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Rating: In that tiny fraction of human expression conventionally called rock, geniuses, inventors, innovators and so forth, are, as we know, a rare breed. When you take a closer look, there aren't many more of those who, without "making revolutions," and just by combining two or three elements of the matter, manage to jolt endorphins, serotonin and who knows what else, not only at the moment, but even "after," creating a sort of strange "retard" effect, that lights up randomly, even from a distance, as if tattooing mind and heart.
Dave Faulkner, born in 1958 from Perth, Australia, was someone who knew a lot about tattoos. His mom and dad had provided him with, besides a warm voice, a bit sly and conservatory tone, an extraordinary melodic sense; he then made use of this heritage by assembling, with musicians picked here and there, these Hoodoo Gurus in the early '80s Sydney. Genre? A prime power-pop, often with a proud garage stride but without the copy-paste effect of many contemporaries from the northern hemisphere. Quite energetic, sure, but also meticulously crafted and especially brushed with magnificent melodies. In the mid-decade USA college-radio, their albums and singles were spinning with delight, and hearing them, major labels were literally salivating.
Today "aussi-rock" is more demodé than a pair of Clarks, but believe me, when "Blow Your Cool!" was released (Elektra/Chrysalis 1987, for the more finicky their third album), there were distinguished critics who called H.G. the "best rock'n roll band of the moment" and adjectives like "epochal" for the album were not scarce even years later. Perhaps they were exaggerating, but try shaking off the impeccable melody of "Out that Door" that Faulkner's lady-killer voice elevates for a good four minutes or resist the relentless loop of "In the Middle of the Land" (with then unionist S.Wynn on backing vocals) worthy of the best Replacements or that slew of rugged riffs maybe of just a couple of notes and stop ("Where Nowhere Is"), but those that others don't produce in a career and with harmony textbook counterpoints and frantic rhythms, create sparks in the tracks that close the two sides in pairs. If you want, you can also try not to be enchanted by the arcane atmosphere of "My Caravan," which seems to stretch a "Thin White Rope" between the Mojave desert and the dry highlands near Perth, but that would mean not wanting to be kind to yourself. Of course, the production is, compared to the past, a tad too polished, some electric solos are just slightly flashy, and on a couple of occasions, an excess honey trickle indeed drips from the grooves, but on the other hand, with the major labels, in exchange for sponsorship, something had to be conceded.
These are nonetheless mild side effects, generally well-tolerated and not compromising the essence of what is the best antidepressant ever produced by this ancient and (little) renowned specialized firm from the antipodes. It can be consumed in large quantities over long periods without addiction risks and even in conjunction with alcoholic drinks which, in fact, enhance its action. The beneficial and lasting effects on mood that result from it are, I take full responsibility, absolutely guaranteed.
(almost four)
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 What's My Scene (03:50)
And another thing
I've been wondering lately
Oh, baby,
Tell me where have you been?
Now the stage is set
Where's my Juliet, baby?
Is it maybe
My Midsummer Night's Dream?
What's my scene?
Like a talent scout
I'm always checking out new blood
Oh, I'd do good
If you tell me your game.
Playing Solitaire
Doesn't get me where you would
And, honey, you could
Play by any rules that you care to name.
What's my scene? (I gotta know)
They say, yeah, they say
Making love, you can make it pay.
They say, yeah, they say,
But we know there's a better way
Any day.
And another thing
I've been wondering lately
Am I crazy
To believe in ideals?
I'm a betting man
But it's getting damn lonely.
Oh, honey, it only
I could be sure what I feel.
What's my scene? (I'm dying to know)
I'll never know.
Well, I concede
I've been caught in someone else's scene (but that's not me).
Where, oh where, oh where can my scene be?
Please answer - me
What's my ..?
04 I Was the One (04:11)
Darling,this is goodbye
Kiss me,I don`t know why.
You were always beautiful when you closed your eyes.
Leave now,while we still can.
Let`s not wait until it all gets out of hand.
You`re looking for a criminal,well,I`m a guilty man.
I was the one.
We were wrong from the start
Maybe we tired just a litte too hard.
You don`t have to blame yourself,
you always played your part.
I was the one.
I was.
Darling,look at us now - look at us now
History won`t put us down - won`t put us down
Don`t let anyboby say you could have worked it out.
I was the one.
07 In the Middle of the Land (04:34)
Here I stand in the middle of the land
Take my hand in the middle of the land
You'll see something that's new in the sunshine
You'll be the winter that's turning to springtime
Here I stand in the middle of the land
Take my hand in the middle of the land
Someday someone will try to confuse you.
They'll say things you want to hear and they'll use you.
I thought we'd live and learn
But some folks seem to yearn
For values unsophisticated.
Those days are dead and gone
I won't wish them back upon
A world that's much more complicated.
Here I stand in the middle of my ...
Take my hand, I'm always glad to lend a hand.
They'll try to blind you with T.V. religion.
Don't buy their hand-me-down second - opinions.
Sometimes the biggest lies
Are most easily disguised,
Dressed up like the Road To Glory,
Then somewhere down the line
You'll rub your eyes and find
You're on a path to your own Purgatory.
You'll know something as old as the moonlight,
You'll throw superstition and fear away tonight.
They'll paint us black and white,
They'll paint us wrong and right,
They'll paint us all into a corner.
They'll try to cool us down
But they could never fool us now.
We're steamed-up hotter than a Swedish Sauna!
Here I stand in the middle of the land
Take my, take my hand - your horizons will expand.
Land - in the middle, middle of the land
(Land on me.)
09 Heart of Darkness (03:04)
Blood flows just like water,
Changing into wine.
Everything looks better in the black sunshine,
In the black sunshine.
Echoes drag my memories
Back where they began
But I just can't be sorry - my tears turn into sand.
All those tears torn into sand.
I don't care now
For what might have been,
The heart of darkness doses in on me.
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