Classic Aussie rock albums from Albert Productions get Re-Vinyled!

Shane | 24 February 2014 | Reply

Classic Aussie rock albums from Albert Productions get Re-Vinyled!

Four seminal Australian albums THE EASYBEATS The Best of The Easybeats + Pretty Girl (1967) STEVIE WRIGHT’S Hard Road (1974) THE ANGELS’ Face To Face (1978) and ROSE TATTOO’S Rose Tattoo (1978) headline ALBERT PRODUCTIONS’ vinyl reissues series.

The classic albums, revered and influential from release, are scheduled to be released on high quality, 180 gm vinyl for maximum dynamic and authenticity. Renowned mastering expert Don Bartley painstakingly converted the original analogue tapes to new vinyl masters, on vintage and retooled analogue studio gear.

The albums will be available world-wide through Albert Productions via Sony Music Australia on Record Store Day, April 19.

Enthusiasm for the series was summed up by Angels’ lead singer Doc Neeson.

“I don’t think it was accidental that Face to Face was on the charts for 71 weeks while we toured every part of Australia “said The Angels’ singer Doc Neeson.“People checked us out live then heard that same, roaring dynamic captured on top quality analogue vinyl. On great vinyl the fans could hear the full quality of sound they had experienced at an Angels concert and that excited them.”

‘Good old analogue vinyl’ is back to the future after three decades of consumer fascination with digital technology. As compact disc was introduced in 1982 and mp3 players appeared in 1999, vinyl became the preserve of dedicated music buffs.

Around 2009 however, a new generation of vinyl buyers appeared, attracted by the fullness and ‘warmth’ of analogue sound … and to the 12” album cover art … and to the tactile rituals of placing the record on a turntable … and dropping the stylus into the grooves while reading informative information on the artist and the production of the album.

What was a blip is now a surge.

Ted Albert, Australia’s legendary music visionary and fourth generation scion of the successful Australian music publishers J. Albert & Son, launched Albert Productions in 1964. 2014 marks the venture’s 50th anniversary.

Albert Productions got off to a flying start with a barrage of #1s from Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs. Ted Albert then discovered, fostered and recorded The Easybeats – the first Australian rock group to make international charts.

From 1974 to 1979, with Easybeats guitarists Harry Vanda and George Young songwriting and producing, Albert Productions dominated the Countdown pop era, occupying an amazing 20% of the Australian singles charts – with at least 4 tracks in the Top 20 at any one time.

From the mid-70s onwards, Albert Productions was integral to the growth of Australian pub rock; signing seminal rockers AC/DC, The Angels and Rose Tattoo.

THE EASYBEATS – Best of Easybeats + Pretty Girl – Ted Albert produced the band’s astonishing run of seven Australian Top 10 singles (four of them #1) from 1965-66. After relocating to London, The Easys linked with The Who and The Kinks producer Shel Talmy for “Friday On My Mind” – another Australian #1, Top 10 in the UK and Europe and Top 20 in the USA. Pretty Girl, another prime cut of direct and driven R&B, was also produced by Talmy.

STEVIE WRIGHT – Hard Road – The debut album for The Easybeats singer and teen heart throb, all grown up and battling inner demons. Former Easybeats guitarists Harry Vanda and George Young produced and wrote the biographical title track. Undoubtedly the album’s showcase is the Vanda/Young 11 minute rock suite Evie (Pts 1-3) which traces a relationship from young lust to pensive joy and, finally, soulful heartache. Wright penned 6 tracks, varying from the sunny Life Gets Better to the swagger and scream of Commando Line.

THE ANGELS – Face To Face – is the controlled dementia of urgent guitars, ferocious rhythm, chanted choruses, overlaid by singer Doc Neeson’s incantations of anger and despair. Inspired by the nihilism of German Expressionism; Face To Face mirrored youth disenfranchisement in late-70s Australia. Thirty six years later, the rush of Take A Long Line, the brutal beat of Comin’ Down and the fervent I Ain’t the One still reflect societal alienation and will likely continue to do so forever.

ROSE TATTOO – Rose Tattoo – Formed by virtuoso slide guitarist Pete Wells and produced by former Easybeats Harry Vanda and George Young, Rose Tattoo is an avalanche of hard, heavy, fast, crunching rock ‘n’ roll. Chicago blues and working class boozy roots show through on Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw and The Butcher and Fast Eddy. Nice Boys is pure adrenaline, while the irresistible throb and swing of the Top 20 single Bad Boy for Love later influenced the formation of Guns N’ Roses.