TEN ESSENTIAL OZ ALBUMS

ORIENTATION

A couple of disclosures/ disclaimers are necessary when explaining the following list of albums.

The first is that I reside firmly in the boomer town postcodes and that may assist when reflecting on the titles that I’ve chosen.

The second has to do with the here and now. If you ask me tomorrow, I might generate a different list. Ayers Rock or a Midnight Oil early album could make the run-on squad. I might even sniff out The jaws of life. Who knows?

 THE ESSENTIAL TEN

 Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs- Live at the Melbourne Town Hall (1971)

The rebadged Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs (Mark 2) really made their name in the town hall 'dances' that occurred in Sydney and Melbourne during 1970 and 1971. Draconian licensing laws meant that hotels, in those times, were not allowed to stage live music events of the sort that Thorpie and other hippie-type bands offered. I had the chance to see The Aztecs at Ashfield Town Hall in late 1971 but passed. I still have major regrets over such a poor decision.

If anyone wants to hear how good The Aztecs were, may I suggest you listen to the opening two tracks of Live at the Melbourne Town Hall. There is no more thrilling introduction to any rock concert of any era. 'Pig' Morgan opens on the enormous town hall organ whilst Thorpe delivers what is an emotive rendition of 'Somebody left me crying' (without guitar) before the entire band ramps up with 'Time To Live' following a stunning Thorpe guitar segue between the two pieces. Trust me, if you've never heard it, it will send chills down your spine.

Blackfeather- At the mountains of madness (1971)

I first saw Blackfeather only a couple of weeks after they had formed. They played at our school 'dance' in Ashfield in 1970 and I had never seen anything like them.

They did some Led Zeppelin covers (I remember 'You Shook Me' in particular) and blew the place apart. You could feel the 'sound' all around you and, believe me, they had a full sound.

Some six months after that encounter they would record this album very quickly over the course of a few days. To my mind, this is a monumental album. Don’t heed the revisionists who routinely assert that At the mountains of madness lies in the vanguard of Oz prog rock albums. This is a blues-based epic with a few compelling side journeys along the way. 'Long Legged Lovely' and 'Spanish Blues' anchor it but there are a hundred different reasons for placing this on the turntable.

A few words of warning- All subsequent releases from Blackfeather are shit and not worth the effort. ATMOM is the one.

Spectrum- Milesago (1971)

Spectrum's Milesago was one of those albums I always wanted but never quite got around to buying. I had heard parts of it just after its release and I recall there being a lot of hype surrounding it at the time.

Milesago was, arguably, the first Oz rock double album but its real punch came from the musical territory it explored and the adventurous departure it took from Spectrum's initial album.

A small amount of context is needed with Milesago. There were two bands operating at the time of this recording; Spectrum (obviously!) and the more commercially-pointed Indelible Murtceps. Both bands had the same line-ups. My reason for alluding to this duality is that both bands left watermarks on the album and these added to its sprawling and diverse character.

Strange titles, weird lyrics and off-beat themes litter the fifteen songs but the highlight is the interplay between Mike Rudd's guitar and the keyboards of Lee Neale. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than on 'What the World Needs (Is a New Pair of Socks)'.

MacKenzie Theory- Out of the blue (1973)

Think the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Mothers (in fiddle mode) and perhaps King Crimson and you’re on the way to recognising why I’ve included this in the ten. Out of the blue is like no other album I’ve ever heard and the lazy pairing with John McLaughlin sells both entities short.

Quite literally, Out of the blue came from just that. Rob MacKenzie had established himself in various Melbourne-based groups in the late sixties and early seventies but he had aspirations to form his own band. A chance jam session with Cleis Pierce at Sydney’s Arts Factory led to the nucleus of the band becoming a little bit more than a theory.

What makes Out of the blue really interesting are the frequent tempo and rhythm changes that occur throughout the six tracks. It’s as if Leadabrand’s bass and Majewski’s drums provide a revolving platform for Pierce’s viola and MacKenzie to skate and continually change direction.

If you reckon that is impossible, listen to ‘O’. Jazz meets rock meets weirdness and it’s wonderful.

Carson- On the air (1973)

Many punters would argue that if blues/ boogie group Carson is to be referenced, then their 1972 album Blown is the automatic choice. While Blown is a mighty fine album, the follow-up On the air (recorded live at Sunbury ’73) is even better.

In terms of longevity, Carson was a blip on the seventies Oz music radar. Formed in early 1970 and originally performing under the name Carson County Band, a personnel change- which saw Broderick Smith come on board- heralded the start of its brief recording career. Blown was released in late 1972 and On the air came out five months later.

On the air is a stunning album. It’s a portrait of a live band at the top of its game. And what makes it distinctive is not the signature warbling of Smith, via voice and mouth harp, but the jaw-dropping twin guitar attack of Greg Lawrie and Ian Winter. You only have to listen to ‘Dingo’, ‘Laid-back feel’ and ‘Dust my broom’ to realise just how good this band was and the Lawrie/ Winter tag-team structure will have you shaking your head. Those three tracks are worth the price of admission alone.

Crossfire- Crossfire (1975)

A release that is hardly ever mentioned as a significant Australian album, Crossfire is a breathtaking record. A forerunner to fusion in every sense, you have to remind yourself that this is 1975 product and it’s no lame prophet of a fast-developing genre.

The nucleus of Crossfire (the band) rose out of the ashes of the Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly (SCRA) but that is where the association ends. Crossfire (the album) is a flawlessly produced LP that travels through rock, jazz and funk landscapes effortlessly. Activate the second track, ‘Nobody Nose’, and you have all three terrains traversed in a matter of six minutes. But the whole record is a bloody revelation and forty five years later, it still is.

Borich ’n’ Tilders- The blues had a baby (1980)

Kevin Borich has always been potent in collaboration mode and his teaming up with Dutch Tilders for this 1980 album marked a high point in both their careers.

From the opening title track with Tilders’ hard-edged vocals right through to the slide wizardry of Borich on ‘Beat in my heart’, The blues had a baby reinforces a genre that, at the time, many thought to be on the endangered list.

As a bonus, the release featured the direct to disc recording process and the whole sound makes you look around to see where the kits are set up.

Flowers- Icehouse (1980)

My first encounter with Flowers was in 1978 at Manning Bar and the influences of Bowie, 801, Roxy Music, Brian Eno and even T-Rex were evident in the loud set they performed.

These same influences characterised Icehouse but the album proved to be much more than the sum of its parts. Iva Davies delivered almost robotic vocals over tunes infested with layers of keyboards and programming. The description sounds dreadful but the result was outstanding. Moreover, it was one of those albums that grew on you with each new playing.

Flowers would soon morph into Icehouse and move tens of thousands of units with subsequent MOR releases. In my opinion, Icehouse wasn’t the initial stepping stone towards world domination. Rather, it was THE sound and it was one that they very quickly lost.

Matt Taylor Phil Manning Band- Oz blues (1980)

Chain’s Towards the blues from a decade earlier could easily have been tagged but I believe that Oz blues is a superior album. There are occasional torrid themes and lyrics but the grit enhances rather than subtracts.

The coupling of ‘Blow’ with ‘Mannish boy’ is inspired and I doubt that Phil Manning has ever put in a better studio performance than on this LP.

Dave Graney ’n’ The Coral Snakes- The devil drives (1997)

To be honest, I could list any Graney-related album and be happy with that. But The devil drives is a bottler and, at close to seventy minutes in length, it approaches epic status.

‘Rackin’ up some zeds’, ‘Everybody loves a mass killer’, ‘A man on the make’ and ‘I love your gravity’ are just a few of the classics on this release. For my money, ‘Pianola roll’ is the hidden gem.

I only have one problem with Dave Graney. You never really know whether he’s taking the piss out of you and even the home CD player may not afford you adequate protection.

Graney scored the King of Pop gong following the release of this album so it’s bloody ‘valid’. He also laid the production on with a trowel and it shows. Brilliant.