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Various Artists Love Goes On: A Tribute to Grant McLennan
Rare Victory
Article
written by Ged M
Dec 17, 2007.
Co-founder of the Go-Betweens Grant McLennan died suddenly in May 2006 at the age of 48. The band has never received the commercial success they deserved but their influence on indie music, particularly the melodic (I hate to say “twee”) strain, grows every year. Partly that’s a result of Grant’s songs, which were always the most introspective, romantic and melancholy, with an inbuilt catchiness.
Appropriately there’s now a tribute to Grant, full of indie bands from Australasia, North America and the UK (including Ed Kuepper, Stars, ex- Hurrah singer Paul Handyside, former June Bride Phil Wilson, the Trembling Blue Stars and Luke Haines) and there’s not a bad track on it. It’s well-played and respectful and the worst I can say about it is that it sounds slightly more sombre and reserved than Grant was on record; only The Bats from New Zealand go for the big pop sound with their jaunty version of ‘Right Here’. All the songs bring out Grant’s melodic gifts and, while I thought that I preferred his songs for the 80s version of the Go Betweens, the album reminds me of the power of some of his solo work and the songs for the revived band in this century.
This record does what few tributes manage and lets you enjoy the versions while steering you back to the originals. Stars manage a fine version of ‘Cattle and Cane’ while reminding you of the wistful air that caused it to be voted into the top 30 Australian songs of all time while Future Pilot AKA leaves you all tingly with his electronica version of ‘Dusty in Here’. But the must hear song is The Clientele’s version of ‘Orpheus Beach’ from the Go Betweens’ comeback album in 2000, The Friends of Rachel Worth. They now own it with Alastair’s whispery voice, the soft hissing of guitars and Mel Drainey’s quietly moaning violin making it massively memorable as both a Grant song and now a Clientele one.
This is a fan-created album and it’s a tribute in every sense. I can’t recommend it too highly – as the Orchids sing on the song that opens the record: “there’s magic in here”.
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