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1. It’s Got To Come From You |
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To purchase this CD Distributed by MGM |
...FROM DARLINGHURST TO NASHVILLE...
Review from Paul Smith, Sydney Morning HeraldSydney based singer-songwriter Dean Thomas' third album is an unassuming gem, much like the man himself.
He has been making music for several years now at home and overseas but has always just fallen under the radar. Whilst this release is unlikely to change that, he acoustic folk tunes are bursting with personality.
From the humour of Lunchtime Lovers "who always seem to have to eat and run" to the dark Nick Cave-like drawl of The Universal Tune, his stroy-based songs jump from Darlinghurst to Nashville - appropriately blending contemporary and country.
As if to rub in the "what might have been', he includes new versions of two tracks originally recorded with Fairport Convention that were never released.
Paul Smith, SMH, August 21, 2009
Dean on Greyhound to Mecca:
This is the one I’ve wanted to do for years. And it feels great to have all of my songs with my dreams and hopes, fantasies and stories realised and finally out there.
Even though it has just been released one of the songs, The Great
Wall of China, has already been played a few times on Ian
McNamara’s Australia All Over radio program on ABC 702. Macca
happened to be in the studio when I was mixing the song. He overheard
it and said, “Nice song.” And took a copy away to play on
his show. It was one of those serendipitous moments that sometimes
happen.
I had started recording songs for this CD in 2004 and finished it 2009.
It took awhile and another CD in-between to get it together.
The musicians on the album are some of the best and their names are
listed on the album sleeve. The recordings done in Phil Punch’s
studio, Electric Avenue, were done the old fashioned way, to tape using
vintage analogue equipment. Quite a few were recorded live, without too
much tinkering afterwards.
However, some needed lots of tinkering afterwards.
The players:
Dean Thomas, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and vocals
Lauren Thomas, backing vocals
Doug Weaver, electric guitar and bass
Dave Pagano, electric guitar and backing vocals
Paul Cartwright, bass and backing vocals
James Gillard, bass
Doug Bligh, drums
Mal Wakeford, drums
Toby Lang, drums
Joe Accaria, tambourine and exotic drums
Groove Myers, electronics, bass, percussion and backing vocals
Stuart Day, violin and mandolin
About the songs:
1. It’s Got To Come From You
In Buddhism, the focus is on personal spiritual development, not
worshiping gods or deities. That’s what ‘Its Got To Come
From You’ is all about and that’s where this CD starts.
2. Lunchtime Lovers
A song about a very long lunch, yeah, it’s a love song but it ain’t soppy.
3. The Great Wall of China
Can you compare building a relationship with building the Great Wall of
China? Well…probably not, but sometimes that’s how it
feels.
4. Starlight
This one is about the possibilities life on this great little planet of
ours offers but there’s a price. We have to protect it from
ourselves.
5. Lonesome
This one was first recorded in 2004 in Adelaide with the band Gone to
Earth. And again it was recorded live, with bass player Paul Cartwright
and I in the control room and Toby Lang (drums) and Dave Pagano
(electric guitar) in the studio. I was about to lose my voice that day
and I said, “Guys, we’ve gotta get this in one take.”
Luckily my voice lasted because it took a couple. I love the sparseness
of this track.
6. The Universal Tune
Another song I recorded with Gone to Earth. I decided to try singing it
down an octave to get that Leonard sound. Everyone thought it worked
much better that way.
7. I Guess We Need the Bad Times
This is one I used to sing a lot and I have recorded it for all the
people who asked me if I was ever going to record it. In fact, I did
record it some years ago in London but it was never released. The full
line is ‘I guess we need the bad times to make the good times
good.’ Listening to it today, it seems quite timely.
8. Jojo
When this song started life it was called Hobo and was about the way
modern times have put an end to the old hobo way of life. When I
decided to record it with Groove Myers in Sydney, he thought the hobo
thing was a bit overdone. I had recently seen a TV show about street
kids and re-wrote the song. I recorded the song live with my acoustic
guitar and Groove overdubbed all the other parts, except for the
electric guitar solo, which I played.
9. Greyhound to Mecca
This is a bit of an epic, about a young Australian guy making an epic
journey across the USA and the memories of Australia that came with
him. It started life as a short story and turned into a song. Mecca is
New York. It’s about leaving the past behind and heading for a
new beginning at the centre of the world.
10. The Wild Blue Yonder
This one’s saying, I’m not settling for the comfortable
life. I’m heading for the wild blue yonder, the road to the edge
where life is uncomfortable but the possibilities are endless. And
that’s where this CD ends.