Tall Poppy Syndrome sets their eyes on tomorrow

By Henry Lipput

On “This Time Tomorrow” (Tres Melo Musique), Tall Poppy Syndrome’s take on Kinks’ wistful, acoustic look at the future, the band plugs in their amps and turns up the volume.

As a long-time fan of The Kinks (my second favorite band after The Four-Headed Monster) – well, since 1979 but I then searched New York City record stores to find past releases and bought future albums and EPs as they came out -- this cover of “This Time Tomorrow” is a welcome addition to other cover versions of Kinks songs that get it just right. Don’t take my word for it – original Kinks drummer Mick Avory has told Tall Poppy Syndrome he likes it!

Tall Poppy Syndrome is the classic Bee Gees Vince Meloney on electric guitars; the multi-dimensional Jonathan Lea on electric guitars, mellotron, and tambourine; the legendary Clem Burke on drums; and, from the Strangers in a Strange Land band Paul Kopf on vocals and Alec Palao on bass and electric piano.

The Jack Rubies are back for another shot

By Henry Lipput

Clocks Are Out Of Time, the terrific brand-new album from The Jack Rubies (Big Stir Records), their first in over 30 years, doesn’t turn back in the clocks in a daylight savings time sort of way as much as it continues the streak the band had in the late 80s and early 90s. Or to put it another way: 2024 is sounding a lot like 1988.

And although a lot of the music on Clocks Are Out Of Time can remind you of bands and musicians like The The, Lloyd Cole, and Nick Cave it’s important to remember that The Jack Rubies, along with others at that time, were soaking up influences not unlike the bands in the 60s; it was in the musical water supply and available for the taking. And it doesn’t hurt that the band on Clocks Are Out Of Time is composed of the original line-up of Ian Wright (lead vocals and guitar), SD Ineson (backing vocals and guitar), Steve Brockway (bass), Lawrence Giltane (percussion), and Peter Maxted (drums and also the album’s producer).

For me, there are two very different musical styles on Clocks Are Out Of Time. There’s the “slightly bruised and battered positivity,” as singer and songwriter Ian Wright put it, of the songs. On the “slightly bruised” corner is the noirish “Hark” with its line “Does anyone know the way back?” “Poltergeist” is a rollicking scare fest and “Read My Mind” is a love song doubling as a warning. Wright’s vocal does nothing to reassure the listener/target he only has good intentions.

It should come as no surprise my favorite set of songs are the ones falling under the “battered positivity” flag. Even though The Jack Rubies were a year of two late to be included in NME’s fabled original C86 collection, the songs “Angeline Soul” and “Heaven Shook Me” would have not only fit perfectly on that cassette but would have made a killer double A-side single. You can listen for yourself here:

“Heaven” is the best of the best. It has a big, brassy arrangement and tight playing by the band. It’s a glorious track and if there’s any justice in this world it should be the next single from Clocks Are Out Of Time but also a major hit.

Suzy Goodwin’s not taking it anymore

By Henry Lipput

If there wasn’t such a thing as Australian Motown already there certainly is now.

Suzy Goodwin’s full-throated, heart-felt vocal on her dazzling debut solo single, “Ain’t No Next Time," hits you right between the ears. Accompanied by pounding piano and drums, along with classic organ fills and a horn section that works hard to keep up with her vocal, Goodwin puts her foot down and tells a roaming lover that if he leaves there won’t be a next time.

Goodwin has been a long-time staple of Australia’s inner west music scene and a pivotal member of the indie rock/alt-country band Fallon Cush (which Bandcamp notes is “enigmatic”) providing wonderful backing vocals and harmonies; Steve Smith of the band wrote and produced “Ain’t No Next Time.” Goodwin also leads (no surprises here) the popular Motown covers band Suzy & The Snakepit.

Dusty Wright dusts off his favorite songs

By Henry Lipput

On Dusted Off, Dusty Wright’s fine new covers album, he has recorded some of his favorite songs as well as the ones he enjoys playing live.

Wright has chosen songs from the 1950’s to the 1970’s and in doing so he has reimagined them and made them his own. The two best examples of this are his covers of “Walk On The Wild Side” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.”

On “Walk On The Wild Side” Wright turns Lou Reed’s glorified take of New York City’s Lower East Side of the early 1970s into a sad, melancholic look at the sex and drugs that permeated that time.

With “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” Wright’s version of The Monkees song (written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart who wrote many of the band’s other hits) a response to a lover’s taking advantage becomes a mid-60s psychedelic journey. Wright has mentioned that his version is influenced by the Paul Revere and The Raiders cover but what we hear on Dusted Off is a whole different animal.

“That’s All Right” is neither a recreation of Elvis Presley’s Sun Sessions version or Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s original but instead the sound looks away from a rave up but to Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” Stephen Still’s coming-of-age song “4+20,” like the CSNY Déjà Vu track, has acoustic guitar but Wright adds textured electric guitars that conjure up a hazy, long-ago vibe.

“The Mighty Quinn” and “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” show Wright’s obvious debt to the songwriting of Bob Dylan. Wright loves these songs and you can hear it in his voice. For the digital bonus track “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” Wright recorded a slowed down yet faithful version of the original with a Dylanesque harmonica topping it off. And by slowing down the song he doesn’t try to match the avalanche of words from Dylan’s vocal but makes them understood.