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| 16 Lovers Lane - AllMusicGuide |
| 16 Lovers Lane - PopMatters |
 | 78 Til 79 - The Lost Album |
There's something special about the end of a decade. It seems to signify the passing of a generation - the changing of people as they adapt to a new set of values. It was beautifully expressed in the films Withnail and I and even the underrated Dogs In Space set in 1969 and 1979 respectively. 78 til 79 is the Go-Betweens version of the end of decade theme - an album of early singles and demos from the end of the 1970s recorded three years before their first album was released.
The Go-Betweens produced one of the greatest pop/new wave songs ever and only released it as the b-side of their first single Lee Remick. The song was called Karen and was lyrically intelligent (allusions to Kafka, mentions of Brecht, Genet and others) and playful. 'Wish I heard voices, wish I was a telephone' - every line is a gem.Consisting of just 4 chords it slows down and speeds up at will - the same sort of fluidity with purpose as The Velvet Underground's Heroin. Many of the other songs are poorly recorded and of demo quality only. But in the recordings you can hear some great melodies with slight punky overtones from the sort of records they had been listening to in those years. The songs are often rough sketches with elements that would be heard later such as The Sound of Rain with it's jangly guitar and spoken passage. There are plenty of really entertaining moments with songs like People Say and Don't Let Him Come Back. Full of half-formed ideas and still retaining the energy and enthusiasm a young band can generate.
This is a better album than the official first album Send Me A Lullaby (released 1982). It doesn't reach the brilliance of their 5 studio albums from Before Hollywood on - but it has charm, humour, and if you are a Go-Betweens fan and don't already own a copy of Karen then you have to get one This is a unique record - a 70's band mixing it with a 60's melodic influence (even a bit of Dylanesque harmonica at one point) and as we all know know, preparing to take on the 80's as possibly the greatest cult pop band of the decade.
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| '78 'til '79: The Lost Album - Pitchfork |
| 78 'Til 79: The Lost Album - Amazon.com Review, 13 Sound Clips, and 4 Customer Reviews. |
 | Before Hollywood | |
This was the album that first demonstrated that the Go-Betweens could be a great band with two fine songwriters. The atmospheric Cattle and Cane had the radio stations entranced with its wistful longing - even if that didn't translate into a hit single. Ask is still a good example of the Go-Betweens getting a bit more muscular and demonstrating some bite lyrically and musically. No dud tracks even if the album isn't quite as inspirational as the ones that followed. The current release adds an extra CD of rarities from the period such as Hammer The Hammer that makes it a compulsory purchase for fans who have the original vinyl version. | |
| Before Hollywood - AllMusicGuide |
| Bellavista Terrace: Best Of The Go-Betweens - Amazon.com Review, and 17 Customer Reviews. |
| Bellavista Terrace: The Best of... - Pitchfork |
 | Bright Yellow Bright Orange | |
The second album from the reformed Go-Betweens and this one is a cracker (mostly). Robert Forster and Grant McLennan have both had solo careers and all the songs on this album are distinctly either Robert's or Grant's - and yet they just sound better when they are together. Robert provides the arty songs of a wordsmith while Grant gives us the pure pop love and love-lorn pieces. I could write this whole review just about the first track Caroline and I - it is perfect Go-Betweens/Forster song equal to anything they/he have ever done and when the backing vocals come in you just swoon with the beauty of it all. I won't deny it has pleny of songs that are just pleasant rather than jaw-droppingly good but the first 5 tracks are just diamond. Buying this is a much better idea than collecting out-takes and b-sides. | |
| Bright Yellow Bright Orange - Amazon.com Review, 9 Sound Clips, and 13 Customer Reviews. |
| Bright Yellow Bright Orange - Pitchfork |
| Bright Yellow Bright Orange - Uncut Magazine |
| Bright Yellow Bright Orange - PopMatters |
| Bright Yellow Bright Orange - PlayLouder album review |
| Bright Yellow Bright Orange - AllMusicGuide |
| Bright Yellow Bright Orange - AllMusicGuide |
| Liberty Belle & the Diamond Express / Tallulah / 16 Lovers Lane - Review - Stylus |
 | Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express | |
I remember being a bit disappointed with Liberty Belle when it first came out. It sounded a bit too smooth for my taste with too much orchestration and had none of the quirkiness and wit that the early single Karen had. I still liked it but didn't listen to it as much as the others. I returned to it a year or so later when I caught the video for Spring Rain on a late night TV show and really enjoyed the music when accompanied by Robert and Grant poncing about in the rain. After that I found myself remembering melodies from songs like Head Full of Steam at odd times during the day. Then I became totally hooked on In The Core of a Flame as perhaps my favourite love song of all time - If the Devil had seen your dress/He would've changed his name/ Put down his fork and moved up above/ Why burn in hell when you burn for love? - it has to be Grant McClellan's finest of many fine performances. So now I regard this as one of the best three Go-Betweens albums and couldn't argue with anyone who claimed it is their best - it certainly is the most consistent and contains some of their finest pop moments.
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| Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express - AllMusicGuide |
| Oceans Apart - Amazon.com Review, 16 Sound Clips, and 20 Customer Reviews. |
| Oceans Apart - Pitchfork |
| Oceans Apart - Uncut Magazine |
| Oceans Apart - Stylus |
| Oceans Apart - Yahoo UK |
| Send Me a Lullaby - AllMusicGuide |
| Spring Hill Fair - AllMusicGuide |
 | Tallulah | |
For me, this is the best Go-Betweens album. The House Jack Kerouac Built is breathtaking and The Clarke Sisters is resonant and so, so sad. Add to this the pathos of Someone Else's Wife and the sonic pop of I Just Get Caught Out, this is the Go-Betweens at the height of their powers as great songwriters and performers. Add Bye, Bye Pride as an anthem and spice it all with Amanda Brown's violin and oboe - what more could you want? The thing about the best tracks of this album is you can never tire of them - maybe there's a few lesser songs but it's only the respite before the onslaught. The most intelligent pop music you could ever hope to hear. | |
| Tallulah - AllMusicGuide |
| That Striped Sunlight Sound - Pitchfork |
| That Striped Sunlight Sound - PopMatters |
| The Friends of Rachel Worth - Amazon.com Review, and 23 Customer Reviews. |
| The Friends of Rachel Worth - Pitchfork |
| The Friends of Rachel Worth - PopMatters |
| The Friends of Rachel Worth - AllMusicGuide |
