Known as one of Tasmania’s (and Australia’s) premier guitarists, Pete Cornelius has just released his 10th album, the aptly named Southern.
Opening track, Cruikshank is an epic, sprawling tale about the tragic fate of the MV Blythe Star which foundered off of the SW coast of Tasmania in 1973. The song is an homage to the human spirit and the will to survive against insurmountable odds. The story had struck a chord with Cornelius following some discussion with fellow Tasmanian musician and good friend, Jed Pickett and a subsequent listen to a podcast about the ship and its’ ultimate misfortune. As Cornelius says “the story resonated with me so deeply that it stayed on my mind for days afterward. The now chorus line “Oh Captain Cruickshank, three sheets to the wind” echoed in my thoughts like a haunting refrain, capturing the essence of both the captain’s plight and the raw unpredictability of the sea“.
Following on from this are two of the previously released singles, Sick Of This Town a and the Tom Waits-inspired Sump Oil City along with On The Road, a sequence of songs that draw from lived-life experiences and observations from Cornelius’s many and varied travels during time spent on the road.
Hot On The Heels is a paean to the age old question of how couples first meet, and this is the delightful lyrical tale of how he was to meet his wife. He says, somewhat cheekily “….I met my now wife many times at gigs before we got together. Lots of great, sometimes persistent mutual friends, oh and her admirable CD collection sure helped sign the deal”.
Devil In The Company Car is a fictional tale of “Jimmy Brown”, who after 40 years of work in a somewhat mundane office job, finally cracks under the pressure and goes wild, reminding us of the thin line between routine and rebellion.
The album is rounded out by Pete’s takes on two songs by artists he admires, Don Walker’s Everybody and Mia Dyson’s Any Three Chords which are split by the barrelhouse sounds of Greasy RNRNB (a song which came to him whilst he was out surfing and waiting to catch a wave) and Troubled Mind, another deeper show of his inner feelings for his wife.
Pete Cornelius has dug deep within, in creating Southern. The focus on the blues, his stock genre, gives way to a more introspective and thoughtful take, and leans more heavily on his Americana inclinations. His playing (guitar) is as wonderfully luscious as ever, but tends to shorter, more tasteful licks, leaving the listener with a more intense desire to discover the lyrical, and emotional content rather than waiting for a searing solo or extended jam with the band.
A significant proportion of the album was played by Pete Cornelius himself. Whilst known for his outstanding guitar playing and smooth vocal delivery, he also played drums, bass, piano, banjo, mandolin, pedal steel, lap steel, percussion and organ throughout the 10 tracks
The album also features some of Tasmania’s finest appearing alongside him on different tracks, including the likes of Ange Boxall, Claire Anne Taylor and Susannah Coleman-Brown on background vocals, Beau Thomas, Henry Nichols and Luke Young on drums, Randall Muir on Hammond Organ and piano, Matt Fell (various instruments) and Nick Nugent and Mick Ellis on saxophones.
Southern is available on both vinyl and CD here via Pete’s website, along with the rest of his catalogue. Vinyl and CD copies can also be purchased from Tommy Gun Records (Elizabeth St, Hobart) and Avenue Records (Brisbane St, Launceston).
