Q+A – THE FIVE RECORDS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT with Richie Lewis of Tumbleweed

Shane | 4 June 2021 | Reply

THE FIVE RECORDS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT with Richie Lewis of Tumbleweed

The must-see Australian 90’s indie festival SPRING LOADED is currently travelling around Australia with a colossal lineup including Grinspoon, You Am I, Regurgitator, Jebediah, Magic Dirt, Frenzal Rhomb, Custard, The Fauves, The Meanies, Tumbleweed, Screamfeeder, Caligula and MC Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall.

Tumbleweed frontdude Richie Lewis has a run at the five records he can’t live without.

Catch SPRING LOADED at these dates:

Tumbleweed by Jye Talbot

1. The Stooges – The Stooges

When I first heard the Stooges my life changed. There was an instant chemical reaction, it turned everything on its head. The primal Bo Diddly beat-on-speed of 1969, the feedback, the wild abrasive droning guitar tone in I Wanna Be Your Dog, the mantra of We Will Fall. It turned me on to an entirely new universe of sound and wonder, then I turned it over and the angles and lures were relentless, 5 killer songs in succession. It’s the best rock album of all time in my opinion.

2. The Ramones – The Ramones

The first Ramones record is unlike anything else ever made. Every song is a cracker, from the opening “Hey Ho! Let’s go!” right up until the closing chord of “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World.” It’s sweet and chewy bubblegum with chainsaws and baseball bats. They are just great songs and I couldn’t imagine a world without them.

3. Rubber Soul – The Beatles

I grew up listening to the Beatles, they wrote the book. No-one has come close to traversing as much musical terrain across 10 albums – every one of them is different and a creative progression. I love them all but I chose album number 6 because it is at a junction in their career that has an interesting mix of pop and experimentation, [where] they were beginning to get adventurous. They were still playing live at this stage, so there was still a connection to live performance, which I think retains some of that authenticity and immediacy in the songs. They hadn’t freed themselves of the limitation of the song being something that ultimately has to be played together as a band and I like that. They had also started experimenting with LCD and pot and it had opened the doors of perception so they were exploring new themes and musical avenues. The album is flawless, they are all top shelf songs – the best.

4. Hunky Dory – David Bowie

Hunky Dory is my favourite Bowie album, it’s a smart record, it is a joyful record, it is a moody record. It moves as an album through moods. I like how Bowie embodies the spirit of each song with different voices, like how in Kooks he’s all cute and meek or in Life On Mars there is an earnestness, a wonder. He is a true artist. He shapeshifts through the songs, which are all quite different, and yet the album retains this beautiful cohesiveness. It’s a masterpiece.

5. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

It’s warm and fuzzy and it rocks like no other record. Recorded in a day, it’s a no nonsense album that greets you with rain and bells [and transports you] into a secret world. When the first three chords come in, it’s chilling, it’s dark, it’s heavy – but it’s so alluring. The harmonica steam train start of “The Wizard”, the rolling time shifts of “Behind The Wall Of Sleep,” the infectious groove of “N.I.B”, the spooky “Sleeping Village”: there is a lot of colour and shape to the first Sabbath album. I listen to it all the time, I love it