16 Lovers Lane

April 2020 July 2014 16 Lovers Lane studio the Go-Betweens 16LoversLane.jpg August 19, 1988 April–May 1988 Studios 301 (Sydney) Rock alternative rock indie rock 37:04 * Mushroom (AUS) Beggars Banquet (UK) Mark Wallis Tallulah 1987 The Friends of Rachel Worth 2000 16 Lovers Lane studio Streets of Your Town July 1988 Was There Anything I Could Do? October 1988 Love Goes On 1989 16 Lovers Lane is the sixth studio album by Australian indie rock group the Go-Betweens, released in 1988 by Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, longtime bassist Robert Vickers left the band when the other group members decided to return to Australia after having spent several years in London, England; he was replaced by John Willsteed. The album was recorded at Studios 301 in Sydney, between Christmas 1987 and Autumn 1988. 16 Lovers Lane was the final release from the original version of the band. The Go-Betweens broke up in 1989 and would produce no other material until Grant McLennan and Robert Forster reformed the band, with a new line-up, in 2000. Details In late 1987, the band relocated from the UK to Sydney. The relationship between guitarist Robert Forster and drummer Lindy Morrison had ended, whilst singer Grant McLennan and violinist Amanda Brown became more involved. Upon their return to Australia, the band added John Willsteed on bass and began preparing their sixth album. The recording process for 16 Lovers Lane was different to previous releases. Between December 1987 and January 1988, McLennan and Forster began an intense songwriting process. They demoed all the songs in advance and then presented them to the producer and their bandmates, leaving less room for improvisation. McLennan stated: "We really sat down for the first time in years and wrote together in the sense that anything new we'd come up with the night before we'd go through and rearrange and discard or put it into something else. Our normal method was to write separately and the spend two weeks together, familiarising ourselves with each others songs and suggesting things. So this way was a completely different process and it was due to trying to get back to what started the band – closeness." McLennan said the band was also affected by moving back to Australia. "We'd spent five years in London—blackness, darkness, greyness and poverty—and suddenly for some reason we seemed to have more money in Sydney, and we all had places to live and being in a city where after five years we can go to the beach in ten minutes." Gazing on a Sunny Afternoon Gavin Sawford Rave 7–8 12 April 1996 Rave Magazine Pty Ltd Stones Corner, QLD Forster agreed saying it brought on "a burst of energy, a burst of songs". McLennan said, "I had a vision for this record. It was, in some way, just sitting down with acoustic guitars in sunlight, writing songs, and then making a record. It was as simple as that. And I get that vibe from the record, a summer feeling".Critics' Faves Seek Commercial Hit With 1st Capitol Album Dave Dimartino Billboard 14 January 1989 New York City Forster described the album as, "the perfect combination between London melancholy and Sydney sunshine". The songwriting duo demoed sixteen tunes acoustically and sent them to English producer Mark Wallis prior to his arrival in Australia. The book 100 Best Australian Albums states that Wallis' production maintained the acoustic feel, embellishing them sparingly and "affording them a sparkle and crispness that suggested the summer that was their inspiration". Morrison was said to have "hated" Wallis, which may be a reflection of the fact that Wallis replaced Morrison with a drum machine on five of the songs on the album.The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition Canongate Books 2007 530 978-1-84767-643-6 Both Morrison and Brown were unhappy with the pre-production process, which limited their contribution, but Forster defended it, saying: "The pre-production to every album can't always been the same. You can't keep doing the same things over and over".Sean Sennett and Simon Groth David Burchill Off The Record:25 Years of Music Street Press 2010 University of Queensland Press St. Lucia, Queensland 978-0-7022-3863-5 43 Still, in the documentary Great Australian Albums (2008) episode one, on the album, Wallis says that the drumming on all of the tracks are a mix of programmed and real drums, and Morrison – not available all the time for family reasons – says that you can tell that the machine beats are still hers from the fact that "everything is so simple". 30% right right "Unbelievably brilliant, I think the whole album was incredible. Normally if you have an album with two singers and two writers, there's always one that you like better. Not in the case of The Go-Betweens, two equally talented guys, just like Lennon and McCartney." −Steve Kilbey Double J Steve Kilbey Picks Five Great Australian Albums Steve Kilbey http://doublej.net.au/news/lists/steve-kilbey-picks-five-great-australian-albums 7 July 2015 16 June 2014 Elsewhere, Forster blamed others for the synthetic nature of the recordings. He said: "I wanted to make the kind of record I ended up making on Danger in the Past. I just wanted the band to be playing live, get us into a really big studio. Instead, it was one person in the studio with the rest of them playing pool. Lindy would be talking about drum machines, and her and Amanda were talking about triggering the violin to make synthesizer keyboard sounds. The only two live tracks on that album are both my songs, and I insisted on those."Clinton Walker Stranded: The Secret History of Australian Independent Music 1977–1991 1996 Pan MacMillan 0-7329-0883-3 230 In 2016, Forster wrote, "I had trouble with 16 Lovers Lane for a long time. It wasn't until the late nineties that I recognised it for what it was – a pop record".Robert Forster Grant & I 2016 Penguin 978-0-670-07822-6 194 The original release of the album contained ten songs. Most of McLennan's lyrics were written about Brown. The Go-Betweens (16 Lovers Lane) Great Australian Albums 6 September 2008 2 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5427Jo4nww https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/o5427Jo4nww 2021-12-19 live In 2004, LO-MAX Records issued a greatly expanded CD, which included a second disc of ten bonus tracks, and music videos for the songs "Streets of Your Town" (two versions) and "Was There Anything I Could Do?", which were filmed to promote 16 Lovers Lane at the time of its initial release. Reception AllMusic 5 5https://www.allmusic.com/album/16-lovers-lane-mw0000198498 16 Lovers Lane – The Go-Betweens AllMusic 9 September 2016 Jurek Thom Blender 4 5http://blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=3020 The Go-Betweens: (various reissues) Blender New York 2 February 2017 Lim Dennis https://web.archive.org/web/20050405221409/http://blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=3020 5 April 2005 dead The Buffalo News 3.5 4https://buffalonews.com/news/cd-listening-post-brief-reviews-of-select-music-releases/article_d80359db-6706-59ba-94f8-8515d43fb0f4.html The Go-Betweens, '16 Lovers Lane,' expanded edition (Jetset) The Buffalo News 5 December 2004 14 December 2021 Miers Jeff Mojo 5 5The Go-Betweens: Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express / Tallulah / 16 Lovers Lane Mojo London 131 October 2004 Paphides Peter Peter Paphides 122 NME 6/10Proxy's Midnight Runners NME London 27 August 1988 Barron Jack 33 Q 4 5The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane Q London 25 October 1988 Cranna Ian Record Mirror 5/5The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane Record Mirror London 27 August 1988 Dee Johnny 34 Rolling Stone 3 5http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thegobetweens/albums/album/90247/review/5943988/16_lovers_lane The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane Rolling Stone New York 9 February 1989 14 December 2021 Azerrad Michael Michael Azerrad https://archive.today/20070518205122/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thegobetweens/albums/album/90247/review/5943988/16_lovers_lane 18 May 2007 dead Uncut 5 5The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane Uncut London 86 July 2004 120 The Village Voice A−https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv189-89.php Christgau's Consumer Guide The Village Voice New York 24 January 1989 3 May 2016 Christgau Robert Robert Christgau In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau described 16 Lovers Lane as the Go-Betweens' "straightest and catchiest bunch of love songs" and called the band "still the romantic poets good popsters ought to be." Record Mirror critic Johnny Dee lauded the album as "classic, tearful, moving." In Spin, Evelyn McDonnell wrote that the band reminded her of "whooping cranes: great gangling creatures capable of heights of gracefulness when in flight and passionate spasms when in heat. Similarly, the Go-Betweens infuse portentious poetry into giddy pop structures, then throw the uncertain songs in the air, whispering 'Fly or fuck.https://books.google.com/books?id=YlMqQqOSlQMC&pg=PA71 The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane Spin New York 4 11 February 1989 7 July 2015 McDonnell Evelyn Evelyn McDonnell 71–72 On the album's more ornate production, McDonnell felt that Wallis' "tendency to over-embellish" resulted in occasional "putrid moments", while Michael Azerrad of Rolling Stone observed "a strangely pleasant flirtation with banality in the album's honeyed melodies, soft strings and wistful, understated vocals", despite the songs conveying "a depth of emotion and a height of intellect rarely found in pop". In 2010, 16 Lovers Lane was listed at No. 12 in the book 100 Best Australian Albums. 100 Best Australian Albums O'Donnell John John O'Donnell (music journalist) Creswell Toby Toby Creswell Mathieson Craig Craig Mathieson Hardie Grant Books October 2010 Prahran, Vic 978-1-74066-955-9 The authors called the album "the band's high-water mark", commenting that "Forster and McLennan knew they'd nailed it" and that the songs were "their most direct, accessible and heartfelt ever", with "Forster, particularly, having learnt a new restraint. Gone was the bravado and archness that had informed much of his earlier work and in its place was an openness and honesty."100 Best Australian Albums Creswell Toby Toby Creswell Mathieson Craig Craig Mathieson O'Donnell John John O'Donnell (music journalist) Hardie Grant Books 2010 Prahran, Vic 60 978-1-74066-955-9 16 Lovers Lane was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane Hutcheon David 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die Dimery Robert Universe Publishing 2006 978-0-7893-1371-3 592 In 2021, it was listed at No. 15 in Rolling Stone Australias "200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time" countdown.https://au.rollingstone.com/rolling-stones-200-greatest-australian-albums-of-all-time/page/10/ Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time Rolling Stone Australia 6 December 2021 6 December 2021 10 Track listing Original 1988 release Grant McLennan and Robert Forster yes Love Goes On 3:19 Quiet Heart 5:20 Love Is a Sign 4:12 You Can't Say No Forever 3:57 The Devil's Eye 2:05 Streets of Your Town 3:36 Clouds 4:02 Was There Anything I Could Do? 3:06 I'm All Right 3:10 Dive for Your Memory 4:17 Streets of Your Town Australian video on 2004 expanded CD Streets of Your Town US/UK video on 2004 expanded CD Was There Anything I Could Do? video on 2004 expanded CD right|thumb|2004 CD Cover of 16 Lovers Lane 2004 bonus disc G. McLennan, R. Forster, except where noted yes Love Goes On single version  – re-mixed by Tom Visconti at Good Earth Studios, London in May 1988 3:18 Wait Until June recorded at Electric Avenue Studios Sydney in 1988 3:03 Mexican Postcard recorded at Bloomsbury London in August 1988 2:13 Rock and Roll Friend recorded at Bloomsbury London in August 1988 3:34 Casanova's Last Words recorded at Electric Avenue Studios Sydney in 1988 2:38 You Won't Find It Again recorded at Trackdown Studios, Sydney on 14 January 1988 3:21 Running the Risk of Losing You live  – recorded at Max's Petersham Inn, Sydney on 15 December 1989 3:06 Apples in Bed recorded at Damian Gerrard Studios, Ultimo, Sydney, in April 1988 2:37 Head Over Heels recorded at Damian Gerrard Studios, Ultimo in April 1988 2:27 You're a Big Girl Now Bob Dylan  – recorded at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California, on 11 November 1988 3:41 Release history Region Date Label Format CatalogueAustraliaAugust 1988Mushroom LP L38950 CD D38950United KingdomBeggars Banquet LP BEGA 95 Cassette BEGC 95CD BEGA 95CD United States 1988 Capitol CDP 7 91230 2 Germany Rebel Rec. SPV 85-2875 United Kingdom1996 Beggars Banquet BBL 2006 CD Australia Silk Sheen SILK 007 Europe Labels 724384173029 United Kingdom2004 LO-MAX LO-MAX CD004 Australia EMI Australia 0946 3 69600 2 9 United States Jetset TWA72CD Personnel The Go-Betweens Grant McLennan – lead vocals and backing vocals, lead guitars Amanda Brown – violin, oboe, adittional rhythm guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals and tambourine (listed as Oliver Tambo on the sleevenotes, an in-joke of the band) Robert Forster – rhythm guitars, harmonica and backing vocals John Willsteed – bass, spanish guitar, Hammond organ and piano Lindy Morrison – drums and drum machine Roland TR - 707 Additional musicians Michael Armiger – bass on "Running the Risk of Losing You" References 30em Category:The Go-Betweens albums Category:1988 albums Category:Beggars Banquet Records albums Category:LO-MAX Records albums