By ALENA HIGGINS
TIME has proven its worth for one Tenterfield artist who is enjoying a world-wide re-release of his rare 1974 vinyl album.
The news came as a surprise to local musician Peter Harris, who produced the progressive folk album Fool’s Paradise with colleague Dave Madden more than 40 years ago.
“I am very proud of it,” he said.
“The fact that it still sounds fresh after 40 years is pretty amazing.”
Madden and Harris began recording in 1972 on the Abbey Road desk which EMI sent out to Sydney from its London studios.
The desk was the same one used by the Beatles to record their iconic Abbey Road album in 1969.
Cresting the psychedelic wave of the era, Fool’s Paradise has always remained under review as a popular underground classic and has been kept alive by retro music buffs.
It is recognised as a collectible, not only owing to there being fewer than 1000 albums originally released but for its high production value which was captured on the (then new) reel-to-reel multi-track tape technology.
It also proved a first for its use with experimental synthesizer sound.
However, while Fool’s Paradise achieved popularity in a few hip spots at the time, it received comparatively little airplay and soon faded from view, or so Harris thought.
But it is set to hit turn-tables once again after Spanish label Guersson got the Madden and Harris OK late last year to reproduce it on vinyl in original form for world-wide release.
“It’s now in their catalogue, I just received my free copy last week,” he said.
Harris, who moved to Tenterfield five years ago, first met Madden while teaching music at a western Sydney high school.
Madden was a Year 9 student who joined the school folk group.
The two musicians caught up after Madden left school, formed a duo and began playing at wine bars and folk clubs.
But it was difficult to make ends meet.
“I was writing Kleenex tissue commercials to stay alive, but it just proved too difficult to survive,” Harris said.
“The album was our swan song in a way.”
Harris continues to perform as a solo act called One Man Big Band, ususally somewhere along the New England Highway at restaurants and wineries.
He is also a member of the Australian Celtic trio Welder’s Dog, which is well known for its humorous take on history.
