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 "S."
Saltbush "At Twin Rivers" (Rainbird Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Ian McKenzie & Larry Murray)
Saltbush "Saltbush" (EMI Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Moffatt, Jerry Nixon & Graham Owens)
Kevin Shegog "Today" (W&G Records, 19--?) (LP)
Kevin Shegog "Great Country And Western Songs" (W&G Records) (LP)
(Produced by Russ Thomson)
Kevin Shegog "Ballad Of A Hillbilly Singer" (W&G Records) (CD)
Jean Stafford "Flowers For Mama" (Hadley Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Eric W. Scott)
An excellent debut album from a rootsy country traditionalist who really won me over... On the opening tracks, she seems like a Kitty Wells type, with a direct bridge to the persistently old-fashioned vibe of the bush-ballad scene, except that Stafford didn't cling to the western motifs and regionalisms that dominated early Aussie twang. Instead, she sang sentimental heartsongs, gospel tunes and Hank Williams covers, all with a plaintive simplicity and directness that becomes quite compelling. There's a strong vocal likeness to Loretta Lynn, though it's as if Loretta had never chosen to modernize, and instead stuck to a Depression-era repertoire; a more modern comparison might be to altie-auteur Gillian Welch. Born in Latrobe, Tasmania, Jean Stafford cut her first records as a teen, backing singer Dusty Rankin in the 1960s...She went on to become one of Australia's most popular singers of the 1970s and continued to record throughout the 'Eighties. She's crisply backed here by a studio band made up of "usual suspects" from the Hadley Records stable: fiddler Chris Bettle, Norm Bodkin (pedal steel), Bob Clark (lead guitar), Frank Jones (rhythm guitar), Alan Lisle (bass), John Minson ( harmonica) and Tom Roach on drums... There are a few instrumental flourishes, but mostly they are content to lean back and keep it simple; it's kind of like having a half-dozen Norman Blakes backing Loretta Lynn. Nice stuff!
Jean Stafford "Jean Stafford" (Hadley Records, 1975) (LP)
Jean Stafford "I'll Sing You A Country Song" (Hadley Records, 1977) (LP)
Jean Stafford "Hello Love" (Hadley Records, 1979) (LP)
Jean Stafford "Born Again" (Hadley Records, 1980)
Jean Stafford "Burning Bright" (EMI Records, 1987)
Jean Stafford "Classic Jean Stafford" (Rich River Records, 1990)
Jean Stafford "That Says It All" (Dino Records, 1992)
Jean Stafford "Tassie's Got It All" (Sony Records, 1995)
Jean Stafford "Let The Dance Begin" (Peer Records, 2005)
Jean Stafford "The Golden Voice Of Country" (Universal Records, 2015)
Lucky Starr - see artist discography
