78 'til 79 The Lost Album

THE LOST ALBUM: '78-'79 includes the first and second singles released by the Go-Betweens, a track from an aborted third single, and eight demos primitively recorded in a bedroom. Accompanied by a short essay by band co-founder Robert Foster (FYI, the demos were recorded in his bedroom), the collection explores the roots of one of Australia's greatest musical exports.
The first two tracks--the debut single--include an clever ode to an actress; "Lee Remick" features the immortal couplet "She was in THE OMEN with Gregory Peck/She got killed, but what the heck", and "Karen" is a creepy song about an infatuation with a librarian that spins ever more out of control. The demos that follow show the formation of the Go-Betweens' "sound" and feature early experiments with vocal duets (especially notable on "Summer's Melting My Mind"). The disc ends with tracks from their second single, the best of which is the muscled acoustic guitar (and harmonica!) of "Don't Let Him Come Back". This collection's standout, though, is "The Sound of Rain", a song as carefully conceived and performed as anything in the band's catalogue and that deserves a place on any list of the band's best material.|