Dean's favourite album #16 - Hourly, Daily - You Am I

For You Am I fans, the choice between their definitive album usually comes down to “Hi Fi Way” or “Hourly, Daily”, and fans usually plant themselves in one or other of the camps. Indeed in the book “ The 100 best Australian Albums”, “Hi Fi Way” came in at 8, “Hourly, Daily” at only 55. I have never really got into “Hi Fi Way” in a big way, so the choice for me came down to “Hourly, Daily” or “Dress Me Slowly”. You won’t see “Dress Me Slowly” on too many lists of great albums, but I like it, and it brings with it a lot of great memories or growing up, and I have to say, its often the album I will turn to if I am a bit low and need a pick me up. As important as that album is to me, I can’t really rate it above “Hourly, Daily” for one reason alone – “quality”.

“Hourly, Daily” is a classy album, sort of a concept album that creates a host of little sub stories about suburban life. The opening sequence of eight songs, being with the acoustically led wonderful opening title track, is about as good as any sequence of songs you will get on any album, as it moves though the ode to breakfast radio “Good Mornin”, the catchy “Mr Milk”, the underrated tracks of “Soldiers” (see link), “Tuesday”, the story of young lovers in “If We Can’t Get it Together”, the taxi driver ode “Flagfall $1.80” and “Wally Raffles”. But don’t think the album is done right there, there is still another half to go, and each of those tracks I could talk about as being solid too, including the song about “..dental work that puts fear in twelve year old’s faces” (ie braces) in “Please Don’t Ask Me To Smile”.

 

If you don’t know the album and read a review of it, I am sure that bands like the Who, the Kinks and the Small Faces would be likely to be compared. Sure, all great bands, and no denying some similarities, but You Am I’s sound is distinctively theirs and this makes a great listen.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1SV4v_qtBI

 

Coming up next – for #15 we head across the Tasman for an extremely talented singer/songwriter whose inclusion on this list I am sure would come as no surprise to those who know me.