Highest branch on the apple tree It was my favourite place to be

Crowded House - Together Alone (1993) ****

Nominated by: Kevvy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Private Universe, Together Alone

This one is world famous in New Zealand. I've written about it on my music blog before - see this link on  Goo Goo G'Joob.

So, I'm on record as saying this is my favourite Crowdies album:

Fourth album... is my favourite - mainly because of the enormity of the stand-out tracks: Pineapple Head; Private Universe; Distant Sun and Together Alone, but also because it feels like a proper album, rather than some great songs mixed with other songs.

Kudos to Youth and Bob Clearmountain for their expertise in making these songs sound great!

So there it is! I stand by those comments.

I've also written about the Distant Sun single when I did a run down of all my singles. Go here for that one.

I summed up that song with:

Distant Sun sounds like a Macca outtake circa Red Rose Speedway. That's a good thing btw. It's a cool song and a stand out from Together Alone.

Again, I stand by that. But what about the album as a whole?

Well, there's a palpable darkness and sense of loss to these songs that is kind of appealing. The cheeky chappy Crowdies of the earlier albums are replaced by something different this time out. If I didn't know better I'd say Neil suffered some traumas as a child that surfaced in his writing during Together Alone: 

• We're standing in a deep dark hole beneath the sky as black as coal (In My Command)
• You my companion run to the water on a burning beach (Nails In My Feet)
• To the depths of despair you will crawl (Black and white Boy)
• There is time yet to fall by the way from the cradle to the grave from the palace to the gutter (Fingers Of Love)
• If you choose to take that path I will play you like a shark (Pineapple Head)
• The view when I look through the window is an altarpiece I'm praying to for the living and the dead (Locked Out)
• It's a tight squeeze but I won't let go, time is on the table and the dinner's cold (Private Universe)
• I will run for shelter (Private Universe)
• At odd times we slip slither down the dark hole (Walking On the Spot)
• An eerie shadow falls (Walking On The Spot)
• Will we be in our minds when the dawn breaks? (Walking On the Spot)
• Lounging on the sofa maybe see the living room die dishes are unwashed and broken all you do is cry (Walking On The Spot)
• As time slips by, and on and on (Distant Sun)
• Bad moon is rising again (Catherine Wheels)

That's a fair dollop of bad juju right there.

Given those lyrics and themes, I'd assume some purging of bad experiences was taking place, however, I know Tim and Neil and their two sisters had a great childhood in Te Awamutu, and that Dick and Mary were terrific parents. 

So what's going on?

I guess you could put a lot of this down to poetic license, but it does seem like Youth unlocked some weird and wonderful lyrics in Neil. Maybe it was all the electric puhu that they were smoking! Maybe it was the isolated location in their hired house and the eventual cabin fever. Maybe Nil decided to unleash his visceral Lennon  side. Or maybe he was channeling Tim's darker persona. Who knows. No one's saying.

There's also a great sense of experimentation going on in the music on this album. Mark Hart brings a lot to the party. And Youth's hippie presence and tendency toward wild abandon helps tracks like Black And White Boy, and Locked Out take on U2 style guitar edge (see what I did there?). Generally though, it appears they all went a little bat shit crazy in KareKare.

What I also love about the album is the unified sense of love for place and person that bookends things.

Opener, Kare Kare, is all about celebrating the place where the album was recorded, and final song Together Alone is surely about brotherly love in general and Tim/Neil in particular. The use of Maori choir, brass band and Pasifika log drummers are great touches. They throw everything at this song and everything works. It could only ever be the final track.

The parting words of the album are all about an enduring love that the brothers share (and by extension their parents):

Rangi the sky-father is above/ The earth-mother is below/ Our love for one another/ Is everlasting.

It's not perfect as an album, so it gets 4 stars from me. A couple of the tracks (Nails In My Feet and Fingers Of Love) I find either unconvincing or too Nil Funn mannered in the vocal inflection department to really enjoy whole heartedly.

But, that's nit picking really, as this is, overall, an outstanding achievement from an outstanding band.

New sensation

INXS- Kick (1987) ***

Nominated by: Biggie G

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Devil Inside

Back to the eighties for Biggie G's latest selection and it's all a bit of a blur really, the late eighties.

We had two children by 1987 and were just getting used to that, plus disposable income? Ha ha ha!! No chance.

Even if I did have cash for records I would not have bought this album I suspect. It's just not to my taste, and I freely acknowledge that I am in a minority as far as appreciation of INXS goes. Plus - I'm a mass of contradictions - I love a lot of mainstream music, but I didn't go for INXS.

In my head I can divide Aussie rock bands into two basic categories: the have its and the have nots. 'It' being a certain level of authenticity.

Of the old skool bands, Cold Chisel, The Aztecs, Midnight Oil, Vertical Hold, AC DC have it.

INXS lacked that vital ingredient for me, hence me bypassing their undoubted charms. From what I could deduce from the pre internet news media, Michael Hutchence's personality certainly influenced my thoughts in this regard.

They certainly had hits (I can still admire the craft) and the first side of Kick is packed with them. But I sense that there is something contrived about Michael Hutchence et al that leaves me shrugging my shoulders. The song Mediate kind of sums that feel up - a rhyming dictionary and bingo - another song!

My problem entirely, because the band and this album went mega huge.

The hits are justifiable product - catchy, snappy, hook laden, cool Keef Richard inspired guitar riffs, anthemic sounds, Jagger-ish vocals and simplicity (it's a tough ask to craft pop this well so that it appears simple but they accomplish this).

The second side doesn't have the same quality as the first but the sound and those Stones moves are still there in abundance.

Bottom line - I know I'll be in a minority with this one.

Lottery noises

Alvvays - Blue Rev (2022) ****

Nominated by: Tom

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition:  Velveteen

Alvvays are a new experience for me - a very pleasant one too. Their indie pop sound is easy to enjoy.

Some of the tracks reminded me of The Beths - New Zealand's own indie pop band fronted by a talented female. Velveteen is an example - even down to the vocal inflections. Pomeranian Spinster, After The Earthquake are others. I'm sure they are operating independently but it was sure close. Maybe it's the commonwealth connection - loved those songs anyway.

Aside from that Blue Rev presents a pretty cool dream pop sound. Best songs in that vein are Lottery Noises and Easy On Your Own.

Another clear highlight is Belinda Says, with some lovely distorted guitars and the vocals are superb.

All up - a delightful experience Tom - thanks for the introduction!

BTW Tom Verlaine appears only in the last few lines of that song as a vague presence so nothing to read into that one.

Now you shake

Ray Columbus and The Invaders - Original Numbers (1966) ***

Nominated by: Simmsy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  I'm Finding Out

Mr Simms' instruction is not be hyper critical of this selection so here goes...

Ray and The Invaders were only together for a short time (basically four years from 1962) but they are firmly a key part of NZ music's DNA.

The Invaders included two other giants of the NZ music scene - Billy Kristian and Jimmy Hill and they were a big part of the group's success. But, really, Ray Columbus is the main protagonist here. I've mentioned him before in my Goo Goo G'Joob blog, so I won't labour the point here.

Instead, let's consider their final album together, released in 1966. Kudos for all original material on display. She's a Mod and Till We Kissed were cover versions and huge hits, so it must have been extremely tempting for the savvy Ray to go with another one but he resisted.

So what we have are 28 minutes of NZ's version of American R&B via British R&B (some of the early Invaders singles included covers of Beatle/Stones songs). I'm Finding Out, for instance sounds a tad like The Yardbirds covering a John Lee Hooker song. Yes - it's that good!

No surprise that the band jumped ships to Max Merritt after this album and Ray headed to America for a few years and the successful solo career.

What we are left with is a fun album very much of its time. It's pretty much beyond criticism - Ray's voice is just part of the fabric of my life as a kiwi music fan. He and The Avengers have reached National Treasure status which means they are beyond picky preferences.

There you go Kevvy - how was that me old mucker?

Baloney again

Mark Knopfler - Sailing to Philadelphia (2000) *** 

Nominated by: Big G

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  The Last Laugh

Interesting title and cover image. I'm guessing that the modern equivalent of Sailing To Philadelphia is flying. It's a startling image thanks to the cropping of most of the plane. Classy and understated.

That sums up this album actually, and Mark's guitar skills.

Now, cards on the table, aside from their first album and Making Movies, I do not own the huge sellers in the Dire Straits catalogue. 

Why is that, you wonder? Musical snobbery? Maybe a bit. I was a bit contrary back in the day and avoided some bands. I certainly avoided Brothers In Arms - mainly because my brother liked it! GK loved the band from the off and tried to interest me in them in the late seventies but I found other things I liked more.

Partly it's Mark's vocals which don't do it for me. When James Taylor enters on the title track the stark contrast is a shock (same as Van the man). I wished he'd (they'd) sung the whole thing! Mostly I think it's Knopfler's lazy cigarette damaged mumbled drawl delivery - there's not much variation in pitch and words are often very difficult to understand so I tend to lose interest over an album.

Anyway, enough faffing around GK. Let's get to it!

To me, this album sounds like a laid back 2000 Dire Straits' album. In truth there's not much difference between the two as Mark sang and played guitar for Dire Straits and he does the same here. The only difference is that if he'd used the Dire Straits name for this one, he'd have sold a gazillion more copies I suspect.

So, the highlights. Guitar wise - opening track What It Is is sublime! Song wise,  Speedway At Nazareth sounds like an outtake from Making Movies (so, yes, I like it a lot). At six minutes plus it could have stretched out even more and kept me spellbound. Overall, I'll plump for the Van vehicle The Last Laugh. The great man adds a lot to the familiar Knopfler style.

And the lowlights (the Baloney again if you will), and I suspect these are the songs GK and Kevy may like the most: El Macho drifts along pleasantly but it's a tad long; Prairie Wedding, Wanderlust are just another couple of mid paced songs and his voice is too close for my comfort. So a mid album slackening of pace is an issue for me.

Bottom line - a three star rating = pretty fine! 

How are you doing?

The Front Lawn - Songs From The Front Lawn   (1989) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Andy

Let's start with the obvious stand out track - Andy. It's brilliant. One of the main reasons being that it stands up to repeat listens - it never gets old for me. That heart-felt slow reveal is without the kind of smart arse grinning cynicism that a few of the other Sinclair dominated songs have. Justifiably, it is seen as one of the greatest NZ songs ever.

Never fear - thanks to Don McGlashan's presence, there are a few other beauties on this debut. Notably Claude Rains, and Tomorrow Night.

I do find Harry Sinclair's delivery a bit smarmy so I'm less inclined to his material. Theme (from the lounge bar) is an example - the rinky dink music suits the idea of a lounge bar in the imagination but it ultimately feels rinky dink.

The idea for How Are You Doing? feels like a logical extension of some characters from Walkshort - a very cleverly filmed NZ short film The Front Lawn made a couple of years before. But it doesn't really work as a song.

The rest are so so as songs. The problem at times is the music is mixed down a lot, Harry's vocals are not as strong as Don's, and the actual songs feel like works in progress. But, hey! This was their debut, so some slack is called for here.

Overall, The Front Lawn are kiwi as - the vocal tics and the subject matter, that I can identify with as a kiwi, mark them out as a lovely little backwater bach that I visit from time to time.

Certainly Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement were paying close attention to McGlashan and Sinclair.  

Okay - I'm off to listen to Andy again. 

For Wanda

A Silver Mt. Zion - He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts if Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms... (2000) ***

Nominated by: Alex

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition:  Sit In The Middle Of Three Galloping Dogs  

I'm partial to many of the bands/artists in the postrock genre - they often operate in a vocal free zone, and, interestingly, they are often magpies - stealing bits and pieces from all sorts of other genres to create interesting, challenging, new music.

A Silver Mt. Zion are no exception. The two guys - guitarists Efrim Menuck, Thierry Amar, and violinist Sophie Trudeau produce music that to my ears builds on elements of ambient, avant-garde and prog rock (Galloping Dogs is a favourite). As well as that I heard things that reminded me of Gregorian chants, church steeple bells, and John Lennon's radio play.

I'll admit, it took me a few listens to relax into it. First play was a bit of a shock to the system - that first track makes you adjust and recalibrate your ears. Once I heard it through a few times it made more sense, and Alex's note that it was intended to be two sides really helped.

Favourite tracks: Galloping dogs and Stumble Then Rise On Some Awkward Morning - that last one is particularly affecting. Perfectly named too.

Thanks Alex - I would not have found this on my own volition so grateful for the selection.