Sondra (album)

Last updated
Sondra
Sondra by The Sports.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1981
StudioArmstrong Studios, Melbourne, Australia
Genre
Label Mushroom
Producer Cameron Allan
The Sports chronology
Suddenly
(1980)
Sondra
(1981)
The Sports Play Dylan (and Donovan)
(1981)
Singles from Sondra
  1. "How Come"
    Released: March 1981
  2. "When We Go Out Tonight"
    Released: July 1981

Sondra is the fourth and final studio album by Australian rock and pop band The Sports, released in May 1981. The album peaked at number 20 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Steve Schnee from AllMusic questioned the decision to have Cameron Allan produce the album, believing his skills to be "muddy and lifeless at best," adding that "the production not only reined in the band's considerable talent, it stifled any energy and excitement that they may have had." Schnee said "Stephen Cummings still sounded confident, but ultimately seemed detached from the material, as if he was already going through the motions." Perhaps he was already planning his escape to a solo career, which came to fruition when the band split up shortly after this album was released.

Track listing

Vinyl/cassette (L 37552)
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Against The Dance" Martin Armiger 2:39
2."How Come" Stephen Cummings, Andrew Pendlebury 3:11
3."When We Go Out Tonight"Armiger, Cummings2:57
4."Black Stockings (For Chelsea)"Armiger, Cummings3:28
5."Clint 1"Pendlebury, Armiger, Cummings0:29
6."This Is Really Something"Armiger, Cummings2:47
7."Softly, Softly"Pendlebury, Cummings2:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Passionette"Armiger, Cummings2:13
2."Stop the Baby Talking"Pendlebury, Cummings3:05
3."Lucky Shop"Cummings, Armiger2:16
4."Clint 2"Pendlebury, Armiger, Cummings1:05
5."Face the Tiger"Pendlebury, Cummings2:50
6."Happy Feet"Armiger, Cummings2:05
7."The Last House on the Left"Pendlebury, Cummings3:33

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1981)Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report [2] 20

Related Research Articles

Stephen Donald Cummings is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and writer. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but has had limited commercial success. He has written two novels, Wonderboy (1996) and Stay Away from Lightning Girl (1999), and a memoir, Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy (2009). In 2014 a documentary film, Don't Throw Stones, based on his memoir premiered as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

The Sports were an Australian rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on drums, Andrew Pendlebury on lead guitar and vocals, and Martin Armiger on guitar. Their style was similar to both 1970s British pub rock bands and British new wave. The Sports' top forty singles are "Who Listens to the Radio", "Don't Throw Stones", "Strangers on a Train" and "How Come". Their top 20 releases on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart are Don't Throw Stones, Suddenly and Sondra.

<i>The Swing</i> (INXS album) 1984 studio album by INXS

The Swing is Australian rock band INXS's fourth studio album, released in April 1984. It peaked at number one on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart for five non-consecutive weeks from early April to mid-May 1984. The lead single "Original Sin" was recorded in New York City with Nile Rodgers and featured Daryl Hall on backing vocals. Overall, the album featured a slightly harder-edged sound than their previous releases.

<i>Of Skins and Heart</i> 1981 studio album by The Church

Of Skins and Heart is the debut album by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, released in April 1981 by EMI Parlophone. It peaked at No. 22 in the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart.

<i>Middle Man</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Boz Scaggs

Middle Man is an album by Boz Scaggs that was released by Columbia Records in 1980. Scaggs hired members of the band Toto as session musicians and shared songwriting credits with them, returning to the commercial, soul-influenced rock of Silk Degrees (1976).

<i>Making a Good Thing Better</i> 1977 studio album by Olivia Newton-John

Making a Good Thing Better is the ninth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on June 1977.

<i>Gideon</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Kenny Rogers

Gideon is the platinum-selling ninth studio album by Kenny Rogers. Issued by United Artists Records in 1980, it hit #1 on the Country albums chart and #12 on the main Billboard album chart. It includes the worldwide hit "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer".

John Martin Armiger was an Australian musician, record producer and composer. He was one of the singer-songwriters and guitarists with Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from August 1978 to late 1981, which had Top 30 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart with, "Don't Throw Stones" (1979), "Strangers on a Train" (1980) and "How Come" (1981); and Top 20 albums with Don't Throw Stones, Suddenly and Sondra (1981).

<i>Worlds Away</i> (Pablo Cruise album) 1978 studio album by Pablo Cruise

Worlds Away is the fourth and most successful album by the California soft rock group Pablo Cruise. The album charted higher than any other of the band's albums, reaching #6 in the United States. Three singles were released from the album: "Love Will Find a Way", "Don't Want to Live Without It" and "I Go to Rio", reaching #6, #21, and #46 respectively. The title track, "Worlds Away" was not released as a single, but remains a favorite among many fans of the band today.

The Black Sorrows are an Australian blues rock band formed in 1983 by mainstay vocalist Joe Camilleri, who also plays saxophone and guitar. Camilleri has used various line-ups to record 17 albums, with five reaching the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Charts: Hold on to Me, Harley and Rose, Better Times, The Chosen Ones - Greatest Hits and Lucky Charm. Their top 40 singles are "Chained to the Wheel", "Harley + Rose" and "Snake Skin Shoes".

Women (Def Leppard song) 1987 song by Def Leppard

"Women" is a song released by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the first single of the album released in the United States. The song was also released as a single in Canada, Australia, Japan, and was part of a double-A side single with "Animal" in Germany. In most other parts of the world, "Animal" was the first single released from the album.

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons Australian blues and rock music band

Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons are an Australian blues and rock music band that features the singer, songwriter and saxophonist Joe Camilleri. The band was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had several Australian chart hits including "Hit and Run", "Shape I'm In" and "All I Wanna Do". The Falcons dissolved in 1981 and the group's biggest Australian hit, 1982's "Taxi Mary", as well as the New Zealand top ten hit "Walk on By", were both credited simply to "Jo Jo Zep". In 1983, Camilleri and other members of the Falcons formed the Black Sorrows.

<i>Road Food</i> 1974 album by The Guess Who

Road Food is the twelfth studio album by the Canadian rock band The Guess Who. It was originally released by RCA Records in 1974. It was the last album by the group to feature guitarists Kurt Winter and Donnie McDougall.

<i>Red Skies over Paradise</i> 1981 studio album by Fischer-Z

Red Skies over Paradise is a 1981 album by Fischer-Z. This was the last album released under the classic line-up, despite the departure of keyboardist Steve Skolnik. This album featured many songs about politics and several references to the Cold War, the album title and cover in particular. The album received positive reviews from fans and encouraged band leader John Watts to pursue a solo career, thus ending Fischer-Z until its revival in 1987. Two of these songs were used in Deutschland 83.

<i>Reveal</i> (Fischer-Z album) 1987 studio album by Fischer-Z

Reveal is an album by the new wave rock band Fischer-Z. In the summer of 1981 John Watts split up with his group, Fischer-Z, on the grounds that his art could not evolve within the context of the band. Prompted by the encouragement of the well-received Fischer-Z album, Red Skies Over Paradise, Watts soon embarked on a solo career, releasing his first solo album, One More Twist (1982), followed quickly by his second, The Iceberg Model (1983). Watts toured extensively and even produced a mini-album for Zulu artist Busi Mhlongo. He released an album entitled Quick Quick Slow under the name The Cry in 1984.

Andrew Scott Pendlebury is an Australian guitarist-songwriter. From 1977 to 1981 was a member of The Sports and from 1986 to 1988 he joined Slaughtermen. He has undertaken other projects and issued four solo albums. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, Pendlebury's solo work, Don't Hold Back That Feeling, won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. From 2003 he has been a member of The Mercurials.

<i>Reckless</i> (The Sports album) 1978 studio album by The Sports

Reckless is the debut studio album by Australian rock and pop band The Sports, released in May 1978. The album peaked at number 43 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

<i>Dont Throw Stones</i> 1979 studio album by The Sports

Don't Throw Stones is the second studio album by Australian rock and pop band The Sports, released in February 1979; a limited edition with a bonus 7" promotional single of "Reckless". The album peaked at number 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report and was certified gold.

<i>Suddenly</i> (The Sports album) 1980 studio album by The Sports

Suddenly is the third studio album by Australian rock and pop band The Sports, released in March 1980. The album peaked at number 13 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

<i>Doctor Hook</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show

Doctor Hook, later released as Sylvia's Mother, is the debut studio album by American country rock band Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, released in 1972.

References

  1. "The Sports - Sondra". AllMusic . Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 238. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.