The backing band members are the original Broken Hearts with Maurie on drums, Brendan on pedal steel and Chris on bass. I am loving Mick O'Connor's Hammond, who was kind enough to put Chris, me and the misses for a weekend of recording at his place in Molden. I kept this album under wraps for the past 2 or so years as I had started to re-record the lot in a big studio, but the project never got finished. Listening to these songs several years later I wonder why I wanted to mess with it anyway.
More likely than not, these are some of the best songs I have written to date. Most of the stuff got penned in '06 during a two month visit to Malta.
Australian, the title track came about as I got interested in the stories of Maltese migrants that came to Australia in the 1950's and 60's. I rocked up at the Maltese Club in Parkville here in Melbourne and met a number of old timers that were happy to tell me there story. I hope to have captured some of it in the song. Naturally, you can exchange the Maltese with any other migrant community and Australia with any country of your choosing. The words would still ring true...
Heartbroken Fool is a Honky Tonk number about a guy who got stranded in a cheap motel. He's broke and a drunk, the misses has left him and he is fighting a loosing battle. I kind of hope I won't end up like him, but chances are I will.
I started drinking again is a slow waltz. The protagonist's wife has walked out the door and she ain't coming back. He pretends that everything is fine but it soon becomes pretty obvious that he is only trying to put on a brave face.
I'll be coming home again crosses in to R&B territory. Or at least that's how I look at it. There are some nice chord changes and minor chords, not the usual 3 chord Country progressions.
Interstate Long Haul Man was initially titled Truck Driving Man, but James Stewart had better ideas. If I was a truck driver, this would be my story.
Mercy Me The song is an internal conversation/prayer with the sole purpose to 'keep the devil in the hole' and to stay on the right path.
Move On I had to write this song after reading the Grapes of Wrath. The similarities between peoples lives during the Great Depression and today's battlers are not all that different.
Once I Broke Many Hearts This is the story of an ageing ladies man who is haunted by the many hearts he broke in the past.
Stop try to change the way I am This is a song for all the guys out there who have a woman that always finds a reason to nag.
Wandering Heart This is one of my top 5 songs I've written to date. The Broken Hearts made the song even better by adding that intro, which gets repeated throughout the song.