Spring Hill Fair | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 27 September 1984 | |||
Recorded | May 1984 | |||
Studio | Studio Miraval, Le Val, France | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, indie pop, jangle pop | |||
Length | 40:24 | |||
Label | Sire | |||
Producer | John Brand | |||
The Go-Betweens chronology | ||||
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Singles from Spring Hill Fair | ||||
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Spring Hill Fair is The Go-Betweens' third album, released on 27 September 1984 in the UK on Sire Records. The LP was recorded during a "very wet May" [1] at Studio Miraval in Le Val, France. Prior to the recording of the album, bass player Robert Vickers had joined the group, enabling Grant McLennan to move to lead guitar. The original release consisted of ten songs. In 2002, Circus released an expanded CD which included a second disc of ten bonus tracks and a music video for the song, "Bachelor Kisses". [2]
The album was named after an annual fair in Spring Hill, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane Grammar School, Robert Forster's high school. Some of the band had also lived there in the early eighties. Grant McLennan said of the title, "It was generally not that we were home sick, I think we just wanted to have, after Before Hollywood, which was so obviously an American kind of thing, a regional home-town thing." [3] In another interview McLennan stated "we all lived there and the main reason was that in September, October of every year in Brisbane, there is, in Spring Hill, a fair, and as the album came out around then we thought it would be nice to have a parochial mention in a title because we hadn't done that for a long time."
McLennan and Forster later said that they were uninspired and felt the songs on their previous album had been better, with Forster saying they were more interested in, "sitting around drinking wine and eating rabbit! It definitely lacked 'the edge' of where we were before." [4] They were also unhappy with the production, despite using the same producer as on Before Hollywood. McLennan said, "John Brand, the producer, he did change between the second and third, which we did as well, but he went and made a very produced 1984 English pop record, which in a way... well, that's not what we were." Forster more bluntly claimed, "John Brand was terrible. His whole attitude was, 'Now we're making a real record.'" [5]
Recording in France was much more expensive than their earlier recordings, [3] with the Miraval studio booked for a month. Forster recalls that the band initially thought that they would set up and play in the recording studio in a similar way to how they had recorded Before Hollywood with Brand previously. [6] About half the tracks had programmed rhythm tracks, leading to conflict between Brand and drummer Lindy Morrison. [7] Morrison claimed the relationship had also soured after Brand attempted to seduce her and was rebuffed on their first day in the studio. [8] Brand spent the first week trying to gate the drums and set click tracks, [7] with the rest of the band feeling trapped. [9] Furthermore, Morrison recalled the relationships within the band were poor. "They were fucked. There were little power struggles going on all over the place. We were a neurotic mess," she said. [10] Forster indicating in hindsight that the band should have sacked Brand, however as Brand's manager had booked the studio on a deal, they felt compelled to proceed with him. [7] Soon after the release, he said, "I'm firmly anti-producer now. For the life of me, I can't see their function." [11]
Forster said of his writing, "The lyrics I wrote on this album, I wrote when I've been drinking. I wanted to speak a lot more directly and I wanted to speak about certain topics in a very straightforward way. And the best way I found of doing that was by sitting down and drinking. A conversational-type lyric. Most of the lyrics I've done on that album were started at night. I'd start drinking, smoking cigarettes, and I'd write all the lyrics in one sitting. I think it shows." [1]
Defending accusations that the album was disjointed, McLennan said, "It's an album where we talked right from the start of Loaded or a White Album , where there would be different songs on the record, and I stand by that. I deny the allegations of scrappiness." [12] In an interview in 2016 Forster takes a different view, stating "Grant was always perceived as the pop kid in the band, but he didn’t pick the pop songs. At times I would try and sway him on material, because he had a lot more than me: I would have four or five songs for each album and he would have 15 or 20. But he chose avant-garde weirdness over pop." [13]
The album features a number of guest musicians, more than any of the band's previous recordings, [14] with Ana da Silva (The Raincoats) providing additional vocals on "Bachelor Kisses", [15] Jacques Loussier (the owner of the recording studio) performing synthesizer on "Part Company", [16] Graeme Pleeth on keyboards and brass, Denis Gautier on trumpet and Marc Fontana on saxophone.
The album cover, of the band was taken at the Richmond Theatre in London, by American photographer, Sheila Rock. [9]
The first single released was "Part Company" in August 1984 but it failed to make an impact on the charts. The second single "Bachelor Kisses" was the band's first real attempt at a commercial single. Although Sire Records didn't produce a music video for "Part Company" they did for "Bachelor Kisses", which was filmed in part at Brighton. "Bachelor Kisses" was however voted in at No. 72 in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 1989. [17]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
Chicago Tribune | [18] |
Entertainment Weekly | A [19] |
Now | 5/5 [20] |
Q | [21] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [22] |
Select | 4/5 [23] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [24] |
Uncut | [25] |
The Village Voice | A [26] |
Clinton Walker, writing in The Age newspaper, felt "the album as a whole was disappointing, disjointed and uneven." [27] Helen FitzGerald was more enthusiastic in her review for Melody Maker , writing, "There's an endearing imperfection to this record, but it's a calculation of style rather than incompetence of design. In places, the vocals quaver dangerously as out-of-focus love songs paint a picture of the kind of melancholia that's impossible to forge." The songs were compared to sepia-toned photographs. [28] Biba Kopf of NME said, "It would be silly to pretend the Go-Betweens are a sparkling fun experience – they are sometimes excessively sombre, verging on sobriety. They don't make for the easiest of entries, but the pleasures and rewards are longer lasting." [29] NME ranked Spring Hill Fair at number 11 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1984. [30] In 1996, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album an "A" rating. [26]
Ned Raggett's review of the album on AllMusic states, "A slightly more conventional but no less entrancing collection of songs in comparison to Before Hollywood, Spring Hill Fair contains its fair share of Go-Betweens classics, with the rough, barbed emotional edge of many lyrics getting almost gentle arrangements." He added, "Throughout the album one can not only hear the expanded lineup testing things out, but individual players adding their own particular flair – the brush-and-shuffle percussion from Morrison on 'Five Words,' McLennan's great lead guitar solo on 'You've Never Lived,' Vickers' ability with crisp funk on 'Slow Slow Music.'" [14]
(All tracks written by Grant McLennan and Robert Forster)
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
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1. | "Bachelor Kisses" (Recorded, produced and engineered at Westside Studios, London - August 1984) | Grant McLennan [31] | 3:33 |
2. | "Five Words" | McLennan, Robert Forster | 4:05 |
3. | "The Old Way Out" | Forster | 3:41 |
4. | "You've Never Lived" | Forster | 3:55 |
5. | "Part Company" | Forster | 4:53 |
6. | "Slow Slow Music" | McLennan | 3:05 |
7. | "Draining the Pool for You" | Forster | 4:16 |
8. | "River of Money" | McLennan | 5:10 |
9. | "Unkind and Unwise" | McLennan | 3:05 |
10. | "Man O'Sand to Girl O'Sea" | Forster | 4:41 |
Total length: | 40:24 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Emperor's Courtessan" | McLennan | 2:23 |
2. | "Newton Told Me" | Forster | 2:33 |
3. | "Just Right for Him" | McLennan | 3:29 |
4. | "Attraction" | Forster | 2:25 |
5. | "The Power That I Now Have" | McLennan | 2:45 |
6. | "Second Hand Furniture" | Forster | 4:13 |
7. | "Marco Polo Jr." | McLennan | 4:12 |
8. | "Sweet Tasting Hours" | Forster | 3:40 |
9. | "Unkind and Unwise" (Instrumental) | 3:04 | |
10. | "Bachelor Kisses" (video) | G. McLennan | |
Total length: | 28:44 |
Date | Region | Label | Format | Catalogue |
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27 September 1984 | UK | Sire | LP | 925 179-1 |
AUS | ||||
Cassette | 25179-4 | |||
March 1996 | UK | Beggars Banquet | CD | BBL 2003 CD |
AUS | Silk Sheen | SILK 004 | ||
2002 | UK | Circus | FYL011 | |
US | Jetset | TWA48 | ||
AUS | EMI Australia | 3696062 | ||
2014 | 3760985 | |||
The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout its existence. Drummer Lindy Morrison joined the band in 1980, and its lineup would later expand to include bass guitarist Robert Vickers and multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. Vickers was replaced by John Willsteed in 1987, and the quintet lineup remained in place until the band split two years later. Forster and McLennan reformed the band in 2000 with a new lineup that did not include any previous personnel aside from them. McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack and the Go-Betweens disbanded again. In 2010, a toll bridge in their native Brisbane was renamed the Go Between Bridge after them.
Tuff Monks were a short-lived band consisting of Nick Cave, Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard with Robert Forster, Lindy Morrison and Grant McLennan. Their only release was the 1982 7" 45 rpm single "After the Fireworks", on the Australian label, Au Go Go Records. The lead track was co-written by Cave, Forster and McLennan.
Belinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician, activist and social worker originally from Brisbane, Queensland. After starting her career working for a new Queensland branch of the Aboriginal Legal Service in 1972, and starting to play drums at about the same time, she became the drummer for female-led punk band Zero in 1978 and then joined Robert Forster and Grant McLennan to became the third member of the Go-Betweens in 1980.
16 Lovers Lane is the sixth album by Australian indie rock group The Go-Betweens, released in 1988 by Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, longtime bassist Robert Vickers left the band when the other group members decided to return to Australia after having spent several years in London, England; he was replaced by John Willsteed. The album was recorded at Studios 301 in Sydney, between Christmas 1987 and Autumn 1988.
Send Me a Lullaby is The Go-Betweens' debut album. It was released in November 1981 in Australia on Missing Link as an eight-track mini-album. It was subsequently released in the UK on Rough Trade Records, an independent music record label in February 1982, as a 12-track album.
Before Hollywood is the second album by Australian rock band the Go-Betweens, released in May 1983. The album reached No. 2 on the UK Independent Charts and a single, "Cattle and Cane" reached No. 4. In 2001 "Cattle and Cane" was voted as one of the 30 all-time best Australian songs in an Australasian Performing Right Association poll of 100 music industry personalities.
Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, the fourth album by The Go-Betweens, was released in March 1986 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records, the record label that would release the remainder of the original group's LPs through their break-up in 1989. The album was recorded at Berry Street Studios in London, England. The original release consisted of ten songs. The UK CD release in 1986 had the original ten tracks, plus two bonus tracks: "The Life At Hand" and "Little Joe". In 2004, LO-MAX Records released an expanded CD which included a second disc of eleven bonus tracks and music videos for the songs "Spring Rain" and "Head Full of Steam".
Tallulah is the fifth album by The Go-Betweens. It was released in May 1987 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, the group had expanded to a five-piece with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. The original release consisted of ten songs. In 2004, LO-MAX Records released an expanded CD which included a second disc of ten bonus tracks and music videos for the songs, "Right Here" and "Bye Bye Pride".
Robert Derwent Garth Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and music critic. In December 1977 he co-founded an indie rock group, The Go-Betweens, with fellow musician Grant McLennan. In 1980, Lindy Morrison joined the group on drums and backing vocals, and by 1981 Forster and Morrison were also lovers. In 1988, "Streets of Your Town", co-written by McLennan and Forster, became the band's highest-charting hit in both Australia and the United Kingdom. The follow-up single, "Was There Anything I Could Do?", was a number-16 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States. In December 1989, after recording six albums, The Go-Betweens disbanded. Forster and Morrison had separated as a couple earlier, and Forster began his solo music career from 1990.
"Streets Of Your Town" is a song by Australian indie group The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their 1988 album 16 Lovers Lane. Featuring polished production, a prominent backing vocal by Amanda Brown and a guitar solo by bassist John Willsteed, "Streets of Your Town" is one of the band's most recognised songs. It was released in July 1988 in the UK on Beggars Banquet, where it reached #80 on the singles charts and in Australia in August 1988 on Mushroom, where it reached #68. In New Zealand, the song was issued in November 1988, and was a top 40 hit, peaking at #30—the band's highest-ever placing on any national chart.
1978–1990 is a 1990 compilation album by Australian band The Go-Betweens. The album draws together music spanning the band's career from their beginnings in Brisbane to their 1989 breakup, including singles, B-sides, songs recorded for broadcast and previously unreleased material.
Bellavista Terrace: Best of the Go-Betweens is a compilation album by Australian band The Go-Betweens.
"Cattle and Cane" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, released as the first single from their second album Before Hollywood. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records in February 1983 and reached No. 4 on the UK Independent Chart. The single and album were both released in Australia on Stunn, a small label allied with EMI. The Stunn pressings were of poor quality and their distribution limited.
"Bachelor Kisses" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens that was released as the second single from their third album Spring Hill Fair in 1984. The single was issued in the UK and Australia on Sire Records. "Bachelor Kisses" was the Go-Betweens' first real attempt at a commercial single.
"Spring Rain" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their fourth album Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express in 1986. The single was issued by Beggars Banquet in the UK and Truetone in Australia, failing to chart in the UK, but reached number 92 in Australia.
"Right Here" is a song by the Australian alternative band The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their fifth album Tallulah. It was released as a 7" and 12" vinyl single on the Beggars Banquet label in the United Kingdom on 23 February 1987, with "When People Are Dead" as the B-side. In Australia it was released by True Tone Records, also as a 7" and 12" single. It was also released In Germany by Rebel Rec. and in the United States as a promotional single by Big Time Records.
"Man O'Sand to Girl O'Sea" was originally released as a stand-alone single by Australian indie group The Go-Betweens. It was released as a 7" vinyl record on the Rough Trade Records label in the United Kingdom in October 1983, with "This Girl, Black Girl" as the B-side. It reached No. 24 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. Another recording of the song was included as the final track on the band's 1984 album, Spring Hill Fair.
"Part Company" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens that was released as the first single from their third album Spring Hill Fair. The single was issued in August 1984 by Sire Records with "Just a King in Mirrors" as the B-side. In the UK a 12" single was also released on Sire. The single failed to make an impact on the charts.
"Going Blind" is a song by the Australian indie rock band The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their seventh album The Friends of Rachel Worth. It was released as a CD single by W. Minc Records in Australia, on the Circus Records label in the United Kingdom and Jetset Records in the United States in September 2000. "Going Blind" was The Go-Betweens' first single since "Love Goes On" in 1989.
Quiet Heart: The Best of the Go-Betweens is a compilation album by Australian alternative rock band, the Go-Betweens. It peaked at No. 51 on the ARIA Albums, No. 48 on the ARIA Physical Albums, and No. 15 on the ARIA Australian Artists Albums charts. Ian Wallace of Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) described how, "[it] is the first collection that spans the band's entire recorded output... A second disc features a live recording from 1987."