Happy first true Sunday scaries of senior year! What better way to celebrate this moment and procrastinate my three 20-minute assignments than to hop on here and write away.
It all started two weeks ago when I set my eyes on the piles of CDs in my parents’ basement. What a spectacular way to appreciate some great music how god created it: on a piece of plastic with mysterious ripples on it. I faced much contemplation, like “How are there so many beautiful albums I haven’t listened to yet? Is there even enough time in the world for me to appreciate them all? I don’t even have a working CD player.”
That is… up until 2 weeks ago. Naturally, I robbed my family of 20 of the most interesting titles, took a couple minutes perusing through Facebook Marketplace, and now there is a mini boombox actively spinning tunes on my dresser. Since I’m too lazy to change out CDs and I think I picked a pretty spectacular first disk, I’ve been listening to one album on repeat.
“What could this album possibly be?”, you may ask. Well, Will Ferrell had it right in “The Other Guys” when he would only play one artist in his little red Toyota Prius: Little River Band. Prior to this little LRB listening episode I’ve been having, I really only knew “Reminiscing” and thought they were simply a cute little yacht rock band. Thank goodness this Greatest Hits album exposed me to the true LRB sound, and trust it is much more than my Christopher Cross-like premonitions could’ve ever suggested.
LRB formed in Melbourne–explaining to me where that soft rock twang came from. Released in November of 1982, Greatest Hits served as the introduction of their new lead singer John Farnham, who was replacing well-known Gleen Shorrock. This singer transition was one of many, as the band saw over 30 member changes since formation. I guess it’s a bit more fluid down under? But don’t worry, that didn’t stop this Greatest Hits album from peaking at No. 13 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart and hitting No.1 in New Zealand. Now onto this Aussie wonder.
Hey, everybody,
Yeah, don’t you feel that there’s something
This 9-minute first track greets you exactly how an opener should. The harmonizing chorus and guitar riffs had convinced me that I didn’t actually put an LRB disk on, but something along the Led Zeppelin-lines. It was a spectacular introduction to what was to come.
Next up for us is track 3, which has late nights on the back porch with a glass of wine in-hand written all over it. And that track could be nothing other than “Reminiscing.” This spectacular and sway-provoking song had me convinced the LRB belonged strictly on a boat in the ocean and not much more. We all know and love this song, so I’ll just leave it at that.
What really got me good was the juke box rock to follow, specifically on track 6, known as “The Night Owls.” The guitar practically screams for your attention within the first two seconds. It’s an addictive sound.
Must be the gypsy in their soul,
They have a need to rock and roll,
They always will, they’re out there still,
They’re the night owls
Aren’t those lyrics just epic? Each line is delivered with so much passion, you can tell that this is an incredible rock band. They definitely would’ve gotten along great with Lou Gramm. There is some Foreigner 4 rock and roll embedded deep in these songs that keeps me coming back. I wouldn’t be surprised if they opened for Foreigner in the ’80s because this song would’ve flowed perfectly into an “Urgent” or “Juke Box Hero” type of song.
Some more of my favorites would have to be “Man on Your Mind,” “Happy Anniversary,” and “Down on the Border.” They all uphold that exciting and energetic guitar paired with some incredible stacked vocals. My biggest takeaway: how scared I am of the version of myself that thought LRB was a one-hit wonder. Will Ferrell and my Magnavox disk player have proved me so wrong.
So don’t get tricked up by that “Little River Band” name. They have enough heart and soul to fill an ocean. Go give their discography another look and listen. There are some sleeper finds in there (I have a feeling I am just scratching the surface). Now onto the next disk.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_(Little_River_Band_album)
Iz FM 
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