- In 2000, Clinton Walker published the book Buried Country - an excavation of the often forgotten history of aboriginal country music. In more recent years, Walker has come in for some criticism for how he represents aboriginal people in his books. However Buried Country was a revelation, opening the eyes of many Australians to a submerged piece of our musical history.
A two-cd compilation to accompany the book was released. When it went out of print it was followed by another, slightly different one. Legendary aboriginal singer Roger Knox recorded an album of covers inspired by the book. When The Painted Ladies got together to cover Vic Simms' long lost classic protest album The Loner, Walker was asked to introduce them at their first shows.
Another songwriter paying attention was Darren Hanlon, the much loved whimsical pun-toting folk singer. Hanlon was inspired by the stories of American folklorist John Lomax and decided he wanted to do the same in Australia - travel the country collecting the old and weird sounds of our country.
The result is another compilation done in collaboration with Clinton Walker and somewhat confusingly also called Buried Country. While the original book and compilation were epic and wide-ranging, this one is eleven songs that breeze through in under half an hour.
There are a few classics, like Warumpi Band's Jailanguru Pakarnu (the first rock song recorded in an aboriginal language) and Gallarwuy Yunupingu's Gurindji Blues (the odd but seminal protest song written by Ted Egan for the striking Gurindji people). Harry and Wilga Williams' Streets Of Fitzroy is better known by the Roger Knox cover, but appears here in its original form.
Those ones are outnumbered by the rarities - a very obscure early Jimmy Little single, a never released protest track by The Kooriers with the wonderful title Sick Of Being Treated Like A Mangy Old Dog, the humourous Cut A Rug by Dougie Young and the almost psychedelic Take Me Back by Black Allan Barker.
This is where this compilation differs from Clinton Walker's Buried Country. Where that functions as an introduction to a vast history of music, this is just a spoonful dipped from the cup; picking out some oddities and releasing them as a beautiful vinyl package with a thirty-six page booklet.
I don't mean that as a criticism. Australia's country and indigenous music histories are both rich traditions particular to this land which have for a long time existed way outside either mainstream or hip indie musical reference points. This album represents a slight shift in that - an embracing of this not hip but still wonderful Australian musical tradition. For curating this fascinating album and for his contribution to this process, Darren Hanlon deserves our thanks.
- Andy Paine.