Dedicated to the Ones We Love
Encyclopedia
Dedicated to the Ones We Love is the fifth studio album by the Australian folk rock group The Blackeyed Susans
and was released on 23 April 2001. It is the first issued on their own label, Teardrop, and was distributed through Shock Records
. As the name suggests, it is a collection of cover versions, focusing on songs that have influenced and inspired the band. It includes songs made popular by Frank Sinatra
, Elvis Presley
, The Crystals
, Bob Dylan
, The Velvet Underground
, and, most poignantly, The Triffids
. The Triffids were the previous band of David McComb
, who had died in 1999 and was a founding member of The Blackeyed Susans. The album was well received by the public and lauded by the critics, a national tour followed keeping the band busy until the end of the year.
, focusing on songs that have influenced and inspired the band. In May 2000, the group parted ways with their record company Mds after it was bought by Festival Records
. They had been working on their Shangri-La album since mid-1999 but this was postponed until 2002. In September–November 2000, the band recorded Dedicated to the Ones We Love at Fortissimo Studios in South Melbourne
. The band's pedal steel guitar
ist, Graham Lee
produced alongside other band members.
On 23 April 2001, the album was released on their own label, Teardrop, and distributed through Shock Records
. According to Shock Records, it paid tribute to the influences and aspirations of the band - including songs from Hollywood-period Elvis, epic Sinatra, and street level affirmations by Big Star and The Velvet Underground
. It was well received by the public and lauded by the critics. A national tour followed keeping the band busy until the end of the year.
Phil Kakulas, the band's double bass guitarist, described the album, "My idea of going forward is actually going backwards. I like the idea of digging deep. That's why I really liked the covers album that we did". Rob Snarski, lead vocalist, chose "Everyone's Gone to the Moon
" after hearing the Nina Simone
version from her 1969 album, Nina Simone and Piano
. Lisa Miller
liked their version of "State Trooper" from Bruce Springsteen
's 1982 release Nebraska
. Snarski opined that if they were to do a second covers album, "Highway Patrolman" from the same album would be one of his choices – "What a great song about siblings, family, strength and loyalty". Ed Nimmervoll
recommended the album, "Imagine Nick Cave trying to emulate Frank Sinatra and you're half-way towards an impression of the Blackeyed Susans' "style"". Other tracks include covers of The Crystals
, Bob Dylan
, The Velvet Underground
, and, most poignantly, The Triffids
. The Triffids were the previous band of David McComb
, who had died in 1999 and was a founding member of The Blackeyed Susans.
The Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans are an Australian rock band, formed in Perth in 1989, based in Melbourne since 1992.-Perth 1989-1990:The original line-up consisted of David McComb on vocals and guitar, Alsy MacDonald on drums , Phil Kakulas on bass guitar , Rob Snarski on vocals and guitar, and...
and was released on 23 April 2001. It is the first issued on their own label, Teardrop, and was distributed through Shock Records
Shock Records
Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
. As the name suggests, it is a collection of cover versions, focusing on songs that have influenced and inspired the band. It includes songs made popular by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, The Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, and, most poignantly, The Triffids
The Triffids
The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
. The Triffids were the previous band of David McComb
David McComb
David Richard McComb was an Australian rock musician. He was the singer-songwriter of the Australian band, The Triffids.-Early years in Perth:...
, who had died in 1999 and was a founding member of The Blackeyed Susans. The album was well received by the public and lauded by the critics, a national tour followed keeping the band busy until the end of the year.
Background
Dedicated to the Ones We Love is a covers album by The Blackeyed SusansThe Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans are an Australian rock band, formed in Perth in 1989, based in Melbourne since 1992.-Perth 1989-1990:The original line-up consisted of David McComb on vocals and guitar, Alsy MacDonald on drums , Phil Kakulas on bass guitar , Rob Snarski on vocals and guitar, and...
, focusing on songs that have influenced and inspired the band. In May 2000, the group parted ways with their record company Mds after it was bought by Festival Records
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
. They had been working on their Shangri-La album since mid-1999 but this was postponed until 2002. In September–November 2000, the band recorded Dedicated to the Ones We Love at Fortissimo Studios in South Melbourne
South Melbourne, Victoria
South Melbourne is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne...
. The band's pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
ist, Graham Lee
Graham Lee (Australian musician)
Graham Lee is an Australian rock musician and record producer, best known as the steel guitar player of the 1980s band The Triffids, where he was nicknamed 'Evil Graham Lee'....
produced alongside other band members.
On 23 April 2001, the album was released on their own label, Teardrop, and distributed through Shock Records
Shock Records
Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
. According to Shock Records, it paid tribute to the influences and aspirations of the band - including songs from Hollywood-period Elvis, epic Sinatra, and street level affirmations by Big Star and The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
. It was well received by the public and lauded by the critics. A national tour followed keeping the band busy until the end of the year.
Phil Kakulas, the band's double bass guitarist, described the album, "My idea of going forward is actually going backwards. I like the idea of digging deep. That's why I really liked the covers album that we did". Rob Snarski, lead vocalist, chose "Everyone's Gone to the Moon
Everyone's Gone to the Moon
"Everyone's Gone To The Moon" is a song that was written and recorded as the debut single of the British singer-songwriter, producer and impresario Jonathan King. The song, which was released in 1965 whilst King was still an undergraduate at Cambridge University, immediately shot him to...
" after hearing the Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
version from her 1969 album, Nina Simone and Piano
Nina Simone and Piano
Nina Simone And Piano is an album by American jazz singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone.On this concept album we only hear Simone's voice accompanied by her own piano playing. The album was critically acclaimed, but sold badly...
. Lisa Miller
Lisa Miller
Lisa Miller is an Australian singer/songwriter known for her clear, bitter-sweet voice and poignant semi-biographical songs.-Biography:Miller grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Chadstone, the daughter of social realist painter Peter Miller...
liked their version of "State Trooper" from Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's 1982 release Nebraska
Nebraska (album)
-Themes:The album begins with "Nebraska", a first-person narrative based on the true story of 19-year-old spree killer Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, and ends with "Reason to Believe", a complex narrative that renders its title phrase into contemptuous sarcasm...
. Snarski opined that if they were to do a second covers album, "Highway Patrolman" from the same album would be one of his choices – "What a great song about siblings, family, strength and loyalty". Ed Nimmervoll
Ed Nimmervoll
Edward Francis "Ed" Nimmervoll is an Australian rock music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock magazines Go-Set and Juke both as a journalist and as an editor...
recommended the album, "Imagine Nick Cave trying to emulate Frank Sinatra and you're half-way towards an impression of the Blackeyed Susans' "style"". Other tracks include covers of The Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, and, most poignantly, The Triffids
The Triffids
The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
. The Triffids were the previous band of David McComb
David McComb
David Richard McComb was an Australian rock musician. He was the singer-songwriter of the Australian band, The Triffids.-Early years in Perth:...
, who had died in 1999 and was a founding member of The Blackeyed Susans.
Track listing
All songs written by artists listed.Personnel
According to The Blackeyed Susans:- Rob Snarski – mainly vocals
- Dan Luscombe – mainly guitar and backing vocals
- Kiernan Box – mainly keyboards
- Phil Kakulas – mainly double bass
- Mark Dawson – mainly drums
- Matthew Habben – clarinet, saxophone
- Graham LeeGraham Lee (Australian musician)Graham Lee is an Australian rock musician and record producer, best known as the steel guitar player of the 1980s band The Triffids, where he was nicknamed 'Evil Graham Lee'....
– pedal steel, guitar - Adam Hutterer – trombone
- Ken Gardner – trumpet