Three killer freakbeat tunes by The (Aussie) Birds
Brendan | 04/15/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Do you have a first record? That one record which kicked off your record collection. I do and it was Magic Words/Dust in my pants by The Birds. Two killer cuts featured on this CD along with their gutsy cover of No good without you.
Terry Clarke (guitar vocals), Brian Curtis (bass, vocals) migrated to Perth from the UK in the late 60's. According to my research Terry was an original member of the Herd. He and Curtis were also in a band called Clockwork Orange which recorded one single in the UK. They teamed up with John Goldsmith (drums) in Perth. Interestingly they called themselves The Birds (the name of a truly excellent mid 60's UK band featuring future Face and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood)and recorded a couple of tunes associated with the UK Birds. Did they try to pass themselves off as the UK Birds? Who knows, who cares when they produced songs as great as the three on this CD. Sneering vocals, distorted guitar, manic bass, crashing cymbals and snare drums all mixed together in that wonderful, 60's way (compressed mono, live sounding, and with every instrument and the vocals recorded at the same volume).
The Aussie Birds version of No good without you is every bit as good as The UK Birds verion (found on Nuggets vol 2) and their version of (Say those) Magic Words is superior to the UK Birds (whose version is also on Nuggetts 2). Unlike the UK Birds version the Aussie Birds version centres the song around a brilliant 5 chord descending riff, so it is most definitely not a facsimile arrangement (although the solo is the same). Their sole original composition 'Dust in my pants' is hard as nails and the solo includes a theremin and what sounds like a good old fashined Who-like guitar smashing (you'd think your amps are about to blow). Brilliant stuff. I first heard this single when I was about five so no wonder I made a bee line for The Who in my early teens. Sadly this superb little combo only cut three singles (the best three sides of which are on this CD). Obviously these guys had other things besides music on their minds when they emigrated to Perth because it most definitely isn't the place to forward a music career.
The pick of the rest is the Proclamations' King of the mountain (a busy little pop-psych number which incorporates some interesting changes in tempo). Glen Ingram and The High Fives' rocked up version of the Skye Boat song was an Aussie hit but sadly not included here. Colin Cook and Ray Hoff and the Offbeats, with there 'take no prisoners' R&B, are pretty cool too in an old fashioned kind of way."
Even Little Perth Cranked out Gems
Randall E. Adams | Los Angeles, CA United States | 10/27/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I will readily confess that my attachment to Australian music can resemble a fetish. But with releases like this, who can resist? Such a small population on such a gigantic piece of earth produces great music and has done so for a long time.A creature of necessity, Clarion Records was formed as the only outlet for local music in Western Australia. Working in near-total isolation, Martin Clarke built his own studio and equipped it in a fashion that resulted in one of the country's best facilities. The record label was a necessary adjunct to release Clarke's recorded product.To intrigue potential buyers, it's understandably necessary to name the "star" Bon Scott whose early group the Valentines offer an okay version of pop ditty "Love Makes Sweet Music" and a GREAT number written by Easybeats tunesmith George Young, "She Said." But the best moments on this collection lie elsewhere. For my money, the most convincing offerings are written by Terry Walker and either sung by him or his collaborator Glen Ingram. Songs like "Long Time Gone" and "That It's Me" mine a proto-alt country musical seam and can easily withstand cover versions today. The prowess of Clarion's studio facilities is well demonstrated by the amusing psychedelia of The Proclamation's "King of the Mountain" and The Birds' (no, not the Ronnie Wood group) "Magic Words" and two obnoxious novelty tunes by faux band The Vegetable Garden. The compilers of this superbly enjoyable 30 track disc favored original songs and very non-obvious covers. The time period covered by this collection spans from 1966 to 1970. While some of the music is inevitably dated for its period as a result of the isolation of Perth and its environs (Exhibit A being the oddly chosen first track, Robbie Snowden's "No One Really Loves a Clown" from 1967 which sounds like something released by Joe Meek in 1963). For the most part, this collection is a wonderful sampler of the 1960s, from white-boy r&b/soul to teenbeat to freakbeat to compact 45-scale psychedelia.Buy it."
Track Listings (30) - Disc #1