1. Big Deal
2. Down On Me
3. Mine
4. Waking Up Tired
5. Please Youself
6. If Only...
7. Mind The Spider
8. Why?
9. All I Know
10. Get High!
11. Always Something
12. Son-Of-A-Gun
13. Night Must Fall
14. Bonus Track
Paul McKercher : Engineer
Louis Mitchell : Assistant Engineer
Jackie Orszaczky : Conductor, String Arrangements
Adrienne Overall : Concept, Photography
A. Reveller : Photography
Kevin Shirley : Mixing
REVIEWS CMJ New Music Monthly
Like a long-rolling stone that gathers others' moss, Australian stalwarts Hoodoo
Gurus adapt to a myriad of rock styles without ever finding one to call their own.
On their ninth album, Blue Cave, they move from the grungy "Down On Me"
to the Britpoppy "Waking Up Tired" to the Jethro Tull-ish "Mind The
Spider" without batting an eyelash. It sounds like a game of cover-your-bases,
but you can't blame them-the Gurus haven't enjoyed much Stateside attention since
their late '80s college hits Mars Needs Guitars! and Blow Your Cool, in which the
Aussies concocted a sometimes awkward mix of electric-rock energy and country cool.
They were a little tough to pigeonhole then, but they're even more diffuse now-one
cut on the new album even sounds like a Green Day outtake. For all that, Blue Cave
doesn't feel like a cynical album. It sounds more like four maturing musicians honing
their chops after 12 years together, and hitting more often than they miss. Most
effortlessly enjoyable is "Night Must Fall" a sumptuous acoustic ballad
that the Goo Goo Dolls only wish they had written to follow up "Name."
Hoodoo Gurus may not have the youthful cachet of current Aussie rock sensations like
Silverchair, but they play a similar populist rock that's faultlessly eager to please.
Formed in the early '80s, Australia's Hoodoo Gurus released their first LP "Stoneage
Romeos" in 1983. In Australia, the band received the "Debut Album of the
Year" award, and in the United States it was a hit on the college charts. The
band, whose members include Faulkner, vocalist/guitarist Rick Grossman and drummer
Mark Kingsmill, make for an in-sync combination that is proof of their time working
together. Most of the material for the album was written while on tour by Faulkner
and Shepherd.
With "Blue Cave," the band chunk together thick guitars with symphonic
sounds, melodic vocals and supergroup-styled tributes.
"We assembled a bit of a team, with the idea of drawing on various talents and
bringing them together to create a cohesive record," vocalist/guitarist Dave
Faulkner pointed out. "We hoped it would work and we're glad it did. It could
have easily been a disaster mixing all the styles like that."
The crew that he speaks of consisted of Charles Fisher, who produced; Paul McKirsher,
who engineered; and Silverchair producer Kevin Shirley; who mixed. Fisher produced
the band's second album, "Mars Needs Guitars," back in 1985. "Blue
Cave" is the band's seventh album.
"I mostly write on the road, and I had a really nice creative period during
our tour," Faulkner reminisced. "In the past I might let a lyric get through
because I was writing from a songwriter's view, as opposed to from-the-heart point
of view. But this time there was no expediency. I really made sure the lyrics counted.
I always try to be diligent."
And the lyrics do count, very to-the-point, cutting and biting in most numbers, nicely
executed. Topics are varied. "Waking Up Tired" deals with going out and
over-indulging and waking up the next morning feeling like shit. "If Only"
focuses on making a poor choice and regretting it.
"It's about making a big blunder and feeling the guilt," Faulkner explained.
"No matter what anyone might have said, it couldn't dissuade you from your course,
and you wince every time you think about what you did. It's basically an 'I'm ok,
you're ok' prescription."
Abundant in its diverse presentation, "Blue Cave" offers an interesting
listen into the Hoodoo gurus.
"We started out thinking we were making a really layered, intricate record --
a 'Pet Sounds' type of thing," Faulkner concluded. "But we got a really
full-throated rock 'n roll album. I think this record is pretty much the pure essence
of what we are. I guess you can't suppress who you really are."
(from "Music Voice" from Jan. 18 - Feb. 7, 1997)
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TRACK LISTING
1. I'm Doing Fine
2. My Girl
3. Death-Defying
4. Come On
5. Shadow Me
6. Thousand Miles Away
7. Fading Slow
8. Night Must Fall
9. Judgement Day
10. My Caravan
11. Nobody
12. Lover For A Friend
13. Waking Up Tired
14. Zanzibar
15. Show Some Emotion
16. I Was The One
17. Castles In The Air
