MORNING OF THE EARTH ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

For prog fans, the principal interest of this soundtrack album is in the contributions of Tamam Shud - the three tracks here are the most progressive tracks they ever recorded. "Bali Waters" is a mellow instrumental, somewhat reminiscent of Focus, in which Richard Lockwood's flute takes the leading role. The version here is lifted by Peter Jones' sensitive string arrangement. "Sea The Swells" is based on the simplest of musical ideas - a straight up and down scale - but becomes the launching place for a great mellow jazzy jam, again with Lockwood's flute taking the leading role, although Tim Gaze does get in a decent guitar solo. Duryea's congas are more prominent here than in any other Tamam Shud recording. "First Things First" is the straightest of the Tamam Shud tracks, a mellow ballad penned by Tim Gaze, sung here by Broderick Smith from Carson, with Lockwood contributing a lovely counter melody on clarinet.

The rest of the album generally focuses on folk or softer rock styles, and for the most part maintains a mellow vibe. Peter Howe's "I'm Alive" is a highlight, with extremely delicate vocals over a picked guitar part, with some sympathetic flute (from Lockwood?) towards the end. The title track, one of those epic ballads constructed on four descending chords, could have been very cheesy were it not for Peter Jones' excellent orchestral arrangement. "Open Up Your Heart is the most commercial moment, although again Peter Jones does his best to lift it above standard top 40 fare. "Simple Ben" is a lengthy, repetitive folk song which succeeds thanks largely to it's lyrics and Brian Cadd's intervention on piano. "I'll Be Alright" and "Day Comes" are folk-rock ballads dominated by piano and acoustic guitar. Brian Cadd's three contributions are the only tracks to break the mellow mood, his exuberant southern-style rock jarring somewhat with the rest of the album - although "Making It On Your Own" is among the best of his early songs with it's stretched out arrangement. The whole album is justly regarded as a classic of Australian music, whose fame has probably outstripped the film it was made to accompany. (Who has actually seen the film? No, me neither)

The 30th anniversary edition adds four bonus tracks that were left off the original album. For some reason they've chosen to intersperse this among the original tracks instead of tacking them on the end, which somewhat messes with the flow of the record. The additional tracks from G Wayne Thomas and Peter Howe are of disappointing sound quality, as if they were dubbed from a print of the film. "Ullawata" is basically the rest of the fade from "I'm Alive", with the focus on the flute solo. "Getting Back" is a country song. The two contributions from NZ band ticket again jar somewhat with the mood of the rest of the album, being heavy psych guitar rock, but are pleasing contributions in their own right - particularly "Dream Chant" with it's pleasing main melody and riff, and diversion into completely unexpected harmonic territory.

Considered one of the best surfer flix of all time, MORNING OF THE EARTH is a 1972 Australian film by Alby Falzon and David Elfick which portrays surfers living in spiritual harmony with nature as they travel across the northeastern coast of Australia, Bali and Hawaii. While practically unknown outside of Australia, the film is considered there as one of the best Australian films ever made as it became an instant hit at the box office with sold-out shows for months after its release. The bold film was cutting edge in its editing and visual effects but more importantly offered a strong connection to the ecological ethos that was permeating the world at the beginning of the 1970s.

One of the greatest contributions to the success of the movie also came from the accompanying soundtrack which has been deemed one of the top 100 Australian albums of all time. The entire score was produced by G. Wayne Thomas and was originally intended to be entirely recorded by the Sydney based progressive folk band Tamam Shud but due to voice problems of the lead singer Lindsay Bjerre, the plans were changed to make the soundtrack a various artists affair. The soundtrack was released by Warner Brothers and was the first Australian soundtrack to sell over a million copies and be certified gold. So that tells you how big of a deal this movie and soundtrack were during its day.

The original release featured 12 tracks with three tracks from G. Wayne Thomas, three tracks from Tamam Shud, three tracks from Brian Cadd and a track each from Terry Hannagan, John J. Francis and Peter Howe. The 30th anniversary edition featured three more tracks that were in the film but left off the original soundtrack due to time limitations of the era. Although i haven't seen the actual film yet, the soundtrack is said to be the perfect backdrop for the films numerous surfing scenes and other powerful moments that helped captivate and entire nation's attention for a brief moment in time. Ironically the film delivered a strong narrative thread with no spoken words in the movie itself therefore relied heavily on the musical accompaniments to convey the intended emotive responses and in that regard the soundtrack delivers brilliantly.

The music on this one is more on the mellow side of things with straight forward Cat Stevens type folk music delivers by producer and songwriter G. Wayne Thomas to the more complex progressive folk gems performed by Tamam Shud. Although the soundtrack is rather subdued in its mood settings, somehow the tender melodies delivered through the sounds of country rock, blues, folk music and touches of progressive rock actually work quite well. All of the tracks are instantly catchy and the arrangements are brilliantly written. The lyrics are key to the movies narrative and also excel at capturing the spirit of the film's intent. The soundtrack has a good flow to it as well and the decision to employ the talents of many different artists adds a nice diversity to the overall impression.

Soundtracks are hit and miss with the majority working adequately with the film while watching it but more often than not don't hold up on their own. MORNING OF THE EARTH may have been a great flick in its own right but as it turns out the soundtrack is actually pretty good as well. Personally i like the more upbeat tracks such as Brian Cadd's "Sure Feels Good" or Tamam Shud's excellent "Bali Waters," even the folky hippie vibe tracks aren't bad either. This is definitely a nice slice of Australian talent collaborating for a unique perspective on spiritual connections to the Earth through the art of surfing. Perhaps a bit too much country folk to make it absolutely essential for me personally but definitely a brilliant album for what it delivers and those into this type of music will absolutely love it.

3.5 stars rounded down