TALES OF THE AUSTRALIAN UNDERGROUND PART 2 - Various Artists (Feelpresents)
Putting on this expansive, double-disc retrospective is like throwing a barbecue where a bunch of old friends turn up with some strange, less familiar cousins in tow. There are a few sideward glances but once the drinks kick in and the steaks start sizzling, 
these interlopers have something interesting to say. Everything gets fuller than a fat lady's boot and has a cool time. At least when you play these CDs, you'll remember what you did the next morning.
Unsurprisingly from the title, this is the second in the series and it lives up to the same exacting standards while steadfastly pursuing an unorthodox path. Which is to say it sounds superb (ex-Lipstick Killers guitarist and one of the world's biggest garage punk collectors Mark Taylor being on the technical case again) and that given a choice between better-known album tracks or their (usually) more interesting, rough-hewn counterparts from 45s, compiler Tim Pittman opts for the latter, where possible. You get the obvious (The Saints, Radio Birdman, the Birthday Party) rubbing shoulders with the less obvious (Dropbears, The Particles, Proton Energy Pills, David Virgin). And where you might be excused for thinking it won't hold together well, the opposite rings true.
So "Tales" is a roughly chronological attempt to tell the story of underground Oz Rock's golden period (1977-90) mostly through the ultimate medium, the seven-inch single. If you know anything it should be that 45s rule. In many cases, one single was the first and last statement some of these bands would make. A band gets two shots at target, maybe three if they cram a flipside. Make an impression or we're outta here. Kick out the jams or get off the turntable.
Splitting hairs over what should and shouldn't have have made the cut is pointless, so a few general observations shall prevail. Feelpresents began life as a promotions/management company and just as they continue to tour bills that defy categorisation, so too the track selection on "Tales II". There's a sprinkling of noisemakers (Ollie Olsen) and/or synthesizer-flavoured innovators (Severed Heads - whose original tape version of "Dead Eyes Opened" gets a nod, instead of subsequent re-recording) and Machinations.
Some highlights for me are a quartet of poppier singles - tracks I'd forgotten about like The Riptides' wonderful "Tomorrow's Tears" and Little Murders' "Things Will Be Different", the skittish pop of The Particles' "The Trumpet Song" and Sardine v's wistful "Stuck On You". Maybe the prize for the One That Got Away could go to the Inner Sleeves' "End It All", as prime a piece of '60s rock-pop to come out of Australia and disappear without a trace.
Fittingly for a compilation of mostly seven-inch singles, there are precisely 45 tracks (spooky or what?) and they're complemented by what might be one of the best potted histories of Australian underground music we've seen to date. There's no shortage of detail or considered opinion in the Pittman-penned CD booklet. Must be time for some to do the definitive full-blown book.
A long time coming but worth the wait. An essential addition. - The Barman
TALES
FROM THE AUSTRALIAN UNDERGROUND: SINGLES 1978-1989 Ð Various Artists (Feel
Presents)
From the same people who've brought Australians umpteen worthy tours comes
this compilation of singles from the heyday of Oz indie music (when the term
"indie" meant something). And it's killer, in all respects.
"Tales" is the third compilation of its type in less than 12 months, following
the successful "Do The Pop" (Shock) and "Born Out of Time" (Raven)
collections. That makes for a total of five discs (about 400 minutes of music,
disregarding duplicated songs) which is more than enough to fuel your next
listening party. But where those marvellous sets mined the "indie hits" (note
paradoxical term), this takes a sharp left-turn. Sure, there's representation
by biggies like Birdman, the Saints, the Scientists and the Birthday Party,
but "TalesÉ" shines a light into corners the others didn't go, exposing bands
like Sekret Sekret, Sardine v, Tactics, Lighthouse Keepers, Pel Mel, Makers
of the Dead Travel Fast, Venom P. Stinger, the Riptides and The Mark of Cain.
The guiding principle was that these songs were all SINGLES (remember them?)
As anyone with a brain knows, the 7" is the defining thing in music, the "one
shot" chance of making a mark. Mark Taylor's sleeve quote that "all the best
songs are on singles" is right on the money. Five years in the making, there
are 45 tracks here and precious little crossover with the compilations that
came before.
Compiler Tim Pittman initially made his mark as booker for the Sydney Trade
Union Club, as well as manager of The Eastern Dark and the Hard Ons. Both
acts are represented, but there's an idiosyncratic song selection at work
that means we hear the Laughing Clowns' "Sometimes (I Just Can't Live With
Anyone)" rather than "Eternally Yours", or the Scientists' "We Had Love" instead
of "Swampland". The single cut of "This Perfect Day" from Bailey and Co IS
the best (play the Harvest label 7" back-to-back with a vinyl cut of "Eternally
Yours" and you'll agree. Likewise, X's impossible-to-find "Halfway Round the
World" (the flip of "Mother", with Cafeiro on drums) shades the later album
version. Both single takes are here.
So what's the rest of the spread? The Triffids are a band I remember from
the Trade's first-floor but never got into. "Beautiful Waste" is a reminder
that they could soar, without pretension. God's "My Pal" is still the best
thing they ever did and Tactics' Television-like piece of sppedy agitation,
"Standing By the Window", was never replicated by later line-ups. On the feminine
side, The Passengers' "Face With No Name" is still a gem. "I Belong to Nobody"
by the Flaming Hands is a reminder that, until they lost their organic feel,
they were one of the best bands on Phantom, a label with equal claim
to greatness in its early days.
"TalesÉ" is not only a collection for collectors, with most cuts never issued
in digital format, but for newcomers, too. The solid sprinkling of higher-profile
names sits well with the quirkier ones. For want of a generic term, there's
a strong sense of "post-punk" here, rarely descending into noise for noise's
sake. It mostly sounds great, considering masters were only obtainable for
13 cuts, with lots of work going in the transfer and mastering stages. A few
songs were around on the "Murder Punk" bootlegs of a few years ago, but not
sounding as sharp as this.
The incisive and detailed liner notes span 32 pages of the accompanying booklet.
Eagle eyes will notice the following line within: "If it's possible to get
this one to stick then the gaps will be filed with further volumes". We're
holding you to it, Tim - The Barman