He was brought up in a house of women
in a city of heat that gave its children
Faith in the fable of coral and fish
told them the world was something to miss.
Grant McLennan died in his sleep at his home in Brisbane
on the 6th of may 2006, aged 48.
Its been two years and I remember it like yesterday.
The shock, the disbelief. The friends who likewise
felt the world had changed and it had.
I only met him once and he was very
down to earth, I told him how we had cut our
wedding cake to the song
"Love is a sign"
and he said it was a lovely wedding song.
His songs are perhaps best summed up by
Amanda Brown who said
"Grant's songs captured an Australia that was influenced
by his love for contemporary American writers like
Cormac McCarthy, Richard Ford and Raymond Carver
and songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen
and Patti Smith.
These writers inform his images of Australia,
which range from the landscapes tinged with nostalgia
and loss, suburban life, epic narratives and,
of course, exquisite love songs."
Today to celebrate Grant's great legacy I have a collection
of radio shows from Europe recorded between 1993 and 1995
This is mostly in between Fireboy and Horsebreaker Star,
with some stuff after Horsebreaker Star.
Some with a band, but mostly solo and with a few
songs unreleased. Fantastic quality and includes an
excellent interview.
Lets hear how Grant touched your life in the comments.
Grant McLennan Radio Shows
Tracks 1-10
1st July 1995 Roskide festival, Demark
FM Broadcast With band
01 - Move to the perfect beat
02 - One plus one
03 - Sign of the unicorn
04 - Worlds got wild
05 - Lighting fires
06 - I'll call you wild
07 - Easy come easy go
08 - Bye bye pride
09 - Dropping you
10 - Charlatan
Tracks 11-12
1st July 1995 Backstage Solo,
Roskide festival, Demark
11 - Was there anything I could do
12 - Coming up for air
Tracks 13-17
8th June 1993
Twee Meter-sessie Amsterdam Holand
FM Broadcast Solo
13 - Do your own thing
14 - Stones for you
15 - Dark side of town
16 - Haven't I been a fool
17 - From my lips
Tracks 18-21
26th Jan 1993
Hilversum Vpro Session Holand
FM Broadcast Solo
18 - Bathe in in waters
19 - Interview
20 - Lighting fires
21 - Dark side of town
Tracks 22-24
30th August 1994
Unknown
FM Broadcast Solo
22 - Don't You Cry For me No More
23 - Simone and Perry
24 - One Plus One
Download Here
Part 1
Part 2
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Grant McLennan Radio Shows
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13 comments:
bob, i had the great pleasure to meet grant a couple of times in the 80's when i was a presenter on 3pbs in melbourne, spent a little time with him after a gig in the mid 80's when i met him and amanda brown at the after party for REM at the lounge in about 86, and then again when the gobees had reformed in the early 90's, at the lounge in swanston street. the first time he was like most of us at thatr age, trying to impress even though he was already the centre of attention. in the 90's it was much the same but maybe... softer, a bit more self assured, it seemed to me that both times he was certainly not the archetypical rock star, he just seemed like a flawed and ultimately normal bloke, but hey, that's based on a couple of hours talking pissed to the bloke... i could have paraphrased by saying he was an approachable bloke, he seemed genuinely interested.
nice post my friend, well done
steve. melbourne
luvverly post bob ... thanks.
sweet dreams GW ...
Cheers Bob - brilliant post from a great songwriter
Bob, Thank you. I miss him dearly. Great to hear all these songs. Been looking for them for some time on Dimeadozen
Nice way to mark his passing. Thanks for this.
Grant's passing came as sudden as a storm. He accomplished more than most will and touched the souls of many across this great world. He was the perfect ballance of style and substance.
As for his beautiful words and music they transend both geography and time. From "Cattle and Cane" and "Bachelor Kisses" to "Darkside of Town", from "Bye Bye Pride" and "Easy Come Easy Go" to "Suicide at Home" he captured life's deepest emotions in perfect harmony and left us a soundtrack for life.
Wonderful tributes of all over the world. From Steve in Melbourne to Mr K who lives about 15 mins from from here, to Overhere in London, to Matthias and kia in the United States
Grant is truly missed.
ciao bob
Thanks for this. Miss Grant greatly and appreciate anything "new" that's out there. This is wonderful music
First of all thank you bob for these great tapes (I have posted myself many GB's boots but I have found nearly nothing on Grant's and Robert's solo careers, as far as bootlegs are concerned).
About Grant. I have never spoken to him, and I have seen him play live -alas- only once, during the Oceans Apart. So I can't say I know him as person, but I think I am somehow in every right to say that I know him as an artist, and his music meant a great deal to me through these last 3-4 years. I had never heard of the gbs before, but when I did I almost immediately felt they were one of "my" bands, i.e. one of those bands you know will always be entwined with your life, one of those ones that have helped you carry on, one of those that chose you as much as you chose them.
And -slowly- I got to know robert's and grant's peculiarities just like when (many years ago) I had got to tell lennon's songs from macca's, or from harrison's...
And I can't decide, I haven't decided yet which my favourite go-between is (as was asked in the extras from their DVD), though I have no doubt which my fave beatle is (lennon, btw), and I think I am never going to come 'round, I'll never choose one above the other. But I also know how easily Grant's songs got under my skin, and how I am still bewildered at how they sound simple but never like a top of the pops-kind of number. He was the master of melody. And to me he also was the one that while singing "lovers want the moon" didn't sound corny, and actually moved me.
When I fell in love with his music I simultaneously fell with my girl. We feel like we're the greatest italian fans of gbs and we're so proud of being that we try and spread the word (and there's plenty of them around here)every way we can.
That's how my love for his music show.
Thanks for this Bob! Awesome stuff. Grant is truly missed.
I wanted to thank you for posting these recordings. I love grant's solo records and had not heard live/demo versions. i saw them twice in person, first in 91 supporting lloyd cole and playing together but apart (misha has posted a great live boot of that period) and the second was their reunion concert in 2000 where they played perhaps the greatest show i have ever been to inperson. They played so many great songs just the two of them... it was magical. i saw robert during warm nights live but i can easily say grant is my favorite. I love robert and enjoy his work but grant was an absolute genius.
I had tickets to see them during oceans apart and that morning i had to be checked into the hospital and missed my chance to see grant for the last time.
Its a shame you missed that last chance Kia, the last time the Go-betweens ever played in Brisbane was 2 October 2005 at the Brisbane Multicultural Festival. It was a free concert and all ages gig so I got to take my kids which was fab.
I missed the gig a couple of months earlier that was recorded for the striped sunlight sound DVD' some friends were there and they rang me 3 times at different spots of the gig, so I could hear what I was missing.
So I saw them play for the last time in their hometown.
ciao bob
very lucky to see Grant and Forester in Chicago. Grant dominated the action and was great. Incredibly sad he was taken. Great post, thanks
bill
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