You Don't Know Lonely

You Don't Know Lonely is the third studio album by Australian rock band Tex, Don and Charlie. It was released in June 2017, debuting at number 14 in the Australian charts.^[1]

Details

You Don't Know Lonely was released 12 years after Tex, Don & Charlie's last album, which was released 12 years after their debut. Owen said, "It honestly wasn't supposed to take another 12 years. We lost our good friend Shane Walsh – a brilliant double-bass player and one of the great Melbourne personalities. He was integral to Tex, Don and Charlie – and when he passed away in 2014, we were already sharing songs around. That all came to a halt – it was really hard to start again in the wake of his passing."^[2] Walker added, "It was quite painful for us, particularly Charlie, to think about doing something without Shane for a while."^[3]

In Walsh's absence, Steve Hadley, who had previously been with Paul Kelly and the The Black Sorrows, played bass. Charley Drayton, who had replaced the late Steve Prestwich in Walker's Cold Chisel, joined the band on drums, and Garret Costigan returned on pedal steel. Demos were recorded in Goonengerry before studio recording in Sydney.^[4]

As with the previous two albums, Walker wrote just over half the songs, and Perkins just under. Walker said, "I throw a lot of songs into the hat. We go through them. The definition of a TDC song of mine is one that Tex and Charlie like. They are very discerning."^[5] Perkins added, "Don usually has a stockpile of songs, one of these songs is about eight years old, and I also have a song in this album that is about eight years old. Don normally presents us with songs he thinks Charlie and I are going to like. Sometimes he is wrong."^[4]

In the song "A Man In Conflict With Nature", the narrator spends his dog-racing winnings on "three hookers and some sushi". Author Perkins admitted, "I was trying to out-Don Don in that song. My ambition with that song was to please Don and, I have to say, he was very pleased. I got open laughter from him, not just a smirk and a snigger. He didn’t bring so much sleaze this time, so it was up to me."^[6]

Reception

Rolling Stone Australia said the album was, "a damn near cinematic listening experience. It’s filled with characters living on the margins, stumbling from one self-created mess to the next."^[7]

The Sydney Morning Herald noted, "given their earlier work, this was always going to be a sombre set, regardless: it's based on their usual stories of characters existing on the fringes, living with regrets and coping with loss, and it mostly delivers. You Don't Know Lonely rewards in time."^[8]

Track listing

Personnel

• Tex Perkins – vocals, guitar
• Don Walker – vocals, keyboards
• Charlie Owen – guitar, dobro, lap steel
• Steve Hadley – bass
• Charley Drayton – drums
• Garrett Costigan – pedal steel guitar

References