Formed by Robert Forester and Grant McLennan while at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, in 1976, The Go-Betweens were a band featuring the two songwriters and a variety of other musicians that were augmented into the band’s line up at different points in the band’s career. “Cattle and Cane” was a song written by Grant McLennan in 1982. The song was composed on Nick Cave’s acoustic guitar in his London apartment by McLennan while Cave was reportedly comatose following substance use. In “Cattle and Cane”, often called a gentle ballad, McLennan created a story in song that he has called “three vignettes of a person, who's a lot like myself, growing up in Queensland, and just juxtaposing that against how I am now." Musically, the song is dominated by acoustic guitar riffs, strong melodic bassline and backing vocals. It is a very stripped down affair that is not plagued by the elements of 80s over production, however, the song does contain guitar and effects that place the song in an 80s indie rock construct. Following the writing of this song McLennan brought it to Robert Forester who also has a co-writing credit on the song and it was recorded in October of 1982 at I.B.C Studios in Eastbourne, UK. Released in February 1983 prior to the release of The Go-Betweens second album Before Hollywood, “Cattle and Cane” is also found on the album as well. A music video was filmed for the song in a barn, featuring dim lighting and a new bass player Robert Vickers. While Vickers was not on the actual recording of the song (McLennan plays bass and provides the main vocals on this track), he did appear in the video and on the single’s B-side “Man O’Sand To Girl O’Sea”. The song and video also features drums and backing vocals by Lindy Morrison, who joined the band as their drummer in 1980. The single went on to become number four on the UK independent charts in 1983 and has since been heralded as a classic. In 2015, G Stands For Go-Betweens – Volume 1, a boxed set that compiles the band’s recordings from 1976-1984 was released via the Domino records label.
Saturday Night Playlist:
1. Ty Segall & White Fence - Crybaby
2. JD McPherson - Head Over Heels
3. Frankie & Jimmy - Got My Mojo Workin’
4. Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot (Live)
5. The Wipers - No Generation Gap
6. Destruction Unit - The World On Drugs (Live)
7. Silent Movie Type - Cap Guns
8. Young Guv - Dear Drew
9. Flight Of Niko - Depressing Feat
10. The Bureaucrats - Crush You In My Arms
11. The Ugly Beats - Can’t Cut Through
12. Max Pain And The Groovies - Drip
13. The Torquays - Stolen Moments
14. The Odds & Ends - Cause You Don’t Love Me
15. Chips & Co. - Let The Winds Blow
16. The Motions - Big Chief
17 The Mighty Swells - Stampede
18. Los Explosivos - Rocking Heart
19. Actual Water - The Wait
20. The Traditional Fools - Milkman
21. Gentlemen Of Horror - Rough Hike
22. Bonnie Prince Billy - No Match
23. The Byrds - Pretty Polly
24. The Plugz - Beserkertown
25. Chad Vangaalen — It Must Be Alright
26. X-Ray Spex - Warrior In Woolworths
27. The Go-Betweens - Hope
28. The Government - Fire Escape
27. Ricked Wicky - Death Metal
28. Mark Sultan - Livin' My Life
29. The Only Ones - Out There In The Night
30. Simply Saucer - Bullet Proof Nothing
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for April 4. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
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