Album #129: Skyhooks - Living In The 70s

Skyhooks

Living In The 70's (1974)

People often forget, or don't realise, just how brightly Skyhooks' star burned in the mid 1970s. Their first two albums were chart toppers, they had a bevy of successful singles, and were a highly regarded live act (even if they had some detractors, who accused them of being little more than Kiss clones with their over-the-top theatrics). Yet like so many bands of the 70s, as quickly as the star burned, it faded away. Key members left, and the band were eventually put out of their misery. 

However, it's still worth celebrating their successes, as well as their importance to the Australian music scene. Their debut, Living In The 70's, was number 1 for sixteen weeks and is still regarded as one of Australia's best albums. Despite casually enjoying Skyhooks, I've never heard an album, and although I really wanted to do Guilty Until Proven Insane (because of Women In Uniform, no other reason) I thought I should explore a legendary album to evaluate its legendariness.

The Album

The genre label is 'glam rock' but Skyhooks' sound doesn't have the traditional glam influences. Instead, for the most part, it's pretty good guitar pop, albeit with some pretty impressive instrumental work from guitarists Red Symons (yep, the same one that was on Red Faces for many years) and Bob 'Bongo' Starkie, and the impressive Greg Macainsh on bass. Charismatic frontman Shirley Strachan also steals the show at times with some top drawer vocal performances, and his charisma and charm comes through in some of his vocals.

Surprisingly, while the album's singles (and best known tracks) are really damn good, there's a few cuts that come mighty close to trumping them. Living In The 70s and Horror Movie are the two big singles, and they're both solid cuts. The former is a straightforward guitar pop tune with a decent walking bassline, and lyrics that paint the experience of living in the 70s as rather disorienting, while the latter utilises two sparse intertwined guitar riffs, some spooky synth effects and some decidedly evil backing vocals to create an unsettling vibe (which suits the title and the lyrics). It ends up being great satire about the growing violence of TV viewing, extending out to the most horrific thing being the nightly news broadcasts.

You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good In Bed is famous as the first song played on Double J, and its whippy tempo and catchy riff (which is matched by Strachan's vocal melody) mark it as a fun, easy to listen tune, Balwyn Calling is a fantastic guitar pop/rock track with elements of 50s rock and roll, and some clever double entendre lyrics about the ancient art of picking up chicks in the suburbs, while Toorak Cowboy is, for all intents and purposes, a country song about Melbourne's gay scene - Strachan's vocal twang, the oh-so-country bassline and the guitar licks provide the sonic basis, while the lyrics deal with the 70s gay nightlife in a mostly respectful way. Red Symons' songwriting contribution, Smut, is also an interesting tune; Symons delivers most of the lead vocals himself and he's okay, though he's no Strachan (and it's noticeable when Strachan takes some lead parts on the song himself), the choruses are all harmonies and pretty guitars a la 10cc, while the lyrics appear to be about a man who enjoys porno theatres, until the last verse reveals that maybe, just maybe, it's not porno theatres he's relieving himself at.....

The other thing that made Skyhooks stand out was the use of local references. Being a Melbourne band, those references were to Melbourne locations (Balwyn, Toorak, Carlton), but at least an Australian band was revelling in its Australianness, not trying to hide it in order to be cool or hip. To their credit, when used here, those references don't feel shoehorned in; they feel like (and probably are) accurate representations of those locations at the time. Extra credit must also go to Macainsh, who wrote all the songs (save Smut) on the album and shows an ear for crafty pop.

The Verdict

I enjoyed Living In The 70s, and don't get me wrong, it's a really good album...but I'm not sure that it quite lives up to all the hype. I was expecting to be blown away...maybe I was expecting too much. 

Should you check it out? Yes, absolutely, because it is really enjoyable, and it's guitar pop from a time when 'pop' music could still be musically interesting and filled with great musicianship. It also doesn't have much in the way of crap filler; the album tracks are mostly rather good, and a couple almost on par with the singles. 

It's just not everything that its reputation describes.

My rating: 7.7/10

Standout Tracks

Balwyn Calling

Horror Movie

You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good In Bed