Southern Stars is the fourth studio album by Australian hard rock band Rose Tattoo.[1][2] The album was recorded with Angry Anderson on lead vocals, Geordie Leach on bass guitar and new members Greg Jordan on slide and lead guitars, John Meyer on guitar and Scott Johnston on drums.[1][2][3] It peaked at No. 30 on the Kent Music Report albums chart.[4] Anderson explained the band's high turn-over rate, "people who got the chop were those who just couldn't cut it musically... [they] thought that a 30-day tour was a 30-day party. Some of them just could not be told... If you want to make it overseas you have to approach it intelligently and professionally".[5]
| Southern Stars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 October 1984 | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Studio | Albert, Sydney, Australia | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 40:21 | |||
| Label | Albert Productions | |||
| Producer | Vanda & Young | |||
| Rose Tattoo chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Southern Stars | ||||
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Southern Stars, with production by Vanda & Young,[2] had the band moving in a more AOR style, but retaining their hard rock, boogie blues style. AllMusic's reviewer rated it at two-and-a-half stars out-of-five.[3] A writer for The Canberra Times observed, "[it's] imbued with a sense of awareness that may surprise more than a few followers... [while] still holding fast to the pure principles of 'rock 'n roll'."[5] Its lead single "I Wish" (August 1984), reached No. 32 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.[4] The two follow-up singles, "Freedom's Flame" (October) and "No Secrets" (February 1985), did not appear in the top 100.[4] Rose Tattoo toured Australia in support of the album and it was well received, but by late 1985, Anderson put the band into a year-long hiatus due to his acting commitments. It was the last Rose Tattoo album, which was produced by Harry Vanda and George Young.
Anderson said, "It's all about the spirit of the Eureka Stockade. The whole album is patriotic - not just to Australia, but to the whole human race. It's also very moralistic - all our albums have been but nobody's taken the time to listen."[6]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Gary Stephen Anderson (p.k.a. Angry Anderson) and John Frederick Christian Meyer,[7] unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Southern Stars" (Greg Neil Jordan, Anderson, Meyer) | 4:24 |
| 2. | "Let Us Live" (Jordan, Anderson, Meyer) | 3:14 |
| 3. | "Freedom's Flame" | 5:37 |
| 4. | "I Wish" | 4:25 |
| 5. | "Saturday's Rage" (Anderson, Jordan) | 3:31 |
| 6. | "Death or Glory" (Jordan, Anderson) | 3:02 |
| 7. | "The Pirate Song" (Gordon "Geordie" Leach, Anderson) | 4:13 |
| 8. | "You've Been Told" | 4:40 |
| 9. | "No Secrets" | 3:59 |
| 10. | "The Radio Said Rock 'N' Roll Is Dead" | 3:21 |
| Total length: | 40:21 | |
Personnel
edit- Angry Anderson - lead vocals
- Geordie Leach - bass guitar
- Greg Jordan - lead guitar, slide guitar
- John Meyer - guitar
- Scott Johnston - drums
References
edit- ^ a b McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Rose Tattoo'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 1 September 2004.
- ^ a b c Holmgren, Magnus; McGrath, Mark; Claesson, Per. "Rose Tattoo". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 12 April 2004. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "Southern Stars - Rose Tattoo | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. n.b.: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
- ^ a b "Refectory to rock with 'Tatts' on Sunday". The Canberra Times. Vol. 59, no. 18, 036. 14 February 1985. p. 16. Retrieved 16 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Eloise McAnulty. "Death or Glory". RAM. No. 249. p. 14.
- ^ "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Freedom's Flame'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 16 May 2024. n.b. for additional writing credits click on 'Search and filter' and change title