''Searching for Heritage'' is an album that John Butler recorded and sold on cassette tapes while he was
busking
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...
on the streets of
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
in 1996.
It is a collection of instrumental songs, some of which ("Ocean" and "Valley") were re-recorded on the debut self-titled album ''
John Butler''. During this time, Butler was usually playing on his own. Completely self-funded,
it sold three and a half thousand copies and enabled Butler to fund his first CD recording.
[Spencer et al, (2007]
John Butler Trio
entry. Retrieved 23 November 2011
The tape is highly sought-after by collectors since it was out of print of many years, with some copies only found second-hand at music stores. The tape was never reissued after the initial release.
To celebrate the Searching for Heritage's 20th anniversary in 2016, the album was reissued in a vinyl edition, which sold out in 36 hours, and also in several downloadable 24-bit lossless audio formats.
Track listing
All tracks written and performed by
John Butler.
Original Cassette Tape
Side One
# River Song
# Valley
# Desert Snow
# Some Place Familiar
# Newd
# Chicken
Side Two
# River Song (Busk version)
# Desert Snow (8 Track)
# Valley (DAT)
# Long Trek
# Ocean
2016 Vinyl Reissue
=Side One
=
# River Song
# Valley
# Desert Snow
# Some Place Familiar
# Newd
# Chicken
=Side Two
=
# River Song (busk version)
# Desert Snow (8 track)
# Valley (dat)
# Long Trek
# Ocean
2016 Digital Reissue
#River Song
# Valley
# Desert Snow
# Some Place Familiar
#Newd
#River Song (busk version)
# Desert Snow (8 track)
# Valley (dat)
#Long Trek
References
{{Authority control
John Butler Trio albums
1996 live albums
Self-released albums