Urban & Eastern is the debut album by Australian rock band Youth Group. The album, recorded with producer Wayne Connolly, was released in 2000.
| Urban & Eastern | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 2000 | |||
| Studio | Paradise Studios, Wooloomooloo; Hothouse Studio, St Kilda | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 51:01 | |||
| Label | Ivy League Records | |||
| Producer | Wayne Connolly | |||
| Youth Group chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Sydney Morning Herald |   [1] |
| The Age | [2] |
| The Courier-Mail | [3] |
Songwriter Toby Martin said his compositions were influenced by You Am I's Tim Rogers, particularly on that band's Hourly Daily album. In Urban & Eastern's opening track, "Blue Leaves, Red Dust," he sang: "No more songs of Tallahassee and Nashville, there are songs here right outside the windowsill." He told The Sydney Morning Herald: "I like music that has a strong sense of place in it. I like realism and like lyrics that seem like they're coming from a real place."[4]
By 2004, when the band's follow-up album was released, Martin was distancing himself from the debut. "The whole attitude and the sound is kind of naive to me now—charmingly naive, I hope," he said. "Urban & Eastern was a bit more raucous—longer songs, more elaborate arrangements. What were we thinking? We were young, we were arrogant, we thought the world was ours. I'm much, much happier with this one."[5] Martin said the limited-release debut album had become a rarity, telling one newspaper: "It's almost impossible (to find it)—I don't even have a copy at the moment."[6]
Track listing edit
(All songs by Toby Martin and Youth Group except where noted)
- "Blue Leaves, Red Dust" – 7:10
- "Happiness' Border" – 3:12
- "Appliance, Compliance" – 3:35
- "Guilty" – 2:53
- "Booth Street" – 4:07
- "Eric Sleeps" (Dan Allen, Youth Group) – 0:32
- "My Soul Takes Flight" (Andy Cassell, Youth Group) – 3:21
- "Eight" – 2:26
- "Negative Hearing" – 3:06
- "I Don't Care"– 2:36
- "Instant Charmer" – 3:22
- "Spry Griever" (Cassell, Youth Group) – 7:31
- "Song for Eric"– 7:07
Personnel edit
- Dan Allen — drums
- Andy Cassell — bass
- Paul Murphy — guitar
- Toby Martin — guitar
Additional personnel edit
- Jason Walker — pedal steel
- Michelle Outram — cello
- Wayne Connolly — noises, shaking
References edit
- ^ George A. Palathingal, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 July 2001.
- ^ The Age,15 June 2001.
- ^ Noel Mengel, The Courier-Mail, 25 May 2001.
- ^ Kelsey Munro, "Troubled Youth," Sydney Morning Herald, 9 July 2004.
- ^ Michael Dwyer, The Trials of Youth, 16 July 2004.
- ^ Christine Sams, "Heady days of youthful exuberance," Sun-Herald, 22 January 2006.
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