The Angels - 1974 - 2014 40 Years of Rock Vol. 1 (16/12/2014)
The Angels are Australian rock music royalty. This ARIA Hall of Fame inducted band is celebrating 40 years by releasing its most comprehensive cross-label compilation with a 3-disc collection of tracks from the seventies self-titled debut right up to this year’s Talk The Talk album.
When you think of the Angels, the classic songs come easily to mind. Take A Long Line, Comin’ Down, Shadow Boxer, No Secrets, Dogs Are Talking and their cover of We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (which was also their highest charting single) are all here and they still sound great. They have energy that aspiring bands today would be envious of – quite simply these songs rock! The great thing about this compilation though is that you get to re-visit a lot of forgotten gems. For Australian music fans, the Angels are connected to your aural memory, and such is the prestige placed on the above “classics”, that you could forget the quality of the rest of their catalogue. This collection works because it creates a re-connection for even the most casual Angels fan. |
As the songs roll on you remember that there was so much more to the Angels and a lot of songs embedded in the memory bank suddenly come to life. Eat City from 1983’s Watch the Red is a great example of this (the chorus “Ain’t you got no true love waiting for you” will remain in your head for hours!). Others that unleash these connections include Marseilles, I Ain’t the One, After The Rain, Don’t Waste My Time, Back Street Pick Up, Mr Damage, Fashion and Fame, and Stand Up – a set of sterling rock songs that stand in their own right to reinforce the Angels legacy.
Rounding out the set are other great tracks, many of which continue the flat out rock approach (Let The Night Roll On, for example), but others serve to point out that the Angels could change things up. Shelter From The Rain and Be With You are (almost) mellow; Turn It On is acoustic and emotive; Whitest Lady is a keyboard driven ballad with Doc Neeson channelling Bob Dylan; Devil’s Gate features blues harmonica; while Who Rings the Bell comes across like 70’s band the Sweet playing the blues! All this happens while maintaining that rock groove that makes the Angels special. The final three tracks featuring “new” singer Dave Gleeson (ex- Screaming Jets) work because he doesn’t try to be Doc, he just works with that classic Angels sound!
By the way, they had another song that does deserve a special mention. It is called Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? and is simply one of the best Australian songs ever!
A great collection of songs that highlights why classic “Oz Rock” still strikes a chord with music fans!
Darren Parker
Rounding out the set are other great tracks, many of which continue the flat out rock approach (Let The Night Roll On, for example), but others serve to point out that the Angels could change things up. Shelter From The Rain and Be With You are (almost) mellow; Turn It On is acoustic and emotive; Whitest Lady is a keyboard driven ballad with Doc Neeson channelling Bob Dylan; Devil’s Gate features blues harmonica; while Who Rings the Bell comes across like 70’s band the Sweet playing the blues! All this happens while maintaining that rock groove that makes the Angels special. The final three tracks featuring “new” singer Dave Gleeson (ex- Screaming Jets) work because he doesn’t try to be Doc, he just works with that classic Angels sound!
By the way, they had another song that does deserve a special mention. It is called Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? and is simply one of the best Australian songs ever!
A great collection of songs that highlights why classic “Oz Rock” still strikes a chord with music fans!
Darren Parker