Hunters & Collectors - The Jaws Of Life

White D 19492 (1984)

Rock/Pop

CD, 15 Tracks, 59:49 Length


01	42 Wheels	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Jack Howard; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	03:21
	✷ 42 Wheels was inspired by an incident where a man drove a 25 ton Mack Truck into the crowded Inland Hotel at Yulara, killing five and injuring 16. The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory reports: “CRABBE, Douglas John Edwin… …[2] In the early hours of 18 August 1983 the respondent drove his 25 ton Mack Truck into a crowded bar of the Inland Hotel at Yulara. Five persons were killed and 16 were injured… …[24] On 17 August 1983 the respondent spent the day driving his 25 ton Mack Truck to various localities and unloading his trailers. That evening after a meal the respondent went to the Inland Hotel where he drank at the bar for an hour or so before the barman refused to serve him because he was causing trouble. The respondent walked behind the bar and confronted the barman. A scuffle followed during which the respondent was forcibly removed from behind the bar and restrained. The respondent and another man fell to the floor briefly before the respondent was let up. He dusted himself off and, at about 12.30pm left the bar. [25] The respondent walked approximately 500 metres back to his truck. He then drove the truck and two attached trailers a small distance to the Uluru Motel. At the motel the respondent unhitched one of the trailers. That was an exercise that required a degree of skill and dexterity, although it must be recognised that the respondent was very experienced in the operation of the truck and the trailers. [26] After unhitching a trailer, the respondent drove the truck and trailer back to the Inland Hotel. The affidavit of Mr Martin Fisher sworn in support of the Director’s application summarises the events at the hotel as follows: “Crabbe then manoeuvred the 25 ton Semi and trailer, at speed, around a blind bend, through a car park, around a minibus, turned and drove it through the bessa brick wall into the crowded bar, crushing the people there. Leaving the engine running, he then got out of the truck, smiled down at one of his victims, stepped over some bodies and ran. This was at 1.10am. It had been 40 minutes between being thrown out and driving the truck into the bar. He was captured the next morning walking out of the bush 22 kilometres away.”…” ✷
02	Holding Down a D	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	03:42
03	The Way To Go Out	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Jack Howard; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	03:23
04	I Couldn't Give It To You	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	03:32
	✷ Comments from the “Natural Selection” liner notes (by Mark Seymour): Sexual greed. The libido can drive the body only so far, and then beyond that there is only diminishing blood flow to the extremities. Sometimes you can bluff your way through the closing stages of love making, but there are times when it is simply best to apologise gracefully, and make her a cup of tea. ✷
05	It's Early Days Yet	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	03:40
	✷ Original name for this song was “An Uncertain Spotlight”. ✷
06	I Believe	Ray Charles	02:56
07	Betty's Worry or The Slab	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	03:59
	✷ An alternative name used for The Slab early on was “Betty’s Worry”. Comments from the “Natural Selection” liner notes (by Mark Seymour): Drinking, oral sex fantasy, Jon Archer’s strident bass run. 1983, in Germany and we were revelling in the idea that we didn’t have to be artistically pretentious anymore. Doing the autobahn in a hired Mercedes, 225 kmh. Totally legal. The first Hunters road stories were written then. There was a sense of relief. We were writing the album we would tour with. In Australia. The band was smaller. The energy was simple and direct. ✷
08	Haily's Doorstep	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	05:38
09	Red Lane	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	03:47
10	Carry Me	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Robert Miles; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	04:12
	✷ Comments from the “Natural Selection” liner notes (by Mark Seymour): The first drinking song. Having languished in London for too long, we came home to cheer up and start writing again. Nevertheless, the taste of English beer has lingered. Unforgettable. ✷
11	Little Chalkie	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Martin Lubran; Robert Miles; Greg Perano; Mark Seymour; Michael Waters	03:27
	✷ Comments from the “Natural Selection” liner notes (by Mark Seymour): Death, again. Road kill. Evidence that the traveller is at the frontier of civilisation. Here there be dragons… and the carcasses of kangaroo on the great western highway. ✷
Payload EP			18:12
12	Towtruck	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Martin Lubran; Robert Miles; Greg Perano; Mark Seymour	04:58
	✷ Comments from the “Natural Selection” liner notes (by Mark Seymour): For some, life is mechanistic. All will be well as long as the planning is disciplined and decisions are made free of needless emotion. An explanation of the DiMarzio Line from Rob Miles: The ‘dimarzio’ line was Seemsie’s artistic licence, a pun on DMZ (demilitarized zone) and substituting it with the name of a guitar pickup (dimarzio), so it is just an interesting sounding rock’n’roll in-joke. ✷
13	Droptank	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Martin Lubran; Robert Miles; Greg Perano; Mark Seymour	04:56
14	Mouthtrap	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Robert Miles; Greg Perano; Mark Seymour	04:09
15	Lumps Of Lead	John Archer; Geoff Crosby; Doug Falconer; Martin Lubran; Robert Miles; Greg Perano; Mark Seymour	04:09

Product Details
Packaging	Jewel Case
Spars	DDD
Sound	Stereo

Musicians & Credits
Bass	John Archer
Keyboards	Geoff Crosby
Drums	Doug Falconer
Trumpet	Jack Howard
Sound Design	Robert Miles
Guitar	Mark Seymour
French Horn	Jeremy Smith
Trombone	Michael Waters
Musician	Hunters & Collectors
Producer	Konrad "Conny" Plank; Hunters & Collectors; René Tinner
Engineer	René Tinner

Personal Details
Index	# 1564
Owner	Dave
Tags	Art Rock, Indie Rock

User Defined
Purchased	New
Imported from	Australia

The Jaws of Life represented a breakthrough for Hunters & Collectors where their more ambitious artistic impulses were harnessed to melodic, concise, and structured songs. Less pretentious than Hunters & Collectors and less anarchic than The Fireman's Curse, The Jaws of Life took a strategic step toward accessibility without sacrificing any of the band's powerful intensity. While still predominantly dark, H&C's music in this period showed a growing humanity that could even be called soulful. Who would have guessed that they were capable of such a convincing take on Ray Charles' "I Believe to My Soul"? While Mark Seymour's words on The Jaws of Life can hardly be called linear or narrative, they are considerably less random and more evocative than on previous albums, and his vocals benefit from increased restraint. H&C's sound still rests squarely on the solid foundation of the Archer/Falconer rhythm section, with Seymour's slashing rhythm guitar and The Horns of Contempt working in and around the grooves. A couple of ballads -- "Hayley's Doorstep" and "Carry Me" -- and the anthemic "It's Early Days Yet" show off the band's increased range. On the whole, a superior and highly recommended record.