Popsided Guitar – Anthology 1984-2002
The Stems, the Stonefish, the Someloves, DM3, the Majestic Kelp: five easy steps on Dom Mariani’s endless quest for the ultimate, radiosized guitar pop masterpiece.
Popsided Guitar is Dom’s first career overview, a 2CD sprawl that handpicks 38 of the brightest jewels from a pop craftsman who has long defined a certain uncompromising passion in the Australian rock underground.
His work is a distillation of rock’n’roll energy, sunstreaked melodies, ringing guitar work and headlock chorus hooks, fine-tuned with alchemical precision over 20 years of performance.
“These bands represent a progression with the same goal, really,” says the Perth-based, internationally revered singer, songwriter and master rock guitarist. “I always wanted to write great pop tunes in a rock’n’roll context, record them the best way I could and have a band do justice to them on stage.”
Yeah, he’s always made it sound that easy. Like the most memorable tunes on the Top 40 radio he grew up with, Dom’s greatest songs exude an effortless, timeless lustre that masks a true attention to detail:
Check the cascading brilliance of DM3’s Foolish; the ‘60s jangle of the Stems’ At First Sight; the impeccable pop glow of the Someloves’ Melt or Know You Know; the wry, retro-twang of classic surf instrumental by the Stonefish and the loungy soundtracks of Majestic Kelp… different strings, same impeccably strung bow.
Decades before Jet, the Hives and the Strokes, he also drew inspiration from the esoteric US garage punk scene of the ‘60s – one he revisited last August when Little Steven Van Zandt asked the Stems to play his Underground Garage Rock Festival in New York. The Stooges, New York Dolls, Bo Diddley and Nancy Sinatra were among the other invited legends.
Long a regular drawcard on the rock stages of Europe and Scandinavia, it was Dom’s latest quiet achievement on the international stage. In a sense, his more modest profile back home suits a temperament more attuned to the ongoing pursuit of pop perfection than the distractions of stardom.
Then again, Popsided Guitar could change all that. From the euphoric rush of Sunshine’s Glove to the ominous melancholy of Something Heavy; the old school organ vibe of For Always to the brassy swing of Homespun Blues (from his 2004 solo album Homespun Blues and Greens), these are songs internally wired to light up a room – For Always.
Track Listing
CD ONE:
DM3 - THE DOM MARIANI THREE ’92 - ‘99:
1. Hold On - from the album “Garage Sale”, Citadel Records 04/97
2. Foolish - from the album “One Time Two Times Three Red Light”, Citadel Records 08/93
3. Can’t Get What You Want - from the album “Road to Rome”, Citadel Records 03/96
4. Something Heavy - from the album “Road to Rome”, Citadel Rec 03/96
5. 1 Time 2 Times Devastated - from the album “One Time Two Times Three Red Light”,
Citadel Records 08/93
6. TV Sound - from the album “Road to Rome”, Citadel Records 03/96
7. Second Floor - from the album “Road to Rome”, Citadel Records 03/96
8. Just Like Nancy - Hellfire Club Records single 07/94. Also found on the album “Garage Sale Vol 2. -
Italian Style" Citadel Records 04/03
9. Up In The Air - from the album “One Time Two Times Three Red Light”, Citadel Records 08/93
10. Soultop - from the album “Road to Rome”, Citadel Records 03/96
11. Show You - from the album “Road to Rome”, Citadel Records 03/96
12. Far From Here - from the album “One Time Two Times Three Red Light”, Citadel Records 08/93
13. Quicksand - from the album “Rippled Soul”, Citadel Records 08/98
14. Lure - from the album “Rippled Soul”, Citadel Records 08/98
15. Anyway That You Like - from the album “Rippled Soul”, Citadel Records 08/98
16. Take It All - from the album “Garage Sale Vol 2. – Italian Style”, Citadel Records 04/03
SOLO AND WITH THE STONEAGE HEARTS ‘03 - ’04:
17. Homespun Blues - from the solo album “Homespun Blues and Greens”, Citadel Records 07/04
18. Rock ‘n’ Roll Boys Rock ‘n’ Roll Girls - from the Stoneage Hearts album “Guilty As Sin”,
Off The Hip Records 10/04
19. Prove - from the solo album “Homespun Blues and Greens”, Citadel Records 07/04
CD TWO:
THE STEMS – MOPTOPS AND A FUZZ PEDAL ’84 – ‘87
1. For Always - from the album “At First Sight - Violets Are Blue”, Mushroom Records 05/87
2. At First Sight - from the album “At First Sight - Violets Are Blue”, Mushroom Records 05/87
3. Make You Mine – single A-side, Citadel Records 05/85
4. Mr. Misery - from the album “At First Sight - Violets Are Blue”, Mushroom Records 05/87
5. No Heart - from the compile album “Buds”, Citadel Records 08/93 - originally recorded 1986
6. Just Ain’t Enough – from the 12” EP “Love Will Grow – Rosebuds Volume 1”, Citadel Records 02/86
7. Running Around - alternate mix of track found on the album “At First Sight - Violets Are Blue”
8. Sad Girl - Mushroom Records single 09/87
THE SOMELOVES – UNASHAMED POP RECORDINGS ‘86 – ‘90
9. Know You Now - Mushroom Records single 10/88
10. Melt - from the album “Something Or Other”, Mushroom Records 02/90
11. Sunshine’s Glove - from the album “Something Or Other”, Mushroom Records 02/90
12. Another Happy Ending - from the album “Something Or Other”, Mushroom Records 02/90
13. Girl Soul - from the album “Something Or Other”, Mushroom Records 02/90
14. Don’t Talk About Us - Citadel Records single 02/86
INSTRUMENTAL
(With DM3)
15. Rome - from the “Lure” CD single Citadel Records 07/98
(With THE STONEFISH '85 - '86)
16. Guitar Radiation - from the EP “From 20,000 Fathoms”, Citadel Records 03/87
(With THE MAJESTIC KELP '03)
17. The Golden Ones - from the album “Underwater Casino”, Head Records 05/03
18. Indian N’Ocean - from the album “Underwater Casino”, Head Records 05/03
19. Underwater Casino - from the album “Underwater Casino”, Head Records 05/03