Sirocco (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Sirocco
Type = Album
Artist = Australian Crawl


Released = July, 1981
Recorded = March-April, 1981
EMI Studios 301
Genre = Pop/Rock
Length = 46:07
Label = EMI Australia
Producer = Peter Dawkins
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fxftxq9hld0e link]
Last album = "The Boys Light Up"
(1980)
This album = "Sirocco"
(1981)
Next album = "Sons of Beaches"
(1982)
Misc = Singles
Name = Sirocco
Type = studio
single 1 = Things Don't Seem
single 1 date = 1981
single 2 = Errol
single 2 date = July, 1981
single 3 = Oh No Not You Again
single 3 date = November, 1981

"Sirocco" is the second album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It was released in July, 1981 and on August 3, it topped the Australian charts where it remained for six weeks, the band's first of two albums to hit #1.cite book |title=Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 |format=doc |last=Kent |first=David |authorlink= David Kent|publisher=Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6 |accessdate=2008-02-19] It was released a year after their successful debut "The Boys Light Up" which had reached #4.

The album was recorded in March-April, 1981 in Sydney, New South Wales and produced by Peter Dawkins (Air Supply, Billy Thorpe, Dragon, John Farnham).cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2006/s1579546.htm |title=Peter Dawkins Fact File |publisher=ABCTV (Australian Story) |date=2006-02-27 |accessdate=2008-03-26]

"I was approached by Australian Crawl, who were about to do their second album, "Sirocco". They’d been tortured to death by David Briggs, or at least by his studio style, and needed a change. We got along incredibly well, it was all so comfortable. They played me twenty new songs, I gave them a list of the eleven I liked and we just said let’s go." [cite web |url=http://www.peterdawkinsmusic.com/stories.htm |title=Stories |publisher=Peter Dawkins Offical website |accessdate=2008-03-26]

"Sirocco" spent eight months in the Top 20 and was their most successful album.cite web |url=http://www.zmms.tu-berlin.de/~axhu/AustralianCrawl |title="The Final Wave" liner notes |last=St. John |first=Ed |year=1986 |publisher=Axel Husfeldt |accessdate=2008-03-26 ] 1981 Australian End of Year Album Charts has "Sirocco" at #2 behind "Double Fantasy" by John Lennon and ahead of AC/DC's "Back in Black" making it the best charting album by an Australian act. [cite book
last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = |editor=Angus Cameron | title =The Second Australian Almanac | publisher =Angus & Robertson | year = 1986 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =0-207-15232-2 ]

The album was named after Australian born actor Errol Flynn's yacht and included the second single from the album, a lyrical biography, called "Errol".cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop |url=http://www.informationbrasil.com.br/diversao/musica/biografias/AUSTRALIAN%20CRAWL.doc |format=doc |last=McFarlane |first=Ian |authorlink= Ian McFarlane |publisher=Allen & Unwin |year=1999 |isbn=1-86448-768-2 |accessdate=2008-03-01] "Sirocco" was the Crawl's first US and European release.

Drummer Bill McDonough's younger brother Guy McDonough (co-lead vocals, rhythm guitar) had joined as their sixth member.cite web |url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/a/australiancrawl.html |title=Australian Rock Database entry on Australian Crawl |publisher=Magnus Holmgren |accessdate=2008-03-01 ] Guy McDonough had already co-written tracks for their first album and now wrote or co-wrote five of "Sirocco's" eleven tracks including all three singles; he also provided lead vocals: "Errol" (co-lead with James Reyne) and "Oh No Not You Again". "Errol" was voted their third most popular song by listeners of Triple M in 2007.cite web |url=http://www.triplem.com.au/melbourne/music/2007countdown/the_countdown.html |title=Triple M's Essential 2007 Countdown |publisher=Triple M |accessdate=2008-03-26 ] The other single from the album was "Things Don't Seem" which reached #11 and was their fifth most popular song in the 2007 poll.

Sean Higgins was a bandmate with the McDonough brothers in an earlier band, The Flatheads, and had co-written "Downhearted" for "Boys Light Up"; Higgins co-wrote "Things Don't Seem" for "Sirocco". At about this time guitarist Brad Robinson was married to actress Kerry Armstrong, later an Australian Film Institute Award winner, [imdb name|id=0035788|name=Kerry Armstrong] and they co-wrote "Easy On Your Own", which was also the B-side to "Errol".

Track listing

#"Things Don't Seem" (Guy McDonough, Sean Higgins) - 3:57
#"Unpublished Critics" (James Reyne, Paul Williams) - 5:14
#"Love (Beats Me Up)" (Reyne) - 4:35
#"Oh No Not You Again" (G McDonough) - 5:08
#"Lakeside" (Reyne) - 4:49
#"Trusting You" (William "Bill" McDonough, G McDonough) - 3:09
#"Errol" (Reyne, G McDonough) - 3:30
#"Can I Be Sure" (Simon Binks) - 3:37
#"Easy On Your Own" (Binks, Brad Robinson, Kerry Armstrong) - 3:48
#"Love Boys" (W McDonough) - 3:41
#"Resort Girls" (G McDonough) - 4:36

Songwriting credits from Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). [cite web |url=http://www.apra.com.au/site/public/searchworksresult.stm |title=Australasian Performing Right Association |publisher=APRA|accessdate=2008-03-04 ]

Chart positions

Personnel

Credited to: [cite web |url=http://music.msn.com/album/?album=10197164 |title=MSN entry on "Sirocco" |accessdate=2008-03-04 ]
* James Reyne — lead vocals, piano
* Simon Binks – lead guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar
* Guy McDonough — co-lead vocals, rhythm guitar
* Bill McDonough — drums, percussion
* Paul Williams — bass guitar
* Brad Robinson — rhythm guitar

*Engineer — Dave Marett
*Photography — Jamie Morgan
*Producer — Peter Dawkins

References

succession box
before = "Stars on Long Play" by Stars on 45
title = Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
years = August 3 - September 13 1981
after = "Hitwave '81" by Various artists