The Albatross or the Shy Albatross above. OK I've edited these posts because this is taking way too long doing it like I have been so I'm just going to pick out an Australian bird for the picture at the top of the post, from John Gould's The Birds of Australia which was originally published from 1840 to 1848 in seven huge volumes.
Straight on with my favorite 100 Aussie albums now. So it seems everyone has rules for these kinds of lists but mine are going to be just anything you can lay your hands on, physically so CDs, vinyls, box sets, reissued albums are fine plus I'm including also a few compilation albums too.
As for who's included here you will not find Powderfinger or Silverchair or The Living End or INXS or even Midnight Oil for the simple reason that everyone always has them in these kind-of list so I'm not and you can just go to Triple J if you want a mainstream list of Aussie albums. This Hottest 100 Aussie Albums is a worse list than I was thinking it would be and just proves Triple J is completely useless in teaching listeners any kind-of history of the Aussie music scene.
I'll write just a few of lines on each album, I could go on forever but I'll try not too. This blog is basically to keep my writing going and just maybe I'm getting in a bit over my head with 100 albums but anyway here goes...
A is for...
The A to Z Recordings by Paul Kelly
Well, this is the reason I'm doing my list like this and it's much better than rating them in a count down which can be a bit silly really. I'm reading his book so I had to get this eight CD set. Paul Kelly's songs don't need anything more that him on stage with a guitar.
Absence by Snowman
Well, one of two albums released this year but both have been in the pipeline for a long time. This one was worked on in London for at least the last few years and is the final album because band now is broken-up. Snowman will always be remembered as one of the greatest Perth bands.
Adalita by Adalita
Here's the second album of 2011, Magic Dirt's front woman solo album was released at the start of the year. I think it's been worked on for a long time but finally saw the light of day now. We might not ever have another Magic Dirt album but if this is what she going to do as a solo artist it should have been out years ago.
All Times Though Paradise by The Saints
The second box set already but if your going to listen to The Saints you really only need the first three albums and this is where you can find them plus live recording and a shit load of bonus tracks from around the same time, 1976-1979.
Australian Ghost Story by The Paradise Motel
This album was released on 11 June 2010, the 30th anniversary of Azaria Chamberlain's birth. Which I should have wrote about at the top of this post under "A" but if you don't know anything about who she is, you should. This is The Paradise Motel's comeback album after ten years silence.
The Axeman's Jazz by Beasts of Bourbon
If this band formed today it would be labelled a supergroup but back in 1984 they were all nobodys. These guys just wanted to get drunk and play music and that is what happens here so this debut album by Beasts of Bourbon was recorded in an afternoon session of their live set list at the time before going off to the gig.
Stay tuned for the letter "B" soon...
