Saturday 4 May 2019

Southern Cross (1976) Story Teller - LOST 70s GEMS

Southern Cross's 1976 self titled debut is that of an Australian hard rock group arriving in the wake of fellow countrymen ACDC. 

 The opening track, Money Maker, is a funky balls to the wall rocker that starts with a jangly chords and smashing drums crashes of Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same. The circular bass riffs, guitar strangling and coarse yet whiny vocals point towards an Aerosmith influence, the second track has the type of laid back stomping groove of Heart's Magic Man. The roundabout guitar melodies and rock steady beat complete old school rockabilly heavily reminds me of Aerosmith, undoubtedly the main influence as the singer, Alan Milano, sounds so close to Steven Tyler. Jessie is street smart funky blues slowed to a crawl with James Brown/ AWB classic chords changes, while What am I Waiting For features very raw vocals and roaring call back vocals and a strong Sabbath vibe with little meaty jazz licks and heavy distortion laden guitars playing to crunching stop starts. The hypnotic acoustic rhythm of Story Teller fits the lyrics about struggling to convey how different they feel and are unable to find the words to describe the feeling before it devolves into a heavily stunted blues riff that remind some of the speed-up rockabilly riffs of Zeppelins' Celebration Day.The ending of Story teller sees a quiet acoustic solo before the hard rock guitars return and the two playing together over an electric solo, the song never knowing when to end continues into a quiet bass section leading us into the next track Games. Games is a rain of distorted guitar arpeggios dooming laying down creating a devastating backdrop for the singer's average blues wailing, there is some more Sabbath monolithic power chord shuffles before another ostinato bass line section reflecting the band's robotic and very stiff sense of rhythm; though the drummer's rolls and restrained attack is refreshing for the rock genre. The haunted creeks and harmonics of the lead guitar's reverbed guitar add an haunting quality at times to the quiet verses; this is best heard in the final track Stormy Laden where it lends a tremelo effect to create a nice ambience amid the terse rock of the very superficial car/women metaphor of the closing track..shame


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