Forays Into Forgotten Vinyl - Vinyl Tidings

YOURZ

Mine and YourZ truly were weaned on a diet of flat black plastic growing up.  As we moved from teen petulance to young adult… well, erm, petulance, our vinyl collections were suddenly usurped by digital interlopers called CDs.  Because we (and yes, I have the courage, in this instance, to speak for both of us) are attracted by bright shiny things, our poor vinyl collections were superseded.  

Also out were the good old reliable turntables, replaced first by CD players then by DVD players.  We loved the new technology because we could pogo, mosh and/or bump'n'grind in front of the stereo without any fear of a causing a skip, jump or scratch.

Unlike most, however, we couldn’t let go of our albums.  When we combined households years ago, we both dragged two crates of records into the mix as well.  We used the full as speaker stands but found the more we looked at them, the more we longed for a record player.

Then late last year, Mine purchased, for a modest price, a Technics SL-D2 direct drive turntable (which apparently was considered quite good in its day).  Soon after, she also got a great preamp as a Christmas present. And this is where the music part of this post starts.

Christmas Day, instead of traditional carols, we played every single Midnight Oil album and the one single we owned.  It was like listening to a time machine, a powerful reminder of days gone by.  We listened to lots of other music too - The Flowers, Divinyls, John Kennedy, Paul Kelly, The Hollowmen and INXS, to name just the Australian acts (or at least those we could remember - we had a very jolly Christmas).  But it was Midnight Oil who ruled the day.  

We started with Place Without A Postcard, followed by Head Injuries, then 10, 9, 8..., Red Sails In The Sunset and the Power And The Passion single with a dub version on the B side - not necessarily in the right chronological order, but close.  As I listened, I felt connected with a time when life was stretched way out in front of me, brimming with all sorts of possibilities.  It teased me with the exuberance of youth I no longer have while reminding me of how good I have it now.  It was also the perfect way to spend a Christmas Day with the one I love.

VERDICT: Vital

MINE

While many of my friends and acquaintances have chosen to throw away their vinyl collection, I've never been able to my records go.  While more and more old music is re-released on CD and for download, many of the albums I loved in my youth miss out.  So for some time now, I've trawled the pages of eBay looking for my holy grail - a Direct Drive turntable in good condition at a reasonable price.

I have to confess that I bought this particular model because it was one I'd used before.  In fact, when my first husband bought it sometime in the late 70s it was very expensive and state-of-the-art.  I love the fact that it has a series of black lines on the side of the platen - so you can adjust the speed for pin-point 33 and 45 rpm speeds.

When I first bought it, we went in search of a phono preamp and picked one up for a very small sum.  Be warned, cheap preamps aren't worth the cash, and we abandoned our first vinyl session pretty quickly after finding a bass hum - probably because it wasn't earthed.  But Christmas Day dawned and the first crisp, clear notes rang out.  As did the hisses and crackles from long-ago times, and the odd jump as we re-learned to tip-toe past the turntable. (Do you have the same song in your head that I do?)

What I thought was remarkable about the rest of that day wasn't that we chose to play all our Midnight Oil (come on, Peter Garrett is our federal MP!) but that there were very few arguments about what we were going to play.  We pulled out lots of albums, scattered them all around the room and had a hoot of a time.  We danced (well, I danced), sang and generally carried on as if we were 20 years younger.

More please.

VERDICT: Vital

The Triffids - Love In Bright Landscapes

YOURZ

Regrets, I have a few, but then too few to mention...

Actually, one of the few, now that I mention it, is that I never got the chance to see The Triffids.  I had a few chances too, let me tell you.  But for some reason or other (probably involving too much of a good time elsewhere) I never took the opportunity, instead probably dismissing the idea with glib thoughts that I will see them 'later on'.  Of course, that later time never came.  The death of David McComb a decade ago, at the way too young age of 37, means that despite the rest of the band still being around, the voice, that voice, the one that wrote all the songs that made The Triffids what they are, will never be heard again.

There is so much about The Triffids sound that is quintessentially Australian but in such a way that only the most astute observer would understand.  This is what make them unique in the annuls of Australian music.  They were more than just a great band playing some of the best songs this wide brown land has produced, they carried the flag around the world, and in doing so thankfully corrupted the view that we are a nation of drunken loud-mouthed misogynistic yobs.

But I'm ashamed to say I've never actually owned any of their albums.  I lived in plenty of share houses where their music was often played, but I never owned any myself.  To be honest, I feel a little sick about this because listening to Love In Bright Landscapes, I got a clear reminder of why I love music so much: it is because (and I am probably misquoting someone here, so I apologise in advance) music is the sound of feeling.  And The Triffids were able to feel so very much.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

It seems a heresy to see a Triffids anthology that doesn't include Wide Open Road, but this particular collection pulls together the hits of this quintessentially Australian band right up until the moment they released their landmark album,  Born Sandy Devotional.  And it's in our collection because I bought it.  And I bought it because it has my favourite Triffids song on it - My Baby Thinks She's A Train.  And I love that because the lyrics are so nonsensical, but at the same time poignant.  Does he really mean she's going crazy?  She's hearing voices and doesn't know the difference between pleasure and pain. 

But listening to this collection today made me wonder exactly what it is that makes the Triffids embody that essence of Australian music - although there's no doubt they do, just as the Go-Betweens did at much the same time, and as Paul Kelly manages to do over and over.  There's a sense of space and light in some of the songs.  A sense of realism, which the harsh Australian sun forces upon our landscape.  (I guess the collection's title wasn't chosen lightly.)  There's a feeling of almost-country in the songwriting - and is that born from the endless driving between towns and more towns that bands do here, to get their songs heard?

Whatever it is, I haven't played this collection often enough.  It's definitely one for the next road trip - when I get to see that bright landscape with the best soundtrack I could imagine for it.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.thetriffids.com/

Jenny Morris - Shiver

MINE

Urgh.  I was really hoping I'd enjoy this more, given that I was a staunch fan of Ms  Morris in the 80s and saw her performing live several times.  But I guess this is the reason the CD's stayed in the drawer, unplayed, for so long.  These songs really don't age that well - except for Aotearoa, which will always be a firm favourite.

I fell in love with Jenny's voice when she was a member of QED in the early 80s, with her fragile-yet-powerful vocals showcased on the single Everywhere I Go.  (Ooh, dig the keytar!)  But it was her first album, Body and Soul, that I loved the most.  It's not in our collection because I had it on a cassette... and so while I'm voting to turf Shiver, I must dig around and see if I can buy Body and Soul again and listen to You I Know ( a Neil Finn song).

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

I was quite surprised by how many of the songs on Shiver.  Actually, its a bit scary because I have never owned anything by her nor have I ever been a fan.  It means I heard these songs played on radio so many times, they've become part of me.  No wonder I can't remember my birthday with shit like this cluttering up my memory.

There is no doubting the Andrew Farris (of INXS) influence.  In fact, a number of the tracks are co-written with him.  These kind of sound like INXS-lite.  Tragic, really.  The only real highlight is her version of Paul Kelly's 'Street Of Love' too but I enjoy the original version too much to enjoy her cover of it.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.jennymorris.com

Before Too Long - Triple J's Tribute To Paul Kelly

MINE

I first heard about this by chance, as these days I spend very little time listening to the radio.  Ironic, given that my job is writing for radio, but the demands of this blog are such that my in-car time is either listening to albums I'm reviewing, or listening to talk radio for the news.  Anyway, I was happening past Triple J for some reason and heard one of the songs being covered, thought it sounded great, and was delighted to hear about the concert.  I then spent far too much time at work listening to the podcast.

So when I saw it had been released as an album, it was very quickly purchased.  We've spoken before about the abilities of Mr Kelly, who I think can wear the title of Australia's premier singer-songwriter (as described by the Sydney Festival) with ease.  Hearing favourites like From Saint Kilda To Kings Cross and the title tracks being performed by some of Australia's finest younger talents is a positive joy.

The only thing left to do is to buy the DVD.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Paul Kelly has the well-deserved privilege of being one of the very few artists to get multiple posts on this blog (and the only Australian).  I been effusive about the man before so I won't press my luck again.  If you interested, you see it here.  But I will say if you haven't heard anything of his, this is a great place to start. 

On this 3 disc collection, Kelly features on one of the discs doing his own versions of the songs covered, while the other two feature covers.  Triple J picked the cream of Australia's alternative talent to perform a variety of songs from Kelly's back catalog, with everyone from John Butler, nephew Dan Kelly, Clare Bowditch and Megan Washington.  There are some sterling renditions of Kelly classics, none more so than Ash Naylor's version of this compilation's titular track.  But my personal favourite is the raw, dirty version of Sweet Guy, as performed by Adalita of Magic Dirt.  The lyrics are made even more potent with her treatment.  It is pure rock awesomeness.

Have to thank Mine for adding this one to our collection.  It is a truly worthy addition to anyone's collection.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to

Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons - The Very Best of

YOURZ

Jo Jo Zep, along with a few other Aussie bands, were a big favourite when I was in my last couple of years of high school.  Not favoured enough to buy anything of theirs, mind you (couldn't have my Kiss, Cheap Trick, AC/DC and Cold Chisel friends knowing I also liked them - damn peer group pressure!)  But they were regularly featured on Countdown and other Aussie rock shows at the time and also big hits at local Blue Light Discos.

The thing I liked about them was not only were they writing great, catchy, ska-tinged songs (at least for the first few big singles) but they were quality musicians and part of a larger group of Australian musicians and songwriters who were setting new standards (this does include Chisel, who had the incredilbe songwriting talents of Don Walker).

Tracks like Hit & Run, Shape I'm In and Puppet On A String were not only infectious, but great to dance to as well, back when I did actually shake my tail feather.  These were like our answer to all the great British punk and ska music being made at the time but without the crap clothes and spittle.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I just realised there's yet another way I'm like Lisa Simpson - I love the saxophone (or as her dad would say, the sax-a-ma-phone).  And the sound of Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons is centred around frontman Joe Camilleri's saxophone stylings.  I've seen the band, way back when in Melbourne, maybe even on a double bill with Paul Kelly and the Dots - but my memory of the early 80s is getting a bit sketchy in parts these days.  (YourZ sez: must have been either 80 or 81 as the band were kaput after that).

Listening to the album (which isn't the one pictured but has most of the same songs on it) I just felt, well, 20 again.  The band's sound moves from vaguely 50s doo-wop through a more rockabilly style - and my favourite song, Taxi Mary, has a real Latin beat.

I also loved Camilleri's follow-up band the Black Sorrows and listening to this CD has just made me more hungry for our household to finally bite the bullet and get a real live turntable - so I can listen to the original Zep album I had - Screaming Targets - and to the three or more Black Sorrows albums that are gathering dust.

By the way, I differ from Lisa in that I'm not an 8-year-old yellow vegetarian cartoon character with a brother and sister who likes to play the blues.  Otherwise, we're pretty close.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.joecamilleri.com.au/

Paul Kelly - Stolen Apples

YOURZ

I'm really fucking annoyed.  Let me tell you why.

Late last night, I spent a good deal of time reading and researching about Paul Kelly and had started writing this review.  I was really pleased with what I had down and went to bed with the songs from this wonderful album in my head and a satisfied smile on my face, intending to finish it off today.

It was just too good to be true.  When I came back to it this morning, everything I had written was gone.  I can't be arsed going back and trying to rehash it.  You're just gonna have to believe me when I say it was a stunning tribute to one of Australia's most loved troubadours.  He's responsible for writing or co-writing some true Australian classics such as Yothu Yindi's Treaty, and his own To Her Door, Dumb Things and From Little Thing Big Things Grow.

Stolen Apples is his eighteenth studio album and is every bit as relevant a part of his extensive recording career as anything he's previously released.  If there is a voice of contemporary Australian music, then Paul Kelly's is the one.  His muse roams wide as this wide brown land although as I write this, it's been raining heavily all day.  But this is also evocative of Paul Kelly and his many moods.

He knows no bounds either musically or lyrically, whether it's personal country odes to the love of his life (You're 39, You're Beautiful And You're Mine), modern folk songs about Australian legends (The Ballad Of Queenie And Rover) or fictional studies of despicable characters (God Told Me To), Kelly proves once more why he's one of the greatest.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Paul Kelly has the honour of being the first artist I ever bought unheard, purely at the recommendation of a music magazine, the now-defunct and curiously named weekly tabloid RAM.  And my experience of Post in 1985 was so overwhelming, he's been a firm favourite ever since.  On that album he chronicled his moves - from his place of birth in Adelaide and then from Melbourne to Sydney in From St Kilda to Kings Cross, together with his experiences with heroin when he got to the Big Smoke - Incident on South Dowling.

Because Kelly tells his life like it is - and he tells other people's lives, and he makes up stories.  I love him because he does best when he's telling you a story.  Even non-Australians may have experienced his craft, with his version of a Raymond Carver story - So Much Water So Close To Home - becoming part of the soundtrack to the award-winning Australian movie Jindabyne, based on the same story.

Any movie set in the sunburnt country would be the better for featuring his iconic, laconic Aussie drawl.  He's as Australian as a kookaburra, and just as delightful.   In his many incarnations, with the Dots and the Messengers and the Coloured Girls, Kelly's songs paint a picture of the Australian experience I would encourage anyone planning to visit to experience before getting on a plane.  They'd be just as good as a travel guide, and far more enjoyable.

*sigh* This also means we gotta buy Post and Gossip at least on CD, huh YourZ?  They're languishing on vinyl right now, and I miss them! (YourZ sez: I'll add 'em to the list, honey buns...)

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.paulkelly.com.au/
Or for a listen to some of Australia's finest artists playing the great man's songs in a tribute concert: http://abcsport.net.au/triplej/media/s2769261.htm

In our collection, we also have Songs From The South, and So Much Water So Close To Home

Dan Kelly & The Alpha Males - Sing The Tabloid Blues

MINE

This is where this reviewing thing gets difficult. I like Dan Kelly. I'm in two minds as to which of the two albums we have I like best, although my favourite song's on the other album (Drunk on Election Night which has strong language if that's a concern for you).

I'm very fond of his uncle, Paul Kelly, who's something of an institution in Australian music. And I could wax lyrical about him, but I won't because I might be reviewing one of his albums later.

My main problem is, I like this album. It's good music-to-have-friends-over by. It's nice in the car. I can cook to it, it's well put together and Checkout Cutie really rocks. But I don't love it, I don't have a long history with Dan, and I haven't played both albums often enough to write much about them.

I guess I should play them some more, so I can have more of an opinion.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Apart from being the nephew of an Australian icon, Dan Kelly is a very talented man born in a country that often ignores its intelligent, articulate, consummate musicians in favour of the big, loud, dumb fun ones. It's sad to say but the average Aussie sees people such as Dan as either being a smart-arse or being conniving. He is neither.

This album was Dan and his band’s first and my personal favourite of the two they released. I know Mine is more a fan of the other and I don’t doubt my fondness for it too but overall, I prefer this album. There's not a dud song among the lot although stylistically, it shifts all over the place. Instead of being messy, it's like walking through an art gallery, where you can admire each well-framed piece.

Dan Kelly wears his influences well, though. There's certainly something of his Uncle Paul in his lyrical humour and his ability to capture and contain a beautiful melody. And there's the judicious use of the Americana palette as well but not overly so… Oh, what bullshit. I hate trying to fucking categorise it so I won‘t. This is an awesome album and I’m calling this my first Forgotten Gem.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information:http://www.dankelly.com.au/

In our collection, we also have Drowning In The Fountain Of Youth