born sandy devotional

back in june of this year i attended a couple of events as part of the sydney film festival
one was to see a preview of the new david lynch film titled inland empire
a 3-hour epic of art-meets-film unlike anything i have ever seen
the other event i attended with some near and dear friends from the 80's
was the official premier of the documentary about the album born sandy devotional by the triffids
one of a series of 4 films from sbs about classic australian albums - with more to come
since that night i have been eagerly anticipating the release on dvd of the film
and tonight was the night it finally showed up in the local cd/dvd store
i loved this album back in the 80's and upon infrequent playing since then
over the last year or so with a new re-mastered version released on cd
i have rekindled the relationship but probably with even more vigour
as it sounds so good, so contemporary, so timeless, so significant
so music (a shameless plug for the shop where i bought the dvd)
opening scene is the band playing at the big 1987 australian made concert
with tongue firmly planted in cheek david mccomb declares the dilemna they faced
of making up the set list because of the hits they had enjoyed in australia
before launching straight into wide open road the one song that came closest to a hit
then cutting to comments from the likes of paul kelly and steve kilbey
in the first of many raves about the song and the album it is from
we go back in time to the late seventies and to perth where the band started
and it occurs to me that the sound of the band then
is very closely related to the early flying nun bands coming out of nz
before long the band is in a van and heading across the nullabor plain
to try their luck in the eastern states and laying the foundation for this album
the band soon relocates to europe where they cracked it big time
1985 being declared the year of the triffids by influential music magazine nme
and that was before this classic album was recorded or released
there's some great historical footage of australian bands living in london in the 80's
and some funny stories about the recording of the album in london
but what works best in this film is the fading in and out of various album tracks
there are snippets of all the songs on the album
volume used to great effect at times to highlight particular riffs, sounds or lyrics
and some fine interpretations and explanations of the lyrics from kelly and kilbey and others
in a not very often seen example of peer appreciation and respect
fellow band members also all speak eloquently and fondly about their 10 years together
and there is a very definite sadness coming from them when speaking about their friend
david mccomb had some very serious health issues leading to a heart transplant
that kept him going for a few years before ironically rejection set it
leading to his premature death in 1999
tender is the night from the album and sung by jill birt seems so prophetic
i knew him as a gentle young man
i cannot say for certain
the reasons for his decline
we watched him fade before our very eyes
and years before his time...
and years before his time
vale david mccomb
this is a fine testament to his legacy