At 77, age is catching up on Brian Cadd, but he is still fighting hard to not let it overtake him.
After having to be assisted up the steps and onto the stage, Cadd quickly settled in and delivered a ninety-minute serve of classic Australian hits punctuated by a handful of excellent songs from his soon to be released country album, Dream Train.
The new material, alongside the songs he played from his 2019 album, Silver City, underlined the fact that Cadd is still one of Australia’s greatest songwriters.
Before performing the first single from his new album, ‘You Know What To Say’, he was defiantly keen to inform us that this song had made it into the top ten of the country music chart earlier this year. This achievement, six decades on from his first chart hit, in many ways, sums up the passion and drive Cadd still obviously has for creating and performing music.
Opening the show with a song he originally sang with The Flying Burrito Brothers, the lively ‘Eye Of A Hurricane’, gave Cadd and his band a chance to loosen up and ready themselves for the avalanche of hits to follow.
It took the appreciative Trinity Sessions audience no time at all to be swept up in to singing and clapping along to classics such as ‘Arkansas Grass’, ‘Don’t You Know It’s Magic’, and a pairing of the two biggest hits by his 1960’s band, The Groop, ‘Such A Lovely Way’ and ‘Woman You’re Breaking Me’.
The arrangement of the Axiom hit, ‘My Baby’s Gone’, was the only flat spot in the show. It was stripped of the energy and drama of the original, but this aberration was soon quickly forgotten when he followed it with a fantastic rendition of his most covered song, ‘Let Go’.
Cadd’s voice grew steadily stronger with every number, and it was obvious he was enjoying himself, chatting and cracking jokes in between songs.
His story about scoring the 1972 Tim Burstall film, Alvin Purple, concerning a big screen, a remote control, and some footage of Jacqui Weaver that was only ever destined for the cutting room floor, was very amusing – even if it was a little un-PC and unsuitable for a church setting!
‘Everyone’s Leaving’ provided a poignant breather before the final run of hits and rockers.
Written in the wake of the deaths of so many well-known musicians in 2016, a period which saw Cadd having to confront his own mortality, ‘Everyone’s Leaving’ is a beautiful song of comfort for those who grieve the loss of their musical heroes.
The Friday night audience, largely made up of people who, at this point in their lives are most probably grandparents, readily embraced the chance to sing loudly and enthusiastically along with the band when they finally struck up the eagerly anticipated ‘A Little Ray Of Sunshine’. The sentiment and emotion invested in this song has obviously grown steadily stronger over the years and it was a powerful moment to experience the love so many people have for the song.
The set finished with a wonderful version of ‘Ginger Man’, but then, dismissing tradition, Cadd decided not to leave the stage and instead went straight into an encore of two rocking covers – Loggins & Messina’s ‘Your Mama Don’t Dance’ and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Honky Tonk Women’, the latter introduced as ‘the greatest rock and roll song ever written’. It was clear these were crowd-pleasing choices and everybody was out of their seats and dancing by show’s end.
You can’t help but marvel at rock performers who can maintain a viable career over six decades and who still manage to produce new music and summon up the energy to deliver so passionately on stage. They are a rare breed.
Brian Cadd’s 2024 Adelaide Fringe season serves as timely reminder that this ARIA Hall of Famer’s contribution to Australian music and culture has been second to none.