STACK Jul #129

105

Ben Salter

The Stars My Destination

“I’m getting older, but I’m not

any wiser,” Ben Salter states on

his second solo album. But one

listen to the record confirms

the contrary. This is whip-smart

Aussie soul, imbued with drama,

tension and a vocal that’s brooding

and believable. Salter – also a

member of The Gin Club and The

Wilson Pickers – has crafted a

compelling song cycle with a little

help from his Gin Club cohorts,

Adrian Stoyles on bass and Gus

Agars on drums, and co-producer

Dan Luscombe on keys and

guitar. “Tonight, the stars are my

destination,” he declares. Mission

accomplished. Ben Salter has

arrived

(ABC/Universal)

Jeff Jenkins

ed Zeppelin

Presence

inishing off the ‘reissues with lotsa goodies’ rollout

om Zep’s official catalogue (wait until they hit the live

ootlegs!) includes this seldom-referenced offering

om 1976. Up there with all the blistering Viking

lood-screams of

Immigrant Song

is the opener,

chilles’ Last Stand

, a crushing drum and wailing guitar

0min+ soundtrack to imaginary battles between

Gods and monsters, creation and destruction, light

and shade – it’s no wonder Jimmy Page claims it as his favourite Zep song.

The effortless jigger-jagger ‘co-cay-co-cay-cocaaiiine’ groove of

For Your Life

leads into the sharp bright pulse of Royal Orleans. Then there’s

Nobody’s Fault

But Mine.

No Led Zep fan worth their salt cannot but help air-guitar and recite

all lyrics verbatim the very second this hits the ear. At 2min 47sec, the track

mesmerisingly ups the ante further by planting a harped boot on your throat,

reminding you just how engulfing and fully aware of their projected energy this

outfit possessed when ‘on fire’. The extras on this release aren’t exactly as ‘Oh

My God!’ as the others, but the trick here is to realise that the oft-unsung sum of

this album’s original parts are integral (and nicely remastered, to be sure) to the

hallowed legacy of Zeppelin’s tenacity to ‘explore’.

Chris Murray

(

Warner)

Born Lion

Final Words

Sydney’s Born Lion are one of the

few Australian punk rock bands

blessed with vision beyond the

mainstream punk rock realm. Their

vocalist‘s strained, rusty screech

lends the entire band an angular

jaunt.

Final Words

and its shrieking

anthems like

Good Times Jimmy

and

Break the Curse

are rigid and

unrelenting like clenched fists

straining through the seams of a

straightjacket. These

Final Words

are somewhere between Future of

the Left, with The Bronx’s swagger

and Everytime I Die’s strut, and

they are damn decisive words for a

debut release.

(Four/Four)

Emily Kelly

Veruca Salt

Ghost Notes

It’s been two decades between

albums for ’90s champs Veruca

Salt, but

Ghost Notes

reunites

them with their

American

Thighs

producer Brad Wood and

reignites the Chicago quartet’s

high-powered bubblegum

grunge. Co-leaders Nina Gordon

and Louise Post still lodge spiky

lyrics in catchy anthems, as on

The Gospel According to Saint

and

The Museum of Broken

Relationships

, while

Triage

taps

a quiet-loud dynamic for fuzzy

catharsis. Veruca Salt are still

fairly one-note when it comes to

range, but they’re as emotionally

potent as ever.

(Warner)

DougWallen

Alison Ferrier

Be Here Now

Alison Ferrier’s second solo

offering shares a title with

an Oasis album, but her

downbeat rootsy sound is

a million miles from Britpop.

Exquisitely produced by Jeff

Lang, Ferrier sounds wonderfully

detached. When she sings,

“I want to disappear”, you

believe her. Less is more with

Ferrier’s backing band – Justin

Bernasconi on guitar, Cat

Canteri on drums and Ben

Franz on bass and pedal steel.

They never overplay, perfectly

complementing Ferrier’s simple

but powerful songs. “Do you

feel the chill?” Ferrier asks. Yes,

indeed.

Be Here Now

an understated gem.

(MGM)

Jeff Jenkins

Richard Thompson

Still

Still

was recorded in just nine

days with Wilco frontman Jeff

Tweedy producing, backed by

several longtime players from

both Thompson and Tweedy's

bands, and singer Judith Owen.

Thompson, one of the pioneers

of British folk-rock with his

band Fairport Convention, also

happens to be one of Tweedy's

favourite singer/songwriter

guitarists. Thompson delivers one

outstanding song after another,

like the rocking

Beatnik Walking

(that alludes to Rupert Murdoch),

the solo acoustic

Josephine,

and

the appropriately titled

Guitar

Heroes,

which references Django

Reinhardt, Les Paul, Chuck Berry,

James Burton and Hank Marvin.

(Planet/MGM) Billy Pinnell

John Farnham and

Olivia Newton John

Highlights from Two Strong

Hearts: Live

It’s what they call a 'no-brainer'

– put two superstars together on

the same stage and you’ve got

a blockbuster. The inevitable live

album is a generous affair, with

21 tracks, including 15 duets.

We even find Farnham playing

John Travolta’s role in

You’re the

One that I Want

and

Summer

Nights

, (from

Grease

) and

taking Cliff Richard’s part in the

underrated

Suddenly.

Other

surprises include a lovely version

of Peter Allen’s

Tenterfield Saddler

and covers of

Hit the Road Jack

and

Fever

. Showcasing the

Australian Philharmonic Orchestra,

Two Strong Hearts

is a definite

crowd-pleaser.

(Sony Music)

Jeff Jenkins

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