Currently Playing 16 Lovers Lane By The Go-Betweens see related

Love Goes On (McLennan)
I love this track, it is so pretty. The guitar work is fabulous. I love they lyric, right down to the ba-da-ba's in the chorus, particular genius lines include "I know a thing about darkness/darkness ain't my friend" Amanda Brown's violin work is great on this track, it is almost a rythm instument.

Quiet Heart (McLennan)
I love the into to this song, which apparently someone admitted was influenced by U2's With Or Without You, the lyric again is devine as is Amanda Brown's violin work, this whole song has an incredibly melancholy feel to it. "Doesn't matter how far you've come/you've always got further to go" is so beautifully sung, so resigned and sad. The violin work at the end of this track is extraordinary. If you can't tell I'm a big fan of Amamda Brown's work in the band both here and on Tallulah.

Love Is A Sign (Forster)
This lyric is classic Robert Forster, he blames the songs opening lines on living in London. OK. There is the  most beautiful acoustic guitar work on the chorus, it sonds like mandolin but apparently isn't. "I'm not a playboy or a poet", I love that line. This song reminds me of a painting with all it's reference to color and discussion of imagery. I love the harmonica in the outro, harmonica and violin sound gret together.

You Can't Say No Forever (Forster)
On this track Lindy Morrison gets a chance to shine, it has a very strong rythm section generally but Lindy in particular is strong. The lyrics are as they are on all of the tracks on this album, brilliant. "You can't say no forever/I'll try", love it. This song is very narrative driven, more than the other tracks on this albums, there seems to be less formal song structure in as much as the length of the verses varies greatly and the chrous never quite repeats. the outro is fabulous.

The Devil's Eye (McLennan)
This track is short and sweet coming in at just on two minutes, I love the lyric, "I don't want to let you get on your flight/the forutuneteller might have been right" beautiful musically too, basically just a pair or maybe three acoustic guitars and a drum.

Streets Of Your Town (McLennan)
I imagine that pretty much everyone living out side of a capital city in Australia would be familiar with at least 20 seconds of this song as it is used by Prime as the station call, which I find rather odd as it is a rather slamming attcak of Sir Joh's Queensland, possibly the Go-Betweens only political song in nine albums. Amanda Brown's backing vocals on this track are incredible as is the guitar playing on the bridge. The only probem with the song is it gets stuck in your head for days at a time.

Clouds (Forster)
This track is one I used to ignore a bit, mainly because I listen to this album a lot when I'm falling asleep and I'm asleep by the time this track comes on. I love it though. Amanda and Robert's voices really sound great together, normally Amanda sings much more on Grant's tacks. This has little of everything musically, acoustic and electric guitars and what sounds to me a lot like an oboe. The lyrics are again great.

Was There Anything I Could Do? (McLennan)
This  was one of the first Go-Betweens tracks I heard and I still love it, the music here reminds me a lot of The Smiths which probably explains why I liked it so much, again Amanda's vocals and violin are brilliant as is the lyric. The violin solor after the second chorus is amazing as are the rather random inserts of backing vocals, there really seems to be no rhyme or reason as to where the backing vocals are and I love that. "A picture of her at the pryamids/a knife held to her heart" is classic McLennan.

I'm Alright (Forster)
Robert Forster's tracks are far less complicated musically as a general rule and this song is an expamle of where that is a real advantage, Grant's songs frequently have mutiple layers of violins and guitar where as Robert's are far more simply arranged. This allows Robert's voice to come to the foreground, only occasionally and rather randomly, again backed by Amanda. The lyrics are great too.

Dive For Your Memory (Forster)
I'm one of the many, many Go-Betweens fans who counts this as a very favorite track, for me it either this or The House Jack Kerouac built off of Tallulah. The lyric is beautiful, "Deep down I'm lonely", this again is very uncomplicated musically with pretty much only acoustic guitars, a very lightly played drum and violin. This song is just beautifull, it all comes together and finishes one of the best albums of the 80's off on a perfect note.

Currently Playing Woodface By Crowded House see related

Chocolate Cake (4:02)

Neil and Tim do satire to mixed results. The song, thanks to it's Tammy Faye Baker references has aged quite badly. It also seems like a bit of a cheap shot. Musically it is strong, this out of all the songs on Woodface probably bears Tim's mark the strongest, it doesn't really seem much likie a Neil song either lyrically or musically. I like this song at the moment but I didn't get it when I was younger and I think it is something I will grow out of, it is quite childish really. Paul's drumming in the outro is really strong. 

It's Only Natural (3:22)

I love this song it is definately one of the strongest songs on Woodface, Tim's imprint is here but on Chocolate Cake it seems overwhelming, here it is perfect, Tim on this track brongs something to the table without taking anything away. Musically this song is grwat, very danceable with strong playing by everyone it has very sweet lyrics.

Fall At Your Feet (3:18)

Fall At Your Feet is one of the first CH songs I feel in love with and it is is still very stong. Tim didn't co-write this one and it is very noticable, this is a very Neil song both lyrically and musically. I love the harmonies on the choruses, Tim voice seems to fill in a missing gap between Neil's voice and Nick and Paul's. The bridge to this song is beautiful. I like much heavier use of keyboards on Woodface over CH and TOLM, I like keyboard.

Tall Trees (2:19)

Here's where Woodface after a wobbly opener and two really strong tracks begins to fall apart, again Tall Trees sounds a lot like a Tim song, similar musically to where he headed after Woodface. The guitar solo is great but other than that this song is weak both lyrically and musically.

Weather With You (3:44)

The other CH song after of course DDIO everyone knows. I quite liked this song before Australian radio ran it into the ground. The album version is about a billion times better than the crappy radio edit. I'll never understand why the shoved that extra chorus in. I know this song has the false build up to the first chorus but that is good, it makes the song interesting. I like the solo here and Paul's drumming is extremely strong. This it has to be said is a great sing-a-long song.  

Whispers And Moans (3:29)

After a couple of weaker songs Whispers And Moans is a great return to form, I would like to point out here that I love Tim as a solo artist and Before and After is an awesome album before I point out that this is another of the songs the Neil wrote solo. i love the horn se4ction leading into the bridge and the pretty jangly guitars,I also love the lyrics to this song even if they do seem better suited to TOLM as they are far more obtuse than much of the material here. 

Four Seasons In One Day (2:50)

Four Seasons In One Day is a good song that just misses greatness, I love the lyrics and the music indvidually but together they don't quite gel as well as they should, I have no idea why exactly why, lyrically it is very strong and again there is a nice jangly guitar solo. The line aout finding out wherever there is comfort there is pain is so hearltbreakingly beautiful.  

There Goes God (3:50)

If you ignore the badly written cringeworthy chrous this is a a great song. The harmonica in the intro and the bridge and outro is great as is Paul'd drumming, even Nick stands out, not that Nick isn't a good player he is great but the bass often fades into the background on CH songs. The chorus though is bad, Sexy pants??? Tim, Neil what the hell were you smoking when you came up with that? The harmony singing here is good too.  

Fame Is (2:23)

Neil, bad, bad, bad lyric wrting. Dreadful. And lazy musically too. This is easily the worst CH song ever, My God make it stop, please. I can't find anything to like about this song, even the harmonies, which are very strong are ruined by the lyrics. Thank God it's short. 

All I Ask (3:55)

My sister thinks Tim is singing on this track and I'm pretty sure she is right, at least on the first verse. I love music, especially the strings, it sounds like an old movie song. Lyrically it seems very Tim, it fits in with that particular line of his work that includes songs like I Hope I Never. This is probably the third best song on the album behind It's Only Natural and Fall At Your Feet. The album really gets back on track here.

As Sure As I Am (2:53)

I didn't like this one at first but it is really growing on me, I like the lyrics and the music is great. I like the chorus, very Neil. and is that an accordian in the bridge? It sure sounds like it. There is some great bass work from Nick in the outro too.

Italian Plastic (3:39) 

I know I'm in the minoritry but I think Paul Hester is a great songwriter and this is his best effort, I love it. Musically it is strong and the lyrics are just so sweet and optimistic. PAUL ROCKED!!!

She Goes On (Unknown at this time)

I don't love this song but I don't hate it either which pretty much sumarises my feelings towards Woodface as an album. The lyrics are good but not great and the music gets a little repeatitive after about a minute, there are way worse songs though like Fame Is.

How Will You Go (Unknown at this time)

I like this song but it is hardly a great ending song to an album like Better Be Home Soon or Together Alone, it is still a little meh. Nice lyrics, again I guess I don't like the commercial feeling of this album. I get why it was thier most popular but it isn't their best by any means in fact I find it to be thier weakest effort.