A Boy's Own Guide to Billy Thorpe - The Latter Years

[Neb-Maat-Re]

I realise Billy Thorpe only has a passing connection with FM due to his involvement with The Zoo and Shakin' The Cage, but I know there will be a number of folk here who will enjoy his great music.

Most of Bill's hard rocking Aztecs Mark III output is available thanks to re-issue label Aztec Music, run by Aztec's drummer Gil 'Rathead' Matthews:

http://www.aztecmusic.net/

(That's a hirsute Bill, top right in the yellow hippie top!)

Live, Live At Sunbury and More Arse Than Class are out now, with The Hoax Is Over and Steaming At The Opera House to come soon.

Often mistakenly credited to The Aztecs, Bill's last 2 Aussie albums feature a new band and mark a sharp departure from his previous hard rocking style.

1974's Million Dollar Bill sees Bill in funk mode featuring a great cover of Drive My Car as well his 2nd most popular tune, the breezy It's Almost Summer:

http://megaupload.com/?d=LFB2XK5T (192 kB files)

(No artwork, sadly - a pity as the cover was fantastic - made to look like an Aus banknote of the time with Bill as the featured historical figure)

1976's Pick Me Up And Play Me Loud is a mixed bag - it starts by continuing the funk stylings but reverts towards the end to a more rock feel and features a remake of his signature Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy (originally a non-album Aztecs single, the remake has a very similar arrangement but extends the guitar break to be more like the live versions):

http://rapidshare.com/files/16523685/thorpiepickme.rar (192 kB files)

(Great cover - Bill's disembodied head, Wizard of Oz style over the Yellow Brick Road of the Aus Outback, wearing Dame Edna-style kangaroo glasses)

After this, Bill moved to the US and produced his 1979 classic Children Of The Sun - available to download from Midoztouch, a site dedicated to deleted Aus rock. (320 kB files)

From 1980, Bill's next US album was 21st Century Man, which for the most part continues the COTS saga (UPDATED LINK TO BETTER QUALITY FILES):

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=I2RJE35F (320 kB files + plus artwork)

1981 saw Bill's first US 'straight' rock album - no Children, anyway - Stimulation, definitely a product of the 80s with Bill even attempting a couple of Police-style white reggae numbers:

http://rapidshare.com/files/16526526/thorpiestim.rar (192 kB files)

In 1982 Bill made a slight return to the COTS with East Of Eden's Gate (also available on the Midoztouch site if you hunt around) with the opening title track (and possibly the closer Dogs Of War) summing up their fate, along with other tracks unrelated to the tale. (320 kB files)

The track East Of Eden's Gate also featured on 1987s Children Of The Sun...Revisited - which I believe is still available so I won't post a link to that - along with a remake of Side 2 of COTS and some new tracks.

After that, Bill didn't record until Shakin' The Cage - which was his last official recording, although he was working on an album of Moroccan inspired music at the time of his death which may still be completed and released. I can't post a link to STC to complete the story, unless another Ledgie would be kind enough to upload it and share it.

Sadly, Bill's US music is as unknown in Aus as his Aus legacy is in the US and perhaps none of these great albums will see a re-release soon. Enjoy.

Just a note: These files aren't originally mine. I've had some trouble with the 192 kB files with digital skips when burning straight to CD from MP3. The trick seems to be to convert to WAV first then burn (although I've only tried that with 21st Century Man so far).

[Neb-Maat-Re]

Bump!!!!!!