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There is always the essence of the spirit of the New Zealander in the reflective songs of Barry Saunders. Whether via his ever popular domestic country band The Warratahs or on his solo albums including Weatherman, Magnetic South and particularly Red Morning, Saunders’ best tales are borne of New Zealand. And combined with encompassing the landscape of the country in his troubadour-inspired lyrical structures, the focus is on deliveries from the heart. And what sets the songs alive is Saunders’ unique rhythmic swagger…. For full review check out Reviews section.
This is my Uncle George’s band at the Oamaru Station in 1922. (Uncle George holding the bagpipes). Since they all went to the first World War when they were 17 or 18 I should imagine they are 21 or 22 in this photo.
4 stars
“….. In and around the sterling original creations that make up Zodiac is a version of The Phoenix Foundation’s Going Fishing; it just might be the best cover of 2008 and, in keeping with the honesty that has allowed Saunders to craft his look, sound and feel, this is no tongue-in-cheek bid to be cool, it is simply a great interpretation of a fine song.”
(For full review check out Reviews section)
Four stars (out of 5)
When Warratahs frontman Barry Saunders takes The Phoenix Foundation’s Going Fishing and reshapes it as a country ballad, he does so with the quiet confidence of a man who can trust his instincts.
And despite the ever-present lyrical pointers to a fragile ego and a questioning mind, his place as an artist of substance is only enhanced by Zodiac - yet another strong solo album….
For full review check out Reviews sectionDo You Believe? (Dark Horizons), Track 9 on Zodiac.
Rating: * * * *
Saunders’ previous solo albums outside the Warratahs have always seemed to promise more than they deliver, but on this album of broad emotional reach and highly focused writing he delivers his best yet.
In a couple of places he invites favourable songwriting comparisons with Paul Kelly (the standout is the taut and bitter To Roberta) but he also brings a grounded country flavour (Still No Word From You)….
(check out the full review in the Reviews section)
“By my count this is Saunders’ fifth solo album, and is by far the strongest from the Warratah frontman…
…Saunders is also a poet of the road like Joe Ely (Fade, Start Up Again) but this album is very much born of this country, no more so than the final song Walking New Year where he conjures up the dawn of another year against the backdrop of the old, and perhaps the promise of the Treaty to heal this land…. Terrific album.”
For full review please visit http://www.elsewhere.co.nz/music/2031/barry-saunders-zodiac-ode/
