Track By Track: The Painted Ladies

“No holds barred, three chords and something to say”: that’s how LUKE PEACOCK from Brisbane band Halfway describes Vic Simms’ prison-recorded 1973 LP ‘The Loner’. Peacock teamed up with You Am I drummer Rusty Hopkinson and a long list of guests to reinterpret songs from the album (and beyond).

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

‘Get Back into the Shadows’

The first track on the original Loner album and one of Vic’s more well-known songs. The chorus is a nod to the Big Bill Broonzy song ‘Black, Brown and White’. It’s essentially a singalong song, although the verses are firsthand observations written in first-person. They detail a common example of racial discrimination at the hands of a dickhead publican. It was a no-brainer to pick this one. I like to think we’ve grown up a bit as humans since this was written, but the fact of the matter is that I still see this stuff happening all the time.

‘Try to Understand’

I love this song. We took our name from it. The chorus is just fantastic. The words and the melody and the way they bounce off the rhythm of the music reminds me of that classic ’60s Memphis soul stuff. And the lyrics! “I had to meet the painted ladies, who said ‘Honey, come on in’/It’s the colour of your money, not the colour of your skin.” It’s such a bold statement that should be confronting, but the way Vic actually makes the line attractive is genius. Very Dylan.

The title of the song says a lot too. That phrase is really where the whole album starts and ends for me. Most of the songs are somewhat political songs, but there’s absolutely no hostility in them. It’s like he’s just offering directions. They’re enjoyable and polite.

‘Poor Folks Happiness’

This was the song that started this whole thing off. I decided I’d learn it, maybe just to play it live one day. I was stuck deciphering a phrase in the lyrics and when I asked around I was handed Vic’s phone number! It’s essentially a song about a high-born, privileged daughter of a ‘well-known socialite’. Instead of all the glamour and false beauty around these exclusive parties, she’s drawn to the shitty end of town – the fringes – where she finds comfort and fulfilment amongst its inhabitants. It reminds me of a few people I know.

‘Karen’s Song’

This was originally titled ‘You Make Me Know I’m Alive’. It’s homage to a friend of Vic’s who supported him in his hour of need. Vic still sees Karen kicking around Sydney occasionally. I hope she gets to hear this version. It’s a small step away from the original. We approached it as a kind of classic-style, male-female duet and got Sue Ray to do the female part. I love how it turned out.

‘Living My Life by the Days’

A bit philosophical, this one. I guess it’s just Vic coming of age and figuring out a few things about himself and the people around him. I recorded this one after the main sessions, at The Ark with my friend Greg Cathcart. He’s got a great ear and some sweet gear, so it came up beautifully and Vic loves it.

‘Stranger in My Country’

’Stranger’ is definitely Vic’s most brutal writing. It’s about disparity and maltreatment of blacks in Australia since colonisation right up until the present. It features on Clinton Walker’s Buried Country soundtrack and Roger Knox covered it on his last album.

Amongst others, Ed Kuepper features on our version, which adds a whole other element, having someone from such an opposing historical background singing those words. Ed migrated to Australia from Germany as a child and yet there’s so many similarities with Vic Simms’ The Loner and The Saints (I’m) Stranded. They were recorded at roughly the same time and both share a common emotion, at complete parallels to each other. And as odd as it may sound to some, there’s some punk rock characteristics in The Loner. Fundamentals. No holds barred, three chords and something to say.

‘I Wanna Bop’ (Bonus Track)

Before Vic recorded The Loner, he was a child star and he recorded an album in the early ’60s with The Joy Boys for Festival Records. The whole thing is missing, presumed dead, but there’s a 45 still floating around with four tracks from those sessions. One of them is ‘I Wanna Bop’, an obscure rockabilly song originally recorded by Billy Harland in 1958. The idea for our version was to get Vic to sing the lead, some 50 or more years since he first sang it as a teenager. He nailed it in one take, gave us goosebumps, then did another and topped the first one. It was the best display of professionalism and experience I had ever witnessed. Incredible. The whole song is a party.

‘Hey Sheriff’ (Bonus Track)

Another one that wasn’t on The Loner, Vic recorded this as part of a series of albums called Koori Classics in the ’80s. It’s just a fun song. Our recording literally came from myself and two friends being bored on a Friday night. We ended up going with the first take because Pickers drummed so hard that he physically couldn’t do it again. The vocal is rough as guts, but it stayed. People seem to like it. Ha!

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‘The Painted Ladies Play Selections From The Loner’ is out now on CD, vinyl and digitally through Plus One. Read Aaron Curran’s review of last year’s ‘The Loner’ reissue and interview with Simms himself.