsessive and we spent a lot of time in that bungalow: just the two of us kind of redoing vocal takes and redoing guitar takes. But that was really great learning for me because studio time is so expensive normally. So, to get the chance to sort of experiment and learn without spending a bunch of money was just super invaluable and important to me back then.” The recording of the selection of tracks for Parking Lots Revisited was obviously quite a different experience. “It really was,” agrees Dyson. “I mean, I just basically picked the songs that still most spoke to me and with each one I just start playing it on - basically on my little nylon string guitar – to see what kind of a direction I wanted to hit. One of my band members suggested, for ‘Roll Me Out’, going with this much more finger-picked style instead of that sort of really chugging riff that the electric guitar has on the original. That felt really good. Then for each song I tried just what would it feel like on piano? ‘Choose’ felt super good on piano and it felt like, okay, that's a good direction to go in. We really just followed our nose from the basic vocal and accompanying instrument, which was either guitar or piano. And we sent the tapes off to a friend of ours in New York who is an amazing double bass player, Matt Aronoff, and ended up with double bass on a few tunes. I was just able to be in the recording process and not in the songwriting/questioning/doubting process which I think every album has that. So, it was really fun, really fun and easy, and it felt so good to sing those songs with the voice that I have now. I guess I got to sing them the way I wish I'd been able to sing them back then.”

Death-defying is the only term to describe Mia Dyson’s past year; yet she returns to Australia for Bluesfest, a tour and the release of Parking Lots Revisited. By Brian Wise

ARCHIE ROACH CELEBRATES

CHARCOAL LANE’S 30TH BIRTHDAY

Instead of a last lap tour of the country, Roach closes out an award-winning 2020 with a new album revisiting his seminal work.

“We can’t just pick and choose what we like from the history of this country. We have to tell the whole history and the truth.”

t the start of the year, beloved First Nations leader, singer, songwriter and guitarist Archie Roach was gearing up for what was meant to be his final tour. But then came Covid-19 and the plan was shelved. “It was a shame, but we had to think of other things to do,” says Roach. What followed could have been a quiet one, but it’s turned into a bumper year for the legend. Amongst other things, he was crowned Double J Artist of the Year, was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, won two Arias (best contemporary adult album and male artist) for 2019’s Tell Me Why, took out a NIMA for album of the year (also for Tell Me Why), published a children’s book, and was named as Victorian of the Year. The icing on the cake is the release of The Songs of Charcoal Lane, in which Roach revisits all ten, groundbreaking and deeply personal songs from his 1990 debut album Charcoal Lane. Roach recorded The Songs of Charcoal Lane during the pandemic over endless cups of tea at his kitchen table in Killarney, in Victoria’s south west. “I wish I could record albums all the time like that,” Roach says. “It was great to be able to do it here, in the comfort of your own home, looking out my window at my back yard.” The process was a stripped-back affair, involving just Roach, guitarist Stephen Magnusson, Sam Anning on double bass and recording engineer Hadyn Buxton. “It was just a wonderful way to record,” Roach adds. “So relaxed and there wasn’t a producer as such, it was just pretty organic how the songs came together. We’d try one version, and say, ‘nah, let’s do something else there’. It just happened like that. It was just a pleasure to record that way.” When it comes to what prompted him to rerecord the Charcoal Lane tracks, the answer was – it was time. “It’s 30 years since Charcoal

By Meg Crawford

Lane was recorded – you don’t really think about it, but when I do sit down and think it about it, wow, it doesn’t even seem that long ago,” Roach reflects. “The songs have grown as well as I’ve grown over 30 years. They’ve matured. It seems like I have a better idea of the songs. When I first recorded them 30 years ago, they were just fresh. The ink was hardly dry on the paper they were written on. So, I know them a lot better. It’s like catching up with old friends 30 years later and continuing a conversation, but now we’re a bit wiser and a bit older." Not only have the songs matured over that time, but Roach’s voice has deepened into an even warmer gravel growl. In a recent interview, he joked that he has a hint of Tom Waits about him now. It turns out, his deeper timbre and the minimalist approach to recording The Songs of Charcoal Lane went cheerfully hand-in-hand. “The song was the most important thing, rather than the instrumentation and that’s

how it was done, but I think my voice goes well with the backing there is,” Roach agrees. This year it’s been important for Roach to keep occupied, even when he couldn’t really go anywhere, let alone tour. As a result, he’s forayed into some unexpected territory, much to the delight of fans. “I became a YouTuber,” he explains, gleefully. “I wasn’t too sure about it to start, whereas I’m quite comfortable and relaxed with it now. It’s been great talking about the songs, Charcoal Lane, and revisiting them and talking about what we used to get up to back in the day and what the songs are written about and where they came from, and how we lived in Fitzroy and Collingwood back in those days – we knocked around in those two suburbs. Talking about each song and telling the song behind them – that’s been interesting.” Then there’s the special 30th anniversary edition of Took the Children Away, a kids’ book setting out the lyrics of his iconic song, with deft illustrations by his now passed soul mate Ruby Hunter. In this form, the book is educating a new generation of young listeners and readers about the travesty of the stolen generation. “A beautiful book it is,” Roach notes. “We’ve been able to get that out and other educational resources for young people about the stolen generation. Children and young people respond to ‘Took The Children Away’. It’s about our history and speaking our truths, and the healing as well that’s coming through that. “Just by talking about it – we’re hoping schoolteachers and school children might get a better understanding of the stolen generation – who they are, what that means. And to realise, it’s a part of Australia’s history >>> 37

“The songs have grown as well as I’ve grown over 30 years. They’ve matured. It seems like I have a better idea of the songs.”

Credit: Justin Williams >>>

We can’t just pick and choose what we like from the history of this country. We have to tell the whole history and the truth. It’s the only way we can move forward. In this way, it’s a little gentler for younger people to process.”

. Dianne Roach, Archie, Tracy Roach Credit : Justin Williams

Roach has made such a profound impact by shining a light on these issues with his songs. When asked though about his most proud moment, Roach is stumped for a second. “Gosh, there’s so many things to be proud of,” he reflects. “Boy, getting inducted in the Aria Hall of Fame was a big one this year, that’s for sure. “It’s funny. I remember the first Aria awards I went to. That was in 1991 for Charcoal Lane. We pulled up outside Darling Harbour in a car at the red carpet. You can hear everyone screaming for the people who pulled up before us. Screaming and cameras flashing and crowds peering out. Me and Ruby pulled up and they went, ‘heeeeey’ and just stopped. All this silence. They were probably thinking, ‘who are these people’. I remember Ruby saying, ‘keep your head down, don’t look at anybody, just keep walking and don’t say nothin’.’ So, we did. At the end of that, I won two awards for Charcoal Lane – best indigenous album and

best new talent. So, to be recognised this year and inducted into the Hall of Fame is really a pretty big thing.” Then there was the Herculean effort of facing down a stroke in 2010 and a diagnosis of lung cancer in 2011, from which Roach has come out the other side. “Coming through stroke and lung cancer and being able to do what I do is quite an achievement,” Roach notes. “I’m probably most proud of that. It could have been much different, but I’ve been able to continue and sing and communicate and interact with the people who come and listen to me sing and tell stories. I’m proud of those people too. They’re more than just an audience. There’s an interaction. They give me if not more sometimes than I give them.” Not one to sit on his laurels, there’s plenty in the pipeline for Roach’s fans. Roach is on the verge of publishing a revised edition of his 2019 autobiography Tell Me Why for a YA audience, he’s headlining WOMADelaide along with Midnight Oil, as well as recording another album of his songs that haven’t made it onto a platter previously. “It’ll be interesting,” he says. “I’m just taking it one step at a time.” Archie Roach will be appearing during the Womadelaide concert series on Friday March 5, 2021.

ARCHIE ROACH – A DISCOGRAPHY

LOOKING FOR BUTTERBOY (1997)

JOURNEY (2007)

THE SONGS OF CHARCOAL LANE (2020) / CHARCOAL LANE (1990)/ 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

When his debut album Charcoal Lane was released in 1990, the impact immediately heralded the emergence of a major new artist. The album’s centrepiece, ‘Took the Children Away’, highlighted the impact of the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from their families and brought it to the attention of the global community. The single won an international Human Rights Achievement Award (the first time ever awarded for a song), while the album was certified gold and won two ARIA Awards. The album was co-produced by Steve Connolly and Paul Kelly and won Roach two ARIA awards and an international ‘Human Rights Achievement Award’ for ‘Took The Children Away’.

Produced in 1997 by acclaimed Canadian music producer, Malcolm Burn, the album was recorded on Archie’s mothers’ ancestral lands in southwest Victoria in an old Port Fairy B&B that was converted into a recording studio. The album went on to win the 1998 ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album and the ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release. While recording the album, Roach was swamped with childhood memories, one of which led to the album's title. Roach said “When I was about three years old, I was on the mission where my mother is from. I got into the pantry and covered myself from head to foot in butter. So, from then on, I was known as "butter boy".

A companion piece to the Liyarn Ngarn documentary. The film documented the journey Archie made with his friend, the late British actor Pete Postlethwaite, and political leader Patrick Dodson. The men covered the troubled landscape of modern Aboriginal Australia in the hope of reawakening a discussion of the many issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and of Reconciliation. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2008, the album was nominated for ARIA Award for Best World Music Album.

MUSIC DELI PRESENTS ARCHIE ROACH-1988

SENSUAL BEING (2002)

JAMU DREAMING (1993)

Musically, the album explored new territory while continuing to traverse themes of love, family and culture. The album was recorded with musical assistance from David Bridie, Tiddas, Paul Kelly, Vika and Linda Bull, Ruby Hunter, Dave Arden and Joe Geia. The album peaked at number 55 on the ARIA Charts and was nominated for Best Indigenous Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 1994.

“Produced by Richard Pleasance with a few tracks produced by Paul Kelly, is an often-overlooked album. It has probably my favorite song on it, ‘Small Child’, a song about my spirit, which I liken to a small child, that inner voice that guides me through life,” says Archie. “The rollicking Move It On, about being born in Mooroopna in Victoria, is another favorite, and I really like the special effects used on my vocals in Alien Invasion. This album has so many great songs on it and Richard’s production makes it so memorable.”

The second in a series of important artist releases from the live archives of ABC radio's music deli program captures some of the first ever recordings of Archie Roach. The majority of the album was recorded in 1988, other selections were recorded live at the Melbourne Concert Hall when Archie supported Yothu Yindi in January 1992 and the 'Christmas eve' song with Paul Kelly was also recorded live in ABC studio in 1990.

ARCHIE ROACH – A DISCOGRAPHY

LET LOVE RULE (2016)

ARCHIE ROACH - ‘THE CONCERT COLLECTION 2012-2018’

INTO THE BLOODSTREAM (2012)

Midnight Oil’s first new music in 18 years shows they’ve lost none of their power and passion.

In early 2010, Archie’s life took a dramatic turn with Ruby’s sudden death and then, while trying to cope with that, he suffered a massive stroke that left him temporarily paralysed along his right side, unable to talk, walk or play his guitar. After intensive rehabilitation Archie briefly returned to performing. In 2011 he was diagnosed with cancer and was facing an operation to remove half of his lung. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013, the album was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album. At the Deadly Awards 2013, the album won Album Release of the Year.

Unlike his early albums, this was written around a definite concept. “On this album I wanted to explore the theme of love – what it is, what it means,” said Archie. “I wanted to write about love, or a willingness to love all people.” He was concerned by what he saw happening in the world and particularly in Australia. “We are closing ourselves off and not letting people in. And not just in the sense of not letting them into the country, but not letting them into our hearts, into our minds. This country was built on people coming here from other countries. That’s what made Australia what it is today.” At the ARIA Music Awards of 2017, the album was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album.

CREATION (2013)

DANCING WITH MY SPIRIT (2018)

A box set featuring remastered versions of Roach's first four studio albums with Mushroom Records between 1990 and 2002 with 14 previously unreleased bonus tracks and deluxe packaging including detailed liner notes, commentary from the albums' producers Paul Kelly, David Bridie, Malcolm Burn and Richard Pleasance. The album was released to coincide with the premiere of Roach's new live show, also entitled Creation which ran for three dates in October 2013 at the inaugural Boomerang Festival in Byron Bay. 40

Recorded nearly a quarter of a century earlier, the sessions for this album were produced by Jen Anderson and featured Bruce Haymes (keyboards), Dave Steel (guitars), Stuart Speed (bass) and Archie Cuthbertson (drums). Tiddas also added their harmonies to the mix. (They later reunited to tour with Roach on this album’s release and appeared with him at the Port Fairy Folk Festival).

This special three-disc collection includes some notable performances: November 2012 at the Playhouse Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, for the Australasian World Music Expo for Into The Bloodstream the State Theatre for the Sydney Festival in January 2013; the Let Love Rule concert from May 2017 at the inaugural Yirramboi First Nations Arts Festival at the Playhouse Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, featuring both the Dhungala Children’s Choir and Short Black Opera; May 2018 with Tiddas at their Hamer Hall performance at Arts Centre Melbourne. TELL ME WHY (2019)

“Unfortunately, politics is a dirty word. I know that many people, particularly young Australians, are dismayed by the current political scene and can find no place in it for themselves. “I love my sunburnt country and yet it is a place uncertain of its future, not trusting its institutions, and reliant on an out-dated view of what is happening. The powerful groups in the community, in particular government and the large corporations, carry a great responsibility, but as Bob Brown has said, ‘their access to money, information and the ears of power … drains the decency from democracy’. The result, a kind of conservatism which is an impediment to social change and breeds prejudice. It is not good for Australia, for the land or the people.” Peter Garrett wrote those words in August 1987, as an introduction to Political Blues, a book that gathered columns he wrote on the state of the nation for the Melbourne Herald. The more things change … In 2002, Garrett shocked the music world when he announced he was quitting Midnight Oil. “The last 25 years have been incredibly fulfilling for me,” he said, “and I leave with the greatest respect for the whole of Midnight Oil. The band has brought a lot of pleasure and meaning to people’s lives, including my own. Who could ask for any more? But it is time for me to move on and immerse myself in those things which are of deep concern

to me and which I have been unable to fully apply myself to up to now.” Five years and one day later, Garrett became a minister in the Rudd Labor Government. During his stint in federal parliament – from 2004 to 2013 – Silverchair’s Daniel Johns spray-painted the set at the ARIA Awards: “PG 4 PM”. An Australian rock star had never risen to such dizzy heights in the corridors of power. When Garrett caught up with Lou Reed in 2010, the American asked what he’d been up to. When he filled him in, Reed replied, “Amazing. You’re actually in the government?” During Garrett’s time in Canberra, I asked Mark Seymour, the lead singer of Hunters & Collectors – who toured Australia and internationally with the Oils – if Garrett would make a good Prime Minister. “For sure, absolutely, I don’t doubt it for a moment,” Seymour said. “I’m a big fan of Peter Garrett, a really big fan. Peter’s there to do good work. He’s a Christian. I don’t share that view of the world, but he’s there for the right reasons. And because I know him personally, I watch him very closely and I really want to see him succeed. I want him to go all the way.” At the height of Garrett’s ministerial career, a press gallery mate informed me that Garrett would never become Labor leader – the party would never truly accept him because he was not a product of the Labor “machine”. Before we could find out, Garrett, like all the Labor

FEATURE

MPs at the time, got By Jeff Jenkins caught up in the Rudd/ Gillard war. He retreated from Canberra and returned to the band. Garrett achieved much in politics – including being instrumental in stopping Japanese whaling – but arguably he can achieve more as the lead singer of Midnight Oil. Recently, YouTube led me to a clip of Billy Joel inducting John Mellencamp into the Hall of Fame. “We need you to be pissed off and restless, because, no matter what they tell us, we know – this country’s going to hell in a handcart,” Joel raged. “This country’s been hijacked – you know it and I know it. People are scared and people are angry. People need to hear a voice like yours to echo the discontent that’s out there … they need to hear stories about it. They need to know that somebody out there feels the way they do.” When Bernard Fanning won an ARIA in 2006, he appealed to “all Australian musicians that are around now and the ones of the future to use Midnight Oil as an example. They’re such a great example to people like us, ’cause there’s a lot of great things about Australia but there’s a lot of shit things about this country at the moment as well, and it’s up to people like us to stand up and say something about it.” With songs such as ‘Beds Are Burning’ and ‘The Dead Heart’, the Oils introduced >>>

A companion album to the memoir, Tell Me Why (published by Simon & Schuster), this 18-track companion album re-imagines eleven songs which have defined his extraordinary thirty-year musical career, alongside two songs that have never-beforebeen recorded, two songs of early-influence, and three brand new recordings. Tell Me Why re-united Archie with celebrated and multi award winning composer, arranger and producer Paul Grabowsky.

Photo by Awais Butt

Photo by Daniel Aboud

“Midnight Oil needed to take one of those big lessons about walking together and actually walk into the studio together with people and share these songs and see what they brought.”

>>> rock fans to the Indigenous story, even if the message was sometimes misunderstood (one fan stopped Garrett on the street in New York to tell him how much he liked the band’s song about “hot sex” – ‘Beds Are Burning’). As Bono said, “You can break up a band, but you can’t break up an idea. If Midnight Oil could mean any one idea, it would have to be that Australia could be more for more people and that the only obstacle to that is indifference.” Fifteen years after Garrett’s departure, Midnight Oil reunited for 77 shows in 16 countries in 2017. Then came The Makarrata Project, their first new music since 2002’s Capricornia. It entered the charts at number one, but the celebrations were short-lived – the following day, the band’s bass player, Bones Hillman, died of cancer, aged 62. The band called Hillman “the bassist with the beautiful voice, the band member with the wicked sense of humour, and our brilliant musical comrade”. “Near the end, we knew that something was wrong,” drummer Rob Hirst said. “But we think he might have known for a lot longer.” Hillman joined the Oils in 1987, just as they released the blockbuster Diesel and Dust, which was declared the greatest Australian album of all time in the 2010 book, 100 Best Australian Albums. Hillman played on The Makarrata Project, which can be seen as a sequel of sorts to Diesel and Dust. The record was inspired by 2017’s Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for a “First Nations Voice” to be enshrined in the Constitution, as well as the establishment of a Makarrata Commission “to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history”. Makarrata is a Yolngu word describing “a process of conflict resolution, peacemaking and justice”. Garrett’s 1987 book Political Blues included a moving piece entitled “Blackfella – Whitefella”. “One of the great problems facing Australia’s European rulers since the arrival of the First Fleet has been the question of how to deal with the country’s original inhabitants,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, the solutions developed have had little basis in understanding and have been largely founded on ignorance. It is to be hoped that, as we approach the Bicentenary, Australians can at last acknowledge the depth and strength of Aboriginal culture so that our culture and theirs can co-exist far more peacefully and productively in the future than they have in the past.”

The Bicentenary came and went, though the Keating Government later recognised native title in the landmark Mabo case, while the Rudd Government – of which Garrett was a part – apologised to the Stolen Generations (eight years after Midnight Oil wore their “Sorry” suits at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics). But three decades after Bob Hawke said he wished to conclude a treaty with Indigenous Australia, we are – as Garrett wails in ‘First Nation’ – “Still waiting.” The Oils planned to launch The Makarrata Project at the Splendour In The Grass festival, but when the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID, they turned to TV instead, promoting the record on The Sound. The irony of appearing on a Sunday night music show on the ABC was not lost on the band, who famously boycotted Countdown, the most successful Australian music show of all time. “Back then they expected everyone to mime, but this show allows artists to sing live,” Hirst pointed out. “Plus it’s always got an all-Australian line-up, so we’re happy to be part of it.” Garrett explained that the record would not have felt right without the First Nations collaborators, including Jessica Mauboy, Dan Sultan, Frank Yamma, Alice Skye, Kev Carmody and Tasman Keith. Not known for collaborating, Midnight Oil “needed to take one of those big lessons about walking together and actually walk into the studio together with people and share these songs and see what they brought”. The result? “It lifted them to a place we didn’t ever expect they would go.” Hirst highlights Dan Sultan’s scream that punctuates ‘Gadigal Land’. “What I heard in that scream was 232 years of anger and frustration. We can’t deliver that stuff. To deliver a scream like that, you have to have lived it.” The Makarrata Project is a stunning return. The more things change … Midnight Oil remain our most potent rock band. As Bono said when he helped induct the Oils into the ARIA Hall of Fame, “The Midnight Oil idea is still present, still contagious, still a virus you don’t wanna shake off. It’s like they were born from Whitlam’s phrase – maintain your rage.” The Makarrata Project is out now. Midnight Oil’s Makarrata Live tour starts in Queensland on February 28 and includes two shows at WOMADelaide. All dates at midnightoil.com 43

“The thing about Jimi Hendrix that I realised eventually that I loved most of all was, you never had any idea what he was going to do.”

MASTER BLASTER

Dave Alvin has released a retrospective anthology but has also recorded a mind-blowing album with The Third Mind. By Brian Wise

long with Sid Griffin of The Long Ryders, Dave Alvin is the other musician I spoke to recently who emerged from the burgeoning Los Angeles music scene in the early ‘80s. Spawning a host of rock ‘n’ roll, country, alt.country, ‘cow punk’, Tex-Mex and even psychedelic bands – all of whom would be labelled as Americana these days – the scene was far more influential than is often credited. Alvin formed the Blasters with his brother Phil in Downey, California, back in 1979. The band described their ‘American Music’ as a blend of ‘rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, punk rock, mountain music, rhythm and blues and country.’ That just about covers it all. Dave recorded four albums with the group, including their revered self-titled album in 1982, before recording an album with The Knitters and then going solo a year later in 1986. Since 1987 he has released a dozen of his own albums, as well as several collaborations with brother Phil (you might have seen them at Bluesfest and on tour a few years back) and one recently with Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Alvin’s anthology, From An Old Guitar: Rare and Unreleased Recordings is a terrific collection, released late last year, but it was preceded earlier in the year by a recording that he made with a collective known - very 44

fittingly given the music - as The Third Mind. Led by Alvin on guitar and vocals, the group also featured Victor Krummenacher (bass, vocals) who started out with Camper Van Beethoven, David Immergluck (guitar, keyboards, vocals), and Michael Jerome (drums, percussion) who has worked for years with Richard Thompson. These might not be household names (depending on how hip your house is) but they are great players. Guests on the album included Jesse Sykes (guitar, vocals), DJ Bonebrake (vibes), and Jack Rudy (harmonica). The six-song Third Mind album includes the original composition, ‘Claudia Cardinale,’ and five amazing covers, including Fred Neil’s ‘The Dolphins,’ Bonnie Dobson’s classic ‘Morning Dew,’ Alice Coltrane’s ‘Journey In Satchidananda’ and an absolutely mindblowing version of Mike Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites’ ‘East West,’ originally recorded as the title track of the Butterfield Blues Band’s 1966 album. Alvin says that he was “using the Miles Davis technique” to record the album. “There were no rehearsals or written musical arrangements. Just decide on a key, start recording and see what happens.” “Well, I read this book by a guy named John Szwed,” replies Alvin when I ask him about the inspiration for The Third Mind. “It was a

biography of Miles Davis and it was talking about how Miles and Miles' producer, a guy named Teo Macero, produced certain records by Miles. This was especially in the electric era, starting around In A Silent Way. Basically, they'd get great musicians into a studio for five days, and they just rolled the tape, and then they would go and cut the tape up and make it into compositions.” “I just thought, ‘What a great way to make a record,’ he continues, “but, of course, you have to have money to do that and you have to have musicians that are willing to play that way. It's like there's nothing worse than a blues band where the drummer is bored, or a country band where the bass player’s bored. It's the same thing with improvisational music. All it takes is one guy to be, ‘Oh God, I'm so bored’ that it sinks the ship.” “Victor took the ball and ran with it after years of us fantasizing about it,” adds Alvin. “He suggested David Immerglück, the other guitar player [who has also played with Camper Van Beethoven as well as Counting Crows]. He can certainly cop my style, but he doesn't play anything like me, and I certainly don't play like him. That's how I like to do it. We've got two guitar players. David's style is so abstractly melodic, and mine's pretty back alley blues, that it worked.

“We went into the studio, and the rules were, no rehearsal, no discussing of an arrangement, just pick the key. So, he'd say, ‘Oh I've got key D. We'll try ‘East/West’. Why not?’ We used the studio that I'd been using for years called Winslow Court, with a great engineer named Craig Parker Adams, and I brought in a friend of mine, Jesse Sykes, who's a very, very, very unique and soulful singer.” “Everybody was in a circle in the studio, looking at each other, as we recorded,” explains Alvin. “So, it was easy and fun. With this, it was more, ‘Now I'm just paying attention to what everybody's playing and that'll decide the structure.’ So, it was fun. I loved it.” “When Victor suggested that we do ‘East/ West’, of course my first instinct was, ‘No, it's untouchable,” recalls Alvin. “The performance by the Butterfield Blues Band, just doesn't get the credit really that it deserves for starting a lot of what came after, whether it was The Allman Brothers or others. Because of that, for me it was like, ‘Well, it's sacred. You can't mess with that.’ It's like, you can't do a better job on ‘Johnny B. Goode’ than Chuck Berry did. You just can't. It's the same thing with ‘East/West’, but when we went for it, we went for it. “By the time we went into the studio, I was fully into it. I love Mike Bloomfield, I love the way Bloomfield played guitar. Certainly, his stuff with Bob Dylan and his stuff with The Electric Flag and Butterfield, influenced my guitar playing to some extent. I don't really play like Bloomfield, but I can play a bit like Bloomfield. Then, there's modes too in what I'm doing on ‘East/West’, sort of the raga guitar approach that he did for a while.” When Alvin talks about guitar players he certainly has some first-hand experience of witnessing many of the greats, including – as a mere 12-year-old - seeing Jimi Hendrix twice in three months! “I was hardly a musician,” recalls Alvin. “It's weird because, intentionally because of that I've never really tried to play like Jimi Hendrix. It was like ‘East/West’. It was like, ‘No, no, you can't do that.’ Guys that do try to play like Hendrix, they're great guitar players, there's no doubt about it, but the thing about Jimi Hendrix that I realised eventually that I loved most of all was, you never had any idea what he was going to do. If you listen to any of the live performances, on a lot of the stuff, I don't even know he knew what he was going to do. “So, there was an excitement about that. What is this guy going to do? It's like when people go see Bob Dylan now, what song is he going to play? Is he going to play something off Blonde on Blonde or is he going to do something off Blood On The Tracks? “Whether it was Lightnin' Hopkins or Big Joe Turner, or Jerry Lee Lewis, or Jackie Wilson. They all moved me to a great extent. Those were all important shows to me. Reverend Gary Davis, Johnny Guitar Watson, Freddie

King before he got rediscovered, when he was still a Chitlin' Circuit act, I saw him then and that was astounding. I'm basically a blues guy, is what I am, but I'm a very eclectic blues guy.” By the time The Third Mind’s album was released Covid-19 had crippled the music industry and projected tours had to be cancelled. Luckily, Alvin had plenty to work on, including the collection for From An Old Guitar. The 16-song anthology features songs recorded over the years for his own records and tribute albums, but “the majority were recorded for no other reason at all than the sheer kicks of going into a recording studio to make some joyous noise with musicians and singers that I love and admire.” The anthology features songs written by Alvin as well as some written by friends such as Peter Case, Bill Morrissey and Chris Smither, as well as heroes like Willie Dixon, Bob Dylan, Earl Hooker, Doug Sahm, Lil’ Hardin Armstrong, Marty Robbins and Bo Carter. There are also contributions from departed musicians Chris Gaffney, Amy Farris and Bobby Lloyd Hicks, as well as from old Blasters pals like Gene Taylor along with various members of The Guilty Men/ Women/Ones. Studio guests include Greg Leisz, Cindy Cashdollar, Bob Glaub and Don Heffington. While Alvin maintains that it is impossible to do a better version of ‘Johnny B.Goode’ than Chuck Berry’s original, he certainly gives Dylan’s ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ a shake,

imbuing it with an eerie spirit. It ranks amongst the best ever covers of a Dylan song. “It took me a while sitting around with a guitar, figuring out how do I do this differently,” he says. “A close acquaintance of mine was the great blues soul singer, Little Milton. I first had the thought, ‘How would Little Milton do ‘Highway 61 Revisited’? And I came up with the guitar figure. “It's not quite that, but it's kind of in Milton's zone. But then vocally, I'm not Little Milton, unfortunately. I came up with this idea of somewhere between Mose Allison and the spoken word artist from the ‘50s named Ken Nordine. So, it was like this Little Milton, Mose Allison and Ken Nordine combined. “There's a part of Bob Dylan that's a hustler. That's something people don't realise about Bob. I say hustler in a good sense. I don't mean it in a bad sense. Bob's pretty street, and people don't know that about him. Yes, he's a genius lyricist and everything else, but he's also a guy that made his way to New York City and scuffled around New York City to sleep on people's couches. So, there's a bit of a hustler in him. The lyrics in ‘Highway 61’ always seemed like a hustler. There's sort of, ‘Where can I get this done? I've got 20 red, white, and blue shoestrings, 1,000 telephones that don't ring. What do I do with this stuff, man? Hey man, I'll tell you, man. I'll tell you. Take them on down to Highway 61’." The Third Mind and From An Old Guitar: Rare And Unreleased Recordings are available on Yep Roc records.

the below-zero temperatures. “Then we drove back to Saskatoon and recorded at their friend’s studio where they recorded Strange Country, the one that turned me onto them. We recorded in a gritty, dodgy backyard part of Saskatoon in a reconditioned old church.” The results are an intoxicating mix of country, 70s folk and 50s rock ’n’ roll and pop, all rolled into a seamless blend of melodies and rhythms that tumble and counter each other beautifully. With Williams and Kacy providing the vocals it was left to guitarist Clayton to weave his magic on guitar. “We treated Clayton’s guitar playing as a third voice on the album. He’s very frenetic and it’s like these little fireworks constantly going off on his fretboard,” Williams enthuses. “There’s a nervousness about the way he plays that’s very individualistic. It provides a sophisticated counterpoint to the vocal melodies.”

FEATURE

By Chris Familton

“We recorded in a gritty, dodgy backyard part of Saskatoon in a reconditioned old church.”

THE SEEDS OF

COLLABORATION Marlon Williams talks about Plastic Bouquet his new album with Kacy & Clayton and gives an update on some of his other upcoming projects.

n 2017, New Zealand songwriter Marlon Williams was on tour across Europe when the algorithms of Spotify dropped a Kacy & Clayton song in his lap and stopped him in his tracks. That was Springtime of the Year’, from the duo’s 2016 album Another Country. “I heard their music and was so taken aback by it that I had to message them straight

away when I found out they were my contemporaries. Next thing I knew I was flying to Saskatoon to collaborate with them,” laughs Williams. At the time of that initial impulsive action, Williams was in the first run of touring his album Make Way For Love, yet with the benefit of hindsight he can see his musical radar was already scanning

for the next thing. “I was probably 40 days into the tour and I was probably subconsciously trying to align myself to what my next project would be but I don’t think there was a lot of intentionality behind it.” The tyranny of distance meant that a period of online correspondence ensued as the trio begun to engage creatively.

It quickly became clear that there was a strong musical synergy between them. “We’d send songs back and forward to each other. Not a ton of co-writing per se but some back and forth editing,” explains Williams. “There was a mutual understanding and we both loved the same kind of music but came at it from slightly different parts of the world and different cultures. For both of us that was the intrigue in the first place, and we leant into that.” Fast forward to the northern winter of 2018 and Williams flew to Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, Canada. “I turned up and Kacy picked me up and we drove two hours straight out to her family’s ranch and I got acclimatised there for a few days,” says Williams, recalling

Since the recording of Plastic Bouquet was completed late last year in Nashville, Williams hasn’t been resting on his laurels. He’s completed a soundtrack for a NZ film, he has “a whole bunch of songs” waiting to be shaped and corralled for his next album and he’s particularly enthusiastic about an album of songs sung entirely in te reo Māori that he’s halfway through writing (with Kommi Tamati-Elliffe) and which will be recorded with his band The Yarra Benders. “There are ways I sing and arrange things which are informed by my Māori sense of harmony, but this is going to be further exploring that and exploring some of the linguistic geography and becoming more connected to my historical Māori tribal areas through songwriting too.” Collaboration is something that Williams is familiar with, in his work with Delaney Davidson and others, and as he explains, it’s a process that allows him to continuing evolving his songwriting craft. “One aspect is just me using my privilege as a musician to be able to explore music with people I respect and love. it’s me as a music lover wanting to be part of other people’s musical worlds. that’s the most basic reason I do it. It’s using other people as a mirror to develop your own sense of self and identity in different contexts.”

KACY & CLAYTON AND MARLON WILLIAMS

PLASTIC BOUQUET New West Records A chance Spotify encounter with the music of Kacy & Clayton led Marlon Williams on an adventure that ended up in sub-zero Saskatoon in Canada and Nashville, TN to record this wonderful collaborative album. There’s a clear simpatico between the three of them, with Kacy and Marlon’s vocals blending seamlessly as Clayton colours the songs with homespun and quirky guitar textures. A old-timey aesthetic pervades the songs yet there’s an international flavour to the music that gives it a timeless and geographically untethered sound. From 70s British folk-rock to dusty-trails country, 50’s rock ’n’ roll to subtle pacific folk styles, there’s a fascinating and wholly successful mix of flavours going on. Vocally, Kacy and Marlon share a real ease and sense of timing that allows them to duet in the traditional sense, trading lines and using call and response techniques, while also dovetailing melodies and counter-phrasing through the songs. ‘Arahura’ is the most ‘Marlon’ of moments on the album - dripping with Antipodean noir as he sings from the perspective of a New Zealand river of the same name. ‘Isn’t It’ showcases the playfulness and inventiveness of the trio within a standard song structure while the title track is a country waltz that touchingly addresses the aftermath of a roadside death. 47

Nick Cave

BOY ON FIRE: THE YOUNG NICK CAVE

From Mark Mordue’s recently published and highly acclaimed biography of the formative years of ‘the dark prince of Australian rock ‘n’ roll.’ The touchpaper in Melbourne was lit within the space of two months in early 1977: first in March with a tour by Radio Birdman; then in April with the arrival of The Saints. Nick, Mick, Tracy and Phill went to see both bands, pursuing every show they played across town. Initially, Radio Birdman blitzed them with a quasi-militaristic attack that owed as much to the hard-edged psychedelic radicalism of the MC5’s Kick Out the Jams (1969) as to their beloved Stooges or an American pop metal group like Blue Öyster Cult. Mick Harvey, in particular, was attracted to Birdman’s lethally controlled, sonically dense musical attack, though he found the invoked audience salutes and mass chants of ‘Yeah hup!’ hard to swallow. Phill Calvert recalls himself and Nick in a less discriminating mood, ‘right up the front, dancing wildly, drinking a pot [of beer] per song’.11 After the show Nick and Tracy invited the band to a party. Tracy Pew was pulled over by police and booked for ferrying Radio Birdman’s guitarist Deniz Tek and their singer, Rob Younger, on his blue Vespa motor scooter. Younger was riding pillion, Tek was right out front on the handlebars. This camaraderie with the loyalty-obsessed Birdman would dissolve the moment The Saints hit town a few weeks later, and the heads of the aspiring young Melbourne group were immediately turned in another direction. By the time Radio Birdman came back in June for their ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Soldiers Tour’, they were aware that relations with their new comrades had cooled. A little competitive jealousy would always be enough to pour petrol on Nick’s flame. Deniz 48

Tek was a formidable figure in every way, and did not lack for a little attitude himself. Born in the United States, he’d seen The Stooges first-hand as a teenager in Detroit and had become a truly great guitarist, driving Radio Birdman to its sonic heights while also studying medicine for what would become a career as an ER doctor. He would later become a Navy flight surgeon with the US Marines, his ‘Iceman’ callsign inspiring the character of the same name in the film Top Gun. If Tek was not a real person, you’d think him an unbelievable character in a corny novel. Need it be added that he was extraordinarily handsome? His classic dark looks were reminiscent of a cooler, more contained Tom Cruise. Nicky Danger, as Nick was calling himself then, did an interview for the punk zine Alive ’n’ Pumping, in which he gave his bile against Tek free rein. Asked what bands he liked or hated, Nick was pure punk disrespect. ‘I think Deniz Tek is an arsehole and his brain is as big as a pea. Birdman rip off everyone like The Stooges, MC5, Doors, Bay City Rollers, etc. I guess Rob Younger is a good front man, though; I mean that seriously. The Pistols are okay.’ Within a year Nick would be up in Sydney with The Boys Next Door saying things such as ‘I hate Radio Birdman’12 on stage for no other reason than to take yet another gratuitous stab at that band’s legendary status – this time on Birdman’s home turf. It was a very Nick thing to do, and not the first or last time he would define himself with an unforgiving zest against others. It all went with punk rock’s demolishing ethos of malice and disrespect, though it still must have been galling to be so obviously and quickly dropped, as well as slurred for no clear reason. To make matters worse, the ‘other’ great Australian act of the era, The Saints, had behaved boorishly in Sydney after Radio

Birdman had welcomed the Brisbane band by organising live shows and accommodation. The Saints’ loose, gang-like image and unruly humour were always going to appeal to the likes of Nick Cave – right down to singer Chris Bailey’s Irish background and the way he echoed the Ned Kelly fantasies of Nick’s Wangaratta childhood. While Radio Birdman’s intensity demanded a regimented, even cultish fandom that drowned itself in their maelstrom13, The Saints’ sprawling menace and innate lyricism celebrated a far more reckless and poetic individualism. Nick would later recall his excitement at seeing his favourite band: ‘The Saints would come down to Melbourne and play these concerts which were the most alarming things you’ve ever seen, just such antirock kind of shows, where the singer wouldn’t come on stage. When he did, he was this fat alcoholic. It was so misanthropic, it was unbelievable, and the whole band was like that. They were so loud!’14 He cut out a rock-magazine photo that caught him standing front-of-stage in The Saints’ audience, staring boyishly agog at a prone and still-singing Chris Bailey bathed in sweat and glory. It remained in his wallet for years, becoming crumpled and faded, till it finally disintegrated in his fingertips as he stood, disoriented and stoned, on a snowy street in West Berlin in the mid-1980s. By then many considered Nick the most dangerous and exciting rock star in the world. He was a right mess as well. One night in 1977, Nick took a tab of acid. It was warm and the music was loud, the air thick with sound. Radio Birdman’s ‘TV Eye’, Patti Smith’s ‘Horses’, Richard Hell’s ‘Love Comes in Spurts’, The Modern Lovers’ ‘Roadrunner’, the New York Dolls’ ‘Personality >>> 49

>>> Crisis’ – the songs kept coming in waves. According to fellow partiers, a nineteen-yearold Nick tried to use his bare hands to pull a sink away from the bathroom wall. Everyone thought he was a maniac. But it was a very ‘punk’ thing to do. Rowland S Howard stood in the hallway, listening to the music as it rolled out of the lounge room. He was seventeen and straight as a die; these were his pre-heroin days and he was not even drinking. Suddenly someone grabbed him by the suit lapels and pushed him hard up against the wall. A still rampaging Nick Cave stared into his face from about an inch away and blurted, ‘Are you a punk or are you a poof?’ Rowland had seen Nick’s band play a show at another friend’s party just a few weeks before. He didn’t think they were particularly good, but the singer had something. Nick was well aware of Rowland’s presence on the scene. Rowland’s teeth, his ears, his eyes: like some punk-rock Nosferatu in an op-shop suit, Rowland was an effete and pale-skinned poseur who was hard to miss. Nick was monkey-handsome by comparison, Rowland’s feral opposite: taller, darker, more boyish and wild. Pinned to the wall, Rowland didn’t answer. So, Nick loomed into his face again and asked him a second time, ‘Are you a punk or are you a poof?!’ Television’s mighty signature track for Marquee Moon crashed over them as Nick released Rowland during a pause in the song. Then those duelling guitars started up again, a classic reprise. Nick staggered off into the party without waiting for a reply or saying another word. The music kept going, ascending and falling away till it broke completely on some imaginary shore above them all. Nick felt as if it were made of glittering particles that were coming apart in his ears. It was Rowland’s favourite album that year and came to define his early sound as a guitarist. ‘The next night I was at a gig and he [Nick] apologised profusely and gave me a little hand-drawn map of how to get to a party,’ Rowland said. ‘I went there and the same thing happened again. Tracy was there as well and I thought he was a complete psychopath.’ It was in early August 1977 that a group calling themselves The Boys Next Door officially entered the fray. Up until then, Nick says, their sporadic appearances at school dances, friends’ parties and backyard barbecues had been ‘complete fiascos … Phill could drum okay but the rest of us were totally incompetent. I was a terrible singer.’ The Reverend Arthur Harvey gave his son permission to stage a public event at the church hall in Ashburton where the freshly re-christened The Boys Next Door had been rehearsing during the previous few years. The event was advertised through the usual process of hand-distributed leaflets and word-of-mouth. The band may have been inexperienced professionally, but Phill Calvert recalls Mick Harvey’s ‘drive’, along with weekly rehearsals that were now being taken very 50

seriously indeed. Contrary to the reckless image Nick and Tracy Pew projected, the group was acquiring a strong work ethic and a certainty they had something worth pursuing. The departure of both The Saints and Radio Birdman for the United Kingdom by the middle of 1977 left a vacuum that was immediately felt in the Australian underground music scene. For all their ‘punk’ qualities, Radio Birdman and The Saints were bands of adroit, forceful musicians fronted by deeply charismatic singers and marked by generationdefining guitar players. This was no everyday combination to pull together. Whether they knew it or not, The Boys Next Door had those base materials at hand. And while The Saints and Radio Birdman made their names from Brisbane and Sydney, Melbourne still lacked a punk band of national prominence. This seemed to confirm the annoying northern prejudice that Sydney was a city and Melbourne was just a town. The church hall show at Ashburton was to be The Boys Next Door’s first step towards putting themselves forward. It was aided and abetted by Tracy Pew’s friend Chris Walsh, who had temporarily become their ‘manager’. Walsh’s own punk band, Reals, which featured guitarist (and future Melbourne electronic music guru) Ian ‘Ollie’ Olsen and singer Garry Gray (later infamous as the chainsaw-wielding vocalist for The Sacred Cowboys), would be the support act on the night. Reals specialised in trying to out-Stooge The Stooges. They failed, but they could still generate enough thudding, ominous aggression to get a punk crowd slamming. Nick had come up with the new band name as ‘a reaction against the names that were going around at the time’, he says. ‘The more vulgar names.’16 Mick Harvey admits, ‘We didn’t know what we were [then], we’d been doing this kind of stuff which was a precursor to punk, to some degree, so when punk came along, we thought, Oh, that’s what we must be, but of course it wasn’t. We twisted what we were doing a bit.’17 Harvey indicates it wasn’t just a groovy mix of Roxy Music affectations, garage rock thrashing and Nick’s half-baked reading of Alvin Toffler’s sociological philosophies in Future Shock: ‘We used to include “To Sir, With Love” in our set for a while, you know.’18 In naming the group The Boys Next Door and mocking the punk context around them, Nick was as conscious of their middle-class origins as any of their earliest critics. Yet even their roadie, Shane Middleton, remained cynical. ‘They were a bunch of pussies,’ he said. ‘They’re all private-school boys, a bit like Hugh Grant. Upper-middle-class, close to peerage, don’t know the seamy side of life. In a popular movement, you adapt your looks and behaviour to fit in. That’s what they all did.’ Nick is more circumspect on how The Boys Next Door evolved: ‘We weren’t swept along by the whole punk thing, thinking, Oh, punk rock, everything is great, let’s get everything, let’s listen to everything … We did listen to

everything, but we were able to differentiate. The Pistols we thought were great, and the Ramones we thought were a great band, but The Damned were shit. And we didn’t reject everything else wholesale when punk came along, so we were still listening to The Stooges, Alex Harvey, a lot of country music, blues music, other stuff. So there was all that kind of thing mixed together.’ Novelist Michel Faber recalls meeting the young band for an interview with the University of Melbourne’s student magazine, Farrago. Faber describes Melbourne back then as ‘a city whose centre was roughly a mile square. Surrounding this modest metropolis were endless acres of suburbia characterised by eucalyptus trees, milk bars, carpet emporiums, scout halls and local chapters of the Returned Servicemen’s League. Music venues where anything more radical than Doobie Brothers covers, heavy rock or blues could feasibly be attempted were few. When Nick Cave … refers to an audience of “Homesglen skinheads”, he doesn’t mean skinheads in the British sense. He means the denizens of a suburban wasteland of shopping centres and barbecues, the natural fans not of ska but of Suzi Quatro.’20 It was these denizens who had gathered at Ashburton Parish Hall for The Boys Next Door and The Reals. If their previous appearances as Concrete Vulture et cetera had been ‘fiascos’, this night would be a sign of times to come, turning into an all-in band-and-audience brawl. Nick told Faber that, on the night, ‘All these skinheads – Homesglen skinheads – were screaming at us, “Punks!” and stuff like that. And it suddenly occurred to me that we were punks, because everyone said we were. So, I just sort of thought, “What do punks do? Will I fart, shit, gob, spit or whatever?” So, I spat, and consequently got beaten to a pulp.’ Julie Cave was in the audience and gives what appears to be the more reliable account. ‘I was there at the fight,’ she says. ‘Nick had been singing and spitting all night, and the majority of it was landing on this one guy. And he kept directing his comments and all that spitting at this one guy, who was actually a fan of what the band were doing. He wasn’t trying to cause trouble. I kept thinking, Nick, stop doing that to that poor guy. But Nick just kept at him. Then Nick asks for a drink and this guy passes him something like an ouzo and Coke; Nick takes a drink then pours the rest over him. That was the last straw … the guy grabbed him and all hell broke loose. Everyone was grabbing everyone else. I always thought a boy would never hit a woman, then I saw this girl getting cracked over the head with a bottle of beer. Some local skinheads were on Nick, and I jumped in and was screaming, “Leave my brother alone!” It was chaos. Chris [Walsh] had an indentation mark from getting elbowed so hard in the chin it stayed there for days after, this knitted-jumper elbow mark.’ Due to noise complaints, the police were already on their way, arriving at the scene within minutes to close the evening down. Ashburton Parish Hall was no longer available for the band’s shows.

A PORTRAIT OF THE Mordue’ first Mark volume of his biography of his Nick Cave biography was a decade in the making.

t’s finally out. After ten years of work Sydney-based writer Mark Mordue has had his Boy On Fire – The Young Nick Cave examination of the formative years of the internationally acclaimed singer and songwriter published. Why so long? Well, that’s an almost longer story involving book publishers, emotional personal upheaval, and maybe even just a bit too much immersion in the project. “The project collapsed with the first publisher because I just could not do a full A – Z of Nick’s life,” explains Mordue. “It was too much, and I had an absolute tonne of research as I’d gone at it hammer and tong and interviewed absolutely everybody. Not only had I gone to Wangaratta, which is basically Nick’s hometown, and spent lots of time in Melbourne, haunting St Kilda but I’d been to London and gone to Brighton to interview Nick and then to Berlin. “I did all the right things, but I guess I went a bit overboard with the research and it buried me, and then when the project collapsed, I had to rebuild my life as much as rebuild the book. I used to joke – but I wasn’t really joking – by saying that the only real problem with writing a book is that your own life gets in the way – just things like trying to make a living as a freelance writer and be a parent. “So, just in the last year after I finally extracted myself from the old contract that I had, and Harper Collins picked it up and I improved it with them a real lot. I obviously framed it around being a portrait of the artist as a young man – which is what I wanted to do when I got into trouble but everybody told me that nobody was going to be interested in that – but it seems like in fact they are. “The (new) publishers understood what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I was able to get a focus on Nick because he’s such a big artist and he does so many things - all his songs and novels and films that cross reference so much other stuff from other artists and his own work and so you just get immersed in this big web of references. So, just to be able to zero it down to his boyhood and teenage years

ARTIST

AS A YOUNG MAN

and focus it. That was really important, and I think a really great thing to do.” But an obvious question is why isn’t it the full-blown 800-page biography? Why stop as Cave and his cohorts are about to leave for the UK? “Why isn’t it the monster,” Mordue laughs. “The enormity of it was the problem. It just became bigger than Ben Hur – it began to make Moby Dick look like a novella. I needed to locate myself a bit closer to what I could possibly achieve. Nick references Wangaratta in a lot of his songs and references his youth a lot. For all of us those years are largely what made us what we are. It’s why you have the idea of the portrait of the artists as a young man because it’s where you’re formed. It’s how and when you learn to be what you become.”

Mark Mordue (left) with Stuart Coupe. Cave also changed his mind about Mordue’s project after his son died. “That was difficult,” the author says. “He didn’t really want me to go on with it. But I couldn’t just abandon what I’d done. That would have been throwing away eight years of work.” So, can we expect a second volume that progresses the Cave story on at least a little further? “The idea of it sort of daunts me as this one cost me so much, but I’m open to it,” Mordue says. “I’ve certainly got enough material to do London, St Paulo and Berlin which really

are the big fire years. Could I do it? I’m 60. Do I have enough energy? I’ve got a novel on the backburner and I’d love to put some collected journalism type book out. If I could get those FEATURE two out I’d be open to doing By Stuart Coupe a second volume . . . maybe. “I just had a shake hands deal with Nick. I said I’d show him what I wrote but not necessarily change anything. There was mutual respect. So, he gave me access. No-one’s spoken to his mother who passed away recently so no-one else ever will. He gave me access to his family. He let other people know it was cool to talk to me, so I spoke to all that old, cool Melbourne/St Kilda fraternity, and I spoke to people in Wangaratta who were connected to his family, and his old teachers and school friends. So, it was the full deep dive, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it if Nick hadn’t let people know it was OK to talk to me. “So, when my relationship with Nick went pear-shaped, I already had all that stuff, it was all done. He didn’t want me to go on. He was concerned to protect his family in the wake of his son’s death, and also, he was grieving, and the final position that Nick’s come to in terms of the biography is kind of neutral. He didn’t want to read the manuscript before it was published. He preferred to just stand apart from it and have nothing to do with it. In the final run he didn’t help me or hinder me – and that’s a god position to take I think.” Still, like any author, Mordue is keenly curious – and a little nervous – to find of what Cave thinks of his efforts. “There’s stuff in the book I’m sure he will not like,’ he says. “I know it. I hope he will like it and respect it for the over arching story and for the actual writing and that will soften any of the other stuff. “The thing with Nick is that the basic trajectory is that you’ve got this sweet, wild country boy in Wangaratta and once he gets to Melbourne there’s bullying at high school at Caulfield and it gets a lot more aggressive. “Then you push speed and heroin into the equation with the Crystal Ballroom and it gets a lot fucking darker. It gets unpleasant and there’s a really fucking edge going in there. And it gets heavier because they leave and become the Birthday Party and all hell breaks loose.” 51

Steve Kilbey is flying high with a new band, The Winged Heels – featuring Roger Mason - a new solo album and four more albums ready for release.

FEATURE

By Ian McFarlane

“I already knew that Gareth Koch was an amazing guitarist, I already knew that Barton Price was an amazing drummer but the real turn up on this album was Roger Mason.” - Steve Kilbey

Roger Mason photo by Marshall Cullen 52

Singer-songwriter-bassist with The Church, Steve Kilbey, has profound knowledge and proficiency in many areas. Is it a cliché to call him a “Renaissance man”? The prolific, effusive musician is also ceaseless in pursuit of his craft. He has so many songs bursting forth, he has to find a home for all these entities, or they may wither and die. There’s such a sense of forward momentum in his approach that it would be careless of him to let that happen. The year 2020 has been a challenge on many levels, to say the least, but Kilbey has risen to the occasion. He released his thirteenth solo album, Eleven Women and a collaborative album with guitarist Gareth Koch (from Saffire: The Australian Guitar Quartet, with Slava Grigoryan), Songs From Another Life (Music Of Antiquity). He appeared on another collaborative album, with Kate Ceberano and Sean Sennett, The Dangerous Age, and formed a new band, The Winged Heels. In addition, he has four more albums already recorded, ready for release. At the time of our interview in November he was gearing up for gigs with The Winged Heels. “We’re doing a gig next week which is the official launch of Eleven Women,” Kilbey explains. “The real news is that The Winged Heels and I have recorded a double album of 24 new songs I’ve written. We’ve gone even deeper into ancient sounds and strange lyrics and I’m really excited by it. It’s hard for me to find a place to release it because of everything else that’s happening. I think it’s everything I’ve been working towards; the lyrics, the music, the way the guys have played, everything about it. There it is. I even feel almost like I shouldn’t do anything else, that should be the last thing I do. I’m still looking for a title. I wanted to call it Sprawling Masterpiece but everyone else said ‘nah, Steve, you can’t call it that’. You have to let other people decide something like that. “I’ve also got an album coming out with GB3, with Glenn Bennie (from The Underground Lovers), a fantastic album of New Order-ery stuff. I’ve done a new album with Martin Kennedy. And a new Church album, another sprawling masterpiece with our new guitarist Ashley Naylor. You can release as many albums

as you want but you can’t keep getting the on-going attention. So, I have a problem now; how am I gonna manage it?” The Winged Heels comprise Gareth Koch, drummer Barton Price and multiinstrumentalist Roger Mason. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. We started out talking about Eleven Women before heading off in several different tangents. Eleven Women is a themed album, so how did the project come together? “A long time ago, during one of those stoned conversations, I said to someone ‘hey, wouldn’t it be great to have an album where every song was about a woman?’ I guess I mentally filed that idea away and it strangely came back to me and I decided to resuscitate the idea. It was like looking through a photo album, where you have a physical representation, but each woman gets a song. That’s where the concept really begins and ends. One of the women is a ghost, one is a bird, one is my long dead grandmother, one is a playing card and some are imagined. “I like the idea of a loose concept, tying all the pieces together and I leave it to the audience, if any, to make up their minds about how it all really fits together. I was doing an interview with a guy on American radio, he asked ‘are they real women or not?’ and before I could answer, one of the other guys on the show said ‘no, they’re all archetypes’. I really liked that answer; yeah they’re archetypes, not necessarily real.” The songs range in kaleidoscopic mood from the up-tempo pop rock of ‘Poppy Byron’

and ‘Sheba Chiba’ to the folksy sweetness of ‘Josephine’ and ‘Lillian In Cerulean Blue’. There’s the hazy, psychedelic infused ‘Woman Number Nine’ and ‘Where Gloria Meets Rachel’. The gorgeous ballad ‘Think Of You (For Jessie Bellette)’, which closes the album, is relatively unadorned but sumptuous all the same. ‘Baby Poe’ is jazzy with a party going on in the background. It’s lighter in mood but then you get to something darker such as ‘Doris McAllister’ who is a witch. “Sometimes I’ll write a song and I’ll go ‘oh yeah, it’s just another song, like ‘Unguarded Moment Part 2’. I know I can write those kinds of songs. Every now and then you come out with a song and you go ‘wow, how did I write that?’. ‘Doris McAllister’ was like that. It wasn’t the usual thing that I’d write. It isn’t so much about a wicked witch, more about a man who has upset her and how he’s gonna rue the day. He’s underestimated who she was and now he’s living to regret it. It’s starting to dawn on him who he has fucked with. I like that feeling. There’s a sense of humour too, it’s not Black Sabbath.” You get the feeling they recorded the album quickly, with little deliberation over the process. Even though there are a lot of things going on beneath the surface, it’s not overly ornate or heavy handed. The immediacy shines through. “I like to work with whatever circumstances I have. The Church had been in the same studio for three weeks and it was very laborious. It was a lot of sitting around and we had click tracks, and we’d fly that in and we’d change that. I’m not criticising that at all, that’s what

we do. When I came to do my album, I only had enough money to do three days. So, I see the positive in that. I wanted everything to happen quickly, my vocal parts and the players did their parts quickly as well. “I think I’ve made a virtue out of that. There are no click tracks, we haven’t laboured over it, it’s loose and clear, we’ve left some mistakes in; it’s just really good musicians having fun with some songs. “I already knew that Gareth Koch was an amazing guitarist, I already knew that Barton Price was an amazing drummer but the real turn up on this album was Roger Mason. He can play piano, organ, synthesizer, he can play cello, he’s got dulcimers and hurdy gurdys. He is the best musician I have ever met in my life. He can just play anything, on any instrument. He’s also happy to sit there and play a ukulele for three songs, if that’s what’s needed. He can instantly assess what the songs need. I really attribute the great reactions I’ve been getting to this album are due to what Roger’s done. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

The Soundtrack Composer As for Roger Mason, the multi-instrumentalist former member of James Freud and the Radio Stars, Gary Numan Band, Models and Icehouse, he had no intention of returning to the stage, let alone contributing to anyone else’s albums. He’s developed an accomplished career as an Award-winning soundtrack composer over 33 years. He was recently nominated for two APRA Awards for his score of The Commons and has also completed scores for Reckoning >>>

Steve Kilbey & The Winged Heels Pic by Marshall Cullen 53

G N OU Y NEIL BE denied WON’T

(2019) and The Hungry Ghosts (2020). His other credits extend from the TV series The Code (2016), Borderland (2014), MDA (2005) and Australians At War (2001) to the feature films Zelos (2016), The Burning Man (2011), The Last Confession Of Alexander Pearce (2008) and Dead Letter Office (1998). >> Thewho’d lyricshave tell athunk version Young’s up in Canada, “Yeah, it!” of Mason says story. with a Growing touch of irony. “I’ve now recorded two albumswhen with he Steve and I’m playing his up band, The Winged his father leaving was a young boy,in beat at school, Heels. Barton had rungleaving me in May (2020) say that he courted was playing dreams of stardom, Canada forto Hollywood, by drums on Steve’s did I “the wantgolden to comesound.” and say The hello.key They “business men”new whoalbum cameand to hear were recording on the Central Coast (of NSW), at Damien Gerrard verse is the fifth one, especially coming as it did after the success Studios which had just relocated from Ultimo, one of the oldest rehearsal of Harvest. Neil Young writing to himself, writing to his dead friend, rooms/studios in Australia. writing to every wannabe rock star. “I’d met Steve before but hadn’t seen him since 2010 when Models and The Church were inducted into the IARIA of Fame. didstory this “Well, all that glitters isn’t gold/ guessHall you’ve heardHe the incredible one ofin thea most in Australian told/ But speech, I’m a pauper nakedentertaining disguise/ Aspeeches millionaire through a music history. I thought I really like this guy, he’s really funny, he’s smart. business Ohasfriend of mine/ denied.” At the endman’s of the eyes/ first day, we were walkingDon’t out ofbethe studio, he just asked me ‘oh, do you want to play on my album?’. From that I scream: thought And the chorus, which at times during the tour he would he might have one track in mind, but I ended up staying for the rest of “Don’t be denied/ Don’t be denied/ Don’t be denied /No no, don’t the sessions. The songs were great, really interesting, quirky, esoteric but be denied.” still rooted in what it takes to create a good pop song. So that’s always my thing, as version long as it’s differenthe then I’m intothe it. fourth verse, the one On this however, reprieves “I also suggested that instead of just piano and organ Isound.” could bring in a about business men coming to hear the “golden couple of synthesizers and other instruments, and he was open to that. IOn have somewhere weird,Young crazy instruments from around the world thatanI’ve a tour was challenging his audience with been collecting such as a hurdy gurdy, a nyckleharpa Swedish album’s worthfor of years, new material, perhaps with this song he(awas folk instrument), cellos. I ended up tracking these strange insisting one hasdulcimers to followand their vision, no matter the cost. instruments onwas to some of his songsmore and he likedmoney them. Steve Certainly, he saying there’s toreally life than – has very much a string sensibility, with the jangly 12-string harmonics, and certainly knewcello by then. “‘Don’t generate Be Denied’ has asort lot asomething lot of thingsheI like to do with and dulcimer a similar toattitude. do with One Danny, I think,” Young “…Ionthink that’s of thing that Steve and told I areMcDonough. perfectly aligned is that we the first major life-and-death reallymy affected me in what push boundaries. I’ve always triedevent to do that that with soundtrack music. I wasthe trying to do… you kindaplayed reassess yourself asOf toAntiquity what you’re “On last day he and Gareth me their Music doing and – because that life so impermanent. So, you album I loved you it. It’srealize minimalist but is it spoke a lot to my cinematic sensibilities of high esoteric, wanna do the bestconcept, you caninteresting, while you’re here,slightly to say eccentric whateverideas. the They to contribute to their next album.” fuck invited it is youme wanna say. Express yourself.” With regard to his soundtrack work, I ask him how the commissioning Michael Goldberg, a former Stone SeniorIsWriter process works? Does he have to Rolling shop himself around? he welland known founder of the original Addicted To Noise online magazine, is enough now that people come to him? author of three rock & roll novels including 2016’s Untitled. “Yeah, I don’t know,” he replies matter-of-factly. “I’ve been doing soundtrack work for 33 years and I still don’t know what the process is in order to get a job. Every time I go out of my way to make something happen, for some reason it gets further away, or it just disappears of its own volition. There are some people who are really aggressive and who are really proactive in making things happen. That can turn things around in their favour. I tend to be the opposite. My entire career has been about – in exactly the same way as my association with Steve has developed – through chance. “You might get a call from someone; they’ll say I was recommended to them by an editor or a director. It doesn’t happen all that often and they never offer you a project just straight up anymore. It’s a cattle call. You’re invited to submit. You submit a piece of music based on a script and they may ask you to do one scene, four scenes. I might send something off, after spending five days to two weeks on it, and you’ll never hear from them again. It’s pretty brutal. “As a consequence, I’ve gone through periods in my career where I haven’t worked on a project for a year. You just have to hang in there. This is what I tell kids I mentor on occasion: part of being successful in any field is hanging in there and working your way through the fallow periods and waiting for the opportunities to come through. And they will. In the meantime, you keep honing your craft and eventually there’ll be a payoff. Half of success is just hanging in and waiting for the opportunity to swing by. I do find some people glazing over when I give then that advice, they tend to want everything now. You look down and they’re fiddling with something in their pocket and you realise that they’re checking their SMSs, so...” Steve Kilbey’s Eleven Women is available via Foghorn/MGM. 54 76

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THE LONG RYDER

Prolific musician and writer Sid Griffin’s band was a pioneer of Americana and the spirit of the ground-breaking outfit lives on.

n a fair world Los Angeles’ band, The Long Ryders would get the credit for being pioneers of a nascent Americana movement in the 1980s. Of course, it wasn’t called Americana back then; it was alternative (or alt.) country and its proponents also included Dave Alvin (also featured this issue) and his Blasters, Los Lobos, Rank & File and others to emerge from that L.A. scene. Maybe most of these bands – apart from Los Lobos which went on to survive and thrive - were just a little too far ahead of the trend. After three acclaimed albums between 1982 and 1987 the Long Ryders disbanded as the members pursued their various careers. Certainly, singer/guitarist/ songwriter Sid Griffin has been prolific, even forming another band, the Coal Porters. After moving to London, he has pursued his career as an author and broadcaster and has written many liner notes (most recently for Gene Clark’s rereleased No Other). Yet Griffin has kept the Long Ryders name alive. Apart from various reunions over the years, in 2017 the Long Ryders released ‘Bear In The Woods’, the band’s first new song in nearly 30 years. It preceded the excellent Psychedelic Country Soul two years later and proved that they could cut it with any of the swathe of recent Americana outfits. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Griffin even got his band mates – Stephen McCarthy, Greg Sowders and Tom Stevens – to record a couple of songs that they have released as a single: McCarthy’s ‘Down To The Well and Griffin’s ‘If You Want To See Me Cry.’ (McCarthy also appears on Carla Olson’s latest album Have Harmony Will Travel, Vol.2) “Well, this ‘Bear in the Woods’ and ‘Down to the Well’ were recorded down the phone line,” explains Griffin. “I did my parts to an amp at volume, with playback and all that. The album Psychedelic Country Soul was all recorded in one place at one time, in a room not probably bigger than the room you're in now. “So, for the two singles no one was in the same room. But the album, Psychedelic Country Soul, we were all four in the same room at Dr. Dre's place in California.” Griffin says that he had done a favour for a friend who ended up working for Dr Dre and paid it back by organising free studio time for Griffin.

“Dre's got a state-of-the-art studio. It's fabulous,” enthuses Griffin, who adds that they had to pay producer Ed Stasium and other costs. “In other words, we made an album in a state-of-theart studio for about a fifth or a sixth of what you would normally make an album. And it's much better than doing it down the phone line. I can't tell you the difference. I don't think a band like…….be it us or The Stems or The Easybeats, the Hoodoo Gurus… you shouldn't make an album down the phone line. It just doesn't cut it.” The three recent tracks and the album all capture that classic Long Ryders’ sound. “Well, we're not going to go off in a funk direction or a reggae direction or heavy metal direction,” laughs Griffin. “It's just not going to happen. So, there was no real lasting acrimony. Those guys are my friends, for better or worse. It's kind of like a family thing.” There were some fantastic bands back in the day in Los Angeles and, of course, they'd be called ‘Americana’ now but many of those bands were a lot better than a lot of the current crop of Americana outfits. “When we started, when the Long Ryders started, to be fair, The Blasters were terrific, of course – and Rank and File, that's a great band,” says Griffin. “There was no such thing as Americana. Of course, Americana existed. Elvis's Sun Records singles were

FEATURE By Brian Wise

Americana. The Loving Spoonful were like The Band, but it was the '60s instead of the '70s. John Sebastian equals Robbie Robertson. The Spoonful equals The Band. The Loving Spoonful were very American in the '60s, playing jug band music, and they even have a song called ‘Jug Band Music’ and were playing with auto harps and banjos and so on and so forth. So, Americana was always there, but it sure as hell wasn't any radio format, and it sure as hell wasn't any column in the newspapers. But it sure as hell wasn't any musical genre that people talked about as they go to work or at a party. And now it is! “Without ... false modesty, I can say that I know that the Long Ryders had their share of putting that together. As did The Blasters, as did Rank and File, maybe Jason and The Scorchers: or Jason and the Nashville Scorchers back in the day. It's like the invention of radio, Marconi gets the credit. I think I'm right in saying there was something like four different men from three different countries who were applying for a patent for radio at the same time. So, no one band invented Americana. The Blasters would have as strong a grasp on that title as Long Ryders would. But it is true.”

Chris & Shane: Photo by Chris Franklin.

Sounds of the City “Shane and I had some extraordinary experiences together, with music and spilling over into personal stuff.” – Chris Wilson

d e s ’ t i n s i o s v l e i R W – s l a t n e Chri n i t n o C e Th t A e Liv A celebrated performer, a landmark recording, an iconic venue. The late Chris Wilson’s 1994 album, Live At The Continental, gets the deluxe 2-LP reissue.

By Ian McFarlane The Date: Friday 20th May 1994 The Venue: Continental Cafe, Greville Street, Prahran The Scene: Three guys walk on stage. Shane O’Mara picks out the opening chords to ‘You Will Surely Love Again’ on his Maton Messiah acoustic guitar. Chris Wilson leans into the microphone, his eyes closed and croons “God damn anticipation / As coquettish as a bride / God damn your sense of isolation / Your sense of hollowness inside”. Jex Saarelaht waits quietly in the wings for his turn on piano and Hammond organ. The night proceeds to a rousing climax, with the audience members heading out into the cold night with spirits raised and their lives changed forever. Not just another night on the town then? 56

The gig was recorded and released as Live At The Continental (October 1994), a landmark album that has endured as one of the most intimate, emotion charged programmes of music in the history of Australian music. Among the audience cheers and chatter, you can almost hear people holding their breath as each song unfolds and enthrals. Surely that is the hallmark of a great live recording. As well as original tunes such as ‘You Will Surely Love Again’, ‘The Changeling’, ‘Face In The Mirror’ and ‘Landlocked’, the CD included phenomenal covers of Bob Dylan’s ‘It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry’ and Elmore James’ ‘The Sky Is Crying’. When Wilson reissued the CD in 2007, he added a second disc of previously unreleased tunes from the gig. Tracks included Wilson’s ‘Alimony Blues’ and ‘Wreckage’ plus covers of Dan PennJim Dickinson’s ‘Building Fires’ and the

Doc Pomus-Mort Shuman perennial ‘A Mess Of Blues’. The new double LP reissue (on Cheersquad Records) includes all the previously released tracks, plus a couple of extras on top. It comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with photos and liner notes from Shane O’Mara. And if you were able to get in early, you might have already scored a copy of the limited edition yellow and black vinyl version. I asked the following people for their thoughts and recollections. Wally Kempton (musician, band booker, proprietor of Cheersquad): “I’ve been a huge Chris Wilson fan for 30+ years and had the pleasure of making his final album, Chris Wilson, available on vinyl last year. That went well with Sarah Carroll and Fenn & George Wilson loving the result, so I put forward the idea of reissuing other titles in the Chris Wilson back catalogue.

Live At The Continental was a personal favourite, so I was rapt when Sarah and the boys said, ‘go for it’. And I hope it doesn’t stop there! There are plenty more where this came from.” Shane O’Mara (guitarist, producer): “The thing about Live At The Continental for me was that we didn’t know it was being recorded. If we had known that, we wouldn’t have played the way we did. When the reissue came out and there were other songs that hadn’t made the original album, that was a real surprise as much as a thrill. Chris must have mentioned that to me, but back then we were so busy and so ambivalent, or flippant, about anything that was released. I spoke to Wally Kempton yesterday and he said ‘we’re gonna have both version of ‘It Takes A Lot To Laugh...’’ and I went ‘What! What do you mean, both versions?’ So, it’s this ever giving gem of a recording. “It’s very hard to actually recall the night. I can remember a couple of things, like being pissed off about my guitar solo in one of the songs (laughs), appallingly. I vaguely remember a rehearsal at Jex’s. It was really a talk through, ‘this is what we’ll do’, just vocals, harp, acoustic guitar, piano and organ. You couldn’t get any simpler. Chris’ maxim always with performance was ‘I don’t care if you fuck up’, I mean don’t

fuck up but as long as you’re going for it. He cared if he thought you weren’t giving your all, that’s what pissed him off. That conscious decision of playing that show like it was your last, that was a great way of embracing the live situation. “Just to have that open structure was great. On something like ‘The Changeling’ the intro wasn’t planned, it was just sketched out overall. I think ‘The Changeling’ is one of the most extraordinary songs ever. It’s a real shame that Chris often gets pegged as a muthafucker blues player, because he was that and more, you know. I had a nickname for him, ‘The Bhagwan’, because he was like an Indian guru. The depth and breadth of his musical knowledge was incredible and he just loved sharing that knowledge. He loved folk, country music. He loved Dr. John, The Stooges, Howling Wolf. “Chris loved improvisation, kind of like channelling John Coltrane in a sense.

The arrangements were more or less spontaneous. You can’t be objective but that gave us the willingness and permission to have these open sections in songs, the unique sound that happened that night. And the guitar sound is just wild, you can hear the whirr of the little monkeys in the Leslie cabinet running around (laughs). It was amazing it was captured on that one night.” Max Crawdaddy (DJ at the Continental, ‘Son Of Crawdaddy’ show on 3RRR): “Even while witnessing the gig, one knew that this was something special. The performances by all involved were impeccable, as was the material featured. There were Chris’ early classics ‘The Changeling’, ‘Hymn’, ‘Face In The Mirror’, etc... through to some very choice covers. I know I may be a tad biased but, to my ears, Live At The Continental is not only the best live album released in this country but also >>> anywhere in the world.” 57

BY BRIAN WISE

CREEM: AMERICA’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MAGAZINE >>>

In 2017, film maker Chris Franklin produced the documentary short Chris Wilson’s Live At The Continental 23 Years On. It captured the feeling of the night and the sense of history in an extraordinary way. Chris Wilson (as featured in Chris Wilson’s Live At The Continental 23 Years On): “Playing music live, where else can you get that outlet? It’s always instantaneous, it’s spontaneous, it’s often hilarious, sometimes it’s rotten. It’s always worth it though, you know? “Shane and I had some extraordinary experiences together, with music and spilling over into personal stuff. On that album he was the anchor for the whole deal, you know. He knew the songs, he’d helped me record ’em, he knew ’em inside out. He’s a beautifully sensitive accompanist for a singer. Those sorts of things have moved across into his work as a producer. He’s able to get inside the skin of the people that are singing their songs and he helps them make them better than they would be otherwise. “I had worked with Jex at various gigs, he was a friend, an incredible piano and Hammond player. And he accompanies you with incredible sensitivity. Both those guys play to the song, and I know that’s a cliché but they do. They have an amazing sense of what’s required to help you express what’s in a song.

“Chris loved improvisation, kind of like channelling John Coltrane in a sense. The arrangements were more or less spontaneous.” – Shane O’Mara “Live At The Continental was like the culmination of everything I’d done up to that point, Shane and Jex just played beautifully. That was a really fruitful period 58

Directed by Scott Crawford

It’s Spontaneous

AMAZON PRIME

for me. I’ve always been lucky to have incredible people around me that were way better than me in what I was trying to do. I was in the company of really excellent musicians that put my music and well being way above their own. I was incredibly fortunate, you know. It was a seat of the pants night that worked. There’s a certain sort of energy in that I guess. “It was a funny night, because it was recorded on a Friday night. Friday night was always difficult. Everybody had knocked off from work, they’d gone to the pub, grabbed something to eat and then raced down to the venue. They were always really talkative, it was like a song-by-song proposition, you had to win ’em every song. “The Continental had an incredible history. I remember doing a support for Lucinda Williams when she first came out here. There was just an array of international acts that went through there. Also, it was a beautiful balance of international and local acts that rubbed shoulders. That room had a certain feeling about it where you really wanted to do your best.” Shane O’Mara: “The Conti was an incredible venue, with incredible sound,

with incredible people running it which made it a pleasure to play. You were there to do your job and they made sure you were free to do your job as best you could, not being worried about some dickie rider. The backstage was cool and the staff were incredibly perfect. “Of all the records I’ve been involved with, played on and recorded, by far Live At The Continental is the one most commented on. For some reason it just resonated with so many people. And it still does. I might have been playing with Paul Kelly overseas and people would come up to me and say ‘I love that record’, or ‘I was making love with my wife when we listened to that’, or ‘I took that with me when I was backpacking through Europe’. People seriously adore it. “That album is full of incredible tunes, it wasn’t just a night of blues. It’s amazing that a night like that was captured because it’s not often that it works so well. They’re the moments that you aspire to and they’re few and far between. And it was just beautiful fortune that it was captured.” Chris Wilson Live At The Continental double LP reissue is available now from Cheersquad Records

he early years of Creem magazine make this publication look like it must have emerged from a monastery! I doubt if there will be any wild tales of drug-taking debauchery and office fistfights here if anyone ever bothers to write our history (unless I missed something). While some might accuse us of being a little po-faced when it comes to covering music, but the scene itself has changed dramatically since the emergence of Creem in Detroit back in March 1969. Founded by Barry Kramer, who owned the record store Full Circle, the magazine was the LESTER BANGS brainchild of Tony Reay who worked at the store and who became its first, if short-lived, editor. With starting capital of US$1200 and tagging itself on the masthead as ‘America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll’ Magazine’ it sought to distinguish itself from Rolling Stone – though it also assumed a music-based name (after the band Cream) – by its irreverent coverage. Based in Detroit it often reflected the gritty and powerful music of that city – the MC5, the Stooges and Alice Cooper - as opposed to the hippie inclinations of its San Francisco based rival. Creem soon attracted the 19 year old Dave Marsh - who went on to become a doyen of music writing - and the erratic Lester Bangs who had been fired from Rolling Stone and so moved to Detroit. The magazine also attracted a posse of other writers who have gone on to pursue impressive careers, including Ed Ward, Richard Meltzer, Nick Tosches, Greil Marcus, John Morthland, Jaan Uhelszki. At one stage the magazine moved to a 120-acre farm in rural Walled Lake, Michigan, which turned out to be an experiment in dysfunctional communal living. While it might seem that Creem could have been a hotbed of misogyny, that was not necessarily the case. (Although it was exceptionally politically incorrect by today’s standards). “We had so many women who were empowered and were editors at the time,” says Susan Whitall, one of the journalists and editors. “When I came in, Jaan mentored me, and then I mentored other women.” Bangs – who has been labelled ‘America’s greatest rock critic’ – looms over everyone else. Of course, amidst the greatness of his writing was a large dose of self-indulgence. Yet Bangs, like his colleagues, was most importantly a fan who just happened to be blessed with the ability to express his feelings about the

music he loved and that which he hated. (While not being afraid to occasionally admit that he was wrong). Bang’s epic three-part interview with Lou Reed is the stuff of legend. “Buying Creem was a little bit like buying Playboy,” says actor Jeff Daniels in the documentary. The magazine’s mascot was a Robert Crumb rendering of a bottle of cream named ‘Boy Howdy,’ which no doubt appealed to those who liked The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers cartoons. By 1976, Creem had an impressive circulation of more than 210,000, second only to Rolling Stone. Creem embraced punk and the new music that came in its aftermath much more quickly than most other publications, but Barry Kramer died in 1981 and left it to his son JJ. Kramer’s widow had sold it in 1986 after which it moved to Los Angeles and petered out after a couple more years. (JJ bought back the rights in 2017). A lot has been made lately of the death of music journalism and if you look at the number of music magazines – free and otherwise that have folded during 2020 you might have serious worries about the future of music writing. One thing that has definitely changed since the days of Creem is the ‘control’ of musicians by publicists. Almost no-one these days would ever get the sort of access to, and time with, major-name and even mid-level musicians that the writers for Creem (and other magazines) managed to get. (These days 15 minutes on the phone with someone is considered a long interview, 30 minutes is an epic). Yet there are continuities. Watching and re-watching this documentary it struck me that there will always be people who are enthusiastic enough about music that they want to turn others onto it. These days that happens across a number of platforms of which print is only one. To some extent, everyone has the potential to act as a music critic these days, whether it is posting photos or reviews on Facebook or Instagram or writing a blog. To coincide with this film’s release, a limited-edition Best-ofCreem issue is available. 59

WAUGH STORIES

Cricket legend Steve Waugh talks to Stuart Coupe not only about a new book of photographs capturing the spirit of Indian cricket but also about music.

here are a million songs in the Naked City and some of them are about cricket. In fact, there are more songs about the great game than I ever imagined until I had the opportunity to interview Steve Waugh who I knew had collaborated with John Williamson on one such song and started thinking about and researching others. Waugh was recently out and about doing publicity for his rather astonishing collection of photography, The Spirit Of Cricket, the result of him spending 18 days in India at the very beginning of 2020 taking in nine cities, and ten plane flights around the country. “I wanted to go out and explore the real India,” Waugh explained before we moved on to music and cricket. “This book has been 20 to 30 years in the making because as a professional cricketer the adulation is such that the moment you stepped outside the bus you were swamped by people and you couldn’t do anything. “I’d see all these amazing sights out the window of the bus but I couldn’t get to photograph them. I thought that maybe after I’d been retired for ten or fifteen years I’d have a bit of space and be able to get out there and do it. That was the catalyst for the work.”

Despite the passing of time Waugh is still an extremely recognisable figure in India and had to travel with a bodyguard to keep enthusiastic locals at bay,enabling the long-standing photographer to be on his own, often from 8am in the morning till 9pm at night. “The guy I had with me told everyone that if they let me do my stuff that I’d have a game of cricket with them afterwards, which I did. I got bowled over on the beach on Mumbai, and I was hopeless at blind cricket. I played with the monks in front of the Himalayas and they were far too good for me.” It’s not cheap at $250 but Waugh is a superb photographer and the resulting book is more than just a little spectacular. And Waugh is a much, much better photographer than he is songwriter if his contribution to the song’ The Baggy Green’ is anything to go by. I mean, it’s not bad but Bob Dylan or Paul Kelly he ain’t – at least on this initial offering from some years back. “Gav Robertson and myself . . . we were on tour in India or Pakistan, I think, and we had a bit of spare time and we thought we should write a song about the Baggy Green as we love it so much.

“Gav’s a muso, a good drummer, so we wrote a few words down. John Williamson’s a good mate of mine and ‘True Blue’ was a bit of an anthem that we played in the rooms after we won each test match. “So, I sent these words off to John and he tidied them up a bit and all of a sudden we’ve got this song called ‘The Baggy Green’ which sort of goes to the ‘Click Go The Shears’ rhythm. It was a bit of fun. It hasn’t been played a real lot on the radio though, but I think it featured on a couple of John’s albums.” Waugh wasn’t aware of the rather long list of cricket songs and expressed surprise hearing about Smokey Dawson’s ‘Hero From The West’ which is all about Rod Marsh, and the fact that The Lucksmith’s have one called ‘Victor Trumper’, or Tim Rogers’ ‘Explaining Cricket’ which he recorded with You Am I. But, of course, Waugh is very aware of Paul Kelly’s classic ‘Bradman’ – and I avoided asking him about PK’s ode to Shane Warne just in case that relationship was still as I suspect it might be.

“I love that song,” Waugh said of ‘Bradman’. “I’ve heard it many times. It’s typical Paul Kelly in that it just tells a story and he does it in such an incredible way that seven minutes goes by really quickly.” I mention Roy Harper’s classic ‘When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease’ which, not surprisingly, Waugh hadn’t heard but it led to asking if retirement was difficult for him. “Not really,” he says. “I had close on 20 years playing for Australia and it was very fulfilling and I think I gave it everything every time I went out there. I was lucky with injuries and so my career wasn’t curtailed that way. I think it’s hard for a sportsman to accept that. So, I had very few

injuries, and longevity so there was nothing to be sad about or complain about. I knew it was time to move on and give someone else the opportunity to be captain or a batsman in the Australian cricket team, so I was sort of prepared for it.” One song that I mentioned to Waugh seemed to particularly interest him – Blue Mountains songwriter and singer Jerrah Patson has a terrific, Jonathan Richman-like song titled ‘Brian Lara’. “I need to hear that song,” Waugh laughed. “I get on well with Brian Lara. We had some altercations on the field but at the end we always respected each other.”

Then there’s Sherbet’s hit record ‘Howzat!’ which Waugh said reminds him of growing up, “and listening to the radio as our parents drove us to whatever sport we were playing and had the radio on in the car. That song takes me back to The Bee Gees and The Carpenters. I still like music from that era, and The Eagles, and AC/DC and Jimmy Barnes. “Maybe it says something about cricket songs being so tough to get popular as I haven’t heard that many of them. Paul Kelly’s ‘Bradman’ is probably the most famous, or ‘I Don’t Like Cricket’ by 10CC. That’s a very catchy song and whenever I hear it, it takes me back to the Caribbean because they love the game there and it’s played on the beach and everywhere. They can’t get enough of it.” Curiously, there is no song about Steve Waugh, a thought that amuses the potential subject. “That’s a challenge for all those songwriters out there,” he laughs. The Spirit of Cricket: India by Steve Waugh is available at stevewaugh.com.au

THE HEADPHONE STORY By John Cornell

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The most intimate form of hi-fi, headphone listening, has come a long way in a fairly short time. These days we’re spoilt for choice and with noise cancelling, wireless Bluetooth, over-ear, on-ear, around-ear and earbuds (just to name a few) it can become confusing trying to work out the best option for your needs. With smartphones effectively putting a music player in almost everyone’s pocket, portable headphones have become a must-have for people on the move. But like all good hi-fi, convenience is not always without compromise when it comes to deciding which is the right headphone for you. Typically, the larger diaphragm of a headphone enables more faithful reproduction of lower frequency sounds than is available off the tiny speaker in the earbud, but the intimate contact with your ear, proximity to the eardrum and the near invisibility of the earbud can provide a better signal to noise ratio in noisy environments and a more discrete appearance. Among the design of over-ear headphones, there are two basic concepts - open or closed capsule. Simply put this describes the construction and design of the back shell that houses the speaker itself. If the design is solid it is a closed capsule, if it’s open to the atmosphere and can breathe freely – it’s an open capsule. Closed capsule headphones are typically used to shut out noise from the outside world and are excellent choices for DJ's and people who listen in bed with an acoustically unappreciative partner. It works both ways - preventing external noises coming in and preventing sound ‘leaking’ out. The best open capsule designs have an uncanny ability to place the music out of your head and into a 3D soundstage. However, open capsule offers very little external sound isolation and therefore isn’t very suitable for use in noisy environments. This also applies to music leaking out of your headphones and disturbing fellow commuters, for example. Once considered high-end headphone technology, active noise-cancellation (ANC) has since trickled down into the mainstream and works by using microphones to pick up low-frequency noise and neutralise it before it reaches the ear. The headset generates a sound that's phase-inverted by 180 degrees to the unwanted noise, resulting in the two

sounds cancelling each other out. Combined with in-ear or closed capsule headphones, ANC means that you can achieve a near silent listening environment no matter where you’re listening. Careful inspection of the specifications for frequencies over which the device is capable of producing an audible sound will show that the better the headphone typically the lower the frequency it is able to reproduce. The net result is a richer deeper more natural sound. The human ear is responsive to frequencies in the 20Hz to 20,000Hz (20kHz) range.

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Impedance is a measure of the resistance to current of the headphones. The most obvious difference to the listener is an apparent difference in produced volume. Typically, the lower the impedance, the higher the SPL (sound pressure level) of the output. i.e., the lower the Ohms number the louder it will be at a given volume setting and the easier for any headphone amplifier to power adequately. Prices for headphones can range from as low as $99.00 to many thousands of dollars. For an enjoyable listening experience without having to sell the car, consider budgeting between $300 to a $1000 for a good pair of open or closed back headphones without all the extra tricks. Some of the standout buys at the moment are from MEZE AUDIO, either the MEZE 99 CLASSIC or the MEZE 99 NEO at $570 or $370 respectively. In 2011, Antonio Meze created Meze Headphones (later renamed as Meze Audio), in his hometown of Baia Mare, a city in the North West part of Romania. The breakthrough came in 2015, when the Meze 99 Classics were launched, developed entirely in house, from the ground up, receiving multiple awards and nominations. The success of the 99 Classics was what helped Meze Audio initially build a name for themselves on the audiophile market. These premium and uber-popular examples of a luxury-but-affordable headphone, the Meze 99 Classics denotes just how good sound can be at a fraction of the price of some other better known brands. The 99 Classics doesn’t disappoint not even from an aesthetical standpoint. The Meze 99 Classics is known for its exterior wooden design. With a metal band and a leather strap that rests on your head, comfort is a class apart with the Meze. While the wooden earcups appeal to most, the adjustable leather strap just adds to the feel. Soft fabric and leather earpads keep the drivers at proper distance and make them feel light on the head. The natural polished wooden cups give a premium feel. If you are an audio lover who wants natural and perfect sounding over-ear headphones then you should check out The Meze 99 Classics. If you’ve not done so yet, discover for yourself how nice it is to be able to isolate yourself from the noise and hubbub of the world with a pair or decent audio headphones. 63

By Martin Jones

BY NICK CHARLES

TOMMY McEWAN I

t’s not often drummers get out from behind the kit, play guitar, write and sing the songs! Tommy is one such rare musician. I remember his wonderful R&B tune Lover’s Question and his nom-deplume Louis King and he continues to produce great original roots music. Lately he’s also ventured into more eclectic territory with the Caledonian Castaways. You’ve such a diverse band history. How would you describe the common ground? The people I work with all mean what they say and have a burning need to express it. I’m lucky to be part of that. The songwriting process is the greatest fun, creating something out of nothing. Having that

connect with an audience is a blast. You made your mark as a drummer but in more recent years I’ve seen you play guitar. How did these two skills evolve? When I started, I was lucky to run into the great Harold Ripper and Ron Sandilands, both legendary drum teachers. Both encouraged me to learn another instrument as well. I later got to work with some of Australia's best guitarists as well as the international artists I got to tour with. Their support and advice gave me the inspiration to improve my craft. I can hear all sorts of southern rock and roll and rockabilly roots in your music. Tell me about some of your influences.

The first band I ever saw live was The Who in 1970, but the first big light bulb that went off for me, was hearing Louis Jordan. Somebody gave me a ‘Best Of’. I played it till it wore out. I hit Little Richard, Chuck Berry and progressed through to Ray Charles. Later I got into Gene Vincent and Johnny Burnett. Put B.B King Live at San Quentin on and I’m gone. I love a great song. Lately I have been listening to modern cats like J.D MacPherson and The Bellfuries. The Telecaster cuts through so nicely in all its raw glory. Is that your main guitar these days? It wasn’t until I got my gold Telecaster that the sounds in my head came out right. It’s a bit of a mutt, but it’s never let me down. It has a Mojo that I love, especially through my Fender 15 Watt Amp. Like me, the Tele can be sweet, or it can get outrageous! Over the years you’ve been quite a roadwarrior - will you be taking Lonesome Town on the road when the world returns to normality? 20 years ago, I recorded a CD dedicated to Sam Phillips, Standing in the Sun. It’s proven very popular in the U.S and Europe, and I felt it was time for a follow up. Once I had re-recorded a few older tunes done in that style, I got my writing boots back on. They came out as more piano based songs, so I hooked Ezra Lee and Bruce Haymes into the sessions. I’m very proud of this record. The day lockdown was announced, I was on my way to pick up the tour bus for Adelaide and the Kustom Culture festival to promote Lonesome Town. We had four weeks of shows booked in Melbourne and Sydney and then twelve weeks in the U.K and Europe. Of course, that was put on hold. Once normality returns, I will finally get to play the new songs live! Everything’s re-booked and I can’t wait. Tell me about some other projects you have going. It seems to be the usual way these days. The best thing that’s happened to me the last two years has been the Caledonian Castaways. I had long admired the other members individually, and the chance to work with them has been amazing. Everybody in the band is a writer and frontman, so the pressure to come up with great ideas is inspiring. Just to play drums, sing harmonies, and hear that sound is, for me a true pleasure.

LAMBCHOP TRIP Merge

ith the absence of live music and cinema screenings, our needs had to be sated elsewhere this year. Buying new, limited edition vinyl releases was my guilty pleasure. So, when my signed pink icing/lemon swirl copy of Lambchop’s latest arrived in the mail it was cause for celebration. And the first 13 minutes of pared down, fucked up sound were reward enough for my hard earned. And yet, the 13-minute version of Wilco’s ‘Reservations’ that opens Trip, is the most obvious song choice on the record. From very roughly the same alt-country side of the tracks, you could imagine Wilco and Lambchop touring together. Maybe they have. The opening bars of Lambchop’s ode to an undeniably incredible song play it pretty straight. Sparse piano, Kurt Wagner’s voice cracking characteristically, some sweetly unconventional background instrumentation of which the Wilco team would wholly approve. But after the verses and choruses are done, the sound lingers… not so much the song’s structure and melodies, but drones and tones inspired by the song’s mood. Over half the recording is comprised of a meditative coda of sonics that swell and crescendo and break down again. It’s beautiful.

lanes, with piano and a touch of pedal steel keeping one foot (barely) planted in tradition. It’s George Jones on morphine. Things take a sharp detour with a cover of ‘Shirley’ by Ohio garage band Mirrors, selected by guitarist Matt Swanson. Interestingly, Lambchop’s instrumental arrangement is strikingly similar to the arrangement on the original… until Wagner breaks out the vocoder just to unnerve us again. This will be a discovery for most of us… the original incarnation of Mirrors was only around for two or three years in the early ‘70s and only released one single 7” – ‘Shirley’ backed with ‘She Smiled Wild’, the cover art of which looks suspiciously similar to Nirvana’s Bleach. Lambchop do Stevie Wonder? Okay, I can see that. But ‘Golden Lady’? Well sure, why not? Where’s this going? It’s going laid-back, of course; drum machine, piano, vocoder, opiate-drowned, underwater. The original already had a weird melancholy built into its progression… Lambchop jumps on that and rides it deep into the night. The pedal steel in this one is soooo good. A leftfield but inspired choice by Andy Stack that has rekindled my admiration for the original.

In a bit of Motown double-bill, the album progresses from Stevie to The Supremes! Downright jaunty by Lambchop’s standards, ‘Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone’ (suggested by pianist Tony Crow) bounces along with a weird lope and bubbling synth line, Wagner clearly relishing his robo-demon take on Diana Ross’s spoken word parts. Enough to give the average listener nightmares. Trip kind of turns full circle in terms of returning to contemporary material with its closing selection, ‘Weather Blues’ by Yo La Tengo bass player James McNew (now there’s a triple bill of my dreams – Yo La Tengo, Wilco, Lambchop (incidentally Yo La Tengo also released a covers EP this year – Sleepless Night)). McNew sent the song to Wagner earlier in the year and Wagner was profoundly affected by it. It coincided with the death of Wagner’s mother and he recorded an emotional solo version of the song which the band revisited for the album. Wagner reaches to his upper register and wrings emotion. It’s a disarming song and a mournful conclusion to a predominantly plaintive record.

However, don’t think you’re going to get an entire album of twisted takes on contemporary matter. Trip was made during Covid lockdown in a period when the band was supposed to be touring and every member was invited to bring in a cover song. The selections are wideranging, to say the least. Second song in Lambchop pays tributes to one of Nashville’s stalwarts, Peanutt Montgomery, guitarist at the hallowed FAME studios and collaborator with everyone from George Jones to Bob Dylan. Lambchop takes Montgomery’s ‘Where The Grass Won’t Grow’ on a lazy backlot stroll, down sunflared winding 65

By Trevor J. Leeden

BEN LEVIN

LLOYD JONES

STEVE AZAR

ERIN HARPE

VizzTone/Planet

Ride Records/Planet

VizzTone/Planet

CARRYOUT OR DELIVERY

BY KEITH GLASS In the 60’s/70’s/80’s major record labels worldwide maintained a massive album release schedule. Only a comparatively few artists scored a hit, others became ‘cult’ classics. Beyond that exists an underbelly of almost totally ignored work, (much never reissued) that time has been kind to. This is a page for the crate diggers.

GEOFF MULDAUR Motion Reprise Records MS 2255 (1976)

’m a big fan of the roots music work Geoff Muldaur has been involved in over his 50+ year career. Initially as a still wet behind the ears folkie in ’64 on his solo debut Sleepy Man Blues (he was 18 years old) which featured Dave Van Ronk and Eric Von Schmidt - two iconic figures in the New York folk scene. Muldaur was also already working with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band. An influential ensemble that influenced roots music far more than generally realized and of course introduced Geoff to his future wife, Maria. The Kweskin group alone should be subject of much further investigation but by 1969 Geoff and Maria were signed to Reprise as a duo. They released two albums that are 66

well worth checking out as a wide-ranging compendium of an iconoclastic view of world music. One has been featured on this page, (1972’s Sweet Potatoes) and it was that album with producer Joe Boyd that led to Maria’s solo ‘breakthrough’ hit song Midnight At The Oasis. Meanwhile Geoff participated in two outstanding albums with Paul Butterfield’s “stab” at breaking away from hard core blues with the group Better Days while Joe Boyd also produced Geoff’s 1975 effort Geoff Muldaur Is Having A Wonderful Time - alas lightning didn’t strike twice, even with a fantastic support cast and an iconoclastic overview of musical motifs. Despite the resounding flop it was obviously a two-album deal with the currently hot Warner Bros label, so in ’76 Geoff hooked up with Better Days sax player Trevor Lawrence as producer to make one of the most confounding major US label albums of all time – Motion. This time instead of honing in on a simple salable product Geoff went for broke. The cover alone says it all – he’s hit the airbrushed west coast La La land and he ain’t comin’ back! Along for the ride are bassists James Jamerson/Klaus Voorman. Then there’s Jim Keltner and others on drums, Dr. John/David Foster on keys, Dennis Coffey, Jesse Ed Davis & other guitars plus the vocal talents of Bonnie Raitt, Abigale Haness, Cindy Bullins – even Martin Mull (and the proverbial many more.) Allen Toussaint contributes three

songs including the title track, Raitt sings a duet on Since I’ve Been With You Baby. There are songs that sound like they could be hits, such as the Mentor Williams/Troy Seals opus When You Touch Me This Way they just are not going to be with the distinctive tremulous voice of Geoff Muldaur. Alas in this selfinflicted crooner role he is totally without a rudder. Nevertheless, I continue to listen. The highlight comes one song from the end with a very sensitive version of the Danny Whitten classic I Don’t Want To Talk About It. Unfortunately, that train had already left the station with a cover a year earlier by Rod Stewart and then many others later but it’s a great song Geoff jumped on and the most suited to his style of the whole album. For all purposes it’s his last gasp here as the finale, Johnny Mercer’s Hooray For Hollywood seems to be a Martin Mull flim-flam overkill item and Geoff appears to have left the building. Seemingly having gotten this overproduction out of his system, Muldaur took a fairly long sabbatical and then came back with some really focused quality ‘roots’ work including two of my all time fave’s, 1998’s The Secret Handshake & the 2000 follow-up Password both on HighTone. His body of work is big (and great) enough to forgive this momentary lapse of reason, but I keep listening to it, sometimes shaking my head but other times with genuine enjoyment.

TENNESSEE RUN

The accolades continue to come in for the 21-year old blues/soul pianist, and for good reason. Last year’s Before Me garnered him a Best Emerging Artist Album nomination at the 2020 Blues Music Awards, and his new release can only heighten the noise surrounding him. The eight originals and four vintage covers transgress genres, from boogie-woogie, to juke joint, Chicago piano blues and the strains of Fats Domino, yet he remains very much his own piano man. There’s nothing too flashy, there’s plenty of time for that; just enjoy a fine blues helping.

Jones’ seventh album stalks its way out of the swamps and bayous of Louisiana and picks up some Memphis stew on its way to Nashville. Along the way, he’s picked up the mighty Delbert McClinton as a special guest as they duet on the rollicking R&B of “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”. Jones bounces through good time rock’n’roll, Cajun swamp pop, and Southern rhythm & blues. The band is big and brassy – and mighty good, the sound of everyone having a ball.

EVA EASTWOOD

Cherry Red/Planet

JET

GET BORN

CANDY

Newcomers to Azar’s music will probably be mildly surprised that he isn’t a bluesman, despite being a native of the Mississippi delta. Instead, he has definite country singer-songwriter leanings, at times sounding not unlike Jim Croce. Fortunately, twenty years living in Nashville hasn’t tempted Azar into ‘big hat’ territory, and this collection of new and old recordings that pays homage to his home state has many fine moments, none better than the duet with Cedric Burnside on “Coldwater”.

CHAZ JANKEL

GLAD TO KNOW YOU Cherry Red/Planet

Gamlestans Grammofonbolag/ Planet

She’s been plying her trade for two decades in that renowned rockabilly hotbed Sweden, and Eastwood celebrates her recording milestone in style with a dozen hip swivelling originals. Backed by her band The Major Keys and channelling Brenda Lee, the rockabilly filly sashays her way through the 50’s and early 60’s, reaching impressive heights on the stomping “Old School” and the Elvis inspired “You Changed Your Mind”; Candy is a very tasty bag of dancefloor treats.

MY MISSISSIPPI REUNION

MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE

There have been few positives to come out of global quarantine, but Harpe eschewing her band the Delta Swingers and returning to her country blues roots is one. With husband Jim Countryman accompanying her on ukulele bass, Harpe’s renowned Piedmont fingerpicking on both 6 and 12-string is to the fore on a mixture of excellent originals and covers made famous by the likes of Memphis Minnie, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Muddy Waters. There are lessons to be learnt in lyrics like “you’re not right, I’m not wrong” (from the title track), not least that Erin Harpe is a formidable talent.

THE MAVERICKS EN ESPAÑOL

Mondo Mundo Recordings

Originally released in 2003, it’s easy to forget just how damn good the Melbourne quartet’s debut album was. So, here’s a timely reminder in deluxe 2-disc and DVD packaging. The original album, featuring Billy Preston’s keyboards on several tracks, spawned no less than five Top 20 international hits, is supplemented here by a further 14 demos, live tracks and alternate versions, as well as nine promo video clips. Jet wore their UK rock influences on their collective sleeves, and in doing so delivered the defining Oz rock album of the 2000’s, and an anthem for a generation.

Chaz Jankel is forever associated with the career of Ian Dury, being his right-handman, guitarist/keyboardist, songwriting partner and chief Blockhead. This terrific box set contains Jankel’s four early 80’s solo albums, a showcase of a ground-breaking performer who defined the sound of dancefloor before it swept the globe. Full of incessant rhythms and swirling synthesisers, it’s a smoothly syncopated journey from punk rock to clubland.

Arguably the most feel-good band on the planet, the mighty Mavericks (with the Fantastic Five in rousing accompaniment) go Latin with a set sung entirely in Spanish that is unlike anything in their back catalogue. In particular, this is a showcase for Raul Malo’s stupendous voice. One doesn’t need to speak the language to be swept up in these Cuban/Mexican delights and, whilst not compulsory, tapas and red wine will heighten an already beguiling experience; olé. 67

IS WHERE THE ACTION IS LULUC

DREAMBOAT Sun Chaser

It’s a crime that Melbourne duo Luluc haven’t been pegged to soundtrack a film like The Squid & The Whale, Igby Goes Down or a remake of Harold & Maude. Their music is based on relentlessly pretty vocals and calm guitar but often hints at something much more ominous – some underlying fear or dread, deep mystery or freakiness. Or, as Zoë Randell sings in the opener, ‘Emerald City’, a ‘story that just gets wilder’ as the song pushes on and gets more intense and claustrophobic. The theme of a quiet existential crisis continues through songs like ‘All the Pretty Scenery’ and ‘The Dreamers (Part II)’, which could easily play as our main character stares out the back window of a car as they’re driven away from the scene of some misunderstood misdemeanour. My favourite is ‘Hey Hey’ with its jazzy, skittering percussion that jumps across a compelling bass rhythm with Randell singing: ‘turn that trouble upside down’ before spelling it out with a brutal put-down: ‘Don’t waste another precious second of your time on that half-wit.’ Now there’s a line that would leap off the screen.

By Christopher Hollow

For some artists, the COVIDinspired lockdowns/shutdowns/ social distancing have been disastrous. They’ve surrendered to the ennui, waiting for things to right themselves. For San Francisco’s one-man indie band Kelley Stoltz, it’s like he’s found his natural habitat in 2020. Here’s a musician who can sing, play and record everything in his home studio set-up. No pressure to tour or see people. No need to bring anyone else in. Perfect. Ah! (etc) is his second album of the year following the power-pop blast of July’s Hard Feelings. Despite this furious output, Ah! (etc) is another great collection of songs and sounds. The opener ‘Team Earth’, with its refrain, ‘are you on the team?’, misses the mark for me despite the fact I definitely am on the team but ‘The Quiet Ones’ is based on a brilliant driving bass line, great lyrics concerning neighbours and an excellent guitar overdub from Echo & The Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant. ‘She Likes Noise’ appears to be an ode to a like-minded partner, detailing a ‘you-like-comic-books-too!’ type moment. My fave number is the gentle ‘Darkness Too’ where Stoltz delights in singing: ‘let there be light, let there be some darkness too’.

YO LA TENGO SLEEPLESS NIGHT Matador

KELLEY STOLTZ AH! (ETC) Agitated

‘Yo La Tengo brought me here’. It’s a recurring YouTube comment I’ve come across regarding the fabulous covers YLT have done. They’ve certainly tipped me off to a wide-range of excellent tracks – from 70s soulster George McRae’s ‘You Can Have It All’ to infamous US racist Anita Bryant’s ‘My Little Corner of the World’ to Sun Ra’s stunning peace anthem 68

‘Nuclear War’. The list of deep cuts goes on and on. Now comes their Sleepless Night EP, filled with a bunch of interpretations and one original song, ‘Bleeding’. The most recognisable tunes are the Carole King-Gerry Goffin number, ‘Wasn’t Born to Follow’, and Bob Dylan’s ‘It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry’, which was recorded by the band for a John Peel session at the turn of the century. Hard country fans will dig the three-part harmony take on the Delmore Brothers’ ‘Blues Stay Away from Me’ and folk fans should enjoy the Derroll Adams track, ‘Roll On Babe’, which takes its cues from the 1974 Ronnie Lane Slim Chance version. Long may Yo La Tengo serve as our cultural attachés.

the title track. Even the opening statement to ‘Dreams Wash Away’ is ‘you lose your mind’. It’s all a bit Psych 101. Anyway, my favourite Joe Wong moments actually appear on Youtube – firstly, there’s a backyard performance of ‘Dreams Wash Away’ where Wong plays with a string quartet and it’s stunning. There’s another video worth checking out, too, a slowed-down version of ‘Dreams Wash Away’ that amps up the hypnotic nature of an already fabulous song (minus the opening line).

MEDICINE HEAD NEW BOTTLES, OLD MEDICINE (50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) Cherry Red

JOE WONG

NITE CREATURES Decca

Joe Wong is a Hollywood composer with some impressive TV bio credits including scoring the Natasha Leone black comedy Russian Doll and the Netflix adult animation series, The Midnight Gospel. He also has a podcast dedicated to drummers, The Trap Set, that has spotlighted the likes of Bernard Purdie, Clyde Stubblefield, Phil Collins and Sheila E. But his true dream was to release this debut album of indie pop with psych-skewed production. Front and centre is Joe’s rich, sonorous voice – a harmonious bell from the deep. It’s particularly effective on songs like the insular yet epic ‘Dreams Wash Away’ and ‘In the Morning’. The only jarring moments, for me, is Joe’s reliance on mind tropes – ‘don’t lose your mind, use your mind’ he sings in ‘Always Alone’ and implores ‘relax your mind’ on

All you need is the power of two – playing a guitar, a bass drum and a Jew’s harp. This UK Midlands duo from the early 70s were championed by legendary BBC DJ, John Peel, who signed them to his eccentric Dandelion record label. The songs that caught Peel’s ear back in 1970 are the songs I love too, including the skeletal but stunning ‘His Guiding Hand’ (apparently also a John Lennon fave) and the understated proto-glam stomper, ‘(And the) Pictures in the Sky’. Both songs get four renditions on this release – the album, single, live and demo versions. Unfortunately, there is a bit of blues stodge contained but there’s also some magic in numbers like ‘When the Night Falls’ and ‘Next Time the Sun Comes Round’. Dylan fans should hunt down Cherry Red’s 2007 version that included a great live take on ‘Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues’, which is sadly absent from this 50th anniversary edition.

BY CHRIS FAMILTON

AMERICANA: 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW 2020, what a year! That’s an understatement of the highest magnitude given the disruption, tragedy, uncertainty and fear that has hung over most of the year like a heavy, unrelenting fog. From protests to pandemics, the pinnacle of Dylan to the loss of Prine, it’s felt like a disorientating bad trip of a year. One of the things people have found solace in is, of course, music. From Italians forming makeshift choirs from balconies to the explosion of live-streamed home performances, people have found ways to adapt and music has been a central coping mechanism in 2020.

So, we look forward to 2021, a year that will surely feel like a new beginning with a sense of renewal and optimism. Some things will never return to normal but the one guarantee is that music will always ring out loud, softening the blows of heartache, chronicling the times and soundtracking life’s great adventures.

I had thought that it might be a lighter year for standout album releases but that wasn’t the case. My end-of-year list has been as hard as ever to finalise, with contenders coming from country and folk artists, American Primitive guitar players, brand new names and artists with decades of work behind them. From Lucinda Williams taking a thinly veiled swing at the president on ‘Man Without A Soul’, to Dylan addressing the last half-century and seemingly trying to contextualise his place in it and its place in him and Drive-By Truckers chronicling the failings and fracturing of their country across two albums, there have been some great observational songwriting statements made in 2020. It wasn’t just the old guard doing the heavy lifting. Relative newcomers such as Arlo McKinley, S.G. Goodman and Joshua Ray Walker made their mark in a big way. Locally the highlights have also been numerous. Newcastle songwriter James Thomson released a stunning album in Golden Exile, Suicide Swans (QLD) continued their fine form with a fascinating re-recording of some of their songs, Andy Golledge finally converted his live reputation to the recorded format with his Namoi EP, as did his friend and collaborator Caitlin Harnett, with her second album. Further out on the Americana fringes, Darren Cross and Andrew Tuttle both found ways to blend the traditional and the experimental on hypnotic releases that were a perfect meditational balm amidst the chaos. Relative newcomers such as CJ Stranger and Sunset Stranger showed they weren’t strangers to combining songcraft and atmosphere on their impressive albums. From new artists to more established ones finally reaping the rewards from years of hard slog on the recording, touring and promotional fire trail, it was a real joy to see Fanny Lumsden take out the ARIA Award for Country Album of the Year, with her release Fallow. Wholly deserved, both from the commitment and hard work she and her team have put into her career but also the creative evolution she’s shown, widening her musical palate and addressing important topics with poetic grace and sensitivity. As with every year, we lost a number of important musical figures, but in the context of the trials and tribulations of 2020 some hit particularly hard. Early in the year we lost Chris Darrow (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Steve Weber (Holy Modal Rounders), Elyse Weinberg, David Roback (Mazzy Star), Kenny Rogers, David Olney and Bill Withers. Then, in April, Covid tragically took out John Prine who was enjoying a renewed purple patch and being recognised more widely than ever before. The hits kept coming with the death of Little Richard, Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention), Charlie Daniels, Peter Green, Mac Davis, Billy Joe Shaver and Jerry Jeff Walker. The youngest of them all was Justin Townes Earle, a key figure of the contemporary folk and country scene who certainly lived a lifetime in his 38 years but who still departed way too soon. 69

Billy Pinnell

DEREK AND THE DOMINOS

LAYLA AND OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS

Universal

hen Blind Faith broke up in 1969 after less than twelve months and one US tour, Eric Clapton began jamming with opening act Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett then joined their band as an unbilled but hardly unnoticed sideman. In 1970 with several of the Bramlett's band he recorded his first solo album Eric Clapton which marked his emergence as a strong lead vocalist. Enjoying the musical rapport with drummer Jim Gordon, bass guitarist Carl Radle and keyboard player/singer Bobby Whitlock who by this time had all moved on from the Bramletts, he invited them to join him in a new group to be called Derek and the Dominos. Rehearsals began at Clapton's Surrey home in between sessions for George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass to which all four musicians contributed. How ironic that the inspiration for Clapton's next album was his close friend Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd with whom he had fallen hopelessly in love. His as yet unrequited love would inspire the songs he wrote and the cover versions he chose to record on what is now widely regarded as the finest work of his career, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs.

Shortly after recording had begun, producer Tom Dowd who'd worked on the Allman Brothers Band's second album Idlewild South was asked by Duane Allman if he could come by to watch Clapton, one of his favourite musicians, at work. Clapton's response to Dowd's request, 'you mean that guy who plays on Wilson Pickett's 'Hey Jude'?...I wanna see him play...tell him to bring his guitar', would 70

open the door for two of the greatest guitar players of all time to record together. Duane's slide guitar would add a new dimension to Clapton's music. Dowd said of their guitar playing chemistry, 'there had to be some sort of telepathy going on because I'd never seen spontaneous inspiration happen at that rate and level, one of them would play something and the other would react instantaneously, never once did either of them have to say 'could you play that again?' Originally released as a double album, the fourteen songs, five covers, nine Clapton compositions mostly written with Whitlock were all subliminal messages to Pattie Boyd. Sentiments expressed on the opening track 'I Looked Away,' a tender ballad with Clapton and Whitlock sharing lead vocals, set the agenda, 'and if it seemed a sin to love another man's wife I guess I'll keep on sinning'. On 'Bell Bottom Blues' the anguish in Clapton's voice and guitar (Allman was yet to come on board) is palpable, 'do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you, do you want to hear me beg you to take me back'. Written by Jimmie Cox in 1923 and popularised by Bessie Smith, 'Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out' highlights the bonding of these two guitar titans: Allman, a seasoned session player provides delicate slide to accompany Clapton's plaintive vocals before his bluesy solo takes over. Another blues classic, Big Bill Broonzy's 'Key To The Highway' was, according to Dowd, recorded live on the spur of the moment. 'The band heard Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs recording the song in another studio for their album Hard And Heavy, they liked it and spontaneously began playing it, I told the engineer to start running the tape which is why the song begins with a fade-in'. The track highlights the dynamic interplay from both musicians, never getting in each other's way, each allowing the other room to stretch out. Written in 1960 by Billy Myles and recorded in the same year by Freddie KIng, 'Have You Ever Loved a Woman' with its stark references to adultery is about as honest as songwriting can get. Obviously, a favourite of Clapton's he'd previously recorded it on a 1965 live album with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Clapton was in awe of Jimi Hendrix after jamming with him in 1966. His cover of Hendrix's ethereal ballad 'Little Wing' turned out to be an inadvertent yet perfect eulogy to his friend who died two weeks after the completion of the recording. 'Layla', a genuine landmark in Clapton's career and unquestionably his best known song, was inspired by a 12th century Persian poet's story of, you guessed it, unrequited love. Originally written as a ballad with lyrics describing his love for Pattie, the song became a rocker when, according to Clapton, Allman came up with the song's signature riff. Inspired by Allman's shrieking slide guitar, Clapton rose to the occasion matching his new friend note for note. Days later Clapton returned to the studio where he heard Jim Gordon playing a piano piece he claimed to have written that was later revealed to have been composed by Rita Coolidge. Moved by the haunting melody, referred to as the piano exit, Clapton and the band recorded it as the song's coda. PS: Clapton and Boyd eventually married in 1979 divorcing ten years later. PPS: In December 2020 Layla was reissued for its 50th anniversary as a deluxe 4 LP vinyl set and two CDs.

By Denise Hylands

ow, what a year…and considering that everything came to a grinding halt we did get an awesome dose of music. So, adios 2020…looking back I’m so grateful for the live music shows I went to prior to the lockdown. Gigs that hold fond memories, like international visitors Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, Cedric Burnside and The Schizophonics and my last local gig was the awesome Three Kings at Cherry Bar. As live venues start opening up and live music starts rolling out, I think we all have to get out there and support musicians more than ever and we all know how good music makes us feel. The end of the year saw some great music being released, gems that will sit on the best lists for 2020. One of those is the new album from Marlon Williams who hooked up with Canadian Folk duo Kacy & Clayton to write, collaborate and record an impressively beautiful album, Plastic Bouquet. This is an exceptionally special album. Sturgill Simpson released a surprise double bluegrass album back in October, Cuttin’ Grass - The Butcher Shoppe Sessions Vol. 1, doing bluegrass versions of his songs. Well, he did it again with Cuttin’ Grass - The Cowboy Arms Sessions Vol.2, again with an incredible lineup of Nashville musicians featuring Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan, Tim O’Brien, and others. Gillian Welch, brought us one more in the Boots series of releases with Boots No 2: The Lost Songs Vol. 3, the final instalment of the newly celebrated collection of home demos and reel-to-reel recordings from the vault of Welch and Rawlings. This stuff is gold. Steve Earle and The Dukes release their latest and very special album, JT. Paying tribute to Steve’s son Justin Townes Earle who passed away in August, playing the songs of JTE. Earle says, “The record is called JT because Justin was never called anything else until he was nearly grown. Well, when he was little I called him Cowboy.” The album’s January 4 release coincides with JTE’s birthday and it will be released in March in other formats. The Grammy’s will happen in late January and what a strong list of Americana albums there are up for the best in that category. Best Americana Album Old Flowers - Courtney Marie Andrews Terms of Surrender - Hiss Golden Messenger World on the Ground - Sarah Jarosz El Dorado - Marcus King Good Souls Better Angels - Lucinda Williams

I always find it difficult to wrangle up a top ten of anything. There’s usually way more bests than 10 and so maybe just a list of what 2020 offered that I have really been enjoying might be best. Maybe something slipped by you, that happens to me, and hopefully my list will introduce you to something new. Lu’s Jukebox - Concert Series. Live performance series. These have all happened now but you can go back watch, listen and purchase these great live shows with Lucinda Williams and her band, The Buick 6. Paying tribute to Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Southern Soul Songs, Classic 60’s Country and Xmas songs…definitely a highlight of last year and something great to come from a crazy year. There are 6 episodes of Lu sounding her best. Nick Shoulders - Okay Crawdad - the yodelling, whistling, country dude from Arkansas. Jesse Daniel - Rollin’ On - young Californian with a classic country heart and voice. The Jensen Sisters - Yellow Frames Minnesota sisters, 17 and 20 years-old, harmonies and great songs. Tracy McNeil & The Good Life - You Be The Lightning - there’s a reason why this album won Best Country Album @ Music Victoria Awards, an Aria Nomination and will be on many top 10 lists. Teddy Thompson Heartbreaker Please Teddy’s country heartbreak album. Logan Ledger – Logan Ledger - T-Bone Burnett produced, golden voice, debut release…gold. Courtney Marie Andrews - Old Flowers - a voice like no other, okay, maybe a bit like Emmylou. Stunning. Ezra Lee - Cryin’ At The Wheel - the real deal, boogie woogie country twang. Corb Lund - Agricultural Tragic - true tales from a real deal Canadian cowboy. Charley Crocket - Welcome To Hard Times - the title was decided before this year happened. Reviving old style country for these times. Jaime Wyatt - Neon Cross - a modern day Loretta Lynn / outlaw country. Joshua Ray Walker - Glad You Made It influences from George Jones to Dwight Yoakam, awesome.

Zephaniah OHora - Listening to the Music the Merle of Brooklyn Rachel Brooke - The Loneliness In Me - if Patsy Cline and Brenda Lee had a little sister. Arlo McKinley - Die Midwestern - I understand why John Prine signed him to Oh Boy. James Ellis & The Jealous Guys - Country Lion - honky tonk from Melbourne, made in Nashville. Brennen Leigh - Prairie Love Letter - vocally and musically superb, folksy, bluegrass, country Colter Wall - Western Swing & Waltzes & Other Punchy Songs - move aside Marty Robbins… 25 year-old with the incredibly deep voice singing about the prairies of Saskatchewan Canada & other tales. The Avett Brothers - The Third Gleam - back porch songs for everyone. Stripped back rockers. Tami Neilson - Chickaboom - wow what a voice! old school rock’n’roll, r’n’b, soul and country. Andrea & Mud - Bads News Darlin’ - If Junior Brown had a couple of kids called Andrea & Mud. Surf and Spaghetti Western, honky tonkin’ classic country. So, there just some of the albums I discovered in 2020. I hope you find something here that you also will get enjoyment from. Let’s hope 2021 is a good one. No doubt the music will continue to be made and we’ll be here to share it with you. Thanks for supporting Rhythms Magazine and here’s to a great new year of Twang… Denise Hylands also presents Twang every Saturday afternoon from 2.00-4.00pm on Triple R-FM (rrr.org.au) 71

CD: Feature BY WARWICK McFADYEN

TOM PETTY

for Petty. His marriage was breaking apart, he began an addiction with heroin and was battling depression. Indeed, Petty told his biographer Warren Zanes that even though many had described his solo album Echo as his divorce record. They were wrong. ‘‘Wildflowers is the divorce album,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s me getting ready to leave. I don’t know how conscious I was of it when I was writing it.’’ It is in this time he writes surely one of the most melancholic stanzas in rock:

WILDFLOWERS & ALL THE REST Warner Music

ildflowers bloomed 26 years ago. It was Tom Petty’s bouquet to the world, a creation of beauty, albeit with the occasional thorn. But it was in one respect, a flawed masterpiece, or rather an unfulfilled one. Petty died three years ago without seeing his original garden of song realised. The songwriter wanted Wildflowers to be a double album. The songs were there for it. However, according to reports, Warner Bros wasn’t happy with the idea. More than two dozen songs? Who’d listen to that? Their decision can be seen two ways – foolish or smart; Wildflowers became Petty’s fastest selling record. It went triple platinum in a year. The songs that didn’t make the cut languished unheard – until now. A deluxe boxed set from that time has been released. It is called, perhaps not surprisingly, Wildflowers and All the Rest. There are variations to the set. The four CD set comprises the original Wildflowers CD; disc 2 is entitled All the Rest, which is the songs that never made it; disc 3 is Home Recordings; and disc 4 is Wildflowers Live. In effect, you hear three stages of a song’s life, from the recording at home, to the studio to the stage. Rick Rubin was Petty’s producer on Wildflowers. In his introduction to the boxed set, he writes of his feelings immediately after Petty’s death in 2017. Part of it is, “I’ve never worked with an artist who’s changed a song after it’s completed and mixed. It is now ‘Last Dance with Mary Jane (from Indiana Girl)’. He is instinctual. A channel for music.” Rubin adds that he “probably learned more from working with Tom than with any other artist. The Wildflowers album was our first together and I think because the relationship was new, he wanted to impress me and he did on a daily basis. This has less to do with me and more to do with Tom. “His dedication to the craft of song writing and recordmaking are on full display here.’’ To listen to Wildflowers is to hear the years free falling. The quality of the songs allows that magic of timelessness to occur. In an interview with Paul Zollo, in the book Songwriters on Songwriting, Petty touches on that quality. Q: ‘‘Did you write Wildflowers with someone in mind? It’s directed to a person, ‘You belong among the wildflowers’.’’

‘‘I don’t know. It just appeared. Maybe in retrospect I can piece together who it’s about. I just write these songs and then I hope there’s some sort of truth and some sort of timelessness to them. And if it feels like there is then I feel OK, that’s a song. But it’s very hard to get that, too. It’s easy to say it. But it really takes a long time to get that. ‘‘I kind of try to play until I go into a semisubconscious space, and then you start arriving, and then you get so caught up in the process that you don’t want to look much deeper at the time because it could make the whole disintegrate. I feel that way. I don’t want to look too far behind the curtain.’’ The writing of Wildflowers and the aftermath, despite the record’s success, was a dark time

‘‘I’m so tired of being tired Sure as night will follow day Most things I worry about Never happen anyway.’’ It flitted between songs before settling into ‘Crawling Back to You’. The lost songs of Wildflowers carry a lightness of being that is not unbearable but magnetic; they draw you into Petty’s circle of thoughts and feelings. There’s an acoustic alchemy at work that turns what at first listen to each song seems a wisp of something slight into a strong breeze that carries you along in its emotional currents.

NATALIE D-NAPOLEON

YOU WANTED TO BE THE SHORE BUT INSTEAD YOU WERE THE SEA ALBUM OUT NOW “D-Napoleon pours everything into the album, surrendering completely” X-PRESS MAGAZINE

“A very personal experience that reaches the tendrils of your soul” AROUND THE SOUND

“D-Napoleon is a lyricist who is full of surprises” AMERICANA UK

“Natalie's stunning vocal performance is a wonder to behold” FATEA

“Album of the year” ONDAROCK

No.1 - AIR 100% INDIE ALBUM CHART

WWW.NATALIEDNAPOLEON.NET

Of equal fascination and interest is the Home Recordings disc. This is the point revealed where the key is turned in the ignition. It is the artist alone with his art. Here the flowers are breaking through into the light. Crawling Back to You on acoustic guitar draws you in as per the finished product but there’s a slightly different, intimate feel to it, and Wake Up Time on piano has a stripped back feel of revelation and optimism to it that falls deep into the soul. The disc ends with Wildflowers, surely one of the most perfect examples of muse and creation coalescing into art in one hit. Zollo asked Petty, generally speaking, was it unusual for a song’s words and music to arrive together. Petty replied: ‘‘It’s not unusual for most of it to arrive. For the whole song to arrive instantly is really strange. Really unusual. I don’t think it’s ever happened to me more than once or twice. It happened to me once on this album, the song Wildflowers. ‘‘I just took a deep breath and it came out. The whole song stream of consciousness: words, music, chords. Finished it. I mean, I just played it into a tape recorder and I played the whole song and I never played it again. I actually only spent three and a half minutes on that whole song. So, I’d come back for days playing that tape, thinking there must be something wrong here because this just came too easy. And then I realised that there’s probably nothing wrong at all.’’ Indeed, Tom Petty, nothing wrong at all.

CD: Feature

BY JEFF JENKINS

BY DENISE HYLANDS

RICH DAVIES

CALEXICO

Independent

Spunk Records Tucson’s eclectic Calexico releases a ‘holiday’ album.

BORN IN NEBRASKA

SEASONAL SHIFT

Imagine if Born In The U.S.A. was recorded in the style of Nebraska. Rich Davies did just that.

hen Bruce Springsteen released his blockbuster Born In The U.S.A. in 1984, Rolling Stone’s five-star review declared: “He may shove his broody characters out the door and send them cruising down the turnpike, but he gives them music they can pound on the dashboard to.” Melbourne’s Rich Davies has now shown that those stadium rockers also work as dark folk songs, tales of desperation and brooding intensity. Eight of the 12 Born In The U.S.A. songs were written during the sessions for Nebraska, Springsteen’s bleak acoustic set from 1982. When Ronald Reagan tried to jump on the Born In The U.S.A. bandwagon when running for re-election in 1984, Springsteen responded: “I kind of got to wondering what his favourite album of mine must’ve been. I don’t think it’s the Nebraska album.” Whereas Born In The U.S.A. was misinterpreted as a chest-thumping, patriotic collection, Nebraska depicted the dark side of the American Dream. Rich Davies loves Springsteen. He’s even got a Bruce tattoo on his right arm: It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive, a line from ‘Badlands’. Davies was just four when Born In The U.S.A. was released. He has a vague memory of seeing the iconic ‘Dancing In The Dark’ clip and thinking, ‘Gee, that looks like a good job.’ He was a Springsteen latecomer, discovering the Devils & Dust album in a Pittsburgh bar in 2005. It changed his life. Fast-forward 15 years, Davies found himself in lockdown Melbourne. With his band, The Low Road, off the road, Davies decided to return the Born In The U.S.A. songs to their acoustic roots, creating Born In Nebraska, using only what Springsteen had for the Nebraska album: acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin, glockenspiel, tambourine and voice. The songs show that Springsteen, the world’s most formidable rocker, comes from a folk

tradition. Check out ‘I’m Going Down’, which recalls ‘State Trooper’, and ‘Born In The U.S.A’, which is reminiscent of ‘Copperhead Road’. More sparse than stadium, but the songs lose none of their power. “I am just a fan,” Davies says. “I tried my best to honour the material, but I felt that I had something to add to the work. I really wanted to make a folk record.” A Melbourne Springsteen tragic, known as The Oracle, reviews the record: “It smoulders and burns with intensity. Excellent.” “There is a 2020 context to these songs,” Davies says. “We really could see what was coming in 1984 – it was all there on the year’s most popular album.” Davies grew up in Scotland, but landed in Brunswick Street, Melbourne in his early 20s. “I was born to run,” he smiles. He released an acclaimed album, Ghosts, in 2016. After one Sydney gig, Rhythms’ own Stuart Coupe was moved to write: “Last night, Rich Davies & The Low Road were hands down, no competition, the greatest rock ’n’ roll band on the planet” – echoing Jon Landau’s famous 1974 review: “I saw my rock ’n’ roll past flash before my eyes. And I saw something else: I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.” Rich Davies gets it. He realises that music can change lives. Singer-songwriter Michael Waugh knows how much Davies loves Bruce. “He has spent hours with me on car trips waxing lyrical

about Springsteen’s artistry, his integrity and his passion,” Waugh says. “If you are a Springsteen tragic, this tribute will fill your headphones with joy … this love letter to Bruce, born out of a pandemic, is all class – in working-class double denim.” Born In Nebraska is available now at Bandcamp.

5 Springsteen favourites: Album: Such a wealth of material! I always keep going back to Devils & Dust. Song: Today it’s ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’. Another song that shows the difference between the American Dream and the real world.

or 30 years Joey Burns and John Convertino have been collaborating in one way or another. Coming together in Giant Sand with Howe Gelb, they moved to Tuscon, Arizona. A place that wasn’t just home but a place that influenced their distinctive sound of North American meets Mexico: a coming together of the sounds drifting over the border to create Calexico. I spoke to Joey Burns about Convertino, their new album Seasonal Shift and big moves in the Calexico camp. “Yeah, we’re like brothers,” says Burns. “John moved away first. John moved to El Paso, Texas. And then, I guess I kind of followed in his path in a way, but instead of going El Paso, my family went to Boise, Idaho, where my wife is from and we’re loving it and we had our first snow already. It’s been really beautiful.”

It seems that distance isn’t going to stop them from making music together? A lot of people may think of Calexico as just Joey and John but there’s a whole band involved. And the members really are scattered all over the world? “They really are,” says Burns. “Well, most people that know the band by concerts realise that John and I are okay, but really it's the trumpet players, our guitar player, keyboardist, bass player. They're bad-ass. They're amazing. Scott Colberg lives in Brooklyn, New York, Jacob Valenzuela, trumpet player extraordinare, and Sergio Mendoza live in Tucson. We've got Martin Wenk our multi-instrumentalist and trumpet player extraordinare. He lives in Leipzig, Germany. And then the guitar player who lives in Madrid, Spain, Jairo Zavala. We have a chat group and our little Calexico familia has been in touch a lot these past few months.” The new album is called Seasonal Shift, a holiday album. Apparently, Calexico only wanted to record a little six song EP which grew into an album. “You're exactly right,” explains Burns. “I mean, the label originally asked us to do a song just to kind of tide over the audiences and friends, to just give people, a song to say, ‘Hey, thanks so much for supporting us. Can't wait to see you next year with a new Calexico album.’ But as we know COVID-19 happened, so once we started working on it, the songs just kept on coming and it's not just a holiday record, but there is a lot more sort of Calexico material that I would consider putting on a regular release or something that I would have put on The Black Light or A Feast of Wire. “I mean, the song ‘Tanta Tristeza’ with Gisela João is in that same vein of those two albums or the song that features Bombino. ‘Heart of Downtown’ could easily have been on Hot Rail or Garden Ruins or Carried To Dust. I kind of took that idea of it being a holiday album

and I did sort of stick a couple of extras in there for people who really can't stand the holidays.” Some of the selections are also traditional Christmas songs which might not be immediately apparent unless your Spanish is adequate but it is heartfelt, happy music. “I totally agree and I'm the same, like you,” agrees Burns. “My Spanish is really…….it's a slow, all caps, SLOW work in progress. And through music, it's how I learn more about the language and pronunciation. And part of that is just, that's one of the things why I love music is because it can be a gateway to so many things, or it can be a vehicle for learning language, culture, what have you.” “When she handed me her Christmas album, or holiday album,” adds Burns of their friend Gaby Moreno (whom he compares with Linda Rondstadt), “and I heard that song, ‘Mi Burrito Sabanero’, I'm like, ‘Oh my God, that is the coolest song ever.’ Turns out there's like this whole universe of versions and celebrations of that song and what it means. You'll find it everywhere.” Burns asked Moreno if they could use the song and also if she would guest on the new album. “Then I had her sing on a couple other songs too,” he says, “but she's one of the most down to earth people and one of the most talented artists I've ever met.” Of course, a lot of people are familiar with the John Lennon and Yoko Ono song, ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over).’ “I think that when I hear somebody do a modern version of a, even a fairly recent song, I still enjoy it,” says Burns. “And I think I've changed being a dad and I'm not as rigid with what should or shouldn't be or what is or isn't cool. I'm way more relaxed on it. And I just feel like it's such a great message and it still has relevance today, unfortunately.”

Line on Born In The U.S.A: I’d have to say the last verse of ‘My Hometown’, where the dad has his boy on his lap: “Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said, ‘Son, take a good look around. This is your hometown.’” Live show: The gig in Melbourne on February 16, 2014, which has never been officially released. It was epic. E Street Band member: It’s got to be Little Steven. He’s the personification of rock ’n’ roll. In our dreams, we’d all be Stevie. 75

CD: Feature

BY BRETT LEIGH DICKS

BY BRIAN WISE

WAYWARD JOHNSON & THE ADJUSTMENTS

THE TRIPHAMMER’S CRASH

Forging Ahead: Perth’s Wayward Johnson and the Adjustments celebrate The Trip Hammer’s Crash When you write music that’s as timeless and inflicting as Perth Americana collective Wayward Johnson and the Adjustments, not even a global pandemic can dampen the enthusiasm for getting new music out into the world. That’s not to say having a new recording racked up for release and a run of releaseassociated shows put on hold isn’t frustrating. But the band’s front-man, Phil Barry, feels the post-lockdown social climate into which the band is now releasing its sophomore recording, The Trip Hammer’s Crash, will be just as welcoming to its timeless countrified take on rock and roll. “I think that’s one thing about our songs, they don’t have a time or place,” Barry told Rhythms Magazine during a recent Sunday afternoon catchup. “When you work in this style of music, you’ve got to be honest to yourself. Rural Americana music is steeped in culture so when you play that style of music, it’s got be believable. That’s why I try to keep time and place out of my songs. Americans can do it because it’s their cultural experience. For me, singing this style of music with our references just doesn’t work.”

Barry is no stranger to cultural consequence. Born in England, he came to Australia as a child when his parents emigrated to Perth. While he spent his formative years listening to rustic rural blues music such as Robert Johnson, the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Gram Parsons and Let It Bleed era Rolling Stones soon seeped in. Armed with a harmonica and then a guitar, after serving stints in several Perth outfits, such as The Headcutters and The Tricks, Barry came to something of a musical crossroads. He loved music but wanted to reel in the live performance aspect of his career due to tinnitus. Enter Wayward Johnson, an acoustic recording project Barry embarked upon with keyboardist Kim Siragusa. The pair wrote and recorded upward of 40 songs before guitarist Grant Ferstat came on board and Barry’s wife, Clare Hennessy, joined the fray. “We were invited to play the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival,” Barry recalled. “My wife wanted to come but they wouldn’t give us a plus one so I said to her ‘you better learn to sing a song or two.’ She basically joined the band so she could get into the festival.” The lineup has since blossomed with the original quartet now joined by Matt Geary on bass, Chris Reimer on drums, John Pratt on mandolin, and sound engineer Les Williams, to give The Trip Hammer’s Crash, a lush yet raw sound. The band happily wears its musical influences on its sleeve to concoct rustically opulent songs that draw on everything from rock and roll to bluegrass and Americana. At times you can hear a flicker of Whiskeytown or something from the early period of The Jayhawks while the harmonies wouldn’t be out of place in a Gillian Welch and David Rawlings collaboration. Despite those overtones Wayward Johnson and the Adjustment’s sound is enticingly

something of its own design. The Trip Hammer’s Crash is heartfelt, honest, and infectious. “Two Song Rule,” with its sprinkling of banjo, is a gorgeously melodic ballad while “Trip Hammer’s Crash” forges a sultry sense of longing lament. In contrast to this sits a song such as “Ducks In A Row” which serves up a hearty dose of catchy folkinspired rock. While the ensemble has grown and evolved, the writing process has remained the same. Barry writes the songs at home and brings the completed compositions to the band which, in turn, weaves its magic. “These guys are so profoundly brilliant at what they do, I’m just fortunate to have them around me,” Barry said. “I want their interpretation of a song. Sometimes it doesn’t marry up to what I had in my head but that’s okay because that’s the exciting thing about it for me.” With a series of live shows rebooked and songs from The Trip Hammer’s Crash picking up airplay on both the east and west coasts, Wayward Johnson and the Adjustments has started turning its thoughts to what comes next. For Barry, that is likely to involve a vinyl album. “The idea is to put this EP and our previous one (State We’re In) together, add a few new songs, and put out a record,” he said. “My dream has always been to put out a vinyl record. But we’re not in any hurry because we want to get it right.” Having vinyl album of his own music sitting there beside the likes of Let It Bleed would no doubt offer Barry a great deal of satisfaction. “I’m a music nerd and my record collection is in alphabetical order,” Barry was quick to interject. “So, it will be sitting down the end next to Wilco - which is quite alright by me!”

JOACHIM COODER

OVER THAT ROAD I’M BOUND WARNER

n April last year Joachim Cooder was about to head to Australia for Bluesfest, bringing a trio and playing the electric mbira (a variation of the African thumb piano) that I had seen him playing just a few months earlier in at the City Winery Nashville during the Americana Festival with his legendary father Ry playing along on guitar. (“It really feels like another lifetime,” says Joachim when I remind him about that superb show). Then, everything was cancelled. Luckily, Joachim had another project to work on and that he actually mentioned he would be previewing on the tour: the songs of oldtime musician Uncle Dave Macon, a seminal figure in the evolution of American music. Now completed and released the ecelectic album also features Ry (banjo, guitar, bass and backing vocals) along with Rayna Gellert (fiddle), Juliette Commagere (backing vocals), Sam Gendel (bass), Glenn Patscha (piano and pump organ), Amir Yaghmai (tambur), Dan Gellert (banjo and fiddle) and Vieux Farka Touré (guitar). Your album harks back to a completely different America entirely, doesn't it? It does. Well, there was a lot of minstrel music, there was white minstrel bands, there was black minstrel bands, and it was extremely popular at the time. [Dave Macon] was like an Alan Lomax character who went around collecting songs of the day and we sort of repackage them, repurpose them for a later audience, because he was in his '50s when he became famous. So, there's some song titles and that I stay away from because it's it gets a full racial and not quite where I'm at. I also changed a lot of lyrics - even of the ones that are just about biscuits and kind of just sort of comedic songs about food and rabbits and stuff like that. I would change the lyrics and be like, ‘I'm going to make this about something more personal.’ I'm going to take it not only out of the past, but I'm going to take it out of any frame of reference for anyone because it's so personal. And then you can let your mind really wander sort of, and not be bogged down with anything really. I was wondering when you first discovered his music, I assume it was your father turned you on to Uncle Dave's music. And I believe Pete Seeger also played a role there. Yes. When I was pretty little, probably under five or younger my dad played a lot of banjo sitting around the house in his chair. I used to always want to know, ‘What are you playing there? What's this?’ Some of the ones that I really love were the uncle Dave songs which

he learned from Pete Seeger who was a big fan of Uncle Dave’s banjo. I got older, moved out of the house and now a few years ago, I'm taking my son and daughter to visit my parents and one day I hear his songs again, including ‘Morning Blues.’ I just grabbed my electric mbira, which is how I play all these songs, and started playing along with him. Everything on the mbira gets very modal and it takes it into a new place because of just the way the instrument is laid out. And I instantly started playing ‘Morning Blues’ in my show and I just thought, this is so great. And then I started learning other ones and we bought this big uncle Dave box set, and my daughter, of course just was the only thing she would listen to. No other music could be played in the house, but Uncle Dave. At her insisting, it wasn't me, she kind of ran this operation, as a three-year-old. And that's how this whole project kind of came together. It's fascinating to see you play the mbira in concert. It’s got a very distinctive sound obviously and I think there's someone makes them specially for you. That's right. Bill Wesley is his name, and he makes them down in San Diego. I've had this big acoustic, early version of it that you can only record with it with a microphone. Anytime I've tried to make it live it's been a feedback disaster. But when he started making these solid body electric versions of it, then I can plug into an old guitar amp, an old kind of distorted fender thing, and it gets a kind of bluesy, real growly sound. Then that changed everything. That's what made me start to write and sing over it, which I normally never would have done. In some ways you are doing exactly what your father did on his very early albums. He rediscovered – or introduced people to a lot of blues musicians that might've passed

us by. A lot of people talk about Americana music. I'd be one person prepared to argue that Ry was one of the pioneers, if not the forefathers of the Americana movement. I agree and very much about his early records. As far as I go, what I'm doing, I hadn't really made that connection until afterwards. Somebody else had mentioned it and I thought, ‘Oh yeah’. I brought it up to him. It was in a review of the record – somebody said there was something Cooder-esque about what I'm doing. He looks at what I've done has taken the songs so far out and come back around and this other way and he thought maybe what he was doing was just more straight up. But I said, no, I think you were doing the same thing. When you set out to do things you don't really contextualize them with other things because you're just in this little world and I'm working on these songs. But I think back from it, I do see the connection. And I think that's nice because I never would've thought I'd done something like this before.”

CD: Feature

BY DENISE HYLANDS

WONDER STEPHEN GRADY Independent

s part of the duo The Ahern Brothers, Stephen Grady with Josh Rennie Hynes, released their 2017 self-titled album to high praise, followed with an EP There’s A Light. There was something special about their harmonies and beautifully crafted songs. With Hynes moving to Nashville to pursue his solo career, Grady was left to wonder what was his next step. “We wrote a whole bunch of songs and it became a very organic thing to just be in a duo. And all of a sudden we were touring the country. putting out an album and then touring with Tex, Don and Charlie, which was definitely a career highlight for me so far,” he explains. “But yeah, it came to a bit of an end, probably sooner than a lot of people would’ve liked. Now Josh is in Nashville and I had to, in a way, start again and reassess, do I want to be a solo artist? Do I want to be in a duo again? Luckily for me the songs came along. It’s been a bit of a journey trying to figure it out and try and work out my sound and where I fit in.” So, in a year like 2020, Grady has released two albums! Streets Of Gold came out in July and this new one Wonder. Both very different albums. Streets of Gold is a full production solo album and Wonder is a stripped back to basics album. “I would never do it again,” says Grady. “And I don’t need to do it again. I think going from The Ahern Brothers being such a folky, stripped back thing, I really wanted to see what I could do with production and bigger sounds. It was fun, but also pretty stressful. It also really taught me that I shouldn’t try and do this on my own. I need a producer 78

and that’s why I eventually put it down and I called Roger (Bergodaz), ‘Hey man. Let’s get back to basics’.” Talking about stripping it back, the nylonstring guitar is the basis of this new album, Wonder. “That was my one rule,” explains Grady. “Let’s just do everything on this guitar. My nylon was given to me when I was 12. Passed down to my mum from my Auntie. I think she went through a little hippie stage in high school and was playing folk music and gave it to my mum. It’s like my best friend. I’ve written pretty much every song on that guitar. I’d always said it was a matter of time until I’m just comfortable enough just to play that guitar. There’s always that temptation of playing a six-string acoustic or an electric guitar. Maybe I got it all out of my system with Streets of Gold and realised, alright, this is me, this is the nylon and this is my sound.” There was just Roger Bergodaz and Grady in the studio “I fully trust Roger. He’s very versatile,” explains Grady. “He can play drums and bass. And all the instruments are there as far as, keyboards and piano. Streets Of Gold took nine months and Wonder took three days. I’ve realised, the time spent writing the songs, that’s the work. That’s where you put the most effort and energy and thought.

Then really the recording should just be being comfortable and just playing the songs and not over complicating it. I wish I knew this two years ago. The stripped back sound offers the space to hear songs. The song ‘Spring,’ one of the highlights, about Melbourne weather reflects the fact that the city is renowned for often enjoying all the seasons in one day. “I absolutely love it,” says Grady. “That was definitely one main reason that enticed me to move to Melbourne. This type of music also lends itself to writing about the seasons. There’s only so many songs I can write about the humidity in Queensland - And I think that’s been done. Maybe songs about spring have been done, but I still wanted to have my little take on it. I feel like I captured it and I’ll try do it again, I guess.” There’s the one cover on the album, The Cure’s ‘Boys Don’t Cry.’ By applying the back to basics method Grady offers it up to be heard for the song that it is. “Obviously, I’m drawn to lyrics and deeper meaning about songs,” he concludes. “That song I just connected with and wanted to slow it down and highlight the lyrics and message in the song. It’s a beautiful song. And such a mature song. He must’ve been pretty young when he wrote it. I like doing covers, I think more people should do covers.”

WYNONNA

RECOLLECTIONS ANTI

ynonna became famous as a teenager in the mother daughter duo The Judds. An incredible story of welfare to millionaire. 37 years of constantly touring, recording and playing shows. 2020 put a stop to all that for the first time in her musical career. I talked to her from her tennessee Farm. How has it been for you to stop what you’ve been doing for most of your life? Devastatingly beautiful. When I'm not crying, I'm singing and when I'm not singing, I'm literally feeding the animals, cooking and cleaning. Making new music, Cactus (Moser) and I are working on a project. I became famous with my mom at 18 and I was on the road with her for 10 years. Then I went on my own. I'm part of the American dream. I won the lottery again. And it's my second part in the history of country music. And now I'm in a band with my husband and we have new music and everything is exciting still at my age. So, I'm really grateful, and the farm gives me a place to come back to, to remind me of who I am, not just what I do. So you’ve been hanging out in your home studio a bit with your husband, Cactus Moser, and recorded some tracks and released an EP called, Recollections. I feel like I'm right back where I started. Like I'm 18 all over again, when I sing these songs, it feels like I'm coming home. This EP just shows a different side of you. You seem relaxed, you're having fun. We hear you laugh, banter and chatter, before and after the songs. It's just a really beautiful way to hear you doing the songs that you love. Wow. I love that, thank you. I'm sure you're jamming all the time and playing songs that you love, but you press play and you recorded this and you put it out to the

world. You obviously were happy with it, but there's that roughness to it that's just so lovely. I've been home now for nine months and every Friday night we would do what's called a Facebook live, so we could have the fans tune in like you would your favorite TV show and we did songs and we would laugh. Cactus, he said, "I have these songs, I recorded them." Because we did them live. And I'll give you another story. I was on the phone with a friend of mine who told me that John Prine had died and he's one of the great singer songwriters of our time. And that night we were doing a Facebook live, so I picked ‘Angel From Montgomery’ because I wanted to honour him because I've known that song since I was 15 and Cactus recorded it. And we put the songs out on an EP because it was a chance for people to hear us live. So, I think what you're hearing in those songs is me actually having a good time and not worrying about, "Well, gosh, did I sing

that great or not? I don't know.” Moser says. ”Honey, you're not going to fix these. You're just going to be you and you're going to enjoy yourself." And I said, "Ah, okay." So, I learned a lesson about perfectionism. Just be real and real is not perfect, that's for sure. Tell us about the other songs that you selected for the EP. I think they picked me. The song with Robert Weir. I call him Robert because there's no way I can call him, Bob, it's like calling your teacher by their first name. I respect Bob Weir so much, Grateful Dead, good God, his history. I met Robert, he came to the farm and we recorded ‘Ramble on Rose’ because, well, that's the way life works sometimes. And he's become like a mentor, or teacher, on a weekly basis we communicate and he's very dear to me. And that song came about because Cactus said, "Hey, let's learn a Grateful Dead song." King Bee (Slim Harpo)…Like when you hear me sing King Bee, I'm literally vibrating to this bluesy joy ... It’s a love story. I'm on stage (with Moser) and I'm saying, "Honey," and it started out to be a fun, love affair on stage and it turned into a studio recording. I'm playing harmonica and he's playing all the instruments and we're just bad-ass, that's what we do. Fat Domino’s ‘I Hear You Knocking’ and Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’ round out this 5 track EP. Why didn't you just do an album? Why didn't you give us more? That's a great question. The truth is, it was a timing thing. We had the songs and Cactus talked to ANTI Records about it and they said, "Let's take the ones we got while you guys are working on the rest, we'll put that out, it'll give the fans something." Because the fans kept saying, "Come on, come on, come on." And I was like, "Okay, okay, okay, hang on." And we had those ready to go and we just put them out because I feel like there's more to come, it just wasn't done yet. And so it was like, well this is the appetiser. Oh baby. Some more is coming, trust me when I say, no worries, it's going to happen. 79

CD: Feature

BY MICHAEL SMITH

BY CHRIS FAMILTON

SOME DAYS

Corey Legge recorded his latest album in New Zealand.

e’s been playing guitar 20 years, from the age of eight at his local school in Bega on the NSW South Coast, inspired by his guitarist and songwriter teacher, though the professional gigging had to wait until he left school, playing with a blues band called The Swamp Stompers the past eight years, but it was at Glastonbury that singer, songwriter and guitarist Corey Legge “saw the light” as it were. “I studied at Southern Cross University in Lismore,” he explains, “did a Bachelor of Contemporary Music and a Bachelor of Secondary Education and I’d just finished my time up there and decided to travel overseas, do the backpacking thing for a few months. I went through the UK, went to Ireland, over to Germany, The Netherlands and France. It was a bit of a scouting mission. I really wanted to go and check out what the music scene was like over there and was lucky enough to check out Glastonbury festival and one of my good friends was playing guitar for Julia

Jacklin, and we had a bit of a chat after the set and he said that Julia’s first album was recorded at The Sitting Room in Lyttelton, which is the port town of Christchurch. That piqued my interest, so I obviously went and had a listen to Julia’s album and found out that Marlon Williams recorded there as well. That was when I actually made a very fateful decision, at that festival, to go over to New Zealand to record my debut album.” Having received a NSW government Young Regional Artist Scholarship in 2018, Legge got in touch with studio owner/producer Ben Edwards. The result was Legge’s debut album, Driving out of Eden, released in February 2019, the title song lifted as his first single scoring him airplay in the UK, Ireland, Central Europe and North America as well as Australia. In fact, singer-songwriter James Taylor no less shared Legge’s video for ‘Driving out of Eden’ to his millions of social media followers. You couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the wider world. So Legge returned to The Sitting Room in December 2019 to record his second album, Some Days. “Working with Ben Edwards was amazing,” Legge enthuses. “I think it was a careerdefining move to go to New Zealand to record those first two albums. He really brought me out of my shell and forced me to think about songs in completely different ways than I would normally. I think we got some magic down on tape in the end. I took a lot of lessons out of that first album and made a decision early on to go back and record the second album there. I think the major difference between the two albums is the first one took about five years to write and the second took less than twelve months. I think it was a confidence thing. Working with Ben, he really pushed me to make decisions quickly in the studio, whereas in the past I’ve been a bit more reflective and I like to take my time a bit more. I think being put on the spot like that allowed me to write songs that I’d never normally write, so I feel that’s been beneficial. I feel like I’m becoming stronger as a songwriter and feel like I’m letting my stories be told more effectively. I’m enjoying the process of writing more than ever.” For the recording of Some Days, Legge took his own rhythm section – his long-time bass player Matt Crawford, who also plays in Murray Cook’s band The Soul Movers, and drummer Andie Bilaniwskyj-Zarins – over to New Zealand for the sessions, with Edwards calling in local musicians where he felt their contributions would enhance the music. “We rehearsed ten songs before we went over and then Ben changed a few songs

around, and then he said it was my decision whether to keep his version or my version. It was really cool to see the ones that Ben pushed hard on. I feel there’s a bit of a common theme throughout the ten songs. A lot of them have a bittersweet vibe, sort of documenting this point in my life, in my late twenties, going through the motions of failed relationships and moving into better times now. There are also references to working hard yet not really pushing through that wall. I’ve been in the music industry a long time now – I figured out that I’ve spent twenty years of my life playing guitar – so it’s been a long tough road and I feel only now am I making inroads in the music scene in Australia. So, a lot of my songs sort of talk about that journey to where I am now. “I think some of the topics of the songs come from having grown up listening to a lot of the old blues guys, like Albert King, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, but more recently I’ve started to get into guys like Paul Kelly, Chris Stapleton and James Taylor. I love the way that those guys tell stories and deliver a song. I was listening to James Taylor’s Greatest Hits on repeat when I wrote the first album. I’m also a massive fan of Passenger (Mike Rosenberg) – I’ve been listening to his albums on repeat too, when I’ve been writing both of my albums. I think a lot of my imagery and the way I present myself on stage is based on Passenger.” The second single, ‘Fireball’, lifted off Some Days reached #3 on the AMRAP regional charts, #8 on the Australian Country Radio charts and was nominated in the Song of the Year category in the APRA AMCOS Awards. Corey Legge hits the road 2 Jan – Quarterdeck and Narooma, 3 Jan – Cobargo Hotel, Cobargo, with the band, 17 Jan – Flow Bar, Old Bar and 24 Jan – Tumut River Brewing Co, Tumut, solo, all NSW dates, promoting his fourth single from Some Days, ‘I Don’t Know What I’ve Got Myself in For’ and its accompanying film clip.

LATE NIGHTS IN THE INNER WEST Caitlin Harnett dishes up a sonic smorgasbord of soulful country-rock on Late Night Essentials.

ydney songwriter Caitlin Harnett knew from an early age that music was what she wanted to pursue and as an 18-year-old she was quickly thrust into the limelight on the back of her debut EP, produced by Matt Fell, a grand final appearance in the Telstra Road to Tamworth and a publishing deal with Mushroom Music Publishing. Still trying to figure out the type of songwriter she wanted to be led to the recording of her debut 2014 album in Canada. “The River Runs North was very much a folky Joni Mitchell time in my life and I was still figuring out my songwriting then. I was trying to be Joni and Laura Marling. I still love some of those songs and I’m really proud of them, but this stuff is more me and I’m just writing naturally now,” says Harnett. The transition from folk-pop to indie folk and now an electric country-rock sound took shape when Harnett moved to the city and met fellow songwriter Andy Golledge and Josh Piltz who would become her drummer. “When I played my new songs to them, they became more of an Americana/rock thing. Then decided I wanted to play electric guitar and this band sound just happened. The next album is probably going to change again and sound more 90s Sheryl Crow country from the songs I’ve been writing. I’m a Gemini!” laughs Harnett. Though it may seem like a lengthy gap between albums, most of songs that make up Late Night Essentials were written in Canada and then recorded in Sydney in 2018. “Then it was a two-year process of me just me thinking “now what?!” Harnett recalls. “I got a bit disheartened after The River Runs North. I had great feedback but felt like no-one wanted to work with me and I was doing it all on my own. I got a bit too consumed with that side of things, it felt too hard to release music,” she admits. “I had to have a bit of a break to re-focus and realise why I started making music - not to get a manager or get signed to a label - just to make music. Now

I’m just going to make music and release it and I don’t really care if we get signed. I think we’re doing pretty well on our own!” Recording took place in producer Joe Ireland’s living room over just one day, in what was a successful exercise in capturing the live sound of Harnett and her band the Pony Boys. “It’s so important to me for people to hear us as we are – with some extra things like horns to make it sound even better! It’s pretty DIY but I think it worked. We were really nervous about releasing it and that it might be too live-sounding and like a demo. I do think people do like it for that aspect though. Now I’m so happy and proud of how we did it!” Not to be pigeonholed into one genre, the record blends, country, folk, soul, 70s soft rock and a smoky late-night bar noir.

It sounds like a musical coming of age, both in the way it chronicles the thrills and spills of someone in their twenties in the inner west of Sydney and also in its sonic and songwriting maturity. It also acts as a postcard from the local scene that Harnett has helped create. “We’re so lucky to be a part of this Americana country club or whatever it is. Especially in Newtown it feels like we’re really trying to start and pave the way for other musicians like us,” she says emphatically. “People love this kind of music. It pisses me off that media like triple j don’t get behind it. If we all support each other, with things like starting up the Evening Records label, which is for all of us, and we get a big enough group of people loving the music, then the bigger people have to take notice. 81

CD: Feature

BY CHRIS LAMBIE

BY CHRIS FAMILTON

MIGUEL RIOS

SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROAD Independent

Miguel Rios used the lockdown to record a new album. “The world is spinning faster,” sings Miguel Rios, “It’s catching up to you.” But when the pace of life across the planet slowed right down in 2020, Rios found time for a productive leap forward. Without the usual demands of work and the general busyness of daily life, Rios focussed on recording songs he’d written in recent years. The result is a beautiful stripped-back collection that captures the essence of his songwriting style. Although he’s had a digital studio for 20 years, the time was right for something simpler. “I recorded an album in 2016 but never released it”, Rios says from his home in bushland on the outskirts of Melbourne. “It took two years and was a way bigger production than this one. An all-out deal with well-known sessions players and producer.” He’d kept on writing and performing between a busy career in filmmaking and family life. “I knew the [COVID] lockdown thing was coming,” he says. For many, increased ‘home time’ saw a return to board games, vegie growing and nana naps. Rios himself went back to the studio. “With a small window before the second lockdown in Victoria and a limited budget, since we’d lost all our work, I needed to record quickly. Slaughterhouse Road is very pared back with a simple production process. It encapsulates me as a songwriter and player more than [the previous recording].” Rios (who carries Mexican and Native American Yaqui bloodlines) grew up among a barefoot bunch of kids in a Far North Queensland alternative community, running free around the hills and riverbanks. Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys and Cat Stevens featured among the record collections of the community’s 50 or 60 adults. “We had a reel-to-reel machine at home which I took with me when I moved to Melbourne. I’ve picked up bits of analogue stuff over the years and fashioned it into my own studio and sound. I fell out of love with digital recording because it’s all about the post-production.” Rios enlisted the services of Greg O’Shea, an engineer he’s worked with over the past decade. “Greg came up when engineering was an 82

apprenticeship. He’s worked with people like Nick Cave, Crowded House, Hunters & Collectors, Deborah Conway and Paul Kelly. Greg’s very familiar with tape machine recording. It’s not just the sound I liked about it, but the process. The focus on capturing the performance.” Listening to Slaughterhouse Road put me in mind of a heritage recording put down long ago by pioneering bluesman and folk artists. Rios says, “That’s interesting because Greg said it sounds like something unearthed from the Smithsonian.” The 10 tracks were recorded straight to tape in Rios’ small tin home studio and - in the Neil Young tradition - during a full moon. The Capricorn eclipse, in fact. The locale was even quieter than usual with a nearby flight path as still as the eucalypts below. Bennett of ‘Sound Recordings’ near Castlemaine provided his 1969 Ampex half inch four-track tape machine that captures the organic storyteller mood. “I didn’t get into the singer-songwriter stuff til my later teens,” Rios says. “I grew up playing bluegrass and old blues but in my early teens, I was a massive ACDC fan. I wanted to play fast shredding electric guitar like Angus Young or Eddie Van Halen. My guitar teacher played a lot of fingerpicking and I loved the sound of slide guitar. We learned the style of all ‘the Kings’ and British bluesmen like John Mayall and Peter Green. I came to appreciate the rhythm and simplicity in Dylan’s playing and how he put songs together from three chords. It was a whole other skill to the highly technical playing I’d been doing. When I heard an obscure John Prine song one day, I loved the beauty of how the words worked with the guitar. That got me hooked and I tried writing like that. Saying you planned a career in music wasn’t

really [acceptable]. But I started thinking, ‘I’m gunna run an away and ‘join the circus’ as soon as I can.’

MIGUEL RIOS

SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROAD IND In the tradition of ‘less is more’, Miguel Rios takes us back to the essence of singersongwriter roots. The nuanced timbre of Rios’ Martin guitar (that once sat among Hat Fitz’ collection) perfectly accompanies his elegant earthy vocals. His fingerpicking references the styles of Skip James, John Fahey, Lightinin’ Hopkins and Leo Kottke. Minimal ‘extras’ across the album include long-time collaborator Ash Jones’ haunting fiddle on a couple of tracks. Rios’ neighbour, multi-instrumentalist Matt Stonehouse features on mandolin. Lyrics are steeped in images of idyllic landscapes where childhood ghosts resurface to be examined. In a year that’s inspired reflection and reassessment, listeners can read their own stories between the lines. ‘Lights Around The Bend’ is a bluesy lament with edgy percussion. Laid down with a single mic in one take, it channels a stark energy. ‘Black Dog’ has a ‘Working Class Hero’ feel musically, the words again allowing individual interpretation. ‘Narcissist’ laments the treadmill of global greed, written before a focus on life and death matters took precedence. Rios’ earnest musings never assume the ‘high road’ but arrive as credible and unpretentious in delivery as Kev Carmody or Johnny Cash. The analogue recording captures the sound of a compellingly intimate and authentic performance. What you hear is what you’ll hear live – up close and personal.

MORE THAN JUST THE BLUES New Zealander Darren Watson continues to refine his songwriting craft on his seventh solo album.

arren Watson has been an active member of the New Zealand music scene for the last thirty years, first gaining attention on a national level with his blues/ funk/soul combo Chicago Smoke Shop in the 1980s before embarking on a solo career that has seen him continue his exploration of soulful storytelling and some quite sublime guitar playing. Watson’s new album is wryly titled Getting Sober For The End Of The World. “I picked the title because it would get some attention and piss some people off. I just love the joke of it for something so damn serious.” he laughs, though as many might assume it wasn’t written in response to the hellish last year we’ve all lived through. “I was thinking about global warming, not COVID. I had the title and then I had to write the song around it, about a serious subject while giving people a laugh,” Watson explains. When an artist is tagged with a specific genre, across a multi-decade career, it can act as a useful label for media and critics but for many musicians it can also be a frustrating pigeonholing of their style and influences that doesn’t allow them the opportunity to diversify, or accurately recognise the divergent aspects to their sound. In Watson’s case he says that “it’s hard to get through 30 years of being that jumpy blues guy in that 80s band.” Listening to the new album it’s clear that his influences run wide and deep. From the New Orleans feel of the title track, to Rick Holstrom’s (Mavis Staples) swampy guitar on ‘Alison Jane’ and elements of country-folk that permeate a number of other tracks, Watson is drawing on a whole range of roots music styles. “I love blues but I listen so widely. I listen to early alt-country stuff like Lyle Lovett and I was a big Wilco fan. I’ve always been a massive fan of Dr John and The Meters and I’m really into that half-time feel of The Band

that Levon Helm did. I grew up in the early 80s with most of the UK bands like Squeeze, Dexys Midnight Runners and Elvis Costello. That was the gateway for finding the real thing - the real soul music,” says Watson. A first for the new album was Watson recording, producing and mixing the album at home. That freedom, without the time restraints of a commercial studio, meant he could fine-tune the sound and feel of the songs to his heart’s content. “I really did like that there was no-one to blame but me. When it came to mixing I could spend a day getting the vocal sound just right. I spent a lot more time mixing it than I did recording it. I just wanted to get the feel right,“ he reiterates. “Even though they’re

simple songs, making it work as mixes was important and fun for me.” After a musical lifetime mostly focused in New Zealand, Watson is keen to head across the Tasman once some semblance of normality returns to international touring. “I would love to get over there when there is a bubble. I’d be coming over to play for a few hundred people realistically. I’ve never really focused on it at all before and I’m keen to explore the scene there, where there’s a mix of country and folk and different roots music styles. I’m hoping that I’ll pick up an audience who don’t have preconceptions of what I do and just judge me on what they hear. It’s like starting afresh really.” 83

CD: Feature

BY DENISE HYLANDS

BY MICHAEL SMITH

SIERRA

Sierra Ferrell released two new songs as a preview of her highly anticipated forthcoming album

hen Sierra Ferrell first came to Australia 2018 for Out On The Weekend, she was a late addition to lineup. Unknown to most, she blew everyone away with her old time sounds and voice. Returning in 2019, I was fortunate to be on tour with her and boy does she like to sing. She’s like a human jukebox, all styles, all generations. Described recently as Dolly Parton meets Hank Williams. You’ve got to love that? Growing up in Charlotte, West Virginia and now based in Nashville. You left home young, you rambled, and went out on the road, hopping freight trains, and meeting other traveling musicians. That must’ve been an incredible time for you to hear and discover all different types of music? Yeah. It's kind of crazy too, because a lot of people don't see it going on, but there's definitely a whole underground scene of that happening. I found so many different styles of music that I love, especially the whole gypsy vibe and then New Orleans definitely contributed to that. And just the whole traveling community, they're all playing all these really old songs, like Ragtime songs and just really good stuff. I was talking to Charley Crockett a few months ago who said that's where he learned so much of his music. Busking on the streets and playing with other players in places like New Orleans. He just absorbed it all. And I can imagine that is exactly what you were doing too. Yeah. And I actually have a funny story about Charley Crockett. Before what he is now, how he presents himself so well, and he's all dressed up to the nines with his nice hat on and he always looks fresh. But when I met him, he was just a barefoot guy on the streets with overalls drinking whiskey in like the middle of the day. And I just think that's so beautiful now that we both started out on the streets, and now here we are doing our thing and just doing music. Recently signed to Rounder Records, finally you can let go of the diy approach you’ve had to adapt to survive and focus on the music and getting a new album out? I'm loving it because honestly, let's face it, I needed some help. I don't know - that side of my brain doesn't work that way. I just want 84

to play music. I'm super excited for everyone to get to hear it, but it's sadly not going to be out till next year spring, summer. I'm not entirely sure when. Two songs have been released, ‘Jeremiah,’ with its old-time country banjo jangle and ‘Why’d You Do It,’ with its Calypso thang. Is this an example of the variety of sounds we might be hearing on the new album? Yeah. The album's going to be all over the place just like how my mind is. I just get so bored with doing one style because each style, they're called a style for a reason because they have their own sort of sound to it. And I just, I have to go back and forth or I get bored. Now you call Nashville home, you’re able to call on friends who live nearby to help out and contribute to the new recordings. So, on ‘Jeremiah’, I have Sarah Jarosz came in and she did the background vocals, and she did banjo, which I love because it gave it more of an old time feel with the banjo. And we got Jerry Douglas on Dobro which I'm so excited about. Dennis Crouch is playing bass in both songs. And he's played and recorded with Alison Krauss on her record. Then Nate Leath is, of course, playing fiddle on that. And then on ‘Why'd Ya Do It’, Chris Scruggs is on there. I'm sure you're going to be grabbing a few Nashville types for the album as you get those tracks down?

Yeah. So, on the song, ‘Bells of Every Chapel’, Billy Strings is going to be doing some vocals with me. And he played guitar on it. I have some other people that might be recording, but I don't want to say their names yet to jinx it. You’ve also got yourself a band to play with you all the time and of course on the new album. Tell us about them? There’s Nathan Heath. He's a fiddle player and actually he plays everything. He can play Mandolin, he can play guitar, he can play bass. Anything he touches is good. And I'm glad that he's on the team. And I’ve recruited Audrey MacAlpine to play bass with us and do harmony. So, now we're a three-piece band. I found my people. ‘Jeremiah’/’Why’d Ya Do It’ are available via Rounder Records. Sierra also released a festive singe online: ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas tree’ / Jingle Bell Rock.’

THE EYES HAVE IT They’ve been playing together in various projects since the early 90s now Rhode Eyes release their own album. Life, as John Lennon, quoting Allan Saunders from a 1957 issue of Readers Digest, sang in ‘Beautiful Boy’, “is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” All the usual things ensured that it would be 25 years before Sydney three-piece Rhode Eyes –guitarist John Bracks, bass player Damo Leonard and drummer Tony Chubb, all singers – finally got around to releasing a debut album. Then again of course, without those life experiences, they wouldn’t have reached this point as songwriters, and Rhode Eyes are very much about the songs, as Tony Chubb explains. “Lyrically it’s probably a reflection of where we’re all at in our lives at the moment. It wasn’t preconceived, just stuff that came out. I think we’ve all got families and responsibilities so it’s digging into that stage of our lives, and we’ve all been on that journey together, the challenges but also the wonderful moments that come out of the responsibility you have with family and all that sort of stuff. We’ve known each other for a little over twenty-five years and it’s been a friendship that’s revolved around music. We used to play together in a band back in the ‘90s with a few other guys and we’ve always remained friends. There’s one song on there that John and I wrote together, ‘Flying Blind’, that’s sort of about ‘Are we really up to the challenge? How did we end up in this situation? But would we want to be anywhere else really?’ So, I think there’s a lot of that coming through in the songs. There’s a bit of a theme of sort of rolling with the ambiguity of life and accepting the grey and making the most of it.” None of which, naturally, would have been on their collective minds back in 1995 when the three were part of a five-piece called Bellchopper, playing the usual gigs around Sydney indie bands played at the time. “There are songs in there that do have a bit of a narrative,” Chubb adds, noting Bracks’ ‘Caught Me Again’ as probably the most straightforward story, based on a real incident, though one read about rather than experienced, “but to be honest with

you we do spend more of our time on the music, the melody, the instrumentation, and we’ve really actually tried to get more into the vocals. For some reason that’s where we have wanted to spend more of our time, particularly with the harmonies. We love stuff like CSNY and getting those magic moments in your harmonies, so that’s something we’ll always work on. We’re capable players but none of us are virtuosic musicians, so the music is fairly simple. Damian comes from a bit of a musical family so of the three of us, he’s the one probably with the best ear. “It was probably about three years ago, the three of us, we had songs that we’d been working on randomly for many years in some cases and just figured it was time to start working on a few things together. We didn’t really have any grand plans. We just decided to get back together and started playing a few open mic nights, enjoyed those and then played a few proper gigs and decided that we had enough songs to have a go at recording. There a guy, Luke Bertoz at Yap Yap Studios in Coogee (whose CV includes records for Lime Cordiale, DMA’s and Mick Hart, as well as his own band Tales In Space) Damo and I have recorded with before. We weren’t intending on doing an album actually. We just thought we’d go down and do a few songs and see what happens and we were just enjoying the process and thought the songs sounded reasonable and kept going. We ended up with eleven songs. “There are some songs on the album that are nearly twenty years old, back when we first started working on them, and they’ve evolved very differently from the DIY demos to the way they are on the album. Others we came up with very close to going in to recording, so there’s a real variety in there. We finished the album more than eight months ago and it took us a while to figure out what we were going to do with it, so it was a big learning experience for us. As

long as we’ve been ‘in the game’ on and off, the three of us haven’t gone in and done an album before, but there’s a bank of songs building up again and we know the sorts of things we want to do next.” Back in the day, the influences were those you’d expect for twentysomethings just kicking into the local indie scene – Neil Young, Wilco, The Jayhawks – while local heroes included Tim Rogers and You Am I, but for a dozen years, between 2004 and 2016, Leonard and Chubb were the rhythm section in back of the late and much-missed singersongwriter Mick Hart, who passed away suddenly in August 2020, aged just 50. “Actually,” Chubb admits, “apart obviously from the friendship I think what we really picked up from Mick was his commitment to his art, his commitment to his performance. When he performed, he gave absolutely everything, and I’ve never played with anyone who was that immersed in what they were doing. That was what he lived for, and that was a huge education for Damo and I. It’s something that we’ll always have with us. He was just a wonderful guy. His passing been a bit rough, very sad, but we were very fortunate to have played with him.”

CD: General A.J. CROCE

ANDREW BARNUM

CD: General CALEXICO

JIMMI CARR

BY REQUEST Compass Records/Planet

DEAR ANCESTOR

SEASONAL SHIFT

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY

Although tragically rendered partially blind at a young age, Croce drew inspiration from Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles and has established a formidable reputation as a pianist/vocalist over a career spanning three decades. His latest offering is a celebration that draws upon memories of his favourite artists and sitting at the piano playing friends’ requests (hence the title). Recording for the first time with his touring band (Gary Mallabar, David Barard, Garrett Stoner), there is an undeniable joie de vivre in the performances, right from the opening romp through Billy Preston’s irrepressible ‘Nothing For Nothing’. Pianodriven arrangements of songs by the likes of Neil Young (‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’), The Faces (‘Stay With Me’) and The Beach Boys (‘Sail On Sailor’) are imbued with relaxed informality and a dash of testifying gospel. Allen Toussaint’s ‘Brickyard Blues’ sticks closely to the original arrangement, and a pulsating rendition of Randy Newman’s ‘Have You Seen My Baby’ is embellished with blazing horns and pounding keyboard, an album highlight. Robben Ford adds tasty electric licks on a laid-back stroll through Sonny & Brownie’s ‘Better Day’, and songs by The Five Stairsteps, Tom Waits and Shorty Long are all handled with considerable aplomb. Says Croce: “Welcome to my home, by request, you’re hereby invited to join the party”; a splendid time is guaranteed for all. TREVOR J. LEEDEN 86

Airy, spacious, songs drift by, the bass in a way the core melodic element as Barnum’s voice huskily quivers with intent, Dear Ancestor is quite the contrast to the previous 2CD set, 2018’s Little Phoenix: The City//Country, from this long since Australian expat American singer-songwriter happily ensconced in regional NSW. Described as “a letter to our past, asking directions for the future,” the nine “letters” that make up Dear Ancestor opt for enigma and obscure references rather than easy observations or possible answers. The most direct “connection” past to future as experienced in the present is “Clapsticks”, where the sound of the simple Indigenous percussion echoing off the ceramic tiles and penetrating the hustle and bustle of the “work-a-day worlds” of commuters sends our observer back a thousand years to the landscape as it was before the “sails” – the incoming fleets, the Opera House. Those “sails” reappear as “white Finns” carving through the whitecaps of Bass Strait in “Ghostly Finns”. Is Barnum trying to connect us back to the ancestors suburban Australia tends to ignore? Was there a David, a singer who fell and closed the book on an aspiring Western Suburbs band as described in “David”? Perhaps, but of course, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is the memory, the possibility, and where its recollection might take the listener. Arcane “homefolktronica”, to use his own descriptive, Dear Ancestor teases the ear and mindscape in a quietly seductive way that is quite unique. MICHAEL SMITH

Calexico have succumbed to the tried and true tradition of what might appear at first glance to be a Christmas album. Dig a little deeper below the surface and you’ll find they’ve managed to navigate the concept with nuance and creativity. Instead of straight renditions of festive songs they’ve approached things in the wider context of the seasonal shift, the celebrations that happen at the back end of the year (e.g. Dia de Los Muertos) and annual reflection. They’ve included some fine guests too. Bombino bring a wonderful North African psychedelic sound to ‘Heart of Downtown’ while Gaby Moreno and Nick Urata of DeVotchKa add new layers to the Mexicali Calexico sound. There are Mexican folk songs and the sound of Portugese fado and Joey Burns, John Convertino and co also bring new flavours to Lennon’s ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ (a gentle festive sway that’s politically on point) and Petty’s ‘Christmas All Over Again’ (freewheeling, jangly rock). ‘Glory’s Hope’ is a particularly beguiling and hypnotic interlude with its swirling vibes while in strong contrast, ‘Sonoran Snoball’ ramps up the party before Calexico bid us farewell on a slightly cheesy but still endearing note with seasons greetings from a bunch of well-wishers on ‘Mi Burrito Sabanero (Reprise)’. A refreshing cross-cultural take on the Christmas album! CHRIS FAMILTON

When NSW Blue Mountainsbased singer, songwriter and guitarist Jimmi Carr reintroduced himself as an alt.country/funk/ rock artist after a few years toying with electronica with a group called Innamech via his Jimmi Carr Band album, Second Story, he included a limited-edition bonus disc titled First Story: Early Years, 2004-2016. This new CD completes the process of “clearing the decks” as it were, the title self-explanatory with its addendum, “Rare & Remixed”, which explains the electro-funk ‘Invisible Bone’, qualified by its solid melodic pop chorus, sitting between the gnarly rock of ‘Halo’ and the jaunty bounce of ‘Chemical Rain’. What connects ‘All The Pieces’ with opening cut ‘Halo’ is Carr’s penchant for quirky bass lines that recall something of Peter Gabriel’s Genesis, with its occasional time slip – yes, younger readers, there was a time Genesis was a rock rather than pop band, albeit “art” rock. That bass approach also informs the more straightforward “ballad” that is ‘Early In The Morning’, Carr’s voice this time with just a hint of the early Jagger, though thankfully without that pseudo American twang. If anything, in terms of sound it’s that bass that is the connecting thread across the eight songs in this collection, which says a lot about Carr’s audio vision since three different bass players feature across the CD – Ian Hewetson, Morgan Lawless and his current band member Tom Pilgrim – besides himself on two songs, the opening ‘Halo’ and the hilarious “country-reggae”

Foghorn Records

Spunk Records

Actual Devil Records

snipe at the inevitable request every singer and band has had to endure no matter where they’ve played as ‘Got Any Chisel?’ weaves bits of – yes – ‘Khe Sanh’ – into itself. The snaky “prog” bass eases easily in and out of a reggae over which Carr venomously “raps” in ‘Light Sleeper’, recorded live during a radio show. Clever songs, quirky arrangements, Carr’s genius is to meld diverse elements into something quite unique. MICHAEL SMITH

THE DEAD DAISIES

HOLY GROUND Spinaform Records/Universal Music Group

Three years on from their last album, 2018’s Burn It Down, this year’s model of The Dead Daisies unleash their fifth album with singer, bass player and force of nature Glenn Hughes out front, the perfect hard rock double threat, and you know what? If you’ve been finding yourself craving a little of that classic Purple/Zeppelin kind of uplifting power, this is your recommended dose! Talk about big! Tucking themselves away in a chateau in the south of France for a couple of months last year, founder, songwriter and rhythm guitarist David Lowy – the Australian core of the Daisies – along with “new boy” Hughes (taking over from singer John Corabi), guitarist Doug Aldrich and drummer Deen Castronovo, who’ve been Daisies since 2016, have come up with as classic a hard rock album as anyone could wish. Now I know this isn’t the usual fare for Rhythms but when you consider this form of hard rock is now some 50 years old and

hasn’t been a charting genre for some 20 years, it’s almost as niche as anything else you’ll read about in these pages. And you can’t dismiss the musicianship on display. These guys really know their stuff and deliver it with a passion that belies the ages of some of the members. And that really should be the standard by which any record should be judged – that it’s real, at least for the musicians making it, that it’s delivered with passion and conviction, and with a virtuosity that tells you that care and consideration has been taken to ensure that passion and conviction is presented in the best possible musical context. Yes it’s gloriously overblown in places, but that’s just part of the pomp and circumstance of the genre, the very thing that made Led Zeppelin the most extraordinary musical force. And Holy Ground isn’t about the fastest riffs or solos – it’s not about technique – it’s about how you feel, listening, what the players felt, making it. As Hughes tells it, “It’s the notes I don’t play are probably more important than the notes I do play. I like to play with holes in the music, to create a groove.” Take it or leave it – but if you take it, crank it up. If you only listen to one track, make it ‘Far Away’. MICHAEL SMITH

FRATERNITY

SEASONS OF CHANGE: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1970-1974 Cherry Red

are still rightfully revered, an era of unequalled creativity and diversity. Rising out of the ashes of the Levi Smith’s Clefs, Fraternity recruited the exValentines singer and recorded their debut album Livestock, a wildly eclectic set of originals that covered folk rock, country rock and prog rock. With a new album and the superb “Seasons Of Change” riding high in the charts, Fraternity won the final of the 1971 Hoadley’s Battle Of The Bands (defeating Jeff St John’s Copperwine and Sherbet), the de facto accolade as Australia’s No. 1 band; the performance is included here. Former Flying Circus guitarist/pianist Sam See was enlisted for the recording of the band’s second album, Flaming Galah, a set of songs heavily influenced by The Band and Leon Russell (including a cover of “The Shape I’m In”). The release of these two landmark albums is one thing, but the inclusion of several stand-alone singles (including a cover of the Moody Blues’ ‘Question’) and a third complete disc of recently unearthed demos and live recordings is a revelation. Like many before them, seeking fame and fortune in the UK brought about Fraternity’s undoing, but this superb set finally does justice to an unfairly neglected piece of the Oz rock pantheon. The last word lies with the man destined to live out the rock’n’roll axiom of living fast and dying young: “The group is a gas. I’d go so far as to say world class. We’d shit over anything in Australia as overall sound goes”. TREVOR J. LEEDEN

CAITLIN HARNETT & THE PONY BOYS

Caitlin Harnett’s 2014 debut album The River Runs North was an accomplished exercise in confessional, acoustic-based contemporary folk with a strength of songwriting at its core. As part of an established collective of movers and shakers in the Sydney Americana scene – aiding and abetting its swagger and storytelling over the last decade – she’s finally followed it up with her electric band The Pony Boys and taken her music her to a whole other, and stunningly sublime level. Harnett’s early sound has been replaced with more reflective, unhurried, deep grooves, born of life’s highs and lows, mistakes made, and lessons learnt. Built on a sweet and soulful rolling sound, there’s just the right amount of bite and twang in the guitars and a solid swing in the rhythm section. A bunch of the songs accentuate the 70s bar band feel with saxophone but though it often rocks, this album conjures up images of last confessions at closing time at the bar or that slow-motion feeling of a blearyeyed Sunday morning. Mazzy Star meets Neko Case and Lucinda Williams. On the back of essential live favourites such as ‘Rosie’, ‘Make You Feel Blue’, 'All My Friends Are Dancers’ and ‘5am’, heartache and melancholy never sounded so fine on this collection of Americana country-soul songs from the back streets, bars and bedrooms of Sydney’s Inner West. CHRIS FAMILTON

JESSICA

THE SPACE BETWEEN Indpendent

LATE NIGHT ESSENTIALS Independent

To many an AC/DC afficionado, Fraternity is a footnote to the Bon Scott story, yet this does the band a huge disservice. The early seventies spawned a phalanx of Oz rock bands that

One half of folk-noir duo Jep and Dep (also featuring Darren Cross >>> of Gerling), 87

CD: General >>> Jessica’s debut album takes the sound forged from that musical partnership and crafts it into her own ethereal and immersive world. Cross is still on hand as producer and engineer but it’s clear from the outset that this is Jessica’s singular and personal vision. Devoid of drums, the eleven songs drift and creep along like mist on a moor. Heavily draped in resonant reverb that creates an ambient, cathedrallike atmosphere, the billowing vapour trails hanging heavy in the air, shrouding her songs that explore the themes of death, loss and memory – formed from her experience as a survivor of a mass shooting in Strathfield, NSW when she was seven. There’s a half-grasped memory quality to many of the songs, buried in a hypnagogic haze, while others such as ‘Womb Tomb’ are lifted skyward and ‘Has It Come To This’ has the DNA of a classic torch song. Vocally, Beth Gibbons (Portishead), Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins) and Aldous Harding’s early work are clear influences on the way Jessica hauntingly layers her voice. By playing electric guitar, she avoids straight folk and creates more emotionally visceral textures, bringing to mind PJ Harvey and the more elegiac playing of Mick Turner (Dirty Three). Time and the listener’s full attention are essential to fully appreciating the depth and infinite beauty of The Space Between. CHRIS FAMILTON

THE LEMONHEADS

In 1990, Lovey was a huge step forward for Evan Dando and his Boston band The Lemonheads. It was their major label debut on Atlantic Records after releasing their first three albums in the previous three years. Those records were a collision of noisy melodic punk rock. Part Black Flag, part The Replacements. Co-founder Ben Daily had left the band prior to Lovey and that gave Dando the opportunity to rejig the band’s sound to more of a country and indie/alt-rock blend. This reissue has been superbly remastered to give Lovey a greater warmth and sonic richness, further accentuating the sense that this was the start of a new chapter for Dando. The album contains absolute classics such as ‘Half The Time’ and ‘Ride With Me’ as well as their version of the Gram Parsons’ ‘Brass Buttons'. The variety of Lovey is what really elevates it – with the alt rock swerves of ‘Ballarat' and ‘Lil Seed’ and the tumbling remnants of their punk past on ‘Left For Dead’. It was a turning point for the band and one of the landmark early releases of 90s alternative rock. The 2xLP/CD formats come with a deluxe book with expanded liner notes and unseen photos as well as an eight-song triple j Live at the Wireless session from their tour of 1991. CHRIS FAMILTON

DARREN WATSON

GETTING SOBER FOR THE END OF THE WORLD Lamington Records

CD: General group Chicago Smoke Shop in the late eighties but since then he’s built up an impressive solo CV that culminated in Too Many Millionaires (2018). This new album feels like a continuation of its predecessor, both topically and in the quality of his songwriting. He decided to fully take the reins this time around – writing, playing, recording and mixing it in his own home and releasing it independently. Those factors have clearly played a collective part in the intimacy he’s achieved on these recordings. There’s a band of players - all of them exceptional and perfectly restrained - but the focus is firmly on Watson’s playing and voice. He may get pegged as a bluesman but there’s so much more going on in his rich and soulful delivery. He can shake the light fittings as effectively as he can dig deep into heartache on songs such as “Love That I Had’ and ‘Another Day’ and hit a dark and mournful tone on ‘Ernie Abbott’. New Orleans, the swampy bayou, the bone chillin’ Wellington winds, Howlin’ Wolf’s tough and tender blend and the arcane jazzblues of Tom Waits all thread their way through this heartfelt and heartwarming collection of songs. CHRIS FAMILTON

GILLIAN WELCH

BOOTS NO. 2: THE LOST SONGS, VOL. 2 Acony Records

Welch album, as she’s proved time and time again. One of the few upshots of these Covid times is we get more releases from the Americana songwriter. There’s been the covers album All The Good Times and now her second instalment of demos and reel-toreel recordings, from the period between Time (The Revelator) and Soul Journey. A couple of these songs, ‘Wouldn't Be So Bad’ and ‘Hundred Miles’ were recorded by Alison Krauss & Union Station and I’m With Her respectively, but the rest get their first release here. It’s gem after gem of sublime pacing, harmonies, playing and melodies and lyrics that both melt hearts and cause them to ache. It’s not all heavy though. ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ is a sweet and simple dedication and ‘Wella Hella’ is an electric guitar-augmented, playful dance of a song. Elsewhere, ‘Picasso’ is a standout, its elegant melodies rolling along effortlessly like Neil Young on a summer breeze. Welch’s demos and unreleased material pretty much trump the official releases of most other contemporary artists in her field. CHRIS FAMILTON

MARTIN SIMPSON

HOME RECORDINGS Topic Records/The Planet Company

TREES

LOVEY (30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) Fire Records

TREES (50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) Fire Records

Wellington, New Zealand singersongwriter-guitarist Darren Watson first made his name out front of rhythm and blues 88

a travelling troubadour having otherwise expected 100-plus live performances over the year – “the longest period of gigless staying at home,” the 67-yearold admits. So, once he’d had a bit of time to ponder his options and then becoming all too aware of the untimely departure, as a consequence of the pandemic, the untimely departure of friends and peers, he set about working through old ideas and new, and re-evaluating songs from his back catalogue. So there are sprightly arrangements of traditional tunes – ‘Delia’, ‘Wren Variations’, ‘Admiral Benbow’ and ‘House Carpenter’ – as well as a deft reading of Mike Waterson’s ‘Three Day Millionaire’, which neatly segues into his own ‘Don’t Put Your Banjo In The Shed Mr Waterson’. Simpson revisits ‘Angel From Montgomery’ as his tribute to its fallen author John Prine, cocks a snook at Death with Robin Williamson’s ‘October Song’ and strolls back to his university days in a reading of Dylan’s ‘The Times, They Are A-Changin’’, with its oh-so-timely lines, “Come you Senators, Congressmen, please heed the call/Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall… There’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’.” Recorded in his music room with the necessary leads running out to his living room where his longtime producer Andy Bell captured it all, including the honk of geese passing overhead in his aptly titled instrumental ‘Lonesome Valley Geese’ and the twitter of birds on his back porch in another original fragment, ‘March 22nd’. MICHAEL SMITH

Followers of Gillian Welch are hardy folk, having to endure long periods between albums to satiate their fandom. Sure, they get to hear her on David Rawlings excellent albums as well but there’s no substitute for a pure

Pure, lyrical and unadorned, Simpson’s supple, limpid, rolling guitar technique is once again front and centre and superbly showcased in an album the Englishman in Ithaca, New York State, hadn’t expected to make, another product of the necessary isolation imposed by the COVID-19 on

The name Trees might not inspire immediate recognition for music fans but the English group’s brief, but bright threeyear existence from 1969-1972 has played the long game as obsessive psychedelic and folk musicologists discovered them and quietly spread the word. Fifty years later we have this wonderful anniversary edition release that compiles their two studio albums with new mixes, demos, unreleased recordings, radio sessions and a couple of live songs from a brief and partial 2018 reunion show. Folk music at its core, there’s a freewheeling psychedelic aspect that forges the bands own unique sonic real estate. The combination of the high register, pure vocals of Celia Humphris, the pastoral, traditional British folk acoustic sound of David Costa and the freewheeling and exploratory electric guitar of Barry Clarke made them a unique proposition. The latter seemed to draw from the sound of Crazy Horse and forecast the sound of Television. The band’s first album The Garden Of Jane Delawney was a statement of intent but its followup, On The Shore, cemented their traditional and surreal Arcadian psychedelic aspirations. The band drifted apart within eighteen months but they left an unknowing folk-rock legacy, now given its full due courtesy of Fire Records. CHRIS FAMILTON

VARIOUS ARTISTS

NEW ORLEANS MAMBO: CUBA TO NOLA Putumayo

Even the most casual observer cannot help but hear the Afro-

Cuban influences that permeate the musical potpourri of the Big Easy; it is as irresistible as it is ubiquitous, a relationship that has co-existed for several hundred years. Kicking off with conga ace Pancho Sanchez’s salsa-fied rendition of “Going Back To New Orleans” and concluding with the New Orleans institution Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s simmering “Kreyol”, every track adds its own dash of Latino spice to the gumbo. There’s the boogaloo of Los Pos-Boy-Citos, the syncopated second line rhythms of Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias, and the late Big Al Carson adds some pepper to the Hank Williams standard “Jambalaya”. Pianist Bart Ramsey’s band Zazou City lays down a sultry tango-inspired groove on “Mañanita”, Dr. John makes an appearance with his 1974 funk masterpiece “Mos’ Scocious”, as well as New Orleans institution The Iguanas with their distinctive Cuban-tinged boogaloo “Panama Tones/Nuevo Boogaloo”. No Crescent City compilation would be complete without The Neville Brothers, here represented by their classic 1989 album title cut, “Yellow Moon”. New Orleans Mambo is a timely reminder of the Cuba/New Orleans connection, and may well be Putumayo’s finest collection to date. TREVOR J. LEEDEN

ANOUSHA VICTOIRE

PRECIOUS THINGS Footstomp Music

After a decade that saw her explore musical theatre and cabaret-style performances

before she was felled by an extended bout of debilitating illness, Newcastle, NSW singer-songwriter and guitarist Anousha Victoire finally returns with a new collection of songs that includes a couple of older tunes revisited, including the song that in 2002 won her a 1233 ABC Music Award in the Folk category, Fuzzy’s Song, a welcome addition, reminding us of just how great a song it was and a bonus for those who missed it the first time around. Herself an exotic mix of Indian and French, musically Anousha draws inspiration from a diversity of World, Latin and folk genres infused with her strong yet simple melodic sensibility, and along with her main musical collaborator violinist Skye Harrison, who duets beautifully on the sublime ‘Child of Mine’, she has subtly layered these 11 songs with acoustic guitar, cello, accordion and concertina, occasionally underpinned by an understated rhythm section. There are simple homespun stories and memories alongside some deeper insights into the condition of the wider world, all held together by the simple philosophy presented in opening song ‘Precious Things To Me’ – “What if all the world was stuck/ What if it all came down to us/ To save these precious things.” And then, just as her voice has caressed you into her thoughts and dreams, Anousha happily tosses in a little hillbilly country fun with the cheeky ‘Rather Be Your Lover (Than Your Wife)’! And why not? In her other guise, as a GP, she’s sure to have occasionally suggested laughter is the best medicine. Multiinstrumentalist and occasional Mic Conway offsider Robbie Long’s production is as sensitive as the songs themselves, allowing the spaces as well as the spare instrumentation to breath, pure and limpid. MICHAEL SMITH 89

CD: Blues

CD: World Music & Folk AL HENSLEY

KIRK FLETCHER

MY BLUES PATHWAY Cleopatra Records

It wasn't until his third solo album My Turn, released in 2010, that guitarist Kirk Fletcher recorded his first vocal performance. His debut CD came out in 1999 after meeting Hollywood Fats Band lead singer/blues harpist Al Blake through whom he established connections with prominent US West Coast musicians. Fletcher has since recorded with such blues notables as Kim Wilson, Janiva Magness, James Harman and Lynwood Slim, traded licks in performance with guitar heroes like Kid Ramos and Junior Watson, and played in leading blues bands The Mannish Boys and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. If Fletcher's 2018 release Hold On confirmed his potential as a modern rhythm & blues singer/songwriter/ guitarist/band-leader in the style of Robert Cray, this followup realises his all-round fully developed soul blues artistry. A master guitarist and an inspired singer, Fletcher's songs work their magic in a multi-textured pallet of authentic blues styles. Against this backdrop Fletcher puts his own inimitable stamp on songs by A.C. Reed, Chris Cain, Sonny Boy Williamson, and a country blues interpretation of Juke Boy Bonner's 'Life Gave Me A Dirty Deal', reuniting him with an early musical partner, harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite. 90

WILLIE BUCK

WILLIE BUCK WAY Delmark

Until he released The Life I Love on Delmark Records in 2010, Willie Buck was not well known outside of Chicago. Born William Crawford in Mississippi in 1937 the artist moved to Chicago in 1954 and has been leading blues bands in his hometown now for over 50 years. He's such a beloved citizen that a Windy City street has been named in his honour, hence the title of this follow-up CD to 2012's Cell Phone Man. Buck is one of the last of the old-school Chicago blues singers, his brawny vocals patterned on those of his major influence Muddy Waters. His style hasn't changed since the heyday of post-war traditional Chicago blues, the music still crackling with the energy of legendary '50s era Chess label recordings. Buck's six-piece backing band, including such first-call players as guitarist Billy Flynn, pianist Johnny Iguana and bassist Bob Stroger, recreate that fabled sound like it was culled from one of those classic sessions. While Buck's 12 original compositions and a new one by Flynn have enduring qualities, faithful recreations of standards by Waters, Leroy Carr and John Lee Hooker serve to consolidate his position in the modern blues canon.

JOHNNY IGUANA

JOHNNY IGUANA'S CHICAGO SPECTACULAR Delmark

Blues isn't the only genre that piano virtuoso Johnny Iguana (aka Brian Berkowitz) is across but it's his first and most abiding love. Growing up in Philadelphia he became obsessed with Chicago blues greats Junior Wells and Otis Rush. Little did he realise that one day he would find himself playing in their bands. Now Iguana calls Chicago home, filling the shoes of recently departed piano greats Dave Maxwell and Barrelhouse Chuck accompanying a who's who of the city's premier blues artists. This is Iguana's debut CD as band-leader, his pounding piano very much in focus as he pays homage to formative influences such as Roosevelt Sykes, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy, Otis Spann and Elmore James. Vocals are performed by an all-star line-up of Windy City blues veterans including John Primer, Billy Boy Arnold, Lil' Ed Williams and Matthew Skoller, while Phillip-Michael Scales renders a version of Gil Scott-Heron's soul jazz tune 'Lady Day And John Coltrane'. Iguana's contribution of original material comes by way of four instrumentals where he hammers the ivories in a hybrid of vintage boogie and rock'n'roll. There's nothing subtle about Iguana's keyboard technique, yet he's undeniably a masterful musician.

BY T O N Y H I L L I E R

BEN LEVIN

CARRYOUT OR DELIVERY Vizztone/Planet Co. Ben Levin's childhood fascination with blues piano blossomed in 2016 when at the age of 17 he independently released his first CD Ben's Blues comprising self-penned songs and material by greats such as Maceo Merriweather and Professor Longhair. Mentored by eminent harmonica player Bob Corritore and ex-Muddy Waters band guitarist Bob Margolin, Levin made his Vizztone Records debut in 2019 with the release of Before Me featuring consummate traditional blues piano chops and smoky vocals that mirrored those of a well-weathered mature aged singer. The Cincinnati, Ohio native's original songs stacked up well alongside selections from the songbooks of Jay McShann, Big Bill Broonzy, Bullmoose Jackson and James Cotton. On Carryout Or Delivery Levin expands his song-writing, immersing himself into R&B as well as blues. The title song and 'Stuck' explore the effects of coronavirus lockdown, while others celebrate life's brighter side. In addition to his two-fisted technique on the 88s, Levin's expertise on Hammond B3 and Wurlitzer piano is also on display here. His readings of Fess' 'Hadacol Bounce', Frank Frost's 'My Back Scratcher' and Floyd Dixon's 'Time Brings About A Change' reveal a gifted young artist fully versed in his craft.

DIANA JONES

OKAN

KRONOS QUARTET

SHOOGLENIFTY

SONG TO A REFUGEE Proper/Planet

ESPIRAL Lulaworld

LONG TIME PASSING Smithsonian Folkways

ACID CROFT VOL 9 Shoogle Records

Diana Jones shifts away from the Appalachian slant of her previous releases to spotlight the plight of dispossessed people in the wider world. Song To A Refugee is truly poignant, suffused with the sadness its theme demands, and yet an impeccably crafted and executed album, with the Nashville-based singer-songwriter perfection in her personalised delivery of a deeply humanitarian song cycle that gives voice to the stories of asylum seekers and exiled families around the globe. The sonorous guest vocals of Steve Earle and Richard Thompson and legendary folk songstress Peggy Seeger, who respectively sing a verse, add pathos to set standout ‘We Believe You’, a song that refutes the lie of the bogus asylum seeker. An equally deadly title track denounces the widespread demonisation of refugees and asylum seekers by governments and press alike. In truth, though, each and every one of the 13 melodic and meaningful songs on Jones’s haunting account of human tragedy tugs heartstrings in one way or another.

OKAN, a hot Canada-based band of expat Cubans, hits pay dirt with their sophomore release. Matching the title, Espiral (Spanish for ‘spiral’) is a twisting and coruscating crackerjack of an album that digs deeper into the musical heritage of the sextet’s leaders — violinist/ vocalist Elizabeth Rodriguez and percussionist/vocalist Magdelys Savigne — than its predecessor. Cuban dance rhythms such as danzón and pilón juxtapose to considerable effect with Afro-Cuban chants, strains of Dominican merengue, Brazilian samba and Los Van Van-inspired jazz-fusion. The terrific title track, for example, morphs from an a cappella Santeria intro into a pulsating Eastern Cuba guajira folk groove. ‘Tracado’ starts with an accelerating percussion solo before embarking on a jazzy romp led by pianist Miguel de Armas that’s worthy of Cuban maestros like Chucho Valdes and Roberto Fonseca. A riveting fiddle solo allied to alternating rhythm lifts a reading of Latin standard ‘Besame Mucho’ well above humdrum; a quirky clarinet solo gives ‘Boundaries’ requisite edge.

They’ve been blurring boundaries between genres for many moons, so it’s no surprise to find the dexterous strings players of the Kronos Quartet reapplying their classical expertise and eclecticism to folk music. Long Time Passing, a companion work to 2017’s Folk Songs, captures the awesome foursome re-interpreting the politically motivated songs of Pete Seeger during US Presidential election year, in the company of a selection of guest vocalists. The Quartet’s shape-shifting violins, viola and cello provide a particularly impressive backdrop to singers Sam Amidon, Brian Carpenter, Lee Knight and Aoife O’Donovan’s chorus in ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’. Amidon and Knight’s respective solo takes of ‘If I Had A Hammer’ and ‘Which Side Are You On?’ might have benefited from greater gusto, but Ethiopian-American Meklit Hadero excels on ‘The President Sang Amazing Grace’, delivering the words with the reverence that the song demands.

Scotland’s favourite folk-rock funksters have found a fine replacement for their late-great fiddle player and frontman Angus R Grant, who fell to cancer in 2016. The playing of Eilidh Shaw, formerly of The Poozies, fits the Shoogles’ tightly-knit sound as snugly as a tartan kilt, especially in the more traditionally oriented pieces on Acid Croft Vol 9, such as ‘Air Chuairt’, which ends with a broadly accented recitation. Singer Kaela Rowan reaffirms her place in the line-up with some tongue twisting but clear as a Highland stream Gaelic singing. Angus Grant’s spirit surfaces in the final track, ‘Silence of the Trams’ — a tune the former leader was working on shortly before his passing.

F R E E R H Y T H M S D O W N L O A D SA M P L E R

“We have to tell the whole history and the truth. It’s the only way we can move forward.”

READERS POLL 2020 + WRITERS BEST OF Midnight Oil Mia Dyson Marlon Williams Leah Senior Davey Lane Mic Conway Caitlin Harnett Kelley Stoltz Dave Alvin Sid Griffin Steve Kilbey

HISTORY: Nick Cave: Boy On Fire Chris Wilson Live at The Continental Steve Waugh’s India

$12.95 inc GST JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE: 303

SUSANA SEIVANE DENDE O MEU BALCÓN Mare

The future of traditional bagpipe (aka gaita) playing from the autonomous northwest Spanish Celtic province of Galicia, is safe in the hands of Susana Seivane, who with her sixth album, makes a most welcome return to the ancestral substrata on which her career was founded. Even so, Seivane’s lusty playing and singing, backed by some equally robust drumming, carries her own inimitable stamp. 91

CD: JAZZ 1

CD: JAZZ 2 BY T O N Y H I L L I E R

BUNGALOW ABSTRACT MESSAGES Primpy Records

With inspired vision, lauded Cairns-based saxophonist and programmer Mike Rivett and his Japanese band-mates, keyboardist Koichi Sato and drummer Ko Omura, create richly atmospheric jazz-infused soundscapes that are electronic and organic, über-modern and yet seductively mellow in melody with a dash of contemporary Japanese lyricism. Bungalow’s third album might be externally simplistic but it’s inwardly complex, with shape-shifting textures of ethereal ambience. Rivett’s evocative tenor sax and woodwind lead work, earthed by his 808 kick bass, befits a past Australian National Jazz Award recipient — especially so over the piano ostinatos and Indian tabla drumming of the title track and ‘Rainy Lullaby’ and in the edgy and intriguing ‘Entropy In Flux’. Equally compelling, though as dark as Scandi-noir soundtracks, are ‘Dance of the Earth’ and ‘Gong’ (the former enhanced by perceptive vocal narrative), and the starkly original companion compositions ‘Fragile Systems’ and ‘Between Realms’. Abstract Messages provides a transcendental experience that will richly reward repeat listening.

VARIOUS ARTISTS BLUE NOTE RE:IMAGINED Blue Note

The stylistic mutations that distinguish the UK’s thriving nu-jazz scene are deployed with mixed results in a compilation that bridges English and American jazz and different eras. Dipping into the prestigious Blue Note label’s lustrous back catalogue of the 1960s/1970s re-defines the link as a cast headed by stellar saxophonists Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings respectively riffs on and modernises original recordings (in their case, with suitable respect, Joe Henderson’s and Bobby Hutcherson’s ‘A Shade of Jade’ and ‘Prints Tie’). The exciting Ezra Collective, who wowed at WOMADelaide 2020, brings clubland beats and Joe Armon-Jones’s candescent piano playing to the Wayne Shorter standard ‘Footprints’. The neosoul singing of Afronaut Zu and cool vibes of Steam Down breathe fresh life into Shorter’s ‘Etcetera’. Ishmael Ensemble’s trip-hop re-imagining of McCoy Tyner’s ‘Search for Peace’ works similarly well. Herbie Hancock classics ‘Watermelon Man’ and ‘Maiden Voyage’ fare less well in the hands of Poppy Ajudha and Mr Jukes.

LIONEL LOUEKE

HH Edition/Planet

As Herbie Hancock’s right-hand man for the past 15 years, Lionel Loueke is eminently well qualified to interpret his boss and mentor’s compositions. Not that there’s anything obsequious about his approach. Innovative and imaginative guitar player that he is, Loueke stamps his own inimitable style on a selection of HH classics, employing his own style of vocalese, body percussion and guitar effects in addition to an innately inventive sense of rhythm and harmonic appreciation, to tease out and re-calibrate the melodies of Hancock standards such as

‘Watermelon Man’, ‘Cantaloupe Island’ and ‘Rock It’. Standouts in his absorbing solo tribute include comparatively straight acoustic takes of ‘Driftin’ and ‘Dolphin Dance’ and a Brazilian-ised version of ‘Butterfly’.

CHRIS POTTER THERE IS A TIDE Edition/Planet

Chris Potter’s reputation as one of the world’s most admired jazz musicians might have been forged on the back of his superlative saxophone playing and live performances over the past couple of decades, but he’s certainly no one-trick-pony. The American’s 22nd album, self-produced and recorded during pandemic lockdown, constitutes an extraordinary solo tour de force. On There Is A Tide, Potter uniquely plays every instrument: piano, keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, drums, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute, percussion, samples and, naturally, saxophones. Compositions and arrangements are as impeccable as his playing on a set that’s surprisingly funky and free flowing given the demanding times of its conception and execution. ‘Mother of Waters’, a number invested with West African cum Cuban vibe, and ‘Drop Your Anchor Down’ are among the standout tracks.

YELLOWJACKETS JACKETS XL Mack Avenue

BY D E S C O W L E Y With their 25th album in 40 years, venerable multi-Grammy Award-winning American jazzrockers Yellowjackets boldly re-set band originals of yore via invigorating new arrangements and full-bodied accompaniment from one of Europe’s finest large jazz ensembles. Germany’s WDR Big Band of Cologne and the Jackets make a tight fit. Old favourites from the 1980s such as ‘Revelation’, ‘Imperial Strut’ and ‘Mile High’ in particular benefit from the new setting, as indeed does ‘Dewey’, the 1991 tribute to Miles Davis, while orchestral feel gives 2016’s ‘Coherence’ a classy makeover. Yellowjackets’ pianist Russell Ferrante and tenor saxophonist/ EWI whiz Bob Mintzer excel in this lush new environment.

NATION BEAT THE ROYAL CHASE Avokado Artists

Jazz lovers into musical pluralism will no doubt relish Nation Beat’s new album, which reimagines classic forró songs from Brazil’s northeast region as vehicles for improvisation in a funky New Orleans format. Eminently compatible facets of North and South American roots music combine, with drummer Scott Kettner’s Brooklyn-based collective offering a distinctive and pulsating unplugged hybrid that resides midway between the French Quarter and Bahia — Preservation Hall meets Jackson do Pandeiro, if you will. Nation Beat’s sound is epitomised in the feel-good vibe of the title track and equally vibrant tracks such as ‘Forro no Escuro’ and ‘Feira de Mangaio’.

LINDA MAY HAN OH

UNBROKEN TRIO

ANDREA KELLER

MONASH SESSIONS Monash University, digital release

SPARK Independent Release

JOURNEY HOME AK009

Bassist Linda May Han Oh is one of Australia’s foremost jazz exports. Born in Malaysia, she grew up in Perth, graduating in jazz studies there in 2005. Since 2008, she has largely been based in America, playing with Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Terri Lynne Carrington, and others, as well as fronting her own band. Currently, she is a member of Pat Metheny’s quartet. With a CV like that, she was an obvious contender for the Monash Sessions, a long-running series of recordings pairing Monash University staff and students with international titans such as Dave Douglas, Enrico Rava, Hermeto Pascoal, and George Lewis. The Monash project has afforded Linda Oh the opportunity to workshop her compositions with three different ensembles, each comprising between seven and nine musicians. The resulting album, boasting exemplary musicianship throughout, proves a rich and expansive affair. From the staccato trumpets that open ‘Yoda’, through to the deep grooves of ‘Ikan Bilis’, Oh demonstrates an impressive command of the instrumental palette at her disposal. Her compositions, which regularly pit passages of ensemble precision against more open-ended improvisation, strive for a light, almost dancing quality. Female voices feature on several tracks – they add tonal colour to the mix, suggestive of the work of Gian Slater, a singer with whom Oh has previously collaborated. This edition of Monash Sessions demonstrates Oh’s wide-ranging and mature vision, as well as her capacity to fashion complex musical stories.

HIFIKLUB + MATT CAMERON + DAFFODIL + REUBEN LEWIS RUPTURE Electric Valley Records

Scott van Gemert is a young Melbourne-based trombonist, and composer and arranger for several ensembles, including SvG Big Band and SvG 8tet. For his debut album Spark, he has opted to highlight the strippedback sound of his Unbroken Trio, featuring guitarist Theo Carbo and drummer Maddison Carter. The trio’s irregular instrumentation recalls the approach adopted by Andrea Keller with her Transients series. Gemert has conceived Spark as a nine-piece suite of continuous music, its parts assembled from ‘individual fragments and “sparks” of ideas that morph and deconstruct throughout’. Opener ‘Ignition’, a sixty-second warm up act, sees Gemert unleashing a sprawling brass fanfare, backed by Carter’s intense percussive flurries. ‘Fragments’ is a meditative piece that finds Gemert gently improvising against a backdrop of Carbo’s choppy guitar. ‘ On ‘Flash’ Gemert explores a repetitious stop-start rhythm, underpinned by Carbo’s electronic cheeps and pings. ‘Glow’ is arguably the album’s standout, a simple melodic refrain that is awash with ache and yearning, amplified by Carbo’s guitar, which manifests a homey Bill-Friselllike touch. Throughout, Gemert displays a lush and affable tone, warm and lyrical. For much of its thirty-five-minutes, Spark tends to the quietly spoken and meditative, bathed in striking melodies and ambient colours. Germet’s strict adherence to a minimalist ethos, as he manoeuvres a confined space with his trio, only serves to magnify the spare elegance of this music.

Journey Home represents a very personal project for pianist Andrea Keller. Nineteen albums in, it is only her second solo outing, and like the first – Family Portraits (2013) – it is centered upon family, in this case her late father Erik Keller. Two decades after his death, Keller unearthed some three thousand photographic slides he had taken, recording family life back in the 1970s and 1980s. These images provided the inspiration for Keller’s own personal journey, undertaken with filmmaker Hayley Miro Browne, daughter of drummer Allan Browne. Journey Home, then, tells a story, rendered in music and images, about fathers, and about displacement and distance, both personal and geographic. Despite being a soundtrack to Hayley Browne’s visuals (the film version has been released on DVD), Keller’s music is in no way diminished when taken on its own. The album’s opener ‘Solitary’ finds Keller juxtaposing the extremes of her keyboard, a pattern she repeats throughout. A languorous sequence of dark notes is increasingly disrupted by a series of flurries played in the upper register. The contrasting effect – light and shade – evokes, in its delicacy, a crystalline fragility, like the distant echo of memory. Throughout, Keller displays a gentle touch, her notes clear and resonant, unhurried, as she plumbs the emotive depths of her musical narrative. The final, and longest piece on the album, is Keller’s outstanding composition ‘Life is Brut[if]al’, the title track to her recent recording with Five Below. Journey Home is a deeply moving work, an impassioned elegy for the past, and a reclamation of things otherwise lost to us.

HifiKlub are an experimental French trio, founded in 2006, and hailing from Toulon. Frighteningly prolific, they specialize in collaborations, having recorded with artists as diverse as Lee Renaldo, Alain Johannes, André Jaume, and Roddy Bottum. For Rupture, they have augmented their guitar/bass/drums with Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, UK dance producer Daffodil, and Melbourne trumpeter Reuben Lewis. It’s a truly international affair. Reuben Lewis, originally from Canberra, has been a strong presence in the Melbourne jazz scene in recent years, fronting his ensemble I Hold the Lion’s Paw, and collaborating with Peter Knight and others as part of the Australian Art Orchestra. His work displays an experimental ethos, drawing upon influences as varied as Afro-Beat, electronica, psychedelica, and free jazz. He sounds right at home on Rupture. The album was recorded in COVID confinement, with the various musicians remotely recording their parts, which were then seamlessly assembled by producer Daffodil. While the album comprises six tracks – or movements – it has been conceived as a unified twentyfive-minute suite. Beginning with ambient atmospherics, the music ever-so-gradually shifts to a dynamic rhythmic pulse, over which ethereal voices drift. The very brevity of Rupture serves to heighten the music’s hypnotic effects. With its tranceinducing guitars, and atmospheric soundscapes, it bears comparison with minimalist post-rock bands like Tortoise and Mogwai. 93

VINYL:

REMAIN IN LOVE: TALKING HEADS/TOM TOM CLUB/TINA By Chris Frantz (White Rabbit / Orion Publishing, p/b)

BY S T E V E B E L L

VARIOUS ARTISTS

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS

THE NUDE PARTY

WILCOVERED Renew/BMG

LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX New West Records

MIDNIGHT MANOR New West Records

Originally starting life as a cover CD on a 2019 issue of UK music mag Uncut, Wilcovered - as the name suggests, a covers collection of songs by US country rockers Wilco - recently had a 2-LP vinyl release as part of the delayed 2020 Record Store Day initiative. Now 19 songs instead of 17 - Yo La Tengo’s ‘If Ever I Was A Child’ and ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons’ ‘Casino Queen’ are newlyadded - it’s a fascinating new interpretation of an interesting cross-section of the Wilco canon. Highlights abound, including post-punk purists Parquet Courts tangling ‘Handshake Drugs’ and ‘I Got You (At The End Of The Century)’ into their own skittish image, Low’s sparse, echoey slowcore take on ‘War On War’, Kurt Vile’s beautifully wonky ‘Passenger Side’ and Mountain Man’s gorgeous female perspective on ‘You And I’. On the local front Courtney Barnett brings her slacker charm to a plaintive acoustic rendition of ‘Dawned On Me’ (my personal fave), while her cohort Jen Cloher - who did a killer job as opener on Jeff Tweedy’s 2019 Australian solo tour - offers a perfectly atmospheric band version of ‘Impossible Germany’. Such homages are notoriously hit and miss, but Wilcovered comes with the full blessing of Tweedy himself - to the point that a handful of the covers were recorded at Wilco’s famed Chicago studio The Loft - and is highly recommend for fans of the everevolving Americana icons.

Live From Austin TX is a heritage vinyl reissue of the soundtrack to the 2009 CD/DVD live release, which documented acclaimed Southern rock stalwarts Drive-By Truckers’ first ever appearance on long-running US TV show Austin City Limits back in 2008. While still plenty rocking, it’s definitely a relatively sedate set by the Truckers’ incendiary standards - no doubt in deference to the institution itself, which co-frontman Patterson Hood admits being a lifelong fan of in the liner notes - ultimately showcasing a more professional and respectful side of the band (no impromptu setlist detours, no swigging from whisky bottles, no endless set times). Early on they lean towards tracks from then-current album Brighter Than Creation’s Dark - including ‘Perfect Timing’, ‘The Righteous Path’, bassist Shonna Tucker’s ‘I’m Sorry Huston’ and Mike Cooley’s rocking ‘3 Dimes Down’ - before delving further back into their hefty catalogue, including a beautifully moving take on ‘Space City’ and two deep, deep cuts in ‘The Living Bubba’ and an epic nearly 12-minute run through of ’18 Wheels Of Love’. The constantly upwards tempo trajectory finishes with the one-two punch of ‘Let There Be Rock’ and ‘Marry Me’, a fine end to a band career highlight. Comes on 2-LP 180gm vinyl in gatefold sleeve, early pressings on green splatter.

North-Carolina-bred six-piece The Nude Party - named for their early predilection towards playing their own house parties in the buff - play party-starting rock with a decidedly retro bent, a funtime concoction fusing elements of indie, psych and classic ‘60s rock with flourishes of country and even folk. Following a gruelling two-year stint traversing the USA in an old church bus supporting their eponymous 2018 debut, they set up shop in a Catskills farmhouse with The Black Lips’ current drummer Oakley Munson on production duties and went to work. The resultant pleasingly lo-fi veneer suits these boisterous numbers wonderfully, from the perfectly gregarious garage opener ‘Lonely Heather’ right through to the stupidly catchy closer ‘Nashville Record Company’ (which has a slight novelty vibe even before descending into a raucous kazoo solo but then embeds in your end long after the needle is lifted). In between highlights include the honky-tonk strut of ‘Pardon Me, Satan’, the laidback Stones vibe of ‘Cure Is You’ and the wonderful faux-sleaze of ‘Thirsty Drinking Blues’, but it’s an album best devoured in its entirety when the mood is right to get a little loose. First pressing on Indies only purple vinyl, contains a 320page lyric book with photos.

o compelling is David Byrne’s onstage presence that it is easy to forget that Talking Heads were a band, and as a band were always far greater than the sum of their parts. As good as Byrne’s postHeads solo career has been – and, let’s face it, it’s been pretty spectacular – it is equally the case that he has never again sounded quite as good as he did when playing with Talking Heads. It remains one of the enigmas of modern music, how truly great bands, forged out of disparate musicians, can accomplish what the ancient alchemists could only dream about, transmuting base metal into gold. The title of drummer Chris Frantz’s book cleverly alludes to what is arguably Talking Heads’ greatest album Remain in Light. But the term ‘remain’ harbours a deeper meaning, highlighting as it does the character differences between himself and David Byrne. Toward the end of his book, Frantz tells the story of how Byrne chose to leave his wife on the very night Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When Frantz asked him why, Byrne simply said: ‘It’s time to move on’. Contrary to Byrne’s propensity to ‘move on’, Frantz portrays himself as someone who ‘remains’, whether in a band, a marriage, or with friends. Therein lies the unbridgeable chasm between two of the key protagonists in Frantz’s book. While Talking Heads are associated with the birth of punk music in New York – alongside other CBGBs acts like the Ramones, Television and Patti Smith – they were equally an art rock band whose roots lay in the Rhode Island School of Design. Frantz writes expansively about his time there, training to be an artist, but also daydreaming about being a rock star. It was at Rhode Island that he first met fellow artist Tina Weymouth (who he began dating), and later Byrne. One day Byrne turned up at Frantz and Weymouth’s shared studio with an idea for a song. Within a short while, the three friends had fashioned it into ‘Psycho Killer’. It was an auspicious beginning. Frantz, Weymouth, and Byrne moved to the Bowery in New York in 1974, when it was still a cheap, run down and downright

scary place. Nearby club CBGBs, a frequent haunt, was literally awash with edgy new music. Having at last succeeded in getting Tina to take up bass, Frantz managed to convince club owner Hilly to give them an audition, and the newly named Talking Heads played their first show as a trio in support of the Ramones. Pretty soon they were regulars. After adding exModern Lovers guitarist and keyboardist Jerry Harrison to the mix, they found themselves newly signed to Sire Records, and recording the songs that would end up on Talking Heads 77.

Frantz’s account of Talking Heads first tour of Europe and the UK, supporting the Ramones, is crisply recounted. It was Europe’s first taste of US punk, and they were clearly mad for it. The reputations of both bands soared. Little wonder, given that the Heads’ set lists, reproduced by Frantz, were already littered with killer hooks. Johnny Ramone, meanwhile, was like a fish out of Queen’s water, finding everything ‘grim’. When confronted by the local salad, he responded: ‘This is not fucking lettuce. Oh, this is grim, this is so fucking grim’. When the others suggested a brief bus detour to take in Stonehenge, Johnny was apoplectic: ‘We’re not fucking stopping at Stonehenge. It’s just a bunch of fucking old rocks’. Of course, Talking Heads

rarely opened for other bands again. They outgrew CBGBs, and future tours would see them supported by bands like XTC, Dire Straits and the B-52s. Throughout his book Frantz displays immense recall (I can only imagine he drew upon detailed diaries). He records who ate what, how much things cost, the names of every hotel the band stayed in, what songs were played at gigs. Along the way, he meets his musical heroes: Lou Reed, John Cale, David Bowie, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, and many others. He recaps Talking Heads’ working partnership with Brian Eno, which produced several indisputable masterpieces, before eventually souring. The band was the first to christen Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, a locale Frantz found himself increasingly drawn to, eventually buying property, and spending more and more time there. When Byrne, without discussion, took a hiatus from the band, Frantz and Weymouth found unexpected success with their side venture Tom Tom Club. It is no secret that Frantz harbours deep feelings of resentment for David Byrne. The two have not spoken in years, and Frantz clearly relished the prospect of settling a few scores. Byrne is portrayed as incommunicative, at times bizarre, and certainly unwilling to acknowledge the role of his bandmates, let alone toast their sideproject successes. It was Byrne who called the shots, and when he broke up the band, Frantz and the others first heard about it via a journalist. Throughout, Frantz uses every opportunity to portray Byrne in a poor light. The late novelist David Foster Wallace famously said: ‘Every love story is a ghost story’. But sometimes a love story is just that. At the heart of Frantz’s book is a love story, that of his marriage to musical partner Tina Weymouth. Forty-two years on, as confirmed in the book’s title, he remains in love. In 2001, when Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Anthony Kiedis lampooned their art school credentials: ‘Talking Heads made me feel smart. Then I wanted to have sex with a lot of librarians.’ But for Frantz, the time for healing had come. His very short acceptance speech simply noted: ‘I’d like to thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for giving this band a happy ending’. With his book, I suspect Frantz has laid a few more demons to rest. 95

LET LOVE RULE By Lenny Kravitz with David Ritz (Hachette Australia p/b)

f you’d have asked me six months ago what Lenny Kravitz was up to, I’d probably have answered: ‘not much’. But a quick fact check confirms that he has been methodically issuing albums, roughly one every four years, since the dawn of the new millennium. More to the point, several have attracted solid reviews, equal at least to his nineties’ albums, when he was far more a household brand. Before we get to his new book, however, allow me a brief digression. I remember a time, not so long ago, when musicians tended to throw down the gauntlet, dashing off five or six hundred-page autobiographies that took us from cradle to grave, or at least as near to it as they’d reached. Keith Richards did it with panache, so did Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello, as did our very own Paul Kelly. As musicians and songsters, I figured they probably believed they had just one big book in them; either that, or they just preferred making music. Dylan, of course – he who contains multitudes – bucked the trend, tantalising us with a first volume of his Chronicles, but even then it felt like the trickster was at play, and there has been nary a whisper of further volumes since. In recent years, there has been a growing trend for musicians to consider their lives not as a single-story arc, but instead as a series of narratives that can be spaced apart, just like albums. Jimmy Barnes’ Working Class Boy did not even make it as far as the Chisels, and was soon followed by Working Class Man. Flea’s Acid for the Children brought down the curtains just as members of the Chilli Peppers were coalescing. Lenny Kravitz’s Let Love Rule concludes with Lenny recording his first album and embarking on his first tour. While this trend is not necessarily a bad thing, it is very much a gamble on whether you – the reader – are genuinely interested staying the course over a series of books, or whether you just want the highlights. Kravitz’s book is a relatively easy read, dictated as it no doubt was to co-writer David Ritz, the go-to guy for this sort of thing, who has already proven his mettle 96

co-authoring books with Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Etta James, Buddy Guy, BB King and others. Given his achievements, Lenny Kravitz comes across as a modest, and mostly considerate guy, intent on coming to terms with a childhood that was anything but ordinary. Born of a mother whose family hailed from the Bahamas, and a Jewish father, his early years, in his own words, informed his two-sided nature: ‘Black and white, Jewish and Christian, Manhattanite and Brooklynite’. Key to Kravitz was the presence of a strong mother, Roxie Roker, whose successful career straddled arthouse theatre and TV

Lenny’s father, on the other hand, was another matter. Despite surprising six-year old Lenny with tickets to a Jackson Five concert at Madison Square Gardens (a lifechanging event), his disciplinary tendencies led to a fractious relationship. On the plus side, though, his father’s short-lived career as a jazz promoter did place young Lenny in the immediate orbit of Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and others. How many kids, after all, get to spend their birthday in the Rainbow Room, at the Rockefeller Center, in the arms of Duke while he conducts his band playing a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’. Kravitz’s love of music from an early age led him firstly to drums, then to guitar, then to other instruments. Like Prince, he is a multi-instrumentalist (and like Prince, he adopted a colour, masquerading as Romeo Blue during his teenage years, a moniker he thankfully dropped when releasing Let Love Rule). The family shifted to Los Angeles when Kravitz was eleven, opening the doors to sunshine, skateboards, and premonitions of hip hop. He joined the prestigious California Boys’ Choir, developing a respect for the classical canon. His late teens were spent couch surfing, producing music demos with friends, dating. By way of musical apprenticeship, he travelled a circuitous road, turning down, to his ethical credit, several early offers that would have meant compromising his vision.

sitcoms. She most famously starred in eleven seasons of The Jeffersons, the first US series to feature an interracial couple. Her wide-ranging networks steered Lenny toward childhood encounters most of us could only dream about. When Roxie took him to see James Brown at the Apollo, she afterwards led him backstage to meet the Godfather of Soul. Lenny’s godmothers were Cicely Tyson (later married to Miles Davis) and actress Diahann Carroll. Nobel prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison was a close family friend. His mother took him to the Bahamas, and later to Nigeria, where he was turned on to the music of Fela Kuti.

Kravitz’s ends his book in 1989, at age twenty-five. He is newly married to actress Lisa Bonet, already famous for her role as Denise Huxtable on the Cosby Show, and they share a baby daughter Zoë. Things are more than just looking up. Signed to Virgin Records, his debut album Let Love Rule is a mega-hit in Europe, selling more than two million copies there. The recording is a distillation of and homage to his influences: the Jackson 5, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Miles Davis, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Bowie, and others. Can we expect further instalments of Lenny’s memoir? Not for nothing does he end his book with the line: ‘To Be Continued’? History tells us there are further achievements around the corner, and dark clouds on the horizon. Whether readers will feel short-changed at having to wait for the main feature is another matter.

n theory it’s the post-Christmas holiday season. Can you notice anything different? The year we called 2020 was so weird that everyone’s work/life rhythms are completely out of kilter. But in theory the early part of the new year allows for a semblance By Stuart Coupe of relaxation and the opportunity to catch up on the pile of books that’s grown and grown and grown on the bedside and living room tables – and floors and all sorts of resting places that the Unread Book, and their brothers, sisters and cousins seems to lurk. Towards the end of the last year, I read a swag of damn fine books – and looked longingly at many others. On a whim one afternoon my partner meandered around Gleebooks and decided that I needed a slim volume entitled This Is: Essays On Jazz by Aaron Gilbreath. I’m so glad she did as it’s one of the finest books of music criticism and commentary that I’ve read in years. At around 175 pages and a little bigger than a 33 1/3 book it packs a lot of punch with far reaching, intelligent observations on not just jazz but music in general, how and why it impacts on us, and the lives of those who create it. Gilbreath’s subjects include Miles Davis, Hank Mobley, Sonny Clark, Wardell Gray, Lee Morgan and an array of lesser-known names but within those essays the author ranges far and wide in his references and connections. It’s a book that I read ever so slowly as I really didn’t want it to end. And, as the best books about music should, it cost me a small fortune in tracking down records that, because of Gilbreath’s evocative writing, I had to hear and NOW. And halfway through I spent even more money buying his other collection of essays (about other things) called Everything We Don’t Know. Gilbreath is writing commentary about music that’s up there with the very best and it’s kinda weird that he’s not better known. Change that now. At the same time, I raced through New Zealand music writer, poet and critic Simon Sweetman’s poetry collection The Death of Music Journalism. A clever title for a sparking collection of poems with rock’n’roll at the core of the majority of them, with side trips to write about family, student living, being a parent.

It’s often funny, frequently poignant and just a little bit delightfully nerdy ‘rock critic-y’ – including some poems about being such a beast and his encounters with an array of rock’n’roll stars. I could quote from so many of the poems but the opening of Friends Just Can’t Be Found will give you the idea: Here’s the key thing about Bridge Over Troubled Water: When Paul Simon wrote it – he had Just two verses. He took it to Art Garfunkel and asked what he Thought. Artie told him to go away and write a third verse – told him he had half a good song but it needed finishing Paul returned with that triumphant sailing on bit i.e. The Whole Fucking Journey of the Song – and he decided it would ease his mind if Garkunkel took the lead and sang the hell out of it sending this white, modern gospel hymn to the heavens. And towards the end of the year a heavyweight of roots/real/Americana cultural commentary and observation returned to the bookshelves with an expanded edition of his classic. Robert Gordon’s classic It Came From Memphis received the quarter-century-sincepublication makeover and expansion, including an eye-catching new cover, via Third Man Books. As Gordon explains in his new Introduction, he decided to keep “the original floor plan” of the first edition but, “letting in a little more light where I could.” To that end there’s a lot to like if you still have (or lent and never got back) the 1995 original. Gordon has fleshed out sections and added little bits and pieces to the first writings – plus adding a 2020 chapter and completely new back notes. As with Greil Marcus’ ever-being-revised Mystery Train it’s those end notes that contain some of the most fascinating material. It Came From Memphis is a classic. If you have it treat yourself to the newly polished version and if you’ve never read it then you have a treat in store. What next? Well after reading Robert Forster (that Go-Betweens guy) raving about it online I’ve embarked on Pete Paphides’ almost 600-page Broken Greek: A Story Of Chip Shops And Pop Songs. I’ve only just started but read enough to know that I’m in for the long haul. See you on the other side of beautiful writing. 97

Billy Joe Shaver

Ken Hensley

Kim Massie

Neilly Rich

Overton Berry

Dominic Grant

COMPILED BY SUE BARRETT

HELLO

ustralian singer/songwriter Jenny Biddle (www.jennybiddle.com) has been sitting by a cosy fire in Scotland, while other people have been listening to her new album, Hoping for a Hero. Biddle says “trying to live an interesting life stimulates creativity, but…mundane downtime is needed for space to experiment and explore. I really need to be alone for song writing.” She describes Hoping for a Hero as “an eclectic mix of light and dark, twists and turns”, which “explores a yearning for some kind of a hero”. Jenny Biddle says, however, “These days, I find significance in the small things every day people do to make our world a better place. If COVID has taught us anything in this crazy universal experience, it’s that the ‘essential’ people in our society are not the billionaires, Hollywood stars, footballers or fashion models. COVID has made us look at our priorities and to worthy heroes.” Winners in the ASA’s 40th Australian Songwriting Contest (www. asai.org.au) will be known in February and then (once COVID-19 allows a date to be set) announced onstage at the National Songwriting Awards.

Australian singer/songwriter Snez (www.snez.com.au) releases her 4th album, Fisher on the Sea, in February. Snez told Rhythms, “Although COVID-19 made a mess of many industries, including the music world, it gave me a break from live performing. Once I stopped gigging, I realised I had been procrastinating on my next album. So I spent my days in the studio, as well as writing and gardening. It has been very refreshing and I got my album done. I started the SongChat videos to document different aspects of my recording and song writing methods for Fisher on the Sea. The album is a collection of contemplative storytelling songs that draw on life's rollercoaster ride. ‘Let it Hurt’ shatters the conception of traditions, capturing a moment of vulnerability in a relationship. The veil is further stripped away with the bare bones of ‘Letter to the Moon’, a raw encounter into the life of a single mum. I also touch on the heritage of my family – taking listeners on the migration journey of my parents from Macedonia and to the working class steelworks town of Port Kembla (‘Neptune’s Daughter’ features my mother’s story and ‘Steelworks Kids’ captures the steely essence of blue collared life). Among Macedonian recipes, I recommend Burek – a rich (and probably very unhealthy) pastry-laden savoury dish. When my mum brings that around, I have to detox for 3 days after, but it's worth it!” New recordings include: NeillyRich, Love Bender; Bitch Falcon, Staring at Clocks; Chris Flegg, Twenty’s Plenty; Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams, Plastic Bouquet; Kim Yang, Dominoes; Tim Minchin, Apart Together; Josh Teskey & Ash Grunwald, Push the Blues Away; Archie Roach, The Songs of Charcoal Lane; Damien Leith & Darren Coggan, Two of Us: Songs of Lennon & McCartney. With 2021 upon us, there are some live performances. Bluesfest is going ahead (all-Australian line-up). Cygnet Folk Festival is hosting one day events in Jan. Adelaide Fringe takes place from 19 Feb to 21 March. And Brunswick Music Festival (Vic) is about to announce its line-up. 98

AND GOODBYE

Tony Lewis (62), singer with The Outfield, died England (Oct) American singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker (90), whose songs include ‘Mr Bojangles’, ‘That Old Beat Up Guitar’ and ‘Hairy Ass Hillbillies’ and who was part of Willie Nelson’s 4th of July picnics and the film Willie Nelson's 4th of July Celebration (1979), died Texas (Oct) Margie Bowes (79), American country music singer, died Tennessee, USA (Oct) Welsh-born musician Spencer Davis (81), died California, USA (Oct) Stan Kesler (92), American musician, songwriter, producer, died Tennessee, USA (Oct) Netherlands-born musician Eddie Van Halen (65), died California, USA (Oct) Overton Berry (84), American jazz musician, died USA (Oct) American musician Jon Gibson (80), who was part of the Philip Glass Ensemble, died in October Lisa Schouw, who was born in South Africa, brought up in New Zealand and part of Girl Overboard in Australia, died in October Singer/songwriter Billy Joe Shaver (81), who wrote ‘America You are My Woman’, ‘Honky Tonk Heroes’ and ‘Old Five and Dimers Like Me’, died Texas, USA (Oct) Kim Massie (63), American blues and soul singer, died Missouri, USA (Oct) American singer/songwriter, producer and record label owner Ray Pennington (86), died Tennessee, USA (Oct) Johnny Nash (80), American singer/songwriter, died Texas, USA (Oct) Bassist Brian Locking (81), of The Shadows, died Wales (Oct) Tony Hooper (81), of Strawbs, died in November Australian musician Ronnie Peel (aka Rockwell T James) (74), died NSW, Australia (Nov) Dominic Grant (71), sculptor and lead singer with Guys 'n' Dolls, died England (Nov) Vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Ken Hensley (75), of Uriah Heep, died Spain (Nov) Jac Kreemers, Netherlands-born drummer with Madder Lake, died Vic, Australia (Nov) New Zealand musician Bones Hillman (62), of The Swingers and Australian band Midnight Oil, died Wisconsin, USA (Nov) Brian Coll (79), Irish country musician with The Buckaroos, The Polka Dots and The Plattermen, died Ireland (Nov) Doug Supernaw (60), American country musician, died Texas, USA (Nov) Singer/songwriter Jim Radford (92), who (as a galley boy on his first trip to sea) survived the Normandy Invasion (Operation Overlord, aka D-Day), died England (Nov) Len Barry (78), American singer, songwriter and producer, died Pennsylvania, USA (Nov) English comedian and singer Des O’Connor (88), who had hits with ‘I Pretend’, ‘One, Two, Three O’Leary’ and ‘Remember’, died England (Nov)