Sunday, November 25, 2007

The Go-Betweens

The Go-Betweens were an Australian pop band from the 80's that were kind of like the Smiths, but less maudlin, more varied, and even more genuinely affecting. Of course the Smiths had one of the greatest guitarists of all time, but that's another issue. Here's one of Grant McLennan's best songs, "Bye Bye Pride," from their 1987 album Talullah.


I tried to go chronologically with these guys, but Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express and especially 16 Lovers Lane are so good that their earlier albums were sort of passed over. The allmusic.com review of 16 Lovers Lane describes Grant McLennan's "refined yet primal emotional transference" as just one of the amazing things about the album. That being said, the Go-Betweens would still be one of my favorite bands if they had only written "Cattle and Cane" and broken up the next day.

1 comment:

slaminatl said...

Why I'm reading your blog on the eve of Christmas is a mystery Jeff. I'm killing time till the festivities begin I guess. 2 things. 1 - I just happen to listening to the Go Betweens as I'm reading through this. 2 - Johnny Marr was on my flight from Atlanta to the UK. Of course the bastard sat in first class so I didn't get a chance to bore him with my enclyopedic knowledge of all things Smiths. Happy Xmas mate!

Dave