Top 100 Australian Albums of the 90’s
Rock’n’roll true believer Ashley Naylor and country chantuse Sherry Rich were an unlikely pairing, but the stylistic clash of the Grapes yielded surprising results on this, the duo’s only recorded outing. Rich’s lovelorn vocals blend seamlessly with Naylor’s pure pop arrangements and sterling fretwork, ‘Lovely to Meet You’ and ‘Keith Richards’ Sneer’ bringing all of Rich’s sassiness and pack-a-day heartache to tunes whose balanced, well-honed dynamics and brittle rattle of a backbeat never stray into the mawkishness that country is frequently guilty of. Naylor meanwhile is able to wind back from the rock-salute riffing of Even to let the subtlety of his guitar playing and voice shine through on ‘So You Say You Lost Your Baby’ and the Lennon-esque ‘Marmalade’. Album highlight ‘Kitty Can’ meanwhile roughs up the timbre of both Rich and Naylor’s voices and the musical backing, providing a bridge to a dusty Yarra Valley vineyard where the facts of life, love and death are star, entwining the past with the present, coarsening the weave; if a mellow night of drink and the resultant unpicking of the long thread of memory are the record’s central motif, then both Rich and Naylor strike the required tone of intimacy with precision. Inventive, accessible, and with a sweetness that is not without its shadows, ’The Grapes’ is one of the more obscure treasure chests of the ‘90’s, a collaboration of two respected artists that avoids gratuitousness and indulgence, instead providing a byway for both parties to delve deeper into their craft.
Tim
Make Your Own Myspace Layout
Sherry’s myspace - Sherry’s website
Even’s Myspace - Even’s official website
Interviews with Ash and Sherry (from Beat and Inpress)
Rubber Records Sale now on. Copies of The Grapes cult classic are available to buy: www.rubberrecords.com.au (Search for us under "G")