The history of popular music is full of stories of bright young men who decided to build a recording studio and give musicians they favored a chance to be heard.
Martin Clarke
was better at this than most of his peers -- he was just 21 when he opened the first professional recording studio in Perth, Western Australia, and soon after he founded
Clarion Records
, one of the nation's first independent rock & roll labels, which released over 120 singles between 1962 and 1978.
Clarke
had a good ear, too, releasing plenty of fine rock, pop, and R&B sides during the label's lifetime, and
The Clarion Set
is a three-CD package that features over 85 of their most memorable tracks.
, who was also a radio DJ, had a keen sense of what was cool throughout the label's history, and
is also a good reflection of the shifting tides of rock music through the 1960s and early '70s, as the music evolves from sharp beat groups (
the Times
, "Glad Not Sad") and rip-roaring rockers (
Ray Hoff & the Off Beats
, "Bama Lama Bama Loo") to such sophisticated sounds as smart pop (
Terry Walker with the High Five
, "Long Time Gone") and folk-rock (
Maggie Hammond
, "Go Laddie," a different title for the classic "Wild Mountain Thyme") enter the picture. The tougher guitar sound and distorted vocals of
Johnny Young
's "Hold On" suggests the onset of psychedelia, which appears fully formed on "King of the Mountain" by
the Proclamation
, with the garage rock pleasures of
Chris James
' "Da Doo Ron Ron" still part of the mix.
Bobby Snowden
's "Sunshine Rides on a Trolly" is just as much of a sunshine pop tune as you'd expect, and
Colin Cook
gives "Riot in Cell Block Number 9" a bluesy spin that recalls early
Yardbirds
. "Sunshine River" by
Gemini
is vocal harmony pop that suggests the edgier side of the psych era was starting to wane, as does the jazzy piano of
Strawberry Fair
's cover of "Things We Said Today."
Fatty Lumpkin
's "Got to Get Back t' My Nellie" is the definition of '70s rock with its boogie rhythms and
Jethro Tull
-ish flute feature, and "Mr. Won't You Help Me" by
Chalice
shows that hard rock was coming into picture. "Boogaloo Down Broadway" by
Soul Purpose
confirmed they were listening to American soul and R&B in the Antipodes, and they were liking it. If
's tastes and production style favored the polished over the raw, he knew a good band when he heard one and could get their qualities on tape with skill and clarity. For folks well versed in Australian rock,
will offer a solid summation of a great independent label of the '60s and '70, and neophytes will discover a pleasing variety of great music from a scene that was very lively before folks outside the continent caught on. ~ Mark Deming