Wednesday, April 26, 2017

V/A - I´m In Love....with That Song! - Austraslian Replacements tribute (1999, Antfarm)

Closer to when I started this thing of ours called Wilfully Obscure, I shared two regional Replacements tribute compilations.  Sorry Ma Forgot to Let Out the Cat, featuring Athens, GA artists, and So What, concentrating on Austin, TX talent.  While the sentiment and premise behind these albums were fine, the music was considerably inconsistent.  In 1999 came a third Mats tribute, I´m In Love....with That Song!, this time not merely siphoning the talent of one particular city scene, rather an entire continent, yielding much more satisfactory results.

No household names to speak of here, just minor, albeit credible Oz power pop luminaries including DM3, Jack and the Beanstalk, Ice Cream Hands, and the Pyramidiacs.  There are some excellent renditions of "IOU," "Alex Chilton," and "Left of the Dial."  Less obvious songs are broached as well - "Favorite Thing" and 'Rock n Roll Ghost."  Erbs and Pisces is Smudge's Nic Dalton and Tom Morgan.  They simultaneously take to task the Replacements first single, "I'm in the Trouble" b/w "If Only You Were Lonely" with intriguing results  Full tracklist in the photo to your right. 

Hear

8 comments:

jonder said...

I guess "minor" is in the eyes (or ears?) of the beholder. Ask an Australian fan, or a fan of music from Australia, and he or she might see it differently. You Am I and the Celibate Rifles are the best-known examples, and I think Dom Mariani is well regarded among power pop fans.

As you say, it's a more consistently satisfying Mats tribute than the other two albums. I didn't have the whole thing until today, and I thank you very much for sharing it!

JP said...

Agreed. And Youth Group had an album or two on Epitaph or Anti- in the aughts.

arthur2sheds said...

Wow, great timing. I've just finished the "Trouble Boys" bio and have been on a major 'Mats kick for the past couple of weeks.

Bruce K. said...

Not in every household in the U.S. I'm sure, but in this household DM3/Dom Mariani is one of the top stars in the whole business!

I'm looking forward to checking this out.

spavid said...

Sorry I've neglected your comments folk. When I use the word "minor" I'm speaking strictly in terms of popularity, record sales, etc, though I suppose You Am I would be an exception in Australia.

Michael said...

Speaking of the Aussie's, Triple J hosted Kisschasy for a cover of Alex Chilton. Def check it out if you haven't heard it.

thanks for the posts, i missed the 1st two at their time, but now have all 3 compilations to explore :)

oldandintheway said...

My late brother was the "front-of-house" sound engineer for the Mats [he's in the book] so it was interesting timing to see this upped on his birthday.

John Daly said...

Any chance of a re-up?
Thanks