Various Artists - The Great Australian Songbook (Album)
Ever been to a bad barbeque full of old blokes clutching VBs, dousing snags in tommy sauce and howling loudly to Chisel, The Oils and Daddy Cool? They get teary during Ganggajang’s “Sounds of Then (This is Australia)” and their emotional rendition of Hunters and Collectors’ “Throw Your Arms Around Me” makes the neighbours call the police. That’s what the first disc of this double album - entitled “Last Century” – is like. There’s the gothic drone of The Church’s “Under the Milky Way”, the breathy “I Honestly Love You” by Livvie, and the corny coming-of-age innuendo of Mondo Rock’s “Come Said the Boy”.
Ever been to a bad barbeque full of twentysomethings clutching boutique brews, dunking rosemary infused kebabs in dipping sauce and singing loudly to Powderfinger, Empire of the Sun and Alex Lloyd? They get teary during Djarimirri and their attempts to hit the high notes in Wolfmother’s “Woman” cause all the car alarms to go off. That’s the second CD, entitled “This Century”. Dance to the jangly pop of The Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition”, draw your partner close during Delta’s uplifting “Born to Try” and hum along to the rousing conclusion of The Middle East’s “Blood”. Ironically, this disc begins with Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” – a rocker heavily indebted to last century.
This compilation is misnamed. It’s a pop/rock collection that ignores country, folk, electronica and punk. Australian music legends like Slim Dusty, Lee Kernaghan and The Seekers are not included. If it were not for some notable exceptions (Sarah Blasko, Gotye) this would be The Big Bogan Songbook. Even Nick Cave is represented by the radio-friendly “Where the Wild Roses Grow”. Gurrumul is the only indigenous act to get a guernsey, which could be interpreted as tokenism. Yothu Yindi or the Wurrumpi band would’ve made a fine contribution to “Last Century”.
The cover, painted by Rolf Harris, is a homage to Sydney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series, but the rebel spirit associated with Ned and Nolan is sadly lacking here. Basically, this is a gift CD, released just in time for Christmas. It comes in two versions – the discs alone, or the Premium Edition which is accompanied by a 90 page book with handwritten lyrics, artwork, photographs or prose contributed by the musicians.
Everybody will find something to love and hate. The highlights for me were the hyperactive beat classic “Friday On My Mind” by The Easybeats, the complex pop rhythms of Silverchair’s “Straight Lines” and the guilty pleasure of The Veronicas’ “4ever”. The nadir was Farnsie’s “You’re the Voice”. Anthemic rock makes me break out in hives.
