Gil Matthews’ Aztec Records label’s latest release features historic live recordings of the band Ariel.
Mike Rudd and Bill Putt formed Ariel after the breakup of Spectrum. Spectrum had the classic hit ‘I’ll Be Gone’.
These newly uncovered recordings feature Harvey James on guitar, immediately before he left in 1976 to join Sherbet. Harbey was on the Ariel albums ‘Rock & Roll Scars’ (1975) and ‘Goodnight Fiona’ (1976). Harvey played on three tracks of Sherbet’s ‘Howzat’ album including the title track. Ariel then broke up in July 1977.
On his socials Gil Matthews posted, “Well after a long wait, Aztec Records is proud to announce the release of one of the Australia’s best bands.
“This is ARIEL at its best. Harvey James guitar playing is on a world class level and Nigel’s drum sounds are just incredible.
“Adding to that Bill Putt, Glyn Mason and of course the guy who writes these incredible songs…….Mike Rudd.
“This goes down as the best LIVE stuff I’ve ever heard from ARIEL and the playing and performance has no match. A world class performance, that deserves a statement like….”holy shit that’s mighty, turn it up”
“The first CD of this package is from a live to air concert in Sydney 1975 and the second CD live from the Station Hotel which has been released before, EXCEPT that the other versions have the songs in the wrong key and have phasing problems which have been fixed.
“Considering that this recording is 50 years old, it is a testament to an amazing Australian band that played and wrote some fantastic songs.”
At the Aztec Records site it says:
On Digitally Remastered Double CD collection, Aztec Records presents three magnificent concerts from ARIEL, encompassing the years 1975, 1976 and 1997. This is the second in the Aztec “Live Adventures of…” series – after Madder Lake – with many more to follow…
Specifically, “The Live Adventures of Ariel” continues to explore the works of the visionary and redoubtable Mike Rudd, with Aztec having previously reissued the landmark Spectrum albums Part One and Milesago, Indelible Murtceps’ ‘Warts Up Your Nose’, Spectrum Indelible Murtceps’ Testimonial and Ariel’s Rock & Roll Scars.The musical journey that took Mike Rudd from R&B fanatic with 1960s garage rock champions Chants R&B through the 1970s glory days of Spectrum and Ariel onto elder statesmanship of the Australian music scene, is surely one of the most remarkable in this country. This is the man who gave the nation the enduring #1 hit single ‘I’ll be Gone’, a song that has become so ingrained in the collective Australian psyche as to be accepted unconditionally and universally, surely the sign of a truly great composition.
From 1973 to 1977 Ariel was one of the hardest working bands on the Australian pub rock circuit, and at the top tier on the Melbourne band scene. Featuring Rudd, stalwart bassist Bill Putt, inspirational lead guitarist Harvey James, fellow songwriter Glyn Mason and dynamic drummer John Lee (replaced by Nigel Macara), the band consistently fronted “Full House” signs wherever they played. Rudd says: “We were a typically hard-working band, and we would do that whole pub and club circuit. Sometimes we’d fit in three gigs in a night. I think the thing we can say about these recordings is that it emphasises the fact that we always played at a consistent standard. We didn’t really have bad gigs, in the sense that the band was being careless.”
These concerts bristle with exciting moments, the band capable of delivering no-frills, guitar-driven, hard rock with the likes of ‘We are Indelible’, ‘Keep on Dancing (With Me)’, ‘Rock & Roll Scars’, ‘Worm Turning Blues’ and ‘Real Meanie’, as well as reworking Spectrum classics such as ‘What the World Needs is a New Pair of Socks’ and ‘I’ll be Gone’. There’s also the 10-minute ‘Mutant Medley’ from the (at the time) aborted Jellabad Mutant project. The concert venues sourced are the Station Hotel, Prahran (1975), Studio 221, Darlinghurst (1976) and a reunion gig from the Continental, Prahran (1997).ighlights
This double CD features Digitally Remastered sound by Gil Matthews, and 12-page booklet containing a fresh interview with Mike Rudd in which he discusses all things Ariel-related.
Three magnificent concerts from ARIEL: the Station Hotel, Prahran (1975), Studio 221, Darlinghurst (1976) and a reunion gig from the Continental, Prahran (1997).
Includes ‘We are Indelible’, ‘Keep on Dancing’, ‘Rock & Roll Scars’, ‘Worm Turning Blues’ and the Spectrum classic ‘I’ll be Gone’
“The Live Adventures of Ariel” is a must-have for fans of Classic Aussie Rock…
Get the album here https://www.aztecrecords.com.au/products/avscd097
Track Listing
CD 1
Live at Studio 221, Darlinghurst, 16/3/76
1. TRAIN SONG
2. WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS IS A NEW PAIR OF SOCKS
3. WE ARE INDELIBLE
4. KEEP ON DANCING (With Me)
5. TAKE ME FOR A RIDE
6. RED WING
7. NEO-EXISTENTIALIST GREENS/MEDICINE MAN/THE LETTER SONG/USE YOUR IMAGINATION
8. CYPHERLAND BLUES
9. RED HOT MOMMA
10. ROCK & ROLL SCARS
Live at The Continental, Prahran, 5/9/97
11. MEN IN GREY RAINCOATS
12. IF IT WASN’T FOR YOU
13. (I Am The) LAUGHING MAN
14. SOME GOOD ADVICE
15. WORM TURNING BLUES
16. CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHOPATHIC COWPOKE
17. REAL MEANIE
18. JAMAICAN FAREWELL
CD 2
Live at The Station Hotel, Prahran, 11/11/75
1.TRAIN SONG
2. WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS IS A NEW PAIR OF SOCKS
3. WE ARE INDELIBLE
4. KEEP ON DANCING (With Me)
5. I CAN’T SAY WHAT I MEAN
6.CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHOPATHIC COWPOKE
7. CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE AGAIN
8. NEO-EXISTENTIALIST GREENS/MEDICINE MAN/THE LETTER SONG/USE YOUR IMAGINATION
9. (I Am) THE LAUGHING MAN
10. ROCK & ROLL SCARS
11.RED HOT MOMMA
12. SOME GOOD ADVICE
13. I’LL BE GONE
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