Blackeyed
Susans - Dedicated To The Ones We Love (Teardrop/Shock)
Imagine
Nick Cave trying to emulate Frank Sinatra and you're half-way towards
an impression of the Blackeyed Susans' "style". This album brings
the band full circle on their original reason-to-be. It all started
when various Perth musicians formed a side-line to perform cover
versions with. Their choice of cover versions formed the group's
style as much as the membership, and a permanent group evolved.
With this album they return to applying that now very evolved style
to mopre of their favourite songs. The key is in the perverseness
of their choices. Hollywood period Elvis Presley. Their version
of a doo wop version of a Sinatra-era classic. The song Phil Spector
wrote for the Crystals which radio shunned because of its apparently
violent overtones. To prove how twisted they like their view of
music, explaining the source of 'Everyone's Gone To The Moon' the
album liner notes explain that Johnathan King went on to produce
the Bay City Rollers. King has quite a CV, but that's the tackiest
career highlight. But the Blackeyed Susans are very serious of course.
Everything about them is deadpan. If they're laughing, if they've
got their tongues in their cheek, we'll never know. They just prefer
this fractured, lyrically miserable, overtly sentimental way of
things. That's part of their appeal, the rest is the fabulous musicianship
which delivers it. These are amongst the best musicians in the land.
And that's what makes the whole thing so engaging. On stage, and
on record. Twelve years on the Blackeyed Susans are still a treat,
if an acquired taste.
Imagine
Nick Cave trying to emulate Frank Sinatra and you're half-way towards
an impression of the Blackeyed Susans' "style". This album brings
the band full circle on their original reason-to-be. It all started
when various Perth musicians formed a side-line to perform cover
versions with. Their choice of cover versions formed the group's
style as much as the membership, and a permanent group evolved.
With this album they return to applying that now very evolved style
to mopre of their favourite songs. The key is in the perverseness
of their choices. Hollywood period Elvis Presley. Their version
of a doo wop version of a Sinatra-era classic. The song Phil Spector
wrote for the Crystals which radio shunned because of its apparently
violent overtones. To prove how twisted they like their view of
music, explaining the source of 'Everyone's Gone To The Moon' the
album liner notes explain that Johnathan King went on to produce
the Bay City Rollers. King has quite a CV, but that's the tackiest
career highlight. But the Blackeyed Susans are very serious of course.
Everything about them is deadpan. If they're laughing, if they've
got their tongues in their cheek, we'll never know. They just prefer
this fractured, lyrically miserable, overtly sentimental way of
things. That's part of their appeal, the rest is the fabulous musicianship
which delivers it. These are amongst the best musicians in the land.
And that's what makes the whole thing so engaging. On stage, and
on record. Twelve years on the Blackeyed Susans are still a treat,
if an acquired taste.