Mach Schau | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 15 March 2004 | |||
Recorded | November–December 2003 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 40:18 | |||
Label | EMI/Capitol (AUS/NZ) Acadia (UK) Evangeline (US) | |||
Producer | Hoodoo Gurus, Kim Salmon | |||
Hoodoo Gurus chronology | ||||
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Singles from Mach Schau | ||||
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Mach Schau | ||||
Mach Schau is the eighth studio album by the Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was recorded eight years after their previous studio album, Blue Cave ,and released by EMI/Capitol Records on 15 March 2004. It was co-produced by the group with Kim Salmon. The album peaked at number 67 on the ARIA Charts.
In early 2003 the Hoodoo Gurus reunited to record "That's My Team" (a reworked version of "What's My Scene"),which was used as the promotional theme for the National Rugby League between 2003 and 2007. All the profits from the sale of the single,which was released in September 2003,were donated to Breast cancer charities. [1]
On 17 November 2003 EMI Records announced Hoodoo Gurus' reformation to record a new album. They also released the track,"White Night",(a version of the 1986 Torch Song single) as a radio-only single, [2] on 5 December 2003. Whilst "White Night" was not included on the album,it was the B-side to the first single from the album,"Nothing's Changing My Life",and included on the US/UK version of the album. In January 2004 the band co-headlined the annual Big Day Out festival with Metallica and The Strokes. [3] On 25 January 2004 a four-track CD,Proudly Australian –celebrate Australia Day 2004,was given away free with copies of The Sunday Telegraph. The EP included the previously unreleased "Nothing's Changing My Life" by the Hoodoo Gurus. [4]
Hoodoo Gurus's eighth studio album,Mach Schau,was issued on 15 March 2004 in Australia. [5] [6] [7] This was six years after the band had officially split up in January 1998; [8] [9] and almost eight years after their previous studio album, Blue Cave (May 1996). [5] [10] The title is a reference to the German phrase,"make show",which The Beatles were told on each night's performance during their residency in Hamburg,Germany in the early 1960s. [11] By early 2003 the group had re-formed with the previous line-up of Dave Faulkner on lead vocals and guitar;Rick Grossman on bass guitar;Mark Kingsmill on drums;and Brad Shepherd on lead guitar and vocals. [5] [12] [13]
As with previous albums,most of the tracks were written by front man and founding mainstay,Faulkner;whilst two tracks were written by Shepherd. [14] The album was produced by Kim Salmon for Capitol Records/EMI. [9] [15] During Hoodoo Gurus hiatus Faulkner on vocals and guitar;and Salmon (ex-The Scientists,Beasts of Bourbon,Kim Salmon and the Surrealists) on vocals and guitar;had combined to form Antenna which issued a self-titled album in November that year. [16] Salmon described working on Mach Schau,"It has been a challenge and a privilege but mostly lots of fun. As far as jobs go its one of the best I’ve had! So.... even if the band themselves are too modest to blow their own trumpet,I can blow it for them!" [17]
The Australian version of the album includes cover art depicting the group's name in large neon writing with the title small and below the last two letters. [18] Of the album tracks,"Nothing's Changing My Life" features backing vocals by Renée Geyer and Venetta Fields (who performed on Pink Floyd's album, Wish You Were Here ,and the Rolling Stones' album Exile on Main St. ),while Vicki Peterson (ex-The Bangles) provided backing vocals for "When You Get to California".
Mach Schau's lead single,"Nothing's Changing My Life",appeared a month prior to the album,on 16 February. [19] The CD single included two B-sides,"White Night" and "Keep It Alive".
For its release outside Australia,under the Acadia Records label in the United Kingdom and Evangeline Records in the United States,it was given new cover art. [10] This has the band's name written in a wave form with the title above and to its right;centrally is a panel van with a roof rack and rays emitted from it. [10] The international version also had a revised sequence,with the tracks "Isolation" and "Penelope's Lullaby" removed,and "White Night","Monkey's Wedding" and "Song of the Year" added. [10]
The US single,"When You Get to California",was released on 27 April that year. [20] It included three additional songs,"Use By Date","This is Your Time" and "Monkey's Wedding". "Use By Date" was subsequently released as the single from the band's 2012 compilation album,Gold Watch:20 Golden Greats.
From late March to mid-June,in support of Mach Schau,the group embarked on a 68-date national tour,commencing in Geraldton and finishing in Sydney. [21] [22] Spiderbait joined the tour as special guests, [22] with the exception of the Western Australia dates,where the band was supported by The Fergusons. [23] It was the first major tour by Hoodoo Gurus since their Spit the Dummy Tour in 1997.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [10] |
The Blurb | (positive) [15] |
Undercover News | (positive) [24] |
AllMusic's Mark Demming gave Mach Schau a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars and felt that it "pretty well picks up where the band left off when we last visited with them" where the "poppier (and garagier) accents of" early albums was "pushed to the back burner in favor of a harder,guitar-based sound" of later releases. [10] Evan Alexander of The Blurb Magazine opined that the group were "doing what they do best. Gnashing six-string rock,dripping with melody and that pertinent Hoodoo panache". [15] He praised Faulkner's vocals which were "in as fine a form as they’ve ever been" and Shepherd's guitar work "the oomph control knob on [his] amp hasn’t slipped down a notch". [15]
All tracks are written by Dave Faulkner, [14] unless otherwise indicated
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Chop" (Stuart McCarthy – synthesiser) | 4:02 |
2. | "Sour Grapes" | 2:54 |
3. | "Nothing's Changing My Life" (Renée Geyer, Venetta Fields – backing vocals) | 3:06 |
4. | "#17" | 2:54 |
5. | "Domino" (Steve Fitzmaurice – saxophone (baritone)) | 3:34 |
6. | "When You Get to California" (Vicki Peterson – backing vocals, Stewart Kirwan – trumpet) | 3:30 |
7. | "This One's for the Ladies" (Stewart Kirwan – trumpet, Andrew Bickers – saxophone, Anthony Kable – trombone) (Brad Shepherd – songwriter [14] ) | 4:13 |
8. | "Girls on Top" | 2:19 |
9. | "Dead Sea" | 3:56 |
10. | "Isolation" | 3:23 |
11. | "The Mighty Have Fallen" | 3:08 |
12. | "Good Son" | 3:34 |
13. | "Penelope's Lullaby" (Brad Shepherd [14] – songwriter) | 5:45 |
Total length: | 40:18 |
All tracks are written by Dave Faulkner, [14] unless otherwise indicated
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Sour Grapes" | 2:54 |
2. | "Domino" | 3:33 |
3. | "Nothing's Changing My Life" | 3:06 |
4. | "The Good Son" | 3:34 |
5. | "When You Get to California" | 3:30 |
6. | "This One's for the Ladies" (Brad Shepherd [14] – songwriter) | 4:13 |
7. | "Girls on Top" | 2:19 |
8. | "Dead Sea" | 3:56 |
9. | "Monkey's Wedding" | 3:08 |
10. | "#17" | 2:54 |
11. | "White Night" (Rico Conning [14] – songwriter) | 3:32 |
12. | "Song of the Year" (Brad Shepherd [14] – songwriter) | 2:21 |
13. | "The Mighty Have Fallen" | 3:08 |
14. | "Chop" | 4:02 |
Total length: | 46:10 |
Adapted from the album credits. [5] [12] [13]
Track information relates to Australian release order.
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian (ARIA Charts) [25] | 67 |
The Scientists are a post-punk band from Perth, Western Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as the Exterminators and then the Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydney/London-based swamp rock band of the 1980s.
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd. Their popularity peaked in the mid- to late 1980s with albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder.
Stoneage Romeos is the debut album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. Released in March 1984 by Big Time Records in Australia, the album's release saw them receive record sales to complement their already strong reputation for live performances. With radio and television support for their third single "My Girl" (1983), complete with a film clip about a greyhound of the same name, the band's following grew. The album's other singles were "Leilani", "Tojo" and "I Want You Back". The album peaked at number 29 on the Australian charts.
Southend is an Australian house-techno band formed in 1992. The group consisted of synthesiser-keyboardists Stuart McCarthy, Steve Younan, Sameer Sen-Gupta, and vocalist Melinda Page. Their single, "The Winner Is...", reached the ARIA Singles Chart Top 10. Sen-Gupta was replaced by Justin Frew on guitar in 1995. The group disbanded in 1997 and reunited in 2003 as a trio, McCarthy, Page, and Younan.
Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums, Spencer P. Jones on guitar, Tex Perkins on vocals, Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris Sujdovic on bass guitar. Except for mainstays Jones and Perkins, the line-up changed over time as the group splintered and reformed several times. Their debut album, The Axeman's Jazz was released in July 1984. Their debut single, "Psycho", was a cover version of the Leon Payne original. The group disbanded by mid-1985 and each member pursued other musical projects.
Blow Your Cool! is the third studio album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released in April 1987 and peaked at number 2 on the Australian chart.
Magnum Cum Louder is the fourth studio album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. The album was produced by the group, and released in Australia in June 1989 and peaked at number 13.
James Lawrence Baker is an Australian musician, best known as the drummer of various rock and punk rock groups, including the Victims, the Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon, and the Dubrovniks. In 2006 Baker was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Hall of Fame. The following year, Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
David Jonathan Faulkner is an Australian rock musician who also performed as Dave Flick. Faulkner is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist; he has performed with several bands, but is best known as a member of Hoodoo Gurus. He wrote the band's best known single, 1987 hit "What's My Scene?", which reached No. 3 on the National charts.
Crank is the sixth studio album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released in February 1994 and peaked at number 2 on the ARIA charts. The album was produced by Ed Stasium, who had mixed Hoodoo Gurus previous studio album, Kinky in 1991. It was the band's first release on Zoo Records.
Blue Cave or In Blue Cave is the seventh studio album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. The album was released in May 1996 and peaked at number 18 on the ARIA charts.
"Leilani" is the debut single by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus when they were called Le Hoodoo Gurus, released on Phantom Records in October 1982. It had been written by all four Gurus: James Baker, Dave Faulkner, Roddy Radalj and Kimble Rendall. Rendall left shortly before its release and, not long after, the band dropped the 'Le' to become Hoodoo Gurus. Le Hoodoo Gurus were noted for having three guitars and no bass player, creating a distinctive, layered sound. This was captured on "Leilani", which told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly. A re-recorded version of the song was later released on Hoodoo Gurus' first album Stoneage Romeos (1984).
"Astute listeners will note the absence of bass guitar in the band... "Leilani" was based on an old 50s movie, Bird of Paradise starring Jeff Chandler..." - Dave Faulkner.
Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus have released ten studio albums, thirty-seven singles, two extended plays, six compilation albums and 3 video albums. Formed in January 1981, the band was originally known as Le Hoodoo Gurus for the release of their first single, "Leilani", in October 1982. As Hoodoo Gurus, the band signed with Big Time Records and premiered their debut album, Stoneage Romeos, in March 1984. Also issued in the United States through A&M Records, the record remained atop the Alternative/College Albums Chart for four consecutive weeks, with it also becoming one of the most played albums of that year on the college network. The group's subsequent albums, Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder, all reached the Billboard 200.
"Miss Freelove '69" is a song by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus, released in February 1991 as the lead single from the group's fifth studio album, Kinky. The song peaked at number 19 on the ARIA Charts and number 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.
Rodney John "Roddy" Radalj is a Croatian-born Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He has provided guitar, bass guitar and vocals in several influential Australian bands starting with Perth punk bands in the late 1970s before relocating to Sydney to become a founder of the Hoodoo Gurus in 1981 and of Dubrovniks in 1988. Since 1989, as Roddy Ray'Da he has released a number of solo albums, including Guns Girls & Guitars in 2005.
Richard Grossman is an Australian rock musician who has played bass guitar for two iconic bands: Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus. Hoodoo Gurus' status on the Australian rock scene was acknowledged when they were inducted into the 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame. For Grossman, this was his second Hall of Fame induction in a row; the 2006 award was for his stint with Divinyls. Often referred to as Rick Grossman, he has also performed with other Australian bands: Matt Finish, Ghostwriters, Persian Rugs, The Kelly Gang and Men at Work.
Bradley Mark Shepherd is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially Hoodoo Gurus.
Purity of Essence is the ninth studio album by Australian group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released on 12 March 2010 and peaked at No. 16 on the ARIA Charts.
Mark Adrian Kingsmill is an Australian rock musician. He has drummed with several bands including the Hitmen (1979–84), New Christs (1983–84), the Screaming Tribesmen (1984) and Hoodoo Gurus. He is the older brother of Richard Kingsmill, music director and presenter on Triple J.
Chariot of the Gods is the tenth studio album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus, released on 11 March 2022. It is the first studio album by the band since Purity of Essence in 2010.