Cream Of The Crate #10: Billy Thorpe – Time Traveller

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This is number ten in the series of albums I’m featuring and while not planned, I’m pleased that the tenth album is credited to not just an Australian artist, but an artist that even though no longer with us, still commands the greatest respect and love from audiences and musicians alike.

This album, ‘Time Traveller” by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs was released in 1980 on the ‘Blue Goose Label’ – MLF 2335.

Made in Australia it is an original pressing in a gatefold format.

Now there is something in the vicinity of twenty seven vinyl and CD albums by Billy & The Aztecs and it could be said it takes a brave (or stupid) person to choose one as a favourite.

This album sits as one to be cherished in my collection because in many ways it is a musical anthology of much of Billy’s music up to 1980. Considering there were 25 singles released from his first release in April 1964 – “Blue Day” / “You Don’t Love Me” (Linda Lee LL-006), through to November 1975 – “It’s Almost Summer” / “Drive My Car” (Infinity K-6202), it is obviously highly desirable that any retro album that is in essence an anthology, should contain some of those classic singles tracks.

Time Traveller does just that. It contains his second single, which incidentally was his first hit – Poison Ivy (Charting at #1 in Sydney, Melbourne & Adelaide in 1964), along with those wonderful historical tracks, Mashed Potato and Sick and Tired.

Now before going any further with the music it is time to reflect upon the fact that when we talk about Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, we are talking about one of seven, yes seven different line-ups.

The AZTECS

#1 Vince Maloney – Lead guitar
Colin baygent – Drums
John (Bluey) Watson – Bass
Tony Barber – Rhythm guitar
Billy Thorpe – Vocals

#2 Colin Risby – Lead guitar
Johnny Dick – Drums
Teddy Toi – Bass
Mike Downes – Rhythm guitar
Billy Thorpe – Vocals

#3 Lobby Lloyd – Guitar
Jimmy Thompson – Drums
Paul Wheeler – Bass
Billy Thorpe – Vocals, guitar & harp

#4 Billy Thorpe – Vocals & guitar
Gil Mathews – Drums
Paul Wheeler – Bass
Warren Morgan – Electric piano

#5 Billy Thorpe – Vocals & guitar
Gil Mathews – Drums
Paul Wheeler – Bass
Bruce Howard – Electric piano

#6 Billy Thorpe – Vocals & guitar
Gil Mathews – Drums
Teddy Toi – Bass
Warren Morgan – Electric piano

#7 Derek Griffith – Lead guitar
Gil Mathews – Drums
Billy Kristian – Bass
Billy Thorpe – Vocals & guitar
John LeVine – Keyboards

Any one of these line-ups would be considered strong and what they always did, was to provide a solid backing for Billy’s vocals.

Time Traveller – Tracking Listing (In alphabetic order)

“Bassballs” (Billy Kristian – Billy Thorpe)
“Be-Bop a-Lula” (Vincent – David)

“Boogie Woogie” (Billy Thorpe)

“Captain Straightman” (Billy Thorpe -Warren Morgan)
“Cigarettes & Whisky” (Traditional)
“Dawn Song” (Billy Thorpe – Warren Morgan)
“Funny Face” (T Crane)

“I Am The Sea” (Lobby Loyde)

“It’s Almost Summer” (Billy Thorpe)
“Love Letters” (Young – Hayman)
“Mashed Potato” (Rozier)
“Most People I Know” (Billy Thorpe)
“Movin’ On A Sound” (Billy Thorpe)
“Ooh Poo Pah Doo” (Jesse Hill)

“Out in the Street Again” (Lawrence Mekler)

*“Over the Rainbow” (Arlen – Harburg)
“Poison Ivy” (Jerry Leiber – Mike Stoller)

“Sick & Tired” (Kenner – Bartholomew)

“Time to Live” (Billy Thorpe – Warren Morgan)

Compiled by Gil “Rathead” Matthews

Frankly, the album represents Billy Thorpe the entertainer extraordinaire. I guess at this stage it’s probably pertinent to point out the only track I would like to have seen added, as it was in a style of its own, was the ‘space opera’ – Children of the sun.

I guess there was a limit to how much you can fit on vinyl, albeit it a double album.

As history showed, Billy kept playing well after the release of this album in fact right until his most untimely passing on 27^th February 2007. Billy always lived for his music.

His final release, completed after his death, is the extraordinary CD release of Tangier. This is an amazing piece of work that begins to show where Billy Thorpe was evolving with his music.

This is not meant to be a review on the life of Billy Thorpe, Billy and his wife Lynn have taken care of that in a series of books on Billy’s life.

It is a retrospective review of an album that does justice to the music of Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs.

I must mention, that the icing on the cake of this album is that the entire inside of the gatefold is taken up with the story of Billy and the various forms of the Aztecs by Gil Mathews, who makes a really good job of mixing facts and story so that it provides and informative and interesting read.

Oh! and the reference to “Pick me up and play me loud”, that was the original working title to this album. While I believe the title Time Traveller really does sum up the contents of the album, “Pick me up and play me loud”, is a directive that we should follow when we play this, and indeed, any music by this great Australian talent.

 VIDEOS:
We are well serviced with clips of Billy, so here is a selection covering both amny of the years he played and the various styles.

Poison Ivy

Oop poo pah do

Most People I Know

Previous Cream of The Crate Albums:

Click to open:

#1.  Howling Wolf: Real Folk Blues

#2.  Otis Redding: Otis Blue

#3.  Dr John: Gris Gris

#4.  Spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

#5.  Son House – The Real Delta Blues

#6.  Various Artists – Cruisin’ 1961

#7.  Various Artists – Live At The Station Hotel

#8.  Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – Deja Vu

#9. Moon Mullican – Seven Nights To Rock