d o fr t h e
m o n t h
Sept.
’11 – June ’12
The
Pardoners – Indulgences (See video)
This feature has been allowed to languish due to total
lack of interest on my behalf, but I was jolted out
of my apathy upon receiving my reviewers’ copy of
The Pardoners latest from Glyn ‘Hoover’ Mason – and
then actually putting on to listen. My concentration
was heightened with Spectrum concurrently tossing
out another EP and I’m sure Sam will be delighted
to hear that I’m deeply depressed at the quality of
intention and execution on his and Glyn’s ‘baby’.
But don’t take my word for it – go to The
Pardoners’ site and buy yourself a copy – you’ll
be delighted..
Oct.
’06 – Sept. ’11 (Oops..)
The Story of..
Sound Vault Records has compiled these tracks from
albums released by acts on its roster, which happens
to comprise largely of Melbourne musicians, so it’s
a useful indicator of the musical diversity in this
town that’s usually ignored by radio. All the songs
are narrative in approach (hence the title), so if
you’re in the mood for a story, this is the CD for
you. Spectrum’s track is I Know There Was Another
Man There, (from No Thinking), which
was bound to sound kinda naïve wherever it was
– and does here – but it does have that rootsy country
break in it which fits with the predominantly country-ish
tone of the album.
Aug.
’06 – Oct. ’06
Vivid
–
Head
065
– I heard a track from this album a couple
of weeks ago on Michael Glover’s Border
Crossings show on PBS as one of a number
of Indian influenced tracks. When he back-announced
it he opined it was as successful a blend of
Western jazz and Indian music as you could hear.
The surprise is that although the CD emanates
from New York, its prime mover is a Melbourne
born musician Barney McAll (brother of John
McAll who plays with Ross Wilson every now and
then). It’s occurred to me many times that Indian
music and jazz should fuse fairly seamlessly,
but it’s very rarely pulled off. This is not
just another virtuoso showcase – it’s a moody
ensemble masterpiece.
May
’06 – July ’06
The
For Pete’s Sake CD is
immediately distinguished by having the worst
cover art I’ve seen for a long time, but in one
sense it indicates to the casual buyer at least
that here is a party record, full of
classic Oz tracks that happen to have been produced
by Peter Dawkins over a long and very distinguished
(and ongoing) career. John Farnham, Dragon, Air
Supply, Billy Thorpe, Aussie Crawl, Pseudo Echo,
Mi Sex, Slim Dusty, Russell Morris and Ross Ryan
are all here. Sadly Ariel is unrepresented, but
Tim Gaze and I exacted a heavy price by playing
at the CD’s launch for a full thirty minutes to
a chatty crowd who couldn’t give a toss . Glenn
A. Baker’s notes are extensive.
Jan.
’06 – Apr. ’06
Of
course, this is not a CD, but a DVD, and a double
DVD to boot, with a whole three hours of viewing.
I watched their Tsunami concert appearance first
and, like the incredulous but delighted Myer
Music Bowl audience on the day, fell in love
with DC all over again. Ron Brown and Ed Nimmervoll
in particular deserve a lot of credit for rounding
up everybody and getting them to speak about
the phenomenon that was Daddy Cool – with the
passage of time we tend to forget how meteoric
was their rise, and the unprecedented heights
to which they flew. Aztec International have
spared nothing with the packaging, which looks
plush while maintaining the cartoonish image
that Ian McAusland devised for the band. Buy
it.
Oct.
’05 – Dec. ’05
A
Little R&R – Red and Rupert
is a CD I apparently played some harp
on – hence I received my complimentary copy
in the mail yesterday. I do vaguely remember
the session too, but I never got to meet either
of the protagonists responsible. So, in the
absence of anything we’ve produced, this becomes
my CD of the month. If you suffer from delicate
sensibilities, this is not the album for you,
but if you’re looking for some relief from the
terminally serious – i.e. a whole heap
of outrageous and juvenile fun from men who
are old enough to know better, then this comes
highly recommended. Ross Ryan has done a remarkable
job of putting it on CD without catching something
nasty.
June
’05 – Sept. ’05
Hey
Gringo’s new album Three was delivered
to me by Hey Gringo front man Daryl Roberts in
person today – so hot it’s got no cover yet. Daryl’s
hoping that the art work and printing is going
to be ready in time for the launch on the 22nd.
This is the second Gringo album I’ve been involved
with, and one has to marvel at the speed with
which it all comes together, due in no small measure
to the unflagging energy of Daryl himself and
the expertise of engineer cum producer
Nicky Bomba. As well as Spectrum performing Daryl’s
song You Know What I Mean, quite a few
of my guitar licks have made it alongside Kevin
Borich’s, and Ross Wilson’s contributed
a really cool song.
I’m
popping over to Christchurch,
the city of my birth, next week. EMI’s launching
the prosaically named CD, Christchurch The
Music, with a track on it from my first band,
Chants R&B. The
track was the B side of the first single we released,
and was really a lot closer to what the band was
all about than the A side. It’s a mystery why
Christchurch in particular produced so many rock
and pop musicians, because it was reputed to be
the most anally retentive town in the British
Commonwealth, let alone New Zealand. Maybe a little
repression is good for the rebellious soul. Anyway,
this is as comprehensive collection of the music
that has been produced by Christchurch’s sons
and daughters and so is naturally highly recommended.
buy from website
Dec.
’04 – May ’05
I
got this in the mail a few days ago from a NZ
buddy, John Baker. John’s responsible for the
choice of songs on this essentially historical
compilation, so I guess a Chants’ tune was inevitable,
seeing he was responsible for getting the Chants
back in the public eye. Aussie readers of my
vintage will recognise a few of the musicians
like Ray Columbus, Max Merritt and Johnny Devlin,
but many of the others will be a mystery. The
liner notes are written by the artists themselves,
and as there are 31 tracks, the booklet is fat
and the print tiny. You could get onto the nzmusic.com
website and order a copy for Xmas for those
hard-to-please Kiwi friends..
Sept.
’04 – Nov. ’04
I’ve mentioned that Bill and I
popped along to the world famous Rainbow pub
a couple of weeks ago for the launch of this
particular CD. We didn’t hang round long enough
to pick up our complimentary copies, so imagine
my delight when a parcel arrived today with
three Blues Train CDs. It celebrates the Bellarine
Peninsula Railway’s Blues Train, (check the
website),
which runs over the summer months and has featured
performances by all the artists on this compilation.
The team that put the CD together is from NMIT’s
Music Industry Adv. Dip. course, and one can
only hope they persevere, because they’ve done
it right!
April
’04 – Aug. ’04
Two
live CDs with vastly differing Spectrum performances
are featured this month. The long-threatened
Series One – Seasons of Change CD (and
DVD) have finally emerged. Check out the Forever
Young website
or phone/fax (03) 57871959 for more info. review
The Thredbo Blues Festival compilation
CD (with Bill’s guitar on the cover) is also
out. Check the Thredbo
website for purchase details.
Sept.
’03 – Mar. ’04
The
Fatherhood CD has
been released and you can read about it in September’s
Stop Press (see the Archives link on the home
page) and get it from the Fatherhood
website. The Queenscliff Alive
CD (see the Issue #3 home page) is
available from ABC shops everywhere and features
a host of Aussie stars from Christmases past.
Ross Wilson reckons that 2nd Coming is
the best track on the album. About time we released
a studio version..
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