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If John Sattler, Dale Buggins, Dave Sands or the Captain Cook Hotel mean nothing to you, then you’re obviously not Australian and, more specifically, have never been to Sydney. So, for educative purposes: Sattler played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Rugby League team now owned by Russell Crowe, completing the 1970 final despite breaking his jaw in the game’s seventh minute; Buggins was a daredevil bike rider who shot himself aged 20; Sands was an Australian boxing champ in the late 40s who was killed in a car crash when he was 26; and the Captain Cook Hotel stands next to Sydney Cricket Ground, a regular drinking hole for match visitors.
I didn’t know any of this, but the blurb accompanying the album helpfully provided an exhaustive glossary to the references in every song. But, even without it, I’d have wanted to know more, Googling to check out Jimmy Sharman, Brute Bernard, the caves of Luna Park or the Matthew Talbot hostel because Keyes’ stories of his hometown are imbued with the same sort of blue collar romanticism Springsteen conjured about New Jersey.
Debut album Meter garnered comparison to the Boss, both for his writing and his voice, and this is likely to do much the same, although you’ll also hear the influences of Zevon, Petty, Earle, Cockburn, and Hiatt. It certainly deserves to elevate Keyes to those same illustrious heights.
Setting the musical and lyrical mood, the album opens with the ringing guitars of The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw, a song that stands shoulder to shoulder with the very best of Bruce, recalling not just the titular incident but celebrates the working man culture within which Keyes grew up and the sad destruction wrought by government forced removals. Elsewhere you’ll find equally terrific numbers about childhood memories, fairgrounds and having your photo taken with famous wrestlers (Kids Day), urban Badlands outlaws (At The Speedway), big dippers, young romances and football matches (Double On The Main Game), and the thrill of reaching for the skies even if you crash and burn that informs Dale Buggins’ Dream and (quite possible one of the only songs to namecheck Arthur Scargill) Joe Strummer.
There’s darkness on the edge of town too, though; heroin addicts at the Side Show Alley, the losers and the homeless of Peter Cottonball and Matthew Talbot’s Blanket, the kids sleeping rough, single mothers on methadone and haunted eyed rent boys gathered by the wall In Ancient Rome. Rumbling to a close with the title track, it’s a journey through the past on a road to the future, a celebration and acknowledgement of the city he loves and of everything that’s made him who he is. May I suggest you buy a ticket and share the journey.
Rating:
Source: Mike Davies - Netrhythms
Date:10/1/2007
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