1971: Harvest /EMI
Tully – a compact biography
To come to an adequate understanding of the relationship between Tully and the Australian surfing scene of the late sixties, early seventies, it is important to know that while the members of that enigmatic group lived in the northern beach-side suburbs of Sydney where many famous and talented surfers and surf film makers also lived, they were not surfers themselves. Being lovers of beauty, however, they were irresistibly attracted to the vast expanses of the sea and sky, the natural world. This was their affinity with the surfing fraternity.
When Paul Witzig asked Tully to compose the music for Sea of Joy he was seeking a soundtrack to suit the mood of a generation, for whom peace and freedom were the guiding lights. It was an obvious choice: in the vanguard of the Sydney underground Tully had already carved a deep and impressive curve into the pipeline of musical innovation, a wave it would ultimately ride to the shore. The music the group produced for Sea of Joy is testimony to the accolades it received at the time, and makes the film uniquely different to anything that precedes it.
The band that recorded Sea of Joy was the precocious child of two very different creatures, Tully the First (then Robert Taylor, percussion, Ken Firth, bass, Terry Wilson, vocals, Richard Lockwood, saxophones, clarinet and flutes and Michael Carlos, keyboards) and Extradition. They were brought together by NSW Arts Council director, John Cooper. Before they met, the wild and capricious, vain and sometimes luminously beautiful Tully, during the band's rapid rise to prominence on the Australian music stage, had already given many highly successful concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane for entrepreneurs Harry Miller and Clifford Hocking, and others.
Now John Cooper, keen to promote the innovative and outrageous, hit upon the idea of presenting Tully's sound in concert with something completely different. The Cell Block Theatre in the grounds of the National Art School, East Sydney, was the selected venue for this occasion, and the other 'sound' was Extradition, a breakaway group working the non-folk fringe of the Sydney folk scene, that mostly played the original songs of British guitarist, Colin Campbell, sung by the exquisite-voiced Shayna Karlin (now, Stewart). A quintet at the time, it was completed by singer-songwriter Colin Dryden, guitar, Robert Lloyd, percussion, and American, Jim Stanley, bass. The group was co-founded by Campbell, Karlin and Dryden in Sydney.
John Cooper knew and appreciated both groups for their individual merits. He also thought they had something in common and should meet... indeed, before the Cell Block they were complete strangers. As Col Campbell puts it, ‘It was John who saw us as two bands representing the best of two vastly different Sydney genres.’ Extradition was the antithesis of Tully the First, gentle, eloquent and delicately lovely. When they met, however, it was love at first sight!
Here is a previous post on the film with music/video of the backlit Lynch clip.
The short of it is, the Cell Block event was a precursor to a tour of New South Wales they were scheduled to do for the Arts Council. (‘The tour was designed to bring some culture to the outback rather than as a showcase for the benefit of the bands. That was the Arts Council’s raison d’etre, at the time. Very successful it was, too.’- Campbell). During the six weeks they were together on tour, not only did they become friends, they also conceived the idea of a new group embracing the multifarious talents, influences and styles of both. This ultimately became Tully the Second, the band that recorded Sea of Joy.
The retrospective HowlSpace now concludes, ‘In the Australian music landscape of the late sixties, Tully was a creature totally apart from the rest of the pack.’ And the godfather of Australian Jazz, the late John Sangster, called Tully the First ‘The best band in the world at the time.’
via
highlights; "Follow Me"(above) is a Can-like track that is, i feel, more of the root of the band rather that the gratuitous flower songs for the film as Witzig described it.
Also, "Syndrone" takes them into the ethnic jams again i believe are the bands strong point.
Download
1971: Harvest /EMI
Tully – a compact biography
To come to an adequate understanding of the relationship between Tully and the Australian surfing scene of the late sixties, early seventies, it is important to know that while the members of that enigmatic group lived in the northern beach-side suburbs of Sydney where many famous and talented surfers and surf film makers also lived, they were not surfers themselves. Being lovers of beauty, however, they were irresistibly attracted to the vast expanses of the sea and sky, the natural world. This was their affinity with the surfing fraternity.
When Paul Witzig asked Tully to compose the music for Sea of Joy he was seeking a soundtrack to suit the mood of a generation, for whom peace and freedom were the guiding lights. It was an obvious choice: in the vanguard of the Sydney underground Tully had already carved a deep and impressive curve into the pipeline of musical innovation, a wave it would ultimately ride to the shore. The music the group produced for Sea of Joy is testimony to the accolades it received at the time, and makes the film uniquely different to anything that precedes it.
The band that recorded Sea of Joy was the precocious child of two very different creatures, Tully the First (then Robert Taylor, percussion, Ken Firth, bass, Terry Wilson, vocals, Richard Lockwood, saxophones, clarinet and flutes and Michael Carlos, keyboards) and Extradition. They were brought together by NSW Arts Council director, John Cooper. Before they met, the wild and capricious, vain and sometimes luminously beautiful Tully, during the band's rapid rise to prominence on the Australian music stage, had already given many highly successful concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane for entrepreneurs Harry Miller and Clifford Hocking, and others.
Now John Cooper, keen to promote the innovative and outrageous, hit upon the idea of presenting Tully's sound in concert with something completely different. The Cell Block Theatre in the grounds of the National Art School, East Sydney, was the selected venue for this occasion, and the other 'sound' was Extradition, a breakaway group working the non-folk fringe of the Sydney folk scene, that mostly played the original songs of British guitarist, Colin Campbell, sung by the exquisite-voiced Shayna Karlin (now, Stewart). A quintet at the time, it was completed by singer-songwriter Colin Dryden, guitar, Robert Lloyd, percussion, and American, Jim Stanley, bass. The group was co-founded by Campbell, Karlin and Dryden in Sydney.
John Cooper knew and appreciated both groups for their individual merits. He also thought they had something in common and should meet... indeed, before the Cell Block they were complete strangers. As Col Campbell puts it, ‘It was John who saw us as two bands representing the best of two vastly different Sydney genres.’ Extradition was the antithesis of Tully the First, gentle, eloquent and delicately lovely. When they met, however, it was love at first sight!
Here is a previous post on the film with music/video of the backlit Lynch clip.
The short of it is, the Cell Block event was a precursor to a tour of New South Wales they were scheduled to do for the Arts Council. (‘The tour was designed to bring some culture to the outback rather than as a showcase for the benefit of the bands. That was the Arts Council’s raison d’etre, at the time. Very successful it was, too.’- Campbell). During the six weeks they were together on tour, not only did they become friends, they also conceived the idea of a new group embracing the multifarious talents, influences and styles of both. This ultimately became Tully the Second, the band that recorded Sea of Joy.
The retrospective HowlSpace now concludes, ‘In the Australian music landscape of the late sixties, Tully was a creature totally apart from the rest of the pack.’ And the godfather of Australian Jazz, the late John Sangster, called Tully the First ‘The best band in the world at the time.’
via
highlights; "Follow Me"(above) is a Can-like track that is, i feel, more of the root of the band rather that the gratuitous flower songs for the film as Witzig described it.
Also, "Syndrone" takes them into the ethnic jams again i believe are the bands strong point.
Download
