My friends are very fruity indeed! (Eternal Nightcap - Whitlams)

Member Name: buster19761976

Product:	Eternal Nightcap - Whitlams
Date:	20/03/02 (288 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very musical, Great fun, Uplifting

Disadvantages: Hard to find

I spent a year living in Australia, and while there I was plagued by the first track of this album - 'No Aphrodisiac'. Working in a hi-fi store near Sydney, it was track 1 of our demo disc used to show customers the capabilities of the audio systems on sale. The first few lines were burned into my mind having heard the song so many times, and to be honest I hated it.

A few months later, back in Blighty, I was sitting at my computer, about to download some music using 'Morpheus', and thought it might bring back some pleasant memories of my tenure in Oz to download the dreaded song. Guess what - I liked it. I'm not sure why, but it suddenly seemed like an amazing ballad, displaying musical prowess unheard of in most modern productions.

I ordered the album 'Eternal Nightcap' and on its arrival I excitedly listened to it on my car stereo. I'll admit now that on first listening I wasn't too keen, but on (literally) the second play it started to shine. I'm going to write a 'Whitlams in general' op soon, so I'll get on with a track listing.

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No Aphrodisiac
I've mentioned a bit about this song above. It's a nice medium paced opus to begin with, describing a faltering relationship and by the end, it has built into a huge crescendo of instruments, with the lead singers (Tim Freedman) voice escalating to a powerful and tuneful climax. The lines in the second half of the song are inspired by personal advertisement entries of the 'man seeking woman' kind, and give this emotional song a little bit of humour towards the end.

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Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No.2)
A piano always seems to add a certain something to music, and the introduction to this song is a good illustration of this. The 3 'Charlie' songs have a sad tinge to them, partly caused by the death of band member Stevie Plunder before this album was recorded. This one talks of a frie
nd's worries over his best friend. It's a real slowy, and makes great use of string instruments.

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Love Is Everywhere
Picking up the pace of the album, this song starts with a funky electric guitar riff. Slightly surreal lyrics follow ('what can an elfin do? Put on a kettle for you'). Some more wind instruments, including a groovy trumpet sound during the chorus, help this bouncy tune get played again and again on my stereo

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You Sound Like Louis Burdett
This is truly awesome. First time I heard this I thought someone had swapped the CD over. It is a 1920's/30's style swingbeat number, and is amazingly sumptuous. I didn't realise this type of music could be good, let alone excellent, and Tim Freedman's voice is suited perfectly to this fantastic song. Has some classic lyrics incuding - 'my friends are very fruity indeed' - which fits just right! If you get the chance, download this or buy it as I promise you will be hooked.

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Melbourne
One of the weaker songs on the disc. It is a lament to the city of Melbourne, and a romance that is remembered in the lyrics. A very laid back tune, with nice use of the piano again, though not one you'll play over and over.

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Where's The Enemy
I have to admit, I'm not too sure what the subject of this song is supposed to be, but it's very moody, and has a really nice piano solo near the middle. I don't play this too much, but I like it when it comes around on the stereo.

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Charlie No.3
The last instalment of the 'Charlie' songs, this was written after the death of one of the founder members of the band, Stevie Plunder. It talks about someone who is very giving, and seems to have given too much. It's not directly about the death of Plunder, but relates to it quite strongly. It is a very powerful song with a loud chorus. The verses are slow
and the chorus is medium paced, with an uplifting feel to it.

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Life's A Beach
A slow starter, this is apparently about a relationship breaking up and the splitting up of the t-shirt collection (source: official web site). It's got a beautiful jangly piano chorus line, and is a nice mellow tune suitable for summer driving with the sunroof open.

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Tangled Up In Blue
If you recognise the name, it's a cover of an old Bob Dylan song, and again, has a fantastic piano section. Tim Hall sings the lead on this one, instead of the regular singer Tim Freedman, and it's a very funky, rough sound. You'll like it - I promise.

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Laugh In Their Faces
If there's an 'easy listening' track by The Whitlams then this is it. It's all about not taking your worries too seriously and bounces happily along. Another good summery tune that you can hum all day at work. Even though it's a simple tune, the talent of the musicians is clear.

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Charlie No.1
A story of two friends wondering about the course of their lives, and their future. This has some wonderful lines (But if the last of our dreams is broken, we'll walk the same way home') that are quite inspirational. It always makes me feel good, even though it's a very slow piano led ballad. A classic if the music industry would take notice of good music rather than good marketing.

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Up Against The Wall
I'm not a fan of this one. It sounds quite musical, with deliberately flat chords used throughout, but does not have the feel of the rest of the album. If this had been a little bit more lively then I'd be giving the album five stars, and to be honest it deserves it - but for this song. No, on second thoughts, the rest is too good - five stars anyway. Quite guitar based, but too noisy for me.

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Band On Every Corner
Imagine a country song
that is a bit rock 'n' roll, a bit self-deprecating, and has a little sense of humour. It's got your usual country-style guitar patterns, a little piano section, and a great vocal performance by Tim Freedman. Very catchy indeed.

That's all the songs, and you can find out more about the technical sides of the songs on The Whitlams web site, as well as more information about their history and the like, though I'll do an op on them in general soon.

Their albums, of which there are four main ones, are rare in the U.K. though HMV Leicester Square seems to have this album in usually. I ordered my copy from Sanity, in Australia (it was cheaper!) on www.sanity.com.au.

If you like Ben Folds, Counting Crows, and that sort of music, then you're going to find this album appealing. It's got a little swearing in it, but nothing too bad. Ultimately if you want to listen to something a bit different, then give this a try. You'd struggle not to like at least a third of the songs - in fact you'll probably play this more than you could predict.

An unrecognised classic. Give it two tries!

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