Hush - Get Rocked (1974) plus Bonus Singles

(Australian 1971 - 1977)
.

History doesn't always show the full story, and this is certainly the case with Hush. The band had it's beginnings in 1970 and continued in various forms until the end of the 70s, with 1975 being their most successful time.  Their biggest hit was Bony Moronie, an energetic cover of the Larry Williams US hit from eighteen years earlier, and it was the one of the ten best selling singles in Australia during that year.
No mean feat when you consider that Hush were competing for chart space with the likes of ABBA and The Bay City Rollers, plus the local dynamic duo of Sherbet and Skyhooks, the only Australian acts to do better than the this Sydney based quartet.

Lead singer and founder Keith Lamb was a charismatic front man, demanding attention from his audiences, and Hush were nothing like any of the other home grown rock bands. They were rockers, no doubt, but they had their own persona. Hush is probably the closest Australia ever got to having its own glam rock band.

For several years the band decked themselves in tight fitting satin pants (flares of course!) and shirts, scarfs and sequins, and the tallest platform shoes, looking like they had just done a stint backing David Bowie or Gary Glitter, but the sound was pure rock and roll.

Across a chart career spanning five years they scored ten Top 100 singles, all of which are included here, and six Top 100 albums. By 1978 the band had split up. Whether it was the fact that the group could not endure another line up change, or that their biggest hits were cover versions (Bony Moronie was followed into the Top 10 in 1975 by their creditable version of Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over), the spark of Hush had disappeared. Keith Lamb continued to front bands for a few more years (the Keith Lamb Band and Airport were two of them) and lead guitarist Les Gock has set up a successful production company.

As one of their songs states, nothing stays the same forever, but what remains are fine examples of good time Australian rock and roll songs from the music scene of the 70s, which was always exciting and interesting.

It is interesting to note that their debut album was a live album entitled 'Aloud 'N' Alive', recorded in front of a few 100 hand picked fans in a Sydney studio.  They released their first 2 studio albums in succession in 1974, 'Get Rocked' and 'C'Mon We're Taking Over', both big sellers of the time. Their #1 single "Bony Moronie" appeared on their 1975 album 'Rough Tough 'N' Ready' and gained solid airplay and high chart positions in state after state and ended up selling over 50,000 copies.

In a recent interview with Les Gock for 'The Clothesline', Les reminisces the early days of Hush...

“One of the last times Hush played in Adelaide, talking about 1975,” Les recalls, “one of the support bands we had was The Keystone Angels, who were a Jug band. And we thought, ‘This is all wrong. What are these guys doing as our support act?” Go figure! And it was after that in the dressing room that Doc and the Brewster Bros came in and said, ‘Man, that show was great! We’ve gotta get big amps like that! We’ve gotta play rock and roll!” And lo and behold a couple of years later, there emerges The Angels.

“There are a lot of stories around Hush’s earlier days, for instance we supported (Status) Quo. It was Quo’s very first tour of Australia; no one had seen them. And as soon as we saw them we thought ‘oh my god that is exactly what we want!’ So, if you were a musicologist you would sort of go through and see the influences on Hush from Quo, AC/DC, The Angels, Rose Tattoo – a whole swag of Oz Rock from that era.

“One of the other tours we did was with the Jackson 5. We hadn’t even had a hit at the time and we’d just finished recording our first single "Get That Feeling", and the Jacksons were really like a club act kind of thing – Michael Jackson was incredible!” he adds. “I remember he was fourteen and came into the dressing room and we said ‘Hey, kid! How’re you going?’ You know it was like ‘whatever’, and he was very respectful, very nice. He asked us about one of the songs that we did, so that was cool! It was our first single and we had only just recorded it and played it for the first time at the Hordern Pavilion. It later went top ten in Sydney. [theclothesline.com.au]

.A Little Bit Of Hush Please
(Interview with Hush - Go Set Magazine April 13th, 1974)
The album! That is definitely uppermost on Les's mind and he proceeds with a run-down of each track:
"It starts with the title track, "Get Rocked", combined with the Stones' "Satisfaction" — which, incidentally, is the only song we didn't write on the album. "Get Rocked" is a love song. We had the title and we just wrote the song around it. From the reaction it gets on stage, we knew it was a good song and, on the album, it sounds very funky and sexual."

Peter Rix had mentioned earlier that the boys opened their new stage act with the Theme from 'Enter the Dragon', going into a song called "Nanchunka Man". Les said it was a personal favourite of the group:
"It starts with a fantastic bass run through a wah-wah pedal, some freaky guitar effects and a sudden, terrifying scream from Rick. For those who don't know what 'Nanchunka' means, it is a Kung -Fu weapon made of wood and wielded about on a chain. The song is about an old Chinese legend concerning a Chinese Robin Hood how steals from the rich and gives to the poor. One day he meets the Emperor and there's a sad ending.

"One song that will surprise people who dig Hush and want to see what they can do with a beautiful ballad is 'South Coast Standards'. It's about our band, but it could easily apply to most groups. You know, trying to get a record played and getting down. People used to say about us 'who are these idiots?' but we stuck to our guns and we're doing okay now.
"We wrote the song after doing our third gig in one day.  The audience were a bit a cool and we had to work really hard to win them over, despite our exhaustion. It was a minor achievement for us, but it's a constant battle all the time, so we wrote the song on the way home. We used strings on the track and there's a lovely piano passage.

"Of course, there are the Hush smash-grabbers,, like 'Mind-Rocker' which is in the best Hush tradition. It blasts from start to finish and is guaranteed to turn the oldies off."
Prior to doing an album. Hush spent two glorious weeks on the 'Fedor Shalyapin' — a Russian ship — and it was inevitable the cruise would inspire at least one track:
"We were so relaxed and happy on the ship", said Les, "and one song that captures the serenity is 'Rocking the Boat' which has a Jamaican feel."

"What about 'Francis Rainbow' prompted Keith who, as it turns out, represents the fair young lady in the new stage act. With the new album, Hush have devised a new stage act in which each member represents one of the songs. Rick has designed the outfits and Smiley is spending what precious little spare time they have, at the sewing-machine. Rick is 'Get Rocked', Smiley is 'Mind-Rocker', Les is 'Nanchunka Man' and Keith; 'Francis Rainbow'.
Continued Les: "There actually is a girl called 'Francis Rainbow. It's such a beautiful name and the song represents three different aspects of her personality, the fictional character, not the real life one", he added. "For instance, one part is very dream-like and another is sinful black when she becomes a prostitute.

"What else is there? A strange little song called 'Riff in my Head' which is about walking up one morning with a riff in my head and just going back to sleep. "A more complicated one is 'Raven the Dark' about an Alvin Purple-type character who can't help attracting women. Ernie Rose said the rhythm is so complex, he doesn't know anyone else who could play it. It really shows the sympathy the four members of Hush have for each other. We put it down in one take and Ernie couldn't believe it, so he asked us to do it again and it was just as exact the second time.
'On the other hand, it took about a zillion takes before we achieved the right feel on a sons called The Exit'. It's a syncopated type of song and Ernie really helped us with that one."
Keith commented that he has never sung like he did on that particular track: "Because I was saving my voice, I sang along quietly and sort of weirdly when the guys were putting down the rhythm track, but it so perfectly matched the feeling of the song that we kept it that way."
Back to Les: "You go to dances and find kids bashing each other up because they have no outlet. The song is about a guy who is trying to find the exit."

Phew! It didn't take long for Hush to come up with an interesting, original album and this is not going on their own enthusiastic raves. Literally everyone who has heard "Get Rocked" is amazed that this is the latest offering from "the heavy metal kids'as reviewer. A.8. Guest, so affectionately and aptly described Hush.
Their magic is spreading rapidly. In Melbourne, they won the hearts of thousands, including, it would seem, the entire female population of the Frankston High. "Lovely girls", said Keith. "Melbourne was a real eye-opener for us. We finally discovered the true meaning of a massage parlour!"
When Les says "why do I write such filthy lyrics?" one can only imagine Keith must be one source of inspiration.

Consider his comments on Melbourne disco, Teasers:
"It is the sleaziest, most bauchy whole in the world. A guy from Melbourne group, Fox, jumped out of the window and broke his leg. You know what people are like when they take drugs", he joked. "We wouldn't understand. As for the girls at Teasers, there are more horny, tight-crotched, denim-clad girls there than . .' His voice trailed off as his mind took over.

It was time to say goodbye once more. Hush are in the middle of an Australian tour and they headed for Brisbane at 9 am the next day. After the tour following the release of the album, the band hope to break into the Japanese market. Let's face it. With their sense humour, talent and determination they could break into the Bank Of England.
.
This post consists of FLACS ripped from my Wizard vinyl and includes full album artwork and all photos displayed above. As a bonus, I have included their promotional single "Get Flaired" for Colonial Jeans and their #1 hit single "Bony Moronie" (both of which were ripped from my prized 45's in FLAC for the first time).
So get ya flairs out of storage folks and be prepared for some crutch wrenching riffs. And if ya don't, then you can just go and Get Rocked!

.
Tracklist:
01 Get Rocked / Satisfaction
02 Walking
03 Raven The Dark
04 Francis Rainbow
05 The Exit
06 Nunchunka Man
07 Riff In My Head
08 Mindrocker
09 Rockin' The Boat
10 South Coast Standards
(Bonus Tracks)
11 Get Flaired (Single Sided Promo 1974)
12  Bony Moronie (Single)


Hush were:
Keith Lamb - Vocals
Les Gock - Guitar, Vocals
Rick Lum - Bass, Vocals
Chris 'Smiley' Paithorpe

.
Hush  FLAC Link (284Mb)  New Link 04/04/2020
.

Rare Earth - Ma (1973) + Bonus Single

(U.S 1960 - 1983)
.

Rare Earth began as an R&B band called the Sunliners in Detroit in 1961. Of the musicians who would be part of the band dubbed Rare Earth, only sax player Gil Bridges and drummer Pete Rivera were present. John Parrish joined on bass in 1962. Rod Richards became a guitarist with the group in 1966. Keyboardist Kenny James came into the fold the same year. After years of doing the club circuit, the group changed their name to Rare Earth and released Dreams/Answers on Verve. The album received little reaction and the group was picked up by Motown Records as the first act on their yet-to-be-named new label. Rare Earth suggested to Motown that the label name their new subsidiary after the band and Rare Earth Records was born.

When they set out to record their first album, they essentially ran out of material and did a 21-minute rendition of the Temptations' "Get Ready" to fill out the space. The album was making no headway on the charts for a long period of time. So they took the first three minutes of "Get Ready," released it as a single and it made its way into the U.S. Top Ten list, peaking at number four. Pulled along by the success of the single, the album also began to sell, breaking the Top 20, and Rare Earth's career was officially on its way. The second album, 'Ecology', was released in June of 1970, a couple months short of a year after "Get Ready" had been put out. Interestingly enough, Ecology was not really the group's second album, but their third. An album entitled 'Generation' was recorded as the soundtrack to the film of the same name. When the film stalled at the box office, the album was shelved. Still, 'Ecology' would yield not one, but two hit singles. The first was "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (another Temptations cover), which also broke the Top Ten. The second single, "Born to Wander," did not fare quite so well, but did make the Top 20. The album was catapulted to #15.

Rare Earth (Image credit: Michael Ochs)

Not wanting to lose momentum, 'One World' followed almost exactly a year after 'Ecology', and yielded another hit single in a longtime classic, "I Just Want to Celebrate." The song peaked on the pop charts at number seven and the album broke the Top 50. They released a live album in December of the same year. For the next album, 'Willie Remembers', the group insisted on doing all originals, a move that was not common around the Motown camp. Unfortunately, for a band trying to prove a point, the album never reached the type of sales of previous records. Indeed, it stalled out at number 90, and the single "Good Time Sally" didn't even break the Top 50.

Motown tightened the creative grip on the group and original producer Norman Whitfield, who had worked with the group on earlier albums, was brought in to save the day. The resulting album, 'Ma', (featured here) was released in May of 1973 and fared just a little better than 'Willie Remembers', peaking at #65. The label was not pleased and sent the group into the studio to record with Stevie Wonder. That pairing did not really gel, though, and only two tracks were recorded, neither of which were released. Instead, the label sought to release another live album, trying to regain the spark that Rare Earth had had. That project also fell by the wayside, though.

What followed was a series of lineup changes and legal battles, and the group stopped touring altogether in 1974. The following year Rare Earth, in a new lineup, released 'Back to Earth'. The album did a bit better than the previous one, reaching #59 on the charts. The single, appropriately entitled "It Makes You Happy (But It Ain't Gonna Last Too Long)" stalled just outside the Top 100. A disco-oriented excursion entitled 'Midnight Lady' was released in 1976, but failed to really go anywhere. To make matters worse, Rare Earth Records was discontinued altogether. The band had broken up by this time.

Rare Earth On Stage (Image credit Michael Ochs)

As fate would have it, though, this was not the end of Rare Earth. Instead, Barney Ales, who had presided over Rare Earth Records, started his own label Prodigal Records. He talked the group into reuniting to record the label debut. The resulting album, 'Rare Earth', was released in 1977 and made no real waves in the music business. Rare Earth got things together again for a marathon recording session the following year. That session yielded not one, but two albums. The first was 'Band Together', released in April of 1978, with 'Grand Slam' following in September. Neither of those albums every really took off, either. The group essentially broke up in 1978, although a version of the original lineup was touring all the way into 1983. A different incarnation of the group, with just two original members, still makes the circuits. [extract from 60-70rock.blogspot.com]

.Album Review
One of the first white bands signed to Motown, Detroit’s Rare Earth had a damn good run in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Those were peak times for psychedelic soul and R&B in general, and Rare Earth seriously benefited from Motown’s largesse (they even got their own imprint, also called Rare Earth). Oddly, though, Motown boss Berry Gordy often ordered Rare Earth to perform the same Norman Whitfield/Barrett Strong compositions that the Temptations and/or Undisputed Truth recorded. The reasoning being, if one of them didn’t hit, well, maybe the other act would, as if each had their own distinct fan bases. As a fan of all three groups, I can’t discern great differences from their respective versions of those stone classic Whitfield/Strong numbers, but I’m of the persuasion to hear ’em all. That’s how strong my love is for that writing team.

Anyway, Rare Earth’s sixth album, 'Ma', consists of all Whitfield material, with Strong earning co-writing credits on “Smiling Faces Sometimes” and “Hum Along And Dance” (the Jackson 5 also covered the latter). Both are incredible jams that you have to go out of your way to mess up, and Rare Earth execute them like the slick professionals they are. Singing drummer Peter Hoorelbeke (aka Rivera) might be the funkiest, most soulful Caucasian dude to hold down those two tasks simultaneously. (I’m willing to be proved wrong, if you have counter examples.)

Talk about balls, though: “Ma” starts the LP with a 17-minute tour de force of stoic, stolid funk and an inspirational tale about a strong, generous mother who raised 13 children, against the odds, and was “stronger than any two men.” Ray Monette lets off some strafing guitar solos and Mark Olson adds percussive, striding piano that ratchets up the drama. As with other Whitfield epics, “Ma” accrues momentum and momentousness as it goes. The man was a songwriting god, and this is yet another masterpiece in his canon.

“Big John Is My Name” is your basic marauding, boastful party-funk anthem, with drum breaks ripe for the sampling, although whosampled.com shockingly reveals that nobody’s done so. That’s just crazy. The Rare Earth rendition of “Smiling Faces Sometimes” differs from Undisputed Truth’s and the Temptations’ in that it’s more rock-oriented and laced with flamboyant keyboard embellishments. It’s probably my least favorite of the three, but it still bears some wicked wah-wah guitar punctuation, and it’s by no means a dud.

For “Hum Along And Dance,” Rare Earth again bring more rock energy—think the Rolling Stones circa “Can You Hear Me Knocking”—to this intense dance cut than do the J5 or the Tempts. Michael Urso kills it on bass, and there’s clenched-fist excitement from start to finish. “Come With Me” bears an acoustic guitar part that paraphrases the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” which Rare Earth covered on 1970’s Ecology. It also boast plenty of female groans, a Santana-esque shuffle, and an expressive guitar solo. It’s a mellow denouement to a record that mostly funks festively or furrows brows with earnest platitudes about guarding against deceptiveness and honouring single mothers.

Ma might be the last great Rare Earth album, and I recommend it to anyone who worships Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong—which means all right-thinking people, to be completely honest. -Buckley Mayfield [extract from jivetimerecords.com]

This post is super 'funky' and consists of FLACs ripped from my newly acquired CD. It also includes artwork for both Vinyl and CD releases.  I gotta say I never tier from listening to the title track - it has such a catchy beat/melody and the lyrics are both simple and memorable.  The B-Side doesn't quite reach the same level of ecstasy but it's four shorter tracks still help to make this a strong album. It is a shame that their record company didn't feel the same way when the album was first released.
As a bonus, I have sourced the single edit release of "Ma" and included it as a bonus track.  Enjoy.
.


Tracks:
01. Ma (Norman Whitfield) - 17:14
02. Big John Is My Name (Norman Whitfield) - 4:14
03. Smiling Faces Sometimes (Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield) - 5:59
04. Hum Along And Dance (Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield) - 5:14
05. Come With Me (Norman Whitfield) - 4:44
06. Ma (Bonus Track - Single Edit) - 5:28


Personnel:
- Peter Hoorelbeke - drums, percussion, lead vocals
- Gil Bridges - flute, woodwinds, percussion, vocals
- Michael Urso - bass, vocals
- Ray Monette - lead guitar
- Mark Olson - keyboards, vocals
- Edward Guzman - congas, timbales
- Norman Whitfield - producer
.

Rare Earth FLACs Link  (241Mb) 

New Link 01/01/2024
.

REPOST: Fox - What The Hell Is Going On (1974) plus Bonus Tracks

(Australian 1974)
.
Aussie act, Fox, are quite a mystery. There is little information about the band either in print or online. This does appear to be their only album, and releasing only two singles during their career. This is one of many bands in the seventies that called itself Fox (and probably the least successful).
Produced by Ian Miller, who also produced Lobby Loyde and the Coloured Balls and Jim Keay’s The Boy From the Stars and with the songwriting and arranging contributions from John Brownrigg of Star Spangled Banger fame, this is a pretty decent album and a worthwhile piece of Aussie 70s rock. Although the band don’t look it, musically there is a lot that reminds me of the Coloured Balls.
The guitarist Peter Laffy also played in Aussie bands Freeway, Mondo Rock and in Jim Keay’s Southern Cross (not to be confused with the other band of the same name that featured former Buffalo member’s Alan Milano and John Baxter).
.
So what about the album? Well, it's a hard one to categorise. Musically, the band rock throughout, laying down a curious blend of crunchy hard rock, pub rock and even a sprinkling of punk. Their conversational style of singing sounds reckless and somewhat sloppy, but it lends itself very well to the overall delivery of the material.
The first two two tracks were also released as singles and the band do one cover, Space Opera’s 'Country Max' which sounds a little out of place among the tougher sounding tracks.
With a lead footed clunky bottom end (complete with the obligatory use of cowbell), Fox recklessly plough through ten tracks, only taking a moment to breathe twice (including a cover of Space Opera's "Country Max") in the proceedings.
..
Apparently the band split shortly after this release, and it is known that members went on to other bands like Southern Cross and Mondo Rock [Extracts from Robots for Ronnie & Midoztouch]
Note: Col Loughnan (from Ayers Rock) plays some great sax on "Can You Feel It" and "I Said"
.
I highly recommend this fabulous album, as it's a glimpse of classic Australian rock that stands a bit left of center. There's plenty of character here and most lovers of classic hard rock will eat this one up. To listen to some recent material from Peter Laffy, see his Myspace page but please note that Laffy passed away earlier this year - so play these songs in tribute to his wonderful musical legacy. RIP - Peter Laffy
.
This post consists of a rip taken from my vinyl in FLAC format and includes full album artwork (artwork thanks to Midoztouch). I have also included two B-Side tracks from their singles which were not included on the album. The track "Ziggy Stardust" (B-Side to "I Said") is a great cover of Bowie's hit and is a good yardstick for the influence which Bowie's music had on the band at the time (see pictured left). The other track "Jean Sea" (B-Side to "Who Do") is a nice little rocker with some great guitar licks and a catchy riff. I have also sourced two unreleased tracks from Peter Laffy's Myspace page which were probably recorded as demo's but never made it to the mixing desk and included them as bonus tracks.

Note: The track "I'm Going Down" is labelled as "I'm Going Home" on Laffy's MySpace page, however the lyrics to the chorus definitely state "I'm Going Down", so I'm thinking that it was probably a mistype.

REPOST now consists of FLACs
.
Track Listing
01 - I Said
02 - Who Do
03 - Slashes
04 - Times Come To Change
05 - Don't Kid Yourself
06 - Do You Want Me
07 - What The Hell Is Going On?
08 - Country Max
09 - Can You Feel It
10 - When You're Not Around
Bonus Tracks
11 - Ziggy Stardust (B-Side Single - to 'I Said')
12 - Jean Sea (B-Side Single - to 'Who Do')
13 - I'm Going Down (Previously Unreleased)
14 - New Life (Previously Unreleased)
.
Band Members:
Peter Laffy (Guitar, Vocals)
Neil Hodgson (Bass, Keyboards)
Michael Upton (Vocals)
Les Oldman (Drums, Percussion, Vocals)
Guest Artist:
Col Loughnan (Saxophone)
.
Fox FLAC Link (346Mb) New link added 21/12/2023
.

Sting - Unlicensed Live (1991) Bootleg

(U.K 1971 - Present)
.

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE (born 2 October 1951 in Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne, England), known by his stage name Sting, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor and philanthropist. Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist for the rock band The Police. Throughout his career, Sting has incorporated distinct elements of jazz, reggae, classical, New Age, and world beat into his music.

His first solo album, 1985's The Dream of the Blue Turtles, featured jazz musicians including Kenny Kirkland, Darryl Jones, Omar Hakim and Branford Marsalis. It included the hit singles "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free", "Fortress Around Your Heart", "Love Is the Seventh Wave", and "Russians", the latter of which was based on a theme from the Lieutenant Kijé Suite, and became his first #1 solo hit.

Between 1987-10-16 and 1988-11-21, Sting took part in the 'Nothing Like The Sun Tour'. In 1988, after a year of non-stop touring around 18 countries (the last being Australia) playing 190 concerts, his company turned over £8,187,921, with more than 5 million in ticket sales. Royalties added another £2,189,100 to his company Steerpike's bottom line. Sting had been well off while playing with the Police, now he was fabulously rich.

This post features an excellent soundboard recording made during his 1987-88 "Nothing From The Sun Tour" while playing at the Verona Arena, Italy on May 6th, 1988. The following is a review of the concert:

Concert Review
In a two-hour concert that delivered as much as he promised when he said ''Tonight's show is going to be a little long,'' Sting and band enthralled a sold-out crowd at the Arena Amphitheatre in Verona last night. It's amazing what a live show can do for recorded material. Nothing sounded stale. Early in this 'Nothing Like the Sun' tour (the title is from Shakespeare, clod), the band is having a ball.

Sting, in white linen jacket and no shirt, led off with 'Lazarus Heart' and 'We'll Be Together'. The show relied little on show and a lot on musicianship, although Sting knows the impression he makes.
Yes, being a well-dressed rock star. He loves it, he does. He climbed to the top of backstage risers and sat down. He waved. He waggled his fingers in a come-on to encourage more applause. He conducted the band. He presented beautiful profiles. He talked to the audience.
Besides charm and a voice that flies, Sting has the musical sense to pick excellent musicians for these orchestrally fat forays to the public: Tracy Wormworth, bass; Branford Marsalis, saxophone; Kenny Kirkland, keyboards; Delmar Brown, keyboards; Jeff Campbell, guitar; Mino Cinelu, percussion; and newly appointed Jean-Paul Ceccarelli on drums.

NB. Jean-Paul Ceccarelli replaced Lewis on drums

Kirkland and Marsalis, the only two holdovers from the last tour, led the flawless band through Sting's most recent compositions and gave life to the mostly stiff and lifeless album. The concert was full of surprises and bursts of instrumentation, spots of musical influences from jazz to popular song, and it was propelled by Cinelu's seductive and musical percussion.

'Englishman in New York', a theatrical little ditty that shows Sting's best songwriting abilities, segued into 'Sister Moon', which was languid. Not even languidness can shut up a rock crowd.
For 'Straight to My Heart', the former schoolteacher explained 7/4 time to his audience, and the band delivered it precisely. Kirkland had a great time. Marsalis was busy making bullfight music on soprano sax.

'Consider Me Gone' had keyboardist Brown, whose voice is surprisingly like Sting's, double-time scat singing his own high synthesizer notes. Brown was a dreadlocked jack-in-the-box. When he wasn't marching at the keyboard, he was popping up and down with glee.

'Rock Steady' was a nice bluesy tune about Noah. The reggae 'One World is Enough' walked into rock and ended in an exuberant twist. One of the prettiest songs, 'Fragile' led - with acoustic guitar by Sting - into Gil Evans' arrangement of  "Little Wing'" Campbell's Hendrix-like guitar reached out but didn't quite make it, though.
Slow spots had songs leading into overextended instrumentals. 'They Dance Alone', an anthem to the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters of Argentinian political desaparecidos, would have had more tingle if it hadn't led the second set. 'Still My Beating Heart' was boring except for the funky chorus.

Encores brought 'Fortress Around Your Heart' and 'Don't Stand So Close to Me', during which Sting took his jacket off and revealed the best arms in rock'n'roll. 'Every Breathe You Take' and 'Message in a Bottle' ended the show.

Sting has loosened up and gone shopping. He had a world of musical ideas on his shopping list.
.

Verona Arena
The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy built in the first century. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. In ancient times, the arena's capacity was nearly 30,000 people. The stage for concerts and opera performances decreases the available places to a maximum of 15,000. It will be used as the closing ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

In recent times, the arena has also hosted many concerts of international rock and pop bands, such as Roger Waters, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Alicia Keys, One Direction, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, The Who, Dire Straits, Mike Oldfield, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam and of course Sting.

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my AMCOS CD Bootleg and comes with full album artwork. This recording is top notch and definitively came straight from the board, however it is only the second half of the concert (see full setlist). Other bootleg releases (ie. 'Greetings From Verona' and 'Message from Verona') are double CD sets due to the 2 hour setlist, however the quality of the first half of the concert is poor in comparison.  The only regret is that the 'Police' encore songs are not included here and that Sting did not sing "Roxanne" on the night. 

.

Track Listing

01 They Dance Alone 10:53

02 Consider Me Gone 5:42

03 King Of Pain 5:51

04 Be Still My Beating Heart 5:59

05 Walking In Your Footstep 4:39

06 Fragile 3:34

07 Little Wing 10:19

08 Russians 4:06

09 Fortress Around Your Heart 5:01

.

Sting: vocals, acoustic guitar, bass 

Kenny Kirkland: piano, keyboards 

Delmar Brown: keyboards 

Branford Marsalis: Saxophone

Jeff Campell: guitars 

Tracy Wormworth: bass 

Mino Cinelu: percussion 

Jean-Paul Ceccarelli: drums 

.

Sting Unlicensed Live Link (294Mb) New Link 02/05/2020

.

Mott The Hoople - Greatest Hits (1976) + Bonus Tracks

(U.K 1969 - 1980)
.

One of the major injustices in the past ten years of rock history is that Mott the Hoople never attained stardom. God knows they deserved it, and they certainly tried hard for it. Formed in the mid-sixties by Alien and Ralphs, the original Hoople crew consisted of Alien, Ralphs, Griffen, Watts, and vocalist Stan Tip-pens, who would shortly become their road manager before progressing to manager. Stan's on-again off-again vocal condition led the Hoople to audition new lead singers. At this point, long-time folkie lan Hunter showed up, a Dylanesque composer-guitarist who could honestly be described as a "croaker" as opposed to a singer. Hunter's raspy ramblings, however, struck a responsive chord within the group. He joined in '69, signalling the beginning of one of the most turbulent band careers in rock.

Producer Guy Stevens ushered the band into the studio and cut a series of quickly recorded, though classic, albums. MOTT THE HOOPLE, MAD SHADOWS, WILDLIFE, and BRAIN CAPERS quickly established the band as a schizoid, critically acclaimed troupe. However, on the sales level, Mott was the pits. This lack of sales, plus the constant vying between styles (Hunter's writing was a good 180 degrees away from Ralph's style) within the band, led to problems. In 1972, the group fragmented, but was brought back together by David Bowie, who produced the classic ALL THE YOUNG DUDES LP. The boys now had a new producer and a new label (Columbia replacing Atlantic).

A new Mott was sculpted from the glitter and glam prevailing in the early seventies. Hunter became the leader. Verden Alien left shortly thereafter. Bowie departed as a producer and Ralphs left the fold to form Bad Company in the middle of recording MOTT. Although Mott was certainly proving more successful on Columbia than they were in the old days, they were anything but superstars. Single after single stiffed in the States and Mott was growing frustrated.

Ian Hunter Centre

Despite their rather tentative position in the rock pop polls, the band planned a coast-to-coast blowout of a tour for '73. Enlisting the aid of former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luthor Grosvenor (who, dressed in his Dale Arden stage costumes, called himself Ariel Bender), Mott the Hoople (regular blokes who liked a good drink every now and then) donned their best glitter costumes and, armed with oversized puppets, robots, flash powder, and dancing dolls, embarked on a killer tour. Although augmented by the excellent keyboard work of Morgan Fisher, the Mott the Hoople killer tour found Mott portraying the killee.

The outrageous stage antics detracted from the musical clout somewhat and negated any possible monetary profit. Several of the band members were clearly uncomfortable in their platform heels and Ariel Bender just didn't fit in on guitar. Soon Ariel was in the void and Mick Ronson was indoctrinated into the Mott realm of lunacy. The arrival of another dominant personality was too much for the group to bear. Although the band consistently performed exceedingly well on record during this somewhat erratic period, their personal lives were in turmoil.

Hunter left the band, entering a hospital after a stateside bout with total exhaustion. Ronson departed for an ill-fated solo career, and the remaining members of the band regrouped with newcomers Majors and Benjamin as simply Mott. The group got off to a shaky start but quickly picked up steam with albums SHOUTING AND POINTING and DRIVE ON. Hunter embarked on a critically acclaimed but commercially disastrous solo career. He was dropped by his label in 1977, as was Mott, who also severed ties with lead singer Benjamin. [extract from Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia, Angus and Robertson, 1978. p359-360]
.
Reviews
Mott the Hoople/Greatest Hits suffers a bit because this band, whose "Tales of the Near Great" stories made them sentimental favorites, produced only two albums of real worth after they moved from Atlantic to Columbia. One sees the breakdown of the group following the departure of guitarist Mick Ralphs in the terribly ill-fitting and annoying lead guitar work of Ariel Bender. Still, such gems as "All the Way from Memphis," along with a different take of "Roll Away the Stone" and two previously unheard cuts, "Foxy Foxy" and "Saturday Gigs," give this absorbing group a belated last testament.
- Billy Altman, Rolling Stone, 1-13-77.

Now reorganized with new key personnel, Mott recalls its most successful period with writer/singer Ian Hunter on this collection. With David Bowie's song and production on "All The Young Dudes," the group came to stand for glitter rock. But its sound only took on glitter after mastering the elements of basic rock excitement. Best cuts: "All The Young Dudes," "All The Way From Memphis," "Roll Away The Stone."  - Billboard, 1976.

Hits my ass. Never heard "Foxy Foxy" on the radio, and never want to. But the other new one, "Saturday Gigs," recapitulates quite movingly a banal theme this collection fleshes out with real wallop: a band and its fans. Four songs is too much overlap with 1973's Mott, but this is the essence of Mott the Hoople as a group, which always needed Ian Hunter and always did more than back him up.   - Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

Mott is a bit of an anomaly. They began their existence as a hard rock band, but with the addition of Ian Hunter as lead singer and principal writer, they took on a Dylanesque coloration. However, it was their affiliation with David Bowie during his early-Seventies glitter period that provided them with "All the Young Dudes," a song that catapulted them to brief fame. Consummate borrowers from their better- and lesser-known rock brethren, Mott melded disparate elements into a dynamic, often humorous, sound that combined the bombast of early heavy metal with Seventies glitter, and just about everything else you or they could think of. In retrospect, Mott was a more potent band than originally perceived. Greatest Hits is a reasonable sampler, but is inferior to both All the Young Dudes and Mott. As an overview, thirty-eight minutes isn't long enough; too much quality material is omitted, such as "Ready For Love," "Sea Diver," and "Sweet Jane."  - Bill Shapiro, Rock & Roll Review: A Guide to Good Rock, 1991.
.

 This post consists of FLACs ripped from my English vinyl pressing, and also comes with full album artwork and label scans.  Although the collection covers 6 years of the Hoople's recording career, there are a few essential tracks missing, namely "Sweet Jane", "One Of The Boys" and "Sucker", and so I have included these tracks as Bonus Tracks.
.
Track Listing

01 - All The Way From Memphis 3:24
02 - Honaloochie Boogie 2:42
03 - Hymn For The Dudes 5:20
04 - Born Late '58 3:58
05 - All The Young Dudes 3:32
06 - Roll Away The Stone 3:11
07 - Ballad Of Mott (March 26, 1972, Zurich) 5:22
08 - The Golden Age Of Rock 'N' Roll 3:25
09 - Foxy Foxy 3:30
10 - Saturday Gigs 4:17
11 - Sucker (Bonus Track)
12 - One Of The Boys (Bonus Track)
13 - Sweet Jane (Bonus Track)

MOTT THE HOOPLE WERE:
lan Hunter (guitar, vocals), 
Pete Watts (bass), 
Dale "Buffin" Griffen (drums, vocals), 
Morgan Fisher (keyboards), 
Nigel Benjamin (vocals), 
Ray Major (guitar), 
Verden Alien (keyboards), 
Mick Ralphs (guitar); 
Ariel Bender (guitar)
.
Mott The Hoople FLAC link (362Mb)
.New Link 26/012/2023
.

John Farnham - The Best Of John Farnham (1980)

(Australian 1967 - Present)
.

We Australians are notoriously harsh in our treatment of local heroes. Sometimes it seems that the only reason we elevate performers, sportsmen or politicians to the heights of stardom is so we can topple them with malicious glee. Few antipodean celebrities seem to escape the 'lift 'em up and rip 'em down' process, and so retreat to a safer 'behind the scenes' position — if indeed they choose to persevere with the fickle world of entertainment at all. To remain under the critical glare of public scrutiny for more than a dozen years — without being cast on the has-been's scrapheap — is the only true testament to pure talent.
John Farnham is a rare and exceptional artist; a full-time 'star' who has earned and retained the respect and admiration of his peers and public — without the inevitable resort to scandal or eccentricity.

Born July 1, 1949 in Dagenham, England, John became involved in amateur charity performances from the age of 6 and, having moved to Melbourne at 10, continued his interest through the avenue of school functions. By 16 he had joined the workforce as an apprentice plumber; singing at local dances with The Mavericks by night. His pleasant and generally tuneful voice came to the attention of the moderately prominent Strings Unlimited early in 1965, culminating in him assuming lead vocalist responsibilities with the outfit for two years. During an Adelaide jaunt early in 1967, Bev Harrel's boyfriend — accountant Darryl Sambell — became enamoured by the young singer and, despite a drastic dearth of experience in things showbiz, proposed management. John initially became a regular on the pop-mime daily TV series 'Kommotion'; which brought him to the attention of EMI house producer David McKay, who eventually made use of his voice on TAA's 'Susan Jones' advertising campaign. From there it was a mere formality for John to be signed to EMI as a recording artist — facilitated by a private performance before McKay, backed by an accommodating Zoot.

From the outset, McKay was keen for Farnham to record a novelty non-hit from England called "Sadie, The Cleaning Lady".  John recalls: "I thought it was really dumb. I admit I didn't know much then and neither did Darryl but we knew one thing — we didn't like that song". The discontented singer conceded that McKay knew best and dutifully laid it down in October 1967. Released in the first week of September, it made national number one within a month, and stayed atop for 6 weeks — remaining on the charts for some 23 weeks. Apart from being the first Australian recorded number one for more than a year, it became the biggest selling Aussie single of all time with sales in excess of 180,000 — a record which stood until 'Up There Cazally' shifted a quarter million in 1979.

Overnight, the young, effervescent John Farnham became the proverbial household name — a teenage star wholly acceptable to parents. And whereas such a crossover combination traditionally spelt doom, Farnham swept up both camps in his wake — alienating neither with his honest, sincere approach. To the media he was a Godsend — a means whereby younger viewers/listeners/readers could be catered, at no risk to the mainstream. Commercials, fan rags, Tonight Shows, newspapers and local dances all vied for his services; and in the making was a unique celebrity who would never have to rely upon a steady stream of hits to maintain a prominent career.


The inevitably difficult follow-up came in March 1968, in the form of a two-way bet — another novelty "Underneath The Arches", backed with a superb classy pop song — Greenwhich & Barry's "Friday Kind Of Monday". The record performed well in the top ten, paving the way for two more respectful hits from the pen of Australian Hans Poulsen — "Jamie" and "Rose Coloured Glasses".

During 1968 John won the first of 5 consecutive Logie Awards for Best Teenage Personality; while a year later he landed the first of 5 consecutive 'King of Pop' crowns. There simply wasn't another male pop personality in the land to compete or compare with the positive and professional Mr Farnham.

Christmas '68 saw the first chart miss with the seasonal "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause"; a disappointment well compensated in August 1969, with the number one placing of Harry Nilsson's "One", an American hit for Three Dog Night.

Four months later John beat B.J. Thomas to the punch with an ultra-commercial rendition of the theme from 'Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid' — "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head". Another number one, remaining on the charts for 18 weeks. John Farnham never descended into the parochial cliques nor engaged in the publicised bickering which so obsessed many of his contemporaries. Somehow he remained aloof, taking his career very seriously in spite of those few who ridiculed his wide-eyed innocent approach to a rather dirty game.

"Comic Conversations" brought him back to the top ten late in 1970 and in 1971, after recording a duet album with Queen of Pop 'Allison Durbin', he journeyed to London to begin preparations for his stage debut in the Australian production of Charlie Girl, alongside Derek Nimmo and Dame Anna Neagle.

Before the year was out he had landed his second Go Set Pop Poll victory, and hits 8, 9, 10 with "Acapulco Sun", "Baby Without You" (with Allison) and "Walking The Floor On My Hands".  1972 was another corker year. March saw John crowned King Of Moomba in Melbourne and, by the end of the year, he had picked up the Most Outstanding Performance of a Composition award (with Brian Cadd's "Don't You Know It's Magic") at  the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo. Once the number 4 hit of "Rock Me Baby" (which trounced well the David Cassidy version) was off the charts, the Tokyo winner was rush released to become hit 11.

In April 1973, John hit top ten with "Everything's Out Of Season" and instigated wild street chaos when he wedded Jillian Billman in the Melbourne suburb of Glenroy. Five months later he was back at number 12 with "I Can't Dance To Your Music".  One final hit in January 1974 — "Shake A Hand" — marked the end of John's pop chart career — although another equally successful one was lurking around the corner (aka Whispering Jack)

Early in 1974 impressario Kenn Brodziak placed him in the lead role in the Pippin stage production and within a year John had re-orientated his image and direction toward a more mature market — though not necessarily the indiscriminate suburbians that his critics were suggesting. Two Vanda/Young songs recorded under Peter Dawkins in 1975 — "Things To Do" and "One Minute Every Hour" — showcased Farnham in stunning voice, with the former remaining one of the truly great  vocal performances captured in this country. The 1975 album 'J.P Farnham Sings' was a brave and critically acclaimed work comprised entirely of Australian-composed songs. Though it yielded no hits, the album stood as a Powerful, mature tribute to the come-of-age Australian creative community.

Without an overdose of TV quiz shows and clubland performances, John Farnham continues untouched a premier Australian personality. The diversity he has exhibited via such television outings as Bobby and Survival maintained his subtle prominence and ensured his continued popularity. Given another decade, J.P Farnham will still commands respect and admiration from most Australians. (Liner notes by Glenn A. Baker, Australian Editor, Billboard, January 1980).
.

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my AXIS CD release and includes full album artwork. I have not been able to source the artwork for the LP release and would hope that someone out there who owns this album might scan and share theirs with us.  One thing that bugs me about this release is the fact that the album (and liner notes) refer to Johnny as John, when in fact all of the songs featured on this album where released under the name of "Johnny Farnham". It wasn't until late 1979 when Johnny finally dropped the boyish reference and started to call himself John, around the time when he joined Little River Band.
And the photo used on the CD release is taken from his later years with LRB, while the photo on the LP is more true to what John looked like during the 70's.
.
Track Listing:
01  Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (2:29)
02  Comic Conversation  (3:19)
03  Rock Me Baby (3:21)
04  Don't You Know It's Magic  (4:00)
05  Everything Is Out of Season  (3:12)
06  I Can't Dance to Your Music  (3:00)
07  I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus  (1:42)
08  Things to Do  (3:20)
09  One  (2:50)
10  Jamie  (2:29)
11  Rose Coloured Glasses  (2:50)
12  Sadie, the Cleaning Lady (3:18)
13  Underneath the Arches  (2:01)
14  Friday Kind of Monday  (2:45)

15  Walking the Floor on My Hands  (2:30)
16  Acapulco Sun  (2:38)
17  One Minute Every Hour  (3:03)
.

Best Of Johnny Farnham Link (332Mb) 

New Link 23/12/2023

* Thanks to Chris Spencer for providing me with this back scan of the LP release (see right). Download it separately.
.