''Friends'' is the sixth and final studio album by

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

rock band

the Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...

. It was released in early 1970 as part of the group's new recording contract with

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. It would be the only album Polydor released of the band as they broke up before its release.

History & Production

In 1969, the group parted ways with their production company

Albert Productions Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent record labels to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1963 by Ted Albert, whos ...

and their international record company

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

. After signing with Polydor Records, the Easybeats teamed up with producer Ray Singer for the single "St. Louis" and its B-side "I Can't Find Love". The single failed to chart in the UK, but reached #21 on the Go-Set Charts in their home country of Australia. In August the band's key songwriters,

Harry Vanda Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Ea ...

and George Young, took over a small recording studio located in an apartment in Moscow Road, London. The studio was previously used for recording jingles for pirate radio. The pair used the studios to record various demos for other artists, sometimes using other members of the Easybeats to contribute instrumentation and vocals. These demo recordings, along with the two songs recorded with Ray Singer were released by Polydor as ''Friends'' in the UK and Australia.

Release

The album was originally advertised in the Australian music magazine,

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

during the group's 1969 Australian tour as a yet untitled upcoming release from Polydor Records. However, the band disbanded at the end of the tour. In February 1970 the album was listed on the new release schedule as being the group's final album. Between Australia and the UK there are two different versions of the song "Friends". On the Australian LP, the song is a faster-paced version sung by George Young (titled "Friends") while in the U.K. it is a slower ballad sung by Harry Vanda titled "Who Are My Friends". Vanda's "Who Are My Friends" was released as a single in the UK and Australia (under the same title as George's "Friends"). The album was released in Europe and Canada as ''Holding On'' and was due for U.S. release under the title ''Easy Ridin through

Rare Earth Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

. This release would be canceled. It was reissued on vinyl in 1980 in Australia as part of the ''Rock Legends'' series. Repertoire Records released the album on compact disc twice (1992 and 2006). The band's Australian record company, Albert Productions, left the album out of their ''The Complete Easybeats'' box set.

Reception

In a contemporary review ''

The Sun Herald The ''Sun Herald'' is a U.S. newspaper based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that serves readers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The paper's current executive editor and general manager is Blake Kaplan and its headquarters is in the city of Gulfport ...

s Gil Wahlquist noted the "commercial English sound" of the album and that "everything is energy and vocal power from the opening "St. Louis" through to "Woman, You're On My Mind"". In an article in ''

'', singer Stevie Wright noted the band were disappointed in the Ray Singer's production of the lead single

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, saying "It ended up nothing like we envisaged it" and that they wanted it more "funky with lots of ad-libs". Retrospective reviews have been less kind to the album. Pointing out the short comings of the demo recordings. AllMusic's Ritchie Unterberger noted that " The least successful songs are the forced rock & roll boogies, with overwrought vocals from lead singer Stevie Wright. The more pensive tracks, like the title tune, have an oddly compelling, hollow feel of resignation bordering on gloom that starkly contrasts with their more well-known mid-'60s material."

Track listing

All songs written by

and George Young under the pseudonym Brian Russell.

Original track listing

On the European release ''Holding On'' "What Becomes of You My Love" and "Woman You're on My Mind" are switched around.

Additional Repertoire bonus tracks

Personnel

;The Easybeats *

Stevie Wright Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015) was an Australian musician and songwriter who has been called Australia's first international pop star. During 1964–69, he was lead singer of Sydney-based rock and roll band the E ...

- lead vocals on A1, A5 and B2 * George Young - lead vocals (A2 (Australian release), A3, B1, B3, B5) backing vocals, rhythm guitar, bass, drums *

- lead guitar (A2 UK release), A4, A5, A6, B4) vocals, rhythm guitar, bass, drums *

Dick Diamonde Dingeman Adriaan Henry van der Sluijs (born 28 December 1947), better known by his stage name Dick Diamonde, is a retired Dutch Australian bass guitarist. He was a founding mainstay member of 1960s rock group The Easybeats. Diamonde, with the gr ...

- bass guitar *Tony Cahill - drums, percussion ;Production team *Harry Vanda - producer *George Young - producer *Ray Singer - producer for "St. Louis" and "Can't Find Love"

References

External links

* allmusic - Friendsbr>Albert Music - Friends
* {{Authority control The Easybeats albums 1969 albums Albert Productions albums Polydor Records albums Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios