Ross Wilson: Reviews

Ross Wilson is one of this country's musical treasures, a fine singer and songwriter whose recent habit of appearing as judge & mentor on various talent shows is surprisingly apt: he's been there and done that, but he still burns with an obvious passion and commitment to music. That enthusiasm is in gleeful evidence on this new DVD which captures Wilson's '5 Decades Of Cool' show in all its glory. Cutting across all segments of his long & winding career (most notably with 70s icons Daddy Cool and 80s pop masters Mondo Rock with members of both bands appearing), and boasting a blazing guest spot from jimmy Barnes, this is a fine testament to a vital Australian performer.

4 stars

"Ross Wilson has been making music for 45 years, but this 2009 DVD documents his biggest solo gig. The production is not overly slick, but the songs tell the story, covering the whole spectrum of his amazing career (including a surprise cameo by Spectrum’s Mike Rudd). “Where are the white pants?” a crowd member asks. “In the closet,” Wilson replies, “I pull them out every now and then … for bowls.” But there’s plenty of life left in this granddaddy cool. “And before we know it,” he says, “we’ll be into six decades of cool.”  

4.5 stars

Baby boomers will lap this one up. Wilson recently celebrated 45 years in music with a gala concert at St Kilda's Palais Theatre, with guests including Jimmy Barnes and members of his bands Mondo Rock and Daddy Cool, plus Bongo Starr (Skyhooks) and Mike Rudd (The Party Machine, Spectrum). A chance for those who attended to relive the night, or for those who missed out to enjoy the career of one of the most influential artists in Australian rock.

(from The Sunday Age / Christmas Essentials Buyers Guide

Streaming in to the Palais on a cold, windy Friday night were five decades of fans ready to listen to one of the most prolific and talented members of the Australian rock world. Ross Wilson, singer, musician, producer, songwriter and all round talented guy. The concept was brilliant – go on stage, sing your most famous hits, both from previous bands and solo, and entertain your most loyal and passionate followers. And that’s exactly what he did. If Wilson was nervous, he didn’t show it. If he was sick of singing the same songs that have carried him for five decades, we weren’t aware of it. Some of the arrangements were different but the audience soaked it in, and appreciated the time and effort that went into a visually and aurally satisfying show. 

Mike Rudd and Ross Hannaford, Aussie legends themselves, came on stage to warble through the vice squad banned song, I Don’t Believe All Your Kids Should Be Virgins and then Rudd went straight into Spectrum’s I’ll Be Gone.  This is how the night panned out as well known ditties were interspersed with absolute Australian rock gold. Throughout the night the back of the stage had a giant screen flicking images from Wilson’s musical history. Album covers were a feature with Daddy Cool, Mighty Kong and Mondo Rock covers displaying a kind of visual history of social and musical representations of the time. 

The audience loved it, his family loved it, the special guests (Ross Hannaford, Mike Rudd, Bob Starkie, Jimmy Barnes, The Wolfgramm Sisters, Stuart Fraser, James Black & Eric McCusker) had fun, and most importantly the man of the moment showed us that there are many more years left in this iconic Aussie talent. It was a spectacular night and at the end every one was given a copy of his CD Hell of A Time so we could keep the Wilson energy channelled at home.

"Concert of the year" 

Ross Wilson is one of the most respected and storied artists in Australian pop and roll and thus it made perfect sense to find him announcing that he would follow his long time compatriot Joe Camilleri into the  (relatively) vast surrounds of the Palais Theatre for a concert celebrating has 45 years in music.

 Actually the “45 year” occasion is probably a little rubbery so the sub-title of Wilson’s concert “5 Decades of Cool” was probably more apt given that it must be really hard to pick a date and say “it started then”.

 I’ll wander through the concert in a minute however it’s probably fitting to the most meaningful moment in the whole show came at its conclusion. The final song Loves Journey was drawn from Wilson’s next album, rather than from his back catalogue and the final image on the backdrop actually announced Wilson’s forthcoming national tour that will run from September through December. We may have been there to celebrate Wilson’s past but he has his sights firmly fixed on the future.

 But there’s nothing wrong with a brief stroll down memory lane is there?

 Wilson chose to do things largely chronologically, with a couple of exceptions. He actually opened with one of my favorite Wilson songs Bed Of Nails, re-invented in the style of a jazz combo. The lyrical relevance of this was interesting although it may have been lost on some of the crowd. I heard a few murmurings of concern when Eagle Rock made an early appearance, re-jigged as a jug band ditty. Surely the classic song wasn’t going to be dismissed in such a strange way? Of course not.

 Early guests appropriately were Ross Hannaford and Mike Rudd. They accompanied Wilson through somePink Finks and Party Machine songs including the rarely heard I Don’t Believe All Your Kids Should Be Virgins. This song, used to illustrate how subversive they were at the time, did its job well, but it also should be left where he found it for future performances!

 Another obscurity though – which I think went by the name of Woman of The World – should immediately be sent to every pop singer looking for a hit. It was a cracking little song that wouldn’t sound out of place in the Top 40 today. (Um, do they still have a Top 40?)

 Wilson generously handed the lead singing over to Rudd for a rendition of the Spectrum hit I’ll Be Gone and his strident vocal and wailing harp made this an early highlight.

 Other great moments in the first set included Come Back Again (such a great song built around such a simple idea), the eternally silly Baby Let Me Bang Your Box and the superb Hi Honey Ho which reminded us what a huge groove Daddy Cool created for a bunch of Australian white boys in the 70’s.

 Stu Fraser joined the band for a couple of more rockin’ songs and his presence emphasised how important a good guitar player has been to Wilson’s music. He’s had the incomparable Ross Hannaford who showed at this concert that he has lost none of the tasteful dexterity and brilliant touch that he has used to grace so many importany Australian recordings. Later in the night Eric McCusker showed that his more focussed contributions to Mondo Rock songs were equally essential to their success.

 The set finished with the very significant Living In The Land of Oz (which in retrospect is as much an alternative national anthem as Down Under or Beds Are Burning) and the slinky The Fugitive Kind andPrimal Park from the later album, which served to give us a taste of the second half.

 Part Two commenced, well, badly. While Wilson’s production of the Skyhooks albums Living In The Seventies and Ego Is Not A Dirty Word was an important landmark in Australian contemporary rock music and his part in their success was essential the performances of Horror Movie and Ego were simply lame. The band managed to purge any life out of those subversive, brash songs and Greg Macainsh made the right call by sitting in the audience rather than participating in that part of the show.

 Fortunately things came good from there. Jimmy Barnes came, saw, bellowed and generally spread the love on a couple of songs showing himself to be a generous performer and likeable house guest before Wilson played a great song called Slave To My Emotions which highlighted what a good harp player he is.

After an impressive re-invention of A Touch Of Paradise (and a funny story about the power of Na Na Na’s) we were ready to hit the home straight.

 A series of Mondo Rock hits followed and they only served to make you wonder why that band didn’t become a huge American pop success. Hearing those songs now you can only be amazed how perfectly they would have fitted American radio formats of the time.

 Chemistry, Summer of 81, Primitive Love Rites, State Of The Heart, Cool World and Come Said The Boyare all great commercial songs and they drew the concert to a very “smiles on faces” conclusion.

 Of course the encore included a gang bang on Eagle Rock (in the style to which the audience had become accustomed over the last 40 or so years) and a happy Daddy Who?, Daddy Cool! finale, before the aforementioned Loves Journey pointed us into the future.

 Did we get everything we paid for? Absolutely. Was there any surprises? Actually there was and you have to commend Wilson for his openness to re-inventing some of his songs and to genre-hop so willingly.

 While the concert rather randomly marked a point of celebration for Wilson you do get the sense that the audience got more from the exercise than Wilson himself did. I suspect he’s already thinking about the next album, the next show, the next song. And that’s probably why he is who he is.

Ross Wilson - No Smoke, Just Mirrors / Space Theatre, Friday 19 - Saturday 20 June 2009

OZ rock legend Ross Wilson took the cabaret bit firmly between the teeth for this smooth set of jazzy reinterpretations of his greatest hits. Backed by a trio on piano, bass and percussion, the show was punctuated with comical anecdotes from the road.

True to his word, there was no smoke to hide behind on stage - not even a cigarette - but there were sideshow mirrors and You Got a Mirror as the opening tune. In turn, Wilson held a mirror up to his own material, allowing the audience to see the songs - and their lyrics - in a very different light. Pop ballad Bed of Nails became a jazzy, cruising stroll. He went back to the 1960s and his first band, the Pink Finks, with a very mellow, seductive take on Louie Louie, then turned in a rolling ragtime-meets-skiffle rendition of Daddy Cool's iconic Eagle Rock. Psychedelia and prog rock collided on the Party Machine's controversial 1968 non-hit I Don't Believe All Your Kids Should be Virgins, while his 1980s Mondo Rock classic Come Said the Boy was stripped back into a torch song, proving that a great tune can be performed in almost any style.

In between, Wilson tampered with two songs he produced for Skyhooks, making Horror Movie his own with an almost tribal rhythm, and throwing a great harmonica solo into the slow and slinky Ego is Not a Dirty Word. He reclaimed Touch of Paradise from Farnham (funky - no seagulls), put real swing into State of the Heart and got some really cool four-part a cappella harmonies going before rocking out with Daddy Cool. It got the ovation that Wilson - and his impressively reworked catalogue - so richly deserved.

Ross Wilson - No Smoke, Just Mirrors

"...a show packed with great tunes presented in a new and exciting way."

With piano bass and drums as backing Ross Wilson swings easily into cabaret mode, recreating both himself and many of the familiar songs from his past. The show opened to plenty of applause with You Got a Mirror and Bed of Nails from The Dark Side of the Man. The fans were out in force for this show.

This journey through his career took us right back to the beginning when, in his mid teens, his first band was The Pink Finks who had some success on the charts with their version of Louie Louie. A quick jump forward in time to the Daddy Cool days and another big hit, Eagle Rock, had the audience swaying and singing along. Another band, The Party Machine, produced a song that got him into a degree of trouble, I Don’t believe All your Kids Should be Virgins. Then followed Mondo Rock’s Come Said the Boy and, borrowed from a band whose albums he produced, Skyhooks, came Horror Movie.

The hits and favourites just kept on coming. The songs all had stories attached to them and Wilson shared these with us as though he was chatting to a group of friends. He has plenty of charm and a good sense of humour and this reinvention of himself as a cabaret performer works well.

More familiar tunes, Ego is Not a Dirty Word, Bom Bom and A Touch of Paradise followed in quick succession and then with a brief change of mood, he turned to Stardust, originally recorded by Billy Ward and the Dominoes. State of the Heart, Cool World and Come Back Again all proved winners with the audience. From his soon to be released album comes Love’s Journey and, although already running over time, he even managed to squeeze in an encore.

The new and improved Ross Wilson is proving to be just as popular as his past incarnations and is likely to gather new fans. This was a show packed with great tunes presented in a new and exciting way.

The Cool Folk Rock

Cool weather could not dampen the enthusiasm of thousands of music fans who converged on southwestern Victoria for the annual Port Fairy Folk Festival. More than 13000 people - a sellout crowd - packed 20 stages with thousands more taking advantage of free street performances.

The music line-up features more than 120 local & international acts including rock legend Ross Wilson. Audiences at Wilson's gigs abandoned their chairs with the whole crowd on their feet to dance to 'Eagle Rock' & other classics.

"Everyone has had such a hard time, a sad time with the fires, & to have such a massive weekend of beautiful, incredible, energetic music, then for the sun to come out, it's an absolute joy", said festival director Jamie McKew.

I saw you at Port Fairy over the weekend (I go every year).
Your set was absolutely fabulous – so musical, highly entertaining – and you are a comedian as well!

Hope you got lots of good feedback. All the people I was with were raving about it afterwards.

SMOOTH ROCKIN' PSYCHEDELIC MASTERPIECE
Mighty Kong - All I Wanna Do Is Rock album (1973) released for the first time on CD 2008 thru Aztec International
"Given that this is a re-release, it makes sense to get into a 1973 mind-set. So yeah, hug a gorilla & get your big hair awn, find some weird bell-bottom pants & shed a tear for the fact that the Mighty Kong (comprised of, amongst others, Ross Wilson & Ross Hannaford of Daddy Cool) were pushed into the background by the Cool and Mondo Rock, Wilson's other big band of that era. But, ultimately, revel in the fact that this smooth rockin', psychedelic masterpiece of Australian history is able to see the light of day once more"
Also awarded Vice Magazine (Australia) 'Best Album Cover Of The Month' !

An album full of new acoustic based treatments of an artists' past hits will tell you two things. Stripped of much of the original fairy dust, it will give an accurate indication of just how strong the songs were in the first place, and in regard to the new arrangements, will reveal how well their creative juices are still flowing. What 'Tributary' tells us about Ross Wilson is that as a songwriter he's up there with the world's best. Its also plainly obvious that, as a singer, his emotive delivery can breathe new life into almost any pop/rock standard. Apart from tremendous new versions of 'The Fugitive Kind', 'Cool World' and 'State Of The Heart', Wilson also offers a Cuban style 'Bom Bom', Trad jazz 'Eagle Rock' & a bluegrass 'Bed Of Nails'. The real revelation with this disc however is that a new song, 'If You Ever Come Back', stands up against the best of these other gems.

If anyone has earned the title Godfather of Aussie Rock, its Ross Wilson. Imagine the music without Daddy Cool, Mondo Rock or so many artists he's written for and/or produced, from Skyhooks to John Farnham and Renee Geyer. On the latest, and best, of Liberation Blue's acoustic series a relaxed Wilson revisits his best known work. This excellent label continually inspires performers to reinvent familiar material, rather than just reheating it for the 'golden oldies' circuit. On 'Tributary' Wilson calls on bluegrass muso Gerry Hale for some rippling mandolin on the leisurely 'Come Back Again' and a delightful twang-fest on 'Bed Of Nails', while 'Eagle Rock 1908' relocates Daddy Cool's best-known hit to an old-time New Orleans barrelhouse with John McAll rolling out big, fat piano chords to Philip Rex's 'oompah' tuba. Other highlights: Dorian West's dreamy slide play on the guitar-rich 'Cool World' and a gorgeous, harmony laden 'State Of The Heart'. Wilson closes with an atmospheric cover of 'Heartbreak Hotel' & the new 'If You Ever Come Back', his breezy, 21st-century response to the teenage angst of 'Come Back Again'. Four decades on, Ross Wilson's at the top of his game.
(4.5 stars outta 5)

It can be tempting for artists of Wilson's achievements to approach his catalogue a little timidly. What to do with songs such as 'Eagle Rock' and 'Cool World' that are ingrained in the collective conciousness of your countrymen? Brave boy, this Ross. 'Cool World' is nudged along by gentle slide guitar musings, but keeps its shape. 'Eagle Rock's reinvention - retitled 'Eagle Rock 1908' for the exercise - sees it emerge from a subterranean ragtime joint smelling sweetly of something illegal and asking for Cab Calloway. And 'Bed Of Nails' gets a Hank Williams makeover, with Gerry Hale on dobro, mandolin, fiddle, banjo & bass. A new song, 'If You Ever Come Back', picks up the life of the loner who was watching you dancing & followed you home back in 1971 and raise the possibility that Wilson and rock'n'roll bumped into each other by accident.
(4 stars outta 5)

Ross Wilson is one of the greatest Australian artists ever, if not the greatest. From Daddy Cool to Mondo Rock, as well as producing the first three Skyhooks albums, and writing Bop Girl and A Touch Of Paradise, he’s been making music for more than 40 years. This Liberation Blue album is a quite a trip. There’s a ragtime reinvention of Eagle Rock, a doo-wop version of State of the Heart, and a
bluegrass Bed of Nails. There have been more than 40 albums in the Liberation Blue acoustic series, but this is the best to date.
(4.5 stars outta 5)

Ross Wilson has been a stalwart of the Australian music industry for forty years and he shows no signs of slowing down, nor diminishing standards. He is recognised as an influence on many artists that have come through the ranks in his time and he has lent his songwriting to other artists. Some of the artists who would acknowledge the contribution are John Farnham, Renee Geyer, Jimmy Barnes, Christine Anu, and Beccy Cole. He has great respect amongst his peers and this latest album “Tributary”, part of the Liberation Blue live recording series, emphasises his standing as he takes a nostalgic trip back over his history and conjures up new acoustic-based recordings of his classic hits. The songs are spread from his days in Daddy Cool, Mondo Rock, and as a solo artist. Probably the most famous of Ross Wilson songs is “Eagle Rock”, from his Daddy Cool days. In this collection, Ross provides a version as if it was out of vaudeville - quite a departure and something most inventive. Although there are many worthy tracks here, I particularly liked the reworkings of “The Fugitive Kind”, “Hi Honey Ho”, “Bom Bom” and “Bed Of Nails”. Ross would have wanted to make the old favourites different for his own little challenge and he has succeeded in transforming the arrangements beautifully. This is one of the best CDs of the Liberation Blue series and highly recommended.

"TriBEAUTary! Freaking great." Vanessa (Wagga Wagga)

"OMG - I LOOOOOOVVVVVVEEE Tributary !!!! So full of amazing reworks of some of my fave songs !!!! Best CD of the year !!!! Sheer Brilliance !" Love, Jen (Melbourne)

"F@#% Tributary is great! We love it, possibly ur best, until the next one! Seriously good." John (Melbourne)

"I got my signed CD today – it’s bloody brilliant!! I love it. Well done – AGAIN!" Amanda (Brisbane)

"I managed to get an early copy of “Tributary” last week and I love it! The whole album is wonderful, you are in fine voice, and I’d like to see “Come said the boy” B/W “Bom Bom” become a number 1.
“Heartbreak Hotel”, “Bed of Nails” and “State of the heart” are fantastic."
Robert (Wollongong)

"It's hard for me to unbiased about your work......you could beat on a 50 gallon oil barrel, and I'd call it brilliant. That aside, I've got to say that Tributary is waaaaay beyond brilliant. Given proper promotion, this could be the album that makes you a major star in the USA......no fooling.

You see, many of the tunes in there are major hits seldom to never heard in the USA. In other words, this, to us Americans, would not be an exercise in nostalgia, remixed. It is mega talent, fresh, and in a contemporary style.

For example, Bom Bom not only gave me goose bumps, it evoked a vision of strolling down Miami Beach on a balmy, tropical evening with my wife, hand in hand. The Salsa/Cumbia influence hit all the right notes for me. Your Eagle Rock 1908 likewise gave me goose bumps.......it reminded me of Little Feat. Bed of Nails with bluegrass influence....who'da thunk it? One gem after another.....not a clinker in the bunch.

Serious business, Ross......if ever you gave fleeting thought to investing the time, energy and resources to mounting a significant promotional effort, this is the recording! It's fresh, it's contemporary, and only a few of here know that it represents the very best of a long and productive career. It's the right time to be an overnight sensation!"
Mark Meyer (Key West USA)

"Love the new album - we drove 1000kms last weekend & it stayed in the player the whole way"
Tony (Moruya, NSW)

(Reviewing 'The Countdown Spectacular Tour')
"Is Ross Wilson a genius? We're in the second half of the show & this question keeps coming back to me during the 10 minutes or so that Mondo Rock is on stage. He's the one performer tonight whom you look at & think, He could have done something overseas if he'd wanted to. Everything about him is unique. The way he moves, dresses, sings - & his songs. Sure, Mondo Rock may have not been the most sympathic vehicle, but it showed that in his third decade in the business he was still savvy & talented enough to have hits. The great 'Cool World' is the first one played tonight."

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
"He's our Mick Jagger - an ageless, timeless, brilliant rock performer. Ross Wilson - who celebrated his 60th birthday in 2007 - has been making music for more than 40 years & shows no sign of stopping. Daddy Cool went on the road in 2007, blowing them off stage ( and Ross joked that there were more Wilsons in DC than in The Beach Boys). Daddy Cool also added a live disc to there comeback album. Meanwhile Mondo Rock did some shows in Malysia. And Ross continued as a judge on Channel Seven's 'It Takes Two'. But despite his stardom Ross was always happy to support public radio & TV. And he never stops making music - 2008 will bring his Liberation Blue album. For ongoing excellence Ross Wilson is Howzat!'s Artist Of The Year"

Great Southern Blues & Rockabilly Festival, Narooma, NSW October 1, 2006
"I've left the best til last, as the organisers also did. After all, who could follow Daddy Cool? Thanks to well-matured musical skills and improved concert PAs, these guys actually sounded better than in their heyday. Those harmonies, those classic songs, that white suit, and hanna, where'd ya get that outfit? OK, Ross Wilson doesn't quite shake it about as much as he did in the 70s but, hey, who does? They say you can't go back. Well these guys went back and took it forward at the same time. An absolute highlight."

ARIA Hall Of Fame, Regent Theatre, Melbourne 16 Aug 2006 - "Daddy Cool's early performance, which included 'Eagle Rock', was outstanding and it set the mood for an entire night of great live songs" (from the other inductees)

A really good concert - Christopher Cross opened with a nice bracket of old and new material. Daddy Cool were brilliant, the original lineup pumped out its classics with plenty of energy (can't wait to see Ross Hannaford at the Guitar Festival). Ross Wilson was his usual garrulous, hyperactive, entertaining self. The night was topped off by The Beach Boys - your report says it all. Over 4 hours of pure entertainment - a great night had by all.

It was a fantastic show. Perhaps Daddy Cool was the highlight, but The Beachboys were the most musically pure on the night, and better than they have been on any of their trips to Adelaide, and that includes the infamous concert at Football Park. What we did see was a legendary front man surrounded by a superb band, playing great songs. You're hard to please if you didn't enjoy it!!!

I was on holiday in adelaide and decided it would be a great experience to see the Beach Boys, Daddy Cool and Christopher Cross. I was disappointed that Mike did not do more vocals or showed more enthusiasm. I understand that he is older now, but I also saw Elton John last year and he had more energy. My grand mother also has more energy than Mike. I would pay that money again to see Daddy Cool live anytime.

Daddy Cool haven't changed a bit, and they really got the crowd in the mood, what a lot of fun memories they brought back, they really entertained.