| Author | Message | ||
     Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2264 Registered: 05-2005 |
Really nice trailer here http://www.sbs.com.au/blogarticle/108241 /What-makes-an-Australian-album-great Program is on next Saturday. | ||
| Roger Griffin Member Username: Roger Post Number: 54 Registered: 11-2004 |
I hope this is treated as well as the Triffids BSD was. It really is a classic and timeless record and I never tire of it. More importantly it has a great "Rumours"-like backstory which I know the producers liked to have. That's why they chose "Woodface" over "Crowded House". My only gripe with the Aus series is that they don't do the track by track dissection with the faders on the mixing desk like Eagle Vision's Classic Albums series. It adds so much to the understanding of the album's construction and the decisions involved along the way. Oh well. Thumb poised over record button. | ||
| a vromen Member Username: Audrey Post Number: 4 Registered: 01-2006 |
The SBS series has been really great so far. There is an article previewing 16 Lovers Lane on the Sydney Morning Herald site: http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/you r-turn-my-turn/2008/08/30/1219516773760. html. I will hardly be able to sleep for the next few nights waiting for Saturday's showing! I saw the Nick Cave episode at the Sydney Film Festival and it was wonderful: Nick Cave in great comedic form and stories about his duets with both Kylie and PJ Harvey. I'm also especially looking forward to Hunters and Collectors' Human Frailty. When I was 17 i was either in my bedroom listening to the romanticism of 16 Lovers Lane or out with my fake ID seeing exciting Hunters and Collectors pub gigs. Nostalgia! Ariadne | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 90 Registered: 03-2006 |
Without wanting to condone piracy ... given the almost 0% chance that this program is going to play anywhere other than Australia, I wonder if anyone feels the urge to do a digital capture and upload it somewhere. I got shivers down my spine just watching the trailer. (Or, for that matter, if anyone has a DVD recorder and felt like recording it for me, I'd be more than happy to pay postage for a copy.) | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 91 Registered: 03-2006 |
oh, year, lawrencemikkelsen@gmail.com if anyone wants to hook me up. God I love that record. | ||
| David Tang Member Username: Ddtng Post Number: 4 Registered: 08-2008 |
The program will be released on DVD later this month, so it's possible to import it. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2281 Registered: 05-2005 |
JB Hifi will probably be the cheapest place to get it from Lawrence. http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/ | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 92 Registered: 03-2006 |
oh really? Fantastic ... I'll be in Sydney in a month anyway. is the Triffids one out on DVD? | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 93 Registered: 03-2006 |
... although I'd argue as to whether "Woodface" was a great Australian album, rather than a great album made in Australia. Given that Tim and Neil Finn are both New Zealanders. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2285 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yes, all four in season one were released on separate DVDs as soon as the last one was shown. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 396 Registered: 05-2005 |
Lawrence, The Triffids is out on DVD, but if my memory serves me correctly, it took a while to get out into the shops here, so it might be a while before the 16LL is released too. I've set up my DVD/hard drive recorder to capture the GB's already so it would be really easy to burn you a copy. Consider it done. Some people on this board would not even consider "Woodface" to BE a great album, let alone The Crowdies a great band, let alone Neil Finn a great songwriter! Unbelievable but true!! BUT, he did it here, half the band was Australian at the time - WE'RE CLAIMING IT AS OURS! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2288 Registered: 05-2005 |
The way Australia claims Kiwis with talent annoys me. The English do the same to Irish people with talent, eg Terry Wogan. | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 94 Registered: 03-2006 |
I think it'd be fair to call Crowded House an "international act" and not a New Zealand band. But, sorry, they're *not* an Australian band. Personally, I've always liked "Together Alone" best. It's got this really nice antipodean psychedelic vibe to it which, if you've been to Kare Kare (where it was recorded) totally captures the landscape and feel of the place. I saw the reformed Crowded House (with Eddie Rayner on synths) in February in this tiny pub about an hour North of Auckland. There were about 200 people in the crowd, and the band played about 8-9 songs of the album they're currently working on. I have to say, the new stuff is *way* better than anything on "Time on Earth". Geoff ... thanks for the offer. I'll definitely buy the real thing when the DVD is released, but in the short term a burn would be fantastic. It's just gone spring here, and it feels like it's about time to take the hardtop off my car and go for a drive with 16LL blasting from the stereo. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 486 Registered: 07-2006 |
i've been waiting months for this....couldn't think of a much better way to spend a saturday night. i rewatched the born sandy one just the other night....sublime. | ||
| David Tang Member Username: Ddtng Post Number: 5 Registered: 08-2008 |
I was also particularly surprised by the choice of Woodface as a Great Australian Album but it seems the premise of the series is to focus on the backstory of these albums and Woodface does have a fairly interesting one. As does 16LL. Can't wait for it. | ||
| Roger Griffin Member Username: Roger Post Number: 55 Registered: 11-2004 |
I've just finished watching a preview copy of this and it's pretty much as good as you would hope. The footage is nicely put together. The interviews - apart from the Go-Betweens - are not the usual suspects (amazingly, no Clinton Walker). And generally they are all candid and engaging. Moving too, naturally. I won't go on and spoil it, but don't miss it! (as if I need to tell you all). | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 95 Registered: 03-2006 |
Has this screened now? Anyone want to post any tantalising feedback for those of us unlucky enough to live outside of Australia. (You can take that as sarcasm or not ... your call.) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2305 Registered: 05-2005 |
It was mostly great. Lindy & Amanda told it like it was at the end - they were sacked. But Lindy was also very nice about Robert & Amanda was about Grant. John Willsteed was John Willsteed. David Nichols offered great insight. Robert's contribution was wonderful throughout. Lindy was hilarious at times and very emotional at one point. Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald was so little used (just two brief clips) it seemed pointless to use him at all. Mark Wallis was intriguing and looked like an 80s music business survivor from central casting. The inclusion of Ben Lee was mystifying. He had nothing interesting to say. It would have been far better to use someone such as Steve Kilbey, who knew and worked with Grant. It's available from here http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/801135 in 10 days for $24.83. | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 96 Registered: 03-2006 |
Pádraig, thanks for the info, and the link. I'm off to Sydney in three weeks, so will look forward to picking this, and the "Born Sandy Devotional" one up. (Still not sure I can stomach purchasing a DVD about "Woodface" under the 'great Australian albums' moniker though.) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2309 Registered: 05-2005 |
I forgot to mention that they had Grant talking about the album too, which was great. They also played audio of Grant singing Clouds, which was wonderful. I hope this get released some day. | ||
| David Tang Member Username: Ddtng Post Number: 7 Registered: 08-2008 |
I tend to agree with Lindy when she said Clouds would've made a great single. | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 97 Registered: 03-2006 |
Every single song on that album could've been a single, IMHO. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 489 Registered: 07-2006 |
i agree....lindy and amanda were superb. robert could have offered a lot more on the breakup....especially given how the girls quite candidly said they've never been able to accept how it transpired. all sounded like awful business....who knows, may well have been all edited/not included for effect. | ||
| Ian Darby Member Username: Jan Post Number: 7 Registered: 10-2006 |
As the reviewer in the Age (Melbourne) said - it was a great documentary - could have done with some longer snatches of music and they did some quite clever cheating with matching bits of film to the music - like Grant playing Black Mule at the Tivoli while the sound was of him singing Clouds. And as the Age reviewer also noted - thankfully no sign of Bono | ||
| Charles Coy Member Username: Coy Post Number: 96 Registered: 10-2006 |
..seemed all bitter sweet, Grant's 'Devils Eye' and 'Quiet Heart' as Amanda said came from when she travelled to London for some 'girl time'. The revelation surrounding 'Streets of Your Town' when Grant and Amanda went to the studio with the song under their belts after the album was all but finished. Robert seemed to be taken 'aback' as all songs had always been discussed and worked through with Grant. I loved it when Amanda spoke of the backing vocals on the song and how she developed the catch of 'shine'. Maybe these were further signs of the break up that came. Lindy and 'Clouds' agree with the single aspirations and was engrossed when Robert spoke of clouds in the living room being a theme in the lyric and mindset of the song.I agree with Padraig re Ben Lee, Steve Kilbey and Sophie Koh did a duet on a local show on SBS called 'Rockwiz' prior to the screening ..Steve would have fitted in beautifully in the show. | ||
| David Tang Member Username: Ddtng Post Number: 8 Registered: 08-2008 |
Ian, they actually did perform Clouds at the Tivoli and that scene wasn't over Black Mule; Grant performed that one by himself. But it was great to see that footage incorporated. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 400 Registered: 05-2005 |
Ben BLOODY Lee. Where the heck did he come from? Why is he considered so "talented"? What did Clare Danes see in him? Why was he, a mediocre (at best) songwriter, chosen to comment on The Go Betweens? He BLOODY annoys me no end!!!!!!!!!! | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 490 Registered: 07-2006 |
haha....love it geoff. i too cannot understand why the frankly otherworldly danes went out with that gangly whine-oid for so long. his songs grate like few others and his attitude always reeks of condescension. in short - he really shits me too! | ||
| Catherine Vaughan Member Username: Catherine Post Number: 478 Registered: 05-2005 |
I know nothing about Ben Lee, other than the bits I've just gleaned from Wikipedia. Sexiest Vegetarian eh? Makes me want to go out and eat a steak!! | ||
| Mark Leydon Member Username: Mark_leydon Post Number: 186 Registered: 05-2005 |
Really enjoyed the show. Lindy and particularly Amanda both added lots of interesting insights. All the stuff about the sacking of the band was really sad. The resulting hurt and disbelief came across as very genuine - and not just bitterness in hindsight as I had sometimes assumed. Agree it would have been good to get Robert or Grant's perspective on this. John Wilsteed came across as self serving and arrogant. Still can't understand how a guy with no respect for the Go-Betweens or their music ended up in the band. There was a lot of talk about his superior musicianship and how it made 16 LL the album it was. But that was part of the problem in my mind. The Go-Betweens were never about flashy technique. It's why I prefer the less polished but more creatively brilliant albums like Liberty Belle and Spring Hill Fair. And anyway, I think Robert Vickers is a better bass player than Wilsteed. They never sounded as good live when Wilsteed replaced Vickers. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 491 Registered: 07-2006 |
agreed...way too much praise levelled at wilsteed for a record that was largely an (epic!) acoustic effort on behalf of robert and grant. obviously with some damn fine strings in there too. what nonsense. a comment or two from vicks might've been nice too. if only 'cause he's probably still the best looking one.... | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 492 Registered: 07-2006 |
i'm a way sexier vegetarian than ben lee. he just makes me angrier and angrier... | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 98 Registered: 03-2006 |
Plus, Vickers had a much better "look" than Wilsteed. I remember having The Go-Betweens recommended to me in about 1998. I happened past the first version of David Nichols' (excellent) book in a shop, and was flicking through the pictures. The first one I happened upon had Wilstted in the middle - I assumed he was the lead singer, and his peroxide afro and granny-glasses really turned me off. It took me another six months to summon up the courage to listen to the band, | ||
| Mark Leydon Member Username: Mark_leydon Post Number: 187 Registered: 05-2005 |
You're right Lawrence. Wilsteed just never got it. I remember going to see them live in London after Wilsteed joined and being aghast at this would-be rockstar on bass. What on earth was this w*nker doing in my beloved Go-Betweens! He seemed detached from the music but still intent on big noting himself. I even remember him going down on his knees at one point. By contrast Robert Vickers had always seemed effortlessly cool but totally lost in the music (just like the wonderful Adele Pickvance in the GBs mark II). | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 493 Registered: 07-2006 |
it's all true...he hated them and looked like a decrepit dullard. wet blanket much? in contrast, vicks playing on their rock arena set....or simply in the HFOS vid...was perfection. | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 99 Registered: 03-2006 |
And tangental to all this, I honestly believe the Forster/McLennan/Morrision/Vickers/Brown lineup (the "classic lineup"?) was one of the coolest looking bands in the world. Wow. I really can't wait to see this. I'm really hoping it will actually be on DVD by the time I arrive in Australia on Sept. 27th. | ||
| Roger Griffin Member Username: Roger Post Number: 57 Registered: 11-2004 |
Another wasted opportunity. The Triffids one was only as good as it was due to the compelling personalities behind it. On viewing 16LL again, the flaws became more obvious. I feel it exploited the whole Mamas and the Papas/Fleetwood Mac drama too much and was too light on the actual construction and inspiration behind this masterpiece. Robert and Lindy touched on it with Clouds and the story of Amanda's NY trip and the two songs it inspired Grant to write was great but these stories were too thin on the ground, compared to the airtime given to the sacking. I mean really, what relevance does it have to the album anyway? It happened a year later. The whole Wilsteed element was a downer. As Mark said before, the technical aspect was less important than the spirit of the song. The 16LL Acoustic Demos CD is evidence of this. Wilsteed did nothing but condescend about his guitar contributions. How on earth can anyone condescend to the Go-B's? I'm sure all this was covered but edited out as the Go-B's are good interviewees and hardly reticent, and the director wanted to make it dramatic rather than illuminating. Same as the rest of the series, then. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2310 Registered: 05-2005 |
Roger, I know of at least one fairly big music biz name who was interviewed for the program but whose contribution was left out. There may have been others. Joe, you referred to Ben Lee as gangly. This he ain't. Bernard Fanning of Powderfinger once referred to him as a "precocious little [four letter word beginning with c]". | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 494 Registered: 07-2006 |
haha - are you calling ben a porker padraig? granted, ugly - inside and out - would've done the trick. i'd totally use bernard's word too, should this board not be moderated for pg viewing. i agree with you lawrence, that was definitely the best looking lineup. that pic of them in david's look is a blinder. though my favourite shoot remains the liberty belle cover stuff. | ||
| Toby Creswell Unregistered guest |
Thanks for watching the doco. To clear some things up; we made a decision early on not to use anyone who had appeared in the first series to avoid the trap of the same old faces appearing in these things and we wanted to get a wide ramnge of characters and opinions. We asked Ben Lee because he had no connection with the band and therefore had an outsider's view and also showed that the influence of the band on later generations. His particular abilities are kind of irrelevant really. As to John Willsteed - he was a pretty interesting character both as a fly in the ointment in the band, plus his abilities and a musician but also I think there is an unwitting transformation where he starts out as an anti Go-Betweens fan but at the end admits that he does still listen to that record and there is a tone in his voice there that belies all the bravado he has at the beginning. I thought that was kind of powerful. WE would have liked to have gone through the multi=tracks but they couldn't be found. But I think Amanda especially has a lot of that covered. The thing with the Go-Betweens was the chemistry of it - the personalities. We didn't interview many other people for the episode - only Dave McCormack, Ian Haug and we did talk with Clinton but trust me we didn't misrepresent anyone. The DVDs have pretty much the unedited interviews with Robert, Lindy, Amanda and John. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1730 Registered: 03-2005 |
I have a dumb question. I am marooned in the U.S., where people believe in "creation science" and a VP candidate that the mainstream press is falling all over believes you can make a gay person heterosexual by prayer. Are the DVDs for this series all-regions types, by any chance? I've been jonesing for the one about BSD and I'll certainly want this one too. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 401 Registered: 05-2005 |
Now thast's a new one on me - "Jonesing". Explain. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 495 Registered: 07-2006 |
thanks randy - you just made me spit my granola all over my workstation... why are us region discs so hard to play?!? even "multi region" players here still struggle with us discs. i've spent quite a bit on a few dvds that i'll only very very rarely be able to watch on other people's setups. the hegemony let's us all down... again. toby - will dave's interview be included in the dvd? he's a man i'd happily sit and listen to rant over the go-bs for hours on end! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1731 Registered: 03-2005 |
jonesing=hankering, lusting. I think it's an old drug addict term. No matter. I'm pretty sure I can play any type of disc on my Mac. I'll settle for that. | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 190 Registered: 02-2007 |
Toby, I appreciate the explanation, but the inclusion of Ben Lee was way wrong. All it did was immediately position anyone with taste and flavour in GB music against the spirit of the doco. Big big mistake that should have and could have been avoided by more thoughtful preparation. Like who are you going to get to be "expert" commentator on Woodface? Missy Higgins! | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 497 Registered: 07-2006 |
whenever i hear jonsesing, i think of pancakes. once a stoner, i 'spose.... | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1366 Registered: 10-2004 |
I was under the impression it originated from "keeping up with the Joneses," implying a desperate craving for everything that the Joneses have managed to acquire. Then it was later applied to drug cravings. I think? Why in the hell do different regional formats for DVDs exist anyway? What vile and demented freak thought that one up? Why was that deemed necessary? Or was it merely allowed to happen by accident? Just imagine how much life would suck if that were the case with plain old CDs... | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1367 Registered: 10-2004 |
Oh, and who *is* Ben Lee? I'm too lazy to look him up right now. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 402 Registered: 05-2005 |
Well exactly Jeff! But really, like Cold Chisel, Farnsey, "What about me?" and "Come said the boy", you don't really want to know! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2312 Registered: 05-2005 |
It didn't look to me like the audio for Clouds matched up to the video, so I think it is correct that it was the video of Grant singing Black Mule. I could be wrong, but why else would they not focus on him singing the words. In case anyone is wondering who Toby Cresswell is, he is the producer of the Australian classic albums series. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1222 Registered: 08-2006 |
Nice of Toby to post here and provide some perspective. I'm not a huge Ben Lee fan, either, but as a sometimes-journalist I'm certainly sympathetic to the challenges of obtaining interviews, and I'd wager that Ben Lee was a "name" and a Go-Betweens fan who was available for camera time when they were filming. It's not like you can just dispatch a camera crew to lord-knows-where for a 60 minute sit-down with Bono (or whoever). I hope to see the show sometime. Personally, I'd love to see Lindy's extended interview. She's always quite entertaining on camera. | ||
| David Tang Member Username: Ddtng Post Number: 9 Registered: 08-2008 |
Pádraig, I think that would be because the audio for Clouds was from the Grant solo radio version, so it wouldn't match up exactly to a version of Clouds performed by both Robert and Grant over a decade later. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1369 Registered: 10-2004 |
i would love to see this doc, too. hope that will at some point be possible for us hicks in the states. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1223 Registered: 08-2006 |
Here's a nifty piece of news from our site admin: Following the broadcast of Great Australian Albums: 16 Lovers Lane on Saturday 6th September, The Go-Betweens album 16 Lovers Lane has entered the iTunes Australia top 10 chart, peaking at number 2. This is believed to be the highest ever chart placing for a Go-Betweens release. | ||
| Ewan Talisker McEwan Member Username: Ewan_mcewan Post Number: 362 Registered: 02-2008 |
Good news, indeed. This GBs fans favorite release by them, ever. Maybe that'll expedite them putting out a super-duper deluxe reissue of it, with outtakes, the Botany sessions, etc., and whatever other assorted goodies...I dunno, maybe a Forster peace-symbol guitar strap and/or one of those patented McLennan horizontally striped tees. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2316 Registered: 05-2005 |
Thanks David. That's great news about !6 Lovers Lane. I figured it would sell a few copies this week alright! | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 403 Registered: 05-2005 |
And just imagine. All of these kids looking for the latest will be going, "The Go Betweens? Who are they? Why don't I know them? I better get that album as it must be cool!" And how is that!!!!!! | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 1270 Registered: 01-2005 |
Great news about the Great Australian Albums chart bounce that 16LL has gotten. I think it's their most accessable album, but maybe it was too acoustic based for the 1988-89 album buying crowd that was more interested in The Pixies, Wire, etc to generate enough album sales to keep the band in the black? | ||
| Eugene Unger Member Username: Blureu Post Number: 2 Registered: 05-2006 |
Does anyone have info on Grant's solo version of Clouds that was featured on the show? I believe it was from a Triple J Session. Totally brilliant. Would love to know when that was recorded, setlist...etc. Perhaps someone has it available to d/l? | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 30 Registered: 05-2005 |
Got my dvd copy through from Madman yesterday (very prompt delivery to UK), was in nerd heaven last night watching the show with a bottle of wine. Lots of good stuff on there including a clip of Grant and Amanda on Night Network which I had never seen despite having the misfortune of spending many evenings of my youth watching it. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 578 Registered: 07-2006 |
i saw this in jb the other day and wondered if anyone, having seen the tv version, knows of anything new on the disc? the running time is listed at 52 mins or something...i would've thought with the full length interviews and all, it'd have been upwards of an hour? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2455 Registered: 05-2005 |
I think the only difference is an extended interview with Lindy. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 582 Registered: 07-2006 |
that's a bit stinge. though lindy's the most enjoyable interviewee, clearly. the way she talks about quiet heart still brings a tear to the eye. | ||
| matthew Unregistered guest |
It has the 'full' interviews with Lindy, Amanda and Robert (in addition to the tv version). It must be longer than 52mins cos Robert's interview alone is over 30mins. I say they're the 'full' interviews but they're not well edited, or maybe over-edited. They tend to jump around a bit and cut them off in mid-flow (you get the feeling that more was said than we get to see!). | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 387 Registered: 04-2005 |
A friend posted me the DVD from Australia (cheers Robert!) and it is well worth it for the full interviews. Fascinating and sad at the same time. My 12 year old son said about Lindy "she's a character"... In the end I still feel that Grant and Robert were wrong to have used the name when they got together again. Even if the dynamic duo were the basis at the beginning and it was their baby totally, over the years the group transformed itself with the arrival of Lindy, Robert and Amanda. The 3 latter (reformation) records will always be for me "Grant and Robert" records and not the Go-Betweens. Amanda and Lindy are completely right in re-addressing their contributions. Seeing the band in Melbourne with Amanda for the first time was a revelation; the extended 'Draining the Pool' with her on fiddle, with Robert conducting the group from the audience. I liked her comments on the band being 'highbrow' (no porn on tour!). Both women were candid, funny and were treated terribly. For Wilsteed I couldn't comment without using langauge that wouldn't get through the forum swear-o-meter. Anyone else had problems with the disc though ? Mine was brand-new and shrink wrapped, but has some appalling scratches on it and jumps and sticks a lot ? | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 606 Registered: 07-2006 |
andrew...i bought mine yesterday, but it has to sit under the tree for a week or so as, technically, it is a present for me from one of my sisters for christmas. yep, they really are that lazy. i've watched my recorded version quite a few times and am looking forward to the full interviews. even from the televised edit, my heart completely went out to amanda and lindy. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 93 Registered: 08-2005 |
Well , I bought my disc from Oz months ago, but I've yet to watch it. It never arrived, so I went down to my local post office to see if it was there for any reason. Nope. So I requested another one be sent - had a letter from Parcelforce at the weekend and apparently I now have two copies waiting to be collected. When I eventually watch it I might be able to comment... | ||
| David Nichols Member Username: David_nichols Post Number: 2 Registered: 03-2009 |
Four months after the last post here I would just like to say some words in defence of John Willsteed. I have found him to be an engaging and generous person, also by the way a very good musician, and it strikes me that his self-deprecatory style might not have worked that well in the show - or worked too well, whatever. I think I also show up (thanks to those people who were so complementary about my input by the way) saying he was an alcoholic trouble maker, which if I remember correctly I started by saying something like 'according to everyone who was there, which I wasn't...' but most of my information on the subject of how he behaved in the late 1980s came from John himself. Anyway, all I wanted to say is he's a complex person, but he's not the horror he might have appeared to some people who watched that program. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 422 Registered: 04-2005 |
Thanks for that input David. My view of John Willsteed came from the concerts I saw him play (3 maybe?), where I found his dis-interested attitude on stage appalling. Whether he is complex or not I have no idea. Also the idea that somehow 16LL would not have had the same musical 'quality' does not frankly win me over either. Firstly as the demos show the songs were already 'formed' and secondly probably a lot that he contributed is what I dislike about the record! For me 'musicianship' has very little to do with the reasons for loving this band. | ||
| David Nichols Member Username: David_nichols Post Number: 3 Registered: 03-2009 |
That's fair enough Andrew. I guess the core of what I wanted to say about Willsteed is that the stories about how badly he behaved in the late 1980s come from him more than anyone. Musicianship aside - I realise that's not the core important element here and of course Robert Vickers should not have left etc etc which is not to say he is also not a good musician - he has many good qualities and was clearly a fish out of water in that group then. I'm not vying to run his (or anyone's particularly) fan club but I think the anti-Willsteed response herein needs to be reconsidered in the light of the fact that he propagandises against himself at every turn, and he's really not that bad a person. Not right for the Go-betweens but that's not a crime in itself. | ||
| David Nichols Member Username: David_nichols Post Number: 4 Registered: 03-2009 |
Sorry I used the word 'core' twice in two sentences. | ||
| david pestorius Member Username: David_pestorius Post Number: 79 Registered: 08-2005 |
The critical point, I think, regarding Willsteed's outburst on that 16LL doco is that it was gratuitous and inappropriate, i.e. it ought not to have got past the editing stage. That he is a "very good musician" is an aggravating factor, not a mitigating one. David Nicholls is right about one thing though: Willsteed is a trouble-maker. In some situations this can involve a genuinely Dadaistic/anti-authoritarian dimension. In the case of the 16LL doco, Willsteed's proclivity for mischief, I felt, was an embarrassment without any redeeming value. |