Australia's Ultimate Songs (2002)

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    To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the existence of APRA (the Australasian Performing Rights Association), which is the body that represents the interests of songwriters and performers, a panel of 100 esteemed writers, musicians, critics, and broadcasters was asked to nominate their choices for the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. On 2 May 2001, the songs that filled positions 11-30 were announced (though in no particular order it would seem) and then in a gala event on 28 May 2001, the greatest 10 Australian songs of all time were announced. There were some obvious choices in the list. Most pundits picked the top two or three songs quite easily. Likewise, there were some surprises, particularly in the Top 10 and the omission of a couple of classics also caused some controversy.

    This disc features most of the videos for those top 30 songs, though there are a couple of rather large and notable omissions. Absent are AC/DC's It's A Long Way To The Top and  Savage Garden's Truly Madly Deeply, the former being placed in the top 10 at number 9. It is sorely missed, bagpipes and all. In place of them, we get three additional songs (yes that does make 31 videos here). Silverchair's Anthem For The Year 2000, The Whitlams No Aphrodisiac, and the Iva Davies/Icehouse classic Great Southern Land all get a run, though I have no idea on what criteria they were selected.

    I've listed the tracks at the end of the synopsis in our usual format for music compilations, but I also think each of the songs deserves a few sentences of praise or ridicule. Unless otherwise stated, the video clips are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Along the Road to Gundagai - Jack O'Hagan
    This is actually listed as an introductory chapter and is not included in the overall running time of the disc. Filmed in 1931, very much black and white and running for 1:29 minutes, it features a rather formal Jack O'Hagan playing piano and singing in a suitably Imperial style voice the song that I'm sure all of us would have sung along to at school. I have vivid memories of listening in to the Let's Sing program on the radio in primary school and belting out this old classic (along with the Purple People Eater!). "There's a Track Winding Back To An Old Fashioned Shack..."

The Real Thing - Russell Morris - 1969
    I've seen this remixed video version several times now on the Foxtel MusicMax channel. While it is a classic song, I've always felt this is a bit of a mish-mashed version with images of various dictators, despots and other significant moments in world history thrown in. Covered recently by Midnight Oil, this Johnny Young (yes that Johnny Young) composed song features a suitably bombastic level of production from the man in the hat Ian 'Molly' Meldrum. Running time is 6:24 minutes and though it starts out as 1.33:1, for the majority of the song the aspect ratio is approximately 1.75:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced.

Friday on My Mind - The Easybeats - 1967
    If you ask a lot of people, this is probably their all-time greatest Australian song. Certainly the members of the APRA voting panel agreed, installing the Harry Vanda and George Young composed classic into the number one spot on the all-time list. With a young and fresh Stevie Wright on vocals, this black and white live studio performance highlights just what a timeless song this is. Running time is 3:15 minutes.

Eagle Rock - Daddy Cool - 1971
    Another instant classic and number two on the all-time list. Eagle Rock is one of the most played songs on Australian radio to this day, and a favourite among would-be Ross Wilson's in karaoke mode during wedding receptions (I'm speaking from personal experience here). This is a black and white live studio performance that, despite the fashions, the dancing girls, and the hair, prove this is another timeless masterpiece. Running time is 4:22 minutes.

The Loved One - The Loved Ones 1966 and INXS 1981
    This one is a bit of a mish-mash since it features abruptly cut images of the original version by The Loved Ones, and the first effort from INXS made during the early 80s (they had another go at it a few years later). As a result, it is a little difficult to enjoy. Running time is 2:37 minutes.

I'll Be Gone - Spectrum 1971
    Another classic early 1970s video clip. Mike Rudd wondering around the countryside to the unmistakable strains of the harmonica introduction. Black and white and full of artefacts including more grain than a wheat field. Running time is 3:17 minutes.

(I'm) Stranded - The Saints 1977
    The Saints were at the forefront of the punk era, but received little help in their early days, organising their own recordings and concerts. As a result, this clip has an almost homemade feel to it. For some reason, this track kept forcing my amp into pro-logic mode at about the 5 second mark. Running time is 3:34 minutes.

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Eric Bogle 1972
    Eric Bogle was a Scottish immigrant who during the day worked as an accountant. He played music and wrote songs for fun and had only written four or five when he penned possibly the most emotional and stirring ballad ever written in this country, a classic anti-war song detailing the stupidity and horrors of the Great War. Just try listening to the line "...and I look at the place where my legs used to be, and thank God there was no-one waiting for me..." without a lump in your throat. The upsurge in interest in Anzac Day has ensured this song will always remain relevant and frequent in its playing. This is a live studio performance with accompaniment from The Bushwackers Band and black and white archival footage from WWI. Running time is 7:17 minutes.

Cool Change - Little River Band 1979
    Often maligned in this country, LRB achieved great success in the US. Cool Change was released at the height of their fame and delivers the usual slick performance so characteristic of the band. This is a live studio performance with very fuzzy video. There is a recent voiceover introduction by lead singer Glenn Shorrock (recorded I must advise at a significantly higher volume than the actual song). Running time is 5:08 minutes.

Reckless - Australian Crawl 1983
    The Boys Light Up is the song I would have placed ahead of this, but nonetheless this is a worthy inclusion. This is the original video clip of the band, featuring the famous extreme close-ups of the bass guitar strings. Filmed in 1.33:1 colour. Running time is 4:52 minutes.

Wide Open Road - The Triffids 1987
    Can it get any better than this? Wide Open Road is my all-time favourite song, from a band that received so little recognition in this country. The late David McComb and co. perform this live at a Sydney concert with McComb not hiding his frustration at not receiving the credit they so richly deserved. If you can get a hold of the album Born Sandy Devotional from which Wide Open Road hails, it is worth a listen. This song is the track I used to demo my speakers in the hi-fi store when I was selecting them a couple of years ago and I even once made my own video clip for it as part of a high school project. Classic, classic stuff (the song, not my high school work!). Full screen 1.33:1, it is in colour though is quite washed out and grainy. Running time is 4:12 minutes.

Throw Your Arms Around Me - Hunters & Collectors 1986
    Just when I though this collection couldn't get any better, it just did. My second all-time favourite song, following on from my favourite - heaven!  This is one of the quintessential pub rock songs of all time and an absolute must for any wedding (my wife and I had this as part of our bridal waltz). I would have personally bought this compilation solely on the presence of this track and the one before it. The Hunters actually re-recorded the original version after it became such a cult hit because they felt they hadn't quite got it right the first time. This is the re-recorded video clip version. Still a gem in anyone's language   Running time is 4:02 minutes.

Power and the Passion - Midnight Oil 1983
    The first of Midnight Oil's two entries in the Top 30. This is the original video clip of the band under the bridge. Peter Garrett and Co, flailing arms and all, singing about big company corporatisation. A classic in every sense and boy can the big guy dance!. Running time is 4:32 minutes

The Ship Song - Nick Cave 1990
    A poignant love song that Nick Cave recorded in Brazil of all places. Pretty much a solo effort, this video is just Nick at his piano. Running time is 4:55 minutes

To Her Door - Paul Kelly -1987
    Paul Kelly is the quintessential Aussie songwriter/storyteller. A poet in every sense, his songs capture many facets of Australian life without resorting to the well-worn cliché of the bush. To Her Door is his classic story of family life gone wrong from the album Under The Sun. Recorded at a concert during what would appear to be the late 80s (Mr Kelly has plenty of hair!). Colour, full screen with a running time of 3:27 minutes.

My Island Home - Christine Anu 1995
    A rather successful song for Ms Anu in 1995, though recorded several years earlier by The Warumpi Band. This video benefits greatly from its youth and comes complete with several beautifully saturated images in 1.75 and 2.35:1 aspect ratios. None of it is 16x9 enhanced. Running time is 3:46 minutes.

Science Fiction - Divinyls 1983
    Chrissie Amphlett had something of a reputation for her live performances. Thankfully (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), this is a studio video and not a live performance. Running time is 3:16 minutes.

Even When I'm Sleeping - Leonardo's Bride 1997
    One of the more recent songs to make the Top 30, this was recorded at the Mushroom Records 25th Anniversary concert held a couple of years ago. The video quality is among the best on the disc. Running time is 3:54 minutes.

No Aphrodisiac - The Whitlams 1998
    Tim Freedman probably feels a little embarrassed by the inclusion of their song on this disc, considering it didn't make the original Top 30. This performance is from the Mushroom Records 25th Anniversary gig held at the MCG a couple of years ago. As a result, the quality is quite good with full screen 1.33:1 video and full colour. Running time is 4:16 minutes.

Anthem for the Year 2000 - Silverchair 1999
    Another song that didn't make the Top 30 but has probably been included to give this disc a little more appeal to those purchasers who aren't either Baby Boomers or Generation Xers. A slick clip that obviously cost a whole lot of money to produce. Running time is 3:53 minutes.

Great Southern Land - Icehouse 1982
    The song that every fireworks show just has to have played. It is actually beginning to sound a little dated now, though this is one song that always sounded better the louder you could turn it up. So don't be shy, crank this one up to eleven. Images of Australia landscapes are shown with Iva Davies popping up here and there. Running time is 3:25.

Cattle and Cane - The Go-Betweens 1983
    Another 80s band that didn't get full recognition at home but had greater success overseas. This is a unique clip with a song that is also unlike any of the others on this disc. Running time is 3:59 minutes.

Down Under - Men at Work 1981
    Believe it or not, but this was the first ever song recorded in Australia that went on to claim the number 1 position in Australia, The United States, and Britain. Colin Hay and crew lampooning it up in the original video version, complete with Combi Van. Thankfully Alan Bond and Winged Keels are nowhere in sight. Running time is 3:31 minutes.

Pub With No Beer - Slim Dusty 1959
    I'd Love To Have A Beer With Duncan might be easier to sing along to but this is the one that started it all. Slim plays an impromptu concert in the outback for a swag of truckers and their families. Joining him on vocals is one Gordon Parsons, who actually wrote the original song a couple of years earlier. Slim Dusty hasn't changed in all the years since. Running Time is 3:19 minutes

Quasimodo's Dream - The Reels 1981
    A somewhat surprising entry into the top 10, coming in at number 10. A reasonably professional and ambitious video clip to a none-too-often heard Australian song. Running Time is 4:06 minutes.

I Was Only Nineteen - Redgum 1983

    If there was only one group more vocal in its social commentary than Midnight Oil, then it was Redgum. Frontman John Schumann is as passionate as Peter Garrett about all things environmental and social and even nearly won a lower house seat in the 1998 Federal election. I Was Only 19 is a tribute to the plight of Vietnam Veterans and while not as well-known as the next song probably did more to bring attention to the Vets battle for recognition than anything before or since. Heaps of images from Australia's involvement in that well-known conflict are displayed in varying forms and quality. Running Time is 3:15 minutes.

Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel 1978
    The Chisel classic. Just try watching this without singing along. This video is the original stage performance of the song with Jimmy Barnes sweating and screaming throughout, but the audio appears to have been replaced with the studio version of the song. It isn't too noticeable and makes the song sound so much better than the original clip. Running Time is 4:05

The Day You Come - Powderfinger 1998
    Another of the new breed of groups, Powderfinger's third album Internationalist featured this hit single. A slick video clip filmed in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced. Running Time is 4:16 minutes.

Treaty - Yothu Yindi 1992
    There's a few versions of this song around. I must say I had never seen this particular version which is apparently the original mix and lyrics and not the later dance mix that become a favourite on the dance floor. It was good to finally see it. Running Time is 3:36 minutes.

Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil 1987
    It takes a pretty special artist to get two songs listed in the top thirty, and Midnight Oil can easily lay claim to being something special. Beds Are Burning was written after the band spent considerable time touring through Aboriginal communities in 1986. Powerful in its message and delivery, it is every bit as relevant now as it was then. It came it at Number 3 in the all-time list and deservedly so. Running time is 4:37 minutes.

Don't Dream it's Over - Crowded House 1986

    Before the Kiwis all start complaining about us Aussies hijacking their icons again (You can have Russell Crowe, OK), two-thirds of Trans-Tasman trio Crowded House were from Australia, and that's a majority!  This was the third single from Neil Finn and Co's debut album and it instantly cemented the band as one of the all-time greats. Coming in at number 7 on the all-time list, this is the live performance from the band's farewell concert on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. I can't help but get a tingle up my spine whenever the crowd sings back to the band. A truly remarkable song that is a fitting finale to this eclectic collection. Running time is 5:23 minutes.

Video

    It seems a little pointless in going into too much detail in terms of the video quality, since as you can well imagine, there is a significant variety on offer. Clips ranging from most years between 1966 and 2001 are going to offer up varying degrees of colour, grain, artefacts, and other assorted nasties. As long as you don't purchase this disc expecting pristine miracles for each clip, then you won't be disappointed. None of the problems with the video can be attributed to the mastering of the disc itself.

    Almost all the videos are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. There are a couple that feature some widescreen ratios (My Island Home), but none of them are 16x9 enhanced.

    There are no subtitles for the actual lyrics, but there is an option to switch on the English informational subtitles. See Extras for details on these.

    Being quite lengthy, this disc makes use of RSDL formatting. The layer change is usually well placed on video compilation discs, and this is no exception, being located at 73:03, right between Leonardo's Bride Only When I'm Sleeping and The Whitlams No Aphrodisiac. It is almost indistinguishable.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only one audio soundtrack on this disc. It is a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at a bitrate of 224 Kb/s. Much like the video, there is a significant range of quality on offer from the source material, but the remastered tracks perform more than adequately, with some of these songs sounding about as good as they ever will. Some of the earlier material such as Eagle Rock, Friday On My Mind, and most notably I'll Be Gone feature substantial hiss and some minor distortion. My amp also seemed intent on switching itself into Pro-Logic mode during the playback of I'm Stranded by The Saints.

    Vocals are quite prominent, though the audio sync is problematic at times, mostly due to the original source and possibly because of the use of newer and better quality audio. Some of the audio (particularly the voice-over introductions by some of the artists) is recorded at a significantly higher volume than the main songs.

    There is no surround channel or subwoofer use.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Introduction

    Some suitably iconic Australian nature scenes accompanied by the strains of Goanna's Solid Rock.

Informational Subtitles

    A few brief liner style notes are overlaid in the subtitle stream and are displayed for several seconds at the commencement of each song. They give a little background to the song or the artist and at times provide some interesting tid-bits of trivia

    Not much point in doing a comparison here. This is a multi-region disc, but I would be surprised if it found an audience in Region 1.

    This is a fine companion to those of you that already own the 5 CD box-set of Australia's Ultimate Songs. There are a couple of tracks on this DVD that aren't included there and while not all of the Top 10 Greatest Australian Songs Of All Time made it to the final disc, this is a unique collection that will provide many hours of enjoyment for practically any music fan. Think of it as a great nostalgia trip and you'll enjoy every minute.

    The video is not perfect, but the source material is the culprit, with no problems to be reported from the mastering of this disc.

    The audio is quite good, with only poor quality source material again being the only fault.

    The extra is fairly thin.

    Highly recommended for any fan of Oz music.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall