Side one begins with “Bachelor Kisses”, the second single from the album. The song has a sweetness and somberness to it at the same time as it delivers a message of fidelity. It made me think a little bit of Roxy Music. Definitely a good opening track.
“Five Words” has an interesting mix musically that is part pop, part rock and part folk.
The mid-tempo “The Old Way Out” had my head bobbing along to Morrison’s drum beats. I like too how the guitars work together here.
“You’ve Never Lived” reminds me a bit of the Violent Femmes; it sounds like the kind of song that band would have done.
The third single was “Part Company”, a song about a relationship that is breaking up.
Side two starts with “Slow Slow Music”. Vickers bass line is very funky on this unexpected danceable track.
“Draining the Pool For You” is a bitter post-break-up number.
“River of Money” changes things up quite a bit. The music is a slow, plodding piece with the vocals delivered in a stream-of-conscious spoken manner. It is also the longest track on the album.
“Unkind and Unwise” moves back to the indie-pop sound again.
The closing track “Man O’ Sand to Girl O’ Sea” was actually released as a single in late 1982.
This was my first listen a full album by the Go-Betweens, and I really enjoyed it a lot. If this one had much airplay here in the States back in 1984, it was likely on college radio. I see that it initially came out on vinyl, cassette and CD, and then had CD re-releases again in 1996 and 2002. I did not see it though on any of the usual streaming sites. I have to thank those who posted the tracks over on YouTube so that I could give Spring Hill Fair a listen. Would this album ever show up as an affordable purchase, I would definitely be on board to pick it up.
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