A to Z: 100 Best Australian Albums so "H" is for...

The Harrier, or it's the Swamp Harrier above and I'm back using John Gould's Birds of Australia again. Swamp Harrier is a bird that's in least concern in conservation status which is a great thing really but people do like to talk about about all the Endangered or even the Extinct species and I did last time with Gouldian Finch. I remember visiting the museum of W.A. and I loved going to the Bird gallery all the time. They have all the birds in Western Australian taxidermied but it seem only the tourists from somewhere else would look at these birds and local people looked at the extinct display in the corner and I would hear things like, "I want to see something I don't see everyday when I come to the museum" or "This is a boring room, let's see what's next" and after a while of hearing this I've stopped going because it was depressing listening to people talk like that, or just start wishing the human race was extincted.

Anyway back to the music and the letter "H" which seems like it's got the most amount of albums so far in my little count down, reaching double figures with ten so that's why its taken so long in between posts.

Havilah by The Drones
Well, here are The Drones again with their last album from 2008, a long time ago now and this time at their own home studio. Joining them as a full new member was Dan Luscombe with Mike Noga on his second album and of-course Fiona Kitschin and Gareth Liddiard have been here from the start.

Henry's Dream by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
With two more Aussie members joining the band Martyn P. Casey and Conway Savage make it the most ever but really can we call Cave an Aussie anymore? He's lived almost all of his adult life in England, and do you know how many albums he has done in Australia? I mean the full album? Well, only two albums Kicking Against the Pricks and Nocturama, which are not great records and that's pretty fucking lame for someone who calls himself an Aussie. Anyway this one was recorded in the U.S.A. but only mixed here. I've picked this because if I was to choose only one Bad Seeds album to listen to this would be it.   

Here Come The Lies by The Drones
Here's where it all started with the debut album from 2002, the band members at this point were Gareth, Fiona Kitschin, Rui Pereira and early drummer Christian Strybosch plus listed in the liner notes are Matt Heydon plays "Mr Whippy piano on New Kind of Kick" and Craig Williamson "his swollen eggs on The Cockeyed Lowlife of the Highlands" whatever that means.


Hey Believer by Kim Salmon with STM
The first of two albums in this post and he's already been here in my list four times, if you didn't know, with From One To Another by The Darling Downs, Dirty Three by Dirty Three, Blood Red River by The Scientists and The Axeman's Jazz by Beasts of Bourbon. This record from the mid-90' was at the time the closest he came to doing a solo album but six of these tracks included and band called STM who was the late Andrew Entsch on Doulbe Bass and Dirty Three's Jim White and Warren Ellis.

High Voltage by AC/DC
This debut album was like the blueprint without really even thinking about it, they were just another rock n roll band starting out, nothing more. I remember having the Aussie version on cassette tape with a different tracklisting, as one of my first albums I bought myself but you can't get that anymore, I wish you could. Most of Bon Scott's lyrics made more sense the older I got but they were never as good as this album. Of course they became one of the biggest heavy rock bands in the world with one of the highest selling albums of all-time but thier early stuff is always better, everytime.  

Hit Me With The Surreal Feel by Kim Salmon & the Surrealists
The debut album of The Surrealists and Kim Salmon. After The Scientists broke-up he formed a trio line-up with Brian Hooper on bass and Tony Pola on drums. Recorded with microphones randomly placed around the studio and recorded on just a four-track in his home town of Perth before packing up and heading east. Other than tours he's never come back finally setting up home in Melbourne a few years later. I like the fact I've sandwiched Kim Salmon's albums in between AC/DC and also The Drones in between Nick Cave but both I would argue are more Aussie than the bigger names and that's what my list is all about.

Honey Steel's Gold by Ed Kuepper
Ed Kuepper left The Saints after just three albums to form his new band, Laughing Clowns who broke-up. This is one of his solo albums after almost ten years playing under just his name. Original release in 1991 with a killer band line-up of Mark Dawson on Drums, Sir Alfonso on Bass and The Necks' Chris Abrahams on Piano and Organ, also the first he worked with his long time co-producer, Phil Punch. Can I call it one of the best break-up albums of all-time, it's like the Aussie's Blood on the Tracks.

Hoodoo You Do by The Devil & Abbe May
Right this is Abbe May's second album but the only one to be released under this name. It's her totally Blues album so off-course it's got the main star the Devil, himself which is more a heavy metal thing now. Most people compare her to an Female English songwriter but I would say she is more like the bloke who she broke's heart in the late 90's. Yes, I'm talking about Nick Cave again not PJ Harvey and I would argue she's the new Nick Cave. It's seems to me both are pretty much doing the same thing in the last couple of years but it's wicked coming from a young lady but just silly coming from an old man plus she would murder him in a guitar duel. Then again it's really very silly comparing artists and I'm just on a I hate Nick Cave rant tonight.

Horse Stories by Dirty Three
The second  Dirty Three album or is it the third if you count the demo tape that was turned into the album Sad & Dangerous but anyway it's the second on my list. On the DVD doco from 2007 Warren Ellis was saying it he didn't want to or/and could have not released it at the time, I can not think of that time in the mid 90's music landscape without this album. I wish they would stop being just a side project to all of Nick Cave's stuff too and it's so great to have them back with a new album. Ellis should file his divorce papers next and come back to his first love, Dirty Three and make it a full time band again. I'll never forgive Cave for fucking up one of the greatest bands of all-time but I also remember Ellis talking about working with Charlie Marshall in the mid-90's, how amazing it was and what an honor to work with such a great songwriter like him but who knows who he is now? my point is, it was inevitable if someone like Nick Cave came along.


Hourly, Daily by You Am I
This would have to be my favorite You Am I album and it's for the simple reason that it's their first album recorded in Australia. Tim Rogers, Andy Kent and Russell Hopkinson stopped going oversea to do their albums and this is the third album, the two album before were both done in the U.S.A. with Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo. Roger's songs also look closer to home e.g. daily life from waking up in the morning to saying goodnight. You really couldn't find a more Aussie looking album cover because when you look out a window or walk down the street that is what you would see. This albums got nothing to do with Nick Cave, thank fuck but from now on I promise to NOT say his name anymore on this blog, he just pisses me off now. I'll have to write about all these albums again without him so sorry about that.

Stay tuned for the letter "I" soon...

Great Read: The 100 Best Australian Albums by John O’Donnell, Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson

OK, I'm going to write something about this book that is not too long. It came out late last year so it's taken me a while to read. I read bits and pieces then went and started at the introduction and it made a bit more sense. To start with I just thought it was a bit silly because of the selection of albums but there are some rules they have gone by which are briefly: No greatest hits after 1970's because singles were the main format at this time. No live albums but they broke that by including Billy Thorpe's album, they have to be Australians of-course but artists and bands who fuck-off overseas like Kylie Minogue, AC/DC and Bee Gees are included and also New Zealanders who have based themselves in Australia are here too. The albums are NOT their favourite but have to have "had a enormous effect on the the culture and the nation." Anyway record sales they say are a consideration but NOT the main reason for ranking, it's amazing though how many are here. So I have about 30 of these 100 albums on vinyl or CD but a few on the computer as mp3's but if I can't hold it in my hand I don't really count them or if I can't be stuffed going out and buying it in a shop, it's not that important then, yeh?

The top ten have a few pages written about them each and the next ninety have one page of writing and a page is the album cover art. It's good writing about each album and all have valued points about each band/artist/album. I could say it's great because this book has even got me to revise my view of Cold Chisel which for years and years I couldn't stand listening to because my dad would play them all the time as a kid, it was like not this bloody music again but it didn't change my mind about solo Jimmy Barnes. So the four pages did it for Circus Animals but not the one page for For The Working Class Man but I do now have my dad's vinyl copy so maybe one day I'll put it on turntable.

Triple J is now doing a Hottest 100 voting poll thingy and their industry list is even more totally silly compared to this book. It includes 8 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds plus 2 Birthday Party is overstating his importance just a bit too much and I'm a fan but really only three of these albums were recorded in Australia anyway. I think there are to many repeated artists/bands on their industry list but they did included three The Drones albums. A voting poll I think will be even worse but I never agree with Triple J any-more because they're too mainstream and play too many major label records these days.

There are some records I don't think should be included in the book too but I think I'll make my own list as my next blog posts. I think I would rate this book: The 100 Best Australian Albums by John O’Donnell, Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson, 4 stars or 4 out of 5. I did also get the 5 CD set too so it can't be all bad. Hearing just one song for those albums I don't like was OK because there's so much good or even great stuff here and like the authors point out nothing like it has been done before. So go a read it yourself too or just listen to your favourite Aussie albums again.Stay tuned for more soon...

More Gaz: the Roots of The Drones & Gareth Liddiard

OK, even more Gaz and The Drones which I'm not going to apologize for because they are my favorite band and singer-songwriter plus because I haven't done that much here on my blog lately this is extra, extra long. This time I've put together a collection of songs they or he has covered or name dropped at one time or another. I will do my best to cite when and where and why I've included them. If you have seen Liddiard's myspace he's written "Who care's" under influences but also credited Margaret Thatcher as a band member who play's the Kora. This post is somewhat inspired by my last post about Gaz. It's NOT a big list of who the members of The Drones have rooted but in this case it means influenced by, who they loved and covered their songs kind-off like Mojo magazine's free CDs but because this is an online blog here's what I found on youtube. I've made the player thingy small because most are not worth watching for one reason or another but you can make them bigger your self, if you want to.

1. De Kelb Blues by Lead Belly
The first of four songs The Drones covered on the debut album "Here Come The Lies".


2. The Downbound Train by Chuck Berry
The second of four songs The Drones covered on the debut album "Here Come The Lies" also killer live version on "Live in Spaceland".


3. New Kind of Kick by The Cramps
The third of four songs The Drones covered on the debut album "Here Come The Lies".


4. Motherless Children by Blind Willie Johnson
The last of four songs The Drones covered on the debut album "Here Come The Lies".


5. Same Old Man by Karen Dalton
The song which Shark Fin Blues was based on from the album "Wait Long By The River and The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By".


6. I Believe by Alan Vega
The original version of I Believe which was on the album "The Miller's Daughter".


7. Part 1: Acknowledgement by John Coltrane
In the liner notes for the above song Gareth also writes about "A Love Supreme" which is a Coltrane album but it must be this he's talking about.


8. Are You Leaving for the Country? by Karen Dalton
The one and only cover on the album "Gala Mill". One of only two artists who appear on this playlist twice.


9. Cortez the Killer by Neil Young
One of a couple songs The Drones have covered which can be found at thier website under sounds


10. Manic Depression by Jimi Hendrix
The second song The Drones have covered which can be found at thier website under sounds.


11. Who Do You Love? by Bo Diddley
Also at their website but orginally on the Hoodoo Gurus tribute album "Stoneage Cameos" so it's a kind-off cover of a cover.


12. Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones
Gareth Liddard sung a duet with The Audreys' Taasha Coates on Aussie music quiz show Rockwiz. You can find thier verison on "the Rockwiz Duets, Volume 2".


13. Messin' With the Kid by The Saints
Gareth Liddard sung a duet with Magic Dirt's Adalita Srsen on Aussie music quiz show Rockwiz You can find thier verison on "the Rockwiz Duets, Volume 3".


14. Words from a Woman to Her Man by Beasts of Bourbon
The Drones covered this Kim Salmon song on Triple J's Like A Verison. You can find it on "Triple J's Like A Version, Volume 2"


15. Suicide Is Painless by Johnny Mandel & Mike Altman
The Drones covered the M*A*S*H theme song Triple J's Like A Verison. You can find it on "Triple J's Like A Version, Volume 5".


16. River of Tears by Kev Carmody
Most likely the most well known song that The Drones have ever covered. You can find both the original and their cover on "Cannont Buy My Soul"


17. Jailbreak by AC/DC
The first of three songs on youtube from his top five "Greatest Aussie Song Ever" for Triple J's Ausmusic month in 2009.


18. Collapse Board by Laughing Clowns
The second of three songs on youtube from his top five "Greatest Aussie Song Ever" for Triple J's Ausmusic month in 2009.


19. Hope by Dirty Three
The last of three songs on youtube from his top five "Greatest Aussie Song Ever" for Triple J's Ausmusic month in 2009.


20. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart by The Bee Gees
At the AIR (Australian Independent Records Labels Association) Awards 2008, The Drones and Martha Wainwright performed this and the next song.


21. Train Long-Suffering by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
At the AIR (Australian Independent Records Labels Association) Awards 2008, The Drones and Martha Wainwright performed this and the above song.


22. Crowned by These Immortal Souls
The Drones covered this on the album called "A Tribute to Rowland S. Howard" double CD.


23. I Drink by Charles Aznavour
The Drones cover this on the "Custom Made E.P."


24. You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond by Blind WIllie Johnson
Another song from "The Miller's Daughter" who's title borrowed and the second of only two artists who appear on this list twice.


25. Don't Look Back by John Lee Hooker
This is another song from "The Miller's Daughter" album, this song is what the track Stop Dreaming comes from but it is the lyric and not the title of the song that is borrowed here.


26. Moreton Bay by Bernard Fanning
Sixteen Straws for "Gala Mill" uses the first verse from Moreton Bay. This is a very old song. This version was recorded from the Ned Kelly movie but is better than John Denver's version but it's been around forever.


27. Believe In Me by The Throb
One of the earliest covers The Drones have done on the album called "Wild About You! Tales From the Australian Rock Undergound 1963-1968".


28. My Pal by GOD
The Drones played this at The Last Song at the Tote with original singer Joel Silbersher.


29. Slammin' On The Brakes by Spencer P. Jones
The first of six songs which have no videos on youtube so you'll have to find them yourself. Covered on "The Miller's Daughter" album.

30. Revolution by X
From his top five, the Aussie band X's song was picked for "Greatest Aussie Song Ever" for Triple J's Ausmusic month in 2009.

31. Obvious Is Obvious by Kim Salmon
From his top five, Salmon's song was picked for "Greatest Aussie Song Ever" for Triple J's Ausmusic month in 2009.

32. Long Gone Whistle by Maurice Frawley
This is the most recent cover The Drones have recorded from the three CD tribute called "Long Gone Whistle – The Songs of Maurice Frawley".

33. The Executioner by Paul Kelly
Gareth Liddiard played this live for Kelly's induction into The Age newspapers' EG Awards Hall of Fame in 2010.

34. Highlands by Bob Dylan
Not covered or anything like that but just a guess that it might be an big influence on Liddiard's songwriting with his songs like The Cockeyed Lowlife of the Highlands from debut album and recently Highplains Mailman on his solo album plus he now lives in the Victorian's mountains. There's no Dylan here on this list and it's his longest song and Gaz does like long songs.

35. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Patti Smith
If you haven't heard the original by Nirvana I don't know where you've been. Patti Smith covered it on her album called Twelve but at the Sydney Opera House in 2008 The Drones were her support band and were invited back on to cover it and I've finally found it on youtube, you can't see anything but you can hear it, well it's not great but better than nothing. I've made the size a bit bigger because it's The Drones with Patti Smith which is a great way to finish this very long post.


By the way I have no idea who took the top photo but it's another one from their myspace profile. Wow, that has taken me a really long time to write so I'll have to make the next post shorter.

More Gaz: A Painting, 3 Albums, 5 Songs & New Video

Well, it's another post about Gareth Liddiard (surprise, surprise) so I'm just going to title them all More Gaz from now on and hopefully write about something else too but this post is just nicking stuff from other websites really which I hope is OK. I've read these the other day but just lost them and just going to re-post here to go with all the other Gaz posts as some kind of collection.

First up is Gareth Liddiard top three Aussie albums which I have to ask why only three? five or ten would be better even twenty maybe thirty, fuck-it if Liddiard wrote a book called 100 greatest Aussie albums I would buy it and read it over and over. I love it when he name-drops stuff because he always comes up with wicked music and I've never been disappointed with it because most of it I have and if not I can go out and find it. It's a bit of a history lesson in Aussie music, stuff that is less known but should be listened to more than it is. This is from the great people at FasterLouder and like someone said in the comments "He sure has a way with words" so I've cut and pasted it into my blog sorry if I'm breaking some copyright law but it's too good to edit or anything.

1. Kim Salmon & STM – Hey Believer

"When I was a young snapper I did all sorts of work at and for Kim Salmon shows. I was too young to drive a hire car but I had to drive the Surrealists around ‘cause they were too drunk and their promoter hated that about them. No one told me about Tarago handbrakes so the van always stunk of fishy hot brake pads and I was henceforth mocked. The Surrealists were amazing but STM was another story all together. The band was made up of Kim, Warren [Ellis] and Jim [White] from the Dirty Three and a double bass player called Andrew [Entsch] who died a long time ago. They only did one tour and made one album. One of the best bands I’ve ever seen live. And in true Australian fashion, no one gave a fuck because they weren’t from some other country run by white people."

2. AC/DC – Let There Be Rock

"As far as guitar sounds go, you can’t really beat this recording. It’s intense. And interesting considering that everywhere except Australia they’re known as the biggest rock band ever. Bigger even than the Beatles and Pink Floyd. They didn’t do a lot of compromising considering. But they didn’t come from somewhere else that’s run by whites or something so forget that. And Rupert Murdoch and Julian Assange don’t run the planet right now either. And Peter Singer isn’t usually right about everything and Les Murray isn’t one of the greatest three or four living poets right now. Elsewhere in the west is always best, remember that. Pretend you’re them."

3. Rowland S. Howard – Teenage Snuff Film

"This is Rowland’s masterpiece. He was the greatest, most original guitarist Australia has ever had. On the break up of the band that brought him fame he went on to record 10 or so records solo and with various bands that were mostly overlooked. Probably because his original singer appealed more to record companies that needed to make a buck, though Rowland was always, at least, equally as good. You never see him on those “greatest Australian album” lists which is nuts. He’s not alone though, Rowland and Spencer P. Jones are the most underrated songwriters on the planet. Everything on this record is perfecto, the tunes, guitar playing, production, Mick [Harvey], Brian [Hooper] and Rowland’s voice which was as jocular as it was jaundiced."

Next up is something called Take Five from Triple J radio. The five songs for each capital city in Australia because well he's on tour again, I guess. You can re-play it as much as you like too on the player links at the bottom of the page. Most of the songs are at the tail ends of the albums they're from and none are the singles or the more poplar tracks from them. I wish Liddiard would be a DJ after this because he would play the best songs and I could listen to his talk forever, even if it's his jokes and him laughing. Anyway I've cut and paste one paragraph and the playlist from their website too, oops I did it again.

He dropped by the triple j studios just before the start of his national tour with Dan Kelly to play five songs that remind him of different places - and not surprising he picked five fantastic Aussie tunes. He talked about how he visited Sydney just to buy a copy of X's Aspirations, why Kim Salmon & The Surrealists blew his mind and his love for the Dirty Three.

Here's what he played:

1. Kim Salmon & The Surrealists - Redemption For Sale (Perth)
2. Laughing Clowns - Song Of Joy (Brisbane)
3. X - Good On Ya Baby (Sydney)
4. Dirty Three - Red (Melbourne)
5. The Mark Of Cain - Summertime (Adelaide)

Gareth Liddiard - Strange Tourist from Two Fish Out Of Water on Vimeo.

So above is his new video for Strange Tourist which was re-recorded for this in his home in the Victorian mountains. The video directed by Jasmin Tarasin who is the same person who did the one for the Blondin Makes An Omelette video last year. I'm still slowly writing that big post but not finish yet. I've been sick this week but I did get to see him last weekend and it was a great live show too. The top image is a new painting for the Archibald Prize 2011. It’s not all Henry bloody Lawson is the title and it's painted by Jason Benjamin.

Stay tuned for more soon...