Little River Band - Little River Band (1975)

 (Australian 1975 - Present)

Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart including Diamantina Cocktail (April 1977) and First Under the Wire (July 1979), which both peaked at No. 2. Nine singles appeared in the top 20 on the related singles chart, with "Help Is on Its Way" (1977) as their only number-one hit. Ten singles reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Reminiscing" their highest, peaking at No. 3. Only First Under the Wire appeared in the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200.

Early members were Beeb Birtles, Ric Formosa, Graeham Goble, Roger McLachlan, Derek Pellicci and Glenn Shorrock. Most of the group's 1970s and 1980s material was written by Goble and/or Shorrock, Birtles and David Briggs (who replaced Formosa).

Little River Band have received many music awards in Australia. In May 2001 the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, named "Cool Change", written by Shorrock, as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. The 1976 line-up of Birtles, Briggs, Goble, Pellicci, Shorrock and George McArdle (who replaced McLachlan), were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual ARIA Music Awards of 2004.

Original cover of their debut LP

Little River Band have undergone numerous personnel changes, with over 30 members since their formation. None of the musicians now performing as Little River Band are original members, nor did they contribute to the success the band had in the 1970s. In the 1980s, members included John Farnham, David Hirschfelder, Stephen Housden, Wayne Nelson and Steve Prestwich. Currently the line-up is Nelson with Rich Herring, Greg Hind, Chris Marion and Ryan Ricks. Two former members have died, Barry Sullivan in October 2003 (aged 57) and Steve Prestwich in January 2011 (aged 56).

An Australian sextet, Little River Band's debut album sounds as American as anything by the Eagles or the Doobie Brothers, and is driven by "It's a Long Way There" -- whose eight and a half minutes of crunchy electric guitars, luminous acoustic guitar, and smooth harmonizing is spread across a musically dramatic arc that is worth every second of its running time. This is an astonishingly strong debut album. There aren't any surprises, just seven more eminently enjoyable if slightly looser structured mainstream rock songs in the same vein, inventive where they had to be (like on the solos or the variations on the extended choruses), all more modestly proportioned than the hit and thoroughly enjoyable. 

Guitarist Graham Goble dominated the songwriting with the single and "I Know It," but drummer Glenn Sharrock contributed significantly with the delightfully exuberant "Emma" and the hauntingly beautiful movie-within-a-song "The Man in Black," and guitarist Beeb Birtles showed himself no slouch in the ballad department with "I'll Always Call Your Name," which overstays its welcome by about 30 seconds but is otherwise nice and catchy.

50+ years ago on March 20, 1975, Little River Band played their first ever gig together at Martini’s in Carlton, Victoria, Australia. The rest they say is history, and what an incredible and illustrious history it is. But exactly how did LRB come about, you might ask ?  Well, Jeff Apter (an Australian Author) has recently discussed this in his book entitled 'Up From Down Under - How Australian Music Changed the World'.  The following is an extract from this book:

Glenn Wheatley

The Greyhound pub in Earls Court, London, was dark, dingy and sparsely populated, a real dive. When Glenn Wheatley’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, he sensed there were more people on the small stage than inside the pub itself, or so it appeared as he peered through the smoke that seemed to hang in the air like a fog.

Wheatley (pictured left), until recently the bassist for Melbourne band the Masters Apprentices, recognised some of the musos up on stage: singer-songwriters Beeb Birtles and Graham Goble. Drummer Derek Pellicci, too. The band was called Mississippi, straight out of Adelaide, of all places. And from what Wheatley could observe, they were seemingly on the same path as so many Aussie bands in the UK at the time — the road to nowhere. It was 1974 and times were tough. 

Wheatley knew that empty feeling only too well. The Masters Apprentices had arrived in London in 1970, full of hope and fire, yet within a few years had crashed and burned, yet another Oz rock casualty. He’d recently shifted away from performing, learning the music industry ropes in LA and London, working for the Gem Toby Organisation. Wheatley was in a unique position; he understood how things operated on-stage and off; he identified with a musician's struggle but was also coming to grips with the intrigue and small print that was a key component of the music business. Over time, these qualities would prove incredibly helpful for Wheatley and the band he’d come to manage. And there was something about Mississippi that Wheatley liked: the songs were strong, the sound was good — and those harmonies. Wow. There was one song in particular, ‘A Long Way There’, that really had potential. But they could use a lead singer. No disputing that.

The single release of "It's A Long Way There" was an edited version (4:16)
while the album version is (8:43) which I prefer much more

Singer Glenn Shorrock was also in London in 1974, sniffing out a solo career in the wake of the demise of his band Axiom, who’d travelled to the UK from Adelaide only to dissolve when their drummer decided to quit. (Just two weeks earlier they'd finished recording an album with UK hitmaker Shel Talmy.)

Shorrock, for a time, had sung back-up vocals for Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John’s buddy. And Shorrock was a big fan of the songs Goble had written for Mississippi, especially the haunting ‘Kings of the World’, an Australian hit, and ‘Early Morning’. He liked their soulful pop grooves and deep harmonies.

Shorrock & Birtles

Shorrock was a vastly different person to Goble — he was a piss-taker, mouthy, whereas Goble was pedantic and detailorientated, with a keen interest in numerology and matters spiritual — but Shorrock sensed a kindred musical spirit and a fellow traveller. Shorrock once boasted, ‘I come from a long line of show-offs.’

As a kid, he’d mimed Elvis Presley’s ‘All Shook Up’ with a guitar made of cardboard and the rock’n’ roll bug bit him hard, much to the horror of his opera-loving father. When he handled a real guitar, it was a revelation. ‘It was like seeing the wheel for the first time, Shorrock said. He loved American rock’n’ roll, Elvis, Little Richard: the masters. There was an aggressive quality to Shorrock when he stood on stage and sang. As his future bandmate, guitarist David Briggs, came to learn: ‘To see him working, I saw a guy who knew how to project all the way to the back of the room. He was an incredibly charismatic performer.’

The shaggy-haired, bespectacled Goble, meanwhile, was a dead ringer for Bill Oddie from British comedy team the Goodies. Goble was quiet and thoughtful, introspective. He and Shorrock were worlds apart.

‘Glen and I saw things from very different perspectives, Goble admitted, perhaps understating the case. As for handsome Dutch-born Birtles, whose real name was the challenging Gerard Bertelkamp, he’d been a member of Oz pop-rockers Zoot. Rick Springfield was his bandmate and close buddy. Although a supercharged rendition of the Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ had been a huge hit in Australia for the Zoot, they, too, fell apart in the early 1970s. It was a familiar pattern: Oz band breaks out at home and then breaks up after a failed offshore sojourn.

Better to burn out than fade away, or so it seemed. ‘I call those years,’ Beeb Birtles now says with a wry chuckle, ‘my apprenticeship years.’

Things had played out well for Springfield, however; his winsome folk ditty ‘Speak to the Sky’ was a US Top 10 in 1972, launching a meteoric (if occasionally bumpy) career Stateside.

Birtles, meanwhile, played to a succession of empty rooms in London. Birtles’ career, just like the Greyhound pub, had seen better days. Wheatley was only passing through London in 1974; he was about to slowly make his way back to Australia, travelling for a few months. But before he left he hastily set up a meeting with Goble and Birtles, who agreed that their band needed a lead singer, at the very least. Wheatley also reached out to Shorrock. It was pretty clear that Mississippi was about to run dry, Wheatley acknowledged, ‘But why don’t you guys try working together?’

Wheatley also identified that the USA was a better target for the new band. He’d seen way too many groups fall apart in the UK, including his own. ‘America, he told the trio. ‘That’s where you should be looking. Forget England.’ It was sage advice. By the time that Wheatley and the four musicians (including drummer Pellicci) reconnected back in Australia, their master plan was in place: America or bust. ‘It was all such chance,’ Birtles said of their union, ‘because Glenn Shorrock had had enough of getting nowhere in England and Glenn Wheatley was passing through London.’ 

It didn’t take long for Birtles, Goble, Pellicci and Shorrock to find common musical ground. They also bonded over poverty and ambition, especially ambition. Everyone, Wheatley included, had served their apprenticeship: it was time to put together a band with the requisite skills as players and writers to sell some records. A great commercial band with great commercial songs. And when their voices joined in harmony, well, it was pretty special. They also had a good stock of new songs ready to unveil. 

They didn’t have a new name — they were still using the Mississippi tag — but they had a sound that seemed tailor-made for the US market. ‘We were unified through the music we were writing and performing, said Birtles. ‘We were also friends in those early days because we started with nothing between us.’ Shorrock had a slightly different take on their roots. ‘I knew these were the best songs that I'd come in contact with and I was able to sing them very well with these guys. [But] these two guys and me, we weren't brothers. ‘This wasn’t a marriage born of love; it was a marriage of convenience. And a good marriage. I felt pretty confident, and my feet were on the ground still, and I was ready to give it another crack.’ 

It was duly decided: they'd break America in a bigger way than any other Australian band. And Wheatley would be their manager. But what to call the group? Mississippi was rooted in the past.

The current sign on the Geelong/Melbourne Highway, but
not the original one that
the band would have seen back in '75

The same dumb luck that connected the four musicians with Wheatley continued when they were back in Oz. The as-yetunnamed group were driving through rural Victoria, not too far from Geelong, when a road sign caught everyone's eye. It read: ‘Little River’.

‘That, someone said, ‘would make a great name for a song.’ ‘No, said another voice. ‘That's the perfect name for a band.’

It was simple, stark and absolutely perfect. They pulled over to the side of the road and made a pact: ‘We're now the Little River Band.’ 

[LRB discuss this historical moment in the following interview]

While still on the dole — seemingly another rite of passage for a struggling Aussie band with big dreams — they played their first gig under this new name at Melbourne's Martinis Hotel on 20th March 1975. By the end of April they'd already played 20 shows. They'd barely stop to take a breath for the next 10 years, playing  more than 1300 concerts and recording 10 albums, a hefty load that would break the toughest of bands. Yet LRB, as they came to be known, seemed to revel in the work, and truly demonstrated how Australian Music could change the world. [extract from "Up From Down Under - How Australian Music Changed the World" by Jeff Apter, 2013 p85-91]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from CD and includes full album artwork for both CD and Vinyl.

Although I own both vinyl releases, I much prefer the reissue cover (see top) rather than the cartoonish original cover which only appeared on vinyl, as it depicts a more serious band and probably better suited the American market anyhow.

Track List:    

01. It's A Long Way There 

02. Curiosity (Killed The Cat) 

03. Meanwhile... 

04. My Lady And Me 

05. I'll Always Call Your Name 

06. Emma

07. The Man In Black

08. Statue Of Liberty 

09. I Know It

10. Please Don't Ask Me

Band Members:

Glenn Shorrock - Vocals 

Graeham Goble - Vocals/Guitar

Beeb Birtles - Vocals/Guitar

Derek Pellicci - Drums

Roger McLachlan - Bass

Ric Formosa - Guitar

Little River Band Link (269Mb)

Rick Wakeman - The Classical Connection II (1992)

(U.K 1969 - Present)

The "Classical Connection" tour was a 1991 European tour by Rick Wakeman featuring a neoclassical, stripped-back setup with bassist/guitarist David Paton. The live performances focused on reworked solos and popular tunes, including highlights like "Merlin the Magician," "Eleanor Rigby," and "Sea Horses," capturing a "chamber-prog" style. As a result, Wakeman released a live album titled 'The Classical Connection' in the same year featuring live recordings that showed a departure from his larger, more bombastic live acts, highlighting technical proficiency and melodic, classical influences.

After going out yet again on tour in 1992 with a second Classical Connection line up, Wakeman's record company deemed it necessary to have another release to coincide with such an event and so 'Classical Connection II' was born which was half live and half studio, which always made it an unsatisfactory compromise as far as Wakeman was concerned.

Rick Wakeman In The 70's

The 'Classical Connection II' is a natural progression in the series and features a wide variety of the clasically influenced talents that have been the trademark of Rick Wakeman's music over the past twenty five years.

There are fabulous live recordings of "Eleanor Rigby", arranged in the style of Rick's "hero composer" Prokofiev as well as a unique rendition of Gershwin's "Summertime".  Two of Rick's film themes are also captured live, "Macintosh" and "A Day After The Fair".

"Birdman of Alcatraz" has been re-recorded by popular request and all the rest are new compositions. "The Painter" and "A Garden of Music" are piano solos and "Pont Street" is written in memory of the home of Rick's great friend and harpsichord maker, Thomas Croff.

"Opus-1", "Dancing In Heaven" and "Art and Soul" are modern digital orchestrations demonstrating the modern electronic orchestra's capabilities at it's fullest.

Rick Wakeman 1991

Finally, a piece of nostalgia and a very collectable one at that. Back in 1971 when Rick recorded "Catherine of Aragon" at Trident studios in London for his first solo album 'The Six Wives Of Henry VIII', he recorded another short piece for fun entitled "Farandol". It only runs for 2 minutes and 45 seconds, but it is the line up that makes it interesting in as much as aside from Frank Riccotti on tuned percussion, there was Stwe Howe on accoustic guitar, Chris Squire on bass and Bill on drums!

All in all, this collection is a concert in itself. Recorded September 1991 at Bajoner Studios (Isle Of Man) and live at Poole Arts Centre usinga Tascam MSR 24S and Shure microphones. The album was produced by Rick Wakeman and engineered and mixed by Stuart Sawney.

Album Reviews

1. This was something of a stopgap release, designed to support Wakeman's continued "Classical connections" tour. Where the first album of that name had a general coherence, CC2 is something of a hotchpotch. The majority of the tracks are re-workings of pieces from Wakeman's previous albums, but there also three cover versions. Since Wakeman does not indulge in covers too often, these alone make the album more interesting than it might otherwise have been.

The covers in question are:

- the Beatles classic "Eleanor Rigby" (apparently performed in the style of Wakeman's favourite composer, Prokofiev). This is an imaginative and exciting interpretation, with classical guitar and keyboards complementing each other well. While the original melody is clearly discernible, Wakeman develops the theme superbly. A great opening track.

- Gershwin's "Summertime", captures the relaxed mood of the piece, through a jazz based interpretation. Both this and "Eleanor Rigby" are live recordings.

- The recording of the traditional "Farandol" included here is Wakeman's original version from in 1971. It was recorded as part of the "Six Wives" sessions. Yes fans will be interested to know that the line up on this track (only) includes Bruford, Squire and Howe. The track has strong similarities with the works which were on the finished album.

Of the other tracks, the numerous solo piano and other keyboards tracks are new recordings of some of Wakeman's compositions from previous albums. The rather uninspired nature of the performances tend to lead to them sounding overly familiar. "Dancing in heaven" reminds me a bit of Albinoni's "Adagio", while "MacIntosh" has a similar melody to Nancy Griffith's "Gulf coast highway".

In all however, the feature tracks make this collection worthy of investigation and should keep Wakeman fans happy. [Review by Easy Livin' 2005]

2. The musical curriculum vitae from keyboard virtuoso Rick Wakeman is both impressive as whimsical, some albums are refused by second-hand record shops because they won't sell (no names!). After a turbulent life with alcohol abuse, several divorces and megalo maniac behavior, Rick Wakeman has turned into a decent and loving father, peacefully living between his beloved wife, children and lots of animals on The Isle Of Man. 

Wakeman & Paton On The Classical Connection Tour

The music on this album is in the vein of this pleasant and balanced life. Wakeman delivers his marvellous acoustic pianoplay but he is playing more electronic instruments than on Classical Connection I. This evokes the 'polished classic progrock' from Sky (in "Art", "Soul" and the strong "Opus") but also Trace in "Farandol" (from Bizet) featuring Bill Bruford, Chris Squire and Steve Howe (on acoustic guitar). 

My highlight is the version from The Beatles their known piece "Eleanor Rigby": lots of varietion and great guitar play by David Paton (ex Pilot) along bombastic keyboards from Rick Wakeman. A more varied and exciting album than Classical Connection I. [Review by Erik Neuteboom, 2005]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from CD and includes album artwork for both CD and Vinyl media.

It should be noted that the running order of songs on the Vinyl release (Korea only I believe) is different to that of the CD releases, probably due to side length restrictions of the record media and accomodating the 55min of music.

Track Listing:

1. Eleanor Rigby (8:08)

2. Birdman Of Alcatraz (4:28)

3. A Day After The Fair (4:38)

4. Opus-1 (3:10)

5. The Painter (3:07)

6. Summertime (6:05)

7. Dancing In Heaven (6:36)

8. A Garden Of Music (3:18)

9. MacIntosh (3:49)

10. Farandol (2:45)

11. Pont Street (4:30)

12. Art And Soul (5:01)

Line-up / Musicians

- Rick Wakeman / piano, keyboards, arranger & producer

With:

- David Paton / bass & guitar (1,3,6,9)

- Steve Howe / acoustic guitar (10)

- Chris Squire / bass (10)

- Bill Bruford / drums (10)

- Frank Ricotti / tuned percussion (10)

Rick Wakeman Link (298Mb)

Jeannie Lewis - Looking Backwards To Tomorrow (1974)

(Australian 1964 - Present)

Jeannie Lewis' performing career began in the mid 60's, and her name has since become synonymous with concerts and cabaret shows that flently blend dance, theatre, poetry and song into their own unique style of music theatre. She has worked with jazz artists, blues bands (ie. The Foreday Riders Blues Band) and symphony orchestras, and her multilingual performances reflect a career which has taken her through countries as diverse as Cuba, France, Greece, China, Mexico and Argentina.

Jeannie started her singing career on the Sydney folk and jazz circuit in the mid-1960's then moved into the rock scene in the early 70s, establishing a strong reputation through her dynamic performances and powerful interpretations of songs both on stage and on the outstanding recordings she made in those years. During the 80's and 90's she continued to develop and broaden her career, with roles in musical theatre and the unique one-woman cabaret shows that reflected her growing love of Latin music, and her commitment to the often-underrated role of women's voices in music. Jeannie can adapt her voice to a large and eclectic range of material -- folk, rock, blues, opera, torch songs, Broadway tunes, tango and jazz -- and she is recognised both here and overseas as a peerless interpreter, with a rare ability to make almost any material her own.

Jeannie Lewis (born 1945) is a highly talented virtuoso performer of jazz, blues, rock, folk, tango and opera, who began her diverse musical career playing in folk and jazz clubs in Sydney in the early 1960s. Gifted with a voice of extraordinary vocal range and tone, and able to brilliantly convey a vast array of moods and emotions, Jeannie Lewis is arguably the most underrated performance artist in Australian musical history.

After singing in clubs and with jazz bands such as the Alan Lee Jazz Quintet and the Ray Price Jazz Quintet throughout the 60s, in early 1970 Lewis changed streams to join forces with the progressive rock band Tully, who had just completed a stint as the house band for the Australian production of the rock musical Hair. In what was to be the first stage of a long and successful collaboration, her first foray into rock music was as one of two vocalists, alongside Tully and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, in a Sydney Proms premiere performance of Peter Sculthorpe’s work Love 200. Later that year she formed the Sydney-based band Gypsy Train, which included Tully vocalist Terry Wilson and highly regarded jazz pianist Bobby Gebert, alongside guitarist Kydric Shaw, bassist John Helman, and drummer Daryl McKenzie. She also sang the title song to Jim Sharman’s 1972 debut feature film Shirley Thompson Versus The Aliens.

Jeannie Lewis’s debut album was the critically acclaimed Free Fall Through Featherless Flight (1973), which featured musical direction and arrangements by Tully’s Michael Carlos, and cover art by Australian artist Martin Sharp of Cream’s Disraeli Gears fame. The star-studded lineup of backing musician included Carlos on Moog, organ and harpsichord, Marcia Hines and Shayna Stewart on backing vocals, Mike Reid and Mike Wade on guitars, Ken Firth on bass, Jamie McKinley on piano, Greg Henson on drums, Alan Lee on percussion, plus a wind section, and The Fidelio String Quartet. 

 The album won an Australian Radio Record Award for Best Australian LP of 1974 despite receiving almost no airplay – only the ABC via Chris Winter’s music show Room To Move, and the newly created Sydney radio station 2JJ showed interest. Amongst an outstanding list of high-quality material, Lewis’ rendition of Australian Graham Lowndes ballad "Till Time Brings Change" is particularly moving, however it was her brilliant take on the Dylan Thomas poem "Do Not Go Gentle" that first drew my attention to Lewis's musical genius.  

Jeannie’s second album was the live set 'Looking Backwards to Tomorrow (In and Out of Concert)', released in 1974, and was released and performed on stage at the State Theatre in Sydney. The song list for the album includes stunning versions of songs by artists such as Dory Previn (Scared to Be Alone), Ray Davies (Celluloid Heroes), Graham Lowndes (The House is Burning) and the Reverend Gary Davis (Cocaine Blues with backing provided by the Foreday Riders). Celluloid Heroes was released as a single, while the album was released in the USA by American label Mainstream.

Jeannie Lewis' 1974 live album is an superb mixture of progressive rock, folk and pop opera and she was absolutely one the best Australian female singers in the 70's.   As "The Age" once reviewed - "Jeannie Lewis is a concert in herself, her singing thrills, her voice is powerful and unique, with a startling range of dramaric expression".

This post consists of FLACs freshly ripped from my near mint Vinyl and includes full album artwork. Requested by a blog follower last month, I have finally found time to rip this rare album (enjoy Peter).

For those of you who have not heard any of Lewis's performances, this album may take several hearings to fully appreciate its genius, while her voice in quite unique and compelling.

Track Listing:

A1 The Magician

A2 The House Is Burning

A3 Porque Los Pobres No Tienen

A4 Scared To Be Alone

A5 Celluloid Heroes

B1 Feet

B2 Rocelli Kaharunta

B3 Les Blouses Blanches

B4 Ladies Who Lunch

B5 Cocaine Blues

B6 An Artist's Life

Musicians:

Jeannie Lewis - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar

Michael Carlos - Moog, Organ

Dave Ellis - Bass

Doug Gallacher - Drums, Percussion

Ian Mason - Acoustic Piano

Jamie McKinley - Electric Piano

Mike Wade, Peter Boothman, Roy Ritchie - Electric Guitar

Allan Lee - Vibes & Percussion

Graham Lowndes - Backing Vocals

The Foreday Riders - Full backing band on "Celluloid Heroes"

Jeannie Lewis Link (327Mb)

Jon English - It's All A Game (1974)

(Australian 1972 - 2016)

Remembering Jon English on the 10th Anniversary of his passing (10th March, 2016), many of you might think back to the first concert where you saw this dynamic singer, or one of his many mighty stage performances: as Judas Iscariot in 'Jesus Christ Superstar', as the swashbuckling Pirate King in the 'Pirates of Penzance', or as Jonathan Garrett in 'Against the Wind'. Over his career, he won four Mo awards, four ARIAs, and a Logie. With his striking physical appearance and hypnotic eyes, he was a hard person to ignore.

Johnathan James “Jon” English was, as you might have guessed, English. A post-war baby, born in 1949 in Hampstead to working-class parents, he and his family emigrated when he was 12, and eventually wound up in Cabramatta in Sydney’s west.

After abortive musical efforts at Cabramatta High School, his first musical success was in a Rolling Stones-esque blues band Sebastian Hardie, which eventually morphed into a significant early symphonic rock band. This band featured the two highly talented Plavsic brothers - Peter and Alex, and the musical virtuoso Mario Millo.

English left Sebastian Hardie in 1972 to play Judas Iscariot in the first Australian performance of Rice and Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. It was a demanding, high-octane, countertenor role, which he played to acclaim for four years.

His Judas acted as a springboard for other opportunities. He once joked that he’d performed on every Australian cop show in the 70s – always as the drug-crazed, axe-wielding hippy. He both appeared in and helped score the acclaimed miniseries Against the Wind (1978), set in Australia’s colonial era.

In the 80s, he started appearing in, of all things, Gilbert and Sullivan, performing in lauded productions of The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and HMS Pinafore, as well as stage musicals such as Rasputin and Big River.

Jon the Pirate

These shows didn’t stop him releasing rock albums. English never had a number one, but his albums and singles usually charted, sometimes very well. Probably the best-known of his early songs was "Turn The Page" (1974), from his second album 'It’s All a Game', reaching #20 on the Australian charts and launched his pop career.

The violent guitar strum of the opening, the rhythmic chorus, and the raspy voice telling a tale of a singer on the road is all classic English. Other hits followed, including Hollywood Seven (1976) and Words are Not Enough (1978). In all, Jon released over a dozen solo albums and appeared on multiple soundtrack and colaboration albums over his long musical career.

Few other artists straddled the worlds of rock music and theatre with such authority and honesty. But he has a legacy beyond mere performing and recording. He was a risk taker.

Jon was always game to have a go at something, to put himself out there, risking very public failure, but usually succeeding beyond anyone’s expectations.

At one stage in his career, he’d be a countertenor Judas, screechingly chastising Jesus for his contact with Mary Magdelene. At another, he’d be releasing records and songs in a mainstream Australian rock style. At other times, he might perform Gilbert and Sullivan, or pen musicals, or act on television.

Performers with such a wide range of talent or success are rare beasts indeed; but along with this comes a great deal of hard work and dedication. Jon gave his all to the Australian entertainment industry, for which he will never be forgotten. [extract from theconversation.com]

Album Review
By Jane Matheson (Rolling Stone, May 8 1975 p44-45)

Jon English is one of the few rock-based musicians in Australia who has contrived to broaden his audience appeal to those with more middle of the road tastes. This second English album is sure to strengthen that appeal. It reveals a mature and confident songwriting talent coupled with a distinctively theatrical singing style, an unsurprising feature considering the degree of experience English has had over the last few years in theatre - most notably in the role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar.

The rich melodic backing on a number of tracks supplied by his old band Sebastian Hardy - is capable of dramatic emphasis and fills a smoothly complementary role which allows the singer and his songs to take the spotlight. lt is only on the final track, "Hail all hail to the revolution", which exhibits a wailing guitar and a rougher edge to the sound, that the music assumes a more dominant position.

A variety of situations and characterisations are presented in the lyrics, from the romantic "By Firelight" - "I would give anything to just once again/Make love by firelight with you," to the bleak "Snake Eyes" where we are invited to "stare at the soul of a gambler man/whose nerve's just gone under the knife," to the tale of a misled would-be superstar who has just realised that he has been ripped off by his manager, "You promised you'd make me a superstar./I bought a gold lame suit and a Gibson guitar,/And practised all day while you sat in the bar".

Taken as a whole the songs present a catalogue of misfortunes, but they avoid self-pity because of English's robust sense of irony which allows him to laugh back at the vagaries of fate with a rueful realism. This attitude can be seen in the chorus lines of such songs as "Love goes on" - "So pick yourself up,/Dust yourself off,/ And get kicked in the head again".

English has produced a stylish album in which the music shows a strong affinity with the singer and his songs. He has a powerful voice and hits all the right notes. Yet in his singing, he voices notes and words rather than songs. Each piece is vehicle for his dramatic and vocal talents. There is a disappointing failure to communicate feeling, to make the songs live by breathing a little more than good diction and perfect pitch into them. This may be a legacy of English's time on the stage: he's a fairly self-conscious regulator of his voice. Given the technical capacities he displays, as well as his obvious talent as a wordsmith, the time is approaching when he should be capable of letting go a little. [review by Jane Matheson]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from Vinyl and includes full album artwork and a scan of the above album review. The album's lead single "Turn The Page" was my first introduction to Jon's solo career and is still a treasured 45 in my record collection. The remaining songs on this album are not quite as strong, as Jon was still trying to develop his rock status and severe his 'Stage' personna.  But in my eyes, Jon was always a Superstar. RIP Jon.

Track List:

A1 Intro

A2 Turn The Page

A3 Just The Way I Am

A4 He Could Have Been A Dancer

A5 Love Goes On

A6 By Firelight

A7 Space Shanty

B1 Snakeyes

B2 Chained To The Middle

B3 Superstar (You Promised Me)

B4 Hail All Hail To The Revolution (12 Bore)

B5 Credits

Musicians:

Jon English - Guitar, Harmonica, Lead Vocals

Peter Plavsic, Rod Coe - Bass

Alex Plavsic, Bruno Lawrence - Drums

Mario Millo, Mick Liber - Guitar

Michael Carlos, Ray Vanderby, Steve Dunne, Jamie McKinley - Keyboards

 It's All A Game Link (322Mb)

Morning Of The Earth - Original Soundtrack (1972)

(Various Australian Artists -1972)

Australian Surf Movies and their associated musical scores have always fascinated me, namely Sea of Joy, Crystal Voyager, Drouyn, Highway One and my all time favourite MORNING OF THE EARTH.

Although I lived close to the surf coast I didn't actually surf myself (no balance I'm afraid), but my older brother did, and during my early teenage years I would often tag along with him when he would go surfing at Torquay (WinkyPop), Bells Beach, 13th Beach and Anglesea. I was happy to sit back and simply watch the surfing action, while listening to music on my portable cassette player, soaking up the sun and mesmorising atmosphere of our beautiful beaches.

So when my brother asked me if I wanted to go and see a new surf movie at the Pix Theatre in West Geelong, called MORNING OF THE EARTH, I jumped at the opportunity and remember being in total awe of the amazing surf footage that appeared on the big screen, while listening to some of the best music I'd ever heard. The only artist that I recognised at that time was the distinct voice of Brian Cadd (from the Bootleg Family), but the remaining music was all new to me.

Of course, I promptly hunted down the Soundtrack from Brash Suttons Music Store in Geelong, and still have the treasured vinyl in my record collection. Of course, I have also acquired most of the later CD releases, most featuring the full soundtrack. However, I have chosen to only share the vinyl release as these CD releases are still available.

Now, for those of you who are not familar with this iconic surf soundtrack, I suggest you read on:

With MORNING OF THE EARTH, filmmaker Albert Falzon shook the foundations of surfing film making. With one feature, he made a statement, and he demonstrated what could be done given the right combinations of resources, good waves, good surfers, good music and above all else, a grand design.

Albert Falzon began his film making career at the tender age of 15. Living at The Enhance (on the Central Coast of New South Wales, north of Sydney) he filmed local surfers with his 8mm camera and then showed the footage (usually in his backyard) unedited. Occasionally he would even venture out into the water with his camera to get close ups. This naturally gave him a better feeling for what he was doing; something that planted a seed that would blossom years later into MORNING OF THE EARTH.

Albert Falzon - Filming For Surfing World

Falzon's 8mm antics eventually gave way to a full time job with Bob Evans' surfing magazine The Surfing World (and later shortened to plain old Surfing World) as a staff photographer. The quality of his work eventually led to him being enlisted to help film the annual Bob Evans' surfing feature. It was during this time that the thought of making his own surfing film germinated. Falzon's idea was different to the sports or travelogue orientation of many of the surfing film makers - including Evans - and perhaps more aligned with that of Paul Witzig; Falzon saw surfing as much more a way of life than just an activity and that is what he wanted to capture on film.

Tracks - Feb, 1972

With David Elfick and John Witzig (brother of Paul), Falzon founded Tracks Magazine in 1970, his new position allowing him the freedom to begin shooting footage for his film. Trips to Bali and Hawaii soon followed. So sure was Falzon of what he had, bookings for the film were already made for ealy 1972. To fulfill these self-imposed obligations, Falzon spent the end of 1971 locked away in his Whale Beach studio shaping his dream into a celluloid reality. The film had the working title IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY, but this was soon superseded by the more ambitious MORNING OF THE EARTH.  The film debuted as scheduled in February 1972 to rave reviews and quickly became the largest grossing home grown surfing film of the time.

Musically, the soundtrack to MORNING OF THE EARTH was a mixture of various styles with one common thread; they were all statements in one form or another. Taking Paul Witzig's lead, Falzon opted for no commentary and instead left the soundtrack to speak for itself. Promotional material of the period exclaimed, 'They are songs of the sun and the moon and the sky and the sea. They are songs of places and people and ideas. They are songs of freedom and peace and waves.'

Chosen to 'produce' the soundtrack was New Zealand born G. Wayne Thomas, a producer and recording artist whose first single "Take lt Easy" had been a Top 40 hit in '71 for the newly formed Australian Warner Brothers label. Those offered the opportunity of contributing to the soundtrack were individuals Greg Quill, John J. Francis, Brian Cadd, Terry Hannagan (listed as Hannigan on the record label), Newport surfer and boat painter (and former member of the band Seed) Peter Howe, and the groups Tamam Shud and Ticket. Thomas himself also stepped to the fore as a solo artist and contributed a handful of songs, including the title tune.

Although reputedly promised the entire soundtrack project, Tamam Shud's contribution to the MORNING OF THE EARTH soundtrack was cut to only three songs; two by Bjerre (Sea The Swells and Bali Waters) and one by Tim Gaze (First Things First). In the end though, the Shud's material was given frequent airings throughout the film soundtrack with the instrumental Bali Waters being heard three times; Sea The Swells twice and First Things First once. Bali Waters which also showcased Richard Lockwood on flute, was also issued as the title track to the group's one and only EP release. Most of the recorded material for the film eventually found its way onto the soundtrack longplayer issued by Warner.

As a film experience, MORNING OF THE EARTH was immensely popular around Australia, grossing over $200,000 on the local market during its first two years on the circuit. The soundtrack album was equally as successful, given considerable promotion by Warner Bros. and pushed to breaking point by G. Wayne Thomas. Tracks magazine was also a significant factor in both the success of the film and the soundtrack, the latter quickly achieving Gold Record status. The added Top 20 success of Thomas' "Open Up Your Heart" was icing on the cake. In various permutations, the soundtrack of MORNING OF THE EARTH has remained commercially available since it was first released on vinyl in 1972, then on CD in 1992 and expanded editions in 2002 and 2012. [Extract from Liner Notes 'A Life In The Sun']

G.Wayne Thomas Recalls....

In 1972, two guys walked into my office at Warner Bros one afternoon, introduced themselves as Albie and David, and asked if they could use the record player. I think the song they played was "You're not Alone", and then asked who had produced it. G.Wayne Thomas, the same guy who wrote and sang it I replied, and said "You just found him". They told me they were making a movie and after we chatted for a while, they asked me to produce, write and maybe sing some of the songs for the soundtrack of the film, to be directed by Albie Falzon and called MORNING OF THE EARTH.

G.Wayne Thomas 1972

I had never scored or produced a film soundtrack before, and this was Albie's first film, so over the next few days and weeks we formulated a rough plan, based on pure optimism and a 'we can wing it' ethic, because even Albie wasn't sure what exactly was going to be in the final cut. As it turned out, some of these decisions were still being made as the first reel was running in the theatre on the opening night at Manly Silver Screen. Albie and I were driving hell for leather from the dubbing suite somewhere in Wahroonga with the second reel of the movie, while everyone at the theatre was supplied with free white wine, and no doubt all wondering why there was such a long interval.

One smart thing I did do was to ring John French, the sound engineer and boss at TCS, a recording studio situated at the back of Channel 9 in Melbourne that had recently installed 16 track recording. Back in 1972, there was no 16 track recorders in Sydney. I also rang Brian Cadd who I admired as a musician, writer and singer, but at that point had never met. Without John and Brian, and also Peter Jones, just starting on a career as an arranger after being a piano player and who did the brass and string arrangements for MORNING OF THE EARTH, I don't think we could have pulled it off.

One comment on the vagaries of success in the music business concerns the song "Open Up Your Heart". When in Melbourne recording we had completed all the material that I had planned to use for the soundtrack, but there was a concern expressed by various people of what would we do if there was not enough material.

I was adamant that I had worked it out pretty methodically with Albie and was confident that we had it covered, and also we were all exhausted after about three weeks of continuous recording, over-dubbing and mixing. But to keep the voices of doubt happy, I agreed to write one more song just in case. I had basically had the idea for "Open Up Your Heart" for some time and so went into the studio next door and finished it in about twenty minutes while Caddy called th band back into the studio. We put down only a rhythm / backing track and a rough vocal, thendid a rough mix and tacked it onto the end of the master tape.

The film and the sountrack went together pretty much as Albie and I had imagined, and we subsequently did not require the extra track. The No.1 radio station at the time was 2SM and as a part of the promotion of the film they wanted to select the single (from the score). So a copy of the master was sent over to John Brennan, now legendary in Australian radio, and at the time the musical director of the station. He called back a few days later, after the film had opened, and said he thought the single should be the last track on the tape, "Open Up Your Heart"

One of the film's surfer - Michael Peterson

I had to tell him it wasn't in the film, and had only been done as an afterthought, just in case. Brennan insisted, so I had to go back to Melbourne and finish the song and we placed it over the end titles, the only place we could find to put it. It turned out that Brenno was right, and the song went #1 in about two weeks and followed suit in every state in Australia except Victoria, where the record wasn't even played due to the efforts of a petulant programmer, but that's another story.

I never thought I would be writing about these experiences so many years later, but the film and music has taken on it's own life and developed it's own legend, and seems to be affectionately installed in just about everyone who has ever surfed, and recalls when surfing wasn't about contests, but rather natural pleasure and a free spirit.

Many of the bands, writers, musicians and singers who contributed so stronly to the soundtrack were, or were about to be, Australian music legends. Many were to go on to, and in some cases, still influence the course of Australian music. [G.Wayne Tomas, 2002 Liner Notes]

Tom Carroll speaking about 'Morning Of The Earth'

MORNING OF THE EARTH brought together the message of the 70's surfing era, without the use of spoken dialogue, and I look at the film now and remember the time of my life when I was discovering myself and the ocean, and breaking away with my own thoughts and ideas. The aesthetic of the ocean it created came back to me very powerfully. Through watching the images of the film I noticed the way people surfed and the way they used and built their equipment, and it became really significant. It's an incredible documentary of the time.

Looking now at surfing in the 70's, the rebellion of young people, the Vietname era and the post war period, surfing was an escape, an outlet for the young to express themselves, and was riding along with other alternative movements. At the time I didn't really know what I was looking at, but now when I look back I see we were being inspired by the self discovery and adventure.

The focus and aesthetics of surfing is very powerful for me. I was surfing every morning in the early morning light and was very aesthetically drawn to the way the waves broke and the swell, and the way the light shone on the water. It really drew me in. With MORNING OF THE EARTH, which was shown at Avalon Beach Cinema, seeing these large images really had a big impact on us, a big impact. 

It was that image of walking out on the reef at Uluwatu, this distant and mystical image of Bali that (director) Albie Falzon put together, it ingrained such an image in my mind of where I wanted to go in my life. It looked so huge and crazy and wild, and these guys were just walking out over the reef, and I had no idea that the reef was so sharp, and there they were out there with no one around and these incredible left handers, and I was a natural goofy footer!* I loved the idea of surfing in remote and challenging conditions like that.

The images with the music were just as powerful as the actual surfers. The film has a lot of these back lit scenes of water running off the surf board. The way the water moved around the board and back up into the wave and the curl, especially when it was done in slow motion. I'd just sit there and be mesmerised by that.

Tom Carroll

The inspiration of  MORNING OF THE EARTH and the style of surfing the film gave me has lasted forever, and it's still going, still inside me. I will always keep moving with that. [Tom Carroll**, 2002 Liner Notes]

* A goofy foot surfer rides with their right foot forward, representing about 30% of surfers. The term originated from a 1937 Disney cartoon where Goofy surfed with this stance. It is not considered inferior to "regular" (left-foot forward) stance, merely a preference often determined by which foot instinctively steps forward.

** Thomas Victor Carroll (born 26 November 1961, Newport, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian former professional surfer from Sydney. He won the Australian Junior Title in 1978, the Pro Juniors in 1977 and 1980, the 1983 and 1984 ASP World Tour, and the 1987, 1990 and 1991 Pipe Masters. He became the first surfing millionaire after signing a contract with Quiksilver in 1989.

This post consists of FLACs ripped from CD (same track listing as Vinyl) and includes full album artwork for both CD and Vinyl.  As my vinyl has been played to death, I decided to provide the crystal clear music from my 1992 CD release, for your listening pleasure.

Track Listing;

A1 G. Wayne Thomas – Morning Of The Earth  5:09

A2 Terry Hannagan – I'll Be Alright  4:05

A3 Tamam Shud – First Things First  4:09

A4 Brian Cadd – Sure Feels Good  3:44

A5 G. Wayne Thomas – Open Up Your Heart  3:41

A6 John J. Francis – Simple Ben  7:41

B1 Tamam Shud – Bali Waters  6:13

B2 Brian Cadd – Making It On Your Own  6:00

B3 G. Wayne Thomas - Day Comes  2:55

B4 Tamam Shud – Sea The Swells  6:13

B5 Peter Howe – I'm Alive  3:41

B6 Brian Cadd – Come With Me  4:56

Morning Of The Earth Link (370Mb)

W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Agro - Don't Go In The Dunny (2002)

Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.

Agro and music, what a perfect match! The seven-time Logie Award winner has just crafted his piece of Australian music history with "Don't Go In The Dunny (After Dad's Been In There)".  Like Vegemite, FJ Holden's and the Hills Hoist, Agro is an Australian icon.

Having been on Australian national television since 1980, it is no wonder Agro has a recoginition factor with the Australian public of a massive 98%. At one stage this little sarcastic mat was on television seven days a week.

If it wasn't his own show, 'Agro's cartoon Connection' 6:30am to 9:30am weekdays on the Seven Network, it was regular Friday night anchoring of Steve Vizard's 'Tonight Live'. Combine this with numerous guest appearances on 'Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune','Family Feud', footy shows, Hey, Hey It's Saturday and the like and you've got a Megastar.

Agro also co-hosted with the beautiful Shelley Craft on 'Perfect Match' and was heard nationaliy on the Auststereo radio network.

Jamie Dunn (see right) was the puppeteer behind Agro and his antics. For three decades Dunn has been the voice and personality of children's character Agro.

So, what is a Dunny you might ask?

Well, "Dunny" is a common Australian slang term for an outdoor toilet, privy, or any toilet, originating from the British dialect dunnekin (derived from "dung" and "ken," meaning house). It refers to both the structure and the toilet itself. It is generally considered informal rather than vulgar.

The term gained popularity in Australia during the 1930s, initially referring to unsewered, outdoor toilets. It is used universally in Australia, from rural areas to the city. While not technically "naughty," it is considered very casual language and common slang in the land DownUnder.

This months WOCK post ticks the usual Weird  and Crazy boxes (or should that be WC !  LOL ) and features a 3 track CDS from this lovable and cheeky TV character. (thanks to Ratso for the FLAC rip)

Track List

01 Don't Go in the Dunny

02 Don't Go in the Disco Dunny

03 Don't Go in the Dunny (Karaoke Mix)

Don't Go In The Dunny (46Mb)