''Hourly, Daily'' is an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n
rock band
''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
,
You Am I
You Am I are an Australian power pop band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted at the ...
, released in July 1996. The album is
Tim Rogers' portrait of Australian life, spread across 15 tracks. Themes include childhood,
suburbia
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
and relationships. The album also seems to run the course of a day, "
Good Mornin'" beginning with an alarm clock, ending with the question of "Who Takes Who Home" on a night out, and after a period of silence, the
hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...
entitled "Forget It Sister" begins with 'good morning baby..'
The album debuted at No. 1 on the
Australian ARIA Albums Chart. In October 2010, ''Hourly, Daily'', was listed in the book, ''
100 Best Australian Albums'' with their previous album, ''
Hi Fi Way'' (1995) at No. 8.
In December 2021, the album was listed at no. 11 in
Rolling Stone Australia’s ‘200 Greatest Albums of All Time’ countdown.
Reception
Reviewed in
Rolling Stone Australia
''Rolling Stone Australia'' is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...
at the time of release, it was noted that You Am I were moving away from their earlier "screeching guitar" rock towards gentler and more melodic music. The additional accompaniment of trumpets, French horns and string sections was remarked upon. Tim Rogers' writing was said to be, "almost totally concerned with other people, crafting intricate character sketches in
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
/
Ray Davies
Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...
tradition."
Juice magazine complimented the musical "width" and "strongly hued richness" on the album, though wondering if old fans would respond to the less direct music. Lyrically, Rogers was said to have, "a thematic cohesion and eye for detail that brings to mind
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
or
Paul Westerberg at their finest."
In a retrospective piece titled "You Am I Is the Longest Love Affair I Have Ever Had",
FasterLouder writer A.H. Cayley singled out ''
Hi Fi Way'' and ''Hourly, Daily'' as the two high points of the band's career, which You Am I fans speak of with a "hushed reverence".
Tim Rogers later said of the album, "I was probably listening to too many
Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...
records, it must be said. I'm glad people like it, I don't listen to it."
2013 reissues, concert tour
In 2013, You Am I reissued remastered versions of ''Sound As Ever'', ''Hi Fi Way'', and ''Hourly Daily'' with bonus discs featuring B-sides, out-takes and live recordings.
In the winter of 2013, the band toured major cities of Australia on the ''Hi Fi Daily Double Tour'', performing both ''Hourly Daily'' and ''Hi Fi Way'' in their entirety, followed by an encore of other songs from these reissued collections.
Vinyl versions of the three albums were released for the first time to coincide with this tour.
In turn, a live recording from the 2013 tour was released as a vinyl/DVD box set titled ''
Live Electrified'' in 2014.
Track listing
All songs written by Tim Rogers.
Australian version
# "Hourly, Daily"
# "
Good Mornin'"
# "
Mr. Milk"
# "
Soldiers
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...
"
# "
Tuesday
Tuesday is the day of the week between Monday and Wednesday. According to international standard ISO 8601, Monday is the first day of the week; thus, Tuesday is the second day of the week. According to many traditional calendars, however, Sunda ...
"
# "If We Can't Get It Together"
# "Flag Fall $1.80"
# "Wally Raffles"
# "Heavy Comfort"
# "Dead Letter Chorus"
# "Baby Clothes"
# "Someone Else's Home"
# "Please Don't Ask Me to Smile"
# "Moon Shines on Trubble"
# "Who Takes Who Home?"
# "Forget It Sister" (
hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...
)
International version
# "Hourly, Daily"
# "
Good Mornin'"
# "
Mr. Milk"
# "
Soldiers
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...
# "
Trike"
# "
Tuesday
Tuesday is the day of the week between Monday and Wednesday. According to international standard ISO 8601, Monday is the first day of the week; thus, Tuesday is the second day of the week. According to many traditional calendars, however, Sunda ...
"
# "Opportunities"
# "If We Can't Get It Together"
# "Flag Fall $1.80"
# "Wally Raffles"
# "Heavy Comfort"
# "Dead Letter Chorus"
# "Baby Clothes"
# "Please Don't Ask Me to Smile"
# "Who Takes Who Home?"
# "Forget It Sister" (
hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...
)
The international release (June 1997) replaced the songs "Someone Else's Home" and "Moon Shines on Trubble" with "Opportunities" and "Trike", supposedly to increase its overseas appeal by including songs that did not explicitly refer to Sydney or Australia. The international version also replaced the sleeve photo of the ubiquitous Australian overhead telegraph pole with a simpler photo of the band playing live. Unlike the original issue, the new cover also had the virtue of fitting in with You Am I's recurring theme of retro-styled album covers.
Beat Party! (Live at Wiseold's)
Some copies of the album came with a live bonus disc of songs recorded in May 1996 with Greg Hitchcock on second guitar and organ.
# "Minor Byrd"
# "Punkerella"
# "She's So Fine" (
The Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1964. They are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success ...
cover)
# "
Making Time (Lyrice Ad Nauseum
/nowiki>''sic''">sic.html" ;"title="/nowiki>''sic">/nowiki>''sic''/nowiki> Mix)" (The Creation (band)">Creation cover)
# "How Much Is Enough"
# "Applecross Wing Commander"
# "Search and Destroy (The Stooges song)">Search And Destroy
Seek and destroy (also known as search and destroy, or S&D) is a military strategy which consists of inserting infantry forces into hostile territory and directing them to search and then attack enemy targets before immediately withdrawing. Fi ...