W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Various Aussie Artists - Mushroom Evolution Concert (1982)

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future. Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788.

With respect to Australia's Music Industry, we can be very proud of the contributions that our Aussie Musos have made in entertaining people from every nation with music and song, with many of our artists achieving world wide acclaim. Huge Concerts on the Australia Day long-weekend are something of a rock & roll tradition. 

In 1972, the Sunbury festival — our very own Woodstock — set the trend when 35,000 people camped out for three days on a site in country Victoria to watch the cream of Australian rock Daddy Cool, Max Merritt and the Meteors, Spectrum, Chain and, of course, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs. The event was such a success that it became a regular on the rock & roll calendar for the following three years. The last Sunbury (1975) — which featured Deep Purple, Skyhooks, Sherbet, Madder Lake and the Dingoes — was marred by inclement weather. Its financial failure lolled the festival.

It wasn't until 1982 and the Mushroom Evolution concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne that Australia Day rock was revived. Over the two days of the event, over 100,000 people turned out to help Mushroom celebrate its tenth anniversary and watch the likes of Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons, Paul Kelly, Renee Geyer and Russell Morris. The original lineups of Chain and Madder Lake also reformed for the event. 

The following year, Narara '83 tried to revive the spirit of Sunbury with a three-day concert at Somersby, NSW, featuring Cold Chisel, Australian Crawl, INXS, the Angels and the Church. Despite its success, die festival took on a strong international focus the following year, headlining with Talking Heads, Eurythmics, Simple Minds and the Pretenders. In 1986, Australian Crawl kept the tradition alive: For their final show ever, they headlined an all-day gig at Melbourne's Myer Music Bowl. The following year, the Australian Made tour stole the limelight but it wasn't until 1992 when the Big Day Out was launched in Sydney (headlined by Nirvana and the Violent Femnes) that a regular event agajn branded its name on the weekend [Dino Scatena-Rolling Stone Magazine Sept 1994]

Myer Music Bowl - Evolution Concert 1982

To mark this Australia Day, I have decided to post the Mushroom Evolution Concert. I purchased this Triple LP when it was first released in 1982, mainly because it had one of my favourite Aussie bands featured (Madder Lake) however the album was also chocked full of some of Australia's finest artists.

Album Review

Almost one year after the two day concert at Melbourne Myer Music Bowl which drew more than 100,000 fans of Australian rock, this audio documentary of the Mushroom Evolution Concert was finally made available. Even allowing for the lavish and intelligent packaging, the lengthy delay was surprising. Still, this stunning triple album set was worth waiting for.

Mushroom and the late Michael Gudinski had already been the backbone of Australian rock for a decade and this tasty sampling of the label's history is remarkably diverse and exciting. From the techno-pop of MEO245, to the gritty blues of the original Chain, to the zany rock 'n' roll celebration of OL'55, to the familiar melodic strains of Madder lake, this is Australian rock at its best.

With generally excellent performances by those acts, along with Sunnyboys, Sports, Kevin Borich Express, Renee Geyer,, Rock Doctors, Milly Miller, Paul Kelly (without his Dots), stalwart Russell Morris, Mike Rudd and the Heaters, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons, Models, Dave & Derros and the Swingers this album is a vibrant, blockbusting delight. And with a pricetag of just $17.99, this live release was a bargain.  

As a special bonus, to close side six, the cream of the musicians from the various acts came together in a giant jam (overlorded by the irrepressible Wilbut Wilde) to bash away two classics - Stand By Me and Johnny B. Goode. For the icing on the cake, Mushroom 'old boys' Angry Anderson (ex Buster Brown) and Broderick Smith (ex Dingoes) handled lead vocals  [Review by Glenn A. Baker]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from the CD release (thanks to Sunshine) and consists of full album artwork for both vinyl and CD.     

To read a comprehensive coverage of the concert as reported by Donald Robertson in 1982 Feb edition of 'Roadrunner', take a look at the Roadrunner website  (thanks to Crossocean8).

Happy Australia Day and enjoy this great Aussie Rock

Tracklist

1-1 Billy Miller And The Great Blokes  - She Took My Heart

1-2 Dave And The Derros  – Nice Legs, Shame About The Face

1-3 Meo 245  – Other Places

1-4 Mike Rudd And The Heaters  – Love Comes, Love Goes

1-5 Mike Rudd And The Heaters  – Ill Be Gone

1-6 Swingers  – Counting The Beat

1-7 Kevin Borich Express  – Don't Let Go

1-8 Kevin Borich Express  – Can't Help It

1-9 Sunnyboys  – Trouble In Brain

1-10 Sunnyboys  – Birthday

1-11 Paul Kelly – Hand Me Down

1-12 Paul Kelly – Billy Baxter

1-13 Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons  – Love And Devotion

1-14 Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons  – You Don't Know

1-15 Models – Happy Birthday I.B.M.

1-16 Models – Local & or General

1-17 Rock Doctors  – Yes Indeed

1-18 Russell Morris And The Rubes  – In The Heat Of The Night

1-19 Russell Morris And The Rubes  – Roar Of The Wild Torpedoes

2-1 Madder Lake  – Goodbye Lollipop

2-2 Madder Lake  – Song For Ernest

2-3 Madder Lake  – 12lb. Toothbrush

2-4 The Sports  – How Come

2-5 The Sports  – Stop The Baby Talking

2-6 Chain – Black And Blue (Medley)

- Dust My Blues

- Blow In 'D'

- My Arse Is Black With Bourke Street

2-7 Chain –  I Remember When I Was Young

2-8 The Fives (OL'55)  – C'mon Let's Do It

2-9 The Fives (OL'55)  – On The Prowl

2-10 The Fives (OL'55)  – Goodnight Sweetheart

2-11 Renee Geyer And Friends  - Sitting In Limbo

2-12 Renee Geyer And Friends  – Say I Love You

2-13 Renee Geyer And Friend  – Heading In The Right Direction

2-14 The Jam – Stand Me By (Featuring – Broderick Smith)

2-15 The Jam – Johnny B. Goode (Featuring – Angry Anderson, Matt Taylor)

Mushroom Evolution Concert (1.07G)