|
“This project
really forced me
back to the idea
of why I started
playing music.
Usually you make
a record cause
you’ve got a new
batch of songs
ready. For this
one I had to
find a more
artistic
justification,
and that was
putting together
this ensemble.
Then it was all
about the worth
of the songs and
the playing.”
ANYTHINGS, SURE
THINGS, OTHER
THINGS is a
priceless mix of
old songs and
new tricks for
Mick Thomas. It
combines songs
from Weddings
Parties
Anything’s
revered 15-year
history, his
subsequent band
the Sure Things
and a couple of
handpicked
covers, all
interpreted by a
crack acoustic
roots band.
“I knew I wanted
a string band,”
he says. “I got
Jen Anderson
(violin) from
the Weddings,
Stu Speed
(upright bass)
from the Sure
Things and made
a short list of
guitar players
with Jeff Lang
at the top. It
worked out there
were three days
we could all be
in the same
room. I reckon
windows like
that open up for
a reason. Plus
it puts the
pressure on,
which is always
good.”
The harmonies of
Melbourne
country trio Git
are the final
flourish in an
inspired union
of earthy tones
and restrained
virtuosity.
From household
tunes like
Father’s Day and
Monday’s Experts
to songs that
rattled a
thousand pubs –
A Tale They
Won’t Believe,
Hungry Years,
Away Away – this
session
redefines the
craft of one of
our finest
singer-songwriters
with the
freshness of a
new band.
“As you get more
experience you
gain the
confidence to
take songs in
different
directions,”
says Mick. “Just
for survival,
Weddings became
this gun live
outfit; our
success was
based on
attacking the
stage in a
certain way.
That was great,
but it was
really
satisfying to
give back some
of the
subtleties that
got lost.”
In fact, says
Mick, “I could
have called this
The Home For
Lost Songs”. The
lesser-known
Tilting At
Windmills,
Houses and Goth
are well and
truly ready to
be heard. The
ghostly, filmic
treatment of Our
Sunshine
(co-written with
Paul Kelly) and
Trish Anderson’s
duet on Step In,
Step Out are
revelations.
There’s
unfinished
business in the
cover of
Australian
Crawl’s Man
Crazy – “a song
Weddings always
wanted to do,
but never got
around to” – and
Mark Wallace’s
squeezebox can
be heard on
Mick’s tender
cover of the
rare Kinks gem
from 1966, I’ll
Remember.
“The whole thing
was joyous,” he
says. “It feels
like an
affirmation, in
a way. There’s a
lot of pride in
what I do and
this record
feels like a
shot in the
arm.”
|
Track Title
1 Father's Day
2 Houses
3 Away Away
4 Step In Step Out
5 The Lonely Goth
6 The Rain In My Heart
7 Hard Currency
8 For A Short Time
9 Tilting At Windmills
10 Our Sunshine
11 Monday's Experts
12 Hungry Years
13 Man Crazy
14 A Tale They Won't Believe
15 I'll Remember |
 |
|
