Caught Up In The Flow - A Dozen of the Best From Richard Clapton 

Caught Up In The Flow - A Dozen of the Best From Richard Clapton 

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richard clapton
Richard Clapton. Photo by Martin Philbey/Redferns.

ARIA Hall of Famer Richard Clapton was the feature of the 'From The Vault' on Episode One, Season Two of the new ABC-TV music program, The Sound. Which is as good an excuse as any to have a good think about what our dozen favourite Ralph tracks are and serve them up. So here goes. Enjoy!

"Deep Water" 

The first and best of what I think are the three definitive Clapton tracks; tracks that play best to the melodic and lyrical strengths on which rest his reputation as a singer-songwriter. "Deep Water" is the cornerstone of his greatest album – 1977's Goodbye Tiger - and is a great Australian coming of age song. Paul Kelly no doubt was aware of it when he wrote his own "Deeper Water", but it was, in fact, Clapton who took the premise deeper and into more ambivalent territory, by pondering the spiritual malaise of his generation, a malaise that seemed to follow earlier hedonism. From innocent fumblings in the shadows at teenage dances ("She'd speak to me with her gentle hands") to drunken breakdowns and an angry spray at Sunday drivers invading the coast, "Deep Water", unlike PK's later tune, suggests the water might be too deep and the flow too treacherous. The closing line, "What do they expect to find/Sure as hell ain't peace of mind" is a powerful kiss-off to the idyllic beach culture with which Clapton's music was synonymous. Heavy stuff.

"Goodbye Tiger" 

The title track from the same album, in which Richard once again leaves Australian shores for Europe (where he spent considerable time in the late '60s and early '70s) and farewells one of his party mates (specifically, Melbourne writer/music entity David "Dr, Pepper" Pepperell). More tainted nostalgia and another great melody, and implicitly another kiss-off to his north shore roots. 

"The Best Years of Our Lives" 

Five years further down the line, another gorgeous tune, and Richard evokes Dr Pepper again as he looks back to the '30s – hinting perhaps at a Sydney Great Gatsby-like scenario – and draws an analogy between the historic Bondi Icebergs swimming club and Sydney's legendarily sleazy rock venue the Bondi Lifesaver. He seems to suggest that these "best years" maybe aren't all they're cracked up to be anyway. The highlight of the Mark Opitz-produced The Great Escape, which introduced a slightly awkward '80s funkiness on some tracks, "Best Years" befits its title by sounding like a return to the '70s.

"Down In the Lucky Country" 

Another Goodbye Tiger highlight, and another look at Sydney life written during his pre-album European escape. More overtly political ("Doing alright 'cause we're making money/Down in the lucky country") and including an earlier reference to the pre-war hedonism later touched on in "Best Years," Richard wasn't loving Australia in the '70s and had the guts to say it. The final verse - "People building up impossible walls, and they call it home sweet home / They buy up false security and force it on their sons" – cuts deep.

"Girls on the Avenue" 

The big hit, despite originally being the B-side of the Clapton's Dingoes/Country Radio-style interpretation of Banjo Patterson's "I'm Travelling Down The Castlereagh." "Girls on the Avenue" was Richard's country-rock roots burnished to a European sheen, and, to my ears, seems to anticipate Sniff' n' the Tears great "Driver's Seat" by a few years. While he's often seen as an Australian response to the American West Coast sound, a lot of Clapton's stuff reminds me more of East Coast singer-songwriters like Eric Anderson, Elliot Murphy (another Europhile), Garland Jeffries and even early Springsteen, in the way it romances city street life.

"Last Train to Marseille" 

The European influence was there early on. A highlight of Clapton's rarely heard debut Prussian Blue, this is an early example of Clapton's way with an easy tempo, his longing for travel and the loneliness associated with it. There's a suggestion here too that Richard's wanderlust was caused by a lover's leaving, which is further explored in our next choice. Mick Thomas did a cracking version of this back in 2014, which makes me wonder why more Richard Clapton songs haven't been covered.

"Please Come Home" 

More goodbyes, more travel, more longing. Perhaps referencing the same situation alluded to in the earlier "Last Train to Marseille," this time it's Richard who has been left, and in addition to his own emptiness he has empathy for his departed lover, who he knows is also feeling "out on a limb." A between-albums single from '74, with its country-rock flourishes, "Please Come Home" set a template for much of the Girls On The Avenue album.

"Down The Road" 

One of those country-rock tracks on Girls on The Avenue. A great tune, and if the chorus presents a perhaps too-simple sentiment, the verses are wonderfully enigmatic (musically as well as lyrically). The lines "I paint miracles on pavements/don't expect no payments" wonderfully evoke Arthur Stace, the alcoholic Sydney street person who spent 45 years elegantly scribing "Eternity" on the city's footpaths.

"Casanova's Got The Blues" 

This one reminds me of those European-influenced East Coast singer-songwriters, a feel which Clapton seemed to return to on his underrated 1976 album Main Street Jive. Love the minimal arrangement and the organ, which would've been nice to hear Clapton use more often. The fab "Suit Yourself" and "Kickin' The Moon Around" are a couple of other fine tracks from Main Street Jive if you don't know it well.

"I Am An Island" 

Richard's early '80s poet-in-the-pub-rock peak. The verses are a bit clunky – not helped by the '80s production values - but the bridge and chorus are a great pay off. And yes that's Barnsey hitting the high notes. A big hit, although I have no memory of hearing this on Melbourne radio at all at the time. Like the allusions to Arthur Stace in "Down The Road," this was inspired by a poetic piece of graffiti.

"Capricorn Dancer" 

Along with "Blue Bay Blues", "Capricorn Dancer", which originally appeared on the 1976 soundtrack to surf movie Highway One, is the song which most closely aligns Clapton with surf culture. As we have seen, Clapton, in adulthood at least, probably felt more at home in a snowy Parisian side street than he did on the northern beaches, but perhaps the longing for escape can be represented by both, and therein lies the appeal of Clapton's music to a generation of Australian board riders. 

"Goodbye Barbara Ann" 

A farewell to the summer days of youth, referencing Brian Wilson (who incidentally didn't write the song referenced in the title) and, I think, the same Byron Bay friends about which Clapton wrote "Blue Bay Blues". "Goodbye Barbara Ann" was one of a few singles Clapton recorded for Mushroom in 1984 when he was in between record deals, and one that deserved to fare better than it did. 

For more classic Clapton (of the Richard variety), listen on Spotify:  

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