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Jan 2006 THE iTunes DOWNLOAD CHAMP from Country & Wilson is "Rockabilly Women"!!!!!!!! Europe, US, Oz - all agree this is the essential Ross Wilson track for your ipod. June/July 2004 - STILL FIRING Tracks from Country & Wilson are receiving airplay on the worldwide affiliated stations of Global Radio Network. Best action is in Germany, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Italy, UK, Ireland, & starting to show up in the good old USA. Most played = "Rockabilly Women". 13 October 2003 Country & Wilson enters the official ARIA Top 20 Australian Country Artists chart at #13 Ross Wilson is an Australian music heavyweight and Country & Wilson is a major addition to an already impressive musical landscape and a songline that begins with Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock then hits its stride in the 21st century with his solo releases, the roots trilogy Go Bongo Go Wild!, Now Listen! The Best Of Ross Wilson, and Country & Wilson. Country & Wilson demonstrates the pervasive influence of country & folk music that was hinted at in earlier RW classics like Come Back Again & Bed Of Nails. This album goes a long way toward completing the revealing of RW's fundamental musical sources & uses this genre's accent on story-telling & finely honed lyrics to produce some of his most insightful work. Co-produced with Nash Chambers (Kasey Chambers' brother/producer) Country & Wilson reflects Ross's own experiences & beliefs from the humourous '(I Was On) MTV In The 80s', tales of lost love such as 'Nothin's Right Nothin's Wrong', the politics of 'No Soul', to family history 'Under The Waves (And Far Away)'. With backing provided by some of Australia's country scene's finest twangers, on this album you get the best of both kinds of music, Country AND Wilson. Dig these Album Notes by Jeff Turnbull www.jeffscrossroadblues.com.au Country & Wilson.... surely there's a mistake here - someone tell me that Aussie Rock legend Ross Wilson hasn't gone Country! It has to be Rock & Wilson or Blues & Wilson as the title for his new release, so someone must have got this tragically wrong! But no.... it's TRUE - the man whose inspired guitar riffs set us rocking to the great Daddy Cool of the 70's and Mondo Rock in the 80's has recorded and released his long anticipated follow up to the highly successful Now Listen! The Best of Ross Wilson and it does draw on his past and present Country influences. It certainly marks something of a contrast for Ross and his music - or does it? He has been acknowledging his musical roots for quite some time now and this is in fact, another giant step along that road. I once asked Ross whether he has plans to write and publish an autobiography and his answer - perhaps a little surprising to me at the time - was an emphatic "NO" - instead, he intends to celebrate his musical journey through his song writing and recording. So, true to his word, he has added a further chapter with this next instalment in the Ross Wilson story, an album of songs which show yet another influence along the way towards creating that catalogue of songs in a portfolio now spanning four decades. Many of these which were number one chart hits, including "Come Said The Boy", Hi Honey Ho", "Come Back Again" and "Chemistry", are now bona fide Rock classics and like the greatest of them all "Eagle Rock", they are most definitely here to stay. With this newly completed labour-of-love CD on the stands, he took the stage at the recent Melbourne International Music and Blues Festival and in the mid-afternoon sun, gave the pumped audience of 11,000 fans a taste of the album for the first time. As with every project that Ross has dabbled in over time, Country and Wilson is a carefully considered string of tracks and he has taken care to draw on the wide variety of styles within the genre, from gentle Country/blues ballads to foot-stomping rockabilly to Slim Dusty-inspired Aussie bush ballad. From the opening track "Some Of These Blues", Ross' distinctive styling shines through as the fiddle of Mick Albeck provides the Country connection for this Wilson/Colin Talbot upbeat song about the "down" periods in his life. Co-produced with Nash Chambers, a number of superb musicians add their talents as songwriters and/or musicians on many of the tracks. "Nothin's Right, Nothin's Wrong" with Stuart French's superb guitar is a powerful track Ross has been including in his stage set for some time. Paul Kelly makes his contribution as co-writer with the slower, more reflective "It Matters To Me" which features Shane O'Mara's guitar work with Bruce Haymes on keyboards. "No Soul" goes old-timey thanks to Gerry Hale's fiddle, taking the listener off in yet another direction. The only cover included is Hank Williams', Country/Gospel standard, "The Angel Of Death" to which Ross gives his own sombrely powerful treatment and in doing so brings Hank's spirit back to life and breathing again. There are some surprises along the way and "(I Was On) MTV In The '80's" with its chugging guitar introduction is one. It is very infectious - try getting the tune out of your head after you've heard it once or twice! True to his word again, he continues to open up his musical and personal journey in the songs he writes and this one is probably as ironically autobiographical as it gets, telling how he knew he had "made it" when he saw himself on U.S. MTV and then as a trivia question on "Sale Of The Century". Drums on this track are supplied by another MTV graduate, former Crowded House drummer Paul Hester. Ross's long-time song-writing partner Eris O'Brien adds his acoustic guitar skills and vocal harmonies on several tracks and his "Like A Cross" is a pleasantly, mournful Country/Folk ballad. Another excellent inclusion. Shane O'Mara's haunting guitar is a feature of the moody "Don't Say You Didn't Mean It". "Under The Waves (And Far Away)" tells the tale of the discovery of the wreck of the iron clipper, "Loch Ard" resting on the seabed off Port Campbell's rugged Shipwreck Coast in Victoria. Then, "Rockabilly Women" goes full-tilt into piano-pumping, '50s Rockabilly with veteran session man, Ricky Fataar occupying the drum seat & James Black the Steinway. Try standing still as you listen - I bet you can't! Time for another surprise - "slimdusty.com" provides a further unexpected twist. It's both a "Pub With No Beer" - style tribute to the Aussie Country legend and a send up in one song, hitting on the irony of our oldest musical icon coupled with the newest technology - the Internet and MP3. The feel of this song is vintage Slim complete with genuine vinyl hiss and crackle - beautiful. It's still got me smiling! Ross Wilson has again produced an album of quality, substance and variety with plenty of foot-tapping tracks which aren't just listen-once songs. We never lose sight of the fact that it is distinctively Ross Wilson & another insight into his talents as a songwriter and song-interpreter. Each track has a place on what is a truly excellent album and it completes the RW collection that takes us on a musical journey through the influences which have served to mould the man into the performer that he now is. Well... if this is Country, I'm now a willing convert! Check out the artist's website: http://www.rosswilson.com.au Track List: 1. Some Of These Blues 2. Nothin's Right Nothin's Wrong 3. It Matters To Me 4. Under The Waves (And Far Away) 5. The Angel Of Death 6. No Soul 7. (I Was On) MTV In The 80s 8. Like A Cross 9. Don't Say You Didn't Mean It 10. Time Destroys (As Well As Heals) 11. Rockabilly Women 12. slimdusty.com Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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