Untitled

Rip It Up, Issue 41, 1 December 1980, Page 10

In June this year when Aussie rock’n’roll media could be expected to focus almost solely on the new albums by the Angels and Cold Chisel, newcomers the Flowers released their first single, ‘Can’t Help Myself' on Regular records. It was a hit. ‘Can't Help Myself' is not foolish pop music, it's simple, cool and distinctive eighties pop and fortunately it got the TV, radio and press coverage it deserved. On Regular Records (the Mental As Anything label), the 45 was produced by Regular producer Cameron Allan. The company showed its commitment to the song by pressing it as a 10 inch 45. On one side is an edited version and on the flip is an extended version and ‘Send Somebody’. Sweetwaters With the single on the NZ charts, the band playing Sweetwaters and their debut album released, Rip It Up spoke to Iva Davies, the Flowers’ singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is not worried about the band getting an unwanted 'commercial pop’ label. "The next single, 'We Can Get Together' is a lot less poppy than ‘Can’t Help Myself’ and none of our other songs have a disco flavour. "In Australia we are well known on a live basis. Most people know us by our live act and judge us by that." Davies wanted the 10 inch disc as he didn't want to waste the song. "It was a special effort for our very first single. It did attract a fair bit of attention because it was a 10 inch single. I guess it worked, as usually first singles are passed over. I think that’s a waste of a song.” For Icehouse the producers, Cameron Allan and Davies himself, remixed ‘Can't Help Myself. I for one prefer the sparse original, but Davies sees the album’s sound as being “a lot more full.” "The album is a lot richer. There is a lot more in it.”

For those of you who have been thinking about the mixing of the two versions on the 10 inch single, Davies denies that there is any difference. "The extended version is not a different mix, it's just not edited.” To confuse matters, Davies reminds me that the live version is different again. "More ska," I think were the words he used. Live The Flowers are Iva Davies, John Lloyd (drums), Anthony Smith (keyboards) and Keith Welsh (bass). They are well known on the Oz pub scene. They started in Sydney as a covers only band, earning themselves the label ‘new wave jukebox’ though their repertoire extended from T. Rex to 'Pretty Vacant’. Our very own Johnny Volume once described Flowers as "a Sydney band, doing neat T. Rex covers”. In Australia the 60 minute weekly music show Countdown (equivalent to Ready To Roll) is crucial for bands to get to an audience beyond the live circuit. The Flowers video was very effective. The band edge their way through the song, not directly lit but surrounded by a blaze of coloured neons. Did the band contribute ideas to the video? "No," says Davies, when you do something like that you just go along with their set-up. It's their show.” On stage it of course is their show. The set list a few months back was remarkably similar to the Icehouse track listing plus a couple of covers and the singles' B sides. Live, frontman Davies dominates, his vocals and effective guitar playing focus the band while the ever creative rhythm section, Welsh and Lloyd, drive the band. For me, sometimes the keyboards add but often they detract from the arrangements. Their encore at Chequers was rightly introduced as "a song by one of the best Australian bands ever.” They delivered a powerful version of Easybeats’ finest two minutes 32 seconds, ‘Sorry’. A great encore. Their material is diverse, as their performance or Icehouse prove.

Big Vinyl Like the Toy Love album, Icehouse was recorded at the EMI Sydney Studio 301. It took three weeks to record. Some mixing took place later. The album is a bit of a surprise. Keyboards are more dominant than live and ’Song', 'Nothing To Do' and ‘Not My Kind' allow Davies to flaunt his ability to sing respectively a la Bowie, a la Reed and a la Numan. Very curious. Davies explains: ‘‘Every song is a product of a shortlived fascination with one area of music or another, I That’s why the songs are so different. "I haven't been writing songs that long. We’ve covered a lot of ground, moving quickly. Flowers have just completed an eight week (tour of Australia. They are still on the move January they play Sweetwaters.

Murray Cammick