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 "F."
F Troop Groop "Everybody's Makin' It Big But U.S." (Nationwide Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Mad Mal Ray)
This is kind of a nutty record, or at least a nutty-looking one. I mean, it just is. I guess these guys were big fans of the American TV comedy "F Troop," not only naming themselves after the show, but also somehow also procuring cavalry uniforms to pose in for their photo shoot. Then there's the album title's creative use of grammar, specifically the sic-worthy punctuation in "U.S." -- did they mean the United States wasn't making it big? Did they know something we don't know? Anyway, the band included Theo Delleyman (lead vocals, bass guitar), Ken Hutchison (lead guitar), Jimmy Kirby (fiddle), Scotty Marshall (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), and George Saville (drums) working their way through a mix of country oldies ("Honky Tonkin'," "I Know You're Married But I Love You Still") a few bluegrass/old timey tunes ("Bile Them Cabbage Down," "Windy And Warm") and some other stuff that may have been originals, such as the title track, "Everybody's Makin' It Big But Me." This was recorded at a studio in Adelaide, though sadly there's no indication of the year.
The Flying Circus "The Flying Circus" (EMI Records, 1969) (LP)
The Flying Circus "Prepared In Peace" (EMI Records, 1970) (LP)
The Flying Emus "Look Out Below" (Larrikin Records, 1985) (LP)
Mike Fox "Country Boy's Memories" (Bunyip Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bosco Bosanac)
I'm not entirely sure where honkytonk singer Mike Fox was from... He says he learned to love country music after listening to the Grand Ole Opry as a kid, so it's possible he was an American expat, though this was definitely an Australian record. The backing band included two members of a fabled early 'Sixties Aussie surf band called the Atlantics -- bandleader Bosco Bosanac (on bass, dobro and pedal steel) and piano plunker Theo Penglis -- along with fiddler Kornel Banks, bassist Robert Haanstra, and guitar picker Alistair McPherson who generate a large amount of deep twang as "The Tennessee Ramblers." Mike Fox's vocals may be a little off-putting at first, but he fits pretty squarely in the same slot as adenoidal oddballs such as Dick Feller or Don Bowman, and he can definitely grow on you. A nice set of unpretentious heartfelt twang from the way down under... Apparently Mr. Fox eventually retired in the UK, so I have no idea what his whole story was about. I like the record, though!
Mike Fox "Sister Cities" (Bunyip Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Bosco Bosanac, Alec Duyser & Peter Hood)
Another set of true twang tunes, with a lot of overlap in the backing band from Fox's first album. This was recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, in Sydney (which I assume was Bruno Bosanac's own company) with Bosanac once again anchoring the sessions, along with Theo Penglis, Alistair McPherson and Kornel Banks, as well as several "new" pickers: Chris Cairns, Robert Haanstra, Bernie Hammarlund and Rainor Webb, and various and sundry others. Half the album's songs were written by Mike Fox, joined by several other tracks of Australian pedigree, as well as covers of Merle Haggard's "Swinging Doors" and James Taylor's "Bartender Blues." Sounds good to me!
