Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Troy Cassar-Daley, Sony Music 2021.
Troy Cassar-Daley’s latest album, The World Today, is his best album to date.
Right from the opening track, Back On Country, you are introduced to Troy’s world which is indelibly influenced by his indigenous heritage.
Troy has always been a good storyteller, in the Paul Kelly mould, but I believe that he’s produced something special with this album.
The World Today offers non-country music fans plenty of incentive to delve into its offerings.
The instrumentation is more electric than many of his earlier albums and there’s a much harder, tougher, edge to the songs which probably reflects his personal journey in recent years.
In 2019 his father, who had been in poor health, took his own life and while Troy was coping with this Australia suffered the worst bushfires in recorded history and then plunged into COVID-19 lockdown.
Like every other full-time musician Troy found that his livelihood had suddenly dried up and tensions, that had been exacerbated by his constant touring, were putting pressure on his relationships.
All of this corresponded as a shift in Troy’s musical approach to a harder sound was taking place.
He had already been moving in this direction prior to this album, writing with Cold Chisel songwriter/guitarist, Ian Moss.
Troy penned a couple of rock songs, Shutting Down Our Town for Jimmy Barnes and Parole (which is on this album) for Cold Chisel and he’s recently toured with Midnight Oil, performing in their Makarrata Project Concert.
He hasn’t completely abandoned his country roots; Doin’ Time was written for him by Greg Storer and it’s an acoustic gem.
In Troy’s hands the song takes on a pathos imbued by the terrible indigenous incarceration rate we have in this country.
Few indigenous families have not been touched by contact with the penal system, including Troy’s.
The song Drive In The Dark (Be a Man) opens with a fantastic guitar solo and it’s something that, until this album, I would never have expected on a Troy Cassar-Daley disc.
It’s hard to overstate the change in direction that The World Today reveals.
Troy’s brilliant story telling has taken on a weight that reflects his willingness to confront the important issues that we as Australians have for so long avoided.
I’m confident that The World Today will be Troy’s biggest selling album so far.
