Goodbye Tiger was the culmination of the Sydney singer-songwriter's work up to that point and included some of his most revered songs, including "Deep Water", "Down In The Lucky Country" and the title track.
The album was written while Richard was on a European sojourn following the failure of his Mainstreet Jive album to capitalise on the success of the previous Girls on the Avenue. As an artist he was ambivalent at the best of times about his standing in the so-called music "industry", and he'd previously spent protracted periods of time in Europe, which was the inspiration of such early numbers as "Last Train to Marseille" and "Southern Germany". The album's title track was inspired by a night of carousing on the eve of his departure, and a very late night call, after the carousing was done, from his friend, Melbourne writer David "Dr Pepper" Pepperell. Pepperell, who called Clapton "Tiger", was fearful he'd never see his friend again and called to wish him a final farewell.
Goodbye Tiger was the perfect blend of Clapton's singer-songwriter chops and his rough-hewn rock'n'roll spirit. Richard was never just a folkie; check out the album track "Out on the Edge Again" again if you doubt his ability to rock’n’roll. The American country rock vibe that had been prevalent on his earlier albums was here diminished and had been replaced by the kind of plaintive directness that wouldn't be heard again until Paul Kelly appeared on the scene some year later. It all came together best of the timeless "Deep Water", which speaks of the golden promise of youth being drowned by the tide of excess. It was perhaps no coincidence that Paul Kelly, two decades later, would use the same metaphor for slightly different purposes in his own classic "Deeper Water".
To commemorate this significant anniversary, let's have a look at the rarely seen official videos for "Deep Water", as well as the slightly more familiar one for the album's title track.
Of course, you can check out Goodbye Tiger on Spotify, and all of Richard Clapton's great albums there too.
-DL
