Coronet Blue - Better Day

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 16 / 7 / 2014

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Review

The third album from one of Australia’s most fascinating bands has been a long time coming. The last we heard from Coronet Blue, which is led by John Rooney, was seven years ago. Rooney has always assembled a different group of musicians to bring his songs to life. Both his previous albums were produced by Mitch Easter along with Rooney, and past contributors have included Jamie Hoover, Easter, Don Dixon, Simon Kirke and Ian McLagan. This time Rooney ropes in Blondie Chaplin and Pat Thrall on guitars, Anton Fig and Herman Matthews filling the drum seat, Arian Schierbaum on keyboards and Michael Rhodes on bass. Another impressive list. Rooney’s previous albums have been hard to pin down musically. Given those musicians chosen to help out and produce the Coronet Blue debut there is an obvious power-pop influence in there somewhere, but Rooney’s music has always been the amalgamation of many musical styles and in the process Rooney has always created a fresh sound, even though it would bug the listener forever as to where they’d thought they had heard little snippets of the music before. Rooney and co. have reworked ‘So Many (The Mystery Song)’ from Coronet Blue’s eponymous debut album for ‘Better Day’, the big, chunky guitar that dominated the original has been replaced by Schierbaum’s warm Hammond, although those chiming guitars still sparkle and shine. It’s a rare case where a song that was neigh-on-perfect to begin with has actually been improved on by its creator. But when the songs are as well-crafted as those that Rooney and his collaborators seem to pluck from the air it would be practically impossible to foul up such addictive tunes anyway. The other eleven songs on ‘Better Days’ are new. Each and every song is up there with the best that Rooney has written and recorded. There are many times when listening to this latest set when you’ll feel that this album is Rooney’s best to date and it may well prove to be. The problem is that when you return to his earlier albums you also realise just how damn good they are too. Seven years is a long time between albums and with outstanding new talent taking advantage of the speed and ease with which they can get their music out today, it’s a sad but true fact that even when an artist is blessed with the talent Rooney has they can be relegated to the back of your memory. The title track is the real gem. While Rooney has always created melodic, spiky pop songs along the lines of, say Squeeze, on this song Rooney throws in a little country/soul, a dash of pop psych and a sprinkling of gospel to the mix. The opening half-minute of brooding sounds gives way to a chorus of pure beauty, a vocal tour-de-force before Rooney’s aching vocals take over and the song develops into a song you just know the country Stones and even Gram Parsons were aiming for. It’s the type of song you’d expect to carry a Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham writing credit. It’s the most perfect song you’ll hear all summer and it merges soul, country, rock and pop brilliantly. In a word, timeless. Make that two words, bloody brilliant. That Rooney can then follow such a soulful, heartfelt track with the rocking ‘You’ll Be Mine’ and make the transition feel so natural is another pointer to the man’s talents. With searing, chopping guitar and amazing backing vocals (Georgina Johnston?), it’s an irresistible rocker that will have the listener moving and singing along immediately. Although many of the songs on ‘Better Days’ are co-writes with Rooney’s long time writing partner Tom Watson, Georgina Johnston’s name also appears in the wring credits on about half of the songs. One of Johnston’s songs (not a co-write) is the atmospheric ‘Wait And See’ which recalls the Paul Carrack period of Squeeze. Given that Johnston also had a hand in writing that brilliant title track it appears that she brings out the more soulful side in Rooney’s vocal performances, it’s another highlight on an album where every song is proving to be the favourite at some point. Rooney has his reasons as to why it’s taken so long to follow up ‘Welcome to the Arms Of Forever’, the second Coronet Blue album, not least to concentrate of his career as an orthopaedic surgeon, but it’s a crime that we don’t get to hear music as passionate, diverse and as uplifting as this more often. That’s the soundtrack to my summer sorted…

Track Listing:-

1 Waiting Forever
2 So Many (The Mystery Song)
3 Better Day
4 You'll Be Mine
5 Old Story
6 Oh Pardon Me
7 Drugs II
8 Wait and See
9 Three Rings
10 Persuade You
11 Mesmerized
12 Absolute Zero

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/CoronetBlueMu
http://www.coronetblue.com/