The Fall of the Crawl and the evolution of a singer

SINGER and songwriter James Reyne is touring a 40-year celebration of one of the country’s most distinctive bands in Fall of the Crawl, coming to Brunswick Heads next month.

Inspired by the upcoming four-decade anniversary of Australian Crawl and its derailment in 1986, the tour honours the precept that all things must pass and offers a swan song to the legendary band.

The ARIA Hall of Famer has had 19 Top 40 singles, including six Top 10 hits, and 11 Top 10 albums with songs that have provided the soundtrack to endless Australian summers from his days with the Crawl and his subsequent solo career.

The man with a voice ‘as essentially Australian as Vegemite’, according to one critic, has also released a new solo single, an homage to a city and creative culture he loves.

Going Back to Nashville draws heavy inspiration from the American Wild West and old-school country and western films, presenting a blasting, fast-driving country-rock postcard from Music City.

Inspired by Reyne’s tours with Tony Joe White and peppered with nods to country icons and lore, it blends self-deprecating memoir (blown fortunes, hard lessons) with Nashville colour, “It ain’t the heat, it’s the humidity.”

“I went back to Nashville, a few years ago, to work on some songs with other songwriters, and while I was there, I started writing this one,” Reyne said.

“I threw in a couple of references to stuff I know about the city, like old dogs drinking watermelon wine and Hickory Lake.

“It’s the sort of place where, if you are the right person, the right talent, it can be incredibly rewarding. There are people from everywhere with stars in their eyes. That world can be tough.

“I did it in Los Angeles, and I lived there on and off for seven years when I had a deal with Capitol Records, but you’ve got to go in there with a bit of steely resolve, and if you are a bit impatient, like me, it can be the right time and place.”

Despite the change in his vocal style over the years, the Crawl put Reyne firmly in the canon of classic Australian rock, but of the famed ‘Crawl Drawl’, the artist said he had evolved as an artist and hadn’t sung that way for a long time.

“When we started, I didn’t know what I was doing. It was basically barely controlled yelling, and I find it unlistenable now, to be honest,” Reyne said.

“You’re always learning, and I started to understand my strengths, and I certainly understood my weaknesses, but over the years, I have developed as a singer.

“I had a song called Low Hanging Fruit, and if you compare that to Crawl stuff, you hear a totally different singer.

“Sometimes when I hear an Australian Crawl song in the supermarket, I gotta leave. It’s only in the last 10 years that I’ve considered myself a singer.

“I might do a few solo songs, but this is about the Crawl era and definitely a show where everyone will know every song.”

James Reyne and his band play Brunswick Heads on February 6 with special guests Boom Crash Opera.

For information, visit lhotelbrunswick.com.au/event/james-reyne-fall-of-crawl