STACK #130 Aug 2016

REVIEWS

MUSIC

just like starting over Had he lived, John Lennon would turn 75 on October 9. Which means – because he had 17 years on the world stage before his murder in 1980 – that he's been dead twice as long as he was alive and famous. If you take out Lennon's solo projects during the final years of the Beatles – largely unlistenable and now time-locked avant- garde work with Yoko Ono, aside from the Live Peace in Toronto album – he recorded seven studio albums in the final decade of his life. All of those albums and the posthumous Milk and Honey have long been out of print on vinyl, so the nine album box set Lennon ( Sometime in New York City, a double record) of the whole lot on 180gm virgin vinyl has been welcomed by collectors and those who just want to hear this music afresh. It's like a history of rock'n'roll as the scratched-together

band (which included Eric Clapton) rip through old rock standards, a couple of Lennon's Beatles and post-Beatle songs, and then Ono takes us into a pre-punk/ avant-garde future with a whole side of screaming over rough guitar jamming and riffery. But here are all the studio albums from his still astonishing John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band through Imagine , the wobbly double Some Time in New York City , the somewhat uneven Mind Games , Walls and Bridges , the obligation covers album Rock'n'Roll , and the final in his lifetime, Double Fantasy (co-credited with Ono) and Milk and Honey (also co-credited to Ono). This month, however, the individual albums are also being issued separately. And because things like the agit-prop Some Time in New York City have dated badly (what does Rockefeller mean to anyone today?), and the final two are musically less interesting (aside from Ono's songs, but she's an acquired taste), you may want to cherry pick. Here are four of the best (below). Graham Reid

Suze DeMarchi Home A rock chick gets married, becomes a mum and spends more than 15 years living overseas. Then she splits with her husband and returns home: a Baby Animal grows up. But there’s no place like home to Suze DeMarchi, as she sings, “Nobody has to cry to make it seem real.” DeMarchi is singing songs about habitation and haven, including Sheryl Crow’s Home ,

Adele’s Hometown Glory , Bastille’s Get Home , and Ryan Adams’ Come Home . And the album – produced by Shane Nicholson – is peppered with duets: DeMarchi and Russell Morris add some muscle to Graham Nash’s Our House , she teams up with Tex Perkins for a take on The Box Tops’ The Letter , and she and Dallas Frasca are obviously having a ball doing The Clash’s Safe European Home . She also reunites with old buddies Diesel and Jimmy Barnes for a rollicking version of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s House Is Rockin’ . DeMarchi has not made enough albums; Home comes 16 years after her solo debut, and she’s done just four albums with Baby Animals in 25 years; but this release shows she’s still one of our finest singers. Welcome home. (Social Family Records) Jeff Jenkins

Four of the Best from a Former Fab Four Man

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970) An extraordinary, musically spare and emotionally bare collection. From “Mother, you had me but I never had you” through to “I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me, Yoko and me,” this was therapy in song. Open heart surgery on the soul and unique in popular music. Imagine (1971) That Hit, but also the revealing Crippled Inside, Jealous Guy (consider how many of his Beatles' songs were about jealousy) and How? , the angry Gimme Some Truth and gentle Oh My Love . Further proof what a complex, emotionally volatile The album that included the hit Whatever Gets You Through the Night with Elton John has aged better than others. Steel and Glass is a rewrite of How Do You Sleep?, with former manager Allen Klein in the sightlines, Bless You a heartfelt ballad, and #9 Dream boasts a glorious melody. There's filler, but the best make this worth discovering. Rock'n'Roll (1975) Lennon (separated from Ono, drinking heavily) employed Phil Spector (also out of control) to oversee some legal-obligation rock'n'roll sessions in Los Angeles. Out of the ensuing chaos Lennon salvaged this, which at its best ( Stand By Me, Ain't That a Shame, Slippin' and Slidin' ) sounds like a man with little to prove and obviously enjoying himself. man he was, but also memorable tunes. Walls and Bridges (1974)

Fraser A. Gorman Slow Gum

The Fratellis Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied

Slow Gum is the debut full-length album for Melbourne’s favourite son, singer-songwriter Fraser A. Gorman. And having recently toured overseas with label mate and friend Courtney Barnett, it seems the rest of the world is catching on too. Gorman’s charm and likeability is contagious, from his Dylanesque curly mop to his catchy country folk musings. He is a storyteller who paints vivid tales of life and love with the spirited musical accompaniment of guitars, fiddle, harmonica, pedal steel and drums. His sound is organic and real; if this is just the beginning, I can’t wait for what comes next. Good one Fraser.

Nearly a decade since the Glasgow trio debuted their

unique take on rock/pop/garage fun, it’s now apparent the gloves are off and sounding BIG ain’t no crime to The Fratellis. Of course, that’s why on track two it’s also okay to jump into a Tom Petty/ Springsteen stadium shuffle- hustle. In fact, a country-twanged vibe slips through on Desperate Guy , making one think that references to The Boss aren’t a mere coincidence. Thief fires a straight-to-the-brain anthem to which one can imagine hundreds pogoing in unison at festivals the world over. It’s pop, but sharp, calculated and smart. (CookingVinyl) Chris Murray

(Milk Records) Denise Hylands

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