The Best Australian Albums

Respected music industry figures John O'Donnell, Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson have just released the highly anticipated book "The 100 Best Australian Albums", with Midnight Oil's 1987 classic "Diesel and Dust" considered to be the nation's finest musical work.



Everybody has a different opinion about the "best" albums; how do you define "best"? Is it based upon commercial success, song writing craft, or critical acclaim? There is no definitive answer to this question; here is my take on the Australia's 10 best albums [in no particular order]:



"Boys Light Up" [1980] - Australian Crawl. This debut album was commercially successful, yet vastly ignored from a song writer's perspective. The group was written off by the critics for being "pretty boys", however the unique writing talents of the individual band members are obvious on this release. "Downhearted" still sounds fresh on the radio 30 years on. James Reyne remains a hugely under-rated song writer; his ironic lyrical sense places him alongside the talent of Randy Newman [in my opinion!!].



"...ish" [1988] - 1927. Produced by Charles Fisher, this No. 1 album saw Garry Frost's song writing talents get a 2nd chance after his former band, Moving Pictures, couldn't capitalise on their initial success. "That's When I Think Of You" and "If I Could" represent perfect song writing craft.



"Diamantina Cocktail" [1977] - Little River Band. A sleeper nomination for the most important Australian rock band in history; LRB made it possible for local acts to achieve international mainstream success. The "classic" band line-up for this album features 3 talented song writers [Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goeble], superb vocal harmonies and seasoned musicianship. With stand out tracks like "Help Is On Its Way" and "Home On Monday " , the world soon appreciated the band's enormous talent.



"Savage Garden" [1997] - Savage Garden. Certainly not everybody's cup of tea, however this debut album was a massive international success. A combination of well-crafted pop songs and Charles Fisher's production skills saw "To The Moon And Back" and "Truly Madly Deeply" gain a worldwide audience. Their songs remain on heavy rotation on commercial radio to this day.



"Living In The '70's" [1974] - Skyhooks. Whilst being far too "Australian" to be successful n an international level, there will never be another band like Skyhooks. It's important to remember that this was Australia's highest selling album for many years. When Gough Whitlam [Australian Prime Minister 1972-1975] quoted "Ego Is Not A Dirty Word" in a press conference, we witnessed pop music and politics comine in a good-natured way for the 1st time. Skyhooks were personable, intelligent and naughty!!



"Spirit Of Place" [1983] - Goanna. The 1st Australian album to truly acknowledge the nation's indigenous history. Shane Howard [lead singer and song writer] has never been comfortable in the public eye, hence Goanna could never leverage off their huge talent to capture an international audience. Midnight Oil wrote songs about similar topics as Goanna, however Peter Garrett is an engaging personality; that's why Midnight Oil experienced huge success in the USA. "Solid Rock" is a truly classic Australian song; "Razor's Edge" isn't far behind. Fortunately, Shane Howard's song writing talent has been appreciated post-Goanna, with his work covered by many Australian and international artists.


"East" [1980] - Cold Chisel. To put things simply, Australia's greatest rock band to never crack the international markets. The diversity of "Cheap Wine" [penned by Don Walker] and "Ita" [Ian Moss] displayed pure rock and pop from an Australian perspective. In time, Jimmy Barnes and Steve Prestwich would display their unique song writing talents as well. Chisel contained two great singers [Barnes and Moss], diversified song writers and they always delivered strong live performances. Just like Skyhooks, Cold Chisel may have been too "Australian" to catch the eye of music lovers abroad. This being said, there endearing popularity to this day confirms that great songs are appreciated by generations beyond their inception.


"Bellavista Terrace" [1998] - The Go-Betweens. Robert Forster and Grant McLennan were Australia's answer to Lennon and McCartney respectively; Lennon with his lyrical cynicism and McLennan with his melodic pop sensibility. Whilst this album is a "best of", it captures all aspects of the group's song writing strengths in one fell swoop. It is only now that The Go-Between's songs are acknowledged for their simple brillance; if they were photogenic, they would have been huge internationally!! "Cattle and Cane" and "The Wrong Road" are songs of classic structure, and "Streets Of Your Town" could not be any catchier.


"Crowded House" [1986] - Crowded House. Yes, Neil Finn is a Kiwi, however 2/3rds of this group were Australian; therefore this album qualifies in my books. Finn's song writing was never fully appreciated during the Split Enz era; this subsequent band took his craft to the world. We are all sick and tired of hearing "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong", however these songs represent commercial 1980's pop at it's very best. Neil Finn was no one-trick pony; he continues to write simple, melodic songs in the traditional singer-song writer sense. And he is very good at doing so...


"Kick" [1987] - INXS. Love them or hate them, INXS were one of the most popular rock bands in the world in the late 1980's. Four US Top 10 singles from one album is an enormous feat, especially for an Australian group. "Need You Tonight" was ahead of its time. "New Sensation" was born to make people dance. Michael Hutchence was Australia's greatest rock star, and we should never forget INXS' level of international success.

The Killers: "Hot Fuss" - wot fuss?

The recent release of Brandon Flowers' 1st solo offering has been the catalyst for my assessment of the catalogue of Las Vegas' most famous rock band of the new millennium, and to question as to where The Killers stand in music history.

2005's debut CD release of "Hot Fuss" featured the very radio-friendly "Somebody Told Me"; this CD was a multi-platinum commercial success. Via the media, we started to learn more & more about The Killers and their charismatic lead singer. Asides from The Osmond family, Flowers is the only musician who readily promotes his Mormon faith to the public, thus some sections of their audience started to question The Killers' "appropriateness" as a contender for the highest rock mantle.

I have previously read that Brandon Flowers was very disappointed with the public's reaction to 2006's CD release of "Sam's Town". In listening to this CD again in its entirety, my initial reaction is one of complete confusion.

Let's put things into perspective. A major record company would be pushing for "more of the same" if a rock band's 1st CD release is a commercial smash. Unfortunately, "Sam's Town" was essentially a concept CD focussing on Flowers' early years in Las Vegas. Call me a cynic, however concept CDs are a sure fire bet in alienating your listening audience. Any momentum that The Killers had in being the next U2 or Coldplay was lost at this point...

This being said, "Sam's Town" does have its moments. The Killers get it right with "Read My Mind"; an interesting intro and a well structured pop song. However, "When You Were Young" & "Bones" [the other singles from the CD] are essentially the same song with different lyrics.

Ignoring the 2007 B-side CD "Sawdust", 2008's "Day & Age" was the all important 3rd CD and an opportunity for the group to retain a critical mass following. If anything, The Killers' moved further away from a commercial audience, with "Human" being the only single of note to be released from a generally disappointing CD.

From that point, all of the usual rumours applied to The Killers. There were numerous stories in the media that the band's 2008/ 2009 world tour was "downsized" from stadiums to theatres, plus there was the constant speculation of friction amongst band members. A self-imposed hiatus was promptly followed by Flowers' solo debut, which hasn't been particularly well received by the media.

The Killers do have a realisic chance of being a very successful rock band, because they can write great commercial songs, plus Brandon Flowers is a very interesting personality. At this stage, they need to decide upon their musical genre direction and stick to this path. I can hear far too many blatant influences in their songs [Queen, new age Punk, David Bowie, Icehouse, Bruce Springsteen], thus they need to rediscover a level of musical focus and the world could be their oyster...

Iggy Pop: the ultimate survivor

The rock & roll game is very simple. You strive for a certain level of success, and you hang onto that success for as long as you can. Sooner rather than later, the success fades away into the distance, and the fan mail ceases to arrive.

Some don't even achieve any level of success [or receive any fan mail]...

Iggy Pop operates via his own set of rules!!!

This is a man who regularly mutilated himself and took off all of his clothes whilst performing on stage, after all.

Iggy Pop [real name: James Osterberg] surfaced from the Detroit music scene in the late 1960's, being the driving force of the seminal rock outfit Iggy & The Stooges. The nucleus of this group was essentially destroyed by a combination of poor album sales [the group was dropped by Electra Records] & serious drug problems, to the extent that Iggy was a free agent by 1971. In a career-changing event, Iggy Pop was introduced to David Bowie [a long-term admirer of his music], who used his influence to arrange a management deal for Iggy & new recording contract with CBS Records.

When "Raw Power" was released in 1973, it was a commercial failure. Self-produced by Iggy [who freely admits that he had no idea about technical music production concepts], the album has been widely praised as the prototype for the international punk rock explosion in 1976. The songs of "Raw Power" were a deliberate backlash against the commercial music trends of the time. Iggy lead the way in showing the world that you didn't need to be a music virtuoso in order to find an audience. If you had a message, and you had the energy to deliver that message in an innovative style, then being anti-establishment was the new trend!

Iggy & The Stooges imploded on the back of "Raw Power", and Iggy has been in and out of the public eye ever since. Ongoing substance abuse problems during the late 1970's and all of the 1980's saw some very patchy solo releases. There has been the occasional hit record [Bowie had a worldwide smash in 1983 with "China Girl" - a co-write with Pop] and some sporadic film work, however Iggy Pop has never been a consistent commercial success.

So, how has Iggy Pop remained an iconic figure in rock music for more than 40 years?

Answer: Originality

It doesn't really matter if Iggy's recent releases are not critically or commercially accepted; it's all about the aura & reputation.

1. The Stage Presence: nobody else moves on stage as does Iggy.
2. The Famous Friends: it helps to have been associated with one of the most famous men in history. David Bowie's 1973 hit single "The Jean Genie" is a tribute to Iggy Pop.
3. The Lifestyle: it remains a miracle of science that Iggy continues to live & breathe, based upon the level of physical & physiological abuse extolled upon himself, by himself.
4. The Influence: artists such as Kurt Cobain, Johnny Rotten, Mick Jones [The Clash] & Jack White [White Stripes] have all publicly acknowledged Iggy's craft. The critically-acclaimed 1999 movie "Velvet Goldmine" is assumed to have been based upon the relationship between Iggy Pop and David Bowie. How many non-commercially successful artists have had major motion pictures released about their life?

Despite being branded a "loser" for much of the 1970's & 1980's for repeatedly throwing away opportunities to secure "rock & roll riches", Iggy Pop is now a wealthy man with a reputation to die for.

Many musicians have come & gone over the past 40 years, however Iggy Pop has outdone [and outlasted] them all.

A HUGE name in the history of alternative rock...

Kate Nash - why the hype??

"My Best Friend Is You" Kate Nash [Polydor]

This is a career-ending CD.

Kate Nash burst onto the music scene with 2007's "Made Of Bricks", however the dreaded curse of sophomore slump has reared it's ugly head again!!

The media have made a star of Ms Nash, grouping her with the new breed of British female artists who "tell it like it is". Tracks such as "Do-Wah-Doo" and "Kiss That Grrrl" deal with female jealousy, however both songs end up being a giant whinge-fest. "Don't You Want To Share The Guilt?" & "Mansion Song" feature lyrics of incoherent babble. Some pundits might think that Kate Nash is a witty wordsmith, however after listening to 13 tracks it all becomes very monotonous.

From a musical perspective, there is some sort of vague 1960's pop thing going on, however it doesn't really work at all. "My Best Friend Is You" doesn't contain any standout hit songs or memorable riffs, and in general is a very messy affair.

2 marks out of 10, and both of those marks are awared to Kate Nash for convincing Polydor to release this CD!!

The Go-Betweens: Australia's most influencial indie band of all time?

On a recent business trip to Brisbane [state capital of Queensland, Australia], a bout of insomnia saw me walking the streets of the inner-city in the early hours of the morning.

Heading north, a prominent sign caught my eye: GO BETWEEN BRIDGE. Lodged in the back of my mind was a recent newspaper story, detailing the re-naming of an existing vehicle & foot passenger bridge [linking Brisbane's inner-city to the suburbs] in honour of one of the city's most popular indie bands of the 1980's.

During my teenage years of the 1980's, I was always vaguely familiar with the musical work of The Go-Betweens. The group had only 1 "hit" single ["Streets Of Your Town"], just making the lower reaches of the Australian Top 40 in 1988, however they were a band with a presence. Whilst they were hardly tabloid fodder [University-educated and bookish-looking], there was always something remotely Fleetwood Mac-ish about The Go-Betweens. The "classic" band line-up featured singer-songwriters Robert Forster & Grant McLennan, and their respective life partners Lindy Morrison & Amanda Brown. When these relationships dissolved, it generated The Go-Between's best work and, ultimately, the band's demise. Ironically, The Go-Betweens never sold records at multi-million levels like Fleetwood Mac's best-seller "Rumours"...

I managed to track down a copy of "Bellavista Terrace: Best of The Go-Betweens" in order to re-acquaint myself with the band's work. What struck me immediately was the level of musical influence heard in the songs; Joy Division and early The Cure are very much present in their early 1980's material. It is of no surprise that The Go-Betweens relocated from Brisbane to London at the start of that decade. As a counter-balance, The Go-Betweens were on this planet long before either The Smiths or REM, yet I hear Robert Forster's vocal style in both Morrissey and Michael Stipe.

"Cattle and Cane" has been named one of the 30 most prominent Australian songs of all time, yet it was never a hit single anywhere. Grant McLennan's simple lyrics about his early life in rural Queensland are endearing; the song's iconic status is deserved.

Whilst The Go-Betweens garnered a level of critical success in Australia, the United Kingdom & Europe, they also attempted to gain a foothold in the lucrative United States market. "Spring Rain" was featured in one of those 1980's John Hughes-directed teen movies, however the USA and The Go-Betweens were never meant to be.

Grant McLennan's melodic writing style and Robert Forster's lyrical cynicism [plus the oddity of a female drummer in Lindy Morrison] made The Go-Betweens very much "the thinking person's band". Brisbane is a tropical city, where men are men and beer is king. It was a natural progression for The Go-Betweens to relocate to the United Kingdom, where their musical style was always going to be appreciated on a greater level than the pub-rock dominated Australian music climate of the early 1980's.

This being said, it is an enormous honour to have any form of landmark named after you. The music lovers of Australia should have acknowledged The Go-Betweens' musical stature during their 1980's peak. With the passing of Grant McLennan in 2006, that time has now gone. There will continue to be a thriving indie music scene for ever more, thus The Go-Betweens' influence shall still live on...

Lady Gaga - a trendsetter for music sales?

It has recently been revealed that Lady Gaga's singles "Poker Face", "Just Dance" & "Bad Romance" have all registered 4 million plus sales in the USA. That's 12 million plus sales in singles from a CD released in 2008; an extraordinary effort in any sense, and for any music generation.

Whilst it is common knowledge that the music-buying public are trending towards mp3 single songs rather than full CDs these days, it makes interesting research to see where Lady Gaga presently sits in single song sales history in the USA.

4 million plus sales are recorded for "Hey Jude" [The Beatles], "Hound Dog" [Elvis Presley] & "I Will Always Love You" [Whitney Houston]. Each song is a classic, to be revered even in 100 years' time.

5 million plus sales are recorded for "I'm Yours" [Jason Mraz], "I Gotta Feeling" [The Black Eyed Peas] & "Low" [Flo-rida]. Each of these songs was released in the last 3 years, confirming the trend of mp3 sales.

Anything above this level is considered an outrider: "We Are The World" [USA For Africa] stands at 8 million plus, and "Candle In The Wind '97" [Elton John] has sold in excess of 11 million single in the USA. In both cases, these songs were released on the back of extraordinary world events occurring, thus they can be excluded from the assessment.

So, what does this information prove?

1. Lady Gaga is an extremely popular entertainer in the present market. It is very difficult to measure her success in comparison to The Beatles or Elvis, albeit all 3 artists have literally exploded to their level of popularity in a very short space of time. History will determine Lady Gaga's staying power.

2. Music sales revenue is now all about single mp3 sales. This is the future, and we need to accept the trend.

In generations to come, we may very well look back at 2010 as the real starting point for the change in retail sales of music. History has shown that it takes an extraordinary event to change the course of history, and we just may have witnessed it...

Who are the "smartest" musicians of the past 40 years?

This is a question which is rhetorical within reason. My definition of "smart" refers to those musicians who are well past their "use-by date", however they remain as visable/ relevant as when they were at the peak of their craft. It could be a unique combination of individuality and canny career management, or other unexplained factors.

My 2 nominations for the "smartest" musicians of the past 40 years are:

Elton John - whilst Mr Dwight has consistently released new material over the past 4 decades, in my opinion he peaked circa 1980. If you closely analyse his career management, Elton regularly aligns himself with "the latest thing" in music in order to keep his name in lights. From as far back as 1985 [duets with George Michael, when Michael was at his peak with Wham!] to recent collaborations with The Scissor Sisters, Elton will always be spoken about in the current music media. A very smart operator...

Madonna - when I turned 13, "Like A Virgin" was at the top of the pop charts. 25 years later, she remains extremely visable in the pop media. Recent duets with Justin Timberlake & celebrity divorces/ adoptions are the primary reason for Madonna's name to be known worldwide by all ages. It is apparent that she will vicariously use her daughter's increasing public profile to stay in the limelight. Whilst Madonna continues to release new music, she is essentially doing what she has always done; changing her image for each new CD release. Quite possibly the smartest player in the music business EVER!!!

I'm keen to read your opinions for other "smart" musicians over the past 40 years. Let's exclude all of the nostaglia acts [i.e. Rolling Stones, Kiss] who periodically tour their greatest hits only. Let's focus on the musicians who really use their brains in order to remain viable AND release new material...

A Eurovision winning song which might just be a hit outside of Europe!

As a songwriter, I annually take a passing interest in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Whilst this contest has historically brought Abba and Celene Dion to the eyes & ears of the music-loving society outside of Europe, all so often the winning entry becomes a "one-hit wonder" within Europe.

This year, however, things are different...

Whilst casually watching the Eurovision semi-finals on television last Friday night, my attention was taken by Germany's entry in the contest. A song titled "Satellite" by a young lady named Lena, I was immediately hooked by the song's chorus. "This is a smash hit"; I made a mental note to myself.

Lo and behold, "Satellite" is the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest winner.

Out of curiosity, I undertook some research on this song. "Satellite" was written by some US-based songwriters, and it seems specifically for Germany's entry in the Contest. The tune has already been a hit in a handful of European countries, and I expect it to be a smash throughout the world.

I don't own a piece of the song [although I have a handy catalog of pop/ Adult Contemporary tunes for those aspiring stars seeking a smash hit!!] thus I won't benefit in any manner from plugging "Satellite". I'm very keen to see as to whether this song CAN be a hit outside of Europe.

I know a hit song when I hear one, thus we will leave the rest to fate...

Who are today's talented lyricists?

John Lennon once said "say what you want to say, and put a backbeat to it" when asked about his songwriting method.

One will never argue that Lennon was an extremely skillful melody writer, with a unique ability to say so much with so few words. When time permits, read the lyrics to " Imagine", "Mind Games" or "All You Need Is Love" as standard prose. Very simple stuff, isn't it? Now sing those words to the melody of those songs, and see how the lyrics come to life!!

The classic writers of the Brill Building era [e.g. Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin/ Carole King] employ the same modus operandi to the same effect.

Let's roll it forward to the present day, and let's focus on Top 40 pop music. I'll admit that I'm a little behind the times in being up-to-date with "the latest thing", however I am curious to know as to how today's successful singer-songwriter pop writers compare to previous generations.

Rap & Hip-Hop can be excluded from the comparision, as these genres focus on very "wordy" lyrics to attract the listener's ear.

Folks - it's open forum. Who are today's talented lyricists?

Making a breakthrough in music today

Historically [i.e. in pre-Internet days] a new music act would start out by touring relentlessly, in the hope that they would attract the interest of a label or manager. This action may lead to signing a recording contract. Once an album/ CD was recorded, the new music act would tour relentlessly in an effort to promote the new album/ CD. All things equal, the promotion of the CD/ album may lead to the new music act gaining some radio airplay, which would lead to some chart action/ album/ CD sales.

The new music act would follow exactly the same path in order to gain an audience in other overseas territories.

If successful on both of these fronts, the new music act's label could use their muscle to place one of the new music act's songs onto the soundtrack of a Hollywood film. This action would garner an even larger audience for the new music act.

This is called "paying one's dues", and I have a tremendous amount of respect for all of the artists who have followed this path in order to achieve the level of success that they desire.

Question: How does a new music act make a breakthrough today?

Using my homeland of Australia as a basis for my response, the live music venue scene has been steadily declining since the mid-1980's. This can be explained by local anti-smoking laws/ the introduction of poker machines to venues previously preserved for the performance of live music [especially new music acts]. Sure, there will always be a live music scene, however at present the focus is on "nostalgia" acts [i.e. guaranteed profit spinners for the promoter of music artists].

Radio stations in Australia [and worldwide] have been corporatised to the extent that it is very difficult for new music to find its way onto widestream audio waves. There will always be avenues for new music acts to "make it onto radio", however this will be limited to community radio stations with a very narrow listening audience.

Massive revenue was historically generated from album/ CD sales, however the present trend of single mp3 file sales has seen recorded music gross revenue savaged.

When analysed in that sense, why would a new music act attempt to "pay their dues" today?

There will always be exceptions to every rule. The most successful pop star in the world at present is Lady Gaga. How has she achieved massive commercial appeal, against these odds? Does she have a specific "X Factor", or has she been incredibly lucky?

What makes bands such as The Fray or Snow Patrol considerably more popular than the thousands of other bands around the world producing a similar type of music? Is their success purely based upon song placement in popular TV shows?

One thing is for sure, music will never die, nor will the following generation's desire to make their music reach a largest audience possible.

Who knows, maybe the entire process of success in music will come full circle?

Powderfinger R.I.P.

I read with interest during the week that the popular Australian rock band Powderfinger have announced that they are breaking up.

This leads to a very pertinent question: "When should a popular music group break up?"

Powderfinger is a band of whom I have always been aware of, however I don't own any of their CDs. To be honest, I have always been slightly amazed that the group reached the level of popularity that they attained, as I have always considered them to be a fairly average group with average songs.

I recall that they reached the climax of their popularity in 2003 with the "Vulture Street" CD. As is commonplace in the history of music, the group took an extended break after this success, the lead singer released a very successful solo CD during this break, and Powderfinger lost their momentum.

Their comeback CD was released in 2007. I recall trying very hard to get into Powderfinger at this time, however the song quality just wasn't there. This CD sold in very modest terms.

Soon after this, Powderfinger announced that they would co-head a national tour with silverchair [another popular Australian rock group whom I have never really understood]. It was at this time that I sensed that the end was near for Powderfinger. The press conference reeked of arrogance, which simply wasn't justified in terms of recent "success".

So there we have it. Approximately 7 years [and 2 very modest CDs] after the height of their popularity, Powderfinger have seen the light and pulled the plug on their career.

There will be a farewell tour, however I don't feel that Powderfinger will be remembered in decades to come. It is quite possible that Powderfinger gained public support in the absence of anything better at the time.

Just How Important is the "Album of the Year" Grammy?

I note with interest that "Fearless" by Taylor Swift has taken out this year's Album of the Year Grammy award. This is ever more topical due to the fact that Ms Swift is presently touring my homeland, receiving plenty of press coverage to boot. I'm not that familiar with the music of Taylor Swift; I have heard only 2 of her songs. This being said, how does a 19 year old write/ co-write a complete body of work to garner this title? How does "Fearless" compare to previous Album of the Year Grammy winners? In the present age, does an actual album/ CD hold as much prestige as it once did?

I was born in the early 1970's, thus let's look at some of the Album of the Year award winners for that decade:

1971 - Bridge Over Troubled Waters [ Simon & Garfunkel]
1972 - Tapestry [Carole King]
1977 - Songs In The Key Of Life [Stevie Wonder]
1978 - Rumours [Fleetwood Mac]
1980 - 52nd Street [Billy Joel]

These, my friends, are classic albums

The following decade featured winners of the ilk of Toto, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie - not bad company to be in.

Beyond 1989, Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me" 2003 victory could be classifed as a classic album, in terms of commercial success, multiple award-winning categories & general "staying power"; adult-orientated radio will NEVER give up on Ms Jones.

Other than this; nada. Did anybody actually by the winning albums by Herbie Hancock or Ray Charles? [the ulitmate sympathy vote]. Do Outkast still exist?

I wonder if Taylor Swift's "Love Story" will be playlisted alongside Carole King's "So Far Away" in 38 years' time?

A New Charity Song Please!!

Without a doubt, the yardstick for charity songs is based around Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" [1984] and USA For Africa's "We Are The World" [1985]. What do they have in common? Like all of the best songs, they have simple chord structures and memorable melodies. These songs would have been major hits even without the advertisement of a star-studded vocal group.

What's even better, the royalties for both of these songs were distributed to a worthy cause.

Problem: nobody has written a decent charity song since.

I vaguely recall 1991's "Voices That Care", a song recorded for the US Troops in Iraq. The song charted AFTER the Iraq War was over!!

In 1989 & 2004, the best of the current breed of British popstars re-recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas" for charity purposes. Can anybody recall who was in the vocal group for these versions?

I now read that "We Are The World" was re-recorded earlier this week, in order to raise money for the victims of the Haitian earthquake.

This is a for a good cause, albeit a very safe option. Why can't today's breed of talented songwriters pull out a classic, moving new song for this purpose?

Marianne Faithfull continues to dupe the public

I'll be honest...I never have [and never will] have any time for Marianne Faithfull.

Asides from being associated with various members of The Rolling Stones in the 1960's, what has this lady done of importance in her life? Further to this, why is she "critically acclaimed" in all of her chosen pursuits?

Some important things to note:

1. She can't sing to save her life.
2. She is an appalling actress.

Earlier this month, I read with amusement that Marianne Faithfull would be "headlining" a musical production as part of the Sydney Festival 2010. The production was known as "Rogue's Gallery", being a collection of pirate ballads, sea songs and chanteys. Sounds terrible? At $145.00 per paying head, it would want to be good...

This morning I read the reviews of "Rogue's Gallery" in the Sydney Morning Herald; one of the worst musical performances witnessed in recent times. Special mention was made of Ms. Faithfull's "performance". She actually admitted to having not learned any of the songs she was to "sing", and as such "spoke" her lyrics counter to the musical melody.

Don't say I told you so...

The Art of Songwriting...does it last forever?

The Rolling Stones, Elton John, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Kiss, Stevie Wonder, Carole King....what do these artists all have in common?

These artists were all critically & commercially successful during the 1960's and 1970's due to the strength of their songwriting skills. In addition to this, all of these artists continue to tour the world and their concerts are weighted towards the performance of their greatest hits.

In theory, this concept is fine. However, let's think beyond the past: when was the last time any of these artists actually had a hit song?

Each to their own, however Elton John's "golden period" was 1970-1975. "Start Me Up" was a hit for The Stones in 1981; David Bowie's "Let's Dance" was a hit in 1983...it's a similar story for the balance of these artists.

This notion begs the question: "Does the art of songwriting last forever?".

Granted that musical styles have changed significantly during the decades, all of these artists continue to release new material which is largely overlooked, because it is sub-standard.

The Eagles' "Long Road To Eden" was one of the highest-selling CD's of 2007, however from an artistic perspective it was a blot on their copybook.

Kiss have gone back on their own word of never releasing a new CD again. Maybe Gene Simmons should have stood firm on his original public statement, as the CD has been poorly received.

In a time when "value for money" is important, we continue to pay excessive premiums to see these artists perform their greatest hits [and pay no attention to their new songs].

Does an artists' superior songwriting talent have a shelf life? I believe so....