Semantics | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | 19 September 1983 [1] | |||
Studio | Rhinoceros Studios (Sydney) AAV studios (Melbourne) | |||
Genre | Surf rock | |||
Length | 17:53 (EP) 44:09 (LP) | |||
Label | EMI Australia (Australia) Geffen (U.S.) | |||
Producer | Mark Opitz | |||
Australian Crawl chronology | ||||
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Singles from Semantics | ||||
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Semantics | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Semantics was a 1983 EP by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl. The album marked a change in the line-up of the band as Bill McDonough (drums) was replaced first by Graham Bidstrup (ex-The Angels,The Party Boys with Crawl member James Reyne) to record the EP. The more permanent replacement,after the EP,was John Watson (Kevin Borich Express). [3]
The EP contains their best known song and only number 1 single,"Reckless (Don't Be So)" [4] (aka "She Don't Like That") which was written by lead singer Reyne. [5] Listeners of Triple M voted "Reckless" the 39th best song of all time in 2007,it was the highest placed Australian Crawl song. [6]
In North America,Europe,Japan and South Africa Semantics was released in 1984 by Geffen Records as an expanded version LP featuring the EP's four original tracks plus re-recorded versions of six earlier Australian Crawl songs. [3] The original EP was also re-released as a CD-EP in 1996. [7]
Australian Crawl performed "Reckless" as one of their three songs for the Oz for Africa concert (1985). This was the Australian leg of the global Live Aid show organised by Midge Ure and Bob Geldof. The "Oz for Africa" concert was broadcast on MTV,but only performances by Australian band INXS were placed on the 20th Anniversary DVD collection. [8]
Australian Crawl was founded in Melbourne,Australia by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano),his younger brother David Reyne (drums),Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar),Paul Williams (bass guitar) and Simon Binks (lead guitar) in 1978. [3] [9] David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough (drums,percussion), [10] and the band was later joined by his younger brother Guy McDonough (vocals,rhythm guitar). [10] [11]
Their third studio album, Sons of Beaches was released in 1982 and reached number 1 on the albums chart. [4] Bill McDonough left before they recorded their extended play,Semantics in 1983, [4] [10] which achieved number 1 on the Kent Music Report singles chart. [3] [4] Bill McDonough was replaced on drums,temporarily by Graham Bidstrup for the EP recording,and more permanently by John Watson. [3] [10] Semantics contained the track "Reckless (Don't Be So)",which some sources list as a number 1 single. [11] [12] A live album Phalanx was released in December 1983, [3] and the band signed with Geffen Records for international release of their material. [3]
In 1984,the band released the best of their early material as a compilation titled Crawl File , [11] which peaked at number 2. [4] Geffen released Semantics,internationally,as a long play album with six newly re-recorded tracks compiled from their first two studio albums. [13] Promotion of the album and the subsequent tour was stalled when Guy McDonough died in June of viral pneumonia. [3] [9] Meanwhile,remaining Australian Crawl members had recorded their fourth studio album, Between a Rock and a Hard Place which was released in 1985 and achieved number 11. [4] This was followed by the announcement that they would disband after another tour,the live album, The Final Wave recorded their last performance on 27 January 1986, [3] which was released in October and peaked at number 16. [4]
During his solo career,James Reyne recorded a different version of "Reckless" for Electric Digger Dandy (aka Any Day Above Ground) in 1991. He performs the song during live concerts. [7]
The international LP included the four tracks from the EP,as well as six newly recorded versions of the songs from the band's earlier albums. "The Boys Light Up" and "Indisposed" are re-recorded versions of tracks from their debut album The Boys Light Up (1980),while "Errol","Lakeside","Things Don't Seem" and "Unpublished Critics" are re-recorded versions of tracks from their second album Sirocco (1981).
The cassette includes an additional song,"Love (Beats Me Up)",which was not included on the original release or the US release. It is a re-recording of a song from the band's 1981 album, Sirocco .
Australian Crawl
Additional musicians
Production
Chart (1983) | Peak position |
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Australian (Kent Music Report) [23] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA) [24] | Gold | 35,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Country | Date | Label |
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Australia | 10 October 1983 | EMI Australia |
United States and Europe | 1984 | Geffen |
Australia | 22 October 1996 | EMI Australia |
Australian Crawl were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne,Brad Robinson,Paul Williams (bass),Simon Binks and David Reyne (drums) in Melbourne in 1978. David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough. They were later joined by his brother Guy McDonough. The band was named after the front crawl swimming style also known as the Australian crawl.
Sirocco is the second album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It was released in July 1981 and on 3 August,it topped the Australian charts where it remained for six weeks,the band's first of two albums to hit #1. It was released a year after their successful debut The Boys Light Up which had reached #4.
Simon John Binks is an Australian rock musician who was a guitarist and singer-songwriter for Australian Crawl from founding in 1978 to disbanding in 1986.
Guy Gillis McDonough was an Australian rock musician best known for rhythm guitar and singer-songwriter with the iconic band Australian Crawl. He provided rhythm guitar and lead vocals on two of their well-known songs,"Oh No Not You Again" and "Errol". McDonough's solo 1985 release,My Place,was produced by his brother,Bill McDonough.
Sons of Beaches is the third studio album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl,released in July 1982. It became the band's second #1 in the Australian albums charts. The album was recorded in Hawaii with ex-pat Mike Chapman,who had also produced Blondie and The Knack.
The Boys Light Up is the debut album from Australian pub rock band Australian Crawl,which was released in 1980 and contains the title track,"The Boys Light Up","Indisposed","Downhearted" and their previously released debut single "Beautiful People". The album reached #4 on the Australian album charts and remained in the charts for an unbroken 101 weeks,eventually selling over 280 000 copies.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place was the final studio album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It was produced by English producer Adam Kidron.
Phalanx is the first live album released by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl. It was recorded live at concerts at Bombay Rock Gold Coast,Queensland and at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in October,1983,during the 'Semantics' tour. The album was initially released on vinyl in December 1983 and was re-released on CD in May 1995. The album reached #4 on the National Album Charts being released by EMI.
The Final Wave is the second live album released by Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It is a recording of the band's final Melbourne concert on 27 January 1986. The album reached #16 on the Australian album charts upon its release.
More Wharf:Greatest Hits is a compilation album of songs by Australian rock band Australian Crawl taken from their four studio albums and their EP,Semantics.
"Errol" is the second single by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl taken from their 1981 album Sirocco. The song was written by James Reyne and Guy McDonough and sung by McDonough instead of Reyne,and is a lyrical biography about Australian-born actor Errol Flynn. It was produced by Peter Dawkins.
Bradford Leigh "Brad" Robinson was an Australian rock musician best known as lead and rhythm guitarist with the 1980s band Australian Crawl. He had a later career as a manager for musicians and sports personalities.
Australian Crawl was an Australian surf / pop rock band. The band released four studio albums,three live albums,six compilations,seventeen singles,one extended play,and three video albums. These include releases credited to Australian Crawl,Australian Crawl and James Reyne,and 'Members of Australian Crawl'.
Lost &Found is a compilation album of recording studio sessions credited to members of Australian Crawl and other artists;it includes tracks originally recorded with Guy McDonough and released on his 1985 posthumous solo album My Place. Guy McDonough had been Australian Crawl's guitarist,vocalist and songwriter from late 1980 until his death in 1984. Former Australian Crawl drummer Bill McDonough and producer Peter Blyton compiled,produced and mixed the tracks for Lost &Found.
"Reckless" (aka "Reckless (Don't Be So)","Reckless (Don't You Be So)","She Don't Like That") is a 1983 song from the EP Semantics by Australian band Australian Crawl. The song showed a change in the line up of the band as drummer Bill McDonough was temporarily replaced by Graham Bidstrup (also on keyboards). After the EP was released,Bidstrup was replaced by John Watson (drums).
Reckless:1979–1995 is a compilation album of songs by Australian rock band Australian Crawl and the band's lead singer,James Reyne,from his solo career. It was released in May 2000 by Raven Records,and included a twelve-page colour booklet with extensive liner notes and various images.
Graham Leslie "Buzz" Bidstrup is an Australian musician,songwriter,music producer and talent manager. He was a member of the Angels (1976–1981),the Party Boys (1983–1984) and Gang Gajang. He has managed Jimmy Little,Nathan Cavaleri and Diana Ah Naid. He was the CEO of the Jimmy Little Foundation from 2005 to 2015 and is the founder and Managing Director of associated Uncle Jimmy Thumbs Up Ltd.
Richard Arnold Pleasance is an Australian rock musician and producer. He was a founding member of Boom Crash Opera on guitar,bass guitar,vocals and as a songwriter in 1985;they released three albums before Pleasance left in 1992. Their hit Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles,"Great Wall" and "Onion Skin" were co-written by Pleasance,who also co-produced their second album,These Here Are Crazy Times. His debut solo release,Galleon received four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards for 1992. Pleasance composed the theme music for Australian television series,SeaChange (1998–2001),for 2006 feature film Kenny and more recently he composed the theme music for the prison drama series Wentworth. Pleasance is married to Michelle and,as from May 2009,he was living in Hepburn Springs,Victoria where he has a recording studio.
"Things Don't Seem" is the first single by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl from their 1981 album Sirocco. It was produced by Peter Dawkins The song features one of the band's most complex pieces of lead guitar work,thanks to the skills of guitarist Simon Binks.
Simon Cyril Hussey is an Australian multi-instrumentalist,songwriter-arranger,record producer and audio engineer. In 1984 he formed Cats Under Pressure on keyboards with David Reyne on vocals and Mark Greig on guitar. On the Australian Crawl album Between a Rock and a Hard Place,Hussey co-wrote four tracks with the band's lead singer,James Reyne. In 1987 when James undertook his solo career,Hussey joined his backing band on keyboards,and co-wrote six tracks for James' debut self-titled album including top 10 hit singles,"Hammerhead" (October) and "Motor's Too Fast". In May 1988 Hussey was the producer,and provided keyboards and song writing,for Edge (November),the comeback album by Daryl Braithwaite (ex-Sherbet),which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart for three weeks in mid-1989.