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Rolling Stone, April 1990. By Greg Taylor
"Mad, bad and dangerous to know," was one contemporary's verdict on Lord Byron, the enfant terrible of English literature in the early 19th century. Sentiments a senior CBS executive might have applied to the Doug Anthony All Stars, as they ripped off his shirt during Icon's launch party. Nothing, from religion to dead pop stars, is sacred in their songs, and no-one, even (or especially) the record distributor, is safe when these three clean-looking boys from nice Canberra homes start foaming at the mouth.
But Icon sees DAAS aspiring to more than satirical headbutts. Though many of these numbers have been aired on The Big Gig, removed from the slapstick surrounding songs like "Commies For Christ" and "I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy" are pretty serious humour.
"KRSNA" and the extremely catchy "Dead Elvis" are still a hoot without the knockabout live presence, but the ballad "Bottle" walks the Randy Newman line between comedy and tragedy, while other tracks leave you wondering if there's a parody deeply buried or whether DAAS are simply out to make music.
They cover plenty of bases. While the sampling and rap delivery on "Commies For Christ", "Shang-A-Lang" and "Go To Church" are 1990 sounds, there's echoes of Led Zeppelin in "Motorcycle St Sebastian" and Russell "Real Thing" Morris in "Spill the Blood of a Hippy".
"Jack" and "Broad lic Nic" have a boisterous Celtic folk sound reminiscent of the Pogues, while "Gospel Song" is a country waltz, "Dead Elvis" knees-up rockabilly, and "RAT" a piece of ecstatic chanting worthy of a Balkan women's choir.
Like Byron, DAAS can get tedious in their lampooning - the preoccupation with religion ("Commies For Christ", "Little Gospel Song", "Go To Church") suggests they're still struggling with hang-ups much of their audience couldn't give a toss about. But like the late poet, they can be forgiven much for the exhuberance with which they turn rants into rhyme.
Though their live shows still require no more than three maniacs and a guitar, Icon shows how far the trio has come from its busking origins. Bursting with ideas, it will baffle radio programmers and that audience which sees DAAS music as nothing more than a punch-line build-up, while tantalising the rest of us with "Where do they go from here?"
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