Former WEDDINGS, PARTIES, ANYTHING main man MICK THOMAS is from the old school travelling minstrel tradition and this (third) solo outing "Dust On My Shoes" is a fabulous collection of songs relating to the characters, incidents and countries encountered during protracted spells on the road.
Before we tuck into the meat of the content, let's establish a few facts. "Dust On My Shoes" was produced by legendary UK console wizard JERRY BOYS, the man responsible for BILLY BRAGG & WILCO'S "Mermaid Avenue" and the groundbreaking RY COODER - endorsed "Buena Vista Social Club" album. The great news is that Jerry should be every bit as proud to present "Dust On My Shoes" on his CV as those previous exalted outings as these superbly-framed songs are full of wit, insight and passion.
Indeed, Melbourne's MICK THOMAS is from the tradition of great maverick Australian songwriting that in this writer's book would also include names like ROBERT FORSTER and the late DAVID McCOMB. However, while Thomas might lack Forster's archness and McComb's dark melodrama, he brings his own special qualities to the party.
"Dust On My Shoes" features some magnificent set pieces. The hilarious "The Lonely Goth" leads off and via great lyrics like "and they write letters and they swap spells, they'll be together one day in hell" he actually lends an outsider and object of derision a certain dignity.
Actually, selecting key tracks proves tricky, as there's a wealth of potential favourites on offer. Nonetheless, your reviewer would particularly go for the sad, buskabilly tribute to the British author in "Lawrence Durrell"; the no - nonsense, catchy love paean "Song For The Seven Seas" - favourite line: "He walked in with an idiot grin/ like the cat that got the cream" - and the jaunty, lap-steel imbued "Tom Wills": Mick's tribute to the man who allegedly invented the Australian football code.
|
Between them, THOMAS, BOYS and THE SURE THING have created a series of ceaselessly inventive musical backdrops to mirror Mick's descriptive lyrics. Ranging from mid-tempo jangly country rock ("The Lonely Goth") to diseased cruise liner calypso ("I Could Spot You Anywhere") to straight ahead rootsy rockers ("Wayward Wind" or the all too real border- running road song "Hard Currency") they're frankly never less than convincing and often inspired, especially in terms of instrumentation. The use of (largely) stand up bass allows them to swing, unlike most white rock combos, and MATT WALKER'S gorgeous pedal steel, blaring harmonicas ("Lawrence Durrell", "Wayward Wind") and the surprise trumpet solo on "Tom Wills" are all definite boons.
The bonus live tracks are no slouches either. The straight up melodicism of "Under The Clocks" is the equal to anything on the album proper and it's tough not to relate to THOMAS' road-chewing lifestyle when you hear both "When You Go" and - especially - the vivid, jazzy "Five Shows A Day". Actually, when he sings: "It's a fuckin' long way back to Perth" with an ingrained, weary pique during this latter, he pretty much sums up the empty existence in one simple sentence.
However, "Dust On My Shoes" makes you more than glad that MICK THOMAS has bothered to clock up the miles on his (seemingly) never-ending tours as this grimy world would be a lot poorer without his engaging songs of life, love and experience.
|
