Geoffrey W Graham – Rhythm of the Bush

Geoffrey W. Graham – Rhythm of the Bush: Dinkum Aussie Verse
Finalist in Bush Laureate awards Tamworth 2009
CD review by Chris Spencer
Graham, who hails from Eaglehawk, Victoria, has been a regular at festivals over the past few years. He calls himself a full-time entertainer, raconteur and communicator performing comedy, poetry and music. He also presents one man shows such as “The Man from Ironbark”. I was surprised that he sings, performing two songs “Song of the Bush” and “Don’t Forget the Outback”, on this CD, something that he should be encouraged do more often. The material on this CD, aside from the two songs is poetry (mostly in the ‘Australian’ ballad style). The poems alternate between serious and humorous. Some of the humorous ones are more wry than belly laughs while others rely on the punch in the last line of the whole poem. Others offer glimpses of Australian society or observations of how the other half live. Some of the serious poems include “Aveacuppatea”, “Elsie’s parrot”, “Biff”, “Pussycat’n Dog”, “Never Take a Train”, “Four be Two” while some of the serious additions include “Meaning of Life”, “The Old Man”, “Courage and Sacrifi ce” (which deals with the brutality of war) and the title track that refl ects on some of the music Graham heard while growing up. On a couple of songs, Geoffrey changes his voice to suit different characters and on others he utilises the violin and sound effects created by the producer Retaw Boyce to set the mood or add just a little bit of variation. For those of you who have enjoyed Graham’s live performances, this is an ideal souvenir to take home.

About the artist: Probably the only person who has performed Banjo’s poems in New York; Lawson in the Australian embassy in Laos and CJ Dennis in Leinster in WA. Truly a packager of dinkum Oz entertainment.