This is a look at Australian country music, from bush ballads and yodeling oldies to country-rock and outlaw twang, and even some more modern Top Forty artists. This includes artists from both Australian and New Zealand, though there's a separate Kiwi Country section which has a lot of overlap. There's a ton of twang Down Under, and I'm pretty sure I'm only scratching the surface, so I welcome any recommendations, additions or corrections.
This page covers the letter "D."
Coral Dasey "Listen To A Country Song" (CM Records, 19--?) (LP)
The lone album by songwriter/poet Coral Dasey (1940-2017), who grew up in the Surry Hills suburb of Sydney, near where the Opera House now stands. She was the daughter of Australian film composer George Dasey, some of whose own compositions were included here. This album showcases four of her songs, four of his, and one song they wrote together, an homage so a fellow Aussie country singer, "Buddy Williams At The Opera House." The album rounds out its all-Australian content with additional offerings by Johnny Ashcroft, Mack Cormack and Eric Watson... Musically, this sounds surprisingly haphazard, or at least somewhat chaotically produced. Dasey's folkie, somewhat Baez-like vocals have a halting, uneven feel, and the band is mixed in pretty hot, which accentuates the note-happy quality of some of the accompaniment. She also seems to be double-tracked on some songs, although she doesn't keep in very tight harmony with herself, adding another layer to the amateurishness of the production. Nonetheless, this is a very sincere and traditionally-oriented country set, and in a sense the rough feel on the technical end adds to its authenticity. Backing Coral Dasey are Ray Campbell on bass, John Bliss (drums), Doug Hall (lead guitar), Lindsay Butler (lead guitar), Ken Kitching (pedal steel), and additional steel work from Lance Clarke.
Trevor Day "Strummin' This Old Guitar" (Columbia Records, 1961) (LP)
Trevor Day "Boy Soldier" (Hadley Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Eric W. Scott)
Trevor Day "On The Road Of Life" (Hadley Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Eric W. Scott)
This album was a tribute to Australian country singer Buddy Williams... The band seems to have drawn on the studio crew at Hadley records, with Norm Bodkin on pedal steel, Bob Clark (bass), Lawrence Minson (dobro), Peter Groth (bass), Glenn Green (bass), and Bruce Field playing drums...
Trevor Day "My Country Song" (Hadley Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Eric W. Scott)
Trevor Day "Wisdom, Wit And Wiles" (Hadley Records, 1995)
(Produced by Eric W. Scott)
Denva "Livin' In The West" (Nationwide Records, 1977-?) (LP)
(Produced by Malcolm Hay)
A longhaired country band from Melbourne, with a largely American-covers repertoire... The group included drummer Nigel Atkins, Bill Epema on pedal steel, Karan Johns (bass), Susan Johns (lead vocals), and Kerran Keats (guitar), with all the bandmembers chiming in on vocals. I'm not sure when this album came out -- there's no date on the album -- but they appeared on the 1979 live compilation album WANDONG COUNTRY, so this probably was released shortly before or after the Wandong concert... which is also consistent with their vaguely Fleetwood Mac-ish look. (Also, the nearest catalog number I could find from the Nationwide label was from 1977...)
Chris Duffy "Self Portrait" (Larrikin Records, 1979) (LP)
Perhaps the Australian equivalent of Bela Fleck, eclectic banjoist Chris Duffy (1948-2012) was born in Germany but migrated to Australia as a teen and soon established himself as one of the country's top-tier banjo pickers, touring with numerous country artists and playing on countless albums. Duffy was a major promoter of bluegrass music in Australia, touring nationally as well as setting up tours for American pickers such as Dan Crary, Mark O'Connor, and Byron Berline, who he also recorded with... Duffy's career was sidelined by a motorcycle accident in the 1990s, but as he recovered he took up
Chris Duffy "Keep On Pickin' " (Larrikin Records, 1977) (LP)
Chris Duffy "Down Yonder" (Larrikin Records, 1980) (LP)
Chris Duffy "Bullants In Bushland" (Larrikin Records, 1982) (LP)
Chris Duffy "Ambidextrous: Bluegrass, Bach And Bebop" (Larrikin Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Chris Duffy & Brian Mawer)
A spacegrass-y collaboration with bassist Dave Clayton and legendary American fiddler Byron Berline, covering folk and bluegrass standards such as "Blackberry Blossom" and "Katy Hill," as well as jazzy stuff by David Grisman, Scott Joplin, Charlie Parker and Fats Waller and a number of baroque pieces by Bach and Mozart, with a cover of Mason Williams' "Classical Gas" to split the difference.
Chris Duffy "Banjo Time" (2011)
Big Mike Durney "Country Style" (Impact Records, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Bruce Barton, Garth Benfell & Benny Levin)
Slim Dusty - see artist discography
