If Sound As Ever saw You Am I taking cues from generational peers, on Hi Fi Way they looked to their heroes for inspiration.
Indeed, this album owes a great debt to the classic rock of the 60s, The Who and The Kinks in particular.
But in spite of that, and the fact it originally hit shelves in 1995, Hi Fi Way doesn’t sound dated.
“Jewels And Bullets” and the crunchy, Who-like “Cathy’s Clown” still delight as primal pop-rock cuts.
“Purple Sneakers”, meanwhile, is one of the band’s best-ever singalongs. Tim Rogers’ honest, nostalgic lyrics cut straight to the heart of anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t belong.
All tracks here have been remastered for this reissue, including the second disc of bonus material. This includes Hi Fi Way-era b-sides and a healthy helping of live material. The Live at the Wireless set showcases You Am I’s power and energy as a live band.
While their debut was a classic in its own right, Hi Fi Way finds room for improvement, mostly through more focused songwriting and Lee Ranaldo’s sunnier production.
Rusty Hopkinson’s drumming is also key, especially on the rock numbers. His Keith Moon-like fills propel “The Applecross Wing Commander” and “Punkarella” with equal measures of enthusiasm and ferocity.
As the band shifts into a final groove on “How Much Is Enough”, our frontman sings his heart out one last time “If the lights, they fell, do you think you could tell, just how much?” He does so over a Neil Young-like guitar squall, Kent’s unflappable bass and Hopkinson, who seems to be drumming as if his life depended on it.
If anything, that’s Hi Fi Way’s greatest strength – it doesn’t just have classic songs, it has heart.
This is the Australian rock album of the 1990s.
