11/30/07: Tall Tales and True: “Summer of Love” (1992)

We’ll get to Christmas next week, but there’s one more Summer of Love entry before next year’s welcome moratorium on the topic. Besides, this one’s a swell song from an Australian act, and it’s nice to hear good things from the Aussies in the wake of John Howard’s being voted out of office.

Tall Tales and True began as an ’80s act, but made it into the ’90s. They also got heard in the States thanks to the rooArt label. They were signed alongside The Tribolites, and even shared a single with them. Unfortunately, the Trilobites’ side was the sarcastic “All Hail the New Right.”

We’re not too sure about the politics of songwriter Matthew de la Hunty, but Tall Tales and True never said anything stupid over the course of three albums. “Summer of Love” is from 1992’s Revenge, and it’s a typical display of de la Hunty’s maturity. He’s talking to a heartsick old hippie who’s feeling nostalgic for free love and other idiocies. de la Hunty’s rightly unsentimental, and nicely confrontational towards the end:

         Come down from your high moral ground
         Times are changing, take a look around
         You’re crying over milk that’s gone sour
         You’re still talking people power
         But people’s self-centered ways
         Are the things that made these days

For a moment, it might seem that de la Hunty is joining his pal in cynically dismissing the younger generation. We soon see, however, that he’s addressing the older generation:

         Ask your friends who turned their backs
         And spent their time avoiding tax
         Ask the ones who made all the cash
         Selling people that bad stash
         Whatever happened to that Summer of Love?

It was certainly reassuring to hear this song back when dopey Americans were electing a particularly cynical Baby Boomer as President. Australians, of course, were gearing up for four terms of John Howard as Prime Minister. Now the poor Aussies have that singer from Midnight Oil in charge of their climate change measures—and the press there is calling that a demotion. Maybe they’ve got Rick Springfield flying back to become the finance minister.

Make it your own: It seems that our Tall Tales and True compilation album is an overpriced collector’s item. Revenge is hard to find, too. At least you can purchase a cheap copy of 1989’s fine Shiver. You just won’t get “Summer of Love.” Fortunately, the song was released as a single in Australia, and you can enjoy the video on YouTube.

 

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