AYERS ROCK – Big Red Rock
I have been wanting to hear this album for years, as it is apparently one of Australia’s few excursion into jazz-rock fusion, and so I was delighted when I finally got hold of it recently. It was a bit of a shock, therefore, to hear the opening track ‘Lady Montego’, which is a commercial rock ballad with vocals and rock guitar solos. ‘Talkin’ ‘Bout You’ is another horn-led piece, much more rock than jazz, and I was starting to realize that I had been misled about what this would sound like. I was expecting jazz-rock fusion a la Mahivishnu Orchestra or Return To Forever, but this was more jazz-rock like If or Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express. Bearing this in mind I could appreciate the rocking ‘Goin’ Home’ and for what it was, and when ‘Crazy Boys’ fills some of its nine minutes with some outstanding guitar and sax interplay then it is a bonus. ‘Nostalgic Blues’ starts off as another jazzy rocker, but it does contain some stunning guitar-work which lifts it above much of the other material on here. The title track is an atmospheric piece which incorporates native Australian instruments, and once again features some superb guitar-work, and just to be perverse, the track with the least promising title – ‘Boogie Woogie Waltz’ – turns out to be the jazz-rock fusion highlight of the album. ‘Getting Out Of The Country’ closes the album in great style, with yet more outstanding guitar-work, and so after an uncertain start this turns out to be a very enjoyable album – even more so considering that all of the tracks are live, taped over two nights in Melbourne in September 1974, and yet the playing is so tight that you don’t realize it until the audience applauds. At the moment it is only available as an expensive import, but hopefully it will appear on CD over here in the near future as it is definitely worth a listen.