Desert Island Albums
Jul 21
THE HOT 100 CLASSIC ROCK ALBUMS I’ve compiled a list of the top 100 CLASSIC ROCK albums which some of which have been featured as album of he month on the ROCK-IT With the Artist-Cat radio show – on Sydney’s triplehfm. I play these start to finish ‘unabridged’ and additional plays will be featured as part of specials from time to time. So the criteria here is simply that you can play the album end to end and there isn’t a bad track on it – if you were stuck on a desert island, these would be the albums you’d be happy to play time and time again and still be enjoying them years later. So here goes – here is the HOT 100. Commentary on the list is welcome, but there were strict criteria in compiling this. Firstly, we do have standards, so no punk or disco will be added. Secondly, we have standards, so the musicians have to be able to actually play their instruments and the singers have to be able to sing – no shallow gloss, which probably wipes out anything that appeared on the likes of ‘Idol’ for a start… Finally, we have standards, so anything which is droning and miserable sounding (like Radiohead) will be excluded. With all this in mind here are the “Desert Island Albums” which will be featured on the show. Check out Facebook or the “ROCK IT with the ARTIST-CAT” blog for dates when these will be played. The Hot 100 … (subject to change). 1. The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd [Played]. The ultimate in prog rock. This album stayed on the top 100 billboard albums chart for over 10 years – enough said. If you haven’t heard it – get yourself a record (or DVD audio) player, crank it up and close your eyes. 2. Hotel California – the Eagles [Played]. From the haunting opening riff and guitarist Don Felder’s incredible guitar solo on the title track, through to the beautifully tragic ‘Last Resort’, this masterpiece is the Eagles at their absolute zenith. If you could only buy one Eagles album, this is it …! 3. Déjà vu – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young [Played]. This seminal supergroup only ever produced one studio album together, but as they say – the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. A must have in any serious music...
Ticket NZ Rock Band Reforms
Nov 05Live in the studio 1972
Live in the studio 1972
Archive: The New Zealand show – 5th November 2011 @ the “Powerstation” Auckland, with Dragon and Hello Sailor. Ticket ‘steals’ the show, with rave reviews from the NZ Herald: read the review here. TICKET New Zealand’s ultimate acid blues band dominated the underground music scene from 1971-73 down under. With searing Hendrix inspired guitar from Eddie Hansen, soaring vocals from Trevor Tombleson and a driving rhythm section (Paul Woolwright – Bass & Rick Ball – Drums) they produced two highly sought after LPs, ‘Awake’ and ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie’ during the original line up. These LPs are collectors items the world over and mint copies sell in excess of $300-400. Ticket MKI parted company in 1973. Eddie Hansen, disillusioned and tired of the music industry struggles and rip-offs, had decided to call it quits. Hansen eventually reformed Ticket temporarily during 74-75; the MkII line-up including ex-Space Farm bass player Billy Williams and drummer Glen Absolum. [For the record there was never a Steve Gunn in the band.] In MkIII Absolum was replaced with Danny Davidson. But no album was released and the band eventually went their separate ways. Trevor Tombleson moved to the UK (with Ticket MKIII members Williams and Davidson). The ex-pats auditioned for Keef Hartley’s former band ‘Dog Solider’. Tombleson was offered a place with the band but turned it down when it transpired his antipodean friends had been rejected. He then toured Europe with a number of bands during the mid 70s (including the Eagles and Chicago) but returned to Sydney when called back by (now) ‘Monsoon’ band members Williams and Ray Goodwin (Dragon-Guitarist & Song writer). At the end of the 70s he left the music industry for 30 years. These days he resides in the Cook Islands. Ricky Ball and Paul Woolwright hooked up with ‘Hello Sailor’ and their various solo acts that followed (Dave McCartney & the Pink Flamingos, Graham Brazier’s Legionnaires and Harry Lyon). For 30 years they remained the top rhythm players in NZ, in constant demand. After the demise of Ticket, Eddie Hansen joined forces temporarily with Link’s Dave Kennedy (in Rock Squad) but that didn’t last and Kennedy moved to the UK. Hansen took a break, but he couldn’t stay away and eventually formed “Living Force” with ex-Space Farm guitarist and good friend Harvey Mann, with drummer Glen Absolum and several others. The band was together during 1978-79. Absolum...
Nambassa Festival 1978-81
Jun 14
Nambassa was a series of hippie-conceived festivals held between 1976 and 1981 on large farms around Waihi and Waikino in New Zealand. They were music, arts and alternatives festivals that focused on peace, love, and an environmentally friendly lifestyle. In addition to popular entertainment, they featured workshops and displays advocating holistic health issues, alternative medicine, clean and sustainable energy, and unadulterated foods. What we consider mainstream living today was pretty radical in the 1970s. The New Zealand hippie movement was part of an international phenomena in the 1960s and 1970s, heralding a new artistic culture of music, freedom and social revolution where millions of young people across the globe were reacting against old world antecedents and embracing a new hippie ethos. Specifically New Zealand’s subculture had its foundations in the peace and anti-nuclear activism of the 1960s where hippies were actively trying to stop New Zealand’s involvement in the Vietnam war and to prevent the French from testing nuclear weapons at Mururoa atoll in French Polynesia in the Pacific Islands. The January 1979 three-day music and alternatives festival held over Auckland anniversary weekend attracted over 75,000 patrons making it the largest event of its type in New Zealand and the world (per capita). Timeline: 1977 January. Waikino music festival at Bicknel’s farm, Waitawheta Valley, between Waihi and Waikino. Attendance 5500. 1977 December. Parade from Queen St, Auckland, to nearby Albert Park for a free concert. Attendance 10,000. 1978 January. Nambassa three-day music, crafts and alternative lifestyles festival on Phil and Pat Hulses’ 400-acre (1.6 km2) farm in Golden Valley, north of Waihi. Attendance 25,000. 1978 October. Nambassa winter road show toured the North Island promoting the 1979 festival. 1978 December. Two-day gathering in Maritoto Valley for the Mother Centre and friends. Attendance 1500. 1979 January. Nambassa beach festival touring family roadshow – Whangamata, Waihi Beach, Mount Maunganui and Coromandel. 1979 January. Nambassa three-day music, crafts and alternative lifestyles festival on Phil and Pat Hulses’ 400-acre (1.6 km2) farm in Golden Valley, north of Waihi. Attendance 75,000 plus. 1981 January. Nambassa five-day celebration of music, crafts and alternative lifestyles culture on a 250-acre (1.0 km2) farm at Waitawheta Valley between Waihi and Waikino. Attendance 15,000 – well down on the 1979 festival. Reacting against the huge 1979 event which was deemed by many of the counterculture movement too large and not reflective of the alternative message, the organizers purposely ran this festival on...
Split Enz at Nambassa
May 04
Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia and Canada during the early 1980s, most notably with the single “I Got You”, and built a cult following elsewhere. Their musical style was eclectic and original, incorporating influences from art rock, vaudeville, swing, punk, rock, new wave and pop. Photo courtesy of Peter Terry –...
Split Enz at Nambassa January 1979
May 03
Split Enz at the Nambassa festival New Zealand, January 1979 1978 was the band’s toughest year. They lost their Chrysalis contract and spent most of the year without a record deal, a booking agent or a manager. Debts mounted and, unable to get gigs, they were forced to go on the dole. But they continued writing new material at a frantic pace and rehearsing constantly. It was at this point that the New Zealand Arts Council came to the rescue with a five thousand dollar grant. They immediately booked a tiny 8-track studio in Luton and with the help of 18-year-old English engineer David Tickle, they knocked out demo recordings of around 28 new songs in less than five days. These legendary sessions, (the Rootin’ Tootin’ Luton Tapes), displayed both a newfound edge and considerable commercial potential. Around the same time, they recorded a new single with Tickle, a frenetic new song by Tim called “I See Red”. Photo courtesy of Peter Terry –...