Articles by Maryanne Window

Jimmy Webb is a living legend as one of the great songwriters of the modern era. The average Joe probably wouldn’t recognize him if they passed him on the street but if they heard a chorus of one of his songs, I’m sure the melodic recall would be instantaneous. A frequent visitor to our shores, Webb has built friendships within our music community and tonight’s show was all about the songs as interpreted by these friends. […]

There is always something warm and inviting about walking into the Palais Theatre on a cold winter’s night. The plush red velvet and the well worn leather seats always hold the promise of a special show for me and tonight’s performance from Suzanne Vega and her band in celebration of her landmark
albums, 1987’s Solitude Standing and 1992’s 99.9 Fahrenheit Degrees was no exception. […]

Words Fail is the third solo album to be released by Melbourne guitarist Shannon Bourne. While usually known for being a sideman to some of Melbourne’s most prominent singer songwriters, Words Fail sees Bourne placing his prowess as a guitarist and soundscape designer front and centre with this collection of 9 original instrumental tracks. Recorded over 2 days at the Melbourne home studio of fellow guitar hero Jeff Lang who engineered and mixed the album, Bourne has managed to paint an aural picture of textural imagery that is thought provokingly intense and comforting at the same time. Melodic, evocative and contemplative are words that come to mind when listening to this album in its entirety as the carefully constructed tones ebb and flow along with a multitude of stories that as a listener, I could have running through my brain at any given time. It is in this way that I found Words Fail to be an interactive listening experience. […]

It’s a long flight from Boise Idaho to Melbourne but American singer songwriter Eilen Jewell has made the journey twice in 6 months having found her people here, as evidenced in her latest run of sold out shows around the country in support of her latest album ‘Down Hearted Blues’. The album is a wonderful celebration of her favourite blues songs that she discovered in a hidden corner of the attic in her family home as a teenager in the form her father’s record collection. The way she told the story to the packed house at the recently re-located Caravan Club, it was a discovery that was unexpected; like uncovering secret treasure, confessing that if the records had been foisted upon her at that impressionable age she probably would have run a mile from them and missed out on the joys of artists such as Howlin’ Wolf and Bessie Smith until way later in life. […]

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Beck live in Australia. I remember first seeing him play solo acoustic at the Melbourne Showgrounds in late 1995 as part of the Summersalt lineup. He was an emerging talent back then and was sandwiched in between Pavement and Sonic Youth on the bill 6 months prior to his breakthrough album “Odelay” being released. Seeing him here again 22 years later it seemed like no time had gone by. Actually I tell a lie – looking around the crowd there were a lot of 25 year olds trapped in 48 year old bodies and I was one of them. […]

​​​​​​​You know a show is going to be something special when the star of the show gets a standing ovation before he’s even played or sung a note – this was how Paul Weller was greeted by a near capacity Sydney Opera House crowd for his first tour of Australia since 2010. […]