Being a fan of former Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer is an almost entirely unique experience. If all you're doing is listening to her music you're really only experiencing a fraction of what she offers as an artist. That's not to say that the music isn't worth it all by itself (although we'll get to that a little later on). It's just that Amanda feels like one of the first true artists of the internet age. She blogs frequently and openly, tweets constantly, and will happily engage with her fans. She encourages creativity, revels in non-conformity, and champions art in all forms. When she tours she stages what she refers to as "Ninja Gigs", free concerts for her fans publicised via twitter, blog, and word of mouth. Being an Amanda Palmer fan is like having a conversation.
As a part of that conversation "...Goes Down Under" is a strange little document. It's a collection of live tracks (most of which were recorded at a triumphant Sydney Opera House gig), covers, and collaborations. From any other artist this would feel like a half baked odds and sods collection, but from Amanda Palmer it feels completely appropriate.
We'll start with the covers. Three covers come from that opera house gig. The album (and concert) opener being a ukulele strummed cover of 1920's classic Makin' Whoopee, there's a delightful impromptu cover of the famous (in Australia at least) Vegemite jingle We're Happy Little Vegemites, and the album (and concert) closing cover of Nick Cave's The Ship Song. The other cover is one of the three studio tracks on the album (which fitting with the theme were all recorded in an Adelaide studio) and is a cover of cult New Zealand songwriter Peter Jefferies' On An Unknown Beach. The covers all serve as great examples of the different faces of Amanda Palmer as an artist. Makin' Whoopee shows her playful side, We're Happy Little Vegemites illustrates Palmer's relationship with her fans, The Ship Song shows her ability to play it straight and deep, and On An Unknown Beach is a great example of her tireless championing of obscure artists who should have more exposure.
Next the collaborations. Not counting Brian Viglione (the 'other' Dresden Doll) turning up for percussion duties on In My Mind, there are three collaborations on the album. Two of them live collaborations in which Amanda sings a song by one of her musician friends with said friend. One of these is a 2001 song by Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen the delicious dark gypsy stomp of A Formidable Marinade which Amanda sang with Mikelangelo at the opera house. The other is a song by Melbourne cabaret darlings The Jane Austen Argument called Bad Wine and Lemon Cake which Amanda sang with the duo at the Adelaide fringe festival. Both of these are great songs, and both of these artists will benefit from the exposure. In fact I think Bad Wine and Lemon Cake could be the best song on the album. The other collaboration is the odd, but catchy lead single from the album Map Of Tasmania, a song about personal feminine grooming decisions. It's Amanda's song, but it's been worked over by English dance act The Young Punx.
So with half of the album given over to other people's songs only half of Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under is made up from Amanda Palmer songs. Once again the songs on display show the variety of Amanda's music, and once again almost all of them are live tracks. There's a song about ignoring the washing up to go to Australia, a song about how much Amanda hates Vegemite (spoiler alert: it's a lot), the aforementioned personal grooming manual, a song about realising that it's okay to be who you are, a song ostensibly about New Zealand, and a song about the host of a medical TV talk show.
One can't help but wonder if Palmer is a narcissist. All of her releases since disbanding The Dresden Dolls have had her name in the title. Although maybe she's just trying to get that name to more and more people. I'm a fan of what she does, and as a result I like this album. That said I look forward to a 'proper' album of all new, all original, all studio tracks.
So you're wondering if you should get Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under. It's a simple and emphatic yes. Even if you're not going to listen to and enjoy the music (which you should), if you download it from Amanda's website all the proceeds go directly to the artists. No record company skimming off the top. And what's more you can have the album for as little as $US 0.69. It's really hard to say you're not getting value for money on that deal.
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