Henry Wagons - Lead Vocals, Guitar
Steve 'Harmony' Hassett - Bass, Backing Vocals
Richard Blaze - Lead Guitar
Mark 'Tuckerbag' Dawson - Drums, Percussion
Si the Philanthropist - Washboard, Drums
Matty 'Soft Moods' Hassett - Keyboards
Roy Orbison's driving habits, Canned Heat's dinner, puddles around houses in A Clockwork Orange, Cormac McCarthy's final chapters, early Rod Stewart's fanclub, Johnny Cash's dirt on his gravestone, Adam Green's jacket inside-out, The Boss's cap, Bert Newton.
FOLLOW HENRY WAGONS ON TWITTER!
Sounds Like
THE RISE AND FALL OF GOODTOWN
OUT NOW!!
"Bags are packed for Goodtown
Once I’m there, I’m never comin’ back"
From the opening riff of Wagons’ fourth album, you know you’re headed on an adventure.
You’ll be confronted by questions (“Why do we talk about the birds and bees when one’s in the flowers and one’s in the trees?); dilemmas (“How can I keep this love from growing old?”); and a warning (Keep Your Eyes Off My Sister).
Welcome to Wagons’ travelling medicine show, The Rise And Fall Of Goodtown.
Henry Wagons explains. “For me, it almost sounds like a greatest hits record, with different styles and moods, and a bygone-era feel. It traverses territory from a weather beaten and sweaty, horn-filled show stages through to trawling through thick swamps which surround the houses in A Clockwork Orange.”
A huge contributor to the diversity and sonic intrigue of the album is co-producer and mixing engineer Cornel Wilczek (Qua). Drawing upon his experience recording and producing the likes of Architecture in Helsinki, Pivot, Mountains in the Sky as well as his own electronica soundscape masterpieces, Cornel has left many inspired and ever-developing production elements, resulting in a minefield of new surprises on repeated listens.
Henry Wagons – showman, storyteller and unlikely sex symbol – has been called the missing link between Neil Young and Neil Diamond. Musically, The Rise And Fall Of Goodtown is an unlikely mix of rock, crooner and classic pop.
“This record reflects the energy of our live show. We did a lot of touring after the last album. We were fronting up to lots of new towns and audiences and I needed more than my usual repertoire of slow songs about death.”
It’s an album of both beauty and menace. “Oh, my Lord,” Henry sings, “have you heard about Goodtown? Everybody’s happy and you never see a frown there in Goodtown.” But all is not as it seems.
There’s the twisted tale of obsession, Evette, with its haunting sci-fi sound; the sad resignation of The Gambler; and the heartbreakingly romantic Moonhorn Lake.
The album also features Wagons’ first recorded version of their long-time live fave Never Been To Spain (written by Hoyt Axton – and then featured on Henry’s favourite Elvis live album, 1972’s Elvis: As Recorded At Madison Square Garden).
This album sees the band embracing grand rock. “It’s probably our least country album,” Henry says. Of course, it’s impossible to categorise a band whose list of influences includes Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Scott Walker, Adam Green, Canned Heat, Cormac McCarthy, early Rod Stewart, Skyhooks, The Boss and Bert Newton.
Highlights of the album include Richard Blaze’s searing guitar solos (check out Drive All Night Till Dawn and Evette) and Steve “Harmony” Hassett’s angelic backing vocals (click on Moonhorn Lake).
The Rise And Fall Of Goodtown is an unfolding drama. Pack everything you need. Leave your mundane life behind. This is an album to immerse yourself in. Its many mysteries will reveal themselves over time.
THE RISE AND FALL OF GOODTOWN
Drive All Night Till Dawn/ Goodtown/ Love Me Like I Love You/ The Gambler/ Moonhorn Lake/ Evette/ Love Growing Old/ Never Been To Spain/ Keep Your Eyes Off My Sister/ Lightning
"There's a touch of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; but Wagons, besides owing a major debt to the 70's, have managed to filter and master enough of their influences to cut fresh ground for themselves, and make an album thats short and sharp and very entertaining"
ROBERT FORSTER (THE GO-BETWEENS)
Monthly Magazine
"The next certified Australian rock star, he has Johnny Cash's oration and can be equally cantankerous, morbid, vulnerable and downright funny."
HERALD SUN
****, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
BERNARD ZUEL
"Henry has been blessed with a voice that seems to resonate all the way from hell itself. It’s possible that this man could be the devil in disguise, sent here to trick us into thinking that what he was saying and singing is socially acceptable and we should all follow him blindly into the abyss."
FASTER LOUDER
"Wagons have been threatening to make an album this good for their whole career...a classic australian album on their fourth try. Genius."
****1/2, PATRICK DONOVAN, THE AGE
"Henry Wagons is a songwriter and performer of disturbing strength, an assessment that must surely be set in stone with the release of Wagons’ fourth album, The Rise and Fall of Goodtown"
PATRICK EMERY, BEAT MAG
"The Rise and Fall of Goodtown is Wagons' fourth album and is terrific: the quality and narrative power of some of the songs are in my opinion equivalent to Nick Cave's storytelling"
CHRIS JOHNSTON, MELBOURNE MAGAZINE
"The new album, The Rise and Fall of Goodtown, continues Wagons' love affair with deathly country ballads, but it's a rockier album than its predecessors, with producer Cornel Wilczek succeeding in capturing the band's powerful live energy to create what is arguably the finest Australian release so far this year"
THE AGE
"Far from from a bare bones folk record, it's steeped in resonant,
epic layering which peak and trough in perfect unison with simple,
stirring melodies...A real storybook of a record."
STEPH HUGHES, TRIPLE J
“A fresh belch of air in a sea of designer western apparel and sombre sermons, Wagons sound more vital and dedicated to their craft than most – marvellous.” MARTY JONES, RHYTHMS
“The Rise and Fall of Goodtown is a brilliant album: entertaining, witty, sentimental and a prime display of a band at the height of their powers.” SYMON JJ ROCK, INPRESS
“When he sings, Henry Wagons has that kind of Johnny Cash, rich, sonorous voice that makes everything sound profound,”
DANIELLE O'DONOHUE, DRUM MEDIA (CD of the week)
"The Rise and Fall of Goodtown" is a grand, loping beast of music with a 70s sound that you’d expect to have been borne out of the oversized state of Texas.
ALEX GILLIES, TIME OFF
"The Rise and Fall of Goodtown mark Wagons as a local treasure..."
ADAM CURLEY, MX SYDNEY
"Constantly heralded throughout the evening as the greatest live band in Australia, this band is fucking incredible. With the snarl of Tex Perkins, the hostility of a drunk Tim Rogers and the lyricism of Johnny Cash; lost and hallucinating in the Australian outback, Henry Wagons IS the figure every frontman with balls aspires to be... It was hard not to conjure up images of Jack Black as he bantered at the crowd and abused the hecklers: "oh you want me to shut up and play a song? Maybe we'll play you some Matchbox 20? Fuck you c**ts!" - FASTERLOUDER
WAGONS TOUR AUSTRALIA! "DRIVE ALL NIGHT TILL DAWN TOUR"
NEW VIDEO CLIP for new single
DRIVE ALL NIGHT 'TIL DAWN
Directed by Catherine Dwyer. Produced by Frances Glavimans
VIDEO CLIP for GOODTOWN - Directed by Lucy Dyson, photos of Wagons by Lyndon Photographics
Hey Guys, Hope your well. I know at least one of you is comin to this. To the rest, come along if you can. Tracey McNeil and Luke Sinclair are
gunna play a duo and the Bakersfield Glee Club will throw down a set
too. Should be a good day.
Angie releases her second solo album 'Eat My Shadow' in Australia tomorrow!
We have a very special deal for you all, JB Hi-Fi are offering a SIGNED, TWO DISC edition of Angie's album.
The
first disc contains the full 12 track album, the second disc contains a
5 track EP of Angie covering some of her favourite songs, including
tracks by The Smiths, Australian Crawl, Laura Veirs and others.
On top of that we're offering a beautiful Angie Hart tea-towel (dishcloth to you Americans!) as part of the deal. Be quick!
Congratulations, Wagons, on being nominated for the The Age EG Awards for Best Group and Best Album for 2009. You certainly are the best group in Australia. Wagons are still winning the poll for Best Group. Keep up the momentum, Wagons fans. You can vote for them here - http://egawards.theage.com.au/
Hey Wagons, great set at the Annandale with JTE the other night. Man that Old Town song just capped it off nicely. Looking forward to catching you next time you are in Syders!
Ooo I like you a lot. Plus your name reminds me of wagon wheels...those tasty ol' fashioned treats. Hope your million shows go fantastic for the rest of the year!! Love court
Today I like to inform you, that you can read and watch interviews with your favorit country stars in Enlgish, German and French at http://www.CountryHome.de/Interviews .
Warm regards
Christian
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 171 6903352 Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Info@CountryMusic-Magazin.de www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Online Now!
