Phalanx (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Phalanx
Type = live album
Artist = Australian Crawl


Released = December, 1983
Recorded =
Genre = Rock
Length = 45:27
Label = EMI Music Australia
Geffen Records
Producer = Simon Binks, Ross Cockle
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3nfrxq9hld6e link]
Last album = "Sons of Beaches"
(1982)
This album = "Phalanx"
(1983)
Next album = "Crawl File"
(1984)
Misc = Singles
Name = Phalanx
Type = live
single 1 = Louie Louie
single 1 date = December, 1983 Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = European release (1983)
Type = live


Lower caption = "Australian Crawl: Live" 1983 European cover

"Phalanx" is the first live album released by iconiccite web |url=http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-year.php?year=1996 |publisher=ARIA |title="1996: 10th Annual ARIA Awards" |accessdate=2008-03-11 ] Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl. It was recorded live at concerts at Bombay Rock Gold Coast, Queensland and at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in October, 1983, during the 'Semantics' tour. [cite web |url=http://www.homesick.com.au/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=774 |title=Australian Crawl: Phalanx - CD |publisher=Homesick.com.au |accessdate=2008-04-04] The album was initially released on vinyl in December, 1983 and was re-released on CD in May, 1995. The album reached #4 on the National Album Charts being released by EMI.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=2008-03-11]

The title of the album is derived from the name for the ancient Greek battle formation where long spears were presented from behind a wall of overlapping spears. The title can also refer more generally to a close-knit group of people, in this case the audience.

The cover features distinctive cartoon images by Michael Leunig with the front depicting five sharks swimming towards a lone wader – they are revealed to be five other swimmers with shark fin hair (see infobox). The back cover cartoon depicts a stage manager warning "Five Minutes Mr. Reyne" at the dressing room door. Meanwhile Reyne is combing his hair backwards with Brylcream liberally applied, a guitar and a half-full bottle are nearby.

"Phalanx" was also released by Geffen Records in Europe but under a different title, "Australian Crawl: Live", and with a different cover. [cite web |url=http://www.zmms.tu-berlin.de/~axhu/AustralianCrawl |title=Zentrum Mensch-Maschine-Systeme |publisher=Axel Husfeldt |date=1999-07-09 |accessdate=2008-03-11 ]

"Phalanx" was the Crawl's fourth album... It yielded a rollicking single, in the form of the band's raucous cover of The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie"... As this album lodged itself at the top of the charts, the Crawl were off to England for some pre-Christmas shows with Duran Duran." – Glen A. Baker, 1983. [cite book |title="Phalanx" |format=album liner notes |last=Baker |first=Glen A. |year=1983 |publisher=EMI ]

Track listing

# "Unpublished Critics" (James Reyne, Paul Williams) – 5:51
# "The Night" (Brad Robinson) – 3:50
# "La Califusa (Reyne) – 3:01
# "Love Beats Me Up" (Reyne) – 4:33
# "Things Don't Seem" (Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough) – 3:58
# "White Limbo" (Simon Binks) – 3:43
# "Louie Louie" (Richard Berry) – 5:48
# "Errol" (McDonough, Reyne) – 3:32
# "Reckless (Don't Be So)" (Reyne) – 5:41
# "The Boys Light Up" (Reyne) – 5:30

Songwriting credits from Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).cite web |url=http://www.apra.com.au/site/public/searchworksresult.stm |title=APRA |publisher=APRA |accessdate=2008-03-11 ]

Personnel

* James Reyne — lead vocals, keyboards, guitar
* Simon Binks — lead guitar
* Guy McDonough — co-lead vocals, rhythm guitar
* Brad Robinson — rhythm guitar
* Paul Williams — bass guitar
* John Watson — drums

* Engineer — John Sayers

References

Releases