| April '15
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| April
2015 |
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Sun
Sets Over Carlton +
The Wizards of Oz
Spectrum's
credited with Blue Movies Make Me Cry on the
When the Sun Sets Over Carlton set, sounding
so much better than it did on the Warts album
with the benefit of remastering and with an intro I'd
forgotten.
The Wizards of Oz is an interpretation of mostly
Oz originals by psychedelic whiz kids, Amorphous Androgynous
and includes The Sons of the Vegetal Mother's Love
is the Law.
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| Oct. '13 -
April '15 |
| October
2013 - April 2015 |
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The
Long Run + Hard to Get Hits (comp's)
Two
double compilation
CDs from the opposite ends of the compilation Universe.
Anyway, the important thing for you to know is that there
are a couple of tracks from Bill and me onThe Long
Run, the B version of I'll Be Gone and a
song that I thought I'd lost for all time, Recycle
Your Love, which we performed with the beautiful
Enza Pantano back in 1994, and the original version of
IBG on the Sony compilation - which ain't bad
given the international company it's keeping. |
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| October
2013 (Oh,
good grief!) |
 |
Max
Merritt & The Meteors - Been Away Too Long
Recorded live in glorious mono in
1969, this gig finds Max and the band in aggressively
fine form. The set begins with a couple of pushy Max originals,
Been Away Too Long and I'm So Happy
and the energy doesn't falter from then on. Stand out
tracks are Dizzy Gillespie's instrumental Kush,
with a signature drum solo from Stewie featuring his seamless
single-handed snare rolls, taken out by Dave Russell's
careering bass line under a rampant ensemble, and an Otis
Redding medley that thankfully includes Max's unsurpassed
version of Try a Little Tenderness. If you're
familiar with the more amiable latter versions.. read
more |
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| September
2011 - (I've
lost track!) |
 |
The
Pardoners - Indulgences (See
video)
This feature has
been allowed to languish due to total lack of interest
on my behalf, but I was jolted out of my apathy upon receiving
my reviewers' copy of The Pardoners latest from Glyn 'Hoover'
Mason - and then actually putting on to listen. My concentration
was heightened with Spectrum concurrently tossing out
another EP and I'm sure Sam will be delighted to hear
that I'm deeply depressed at the quality of intention
and execution on his and Glyn's 'baby'. But don't take
my word for it - go to The
Pardoners' site
and buy yourself a copy - you'll be delighted too.. |
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| October
2006 - September 2011 (Oops..) |
 |
The
Story of..
Sound Vault Records has compiled
these tracks from albums released by acts on its roster,
which happens to comprise largely of Melbourne musicians,
so it's a useful indicator of the musical diversity in
this town that's usually ignored by radio. All the songs
are narrative in approach (hence the title), so if you're
in the mood for a story, this is the CD for you. Spectrum's
track is I Know There Was Another Man There,
(from No Thinking), which was bound to sound
kinda naïve wherever it was - and does here - but
it does have that rootsy country break in it which fits
with the predominantly country-ish tone of the album.
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| August
2006 - October 2006 |
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Vivid
- Head
065
I heard a track
from this album a couple of weeks ago on Michael Glover's
Border Crossings show on PBS as one of a number
of Indian influenced tracks. When he back-announced it
he opined it was as successful a blend of Western jazz
and Indian music as you could hear. The surprise is that
although the CD emanates from New York, its prime mover
is a Melbourne born musician Barney McAll (brother of
John McAll who plays with Ross Wilson every now and then).
It's occurred to me many times that Indian music and jazz
should fuse fairly seamlessly, but it's very rarely pulled
off. This is not just another virtuoso showcase - it's
a moody ensemble masterpiece. |
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| May
2006 - July 2006 |
 |
For
Pete's Sake
The
For Pete's Sake CD is
immediately distinguished by having the worst cover art
I've seen for a long time, but in one sense it indicates
to the casual buyer at least that here is a party
record, full of classic Oz tracks that happen to have
been produced by Peter Dawkins over a long and very distinguished
(and ongoing) career. John Farnham, Dragon, Air Supply,
Billy Thorpe, Aussie Crawl, Pseudo Echo, Mi Sex, Slim
Dusty, Russell Morris and Ross Ryan are all here. Sadly
Ariel is unrepresented, but Tim Gaze and I exacted a heavy
price by playing at the CD's launch for a full thirty
minutes to a chatty crowd who couldn't give a toss . Glenn
A. Baker's notes are extensive. |
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| January
2006 - April 2006 |
 |
Daddy
Cool
Of course, this
is not a CD, but a DVD, and a double DVD to boot, with
a whole three hours of viewing. I watched their Tsunami
concert appearance first and, like the incredulous but
delighted Myer Music Bowl audience on the day, fell in
love with DC all over again. Ron Brown and Ed Nimmervoll
in particular deserve a lot of credit for rounding up
everybody and getting them to speak about the phenomenon
that was Daddy Cool - with the passage of time we tend
to forget how meteoric was their rise, and the unprecedented
heights to which they flew. Aztec International have spared
nothing with the packaging, which looks plush while maintaining
the cartoonish image that Ian McAusland devised for the
band. Buy it. |
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| October
2005 - December 2005 |
 |
A
Little R&R
A
Little R&R
- Red and Rupert is
a CD I apparently played some harp on - hence I received
my complimentary copy in the mail yesterday. I do vaguely
remember the session too, but I never got to meet either
of the protagonists responsible. So, in the absence of
anything we've produced, this becomes my CD of the month.
If you suffer from delicate sensibilities, this is not
the album for you, but if you're looking for some relief
from the terminally serious - i.e. a whole heap
of outrageous and juvenile fun from men who are old enough
to know better, then this comes highly recommended. Ross
Ryan has done a remarkable job of putting it on CD without
catching something nasty. |
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| June
2005 - September 2005 |
 |
Hey
Gringo 3
+ Christchurch The Music
Hey Gringo's new album Three
was delivered to me by Hey Gringo front man Daryl
Roberts in person today - so hot it's got no cover yet.
Daryl's hoping that the art work and printing is going
to be ready in time for the launch on the 22nd. This is
the second Gringo album I've been involved with, and one
has to marvel at the speed with which it all comes together,
due in no small measure to the unflagging energy of Daryl
himself and the expertise of engineer cum producer
Nicky Bomba. As well as Spectrum performing Daryl's song
You Know What I Mean, quite a few of my guitar
licks have made it alongside Kevin Borich's, and
Ross Wilson's contributed a really cool song. |
 |
I'm
popping over to Christchurch, the city of my birth, next
week. EMI's launching the prosaically named CD, Christchurch
The Music, with a track on it from my first band,
Chants R&B. The track was
the B side of the first single we released, and was really
a lot closer to what the band was all about than the A
side. It's a mystery why Christchurch in particular produced
so many rock and pop musicians, because it was reputed
to be the most anally retentive town in the British Commonwealth,
let alone New Zealand. Maybe a little repression is good
for the rebellious soul. Anyway, this is as comprehensive
collection of the music that has been produced by Christchurch's
sons and daughters and so is naturally highly recommended.
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| December
2004 - May 2005 |
|
Get
a Haircut
I
got this in the mail a few days ago from a NZ buddy, John
Baker. John's responsible for the choice of songs on this
essentially historical compilation, so I guess a Chants'
tune was inevitable, seeing he was responsible for getting
the Chants back in the public eye. Aussie readers of my
vintage will recognise a few of the musicians like Ray
Columbus, Max Merritt and Johnny Devlin, but many of the
others will be a mystery. The liner notes are written
by the artists themselves, and as there are 31 tracks,
the booklet is fat and the print tiny. If only you could
get onto the nzmusic.com website and order a
copy for Xmas for those hard-to-please Kiwi friends..
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| December
2004 - May 2005 |
|
Blues
Train
I've
mentioned that Bill and I popped along to the world famous
Rainbow pub a couple of weeks ago for the launch of this
particular CD. We didn't hang round long enough to pick
up our complimentary copies, so imagine my delight when
a parcel arrived today with three Blues Train CDs. It
celebrates the Bellarine Peninsula Railway's Blues Train,
which runs over the summer months and has featured performances
by all the artists on this compilation.
The team that put the CD together is from NMIT's Music
Industry Adv. Dip. course, and one can only hope they
persevere, because they've done it right! |
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| April
2004 - August 2004 |
|
Seasons
of Change + Thredbo Blues
Two
live CDs with vastly differing Spectrum performances are
featured this month. The long-threatened Series One
- Seasons of Change CD (and DVD) have finally emerged.
The Thredbo Blues Festival compilation CD (with
Bill's guitar on the cover) is also out. |
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| September
2003 - March 2004 |
|
Fatherhood
+ Queenscliff Alive
The Fatherhood
CD has been released and you can read about it
in September's Stop Press (see the Archives link on the
home page). The Queenscliff Alive CD
(see the Issue #3 home page) is available from ABC shops
everywhere and features a host of Aussie stars from Christmases
past. Ross Wilson reckons that 2nd Coming is
the best track on the album. There is a studio version
on one of the Breathing Space EPs. |
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