The Go-Betweens: Bellavista Terrace ---Ink Blot Magazine

The Go-Betweens: Bellavista Terrace

at a glance...

Hometown: Brisbane, Australia
Year Formed: 1977

Personnel:
Robert Forster -vocals, guitar
Grant McLennan -vocals, guitar, bass
Lindy Morrison -drums
Robert Vickers -bass
Amanda Brown -violin, oboe, backing vocals
John Wilsteed - bass, guitar
Guests:
Dean Speedwell -keyboards
Audrey Riley, Chris Tomlin, Sally Herbert, Sue Dench -strings
Tracy Thorn and Anna Da Silva -vocals

Related Artists:
G.W. McLennan, Robert Forster, Jack Frost, Sleater-Kinney, Quasi

Notes:
When Robert Forster and Grant McLennan founded The Go-Betweens in the socially and meteorologically oppressive environs of Brisbane, Australia in 1977, they were at odds with both the corrupt, macho prevailing culture and the heavy-rocking example of hometown punk heros the Saints. Their early material reflected their shared interest in foreign films, NY punk, Jonathan Richman, Bob Dylan, and The Monkees. By the time they moved to England in 1982, they had digested these influences into a sophisticated style that was as out of step with the glib '80s pop scene as they had been back home. The group broke up as the '80s drew to a close, exhausted after recording over a half dozen albums that were far more splendid than their sales let on. McLennan and Forster still tour as an acoustic duo, but do their best to leave the band's name off the bill. But after a world tour in 1999 they chose to repaired to Portland, Oregon to record a new record under their old name.

The Go-Betweens
Bellavista Terrace: Best Of The Go-Betweens
Beggars Banquet, Released 1998

Do I celebrate this 14 song collection of should-have-been-hits for what it is, or condemn it for what it's not? In a career whose fruits included nearly a hundred splendid songs that ranged from the austerely gorgeous "Cattle And Cane" to the baroque, seething "The House That Jack Kerouac Built," it's inevitable that every fan will look at this compilation and grumble that their favorite obscurity wasn't included.

They can bolster their case by pointing out that Beggars Banquet neglected to include the often fabulous b-sides that adorned the Go-Betweens' singles when they reissued their catalog two years ago, and clinch it by pointing out that Capitol's out-of-print collection 1978-1990 did a much better job of gathering together just that material. But they have all that stuff already - this record is for curious newcomers.

It starts its appointed mission off on the wrong foot by beginning with "Was There Anything I Could Do?" - the song's great, driving arrangement is spiked with lurid lyrics that scared off one novice to whom I played it. But after that gaffe the CD settles down to a career-spanning overview that ought to seduce many open-minded listeners by giving them a survey of the vivid, ascerbic writing and swooning melodies that made the Go-Betweens great.

So get it for someone you know who still likes songs, or simply pick up one of the albums recommended below for a more organic, coherent expression of the band's brilliance.

If you like The Go-Betweens, check out:
Robert Forster Warm Nights
G.W. McLennan Watershed
The Verlaines Bird Dog
The Go-Betweens The Friends Of Rachel Worth
The Go-Betweens Before Hollywood
The Go Betweens Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
The Go-Betweens 16 Lovers Lane

-- Bill Meyer

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