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18 AUGUST 2017
visit MUSIC REVIEWS
Various
Beautiful: A Tribute
To Carole King
Seven years after Marcia Hines’
Tapestry tribute, a bunch of
Aussie artists are saluting Carole
King. Eight tracks come from
Tapestry , two from King’s 1970
debut Writer, plus covers of a
couple of ’60s gems King wrote
with then-husband, Gerry Goffin.
Vika and Linda Bull get on board
The Loco-Motion (which became
Kylie’s debut) and Human Nature
tackle One Fine Day, which was
first a hit for The Chiffons in 1963.
Other standouts include Daryl
Braithwaite’s take on Up On The
Roof and Tina Arena’s So Far Away.
And Esther Hannaford, the local
star of the Carole King musical,
performs the title track. Beautiful,
indeed.
(Sony) Jeff Jenkins
Sonny Landreth
Recorded Live In Lafayette
Slide guitarist and singer-
songwriter Sonny Landreth plays
with a strong zydeco influence,
and here showcases his acoustic
and electric virtuosity on this
career-spanning double album.
Playing with the slide on his little
finger so that his other fingers
have more room to fret behind
it, Landreth and his road band –
bass, drums, keyboards, guitar,
accordion – open proceedings with
an acoustic set that includes their
arrangement of the blues classic
Key To The Highway.
The electric repertoire on disc two
features several instrumentals of
rocking blues, highlighted by a
show-stopping version of the Son
House classic Walkin' Blues.
(Mascot)
Billy Pinnell
Paul Kelly
Life Is Fine
The album opens with some ominous piano. It’s
obvious that not everything is fine. As Paul Kelly
explains, “I worried about Life Is Fine as a title
because life is not fine for everyone. But I like the
original meaning of fine, as in life is a fine thread.
We never know what is just around the corner.”
Life is precarious, though you can rely on Paul Kelly – “I’m a man with a
plan,” he states in Firewood And Candles – but his songs are filled with
surprising twists and turns; a Springsteenesque guitar solo in Rising
Moon, a delightfully dreamy chorus in Leah: The Sequel, while My Man’s
Got A Cold, sung by Vika Bull, is a wry look at the debilitating disease that
is man flu. Sonically, Life Is Fine is a throwback to The Coloured Girls of
the ’80s, recalling albums such as Under The Sun. It’s a collaborative affair
– Kelly wrote four songs with former Ferret Billy Miller – and a muscular
sound, with a rumbling rhythm section sweetened by the sublime backing
vocals of Vika and Linda Bull. “I might live till 100, I might die soon,” Kelly
declares in Rising Moon. Whatever happens, his songs will live on forever.
(EMI/Universal) Jeff Jenkins
Dan Sultan Killer
Killer delivers gospel and blues
in a package of tight rock songs.
Plumbing these traditions is well-
worn territory for those whose
instrument of choice is the voice,
but few are as ready for it as Sultan;
over the past ten years, his records
have showcased one of Australia’s
strongest and most essential voices.
Killer is its greatest exhibition yet.
On opener Drover, that voice goes
right back to blues’ origins under
the beating sun, imagining an
Australian plantation song based on
the Wave Hill walk-off of Indigenous
workers in 1966. On Kingdom, it
summons the lingering oppression
of Indigenous Australians on their
own land. On Reaction, it goes
Patrick Stump via Future Islands for
one of the year’s most immediate
chart-friendly rippers. Killer is poised
to sweep up anyone not already
on Sultan’s soul train. (Liberation)
Jake Cleland
Jen Cloher Jen Cloher
Jen Cloher has always been
admired for her remarkable
honesty, one of her defining traits
as a musician. On her self-titled
fourth album, she's more candid
than ever as she reveals her
journey towards personal discovery
in the wake of some major life
experiences. Forgot Myself is a raw
account of Cloher’s long-distance
relationship, while the sprawling,
seven-minute Analysis Paralysis
reflects on the government’s
continued stance against same-sex
marriage. Shoegazers is a critical
look at the music industry, and
Strong Woman is an empowering
number that explores women
demanding respect and being in
charge of their own lives. At its
core, this album is a fierce battle
cry from one of the most important
voices in Australian music.
(Milk! Records) Holly Pereira
The Preatures
Girlhood
The Preatures’ second album
is like the soundtrack to a teen
movie, with singer Izzi Manfredi
telling the coming-of-age story of
a Sydney girl. The title track sets
the scene with a two-and-a-half-
minute blast of nervous energy,
sounding like a cross between
Blondie and Magic Dirt. But just
when you’re expecting a rock
record, the four-piece become
more reflective, before taking a
trip to the dancefloor. And every
good teen movie needs a couple
of big ballads – check out Magick
and Cherry Ripe. Delightfully
diverse – the album even features
vocals in Italian and the local
Indigenous language – Girlhood is
one of 2017’s great pop records.
(Universal)
Jeff Jenkins
Joan Osborne
Songs Of Bob Dylan
For her ninth studio album, singer,
songwriter and interpreter of great
songs Joan Osborne has mined
the Bob Dylan songbook, and
arranged each of these 13 tracks
to suit the virtuosity of her backing
musicians who contribute guitars,
keyboards and occasional fiddle.
Included are older numbers
Tangled Up In Blue, The Mighty
Quinn (still a sing-along), a
reinvented Highway 61 Revisited,
a bluesy Rainy Day Women, the
timeless Masters Of War, obscure
gems such as Dark Eyes and
Buckets Of Rain and some newer
songs including Ring Them Bells,
Trying To Get To Heaven, and High
Water.
(CookingVinyl)
Billy Pinnell
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