In the course of this programme, Peel played two tracks from Leaves Me Blind, the second album by the Australian band, Underground Lovers. Based on the two tracks that were featured, I found myself wondering whether Underground Lovers had created an LP influenced by unlikely sources for a standard rock album. For instance, in the second half of the programme Peel played Eastside Stories, the opening track on Leaves Me Blind, which may very well be one of the few rock songs released in 1992 which should include a co-writing credit for Stephen Sondheim given that the track features several lyrics lifted from West Side Story (and a number of unapologised for F-bombs and ethnic slurs). Meanwhile, I Was Right, despite its shoegaze surface, has the feel of a track in which the widowed heroine of Leader of the Pack reflects on her life and fruitless search for direction in the years since the passing of the one that knew them best. Certainly, the director of the video picked up on the biking metaphor and the line which mentions aimless travel on one, albeit tied to one of the great “road to nowhere” lines of the type which Peel often felt could make a song, And the way that it ends/Is the way it began.
A whole album based on contemporary updates of similar “big” production material (musicals/Wall of Sound etc) could have been a fascinating concept, at least to my ears, though going by some of the other material from the album that is out there, it remains an unrealised one. Nevertheless, Leaves Me Blind remained a highly regarded album, ranking at Number 54 in the 2010 book, 100 Best Australian Albums.
Video courtesy of rubberrecords
All lyrics are copyright of their authors.
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