fav go-b's album? I'd happily choose 16 lover's lane, I think.
― OCP (OCP), Sunday, 28 December 2003 14:20 (twenty years ago) link
― Canada Briggs (Canada Briggs), Sunday, 28 December 2003 14:40 (twenty years ago) link
― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Sunday, 28 December 2003 22:13 (twenty years ago) link
― the surface noise (electricsound), Sunday, 28 December 2003 23:04 (twenty years ago) link
I was so astonished by the jerky 3-piece stuff I'd vote for Before Hollywood or on some days even *gasp* the seemingly indefensible Send Me A Lullaby.
― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Monday, 29 December 2003 05:18 (twenty years ago) link
― mentalist (mentalist), Monday, 29 December 2003 12:12 (twenty years ago) link
― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Monday, 29 December 2003 14:04 (twenty years ago) link
you lucky bastard!
― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 29 December 2003 21:11 (twenty years ago) link
― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 29 December 2003 22:14 (twenty years ago) link
Just the good fortune of being where i was and when i was :~}
― mentalist (mentalist), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 05:31 (twenty years ago) link
Just the good fortune of being born where i was and when i was :~}
― mentalist (mentalist), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 05:32 (twenty years ago) link
― Mark Trickett, Tuesday, 30 December 2003 23:03 (twenty years ago) link
― mentalist (mentalist), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 23:29 (twenty years ago) link
I'm very into 'You Tell Me' and 'The Old Way Out' at the moment. 'That Way' just there to represent Before Hollywood really, which I used to think was maybe my favourite album, but haven't listened to in ages. Maybe I should have picked something more unique to it, like the title track.
― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 15:02 (eighteen years ago) link
― dan. (dan.), Sunday, 17 April 2005 15:40 (eighteen years ago) link
What's the video for 'A Head Full Of Steam' like? I should get that expanded edition, should I? And get a ticket for next month.
― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:11 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alba (Alba), Monday, 25 July 2005 15:44 (eighteen years ago) link
You Tell MeBow DownI'm AllrightAs Long As ThatSomeone Else's WifeThe StatueUnkind & UnwiseHe Lives My LifeRight HerePart Company
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 25 July 2005 15:50 (eighteen years ago) link
― dan. (dan.), Monday, 25 July 2005 15:54 (eighteen years ago) link
'He Lives My Life' is my favourite from the post-reunion albums, but I find it hard to judge them alongside the old stuff.
x-post
― Alba (Alba), Monday, 25 July 2005 15:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 25 July 2005 16:02 (eighteen years ago) link
Darlinghurst Nights is absolutely great, innit? I mean, awesomely, put-on-repeat-a-few-times great.
― geyser muffler and a quarter (Dave225), Monday, 25 July 2005 16:07 (eighteen years ago) link
― dan. (dan.), Monday, 25 July 2005 16:10 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 25 July 2005 16:11 (eighteen years ago) link
Magic In HereCaroline & IThe ClockFinding YouHere Comes A CityGoing BlindUnfinished BusinessHe Lives My LifeBoundary RiderSurfing MagazinesThe StatueToo Much Of One Thing
― Alba (Alba), Monday, 25 July 2005 16:13 (eighteen years ago) link
am i crazy or is this one of the best go betweens songs i've ever heard. definitely one of the greatest lloyd cole songs i've ever heard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfTrxHzJEQ0
― scott seward, Tuesday, 13 July 2010 21:55 (thirteen years ago) link
it's more like a grant solo track, there's no forster tension there. not bad tho
― the dolly doctor movement (electricsound), Tuesday, 13 July 2010 23:01 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, "Lori" is more like a cover of an Al Stewart song Grant left off of Watershed or In Your Bright Ray. The implied backdrop of events the Go-Betweens were known for is lacking here. But a good song.
POX is kind of impossible with the Go-Betweens. I've come to appreciate Liberty Belle the most out of their pre-comback material, and I also like their first record a lot. "Karen" I like less than I like "Lee Remick" or for that matter "The Sound of Rain" off of '78 'til '79; the recording is shitty and Grant knows that one bass lick, but it's great nonetheless. I've also come to think I like Forster a bit more. His first 2 solo records are pretty great; I think Grant was a bit more hit-and-miss and the voice is just too weak to carry some things, and I also think Grant never quite got the super-pop he obviously loved so much. Maybe a few things here and there. Which isn't to say I don't love him. The singles they did after their comeback are cool and I've been listening to them, and Forster's "Erotic Sunshine" is just so fantastic. My theory is that heroin or whatever Grant was into sort of diminished him to the point that he just wasn't as strong as he should've been--you can see it in the video stuff. Sad.
Here's a CD, but god, I'm still leaving out plenty of stuff I love.
Lee RemickCarelessTwo Steps, Step OutCattle and CaneDusty in HereHammer the HammerBachelor KissesSlow Slow MusicDraining the Pool for YouNewton Told MeSweet Tasting HoursSpring RainHead Full of SteamYou Tell MeI Just Get Caught OutSpirit of a VampyreThe Clarke SistersLove Is a SignStreets of Your TownThd Devil's EyeRock and Roll FriendThe ClockSurfing MagazinesErotic SunshineBorn to a FamilyNo Reason to CryDarlinghurst NightsThis Night's for You
The 16 Lovers Lane demos are pretty great too.
― ebbjunior, Wednesday, 14 July 2010 19:07 (thirteen years ago) link
I mean, that's a long CD, looking at it. I could live without "Rock and Roll Friend" or even "This Night's for You" and "Slow Slow Music."
― ebbjunior, Wednesday, 14 July 2010 19:09 (thirteen years ago) link
glad you included "You Tell Me."
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 July 2010 19:12 (thirteen years ago) link
I said this in another thread, but McLennan got complacent. Forster never stopped stretching.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 July 2010 19:13 (thirteen years ago) link
the older i get the better their stuff sounds to me. i mean, i always liked them, but now i play a go betweens record and i hear all kinds of things that i never heard before. and it all sounds deeper to me too. more soulful than i remember.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 14 July 2010 19:28 (thirteen years ago) link
In that big orange SPIN book Eric Weisbard remarked that the Go-Bes are a band you grow old with. Man, that makes more and more sense.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 July 2010 19:33 (thirteen years ago) link
heroin or whatever Grant was into didn't know this -- he was into heroin? drugs?
― tylerw, Wednesday, 14 July 2010 20:47 (thirteen years ago) link
They've been circumspect about it. I don't see evidence from '84 onwards of heroin use.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 July 2010 20:53 (thirteen years ago) link
was playing bright yello the other day and that one really grew on me. i think i pretty much like the whole thing now. when it was released it came w/a limited bonus disc; and "the locust girls" on that is *stunning*
― fried ice cream is a reality (outdoor_miner), Wednesday, 14 July 2010 21:15 (thirteen years ago) link
That one had good songs but it's my least favorite of the comeback trilogy -- the production is colorless.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 July 2010 21:16 (thirteen years ago) link
^ yes. 2 things:
was just looking at these on ebay; oddly tempting: http://cgi.ebay.com/GO-BETWEENS-Badges-x20-16-Lovers-Lane-Tallulah-Set-/290454225024?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_MusicMemorabilia&hash=item43a06bc080#ht_902wt_982
and has anyone seen / read Robert's book? http://www.amazon.com/10-Rules-Rock-Roll/dp/1863954503/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279142698&sr=8-3
― nerve_pylon, Wednesday, 14 July 2010 21:25 (thirteen years ago) link
Christgau had some complimentary things to say.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 July 2010 21:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Wince wince--why's he getting to publish a collection of critical essays? No doubt being "famous" helps, though I suspect being famous in Australia helps a lot more--embattled colonial cultures go out of their way to support their own. Anyway, as a connoisseur of the form I'm here to tell you that this is a damn good collection of critical essays. I agree with Forster's judgments no more than half the time and probably less--he's fonder than I would have thought of various folkies, and, in a contrarian/revisionist trend I have no use for, champions such ignored or half-forgotten MOR heroes as Glen Campbell, Neil Diamond, and Nana Mouskouri. Only he's never in the least contrarian about it, because his method is always to appreciatively describe the work at hand. The voice is knowledgeable without being even a little full of itself, and radiates a musician's kindness to other musicians without letting failed efforts off the hook. The insights into the recording process are sharp without being inside, and the Australia-specific stuff, usually about artists I've barely heard or never heard of, is consistently fascinating. His criticism is kind of like his music. He's no hotshot--modest confidence is his m.o.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 July 2010 21:33 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh -- Xgau's long interview with Forster is in this month's Believer. Good stuff.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 02:43 (thirteen years ago) link
No love for "I Need Two Heads", their Postcard single?
Also "Spring Hill Fair" seems rather underrepresented here. Every track is pretty much indispensible.
― bham, Thursday, 15 July 2010 08:25 (thirteen years ago) link
Not every track, but it is their most underrated of the original albums imho.
― "The Dad" from Gay Dad (King Boy Pato), Thursday, 15 July 2010 08:51 (thirteen years ago) link
agreed
also the 2cd reissue of it has my fave bonus tracks
― the dolly doctor movement (electricsound), Thursday, 15 July 2010 08:53 (thirteen years ago) link
SHF is the first one I bought, so I've considerable affection for it: love the "produced" post-Talking Heads sound on "You've Never Lived" and "Slow Slow Music."
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 11:38 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, I think SHF is amazing, and the bonus tracks from that era are probably my favorite bonus tracks. But these days I prefer Liberty Belle and Tallulah; I have no problem saying the latter is their most concentrated music and that "Clarke Sisters" is likely their greatest track ever.
They were definitely a critics' band in the sense that they were so self-editing and so careful about their effects, but they were also very warm-hearted and open to stuff...like Glen Campbell or whoever Christgau has no use for. I enjoy Gordon Lightfoot and Tom Rush, and all those folkies. But if Christgau wants to worry about it, have at it. Those Forster solo records I enjoy so much are all about folkiedom and singer-songwriters and of course, Forster's version of America--the wide open spaces and strums of canyon-sized importance.
― ebbjunior, Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:16 (thirteen years ago) link
The Evangelist really is a marvelous album: definitely an album to savor as one becomes old enough to understand the tug of spouses and adopted homeland, and the pain of missing dead friends one probably loved more than a spouse or adopted homeland. How amazing that he's writing songs this good.
In that Believer interview, Forster cautions Christgau and the audience not to expect another album for another few years.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Just listened to this interview with Forster in which he elucidates his ten rules of rock 'n' roll. From his book. I was actually somewhat disappointed--great bands never make solo records, great artists hide behind their managers. True enough. I did like the one about how great bands never do anything new after the first 20 minutes on stage and the one about show-offs who change guitars after every three songs: they're not really playing, they're just exhibiting their guitar collections. But in general, not as sharp as I would've expected--funny enough, I guess.
I also like Evangelist. Fine indeed. He's one droll man and just has it as a songwriter, in my book.
― ebbjunior, Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:57 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYxWpYaw_vE
― yuoowemeone, Saturday, 31 May 2014 09:12 (nine years ago) link
3 years pass. More like 30.
Never understood the reverence , so made another effort tonight.
I always loved 'Streets of your Town'. I realise that could be a typical pick for a GB newbie
The only other song I think is excellent is ' Love is a Sign'. Beauty.
Apologies to the diehards. I only have the 78 - 90 thing.
The only other thing I remember is 'i don't wanna be Grant McClennan' but I think that was by Buffalo Tom ; -)
― Jessie Fer Ark (Mobbed Up Ping Pong Psychos), Saturday, 14 February 2015 00:37 (nine years ago) link
Guess I don't understand lyrics - it's all just babble
― Jessie Fer Ark (Mobbed Up Ping Pong Psychos), Saturday, 14 February 2015 00:40 (nine years ago) link
For me it's the overall effect, good phrases and ones I don't always catch, caught up in the music. Re the rain at an outdoor show in Denmark, one of 'em says, "We'll try to do something about that," and they already are: sounds like the sun's keeping time as they lope through the dust and rust of Down Under distances, which keep getting "older and longer and higher," while the singers are older anyway, not pretending to be wiser, but been at it so long, can't help remembering some of how people places and things go, despite all the flights and a few fights, at least. Not that they're really tough guys: the epic finale is about bugging on a librarian who "stands behind the counter, and solves all the problems I encounter," in terms of finding books, anyway. On the road to that counter: "Visions of blue! Might be perverse but it's true," and "I don't blame her, people don't know what they want," and "Clouds lie on their backs and rain on everyone/You're always dry, gotcher own pirate sun...People say I'm mad to want you." Good set: a coople of fast-enough strummers, then the whole band. mp3s and lossless.http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/113517138382/the-go-betweens-roskilde-festival-denmark-june Thanks again, Tyler.
― dow, Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:57 (eight years ago) link
Reminds me of how Janet Weiss's drumming fit right into that last Go-Betweens album (was it the last? Think so).
― dow, Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:03 (eight years ago) link
best song not yet mentioned on this thread: "mrs morgan"
― ciderpress, Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:07 (eight years ago) link
The Evangelist really is a marvelous album
Yes. If you are not familiar with this, you should seek it out.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:15 (eight years ago) link
dammit why can't you FP on zing
― ( who ALSO my boss and his sister!) (sic), Thursday, 14 May 2015 23:08 (eight years ago) link
Even better sound quality on this Grant/GW McLennan collection I'm listening to: euphoric, driving full band show on the first ten tracks (with a really good singer-guitarist he addresses as Anna; Anna who, dammit?). 15 more solo acoustic, also clear and strong, so far. Beware of the stripedsunlight blog Rob mentions here as a source: good reading matter, but all the links I tried were dead or polluted. No prob with Rob's repercussion round-up though; thanks again, Rob:http://dbs-repercussion.blogspot.com/search/label/Grant%20McLennan
― dow, Friday, 15 May 2015 01:23 (eight years ago) link
Happy to oblige, dow.
Too bad about the links at stripedsunlight. He/they shared some great stuff over the years...
― Robinbrevard, Saturday, 16 May 2015 16:43 (eight years ago) link
where should I go after Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane? I tend to like Quiet Heart, Right Here, Streets of Your Town....or the singer that doesn't sound like Verlaine. though he's growing on me too. tia
― campreverb, Sunday, 17 May 2015 00:30 (eight years ago) link
Before Hollywood. It's harder and treble-ier.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 17 May 2015 00:37 (eight years ago) link
And now for something--not completely different, but the earliest and post-punkiest Go-Betweens I've heard, as a trio, on a good live FM tape from Sydney, in 1982. Short, sometimes curt phrases, tending to staccato and oblique strokes of pen and guitar, but some supple turns of phrase come through clearly enough already, like "His inner self left him for someone else," and "I know you, you're easy to find/Come see me," and lots more in the second half, especially starting in "our big single, that put us on the road to success," which sounds like they like the early Cure: "And with all of these things that are said/Sometimes I think I need two heads" (mention of a "child detective" in here too), followed by a semi-cryptic sex song--"This is what comes of dressing up like spies"---again, getting clear enough. especially after a penultimate scramble: "I forgot my jeans/I forgot your name."Would like to hear some of these mixed in with their later, better-known style, especially when the transition happens in songs like that last," "Near The Chimney," but much moreso in the next one, "Undo What You Did": "Now---I can't--"("He can't") "--say what I like, in front of, in front of---undo wot you did!/Take away the times/That I/Ev-en said...(guitar comes in to save him).They also sound like they like Joy D. and early Wire (Tyler suggests The Birthday Party and The Fire Engines). But you can tell it's them, rattling along in an absurdist, earnest, worthy-apprentice way:http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/54019602979/something-between-you-and-i-a-rare-glimpse-of
― dow, Monday, 18 May 2015 00:38 (eight years ago) link
[misc xposts]
There's one school of thought that maintains the even-numbered LPs, of the original batch, are the most accomplished, so yeah Before Hollywood and also the Liberty Belle..., by that line of thinking. Aside from the first LP, both singers get equal number of tracks.
"Don't Want to be Grant McLennan" was by Smudge. ie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZYifV6mb84
Janet Weiss was on the third-from-last LP only, in 2000. Went back to a strictly 'strayan rhythm section after that IIRC.
― Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Monday, 18 May 2015 04:23 (eight years ago) link
I knew Jim Elkinton was one cool motherfucker, I didn't know just how cool, though.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 8 January 2019 20:58 (five years ago) link
Yeesh, ELKINGTON. The man's name is JAMES ELKINGTON and he is delightful.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 8 January 2019 21:01 (five years ago) link
^ Bless.
Spooky that this has been bumped today as I literally just finished watching the full length Right Here documentary after the DVD distributor offered massive discounts over Xmas. Way better--in terms of dealing with musical context and actual specific songs--than the 1 hour version that was streamlined for ABC (Aus) general audiences. Though oddly, the 45 minutes of outtakes seemed to be exactly the same.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Wednesday, 9 January 2019 06:11 (five years ago) link
Thanks for the tip! is it this?: https://www.amazon.com/Go-Betweens-Right-Here/dp/B07HSM23W4/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1547052532&sr=1-1&keywords=go+betweens+right+here Note reviewer warning us against the other version---"lacks 45 minutes of bonus footage"---also on Amazon and a bit more expensive.
― dow, Wednesday, 9 January 2019 16:54 (five years ago) link
That's a shame. I have the Umbrella one which claims to be "NTSC - All Region". The bonus stuff is no less interesting, IMHO.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Thursday, 10 January 2019 01:09 (five years ago) link