Bernard Fanning - Tea &Sympathy

Fri 18th Nov, 2005 in Music Reviews

Well here it is then, Tea & Sympathy – the much anticipated Bernard Fanning solo record. A collection of fourteen numbers which fuse together elements of country (both classic and alternative), a bit of bluegrass, a bit of rock with some pop in there as well. Fanning has taken the time during his self imposed break from his seminal outfit Powderfinger to go away and think about things – about his life, his relationships, his songwriting process and most of all the gift of music and the inspirations it can bring in terms of cleansing oneself on a spiritual and sometimes more immediate level.

Fanning has admitted that he found the need to act upon his creative streak and go ahead with material for his debut solo offering – although many of the tunes on Tea & Sympathy were potentially written for his Powderfinger line up, there was no mistake about it – a good song is a good song, and deserves to be recorded and released, irrespective of the medium which it shall be labelled under.

The recording of Tea & Sympathy was done over a few months in both the UK and Australia thanks largely to the brilliance and tactical music brains of sound engineer and producer Tchad Blake whose previous credits have included mixing and producing records for Tom Waits, Crowded House, Gomez, Peter Gabriel and Paul Kelly’s 2004 release Ways & Means, to name just a few.

Tea & Sympathy was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath (UK) with Fanning’s recording band including the seasoned stick work of former Peter Gabriel time keeper, American Jerry Marotta, who is also credited for his work with a range of artists, such as Hall & Oates, Cher, Elvis Costello, Ani Difranco and Suzanne Vega. Then there’s Ireland’s Keith Duffy (not too be mistaken for the former Boyzone member, but bassist for The Corrs) and John Bedggood from Melbourne on piano/keys/strings and some mandolin, a multi-instrumentalist who has been friends with Fanning for years, and has helped him deal with some pretty difficult personal issues over recent times.  

The stock and musical players on Tea & Sympathy is something which really needed to be mentioned as Fanning has removed himself from all comfort zones to really explore the depths of his psyche. He gets the opportunity to play and record with an eclectic and exquisite bunch of international musicians and producers – this has to be admired for the fact that Fanning has tested himself out here with material that he was previously unaccustomed to when head honcho of Powderfinger.

From the opening tracks The Thrill Is Gone (a song which refers to Fanning’s ‘break ups’ with both personal and musical adventures), and the hit single Wish You Well which finds a mentally exhausted but forgiving Fanning singing,

“Rolling fog into my room
Why did you give up on me so soon?
I just want to wish you well,”
 
its pretty clear that the man needs to get quite a few things of his chest which is incidentally referred to on track three, Not Finished Just Yet. This is a number which has a forlorn Fanning hooking into yodel mode like a Hank Williams or some old school Bluegrasser from decades gone by,

“Will you raise a smile when you see me come?
Or linger in the darkness I spun?
Your confidence and trust are so hard won
We’re not finished yet
Got to get this off my chest.”

The mandolin parts provided by Bedggood really do frame large parts of the albums mood and temperament, and provide Fanning with enough twang to accompany the sadness which can be heard in his use of the harmonica. Tea & Sympathy is not a tear jerker of an album though – far from it – it has definitive moments of optimism which can be heard through the music, particularly on the bass driven Which Way Home and the lap steeled resolve of Hope And Validation which finds the band picking up on the happiness vibe and running with it all the way past the post and into Sleeping Rough, which again finds Fanning touching on dark personal moments which are presented in an upbeat kind of spiritually cleansing style – there is no room for heavy hearts and floods of tears here, just good old fashioned lyrical honesty bundled in with some real impressive musicianship.

Down the River starts out with moments of subdued lo-fi before exploding into some late 1970s stadium rock which rears its head for a fleeting moment before Fanning steers the song back into its cave with some sweet harmonica, combining nicely with his trademark fusion of whispered harmony, and growling rough vocal.

Tea & Sympathy closes with Watch Over Me, and what I believe to be an ode to Fanning’s older brother John, who had passed away to cancer three years earlier at the age of 42, at a time when Powderfinger were so flat out (touring wise) that it apparently gave Fanning little time to really grieve and reflect on his brothers life. Then again this song may be about the break up of his 10 or more year relationship with his partner, or even his release from Powderfinger – whatever the motivations behind the track, one thing is clear about this in particular song and about the theme of Tea & Sympathy – it’s all extremely reflective, heartfelt, well versed and brilliantly paced, and can be listened to time and time again with the same enthusiasm and anticipation as the very first time.