The Bottom Line
Peter Hicks
Send $22.50 to PO Box 163, Camperdown NSW 2050
Review by Alex Bainbridge
The Bottom Line is the first solo album by left-wing Sydney singer/songwriter Peter Hicks for several years. The result is excellent — a truly professional effort.
Hicks is a committed champion of social justice for all, and that comes across clearly in this CD. The songs, co-written with Geoff Francis, span a range of progressive issues and above all the injustices endemic in a society divided by extremes of wealth and poverty. The ruling classes and their apologists certainly get their just deserts on this album.
The title song is a powerful argument for a society that favours people before profit — "our bottom line" — and the solidarity we will need to achieve it.
The album is not a dreary, dogmatic affair. It is a compassionate piece of work full of humour and feeling. There are quite a few funny songs on this extremely well-produced album. Hicks' guitar work has come a long way, and he has added a bouzouki to his arsenal. A range of other instruments — accordion, mandolin, darrabukka, fiddle, hurdy-gurdy — are arranged imaginatively and pleasingly.
"Sweet Breath of Freedom" is about the 1991 Dili massacre and is one of Francis and Hicks' best. Recorded as a single several years ago to raise funds for the people of East Timor, until now it has been very hard to get.
Another highlight is the powerful new song about Burma, "Operation Visit Myanmar", about the Burmese military junta's efforts to boost tourism dollars. The song juxtaposes the reality of Burma's brutal military with the idyllic image of a tourist holiday. This song may be one of the all-time best songs from the creative Francis/Hicks alliance.
There is one love song on the album, and it is quite a nice one. Unlike commercial love songs, it can be sung by anybody to anyone else. Its language is not gender-specific, marital status-specific or sexuality specific, and it reminds us that leftists should be able to write about love.
In addition to building a strong following in the folk and pub scene, Hicks is one of the few professional performers in this country to consciously and unambiguously line up on the side of working people and the oppressed. He has never been shy about performing at rallies, demos, picket lines and benefits for many progressive causes.
For this reason alone, this album is worthy of support. But you don't need to buy it just for solidarity — it's a bloody good album!