A Blast From the Past – Ross Wilson plays Basement Discs

Ross Wilson and the Urban Legends live 23/5/08

The lunchtime concert today at Basement Discs was a ripper. Legendary Aussie rock artist, Ross Wilson was at Basement discs playing songs off his new album, Tributary which reworks many of his old hits in new ways, mostly with acoustic instrumentation.

A big crowd was at this mini show, many of them my vintage, and I saw a lot of them singing along to well known classics such as Come Back Again, Fugitive Kind and of course Eagle Rock. These songs are burnt into the Australian psyche from the days when Ross Wilson fronted such bands as Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock – way, way back - 30 years or so ago.

Ross’s current band, The Urban Legends, were on stage with him today and included Eric McCusker a survivor from Mondo Rock on electric guitar. There was also a bass player, a keyboardist and a drummer. Ross Wilson was looking well for his age and his voice had lost none of its distinctive sound or power.

It was a great little show, and interesting to hear the old standards played in mostly acoustic mode. Eagle Rock was played as an old time ragtime number and has been renamed on the Tributary album as Eagle Rock 1908.