Blackeyed Susans - London Sessions

I do like a bit of the Blackeyed Susans on a rainy day, which is
what it is here in Brisbane.
I hope where ever in the world you are this wonderful collection
of songs called the London Sessions will brighten up your day!


Track list
01. Spanish is the loving tongue
02. Anchor me
03. In the pines
04. Angel of uncertain times
05. Wee small hours of the morning
06. He'll have to go

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Four Hours Sleep - More Of Her 1996

Only 600 copies of this Cd were printed a rare and
wonderful thing!

Four Hours Sleep is a Melbourne supergroup, of sorts, 
with music by Bill McDonald (Rebecca's Empire, Frente,
Ultrasound), lyrics by Stephen Cummings, guest appearances 
by Angie Hart and David McComb and the wildcard,
a thrilling cameo by ex-Orange Juice singer Edwyn Collins,
from Scotland. But More of Her, a one-off release with this
line up but a continuing project for the versatile McDonald, 
is not as clearcut and linear as it seems. 


With input also from brothers Peter (Black Sorrows,
Chris Wilson) and Dan (Blackeyed Susans) Luscombe
and with the grab-bag of singers and musicians 
given the room to interpret the songs reasonably freely,
Four Hours Sleep in this instance has become a varied
musical palette with individuals clearly able to influence 
the final mix at will.
Continuity, therefore, is a problem, but not a large one. 

More of Her manages to run from a tear-soaked 

but totally traditionalist duet between Cummings and Hart 

("Stick To My Fingers") to a classic ballad about falling in love

 ("A Real Miracle", again featuring the voice of Hart) 

to a clutch of fairly rollicking guitar-rock tunes. All, however,

display the subtlety and tendency toward sublime melody 

that have distinguished both Cummings' and McDonald's

musical history.

The Edwyn Collins connection emerged when McDonald 

played bass for him on a promo-tour last year

 (he's also more recently lent his bass sound to a forthcoming 

Neneh Cherry album)

. 

The result, "Don't You Ever Listen To Me", is classic pop in 

the same way the top ten "A Girl Like You"

 (and much of Gorgeous George) was, and confirms Collins' 

standing as one of the finest vocalists of both the Eighties 

(with Orange Juice) and, now, the Nineties.

But, in the end, More of Her, succeeds because of the 

instinctive musical chemistry between McDonald and 

Cummings, who have worked together for years, and, of course, 

Cummings' bittersweet lyrics of urban joy and heartbreak.

 In this way it could be seen as the Cummings album 

you have when you don't have a Cummings album, 

as he has always been an active collaborator within the

 Melbourne scene. But it's not. 

It's just a lowkey but accomplished supergroup.

Chris Johnston - Australian Rolling Stone March 1996 

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The Blackeyed Vendors Of Paradise

Steve from Melbourne a long time contributor to the SSS blog

and sharer of much fine music has sent this rare and wonderful

recording from a 3RRR live to air of a band that has a line up

like the who's who of Australian music!

Many thanks to Steve yet again.

Now over to Steve!

A combination of Rob, Phil, Kathy and Mark from

The Blackeyed Susans and Graham and Marko from

the Paradise Vendors.

Also along are Robert and David McComb from

the Triffids who at that time were on

(eventually permanent) hiatus.

Graham and Dave were not in the 1992 incarnation

of The Blackeyed Susans.

This was a 3RRR lunch time gig and there are sound balance

problems in the first couple of songs.

Also, not the best generation tape but the songs shine through.

The Blackeyed Vendors Of Paradise

3RRR Melbourne, March 1992

Mark Dawson (Drums)

Marko Halstead (Dobro/Vocals^)

Phil Kakulas (Bass)

Graham Lee (Guitar/Pedal Steel)

David McComb (Guitar/Vocals#)

Robert McComb (Guitar/Violin)

Rob Snarski (Guitar/Vocals*)

Kathy Wemyss (Trumpet/Vocals+)

01 You're My Flaw*

02 Ocean Of You*

03 Will's Blues*

04 Trick Of The Light#

05 In The Pines#

06 Anchor Me*

07 Before And After Love^

08 Morning Dew Intro

09 Morning Dew^

10 Sheets Of Rain*

11 Tell Me^

12 Who's That By The Window+

13 You're Draggng Me*

14 Raining Pleasure#

15 What Goes On#

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Blackeyed Susans - All Souls Alive (1993)

The Blackeyed Susans 2nd album released

back in 1993 is a wonderful record for this

rainy weather we are having here in Brisbane.

Graham Lee said of the album,

"You couldn't describe it as a sunny record,

I don't think anyone would've been expecting that.

But there's a willingness to experiment."

10 tracks of beauty from this wonderful band

for a wet weekend.

Track list

01 - a curse on you

02 - we could've been someone

03 - every gentle soul

04 - memories

05 - sheets of rain

06 - reveal yourself

07 - i can see now

08 - apartment no 9

09 - dirty water

10 - this one eats souls

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Triffids 1985 clipping + Blackeyed Susans clip

Have I mentioned that the recent 'Triffids and friends' gig was FREAKIN' AWESOME!!

This is a nice story from JUKE magazine feb 1985

One of the highlights for the recent gig was to finally see Rob Snarski stamp his cuban heels on stage...had to track down this old recovery clip from 1995..Blackeyed susans singing "smoking Johnny Cash"..really wtf does that mean?? codeword for summin?.. poor Johhny..r.i.p.


 drummer looks familiar .. . .

Mark C Halstead - Before And After Love

Mark Caulfield Halstead - more affectionately known quite simply as Marko - released this album through W Minc in 1994. No-one really payed too much attention to it at the time, and people still haven't really taken the time out to discover this (still in print) album.

Marko's career began in the mid to late 1970s Brisbane. And like many of his musical peers of that era, he found himself playing guitar in a host of punk bands centered around Roma Street's Curry Shop and away from pub venues. The unrecorded The Disposible Fits and the Fuji Angels are but two. An early artefact from his punk/new wave days comes from an unaired TV pilot centered around Brisbane music called Exposure. His band the Hostages were featured alongside JFK & the Cuban Crisis, The Repairs and Ninja Skil (featuring a very young Charlie Owen). This excerpt from the 1981 show is the only studio recording made by this band. The featured song is the Halstead composition Tremble; recorded at Basement Studios in Roma St by Colin Bloxsom.



By 1983, he joined Tex Deadly and the Dum Dums with fellow Fit Cyril Culley when the band moved to Sydney. Marko's tales of wagon wheels and other past curios are written in good detail in Clinton Walker's Stranded book. An example of his song-writing at the time is documented on the 1st Beasts of Bourbon album in the form of the closing track from The Axeman's Jazz, Ten Wheels for Jesus.

[Photo by David Macpherson of Tex Deadly and the Dum Dums l-r Tex Perkins, Greg Wadley, Des Johnson, Marko]

Marko also played in the Kingswoods and Kingswood Trio around this time who existed between 1983 and 1986 released a couple of singles, namely Purty Vacant, which appeared on a FABRICLIVE mix CD put together by DJ John Peel. The trio - Peter Kroll, John Downie and Halstead concurrently played in the Pineapples From The Dawn of Time.

By the early 1990s, Halstead moved to Melbourne where was an adjunct member of the McComb-led Blackeyed Susans and their trio offshoot on vocals and mandolin; and appeared on the bulk of their All Souls Alive album. He also played alongside Graham Lee in the Paradise Vendors, performed in the Disappointments, sang on Robert Forster's I Had a New York Girlfriend album, et cetera.

And of course, he's a part of the current Triffids touring troupe, offering what Rob Snarksi described at their recent Brisbane show as a 'man mountain' with his rendering of Bury Me Deep In Love.

I could go on forever with this biography, but I won't. The aim here was an attempt to bring this album to an audience who may not be aware of who he is, and why this album might actually be worth sinking your teeth into.

This album came out when alt-country was still wondering whether Townes or Earle was better than Guy Clark. Even his appearance on the Ernie & Denise show didn't seem to cement the fact that this man's baritone is a national treasure. And due to its lack of commercial esteem, Before And After Love remains as his only solo release after being a vital conduit for so many musicians and bands since Australian punk's first wave.

Try it out here, but I highly suggest buying this album seeing that's easily available.

Here's a video filmed at the Standard Hotel in Melbourne for Whiskers in the Sink; a song written about his old musical cohort, Cyril Culley.

The Black eyed Susans - Welcome Stranger

Perth, March 1989. It had been a long summer. Heat permeated
everything. Dogs and cats lay panting in the shade,
people fled to the beaches and bars, and Kings Park went up in
flames a glorious bushfire in the middle of the city.
Against this backdrop, The Black eyed Susans were formed,
as a part-time concern for various members
"on holiday" from their regular bands.

David McComb ( The Triffids - vocals and guitar),
Phil Kakulas (Martha's Vineyard - bass),
Rob Snarski (Chad's Tree - vocals and guitar),
Alsy McDonald (The Triffids - drums) and
Ross Bolleter (organ and accordion)
formed the first line up of the band.


They released 3 Ep's between 89 and 92 and a compilation CD entitled
Welcome Stranger was released in 1992. It incorporated material
from the three previous EPs plus two extra tracks from The London
Sessions and a live version of the Triffids song In The Pines.
They have released some 6 albums, the last in 2003, are still
considered a part time but operating band and survived the loss of
their singer songwriter David McComb.
In 2008 The Blackeyed Susans will release a box-set retrospective
that will include the best of their six albums,
b-sides and rarities and all the videos.



Track List
01. Don’t Call Yourself An Angel
02. Enemy Mine
03. Viva Las Vegas
04. Cripple Creek
05. Glory Glory
06. Anchor Me
07. Who’s That By The Window?
08. Trouble
09. Ocean Of You
10. Close Watch
11. Will’s Blues
12. Spanish Is The Loving Tongue
13. Who’s Loving You
14. It Hurts Me /Prisoner Of Love
15. In The Pines

This is a solid album, mostly lot different from the Triffids,
with great songs and beautiful instrumentation.
Try the wonderful "Anchor me", with its wonderful accordion,
(I'm asucker for accordion, I've spend quite a bit of time
in Buenos Aires.)
the country brilliance of "Who's that by the window",
the most unusual but wonderful cover of "Viva las vegas",
the triffid like "Don't call yourself an angel",
"Ocean of you" with its spanish/mexican rhythm,
the true highlight the cover of John Cale's "Close Watch"
and the fantastic live version of "In the Pines"
Its an album that never bores yet despite the hopping
between many styles and instruments it keeps
that continuation of purpose.

Download Here