Before and after Hollywood (two friends of Rachel Worth recommend the Go-Betweens)

„Dressed in a white shirt with my hair combed straight
Here in my black shoes and me without a date
Me without hindsight, me without
When will change come, just like spring rain“

As someone who lived on Lovers Lane, 16 from start on, the summer of 1981 and 1982 in the Northern area of the Bavarian Wood, not so far away from the town where Robert found the love of his life, as someone who bought a single of the GoBe‘s in the Rough Trade record shop in Notting Hill, besides a single from Aztec Camera, in December 1982, well, well, they become lifers, life‘s company, all of these records. Two killer songs on their raw, punky, garage rock of their debut album were enough to know, this band would stay with me. „16, Lovers Lane“ got a bad review in Spex“, the German rock magazine who celebrated them from earl years on, but they were wrong – be careful with experts! Activating my critical eye, here is my highly sober rating of them all:

Send Me A Lullaby (1981) – ***
Before Hollywood (1983) – ****
Spring Hill Fair (1984) – *****
Liberty Belle and The Black Diamond Express (1985) – *****
Tallulah (1987) – ***
16, Lovers Lane (1988) – *****
The Friends Of Rachel Worth (2000) – ***1/2
Bright Yellow, Bright Orange (2003) – ****
Ocean‘s Apart (2005) – ****1/2


Thomas Pannhorsts Liste:

Send Me A Lullaby (1981) – ***
Before Hollywood (1983) – ****
Spring Hill Fair (1984) – *****
Liberty Belle and The Black Diamond Express (1985) – ****1/2
Tallulah (1987) – ***
16, Lovers Lane (1988) – *****
The Friends Of Rachel Worth (2000) – ***1/2
Bright Yellow, Bright Orange (2003) – ****
Ocean‘s Apart (2005) – *****

Seit den frühen 1980er Jahren begegnet mir immer wieder der Name Mat Snow. Ein Musikjournalist meiner Generation, und wir waren uns bei vielen Alben absolut einig. Unvergesslich, sein persönlicher Zugang zur Musik, der nie die musikhistorische Absicherung im Visier hatte. Danmals, 1983, kannte kaum jemand The Go-Betweens, als er für den NME das zweite Werk des Trios aus Brisbane besprach.

„From The sleeve‘s studious allusion to Dylan‘s 1965 covers to the final dedication „to our parents“, this record looks back to the past – childhood, lost love, and lost Utopias. These are fragile feelings, hard to express, but The Go-Betweens fly straight to the heart with passion and intelligence. „Before Hollywood“ contains some of the most beautiful music I‘ve ever heard.“