A to Z - “S”
A shitload, a swarm, a sibilance, a storm, a (t)sunami of “S”s for all you sweethearts this month. Dan Kelly helps me out on a few, Sian Prior plays clarinet on
Summer Rain and Trev Warner from Adelaide plays mandolin on
Stumbling Block.
Surely God Was A Lover is based on a poem by John Shaw Neilson written around a hundred years ago.
Sydney From A 747 dips the hat to the elusive Texan band The Flatlanders, and their song
Dallas From A DC9.
Suck ‘em and see. Shake the sauce bottle and all that. There’s a ton of Ts coming so make some room on those hard drives.
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING
SMOKE UNDER THE BRIDGE
SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY
SONGS OF THE OLD RAKE
SOUTH OF GERMANY
STANDING ON THE STREET OF EARLY SORROWS
STORIES OF ME
STUMBLING BLOCK
SUMMER RAIN
SURELY GOD WAS A LOVER
SWEET GUY
SYDNEY FROM A 747
Go
here to get your downloads
MAURICE FRAWLEY
Songwriter/ Musician 5/5/1954 - 15/5/2009
Obituary by Bill Miller
Maurice Frawley died last month after a short battle with cancer, at Rochester Hospital in country Victoria. He came from an Elmore (central Victoria) farming family to Melbourne in the late 1970s to pursue a musical career in the big smoke.
Maurice was a typical Aussie bloke, a terrific songwriter and a charismatic performer. People have trouble describing ‘charisma’, but in Maurie’s case humility counted as much as raw talent and great songs.
The words ‘full of himself’ never applied once in the 25 years that I knew him, but many of his songs were so honest, poignant and uplifting, that here was a bloke that should have been, at some stage ‘full of himself’.
After his stint in ‘The Japanese Comix’ (1979-80), he co-wrote classic pop songs, including “Look So Fine, Feel So Low,” during his time as a guitarist with Paul Kelly and the Dots (1980-84). ‘The Olympic Sideburns’ (1983-86), producing an EP for ‘The Romeos’ (1989) and ‘Maurice Frawley’s Big City Burnout’ (1990) followed, before Maurice penned a string of top shelf cds which he performed with his band “The Working Class Ringos” (1993-2006). From 2006 he wrote, recorded and performed with ‘Maurice Frawley and The Yard Hands’.
In the Australian rock music scene, there aren’t many fully fledged, over 50, gypsy musicians, who live for their music, and live hard, yet are loved by all they meet. Maurice was one. Yarn with him, and the topic would very quickly be ‘music’, and his face would light up with the sheer joy of being a part of that world. He genuinely encouraged every muso he came in contact with. Young or old. A circle was completed last year when Maurice taught guitar at Rochester High School.
He was one of the old style Aussie rockers who loved nothing more than jamming with his many mates. This habit of jamming, which was like eating or breathing to Maurice and his ilk, has all but died out in today’s music world of samples, computers and keyboards.
I ran into him at the end of one of his country tours, and asked him how he was going. His black jeans had obviously been on him for a few weeks (par for the course for gypsy musicians), and he looked a little dishevelled, but that glint was in his eye as he smiled: “I’m good, I’ve just got a little bit of Tourbum.” Like nearly every line he came out with, that line sounded like the opening to yet another Frawley gem of a song.
Maurice wrote songs about his family, friends, lovers, farmers and Australian places in an Australian voice. Listen to most acts at Tamworth, and you’d swear you were in the U.S.A. Not so with Maurice.
Australia needs more Maurice Frawleys to write songs about us and what we do, in an Australian voice that we can relate to. The trouble is, there could only be one Maurice Frawley, and now we’re already poorer for his absence. But that’s where his songs come in. Maurice was fortunate enough to be a songwriter talented enough to ensure that his voice will be heard forever.
Maurice is survived by siblings Brendan, Mary and Leo, and his son, Martin.
Bill Miller, on behalf of every muso in Australia.
“Maurice Frawley wrote some of my favourite songs –
Harness Down, Old Folks, Queen Stone and many others. Great songwriters create a world. Maurice did – a hard-bitten, pastoral world through which walked a straight talking man, wide-eyed and willing.
The beauty of his music owes a lot to his musical companions. His records sound like he’s playing with friends on the back verandah. But not mere fair-weather friends who’ve come around to play a few carefree tunes. These are friends who’ve ridden every bump of the road with him. Darkness hovers around the edges as they make the sounds none of them could make on their own.
Maurice was a great encourager. He was generous with younger musicians. He’d tell you he was proud of you. He told his music students to go for it. And they did. He looked his oncoming death straight in the eye and faced up to it with humour and grace. A lot of us are going to miss him.” PK , May 30
Songs From The South Volume’s 1 & 2 Available Now
Paul Kelly’s Songs From The South Volume 2 was recently released, along with a DVD collection of Paul Kelly videos from 1985 to 2008 and a double CD including Songs From The South Volume’s 1 & 2. You can find these at record stores and digital outlets now.
Noel Mengel reviews Songs from the South, Volumes 1 and 2 *****(Capitol)
To view the article in its entirety
click here
Robert Forster Reviews 'Songs From The South Volumes 1 & 2
To view the article in its entirety
click here
More reviews are posted in the ‘Recent Press’ section of this website.
Songs From The South Deluxe Collector's Pack
Contains:
- Paul Kelly Songs From The South Volumes 1 & 2 Double CD
- Paul Kelly The Video Collection 1985-2008 DVD
- A facsimile of original hand written lyrics to ‘How To Make Gravy’, signed by Paul Kelly.
- Vintage T-shirt
- 3 x replica backstage passes
- Collectable lanyard
- Tour poster
- B&W press photo
- Plus instant digital access to Songs From The South Volume 1&2
To order, click on the banner at the top of this page.
