Currently spinning: New Zealand Music thread

[mondie]

8 hours ago, ThirdDrawerDown said:

This time it's one of the first NZ artists to be signed by a major label for writing her own material. Her Greatest Hits collections are worth picking up if you like radio-friendly rock/pop piano-driven singer-songwriter material.  O'Neill's bio is here.  "So taken by Sharon was the Australian industry that she won the APRA Top Top Female Vocalist Award in 1978, 1979 and 1980. She also won the Countdown Rock Awards three times between 1980 and 1985 and the Sounds Pop Poll in 1983 and 1984."

 

 

 

Artist makes it big in NZ, is groomed in Australia and has some hits, checks the contract, goes into dispute, sits out until the end of the contract singing backup for others, finally signs a deal with another record company and sinks without trace.  The tips appear to be:

- (CBS) always check the contract before signing it

- (CBS) don't lose the person who is your linkman and champion in the record company, even when that person gets promoted

- (Polydor) don't sign up for a "Outside the UK only" deal - they won't distribute you and so the records die a death except for copies that are crazy-costly-like-printer-ink on discogs.

 

 

2

I love a bit of Sharon, this is the best CD for an overview of her career. Maxine is her best known song but I think Maybe is her best.

 

https://www.discogs.com/Sharon-ONeill-The-Best-Of-Sharon-ONeill/release/6710092

[Spearmint]

Great thread!

 

I'm surprised no one is spinning a few Fred Dagg tunes

 

 

[Spearmint]

Two more great artists who are no longer with us

 

 

[ThirdDrawerDown]

"It was great when it all began.."

 

It's time to take a jump to the left, and a step to the right.

 

It's Richard O'Brien's contribution to global pop culture. Here he is, doing his best Brian Eno glam impersonation:

 

 

 

and here is the statue of him erected in Hamilton in 2004.  It was sculpted by Weta Workshops of Peter Jackson fame.

 

 

The Rocky Horror Show has spawned a film, many touring shows, thousands of fans sites, millions of late night double feature picture show screenings, and parties. Lots of parties. Ah, memories.

 

Sometimes I find this album almost impossible to listen to, as the flood of memories overwhelms of friends far and near, and some sadly now are dead. Suffice to say that for a moment I was in the Guinness  Book of World Records, as one among the thousands who participated in the World's Largest Time Warp. The Westgarth Cinema midnight screenings were well known across Melbourne - audience participation back at a time when "audience participation" was not a thing.

 

The story of Brad and Janet, although overlong, is part of the soundtrack of my life.

 

 

The story of the New Zealand Rocky Tour of 1978 is told here in what is a rather excellent web site and from which I've taken several other images. Audioculture has the full story here. Both sites point out the connection with the Suburban Reptiles - Zero.

 

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Bookings for the new production were light in Auckland where Rocky Horror Show showed from 12 to 26 August 1978 at His Majesty’s Theatre. During one performance, Zero plummeted 25 feet into the orchestra pit from onstage scaffolding. The show stopped and Gary Glitter enquired in a camp-ish tone if she was okay. Zero, largely unhurt, gave a plaintive cry of “Yes, Master.”

Having bent two mic stands, put a microphone through a drum, grazed her leg and cracked her sternum in the fall, the punk vocalist saw the season out fortified by painkillers.

 

As my boss's wife once told me, "Gary Glitter was a surprisingly good Frank N. Furter.  He had a little pot belly which just made everything seem even more decadent." 

 

 

 

 

The Rocky Horror Show also has an entry in the official government publication The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.  Because of the former Prime Minister Rob Muldoon, who moonlighted as the Narrator while a backbencher in Parliament.

 

 

The Encyclopedia is silent about Russell Crowe being in the photo.

 

But what about the critical opinion?  We turn to allmusic.com for links:

Original London Cast (4.5 stars)

Film soundtrack (5) (whatever happened to Susan Sarandon?)

Complete soundtrack (5) (Whatever happened to Saturday night?)

25 Years of Absolute Pleasure (4.5) (Whatever happened to Meat Loaf?)

Box Set (3) (Whatever happened to the editor?)

The Rocky Horro Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (no classification) (Whatever happened to common sense?  Who came up with the idea of a made-for-TV remake of this show/film.  The very words "Made for TV" are just incompatible with Rocky Horror.)

 

 

 

The Rocky Horror Show is touring Australia in 2018 and tickets go on sale in Melbourne tomorrow.

 

Former Prime Ministers are not expected to be among the show's cast.

 

 

 

Edited May 15, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown
rusty (champion thrust)

[t_mike]

Could have sworn the statue was of Prince Chucky.

[ThirdDrawerDown]

Tonight a very brief entry:

 

Dimmer

You've got to hear the music

 

Funk rock. Solid as. For anyone who enjoys Prince's albums. Not Shayne Carter's most well-known style but this grower of an album is very accomplished and worth tracking down.

 

 

For esoteric, we turn towards a noughties traditional irish band and note these young men have a kiwi trombonist in their lineup.

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown
photos. incompatible with mobile phones

[ThirdDrawerDown]

Already mentioned in this thread but tonight we discuss Split Enz in a less cursory manner.

 

The end of the Enz, if I have the story right, came about at a record company function celebrating the success of True Colours, the album that was the point in Split Enz's history where the following lyrics applied:

 

Quote

Now my agent called me on the telephone
He said,? Son your record's just got to number 1?

And you know what this means?
This means you can earn some real money

(The Kinks, Top of the Pops. The next is from the Pink Floyd)

 

Quote

Have you seen the chart?
It's a hell of a start
It could be made into a monster
If we all pull together as a team

Apparently at this record company shindig, Split Enz's manager made the pitch to the record company execs that Split Enz could be huge if the label really got behind them, could be as big as Supertramp, who were enormously successful at that time. That comment killed Split Enz because Supertramp was also on that same record company's roster and Split Enz was clearly tilling the same field. The execs didn't want to kill their golden goose so they quietly dropped the Enz.

 

Supertramp are all superb musicians as were Split Enz. But I cannot stand Roger Hodgson's voice. So personally I'd have no problem with Supertramp being Superseded. Who knows? Maybe there was room in the marketplace for both bands. Anyway Split Enz folded and bits rebranded under Crowded House and others.

 

The peak of Split Enz is the Rootin' Tootin' Luton Tapes, which exists in two versions. The well-known single CD version and the fan-club-only 2CD release. If you have the 2CD version, please send me a personal message.

 

 

One of my favourites off True Colours is Poor Boy, released in the UK as a single. We note that it's Our Split Enz because wikipedia tells us:

Quote

In October 2010, the album was listed at number 22 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums, despite being a New Zealand production.^[3]

 

Split Enz never liked to see errors or mistakes committed to record. They recorded perfect versions of their songs. All their albums have been remastered for CD and sonically they are very impressive recordings. Remastering and reworking happened throughout in their career, with the case study being thir second album, confusing released outside Australia and New Zealand using the title of their first album and including several revised versions of songs from their first album. I think it's no mistake that the Luton Tapes are their best moment, because there is an edge to the playing and the poverty of the band when they made the recordings combine to remove studio sheen. However Grant Smithis and several other writers in his book refer to the first album, the NZ and Australian version of Mental Notes, as the best.

 

Quote

Tim Finn, Robert Gillies and Eddie Rayner have said that the band felt the songs needed to be redone. But both Phil Judd and Noel Crombie have been quoted as saying that the re-recording of the Mental Notes tracks [with Phil Manzanera] was a waste of time. On his MySpace forum, Phil has been quoted as saying that Tim Finn was obsessed with making the songs sound better, while he had new songs that he wanted to record.

http://apraamcos.co.nz/news/2015/aprap/what-the-genre-zolo/

 

 

 

Mention of Phil Manzanera as producer, something he made a career of, including Pink Floyd's 2014 The Endless River, reminded me of one of my favourite Manzanera albums.  It's not really a solo album although it was branded as his. You should listen now to it.  Musically it is excellent.  Rolling Stone magazine described it as "proudly electronic rock" and I really enjoy its warmth, which comes from the guitar tone and vocals. I highly commend the harmonies of the various vocalists. Gosh that Eno gets about a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown

[ThirdDrawerDown]

Staying for the moment with New Zealand music from that great 1970's flourishing of kiwi bands, we turn to a band whose name is associated with one of the finest songs of that era, Rock'n'Roll Ponsonby, which for some bizarre reason was released on a B side.

 

Their first two albums are prog rock and they did change direction to a more popular brand of radio-friendly rock.

 

 

 

Scented Gardens takes its title from a Janet Frame novel, for which double bonus points as far as this listener and reader is concerned.  It is a hard album to find, at over $250 per copy on discogs.  This is why needledrops become essential. PMs to @ThirdDrawerDown on this subject, please.

 

This song reached #9 on the charts

 

Terry Chambers from XTC and Tommy Emmanuel of, well, Tommy Emmanuel, are among the musicians who have played in Dragon. The reasons for Dragon's US failure are listed in their wikipedia entry. In hindsight it is plain that in the intervening years the planet's problem regarding Texans has only grown, as all who have not blanked out the Bush years will freely admit.

 

 

 

After journeying from prog rock to classic rock to pop to dub in the course of writing this entry, I decided to put more prog rock on the platter. NZ had real depth here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Songwriting credits to a "My Crud" should not discourage you.

Edited May 18, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown

[ThirdDrawerDown]

 

 

 

https://thecakekitchen.bandcamp.com/

 

********************

 

From wikipedia:

 

Quote

Breathe In is the second studio album (though the first to be released) by the British pop singer-songwriter Lucie Silvas, released by Mercury Records on 11 October 2004 in the United Kingdom. It was released in the Netherlands on 29 March 2005 and worldwide in April 2006.

It reached #11 on the UK charts.

Quote

 

The majority of the album was co-written by Silvas with Judie Tzuke, whom Silvas had previously been a backing singer for. The album also features a cover of Metallica's song "Nothing Else Matters" which was released as a single in Europe.

 

 

 

[ThirdDrawerDown]

 

 

Quote

Mike Chunn's post-Split Enz band was formed as a vehicle for his brother Geoff's songs and this single from their second album is the one they are best remembered for (placing 97th in APRA's 'Nature's Best' Top 100 NZ songs in 2001). It's a classic car-as-metaphor-for-love song (although the model in question sounds like it needs some work). The line "come and come get you" is apparently a sly reference to the very continental VW Kharmen Ghia.

 

I thought that Citizen Band's second album was competent but without any standout songs.  "Rust in My Car" was their closest moment to a single. 

 

 

The band gained a strong following in Auckland but not nationally and so headed over to Australia rather than conquering the provinces.  The narrative is at audioculture  and the discography is here

 

Quote

When former CBS Records boss, John McCready spoke to AudioCulture in 2014, he reflected on Citizen Band: “We never broke through like I thought they should have broken through. They had ‘Rust In My Car’ which got played a bit on the radio, but they never were a singles band. They never had catchy songs like Dave Dobbyn, they were more of an album band. We never got that message across and we never got much radio play. They had all the potential to be a big band. They had good songs.”

 

Citizen Band's drummer did some auditions in 1981.  He's pretty good and got a gig elsewhere. Citizen Band folded when he left.

 

 

 

 

 

[ThirdDrawerDown]

I got distracted about posting due to some late night listening: the Pin Group's first EP, which came not long after Flying Nun's first-released single as a label and includes a remix/remaster of Side A of that single.

 

A joy of Flying Nun is that they didn't compress the music. It's part of what makes their releases so attractive.

 

 

If ever you want to hear the perfect merge of Joy Division with the Velvet Underground with an overlay of the Clean, this is where you should go.  Is it original?  I hear you ask.  Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. It doesn't really matter, is the best reply.  It is a matter of ambivalence.

 

 

Many copies are available of the 2017 re-release by Superior Viaduct Records, as the flickers sell their goods to the punters.

 

There's also a little bit of the Cure in the mix. Their NZ tour in 1979 was tremendously influential. Since we are talking about Flying Nun's production, I looked into The Cure's production and found it was done by the talent scout who signed them, managed them, and established Fiction Records for them.  He produced The Jam too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote from wikipedia:

 

Quote

Fiction Records was founded by Radio X (then XFM London) co-founder and longtime The Cure manager Chris Parry,^[3] alongside music publisher Fiction Songs Ltd; both were based in London at 97 Charlotte Street and maintained a satellite office in New York City at 850 7th Ave. Fiction was also home to UK dance label Desire, re-launched in 1988 as Fiction's house subdivision, and Non Fiction Records, Fiction's specialty label for special editions. Fiction was best known for The Cure's releases and achieved its first UK No. 1 album in 1992 with The Cure's Wish; the album's lead single "Friday I'm In Love" also topped Billboard's Modern Rock chart. Additionally, Fiction was home to other artists who signed to the publisher and label and released a number of acclaimed albums including Eat's Sell Me a God (Fiction/Polydor) in 1989, The God Machine's Scenes from the Second Storey (Fiction/Polydor) in 1993 and Die Warzau's Engine (Fiction/Wax Trax!) in 1995. Other artists who were part of the Fiction roster and publishing catalog during this time included Billy Mackenzie & The Associates, Candyland,^[4] The Purple Hearts, Cult Hero and The Passions.

Starting in 1995, Fiction became dormant as a label, apart from the occasional Cure release, and focused exclusively on Fiction Songs, who partnered with Bertelsmann Music Group to form a joint venture publishing company and moved their New York offices to the Bertelsmann Building at 1540 Broadway in Times Square in 1994; Fiction's headquarters were unchanged. However, BMG eventually acquired Fiction Songs and its catalog in 2001. Besides being the publisher for the Cure and other Fiction artists, Fiction Songs was also home to hip hop/electronic artist Stereo MCs, producer and songwriter Cameron McVey, the Jungle Brothers, Primitive Radio Gods, and NY Loose.

In 1992, the Fiction headquarters at Charlotte Street served as the first home to XFM London. A benefit concert called 'Great Xpectations'^[5] was held in support of the station on 13 June 1993 at Finsbury Park in London. A live album of the concert titled Great Xpectations Live^[6] was released on July 1993 on Fiction and included performances by The Cure, Damon Albarn & Graham Coxon, Belly and Catherine Wheel.

In January 2004, Joe Munns, Paul Smernicki and Beastman revived Fiction to "give Polydor a bit more of a guitar stronghold",^{[citation needed]} as their roster then consisted mostly of pop acts. The first release on the "new" Fiction was the Snow Patrol single "Run",^[2] which entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 5. The subsequent Snow Patrol album, Final Straw, went on to sell over two million copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]} On January 2014, Universal Music Group restructured Fiction as a standalone label, removing it from Polydor's corporate affiliation.

Artists

The current Fiction stable includes Crystal Castles, Tame Impala, Death From Above 1979, The Maccabees, Spector, HEALTH, Mini Mansions, Fryars, Kate Boy, Meanwhile, Palace, The Amazons, Another Sky, The Big Moon and Kaiser Chiefs.

Fiction has also released records by The Naked And Famous, Kate Nash, Athlete, Elbow, White Lies, Yuksek, Stephen Fretwell, Ian Brown, Jacknife Lee, Delays, Alberta Cross, Guillemots and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

[ThirdDrawerDown]

The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band took the authentic Flatt/Scruggs sound and mixed it up with modern songwriting. It's commonplace today especially on the US jamband circuit but was iconoclastic back in 1968.  Their repertoire included "Mercedes Benz" "Proud Mary" "You Ain't Going Nowhere" [nice!] "Carolina on my Mind" "If I Were a Carpenter", "Mama Tried", an early Tony Rice number, and Mike Nesmith's "Joanne".  Here's their signature tune.

 

 

 

 

 

Colleen Bain/ Trenwith's fiddle playing is a pleasure to watch and listen to.  Many classical violinists can't make the switch to fiddle player, it seems to be one or the other, but she did it. There is no surprise, upon seeing her play, that the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band played at the Grand Old Opry.  I have it on hearsay that they were the only New Zealand musos to do so, at least until Keith Urban was made a member of the Grand Old Opry.

 

 

Tracklist
Sally Goodin'    
Old Times (It's Easy To Forget)    
Take Me Home Country Roads    
Like A Train    
Body And Soul    
Foggy Mountain Breakdown    
Mercedes Benz    
Kersbrook Cottage    
My Old Kentucky Home    
Paradise    
Ring A Ding    
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere    
Wash My Face In The Morning Dew    
Down In The Churchyard

 

All of that bluegrass put me in mind of some country music.

 

By way of catch-up comments. In 1984 Dinah Lee was the Over 35's Australian Bodybuilder of the Year.  Many thanks to the person who pointed me to the Russian CD release of Scented Gardens for the Blind, dear me! And should we speculate that the Headless Chickens took their name from the Eno lyric "Oh, you headless chicken/ Can those poor teeth take so much kicking?"

Edited May 31, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown

[ThirdDrawerDown]

When Chris Knox was quoted as saying something to the effect of "We ***ing hated Hammond Gamble" he was referring not just to a musician but to all that the musician stood for, being a particular type of sound.  Auckland produced many bands like Citizen Band, with inoffensive and unmemorable rock songs or blues songs or radio-friendly pop songs and it was all a little too much like the sounds coming out of the United States.  The authentic voices came from the margins but there wasn't a case of being hard-done-by, because talent would win through.  Successful Maori musicians can be found throughout New Zealand's musical history.  (Sir) Howard Morrison is one example, and in a quite different style was Billy T.K., a brilliant guitarist who had to wait for his audience to catch up with him, and who delivered these albums among others:

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Marley had a big influence. There was a sense of national grieving when he died. Part of his legacy was that it was OK to be yourself when creating music, and often the most interesting music to come out of Auckland was punk, Pasifika and Maori.  Herbs were mentioned earlier and in one of the weirder touring bills they toured nationally with Joe Walsh and Midnight Oil, where Walsh memorably proclaimed "'Erbs er ther best rawgenroll bend onner planet". Live they were terrific but they couldn't quite capture that sound in the studio.  The watershed moment however is with Pauly Fuemana and the Otara Millionaires Club.  Distinctly Auckland, and regarded as something of a curiosity by most folk south of the Bombay Hills.

 

 

Simon Grigg tells the story and comments that, to many people, "How Bizarre" is New Zealand music.  Certainly it was the first kiwi #1 on the US Billboard charts. From that time, the Pasifika, urban and rap market segmentation became a thing.

 

Quote

"How Bizarre" (1995–1997)

Signed to Simon Grigg's Huh! label, OMC released the single "How Bizarre" in New Zealand in late 1995. It was an immediate smash hit even without an initial video, reaching number one in early 1996 and staying there for three weeks. It sold over 35,000 copies.

That same year, "How Bizarre" went to number one in Australia for five weeks, sold over 150,000 singles, and was certified as a platinum single. Later in the year the single went to number 5 in the UK Singles Chart^[3] and number one in countries across Europe and much of the rest of the world.

In the United States, "How Bizarre" spent 32 weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 chart, peaking at number one in August 1997 due to the high amount of radio play it received. This made OMC the first New Zealand artist to reach the number one spot in a Billboard chart.^[4] The song never charted on the regular Billboard Hot 100 as it was not released as a commercially available single there. It also became a BMI-certified "million airplay" song two years in a row.

OMC's third single, "On the Run", reached #56 on the UK in 1997.

In 1996, OMC's debut album, also entitled How Bizarre, was released.^[3] The album sold in the United States in excess of a million copies, and charted in many other countries. Between 1995 and 2000, world-wide OMC sales are estimated at between three and four million records.

(wikipedia)

 

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As a result of of the massive success of OMC, and various compilations, huh! is probably the most successful NZ independent label ever.

and the reasons for the fall are documented here.  Simon Grigg's web site is well worth browsing.  If this page about Propellor Records doesn't excite, then what will?

 

Regarding the video:

Quote

After a first video was rejected, this version directed by Lee Baker was finished just as ‘How Bizarre’ went to number one in NZ. However, it did play its part internationally as the song became a huge worldwide hit. Shot on a soundstage in Ponsonby and at Ellerslie Racecourse for a budget of $7,000, it was shown on US networks 14,986 times in 1997 and 1998. Pauly Fuemana shares the limelight with Sina Siapia, and a Filipino named Hill, who was enlisted after turning up to help out with the shoot [and stood in for Brother Pele of OMC] – and became something of a celebrity in his homeland as a result.

SIna Siapia released her album (finally) in 2017. Yet another narrative of record company mis-steps and decisions out of left field.

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown

[ThirdDrawerDown]

 

Malcolm McNeill is one of NZ's best jazz singers and this collection is very enjoyable indeed.  He's tasteful and tuneful.  His phrasing is excellent. Well worth seeking out if the music of Hoagy Carmichael appeals to you.  It was when I bought this album that I realised I had succumbed to that peculiar audiophile behaviour of buying music that suits one's stereo rather than music that suits one's taste.  But even with my limitations I can recognise this is a good 'un, verging on excellent. Plenty more nice things are said in this link here including a quote from saxophonist and former US President Bill Clinton.

 

 

 

Here are a couple of "name yer price" saxophone-led jazz quartet albums from Jasmine Lovett-Smith on bandcamp.  Noice!*

https://jasminelovellsmith.bandcamp.com/album/yellow-red-blue

https://jasminelovellsmith.bandcamp.com/album/fortune-songs

 

 

*credit to Geoff (of course).

 

 

 

 

[Spearmint]

I put on a few tunes from The Cattlestops tonight. 

 

The first I heard of this band was from the movie Second Hand Wedding

 

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The Cattlestops are based on the Kapiti Coast north of Wellington New Zealand. They play a style of country music known as "Western Swing". Citing influences such as Bob Wills and more latterly Asleep at the Wheel, they add their own brand of foot tapping jumpin country, traditional bluegrass fiddle and some rock 'n roll perennials that leaves crowds out of breath and Hollering for more. 
Great songs with superb vocals with 4 part harmonies and an infectious stage act make this band a must see.

Cattlestops was formed in 2004 when Colleen Trenwith, fiddler with the legendary Hamilton County Bluegrass Band moved to Kapiti, and joined other band members Andrew London, Dave Berry, James Cameron and Evan Williams

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Spearmint
Added image from movie

[ThirdDrawerDown]

Thank you Richard @Spearmint. My wife lived in a farm cottage on the Paremata/Mana side of the hill over to Pukerua Bay. She was quite moved by hearing such familiar placenames in song. We will be tracking that one down.

 

******

In the journey so far, many 'firsts' have been covered.  First US Billboard #1 by a Kiwi band, first homegrown #1, first local album of all-original content, and so on.  This posting is something quite different: possibly one of the most obscure yet collectible musicians in NZ music history. He's a drummer from Dunedin called Nathan McConnell, active in the 1980's.

 

He was the first of four drummers in a band called Crystal Zoom.  The audioculture link is excellent (so do click on it) and here's a photo from their second gig in 1983. 

 

 

Crystal Zoom were iconoclastic art-punk ambitious gadflies on the Dunedin Sound, happy to puncture anyone who took this stuff too seriously, including the other musicians around Dunedin. As Roy Colbert wrote in the liner notes to the magnificent 3CD compilation But I Can Write Songs OK:

 

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Crystal Zoom had a great sense of humour and some arresting concepts and when they decided to run some Flying Nun faves through a Stars on 45 blender for Dunedin Sound on 45 as the B side of their only single "Uptown Sheep", they even talked Martin Philipps and David Kilgour into playing with them.

 

 

Look to that compilation for Dunedin Stars on 45. A live excerpt from the A side is at 7.'30" into this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDSb9UeDINY

Discography

• Live At The Ego Club [1984, W/ Gamaunche, Zoom Tapes]
• Hooked On Crystal Zoom [Zoom Productions]
• ‘Uptown Sheep’/’Dunedin Sound On 45’ 7″ Single [1985, Flying Nun, FN030]

FN030 has become the priciest/rarest Flying Nun single on discogs. However I believe that McConnell appears only on the first item listed: "Live At The Ego Club" and indeed it's possible he left before then, because in late 1984 Crystal Zoom's rhythm section was replaced by the rhythm section from The Idles, who had had a minor hit.

 

McConnell's next band was Love in a Gas Oven.  An elliptical allusion to Joy Division can be detected in the name. Here's the notes from the cassette-only release "Great Southern Hits"

 

 

 

 

Here is Martin Philipps of The Chills:

 

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MP: In Dunedin, there is a small population of a little over 100,000 when the students of Otago University are in town and less than that when the students go home for the holidays. But the University is a very good and highly respected educational facility and that, and the other aspects of Dunedin life which have always attracted artistic people of all mediums, appear to have brought together a disparate group of people at a crucial time in pop music history –during the late 1970s and early 1980s- who reacted individually but also as a small movement to the international excitement and call-to-arms of the punk rock/do-it-yourself ethos. Bands were constantly being formed, re-structured, everyone was in other bands as well or had other art-related side-projects. Something very special happened in Dunedin starting around 1977 with The Enemy and carrying on well into the late '80s with all the bands that subsequently became better known as "Flying Nun bands." But there were also those many other fine bands that came and went, unrecorded and now virtually forgotten. Love In A Gas Oven, Gamaunche, The Alpaca Brothers, Skin... It was only when I traveled internationally and saw many of the bands I had grown up listening to that I realised how strong the Dunedin scene had been. In some ways it rated easily alongside any of those odd "happenings" that have occurred in New York or London, Liverpool or Seattle.

 

Crystal Zoom's schtick drew to a close and several members reinvented themselves as the A.R. Baldwin and his Big Electric Bone Orchestra. Meantime McConnell moved from Love In a Gas Oven to The Moon.  The two bands released a shared LP currently for sale at $300 on discogs. The Moon's side was recorded at Reel Time Recording in 1987.

 

 

A less expensive option is the track on the compilation Art for Chart Sake, $30 to $120.

 

 

Yet another change of band and a national record deal with one of New Zealand's majors in 1991. 

 

Death Ray Cafe was David Pine's next band after Sneaky Feelings.  The album was "Built on Good and Right" and the single "I love the News" had Graeme Downes from the Verlaines on keyboards.  McConnell to the left in the photo below.

 

 

 

 

 

The Audioculture page on Death Ray Cafe is but a stub. Of course it notes that David Pine went on to become New Zealand's High Commissioner to Malaysia (this being a snippet that seems to travel with every item about Sneaky Feelings nowadays).  Audioculture also points out that the album did not chart, which is a shame, because it is a sterling and enjoyable piece of work with memorable songs and a delightful light touch. It was one of the best NZ rock music releases of 1991. 

 

The weird thing about it is that it's a Pagan Records release of a band that had strong Flying Nun links. I can only assume that Pagan Records decided that, among their soft soul, crooners, comedy acts, light pop, country-and-western and show tune influenced Maori and Pacific Island artists, and other similar artists that made up the Auckland sound so disdained by Chris Knox, what they were really missing was a Flying Nun thing.  Someone decided that Death Ray Cafe would be that thing, and the label didn't know what to do with them. Particularly as the people who bought Flying Nun as a national label were also buying each city's local "little Flying Nun" labels - Xpressway, Yellow Eye Records, Failsafe Records, and so on. But buying something from Pagan? Unheard of.

 

I have the cassette.  In line with the theme of this posting, you will be unsurprised to learn that the LP will set you back about $200.

 

So there we are: someone not famous, but deep pockets essential for the discography.  Which is kinda nice to see, because there's distinct merit in that career.

 

Now, if you've read this far in this NZ Music topic, you'll know I mention at least two artists or bands per posting.  We turn our attention to Crystal Zoom's third drummer, Barry Blackler.

 

 

 

 

[Spearmint]

19 hours ago, ThirdDrawerDown said:

Thank you Richard @Spearmint. My wife lived in a farm cottage on the Paremata/Mana side of the hill over to Pukerua Bay. She was quite moved by hearing such familiar placenames in song. We will be tracking that one down.

 

******

 

You're most welcome. I have two of their albums, and usually only have the tunes on random via the iPod in the car. So don't get to listen to individual songs a lot. I'm glad your wife liked it. She may also enjoy the movie as well, which includes a cameo appearance of John Rowles.

 

 

 

 

[ThirdDrawerDown]

'Tonight a singer-songwriter in Otis Mace, "The Guitar Ace", whose first-person narratives about dead-end jobs, uncertainties joys and surprises about relationships, and naive weird good-humoured quizzing of the ways of the world, underpinned by solo electric guitar riffs and breaks, was quite out of time in 1995 and yet Quick is a pleasant and friendly album where you realise that things aren't so bad after all and it'll work out all right in the end.  Jayrem Records specialised in solid not-quite mainstream musicians and Quick is a solid album by a musician with punk philosophies and approaches that is authentic and delightfully free of any bad attitude. Album is not on discogs. Best song: "She Makes Me Feel Better than Townes Van Zandt".  Bonus points for a song "Thunderbirds are Go" and the surreal "The Living Liver".

 

 

**********

 

We travel from Auckland to the sub-continent so that the discussion can change from guitar to percussion.  This album, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Mustt Mustt, features some hairy drumming.

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown

[ThirdDrawerDown]

This is one of my favourite ambient albums.  It's as welcoming as the best of Brian Eno and is a genuine 5 star album. Rudy Adrian is excellent.  You can buy his entire discography direct from the artist for under $150.

 

 

Meantime, from the depths of wikipedia, we follow a lead to some installation music.  Here's Dugal McKinnon's installation resume:

 

Quote

[David] Prior began working with New Zealander Dugal McKinnon in 1998 on a composed radio documentary Ways of Hearing [3] for Resonance FM as part of John Peel's Meltdown festival at the Southbank Centre, London. The pair went on to form Arcades [4] in 2000, slowly working towards their album Who's Most Lost? which was completed in late 2007.

The album is described as musique concrete. Notably, it was released on Rattle Records, the home of the rather fine Gitbox Rebellion among others.

 

Arcades have some samples and downloads here, after you have waded through the sort of promo that some hipster would dash off in a rainy coffee break. The item "Instant" piqued my interest, although the "To Buy" part of the site is an example of how not to do this sort of thing. It does not say how long each piece of music is and offers mp3 only.  For goodness sake, if the studio craft is truly of such a high standard, then flac it!

 

https://www.sounz.org.nz/resources/16464

 

Much better to go to the Rattle Records web site, where (after using the Search function as the easiest way to navigate the site) you find that the promo prose is a direct swipe from this page

Quote

One might be tempted to use terms like ‘post-pop’, ‘art-pop’, ‘avant-pop’, ‘alt-pop’, ‘ambient-pop’, ‘experimental’ or ‘alternative’, and to cite the influence of artists such as Laurie Anderson, David Sylvian, and (particularly) late period Talk Talk (Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock), but Arcades have created their own moving and quietly unsettling sonic world. Trained as composers and having played in bands, David Prior and Dugal McKinnon are inquisitive, sonically omnivorous musical artists, ever-fond of crossing borders between music and sound art.

Edited May 29, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown

[ThirdDrawerDown]

Shona Laing's music has worn well, better than many other singer-songwriters who made their names in the 1970's.  Partly it's the strength of her voice, partly the interaction between chill steel and warmth in her vocals, guitar and production, and partly it's her uncompromising authenticity.  I've been pleased to be playing this one recently and have approached it with greater appreciation.  Pretty good for 2CDs of material, indeed a winner.

 

 

I decided to change direction and went for some 1980's synthpop with some nice Peter Gabriel world touches.  I'm not sure I agree with the fannish review from allmusic, I think their pro reviewer got it better - there are some really nice moments, some verging on extraordinary, on this album but half a smidgeon too many moments when it doesn't quite gel. Afrika Suite is worth the journey. (To be fair, Third World Service wasn't written by Mann.)

 

 

 

 

[ThirdDrawerDown]

This next LP was a cash-in, as NZ's most popular TV personality of the day was put in front of the microphone.  These sorts of people all come with a quirk or feature to help with the personal branding. In Gascoigne's case it was that he had a wink. It's better than a cowboy hat, I suppose. He had the happy knack of coming across as a genuinely nice guy, albeit a little too satisfied with himself for being in front of the cameras. Released in 1978, "It Makes Me Smile" is a collection of covers including a few songs owned by the record label.  Just an Old Fashioned Love Song sounds like an old time oompah band (but then the vocals cut in), and the same band comes in on Anticipation.  Miss You Nights is quite adequate. The album picks up toards the end of side two, as the material veers towards strings and jazz rather than strings and Davy Jones.

 

But for most songs and lines on this album it's plain that Gascoigne's voice isn't able to meet the challenge. Credit where it's due - at least he gives it a go, but certainly he is not a singer. The high notes are approached with bravado if not accuracy, and while he often does achieve the notes and key in his mid-range, there is a problem with phrasing. On the other hand, if you have been looking for the mystic connection between David Gates and Kermit the Frog, this is it.  The album is for completists only.  Sharon O'Neill completists  that is, because a young Sharon O'Neill is credited with backing vocals.  (Feel free to amend discogs).

 

 

 

This next item is not a smiling man.  Maybe he is a muppet? Discussion ensues, and this song got an Oscar.

 

 

and a bonus video. Because some of these addenda have allegedly been a little obscure. But these guys are world famous in New Zealand.

 

 

 

 

[ThirdDrawerDown]

Well, New Zealand music month is almost over.  I hope this thread turns into a "New Zealand music: currently playing" thread, it's over to you (assuming people have been reading this) but even if it doesn't it's been a 31-day journey that has reached into the realms of most forms of music. I've not mentioned the women conductors who are breaking the glass ceilings in the classical world; nor the obscure Auckland rock band that sung purely in Klingon; nor the small yet passionate kiwi following for Tuvan throat singing.  You can read about that here, and watch a lesson in how to do it.  Your home karaoke sessions will never be the same.

 

http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/a-masterclass-in-throat-singing

 

Some musicians have been mentioned only in passing, even though they significant enough to warrant discussions, articles or dissertations on their own.  (I would have liked to have shared my entire Toy Love discography with you. Essential). But there's enough in the links, for those who want to rummage.  Same with Lorde, Shihad, much of the Pasifika sound, and the Oi lot and their miscegenated descendants - the range is broad, the quality likewise. Indeed, some significant award-winners haven't been mentioned and so it with that completists' sense of duty that we approach tonight's artists. After all, getting a Grammy or two is quite something.

 

Country music time. Earlier we alluded to the procession of kiwi country music players playing with or backing Australian country music artists, however this act established themselves independently.

 

 

 

If it wasn't for Emmylou Harris's version of "Queen of the Silver Dollar" I would dismiss Shel Silverstein out of hand. This cover version is deducted even more points for misspelling the word "chauvinist". It was unavoidable on the airwaves, novelty songs are like that, as recounted here. It met a ready audience and was their biggest hit.

 

 

 

We turn to a more modern country musician. Here's allmusic's take:

Quote

Those who wish to decry Urban as some kind of slick, formulaic songwriter and flavor of the country music moment are missing the point. The man writes honest, beautifully crafted songs that are adult enough to ponder, tough enough to rock, and tender enough to pull -- not tug -- on the heartstrings. As previously stated, there's no better time to get well than when you're at the top of your game. While Urban's previous records have all had their moments -- and Be Here was his true arrival -- Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing is his mature pop masterpiece. For all its wonder and expertise, it feels like it's just a taste of what he'll be offering in the future.

For those who like pop masterpieces, I guess. 

 

 

 

Even with the world music and Bob Seger influences I'll stick with the Swingers, the Crocodiles and Toy Love.

 

Kia kaha.

Edited May 31, 2018 by ThirdDrawerDown

[Citroen]

Wow. Its been a long time since I've heard anything about Roger Gascoigne!

 

I'm fascinated by your in depth knowledge @ThirdDrawerDown and wonder as to your background.

I'm guessing a Kiwi?

In the music biz?

 

A band member of ...? Toy Love?

[mrbuzzardstubble]

I see Bill and Boyd up there

 

 

[A J]