“I see it happen all the time now. Young bands with good songwriters, a bit of genuine talent, carried away by forces outside their control. By the time they realise their mistake, they’ve been tarnished forever. In a lot of ways, I see the last 10, 15 years of my life as playing catch up after that experience.”

Ironic, ain’t it? After all the styling and production, the plain clothed immediacy of C-SIDES is ground zero at last for Nick Barker. The album of plaintive, insightful, chiefly acoustic gems features just one song by The Reptiles, the pub rock juggernaut that hijacked the singer-songwriter’s intentions from ‘88-’93.

Instead, C-SIDES is the untold half of a remarkable and often overlooked Australian talent. Rearranged tunes from Nick Barker’s six solo albums comprise one of the great revelations of the Liberation Blue Acoustic Series.

Take Imogen, an extraordinary song of violently conflicted emotions imbued here with a spare violin counterpoint from Jen Anderson. “It’s so good to dust that off, do it properly,” Nick says. “90% Water is another one. They’re songs that mean a lot to me and I believe if you do them right, that comes across.

“The Other House is another of the best I’ve written, I reckon. I’ve always wanted to do it like a Gram Parsons song: piano, pedal steel...” The chilling Lights Action Coma is another too powerful to languish for another decade.

In the loose and live style of some of Nick’s favourite records, C-SIDES arrived in a fast and furious tumble. “Shane O’Mara (producer) said ‘Why don’t you do it Let It Bleed / Sticky Fingers style?’ So I called my rhythm section (Tony Johanssen and Venom) and we recorded the songs in one day.”

Other guests include Paul Kelly and Mark Seymour, who sing on their respective co-writes, Miles to Go and 43 In The Shade. Bruce Haymes plays keys, Nick’s tour buddy Tim Rogers sings harmonies and guitarist Ross Hannaford plays on a killer version of Graham Parker’s Protection, one of three covers that help define a long, dusty road of inspiration.

“I think a lot of my lyrics might have been lost in the rush on some of my old records,” Nick says. “I tried to sing as simple and true as possible this time. It feels great to give ‘em another chance.

“The whole experience taught me something that I always probably felt deep inside: I’m a better songwriter than I give myself credit for. I don’t know what the future holds, I really don’t. But when I look back on this, I don’t have any trouble holding my head up.”

 

Track Title 1 Action Jackson 2 Protection 3 Facing North 4 Lights Action Coma 5 Miles To Go 6 Jump 7 World's A Peach 8 Imogen 9 43 In The Shade 10 90% Water 11 Time Bomb 12 Other House 13 The Waiting 14 The Mission