CD Review Archive
All new reviews that are being added to the new site will be archived with the reviews from the old site. Reviews of new albums by an artist who already has an archived review in the database will be archived at the top of the existing artist page.
A few hundred archived CD reviews from the old site have been deleted from the database. Where possible I have preserved any reviews that reflect the intended continuity of music that I hope to review on the new version of the site.
It was a sad day for fans of both The Go-Betweens and Grant McLennan’s solo music when news of Grant’s death filtered through the music news network. Grant McLennan was a founding member of The Go-Betweens. With a string of internationally acclaimed albums under their belt, the earlier albums since re-issued, the band saw something a revival in recent years, with a spate of new releases (amongst others, ‘Friends of Rachel Worth’ and ‘Oceans Apart’), gathering a new generation of fans into the fold. As a collective vehicle, the band, with original founding members McLennan and Robert Forster, produced timeless guitar pop gems and have influenced other bands world wide, including the likes of Belle and Sebastian, R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub and Coldplay. Ever popular at live gigs, live radio shows and in-store appearances The Go-Betweens released their first DVD this year, a visual addition to the ‘That Striped Sunlight Sound’, alive recording of their Brisbane gig at the Tivoli (August 2005), now regarded as The Go-Betweens swansong (since McLennan’s death, Forster has stated that "The Go-Betweens have made their final album. They have played their final show. We let it rest at that, being very proud of what we have done”.). Whilst Grant McLennan’s solo releases were hardly prolific, his work was internationally regarded as being inspirational and McLennan featured strongly in most Australian critic’s top list of homegrown songsmiths. McLennan’s auto-biographical masterpiece 'Cattle and Cane' was recently voted by the Australian Performing Rights Association as one of the ten greatest Australian songs of all time. Although McLennan’s solo albums are not regarded as mainstream, and therefore not widely available in the UK, no doubt his passing, along with the renewed recent interest in The Go-Betweens, will awaken an interest in his solo work and the albums will resurface on the high street record shop shelves. Along with classics such as 'Watershed', ‘Fireboy’, the epic 2CD ‘Horsebreaker Star’ and ‘In Your Bright Ray’, there is hope that some of McLennan’s long awaited newer material might finally see the light of day. Useful links: ‘That Striped Sunlight Sound’ and ‘Oceans Apart’ are available directly from Yep Roc Records
The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens
'That Striped Sunlight Sound'
Yep Roc
Sadly, during the time it took me to write a review of this CD/DVD release of the bands August 2003 gig at the Tivoli Theatre in Brisbane, Grant McLennan, a co-founder of The Go-Betweens, passed away. With a sad heart, I couldn't bring myself to finish the review.
Now regarded as the bands swansong album, 'That Striped Sunlight Sound' is a fitting end the bands critically acclaimed (if commercially unsuccessful) career.
Grant McLennan and Robert Forster are widely regarded as 2 of Australia's most eminent songwriters, with McLennan's 'Cattle & Cane' recently having voted one of the top 10 Australian songs (sadly missing from this live set). This retrospective of exuberant pop sensitivity and edgy choruses spans almost 3 decades and despite the age of some of the material this is a perfect entree for anyone wishing to explore the music that influenced bands as diverse as Belle and Sebastian and Coldplay and was instrumental in shaping the guitar pop genre.
Grant McLennan: 1958 - 2006
Another sad loss in the music world, with the passing of Grant McLennan., on May 6th, 2006.
Other related and recommended albums:
The eponymous ‘Jack Frost’ album , with Steve Kilbey (The Church) 1991
All of Grant's solo albums are available through Beggars Banquet in the UK. McLennan’s solo albums ‘Horsebreaker Star’ and ‘In Your Bright Ray’ are also available for digital download at eMusic
Most of The Go-Betweens albums are also available for digital download at eMusic
‘Live at the Tivoli’ is now also available, the CD being the audio part of the recent ‘That Striped Sunlight Sound’ CD/DVD release.