Hunters and Collectors Album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Jun 10, 2018.

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  1. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Hunters & Collectors
    Origin
    Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    Genres Rock, pub rock, art-funk
    Years active 1981–1998, 2009, 2013–present
    Labels White/Mushroom, Festival, I.R.S., Liberation, Sony, Virgin, A&M, Epic
    Associated acts The Schnorts, The Jetsonnes, Deadstar
    Members
    Past members
    • Geoff Crosby
    • Greg Perano
    • Ray Tosti-Gueira
    • Nigel Crocker
    • Andy Lynn
    • Chris Malherbe
    • Martin Lubran
    Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock music band formed in 1981. Fronted by founding mainstay, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk. Other mainstays are John Archer on bass guitar, Doug Falconer on drums and percussion. Soon after forming they were joined by Jack Howard on trumpet and keyboards, Jeremy Smith on French horn, guitars and keyboards, and Michael Waters on trombone and keyboards. Also acknowledged as a founder was engineer and art designer Robert Miles. Joining in 1988, Barry Palmer, on lead guitar, remained until they disbanded in 1998. The group reformed in 2013 with the 1998 line-up.

    Originally Hunters & Collectors were influenced by Krautrock and productions of Conny Plank, featuring strong percussive influences, noisy guitar, and driving bass lines. Their sound was in the vein of the Talking Heads album, Remain in Light (1980). Hunters & Collectors utilised Plank to produce two of their early albums, The Fireman's Curse (1983) and The Jaws of Life (1984), but neither charted into the Top 50 of the Australian Kent Music ReportAlbums Chart. Their first Top 10 album, Human Frailty (1986), also featured their logo, a H & C symbol, where the "&" consists of twin snakes entwined around a hunting knife, a variation of a caduceus. Later Top 10 studio albums were Ghost Nation (1989), Cut (1992), and Demon Flower (1994). Their hit singles were "Talking to a Stranger" (1982), "Throw Your Arms Around Me" (1984), "Say Goodbye" (1986), "When the River Runs Dry" (1989), "True Tears of Joy" (1992), and "Holy Grail" (1993). They became one of the best live acts in Australia and according to musicologist, Ian McFarlane, their "great achievement was to lay bare human emotions in the intensely ritualistic milieu of the pub-rock gig".
    --------------------------------------------
    The Hunters early albums are very alternative albums but certainly worth listening to. The band smoothed out and got their sound honed on the Human Frailty album, which to my ears is a lyrical and musical masterpiece. It has it's own heart and soul and its own take and perspective on some very normal things. Human Frailty is one of my (many) favourite albums of all time. The band continued for many years and produced a lot of excellent and memorable songs and albums.

    The are a form of crossover band. They aren't really a straight up rock band. They aren't a straight up pop band. They aren't a straight up punk band. They aren't easy to define, but they have elements of all sorts of music that manages to blend into the bands very own sound exceptionally well.

    So ... I guess I am starting another album thread that will only interest a few people, but I hope if anyone is reading this that you will poke your head in and listen to a few different things and give the band a try. Like most of the bands I tend to like, the Hunters tend to have a broad spectrum of songs .. So as i stated in the Cold Chisel thread (and these guys are nothing like Chisel) Don't listen to one song and decide you do or don't like the band ..... If you want to sample taste the band jump on youtube and try the songs listed in the above run down. If you like the sound of the band, because to me that is one of the things that was special about them, you may well find a lot of songs and perhaps albums that you will get a lot of pleasure from.

    Please stay with the album and songs we're on. Certainly if an album or song has gone by that you missed, please let us know what you think, how it reached you or any of the other cool things that make these threads more interesting.

    =========== ADDED INFORMATION ==================

    Easy Reference guide

    The band
    - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    - Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    Hunters and Collectors 1982 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 Talking to a stranger Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Alligator Engine Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 Skin of our teeth Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 Scream who Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 Junket Head Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 BooBoo kiss Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 Tender Kinder Baby Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 8 Run run run Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    World of stone & Payload EP's 1982 Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    The Fireman's Curse 1983 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 Prologue Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Curse Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 Fish Roar Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 Blind Snake Sundae Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 Mr right Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 Sway Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 Judas sheep Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 8 Eggheart Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 9 Drinking bomb Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 10 Epilogue Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    The Jaws Of Life 1984 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 42 wheels Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Holding down a d Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 The way to go out Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 I couldn't give it to you Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 It's early days yet Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 I believe Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 Betty's worry or The slab Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 8 Hayley's doorstep Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 9 Red Lane Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 10 Carry me Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 11 Little Chalkie Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    The Way To Go Out 1985 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Throw your arms around me - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    The way to go out Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Little Chalkie Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Follow me no more Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    I couldn't give it to you Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    The slab Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Carry me Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    I believe Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    Human Frailty 1986 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    More album and song info - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    singles info Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 Say goodbye Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Throw Your Arms Around Me Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    by Crowded House Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    by The Doug Anthony Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 Dog Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 Everything's On Fire Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 Relief Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 The Finger Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 99th Home Position http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/hunters-and-collectors-album-thread.756711/page-7#post-18953986
    track 8 Is There Anybody In There Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 9 Stuck On You Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 10 This Morning Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    The Living Daylight 1987 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 Inside A Fireball Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Living Daylight Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Track 3 January Rain Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    Live on Rock Arena 1986
    The way to go out Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Everything's on fire Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Is there anybody in there Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Stuck on you Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Red leather belt Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Betty's worry or The slab Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Dog Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Say goodbye Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    This morning Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    What's A Few Men? 1987
    - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 Faraway Man Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Do You See What I See Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 Around The Flame Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 So Long Ago Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 Breakneck Road Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 What are you waiting for Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 Under the sun Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 8 Still hangin' 'round Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 9 You can have it all Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 10 What's A Few Men Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 11 Give me a reason Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    bonus tracks on Aussie re-issue
    track 12 Back on the breadline Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 13 Wishing Well Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 14 Real World Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 15 Something to believe in Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    Ghost Nation 1989 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 When the river runs dry Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Blind eye Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 Love all over again Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 Crime of passion Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 You stole my thunder Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 Ghost Nation Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 The way you live Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 8 Gut feeling Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 10 Lazy Summer Day Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 11 Running Water Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    Cut 1992 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 Head Above Water Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Holy Grail Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 Grindstone Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 True Tears Of Joy Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 We The People Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 Hear No Evil Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 Edge Of Nowhere Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 8 Love That I long For Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 9 Where Do You Go? Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Where Do You Go? (single version, with information) Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 10 Imaginary Girl Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    Track 11 Angel Of Mercy Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    B-side - Another One Like You Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    Demon Flower 1994 - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 Easy Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Panic In The Shade Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 Back In the hole Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 The One And Only You Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 Mr Big Mouth Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 Courtship Of America Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 Drop in the Ocean Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 8 Newborn Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 9 Tender Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 10 Desert Where Her Heart Is Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 11 Betrayer Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 12 Ladykiller Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    Juggernaut 1997
    - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 1 True Believers Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 2 Higher Plain Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 3 When You Fall Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 4 Wasted In The Sun Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 5 Suit Your Style Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 6 Titanic Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 7 She's Not Fooling Around Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 8 Good Man Down Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 9 Mother Hubbard Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 10 Human Kind Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 11 Those Days Are Gone Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 12 Long Way To The Water Hunters and Collectors Album thread
    track 13 True Believers (reprise) Hunters and Collectors Album thread

    Horn Of Plenty (box set) essay
    - Hunters and Collectors Album thread
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 26, 2018
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  2. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Hunters & Collectors' founding mainstays are John Archer (bass guitar), Doug Falconer (drums) and Mark Seymour (guitar and lead vocals).[1][2][3] They met as residential students of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne in the late 1970s.[4] Seymour is the older brother of Nick Seymour, the bass guitarist for Crowded House.[1][3] In 1978 with Robert Miles (sound engineer) Archer, Falconer and Seymour formed a casual band, The Schnorts (named for a Belgian tennis racket).[4]

    [​IMG]
    The electric tennis racquet used by The Schnorts.
    They played cover versions of 1960s songs, including "To Sir, with Love".[4][5] Their lead singer, Margot O'Neill, was a journalist on radio 3RRR program, Talking Headlines.[4]

    A more ambitious band, The Jetsonnes, followed in September 1979, with the addition of Ray Tosti-Gueira on guitar and backing vocals.[1][2] According to music journalist, Clinton Walker, The Jetsonnes had a "clever post-punk pop sound was lighter, bouncier (rather than funkier) and more infectious than other like-minded bands".[1] Their only released track is "Newspaper" which was one side of a gig give away split single in June 1980 with "Miniskirts in Moscow" by fellow pop group, International Exiles, as the other.[1][4][6] By September that year The Jetsonnes had disbanded but Archer, Falconer, Miles, Seymour and Tosti-Gueira decided to continue with new members, Geoff Crosby on keyboards and Greg Perano (ex-True Wheels) on percussion to form a new band.

    Hunters & Collectors formed in Melbourne in early 1981 with the initial line-up of Archer, Crosby, Falconer, Miles, Perano, Seymour and Tosti-Gueira.[1][2] Miles was credited as an equal part of the band's output and stayed throughout their main career.[1] Perano provided the band's name from "Hunters and Collectors", a track on 1975's Landed album by German group Can.[1][3] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, compared the new band with The Jetsonnes and found it to be "a far more radical and unremitting concept".[1]

    Originally Hunters & Collectors were influenced by the Krautrock genre and the productions of Conny Plank, featuring strong percussive influences, noisy guitar, and driving bass lines.[1] As lead singer and guitarist, Seymour became the principal lyricist and the linchpin of the group.[3] The core of Hunters & Collectors was expanded by a brass section, later dubbed Horns of Contempt, consisting of Nigel Crocker and Michael Waters both on trombone; Jack Howard, Andy Lynn and Chris Malherbe each on trumpet; and Jeremy Smith on French horn.[1][2]

    Mushroom Records specifically formed a new alternative label, White Label Records, when they signed Hunters & Collectors.[1] Their first release was World of Stone, a three-track extended play in January 1982.[1][2] It reached the top 50 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[7] Their debut self-titled album followed in July and was produced by the band with engineering by Sydney-based Tony Cohen.[1][2] It peaked at No. 21 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart,[7] and No. 14 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.[8] The album's lead single, "Talking to a Stranger", also released in July, was accompanied by a music video directed by film maker Richard Lowenstein,[1][9][10] but it did not peak into the Top 50.[7] By that time, Tosti-Gueira was replaced by Martin Lubran (ex-Spiny Norman) on guitar and the Horns of Contempt were reduced to three: Howard, Smith and Waters.[1][2]

    Another EP, Payload, was released in November, its four tracks were co-produced by Mike Howlett (ex-Gong) and the band.[1][2] The EP peaked at No. 31 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[8]Lowenstein also directed the music video for the lead single, "Lumps of Lead",[9][10] but it did not chart in Australia or New Zealand.[7][8] In 1983 the band toured the United Kingdom for six months and signed with Virgin Records.[1] The label recompiled three tracks from the Australian version of Hunters & Collectors and all four tracks from Payload into the international version of Hunters & Collectors, which was released in April.[1][4] While in the UK and attempting to enter the local market, the group's members "were doing odd jobs, illegally, to keep afloat and getting steadily more miserable in the process".[11]

    By mid-year the band had decamped to Conny's Studio in Germany, where they recorded their second album, The Fireman's Curse, co-produced by Plank (Can, Cluster, Kraftwerk), with Dave Hutchins engineering, and released by White Label and Virgin Records on 5 September 1983.[1][2] McFarlane felt it was "overly ambitious and cluttered, and generally suffered from a lack of fresh ideas".[1] The album did not reach the top 50 in Australia but did so in New Zealand.[7][8] A three-record deal with Virgin was broken when band members insulted the label's executive, Simon Draper, by telling him that he was "a poncy little blueblood" with no faith in them.[4][5] Its lead single, "Judas Sheep" (August), reached the top 40 in New Zealand but did not chart in Australia.[7][8] After November's single, "Sway", failed to chart in both markets,[7][8] they disbanded briefly.
     
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  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Hunters & Collectors
    [​IMG]
    Studio album by Hunters & Collectors
    Released
    26 July 1982
    Recorded October 1981–April 1982
    AAV Studios, Melbourne
    Genre Rock
    Length 49:48
    Label White/Mushroom
    Producer Hunters & Collectors
    Hunters & Collectors chronology
    Hunters & Collectors
    (1982) The Fireman's Curse
    (1983)
    Singles from Hunters & Collectors
    1. "Talking to a Stranger"
      Released: 12 July 1982
    Hunters & Collectors
    [​IMG]
    1983 US version (Oz/A&M)
    Hunters & Collectors is the self-titled debut studio album by Australian rock band, Hunters & Collectors, which was released on 26 July 1982. It was produced by the band with Tony Cohen as audio engineer. The album peaked at No. 21 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 14 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. The album's first single, "Talking to a Stranger", was released ahead of the album on 12 July, and was accompanied by a music video directed by film maker Richard Lowenstein, but it did not reach the Top 50 on the related singles chart.

    Hunters & Collectors was recorded by Australian rock band, Hunters & Collectors from October 1981 to the following April.[1][2] The group had formed earlier in 1981 with the line up of former members of Jetsonnes: John Archer on electric bass; Doug Falconer on drums; Robert Miles as live sound and art director; Mark Seymour on guitar and lead vocals; and Ray Tosti-Guerra on guitar and vocals; joined by Geoff Crosby on keyboards; and Greg Perano on percussion (ex-True Wheels).[1][2] They were expanded by a horn section, later dubbed Horns of Contempt, comprising Nigel Crocker and Michael Waters, both on trombone; Jack Howard, Andy Lynn and Chris Malherbe, each on trumpet; and Jeremy Smith on French horn.[1][2]

    Mushroom Records specifically formed a new alternative label, White Label Records, when they signed Hunters & Collectors.[1][3] Their first release was World of Stone, a three-track extended play in January 1982.[1][2] Hunters & Collectors, followed on 26 July 1982 and was produced by the group with Sydney-based engineer Tony Cohen recording at AAV Studios, Melbourne.[1][2] The album peaked at No. 21 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart.[4] Their first single from the album, "Talking to a Stranger" was released ahead of the album on 12 July,[5] and was accompanied by a music video directed by film maker Richard Lowenstein,[1] but it did not reach the Top 50 singles chart.[4]

    By this time, Tosti-Guerra was replaced by Martin Lubran on guitar and the Horns of Contempt were reduced to three, Howard, Smith and Waters.[1][2] In July this line up contributed four new tracks for the United States version of Hunters & Collectors, which retained three tracks from the Australian version.[6]The co-producer for the new tracks was Mike Howlett, which were released in Australia as the group's second extended play, Payload, on 6 December 1982.[1][2] Howlett had also remixed "Talking to a Stranger" for the US version of the album.[5]

    In early 1983, the band began a six-month tour of the United Kingdom and signed to Virgin Records, who combined their album, Hunters & Collectors and the Payload EP into a UK LP re-release of Hunters & Collectors.[1][2] The US version of the album was released on the Oz Records label, the US imprint of Mushroom Records and was distributed by A&M Records.[2] In July 1991 the album was re-issued on compact disc, which included all three tracks from World of Stone.[2][7] In August 2003 the latter version was re-released by Liberation Blue.

    Some years later, Allmusic's Bill Cassel found Hunters & Collectors (US version) to be "seething art funk comparable to a harder-edged Shriekback or less political Gang of Four";[6] at the time of its launch, Shriekback had only released one EP. Their lyrics "are stream-of-consciousness poetics that range from the merely incomprehensible to the downright silly".[6] Seymour's vocal delivery "does not sound entirely comfortable" while the "muscular rhythms" of Archer and Falconer "motor right over the young band's shortcomings".[6]

    Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt that the album provided "one of the band's early classics" with the lead single, "Talking to a Stranger", and lauded its "radical film clip" by Lowenstein.[1] The track was "an expression of alienation and sheer anguish".[1] While fellow music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, opined "[its] theme of alienation and anguish is one the band would return to, but for the moment the group's emphasis was the free-form side of their work".
     
  4. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Talking To A Stranger
    When this song first appeared in Australia I was a Young fella, and this was unlike anything I had ever heard and it intrigued me. It took a few years for me to go back and get the album. I got the album later after falling in love with the very different Human Frailty album.
    I'm going to put the full video and album version of the song up. If you are in a hurry, the main part of the song starts at 1:28


    Lyrics
    Souvent pour s'amuser les hommes d'equipage
    And it's like talking to a stranger
    Remember the panic in its delectable face, when I touched it
    It was like talking to a stranger
    Venetian candles penetrated its heart
    It trembles like talking to a stranger
    And Oh Miss Jesus tell me where are your black eyes?
    Your baby was talking to a stranger, no no.

    Souvent pour s'amuser les hommes d'equipage
    And it's like talking to a stranger
    You tasted mustard when she painted your face
    And it was like talking to a stranger
    And Oh Miss Jesus tell me where are your black eyes?
    Your baby was talking to a stranger
    Souvent pour s'amuser les hommes d'equipage
    And it's like talking to a stranger.

    Souvent pour s'amuser les hommes d'equipage
    And it's like talking to a stranger
    You tasted mustard when she painted your face
    And it was like talking to a stranger
    Remember the panic in its delectable face, when you touched it
    It was like talking to a stranger
    And Oh Miss Jesus tell me where are your black eyes?
    Your baby was talking to a stranger.
    You're talking to a stranger
    You're talking to a stranger, no no.
     
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  5. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    Count me in. I've got Human Frailty and Fate on CD. They have mostly the same stuff I originally had on vinyl, but I think had an LP and a couple of EPs. Maybe there is some later stuff I should try to pick up.
     
  6. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Alligator Engine
    You can hear the influences of the band and still hear that they have their own thing going on. Again to my ears they were a very original sounding band and I know there are some people on here with more experience than I in alternative bands so perhaps you can clarify these things for us.


    Lyrics
    This alligator engine
    This alligator man
    See him try to leave this swampland
    Drove it out across this land, and see
    All the guards get petrified
    As he pushed them to the ground
    With this alligator engine
    With this alligator sound
    See him try to leave this swampland
    Wriggle out across this ground and then
    All the guards are screaming now
    'Cos this territory's cold
    This alligator engine
    This alligator soul
    He tried to leave this swampland
    To wriggle out up of his hole
    And then all the guards are screaming now
    As he pushed them to the ground
    With this alligator engine
    With this alligator sound
    Goes out across this swampland
    Wriggles out across this ground and see
    All the guards are screaming now
    This territory's cold
    This alligator engine
    This alligator man
    Wriggle out across this swampland
    Drove it out across this land, and see
    All the guards get petrified
    As he pushed them to the ground
    With this alligator engine
    With this alligator sound
     
  7. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I'm not sure of the U.S. release versions, but I will certainly try and keep that info in here where I am able.
    It's pleasing to hear that you have Human Frailty. The first album that i knew specifically had a U.S. release was What's A Few Men, another really good album. We'll get there :)
     
  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    The early stuff is quite different in some ways. I think you can see the band evolving into the band that they became, which to me is refreshing in an age where bands often live and die off their first release. I'll probably go through this early stuff reasonably quickly, so as to get to the meat and potatoes.
     
  9. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    A very strange band. Sort of a pub rock band, and sort of not, it was as though they could not decide whether to be Cold Chisel or Split Enz, and kept a foot in both camps.
    It probably should be mentioned for the benefit of non-Australian members that Mark Seymour is the brother of Nick Seymour, who was part of Crowded House.
     
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  10. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    i think that ambiguity is what I like about them. I think they made their own thing and did it well.
    I do prefer the more focussed sound that they got from Human Frailty on though
     
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  11. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Skin Of Our Teeth
    I often when listening to this album hear a correlation with The Birthday Party, but not quite as abrasive. It reminds me how many bands in Oz were willing to step outside the norm and risk the whole house on their own sound.


    Lyrics
    Mould the hair back
    Reveal fine shaped forehead
    And see it go scrabbling
    Scrabbling under the bed
    Here's to God-fearing
    God-fearing good living
    And we'll be hanging by the skin of our teeth again
    Spinning by the skin of our teeth again
    And dangling by the skin of our teeth again
    And hanging by the skin of our teeth again
    And dangling by the skin of our teeth again
    And hanging by the skin of our teeth again
    Spinning by the skin of our teeth again
     
  12. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Scream Who
    Throughout these songs you can hear the focus on percussion and bass. The band was intent on using these as a true foundation for their sound and use the other instruments as embellishments.


    Lyrics
    My ears are ringing and the eyes have it
    Lean your head to the wall
    And these walls have ears
    And those ears are ringing
    Support this wonderful wall
    And inside the mortar scared smells, oh what smells?
    Lean your head to the wall
    Hear you, hear me, hear who?
    Scream you, scream me, scream who?
    Help you, help me, help who?
    My ears are ringing and the eyes have it
    Lean your head to the wall
    These walls have ears
    And those ears are ringing
    Support this wonderful wall
    And inside the mortar there's talk about
    Lean your head to the wall
    Hear you, hear me, hear who?
    Help you, help me, help who?
    Scream you, scream me, scream who?
    This can't be happening, this can't!
    This can't be happening in the beauty of my home
    In the beauty of my home
    Scream who!
     
  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Junket Head
    Again you can hear influences from the post punk movement and there are elements that are almost from the dance scene. Yet the album doesn't get lost in the eighties production too much.


    Lyrics
    Here comes a boy with a pudding bowl haircut
    Here comes a boy rough-cut with mother-sharpened scissors
    And he's got hand-me-downs and sling-shot brain
    Garbled excuse and tattered note
    Hand-me-downs and sling-shot brain
    Garbled excuse and...
    Here comes a boy with a pudding bowl haircut
    They call him out
    "Oh no there's Junket Head"
    And they're so loud
    "Oh no there's Junket Head"
    Here comes a boy he's got a tunnel of a mouth
    Here comes a boy and he's got bat-wing doors as ears
    And he's got hand-me-downs and sling-shot brain
    Garbled excuse and a tunnel of a mouth
    Hand-me-downs and sling-shot brain
    Garbled excuse and...
    Here comes a boy rough-cut with mother-sharpened scissors
    Here comes a boy rough-cut when he let it slip in jump salute
    And he's got hand-me-downs and sling-shot brain
    Garbled excuse and tattered note
    Hand-me-downs and sling-shot brain
    Garbled excuse and...
    Here comes a boy with a pudding bowl haircut
    And they're so loud
    "Oh no there's Junket Head"
     
  14. Seagull

    Seagull Seabird flavour member

    Location:
    Dorset,England
    I saw them on their 1983 tour of the U.K. In Bristol.

    I'd not heard of them before but the local listings magazine rated them so I gave them a punt.

    I enjoyed the gig but it was 'Talking to a Stranger' that really stood out for me. It was one of those songs that could have gone on for ages without getting boring. I went out and bought the LP the following weekend.
     
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  15. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Boo Boo Kiss
    This song has a persistent groove that lopes along with Mark Seymour emoting his lyrics over the top. You can hear the band are experimenting and discovering themselves as they go with these songs.


    Lyrics
    It's Boo, Boo Kiss
    He's the King of Swing
    He's drawing blood
    He's the heart-throb of sob
    As he's bringing in the leeches
    We'll sing it to the ceiling
    It's Boo, Boo Kiss
    And he's the King of Swing
    Ma, ma!
    He's making snake eyes at me
    Bring on the effigy
    Take down the house lights
    Burn the witch, burn the witch
    It's the ashtray chant
    He's the medicine man
    So bring in the leeches
    And do another Poo, Poo dance
    Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo Kiss
    Come down, come down on the left foot
    Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo Kiss
    Come down, come down on the left foot
    Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo Kiss
    Come down, come down on the right foot
    Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo Kiss
    Oh I say come down, come down on the right foot
    Beat the hell out of those bones
    We'll beat those bones
    Hey Mr. Hollow face
    It's the soft shoe shuffle
    Here comes the snake dance
    It's the last dance trance
    Hey Mr. Boo, Boo Kiss
    It's the ashtray trance
    Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo Kiss
    And I say come down, come down on the left foot
    Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo Kiss
    I say come down, come down on the left foot
    Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo Kiss
    Oh I say come down, come down on the right foot
    Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo Kiss
    I say come down, come down on the right foot
     
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  16. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Talking to a stranger is the high point of the album for me. I can't put my finger on it, but as unusual as it is, it is quite hypnotic
     
  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Tender Kinder Baby
    There is an urgency to this song that is somewhat different to some of the other tracks on here. The original form of the album had the first six songs as three per side on the disc and this song and run run run as a twelve inch single. It was somewhat of an unusual format.


    Lyrics
    Tender Kinder Baby
    Spoon upon ice-cream and cherry
    And take the cloth and wipe your chin
    Go walking through the clinic door
    How can you eat like that?
    Tender Kinder Baby
    Swallow down the sacred liquor
    And swoon upon the matron's tongue
    Inside her mouth you turn the handle
    And they run indoors into the number one position
    How can you dance like that?
    Tender Kinder Baby
    From the mud into the sandpit
    Round and round the matron goes
    Down upon your knees to beg the question
    Down upon your knees and how can you commit this act of contrition?
    Tender Kinder Baby
    You'll spoon upon ice-cream and cherry
    And take the cloth and wipe your chin
    Go walking through the clinic door
    How can you dance like that?
    How can you dance like that?
    How can you eat like that?
    Tender Kinder Baby
    How can you breathe like that?
    Tender Kinder Baby
    How can you eat like that?
    Tender Kinder Baby
    How can you dance like that?
     
  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Run Run Run
    Again, to me, we have a very Birthday Party sounding song.


    Lyrics
    General is a wise man
    The General is a gun
    Shake up this scribbly world
    And run run run
    He's laughing like a doctor
    But I bit his crazy mouth
    Believe this faithful daughter
    As he squeezed into her house
    And run run run

    Gently as you squeeze us
    Your jelly beans will be shocked
    Squeeze this juice that's in us
    And squeeze me till I drop
    General is a wise man
    The General is the shock
    Flip Flop Ego

    We go now Flip Flop
    General is a wise man
    General is a gun
    General is this partner as we run run run
    Shocked as you prickle me as you got to know too well
    Too gentle you were wise man and I broke your holy bell
    And run run run
    Moto Coda
     
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  19. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    So I am going to hold there for now. This is an introduction to the band, there first album and an idea of how they sounded at the very start of their career.
    Please feel free to post any thoughts, memories or reflections on any of this. Cheers
     
    Gavinyl likes this.
  20. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    Living in Perth I don't think we heard H&C much until their career was pretty much established with the Human Frailty album.

    I remember there were two bands getting lots of airplay at the time: one was Hunters and Collectors and the other was Spy vs Spy, and I used to confuse the two because they seemed to have a very similar sound. One of those bands went on to big things (comparatively speaking, for a band based in Oz) and the other kind of fizzled out.
     
    mark winstanley likes this.
  21. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    Fortunately, I managed to pick up the amazing Horn Of Plenty set sealed for AUS $44 years ago! 14CDs and 2 DVDs! I'll be listening along to your writings, Mark. My best friend from 50 years ago co-engineered their first live album The Way To Go Out Live. Another great band.
    My take on the band in general is that it's very percussion based, has better vocals than Talking Heads. They strike me as a real man's band, but a man with genuine feelings who is willing to admit he has a feminine side. They were mainly based in Melbourne, my original home town, although I never saw them live.
     
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  22. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Yea, that's right. I liked Spy vs Spy's first couple of albums. I never felt they were similar to the Hunters though.
     
  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    yea, horn of plenty is what I got also. I had the Human Frailty cd and the What's a few men vinyl, but when that came out it was like wow, i can get the whole lot for that little. I'm on board lol
     
  24. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    "What's a Few Men" is one of those "Australia noir" songs like "The Band Played waltzing Matilda" and "I was only Nineteen". We seem to do a fair bit of that. I dare say that song it would have raised a few eyebrows if released overseas.
     
  25. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    Especially in the UK.
     
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