Greg shares an honest recollection of his life experiences which is the inspiration for his music.
His journey has been carefully crafted into two new albums, Recovery Road and together with Steve Lindsay, Oceanic Records, the second album, Collaboration.
Greg shares the story of his journey and music with Adam and Russ, live in the Highland FM Studios
Music
Recorded Live in the Highland FM Studios
Producers notes
Greg Powell is a good friend, horseman, singer / songwriter and great human being. He is based at Ballymount Farm, runs his horse clinics there.
He is a thinker, questioner, communicator, entertainer and is unafraid of hard work. He loves his family, his friends, his (and other) horses, his dogs, his cats, and, music. Greg’s “auto-pilot” mode is “to help”. “Uncomplicated” and “highly complicated” can run in the same sentence in describing Greg. Everything comes with “good intent”. It is a fun interaction with him. Greg has previously worked tirelessly to support Brumbies and troubled kids. He has run clinics with Mission Australia & Father Riley’s Youth of the Streets via his charity at his property at Kalandan near Cooma. He has experienced the highs of running his equestrian shows, winning Equitana, making a real difference to people and horses and also the bitter lows with the loss of his Dad to MND and losing in relationships.
COVID gave Greg an opportunity to focus on his music. We dived into his black book of songs (I’ll call it “the Wilderness Years”) and picked 12 that fitted his journey. There are many more songs from the Wilderness Years to work with for future albums. But the time is right for this selection. Great songs can come when emotion is felt, understood, communicated and addressed. It takes courage to open-up and Greg does this through his songs in this selection. We had a lot of fun in putting Recovery Road together. It tells a story I expect many will relate to it. Some make me laugh….some bring a tear….it’s a winner for me. When we were near completing the recording, Greg sang me his Dad’s Song. I was struck with how difficult it was for him to do. It is still very personal, so very difficult to perform. I wanted it on and Greg agreed…so it’s there as a silent number after Mum’s Song. Enjoy.
Collaboration
Greg is a very versatile musician and a natural entertainer. Recovery Road was great fun and I wanted more. We discussed covers and also some of Steve Lindsay’s songs that I liked. It was great fun picking and reworking the covers. Steve’s songs are in good company. Steve’s “Leave Me Alone” is Dylanesque, “Brother’s in Wattle” takes you to the fear and frustration of battlefields and “Song for People” is a timely anthem. “Cracked Like Thunder” is a good old relationship kick-back and “A Fine Convict Wife” highlights the great deal from stealing a bottle of scotch from the officer’s mess (free trip to Van Dieman’s Land, accommodation, possibly a land grant and the opportunity to bring out a future wife). A confession – we renamed Michael Burton’s “Night Rider’s Lament” to “Night Rider’s Secret”… it’s no lament. There are a lot of good and well delivered songs here. Greg’s rendition of Graeme Connors “The Ringer and the Princess” wins by a head from a close finishing pack for me. One hell of a song delivered as only Greg can do. This is a great listening album.
Oceanic Records
None of this would have happened without Steve Lindsay. Steve lives in Crookwell and recorded and engineered the Recovery Road & Collaboration Albums at his Old Binda Road Recording Studio. Steve is a man of many talents beyond singer, songwriter, recorder and engineer. His studio setup and his approach inspires creativity and fun. Just a great Collaborator. Thanks Steve.
Linda Mace
In addition to many other interests, Linda is a big natural horsemanship and music fan. In my mind she was the perfect fit for this “home grown” project. I needed help with the photography, cover design and artwork. Linda more than filled this gap. She made a huge contribution. Thanks Linda.
Produced with the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
Find out more at cbf.org.au.
