Magic Dirt - Friends In Danger (1996)

Versions:
CD
CD (US)
CD (US Promo)
LP

Tracklisting:
1. Friends In Danger
2. Heavy Business
3. Pristine Christine
4. Bodysnatcher
5. Dylan's Lullaby
6. Sparrow
7. Shovel
8. Fear
9. Befreiend Fallen Angel
10. I Was Curel

Best Tracks:
I Was Cruel
Shovel
Friends In Danger
Bodysnatcher
Pristine Christine

Currently listening to:
LP

It's hard to believe it's turning 20 years old this year, but Friends In Danger is - hands down - my favourite Australian album of all time. I actually rate it as high as I rate Horses and Fun House. It's one of those rare debut albums that taps into that special magic. Magic Dirt did some great stuff before (and certainly after) Friends In Danger, but there's something about this one that grabs me in a way that the others don't.

My introduction to Magic Dirt was What Are Rock Stars Doing Today, which I fell in love with. Next, I got Life Was Better, which I also fell in love with. Next, I got Friends In Danger. And nothing prepared me for Friends In Danger. It instantly kicked me square in guts. I remember trying to sell it to my (Kyuss-obsessed) best mate, by describing it as Kyuss with a fucked up chick singer. That summation may be more accurate than I care to admit, but such a description sells Friends In Danger incredibly short. Magic Dirt somehow managed to tap into the same manic energy that defined The Stooges' Fun House. It's sloppy and a mess. And, it sounds like the whole thing may fall apart at the seams at any given moment. At the same time, it manages to be very tight and direct. No mean feat. Fun House is the only other record I can think of that walks the same line between being succinct and manic - and sounding like the whole thing is on the verge of of complete collapse. Friends In Danger is the only record I would compare to Fun House - not only is Fun House one of my all time favourites, it is also an extremely important album in the history of modern popular music. That is the highest compliment that I can give Friends In Danger. And, one that feel is deserving.

The history of Friends In Danger also makes me love it, even more. Not only was it Magic Dirt's proper debut studio album, it was also their major label debut. And, not in Australia (where they remained on indie Au-Go-Go Records). No, no. They were actually signed to Warner in America. At a time when, in the 90's, Aussie bands simply didn't get signed in America. My promo copy of the album - with the same generic Warner CD labelling that was on every Madonna promo in the 80's - is my favourite reminder of this. See:

Anyway. Warner were impressed with their first two EP's and hoped that they clean up their sound and make a pop record. Magic Dirt, in turn, gave them this sloppy masterpiece. Suffice to say, Warner weren't impressed and soon dropped them (which you'd know if you'd read up on Wikipedia - I'm linking it here, since I wrote 90% of the fucking thing). It was a pretty ballsy move. And, a very Magic Dirt move. Warner may not have liked it, but this album is an underrated, and in 2016, little known gem.

Friends In Danger feels like it came from another planet. From the droney noise of the title track and 'Befriended Fallen Angel', to the absolutely chilling 'Bodysnatcher' and (instrumental) 'Fear', and from the (almost) straight forward rock of 'Pristine Christine' and 'Sparrow' to the all out freak out of 'I Was Cruel' (and Magic Dirt fans will debate whether the version released on a 10" the year before is superior to the album version. I find both equally mind blowing), Friends In Danger takes off like a rocket into the stratosphere and doesn't let up until it comes crashing back to Earth (as heard at the end of 'I Was Cruel').

I'm sure Friends In Danger also holds a special place in my heart for sentimental reasons. Between 2002 and 2010, I saw Magic Dirt play around 30 times. I'm not sure I can adequately express in words how much I miss seeing them play live. It was always special when they played tracks from Friends In Danger. A performance of 'I Was Cruel' at the 2004 Big Day Out, where an inebriated Adalita walked off stage and returned, smoking the roadie's joint and improvising words and howls and feedback, was a highlight. Another was at The Gov in 2007, when I was seeing them play 'Shovel' live for the first time in about 5 years, and my group of friends and I were singing along so loudly (and, presumably, badly), that Adalita cracked up halfway through the first verse.

I got my vinyl copy of this album from the Au-Go-Go Shop in Melbourne in 2003, along with a bunch of 

other Magic Dirt treasures. I was delighted to see a Magic Dirt display on the wall and asked the lovely man behind the counter what they had in stock. I was spoiled, to say the least (I even returned the next day after he'd called me to say he'd found a copy of the Sparrow 7"). By my next Melbourne trip, the shop was closed and lots of the treasures I got (promo CD's, 7"s and posters) seemed to be gone forever. I was very lucky to get what I got on that one fateful visit.

I also found a CD copy of this album in a Salvation Army Thift Store in Brooklyn for $2. I wondered how long it had been there and how many hundreds of people has passed it over. Despite already having a copy of the American version, I bought it. I couldn't bring myself to just leave it there.

I also know that this album was released on cassette in the US. Tracking a copy down is one of my latest obsessions.

I don't understand how this album wasn't more successful than it was. Despite moderate success in Australia (it sold 10,000 copies and hit No. 25 in the charts - not a bad effort for an Aussie band in the 90's), I sometimes feel it came at the wrong time. Five years earlier, it would have given Bricks Are Heavy and Pretty On The Inside a serious run for their money. Five years later, and it would have wiped the floor with The Strokes, The Hives and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Though, maybe that's part of Friends In Danger's charm? If it was huge (like, say, Frogstomp), maybe over exposure would have sullied it. Who knows? And, really, who gives a fuck? The fact remains that this is the best album that you've probably never heard. Please please please listen to it. It deserves to be more than a forgotten relic of sloppy 90's Aussie rock. It really is a masterpiece.

(And, don't feel bad about illegally downloading it. The CD and vinyl are out of print and I doubt the band will ever see a cent from iTunes royalties. If you do like it and want to support the band, buy Adalita's solo stuff or River Of Snakes).

Magic Dirt - 'Life Was Better' (1994)

Versions:

CD

Tracklisting:
1. Daddy
2. Ice
3. Amoxycillin
4. Fairy Park
5. He Man

Best Tracks:

He-Man
Ice
Amoxycillin

Currently listening to:
CD

Magic Dirt is another big one that I need to get started on. I could (and probably will, later) wax poetic - at considerable length - about Magic Dirt. They're still my favourite band. Ever.

For now, we'll start with Life Was Better. Partly, because it's possibly the one Magic Dirt release that I only have one copy of. And partly, because it's perfect. I can't think of a better EP - one that, in five tracks, completely sums up what's great about a band. Despite the great work they did in the years after Life Was Better, I feel like this is still the perfect summation of Magic Dirt. The fact that most of the tracks on Life Was Better remained staples of Magic Dirt's live set, right up until they stopped touring, is testament to that. It's pop. It's catchy. It's sloppy. It's grungey. It's noisy. In Life Was Better, you can hear the roots of the sloppy masterpiece Friends In Danger, the riffy/stoner Young And Full Of The Devil, the poppy hooks of What Are Rock Stars Doing Today and Tough Love, and the noise freak-out of Roky's Room. More than 1993's Signs Of Satanic Youth EP (which is also great), Life Was Better, feels like a planted seed. From which, greatness sprang.

Life Was Better could not have been an album. It's potency lies in that it only contains 5 tracks. The self-titled Magic Dirt album that became their American debut, which contains all the tracks from Signs Of Satanic Youth and Life Was Better, is proof of that. Or maybe it's that I'm so used to hearing the two EPs separately, that they don't pack the same punch when compiled together. Either way, Life Was Better deserves to be taken on it's own.

The EP opens with 'Daddy', which is the only song on the EP that, for me, was a grower. In retrospect, I'm not sure why. It's great. Then onto 'Ice', which is probably one of their best known songs, but is nowhere near as revered as it should be. It should be classed with Ratcat's 'That Ain't Bad' or Silverchair's 'Tomorrow' or even You Am I's 'Berlin Chair' as an essential early 90's Australian rock song. These days, it seems to be remembered by a small handful of Triple J listeners and people who saw Magic Dirt play in shitty pubs in the early 90's. I must admit, I kinda like that. Although, I hope I'm wrong.

Then, 'Amoxycillin'. Which is possibly even catchier than 'Ice'. So, what do Magic Dirt do? They put ten minutes of feedback onto the end of it. Which is one of the many, many reasons I love them so.

'Fairy Park' is one of the few tracks of Magic Dirt's career that sees bass player Dean Turner take on vocal duties. Sincer Turner's passing in 2009, the song has taken on a new significance. For me, it's full of memories of many Magic Dirt gigs, from the Big Day Out to shitty country pubs.

'He Man' closes Life Was Better and remains one of my favourite Magic Dirt songs. It encapsulates everything I love about this band. It's dirge-y, but has a great hook. And, Adalita's vocals are insanely good. When I first got Life Was Better, I was in a band myself, and just wished I could sing like that. Her scream at the end of 'He Man' makes me weak at the knees, even now.

As I said, I only have one copy of Life Was Better, which is only unusual because it's the only Magic Dirt release from their years on Au-Go-Go Records that was never released on vinyl. Considering it was one of their better selling releases, it's surprising. And, a shame. What I wouldn't give for a beautiful vinyl pressing of this EP! It'll probably never happen (even the CD is long out of print), but after Adalita's debut album was pressed on vinyl for the first time this year, I'm quietly hopeful that anything could happen. I won't hold my breath, however.

I never quite understood how Magic Dirt weren't huge. I fell in love with them, hard and fast, back in the day. And, my tastes were pretty mainstream. If you're a new convert, interested in checking Magic Dirt out, this is a good place to start.