Just
before the Tamworth Festival in January 2002 Joan Douglas from “The Pub”
told me on the phone that she thought it would be really good if Bill Chambers
and I could get together and do a traditional album. She said Bill had spoken of
wanting to do one and I had the sort of material that would suit. During the
festival I saw Joan and she mentioned it again after I had performed on the song
writers night at The Pub. I also saw Bill and he mentioned that Joan had spoken
to him about her idea as well.
I
had heard Catherine Britt’s album so I knew that Bill could produce the sound
that I wanted but I hadn’t really planned to do another album.
After
the 2001 Festival I had written a song called My Rambling Shoes which I tried
out at the 2002 Festival. I really liked the song but was unsure if it would
appeal to others. A lady came up to me after hearing me sing it at Tamworth and
bought
my two albums because of that song. When I asked her name to sign the album she
said Irene Daley, you probably know my son Troy. To have Troy Cassar-Daley’s mum buy two of my albums on the
basis of a song that wasn’t even recorded was a huge thrill and made me think
I had better do something about recording My Rambling Shoes.
After
the first two albums I felt that ballads suited me most and seemed to be what my
audience enjoyed the most. I began
to think that the next album would be based on ballads. I didn’t want all bush
ballads but they had to be strong story based songs rather than pure emotion
songs.
By
June 2002 I started to think seriously about doing another album for 2003.
Rambling Shoes was getting requested at gigs so I knew it would be the title of
the album and it fitted in with the ballad theme. The challenge was to decide
which other songs would join it on the album.
Bill
and I got together and agreed to proceed. We set some dates but had to postpone
due to his commitments with his own album and his work with Catherine Britt and
Kasey. We started at the end of October and had finished by the end of November.
We did
the drums and base at Ramrod studio with Herm Kovac ( drummer from the Ted Mulry Gang) Herm has an excellent set up at his studio and it was a pleasure to
work there.
Glenn
Wilson did an excellent job on drums as
did Simon Johnson on base. They set
up the tempos and feel that we wanted.
Then it
was off to the “BoneYard” which is Bills studio in his house at Woy Woy Bay.
Over the
next few weeks Bill and I took turns at preparing meals while he set about
producing the album that Joan had thought about. Bill is a real gentleman and
makes time for everyone.
He
pulled in some of the countries best musicians to add to the sounds that he had
already created with his own array of instruments and vocals.
Mick
Albeck played fiddle on my second album and it was a pleasure to have him on
this one as well.
Mick
Wilson and Tommy Grasso played steel on my previous albums and both of them are
great but they talk of Michele Rose like a God and for good reason. Michele knew
exactly what to play though he was very reluctant to do steel on Camooweal but
Bill and I thought it worked a treat.
Glen
Hannah who plays in Kasey’s band came in to play some lead and do some finger
picking and added an extra dimension to the sounds on the album.
Gary
Steel played Accordion and Key Board and once again created something different
for the album.
Rob
Wilson who is a great friend came in to play some Harp and sing harmonies. Bill
was so impressed with him that used him for a couple of gigs in Tamworth.
Finally
there was Audrey Auld who added some of her magic by singing harmony on some
songs that aren’t typical harmony songs like The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
and Camooweal. As soon as people hear these songs they want to know who it is.
All in
all I am very happy with the album. It sounds like it should, Bill got the best
out of me and the songs all seem to have their place on the album. My Rambling
Shoes and Life’s Like Rodeo seem to be the early favorites.
The Songs
I
got the inspiration for this song while walking home late one night after seeing
Johnny Green and the Blues Cowboys performing at the 2001 Tamworth festival. I
was tired and knew I had to host a show the next morning. My feet were killing
me and I could feel the rocks from the bitumen through the soles of my boots. I
knew there had to be a line there somewhere so I started humming some lines
about feeling the stones through the soles of my rambling shoes. I was trying to
figure the shortest way home and got the line ‘I’ve taken some shortcuts now
I’ve only hard roads to choose’. I was walking home alone so ‘as I stumble
home singing these all alone blues’ came to me as well. By the time I got home
the structure of the song was set.
The
first verse and the chorus came easy but I spent a few months coming up with a
second verse that I was happy with. One day the words just came and I knew the
song was finished.
The song
is not really auto biographical but I am pushing 40 so there are some days when
you wish you could go back to yesterday.
The line
‘It’s a sad situation when you weren’t even yesterdays news’ sort of
sums up my impact on the country music scene to some degree.
Like I Still Care
One
night at the Oasis Hotel in Tamworth, I
got talking to Darren Howard about song writing and he said that he had written
a few songs that he thought would suit my style. He sent me Like I Still Care on
a cassette and I thought of putting it on my second album “Country Friends”
but it did not quite fit with the theme of that album.
It is a
great story song even though it is a love song so it was just right for Rambling
Shoes. Nearly everybody that was involved with the album comments on how good a
country song it is and they are pleasantly surprised to hear that it is home
grown.
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
I heard
Slim Dusty sing this song before I heard Eric Bogles version which is why I
developed a slightly different version. This song has always been a great song
to perform as it is so well written and full of emotion.
I was
singing it in a hotel last year and while I was singing it people were pointing
to the television monitor above my head because a report of the passing of the
final ANZAC had come on. I decided then that this song had to be on the album. I
originally planned to do an acoustic version but we decided to do the song with
full instrumentation and harmonies. It was one of those songs that grew in
stature with every new instrument and the harmonies of Audrey and Rob really
topped it off. This to me is one of the surprise songs on the album.
Barossa Valley Wine
When I
was a kid at boarding school in Adelaide my nick name was “Slim” for obvious
reasons. A friend called Steve Nunzio said he had a relative who did country and
he gave me a Mike Quarmby tape. This sing was on that tape. I lost the tape a
long time ago but I’ve been singing the song from memory for over 20 years.
I was
surprised when I leaned that Craig Roberts who wrote the song, has just had a
whole album of his songs recorded by Jim Hermal.
We used
Gary Steels accordion on the track to give it the Barossa feel.
The Tracks You left on Me
As you
may know I recorded an Ed Bruce song titled Diane on Country Friends. Ed
recorded a new album called This Old Hat in 2002 with this song on it and I was
instantly taken by it.
The Jimberella Kid
This is
an old Slim Dusty ballad from way back. I loved this song as a kid and have been
singing it for as long as I remember. I could have sold a lot more CD’s if I
had this recorded. This one is for
all the old timers who have come back stage wanting to know if I had this song
on CD.
Life’s Like Rodeo
I have
lived a suburban type life for the last 20 or so years so the first line of this
song is me all over “ Well it’s been fifteen years since I rode a horse but
I still wear cowboy boots”. The rest of the song is about a retired rodeo
rider who is trying to stay in touch with the life he clearly loved by imparting
his motivational wisdom on the younger generation.
The sentiment can easily be transferred to anyone who has been there and
is watching the changing of the guard but still feels they have something to
offer. I feel this way when I mix with some of the younger generation of country
singers.
I’ve
had this song in the mixing pot for a while but it took a lot of ingredients to
make it work the way I wanted it too. Once again it is a song that gets a lot of
comment and people are surprised that it came out of Australia.
Camooweal
My
mother was born in Camooweal and her family are still part of the Camooweal
community. As a kid we used to go there for the picnic races and gymkanas. As my
Grandfather was a drover based in Camooweal I returned there in 2001 to sing at
the Drovers Reunion and met lots of interesting people including Kelly and
Marion Dixon who wrote Leave Him in the Longyard which is also on this album.
My Mum
and Dad met and did some courting in Camooweal so this love song/ bush ballad
has always had a special significance for me.
Leave
Him in the Longyard and this track
were recorded without drums or base. The lead vocal and my rhythm guitar were
recorded in one take, on one track to give the songs a live performance feel.
Stranger
Lefty
Frizel has had a huge influenced on country music. Burt Wilder has been a great
supporter of mine and country music in general and he picked this song from his
Lefty collection and suggested I record it on the album. Every muso involved in
its production was instantly impressed by this song.
Tennessee Flat Top Box
I have
been singing this song for over 20 years and Johnny Cash is one of my all time
favorite ballad singers. It was the first song that Bill ever performed on
television so it was a joy for both of us to reproduce this old song.
Leave Him in The Longyard
Nearly
everyone does this song. It is probably the most requested song on the streets
of Tamworth every year. As I mentioned I met Kelly and Marian Dixon in Camooweal
in 2001 so it is nice to sing a song written by someone you know especially when
it is such a good one.
Here Comes That Rainbow Again
This
Kristoferson song is very short on words but huge in story. As a song writer
this is what I aspire to. The image this song creates is always so complete and
clear and you cannot help but get drawn into the story. You feel as if you are
sitting in the café watching.
The Owl and The Pussy Cat
I found
this song in one of my son’s
books and liked the way Edward Lear had put the words together. I am always
under pressure to sing kids song as most country is not really appropriate for
younger kids when you think about it. I started to try a few different melodies
and settled on this one. I also felt the story needed a little something else to
make it more suitable to record on a regular album so I wrote a fourth verse.
Joe
likes it and it raises a few eye brows so it just might be a hit.
Movin’ On
This is
the first song my son Joe ever sang on a microphone so I had to put it on for
him. He calls it the Big Eight Wheeler song. It also seemed an appropriate song
to finish an album called Rambling Shoes.
My
Rambling Shoes Like I Still Care
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
Life’s Like Rodeo
The Owl and The Pussy Cat
