Customer Reviews

Under One Roof

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Under One Roof" is the quintessential live rock and roll album. Period. The performances are brisk and energetic, the crowd is riding on the crest of the H&C juggernaut, and the band is as tight as a snare drum. Above all, this is wonderful music from a band designed for live play, music that pulses with spontaneous energy, and conveys the Hunnas live experience straight from Syndey to your living room.

Sadly, H&C never caught on to any large degree here in America. It is our nation's loss and Australia's gain, as H&C created a unique songbook to accompany that nation's late 20th Century.

Tracks such as the seminal "Talking to a Stranger," the gut-wrenching "Holy Grail," the outback/roadtrain anthem "42 Wheels," and the lovely "Throw Your Arms Around Me" vibrate in this intimate, live setting and Mark Seymour's impassioned vocals truly carry the full weight and resonance of the intended emotions.

In fact, every tune hits a rock-and-roll, rhythm-and-blues bulls-eye. This is the sound of Australia, live!

I deduct 1 star for this reason: this CD doesn't include the entire evening's set list (from what I can tell). And I guess that's being a bit picky. I urge all fans of great, live, sweaty, pure music to sample the now-retired Hunnas machine: get out of the MTV acid rain and get "Under One Roof."

This album is my first experience with H&C, and won't be my last. I intend to buy every album I can find. Unfortunately, the band has retired and most likely, nothing new will be forthcoming, and that, believe me, is a great loss to music. I came across the band while hunting for Aussie rock and gave the sample songs a listen. I was hooked, caught, collected. There is not a bad song on this album; each track is uplifting, heartwrenching, blood-pounding, extraordinary, live rock n roll. Don't wait, just get it and start loving Hunters & Collectors.

"Come on confession, confusion, spread it around........"

The best H&C recording ever!

this album is a must buy, so stop reading this and go buy it!

I have been listening to these guys for about 11 years. It is really too bad nobody in the USA knows about them. I strongly suggest buying a few of their albums. This one is super!!! Check out Fate and Ghost Nation also.

What can I say about this album? I have seen H&C live several times and managed to catch them on their final tour and I can honestly say there was never a time when I was not totally spent by the end of one of their concerts. This album is as close as you can get to a H&C concert and is probably one of the best live albums I have come across (up there with Scream In Blue Live - midnight Oil, They Were Better Live - Weddings parties Anyting). This album demonstrated the passion with which H&C played their music and the brilliance of their song writing, with special mention made of Do You See What I See, Whats few Men, Turn a Blind and the very special Throw Your Arms Around Me. A must have album for anyone who likes great rock.

Hunters and Collectors were one of the most original and distinctive Australian bands of their time. The early stuff, in particular, was powerful and innvoative, displaying a very strong Krautrock/funk influence; thumping percussion, pounding basslines, sharp horn blasts, and oddball production. Gradually they pared back their arty angles and settled on a more conventional Aussie pub rock sound, but elements of their early period always remained in their awesome rhythm section and Mark Seymour's literate but enigmatic lyrics. Indeed, one of their greatest achievements might well have been getting pubs full of sweaty Australian males belting out lines like "You tasted mustard when she painted your face" and "I see bulldozers chasing butterflies down sad English streets of wonder"!

And like all great Australian rock bands, they had the ability to deliver live. 'Under One Roof' comes from their round of "farewell" concerts, and provides a worthy overview of the band's entire career. The band are in top form, churning out really strong versions of nearly every song. The album really highlights the live presence of H&C; they had plenty of musical and lyrical quirks to make their music distinctive, but could also rock hard and hit really hard at gut level as well.

It's hard to pick an individual highlight, since the concert fits so well together as a whole. I'm more of a fan of their earlier stuff, so I was pleased with excellent takes on 'Talking To A Stranger' and 'The Slab', both of which translate their artiness well to a pub setting. Other personal favourites of mine are the powerful 'Inside A Fireball' and '42 Wheels', and the more reflective 'Back In The Hole'. But really, every track is worthy, and there is not a single weak song or performance here.

Generous seventeen track collection: check. All periods of the band's career covered: check. Awesome live performance of every song: check.

Great album from a great band: check.

Five stars.

Attention, America: If you're looking for an introduction to one of those bands you've heard of but likely never heard, this is it. All the passion, energy, intelligence and craft that made H&C so compelling (and their inability to crack the US/UK markets so baffling) is showcased in this farewell concert from Sydney in 1998. The band rocks the roof off the joint, Mark Seymour is in extraordinary voice (then again, when isn't he?), and the range of the material is matched only by the band's ability to put it across. It's a 78 minute tour de force testament to how and why they dominated the Australian scene for well over a decade, and garnered the reputation as having been one of the best live bands on the planet. "Head Above Water", "Say Goodbye" and "The Slab" define live power. Check out those horns on "Inside a Fireball", the thunderous bassline of "When the River Runs Dry", the sinister fury of "42 Wheels" or the bitter euphoria of "Holy Grail". And could they have left the building without including "Throw Your Arms Around Me"? Of course not - good thing, too, as this is hands-down the best-ever version of that much-covered song by anyone, anywhere. These guys knew how to deliver.
A mere five stars? Harumph. Ten.

This is an example of great Aussie LIVE music at it's best.
Other bands that should be looked at are 'Hoodoo Gurus', 'Spy Vs Spy' and of good old 'Cold Chisel' all as good as the Hunters

Taken from the last show on the Juggernaut tour of '98, this live CD goes very close to showing just how awesome the Hunna's are live. Virtually a greatest hits live, the disc bristles with energy from start to finish. Stand out tracks for me were The Slab, When The River Runs Dry, What's A Few Men, and Barry Palmer's guitar on True Tears Of Joy.

Also rumoured to include a guest appearance by the Oil's axemen Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey on a few tracks.

This is Oz pub rock at its finest. Buy it, put it on, and turn it up. Loud ! To truly experience the live show, put on a couple of very heavy sweaters, drink beer, smoke a packet, and scream and sing along til you lose your voice. Then you'll be close to experiencing Hunters & Collectors live.

Hey guys, what about farewell tour to the US ? And bring the Oil's as support if you like.