10 Favourite Australian Albums Ever

In a spin-off from the original thread, this one is for your favourite Australian albums ever (I think we can include our NZ friends as well).

I have taken the easy way out and listed mine in alphabetical order but the choice is yours. I have also limited myself to one album per artist but again that’s your call.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Boatman’s Call
Cruel Sea - This Is Not The Way Home
The Go-Betweens - Oceans Apart
Paul Kelly - Post
Ed Kuepper - Honey Steel’s Gold
Jimmy Little - Messenger
Grant McLennan - Watershed
Martin Plaza - Andy’s Chest
Kim Salmon - You Gotta Let Me Do My Thing
Tendrils - Soaking Red

Many fine albums have sadly been left out and I could do another ten easily.

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Spiderbait. Ivy and the big apples
Silverchair frogstomp
Game over. Shotgun
Powderfinger. Double allergic
Bodyjar. No touch red
Parkway drive. Killing with a smile
Karnivool. Themata
Karnivool. Sound awake
Frenzal Rhomb. Meet the family
Grinspoon. Guide to better living

Probs missed a bunch

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I’m probably forgetting that some bands are Aussie and they don’t jump to mind.

Anyway, ‘favourite’ rather than ‘best,’ and no particular order.

Regurgitator - Unit
Grinspoon - Guide to Better living
Spiderbait - The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley lake.
Frenzal Rhomb - Not so Tough Now
The Temper Trap - Conditions.
INXS - Kick
Front End Loader - How Can we fail when we’re so sincere
Empire of the sun - Walking on a dream.
Powderfinger - Internationalist
Butterfingers - The Deeper You Dig.

Again, could change depending on the day or how long I think about it.

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1: Place Without A Postcard - Midnight Oil
2: Sleepless - Ups & Downs
3: 10…1 - Midnight Oil
4: Icehouse - Flowers
5: Pleasure Of Your Company - Models
6: Stoneage Romeos - Hoodoo Gurus
7: Future Spa - The Fauves
8: Desperate - Divinyls
9: Domestic Harmony - Do Re Mi
10: Scorn Of The Women - Weddings Parties Anything

HM’s:
Self-titled - The Sunnyboys
Maximum Sincere - Big Heavy Stuff
A Song Is A City - Eskimo Joe
Foreign Tapes - Parades
Gossip - Paul Kelly
These Here Are Crazy Times - Boom Crash Opera
Doughboy Hollow - Died Pretty
Shabooh Shoobah - INXS

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The Angels - Face To Face
The Church - Heyday
The Expression - The Expression
INXS - Shabooh Shoobah
Matt Finish - Short Note
Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
Paul Kelly - Gossip
Skyhooks - Living In The 70s
Weddings, Parties, Anything - The Big Don’t Argue

Honourable mentions:

Cold Chisel - East
Silverchair - Neon Ballroom
Husky - Forever So
Hunter & Collectors - Human Frailty

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Noice!! That one was short-listed… Didn’t ended-up going with it because - while I do like the album - the title track and Mancini Shuffle are head-and-shoulders above everything else on it. And points off for not including C.I.A (the other side of the double A-sided 7" with Mancini Shuffle) on it…

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Weren’t they Kiwis?

This is a good age indicator…

In no particular order

The Living End - The Living End

Silverchair - Neon Ballroom

Silverchair - Diorama

Frenzal Rhomb - A Mans Not a Camel

Karnivool - Themata

The Butterfly Effect - Begins Here

Sunk Loto - Between Birth & Death

Grinspoon - Easy

Bodyjar - How It Works

Taxiride - Garage Mahal

  • Kiwi special mention under Trans Tasman Agreement
    Shihad/Pacifier - Pacifier. This would replace Taxiride on my list.
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No…from Sydney

I was thinking that as I put my list together

MMM greatest beer drinking songs /thread.

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Peter Coombe or the Wiggles.

I’m a “newspaper mama” myself.

I actually saw Peter Coombe in Northcote maybe 15 years ago. Went with friends my age who were all over him growing up. I must have missed that boat in my childhood. We were the younger end of the age range there.

So growing up → neither.
Now I have a little one, Wiggles

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Ozzie Albums.

  1. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 – Midnight Oil.
  2. Debut – Hunters & Collectors.
  3. Honey Steels Gold – Ed Keupper.
  4. The Good Son – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
  5. Starfish – The Church.
  6. Diesel & Dust – Midnight Oil.
  7. Out of Mind, Out of Sght – The Models.
  8. Doughboy Hollow – Died Pretty.
  9. Gossip – Paul Kelly.
  10. The Kick – INXS.

HMs. Rock & Roll Sandwich – The La De Das.
Galleon – Richard Pleasance.
Before Hollywood – The Go–Betweens.
Part One – Spectrum.
Towards the Blues – Chain.
Mars Needs Guitars – Hoodoo Gurus.

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Every thread needs updating but here’s my contribution from 2016’s “Your Top Ten Favourite Australian Albums if you were stuck on a desert island.”

While I’m not quite so delusional as to believe anyone’s interested, I did enjoy putting this together. Anyway, with the usual “I’d change it tomorrow” proviso, here goes. No order

Mark Simmond’s Freeboppers : Fire
THE cult Oz Jazz album. A belligerent and arrogant Sydney jazz fascist once pointed into my face and told me that the double CD “Fire” was “the best piece of Australian music EVER. Full ■■■■■■■ STOP.” I scoffed and kept arguing but later I bought the album and now I doubt I’d even blink. Simmonds burnt brightly but too briefly and then disappeared and no-one seems to know where he is anymore.

Blackbird featuring Martin Breeze: Last Man On Earth.
Martin Breeze is a Melbourne based singer songwriter who tried to break into the commercial market with this terrific album. “Schoolgirls and Angels” is the can’t miss single that couldn’t fail but did, and I still can’t see why. The only place I can find this album is my cd stack but his very good 2008 ABC album is on Spotify. Last I heard he’d given it away.
Joe Chindamo: The Joy of Standards.
The only Oz album to top the Japanese jazz charts. Swinging and yet with exquisite touch.

When I Fall In Love / Joe Chindamo Trio

Colin Hopkins: Still
Hopkins is a Melbourne based architect and potter whose forays into music are too rare for my liking. Sort of the closest thing we have to Jarrett, without the public tantrums. A solo piano album of gorgeous melodies full of flair and aching loneliness. This isn’t on the album but it’s representative of his style.

Colin Hopkins

Michelle Nicole: The Crying Game
The popiest album from a great Melbourne based singer and I especially love her take on the Simple Minds song “Don’t You Forget About Me”, a song I’d never previously liked.

The Necks: Athenaeum, Homebush, Quay and Raab
Four sides of the closest thing modern Oz jazz has to a supergroup. The epitome of collective hypnotic creativity. Not surprising they’ve got a following in Germany because at times it’s almost “Krautrock”.

The Necks - Athenaeum

Andrea Keller: Mikrokosmos: The Bartok Project
Keller’s take on Bartok and it’s just a terrific melding of contemporary sounds and classical roots. On Spotify

Jonathan Zwartz: The Sea
I can’t count how often “Epic” has got me through tough work days. The sort of music Bach would be writing if he was alive. The best selling Oz jazz album of recent times and for good reason.

The Epic Jonathan Zwartz

Alister Spence Trio: Mercury
Spence writes great music and is backed by one of the great rhythm sections in Lloyd Swanton(The Necks) and Toby Hall. A brilliant live band too. Skip the intro below and go straight to the song at 4.20.

Alister Spence Trio - Mercury (Track 6 of 6) | Moshcam

Bernie McGann: Bundeena
Like many others I miss Bernie so much. Spent much of his life delivering mail, Bundeena was his round, and being shunned by the jazz establishment before being feted and canonised for the genius he really was late in his life. Paul Grabowsky aptly described his sound as resembling the call of a kookaburra. Maybe our greatest muso.

Bernie McGann ; Australian National Treasure.

Mark Isaacs Resurgence Band
Isaacs is an ambitious composer with a technique to die for and here he surrounds himself with the cream of Sydney’s musos. Complex, collaborative and inspired music.

Mark Isaacs Resurgence Band - Tell It Like It Is (Track 4 of 10) | Moshcam

Ted Vining Trio: Number One
Australia’s greatest ever trio, just can’t leave these old stagers out. They swing like there’s no tomorrow.

The Ted Vining Trio - Impressions

Mike Nock Trio: Changing Seasons.
Technically 2 of the 3, including the leader, are Sheepshaggers but they’ve worked here so long it doesn’t matter. I couldn’t go to a desert island without Nock and it’s a tough choice but I’ll take this.

Now I’ve squeezed 13 into my 10 and ■■■ I’ve still left out Allan Browne, The Hoodangers, James Muller Trio, Vince Jones, Paul Grabowsky, Stu Hunter, Barney McAll, Bryce Rodhe, Julie O’Hara, Red Fish Blue, Aaron Choulai, Nina Ferro, Paper Hat Trio, Kadoonka , Mike Nock’s Small Big Band and so many more.
Like I said, ask me tomorrow and it’ll be new list.

PS Like so much else in life the links no longer work BUT if you bring up the original thread they’re still firing.

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Guy Sebastian - Beautiful life
Nikki Webster - Follow your heart
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Various Artists - So Fresh Australia Hits of Summer 2003
Cody Simpson- Paradise
Bee Gees- Best of the Bee Gees
Hooley Dooleys- Pop!
Rolf Harris - Tie me kangaroo down sport
Cats- Andrew Lloyd Webber
Tina Arena - In Deeper

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  1. Midnight Oil - 10-1
  2. The Birthday Party - Prayers On Fire
  3. Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos
  4. The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional
  5. The Meanies - Come ‘N’ See
  6. The Saints - Eternally Yours
  7. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Tender Prey
  8. Hunters & Collectors - s/t
  9. Models - The Pleasure Of Your Company
  10. Midnight Oil - Red Sails In The Sunset
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  1. 10-1 (Oils)

  2. Head Injuries (Oils)

3.Slightly Odway (Jebediah)

  1. Frogstomp (Silverchair)

5.Cream of the Crock (You am I)

  1. Absolutely (Eurogliders)

7.KICK (INXS)

8.Apocolypso (Presets)

9.Penny Century (Clouds)

10.Desperate (Divinyls)

*could have put a couple more Oils albums in there.

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Spiderbait - Ivy and the Big Apples
Grinspoon - Guide to Better Living
You Am I - Hourly Daily
Powderfinger - Internationalist
Silverchair - Young Modern
Shihad (NZ) The General Electric
Skyhooks - Living in the 70s
Midnight Oil - 10….1
Hoodoo Gurus - Mars Needs Guitars
Cold Chisel - East

Hon mentions to Nick Cave, Wolfmother, Paul Kelly, The Gurge, INXS, Icehouse, Jebediah…the list goes on.

Prob could’ve added three You Am I albums but tried to keep it to one album per band.

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No particular order

TISM - Great Truckin’ Songs
Gyroscope - Sound Shattering Sound
Silverchair - Neon Ballroom
Custard - We Have The Technology
Jebediah - Slightly Odway
28 Days - Upstyledown
John Farnham - Whispering Jack
Grinspoon - Guide To Better Living
Regurgitator - Unit
The Living End - Self Titled

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