The much-loved Renée Geyer has long been recognised as Australia’s foremost R&B, funk and blue-eyed soul singer, and she’s still making her mark. This in-depth Rhythms feature by Ian McFarlane appeared in the Sound of The City section of our March/April 2022 issue.
By Ian McFarlane
(Thanks to Renée Geyer and Kathy Nolan)
By any criteria, Renée Geyer’s career has been phenomenal. From her earliest days with bands such as Sun, Nine Stage Horizon, Mother Earth, Sanctuary and the Renée Geyer Band she’s long been recognised as Australia’s foremost R&B / funk / blue-eyed soul singer. Best known for her rich, sultry and husky vocal delivery, she scored hits with ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s World’, ‘Heading In The Right Direction’, ‘Stares And Whispers’ and ‘Say I Love You’.
She has recorded 20 albums as well as singing back-up vocals on numerous other sessions, ranging from the La De Das, Dragon and Men at Work to Richard Clapton, Paul Kelly and Jimmy Barnes. She lived and worked in the United States for many years, where she also earned accolades for her role as backing vocalist for international artists such as Sting, Joe Cocker and Chaka Khan.
At the time of this feature Geyer was set to take part in the 33rd Byron Bay Bluesfest, alongside Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, John Butler, Ian Moss, Kate Ceberano, The Waifs, The Black Sorrows, Russell Morris, The Church, Mark Seymour, Vika & Linda and so many more.
“I can’t wait!” enthuses the singer when I catch up with her over the phone. “I think I was on the very first one, way back, so I know them really well. I’ve got a great band and I’ll be playing all the usual songs everyone knows, plus I always throw a few surprises into the set. We’re on the edge of our seats with the COVID situation but at the moment it’s full steam ahead.”
Even before the advent of the original Bluesfest, Geyer had established a presence on the outdoor stage when she appeared at Sunbury 1975 with Sanctuary. Given that we’re currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sunbury ’72, it was a magical time for the young singer.
“Oh, I just loved Sunbury. It was such a great celebration. We were all so happy and excited to be there. I remember I got a suit made for the concert. It was a beautifully tailored garment in lime green satin, a jacket and flared trousers and I also wore platform boots. When the light hit me I couldn’t wait for people to go ‘wow, Renée!’. Rather than just going on stage in jeans and a Miller shirt I made it a spectacle, and it ended up making me sound better too. In those days I’d always hang around too, to see the other bands.”
In her memoir Confessions Of A Difficult Woman (2000) she described her early love for Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, and then how guitarist Mark Punch (from Mother Earth) introduced her to the music of Donnie Hathaway, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Bill Withers and Muddy Waters. With her love for black music entrenched she also embraced Gladys Knight, Merry Clayton and Thelma Houston. These inspirational singers have continued to inform her career to this day. Geyer marked her place alongside the great singers of the 1970s such as Wendy Saddington, Colleen Hewett, Marcia Hines and Kerrie Biddell.
She also made no bones about the challenges she faced, such as drug addiction, throughout her career. She was never one to suffer fools gladly, a stance which might have worked against her on occasion, but her relentless drive and creative spirit have always seen her come through the tough times. It’s easy to admire this remarkable women, not only for her astonishing voice and sheer determination but also her grace and poise under pressure.
Rather than take you on a standard tour of her history, my purpose here is to explore the Renée Geyer experience via a dozen songs.
Some Renée Classics and Deep Cuts
‘Them Changes’ – “Well, my mind is goin’ through them changes / I’m about to commit a crime / Every time you see me goin’ somewhere / I know I’m goin’ outta my mind” – Geyer recorded this stomping Buddy Miles song with Mother Earth, for her self-titled debut album (1973). It had originally appeared on the Jimi Hendrix Band Of Gypsys LP and Miles’ own self titled debut album (both 1970) so was a very unusual song for a white Jewish woman to be covering. Still, it suited her voice and she’s certainly having a wailing good time with it. The album was a set of covers anyway, from ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man’ and ‘Moondance’ to Gulliver Smith’s ‘Mascara Blue’ but ‘Them Changes’ showed Mother Earth to be right on the ‘one’ with Punch’s guitar work to the fore. Funk wasn’t an area generally covered by Australian bands at the time (one can think of the likes of Johnny Rocco Band, Skylight, Hot City Bump Band, Stylus and a few others) when good ol’ Aussie pub boogie and glam rock were in the ascendant.
Geyer says, “Them Changes’ was a great song but I don’t remember it as being such an important song at the time, it was just part of our set list. The tempo was perfect for the timing in our live set. Mother Earth was a great band, very funky. Our manager Horst Leopold would always say, in his thick German accent, ‘oh Mother Earth, they’re grooving their asses off!’. Mark and I were together at the time, and we had Jim Kelly on guitar, Russell Dunlop on drums and Harry Brus on bass. It was a cool thing; other musicians were going ‘I hope I can get a gig in Mother Earth’.”
‘It’s A Man’s Man’s World’ – “This is a man’s world / This is a man’s world / But it wouldn’t… it wouldn’t be nothing / Nothing without a woman or a girl” – As one of James Brown’s greatest songs, it was a statement of intent. Geyer’s gorgeous rendition on her It’s A Man’s Man’s World LP really was the one that made people sit up and take notice of this remarkable young woman. Released as a single it reached the Top 30. Backing musicians on the album included Tweed Harris (keyboards), Phil Manning, Tim Gaze and Tony Naylor (guitars), Barry ‘Big Goose’ Sullivan (bass) and Geoff Cox (drums).
“I recorded that in Melbourne with Tweed Harris producing. It was an incredible experience. I always loved that song. It was the time of Women’s Liberation and people thought I was making this grand statement about that. They thought I was being so smart to say that. I just ran with it but it was never planned that way. It was just my answer to the situation and in the end it was good for everybody. And on the album cover you can see the hand written name and title. I just wrote that out in gold lettering, in my fancy hand writing. It really looked good on the black background.”
‘Sweet Love’ – “I just want to populate but you just won’t cooperate / I don’t want to segregate because I just want to stimulate” – Having formed the Renée Geyer Band, with Punch, Sullivan, Mal Logan (keyboards) and Greg Tell (drums), in June 1975 this was one of the first songs they wrote together for their Ready To Deal album. I bought the single as an impressionable 15 year old because it was sexy as all get-out and just so funky, I’d never heard anything like it before. Then the single got banned because it was too much for the staid radio culture of the day; the wowzers thought it would corrupt our tiny little minds. Well, it had already done that to me so I was well and truly on the way to funk hell.
“Oh my God, it was such a fuss, because people thought I was singing ‘copulate’. They thought I was trying to pull a fast one, it was ridiculous. I’m saying, ‘well, I wrote this song, don’t you think I know what I’m saying’. This whole thing blew up but I have to say the album ended up selling more copies than it might have because of this furore. People had to hear the album because everyone had an opinion about what I was singing. I was just sitting back laughing at it all. I loved that song because it had such a funky rhythm (she hums it). It was very revolutionary at the time, it was very new to most people in Australia because it was such an unusual groove. It was just really natural for us to do, we had a ball playing like that.”
‘Heading In The Right Direction’ – “Since I was a small girl / I’ve always been alone / I’m trying so hard to find someone / I could call my own” – The Ready To Deal album also had another ace up its sleeve is this slinky blue-eyed soul ballad, written by Punch with lyricist Grant Paige. It remains one of her finest performances and reached the Top 20 singles chart. Fired by the powerful combination of these two songs, plus a brace of other gems such as ‘If Loving You Is Wrong’ and ‘Love’s Got A Hold’, the album also hit the national Top 20. The band was in huge demand, not only for their own concert appearances but also as support act to such overseas visitors as Eric Clapton, Freddie King and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee.
“Mark had already been doing ‘Heading In The Right Direction’ with the Johnny Rocco Band; Leo De Castro sang it. It just happened to really take off when we did it. It’s such a great song. I always thought the words were pretty simplistic but I knew that people loved it because the melody was so strong. I enjoyed doing it.”
‘Shakey Ground’ – “Lady luck and a four leaf clover / Wanting this hurt I feel all over / My life was one special occasion / Till your leavin’ ended the situation / I’m standin’ on shakey ground, yeah / Ever since you put me down” – Legendary Motown act The Temptations had made this a hit in 1975 (co-written by producer Jeffrey Bowen and Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel) and the Renée Geyer Band laid down a spellbinding rendition on their live album Really Really Love You (1976). When recorded at the Dallas Brooks Hall in April 1976, Punch had moved on by that stage with John Pugh taking his place. With the added spice of a three-piece horn section it was another validation of this band’s greatness.
“I remember recording that, the band was so hot live. We did all those concert halls and all the pubs. On those hot nights you could hardly breathe. ‘Shakey Ground’ used to get everyone going. We loved doing that, it was basically just four on the floor but you’d dance to it like crazy.”
‘Moving Along’ – “With a life that’s sometimes so complicated / You’ve got to keep your spirits up to win the race” – This is a life affirming song that Geyer co-wrote with Logan, Sullivan and Judy Wieder. One of her aspirations had been to work in the US. She first got there in 1977 when she recorded this in Crystal Sound Recording, Hollywood, with Motown singer / songwriter / producer Frank Wilson and a host of American session players, including members of Rufus and Stevie Wonder’s band. She also insisted that Logan and Sullivan be on hand to play on the album as well. Wilson had worked with the likes of Brenda Holloway, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Temptations and Eddie Kendricks, so it’s safe to say he knew what he was doing in the studio. The sophisticated R&B ballad ‘Stares And Whispers’ was the big hit from Moving Along, but for mine the elegant title track is one of the best things she ever did.
“Working with Frank Wilson was amazing. He was such an incredibly talented guy. I was right into black music, all my influences were from Rhythm & Blues and soul. He’d produced all my idols at Motown, I was in heaven.”
In Confessions Of A Difficult Woman she wrote, “Frank Wilson was a Motown stalwart, a beautiful-looking black man, and from the moment he heard my voice he was confounded. ‘You’re going to have a really interesting life,’ he said. ‘Nobody who looks like you sounds like you’.”
‘Be There In The Morning’ (vers. #2) – “Your eyes flashing tells me that you are needing / Someone who will help you make it through the stormy night / Follow your heart and you’ll find that I won’t let those dark clouds gather round” – Another Geyer/Logan/Sullivan co-write on Moving Along, she’d already recorded a version as a B-side in Australia during 1976. Wilson worked his magic, adding a swooping string arrangement atop the funky rhythm and stabbing horns.
“We re-recorded ‘Heading In The Right Direction’ and ‘Be There In The Morning’ for the album because Frank liked the songs but wanted to record better versions, in his eyes. We did them in the spirit of his vision as producer so it made it a better album.”
‘Bellhop Blues’ – “You keep me waiting / You keep me waiting / Just to sing my bellhop blues” – The combination of Renée Geyer and ace guitarist Kevin Borich for the Blues License album (1979) was a revelation at the time. This is spirited blues rock with a determined soul blues singer at the top of her game. Tracks on this tribute album included brilliant versions of the likes of B.B. King’s ‘The Thrill Is Gone’, T. Bone Walker’s ‘Stormy Monday’ and Elmore James’ ‘Dust My Blues’ yet this Borich penned tune, with its slow grinding blues shuffle, is very powerful on its own merits.
“I don’t think Blues License is one of the best albums I’ve done but the spirit and the atmosphere is what I’m proud of. It was probably one of the first tribute to the blues albums. It was all the Kings, B.B., Albert, Freddie; I’m just doing my versions and paying tribute to them. I loved working with Kevin, he’s still one of my best friends. I love him, his kids and his grand kids. He has his own style of guitar playing. Recording that album was just the right time and the right sound.”
‘Hot Minutes’ – “Standing on the corner just-a waiting for you / The look on my face shows what I’m-a going through / Losers all around me saying you got somebody new / Wait and just you see what I’m-a gonna do” – Co-written with keyboardist / producer John Capek this one-off single (1980) saw Geyer temporarily reinvent herself as a tough, leather-clad, mane shaking rocker fronting a blue collar bar band. This song fairly rips it up over a pounding beat and slashing guitar riffs. On top of that, lyrically it’s a song of retribution, with a spurned lover just about to give her ex-beau his come-uppance. At the end Geyer spits out “Hot minutes, oo-OW oo-OW oo-OW” in her best wild cat snarl. Whoa, she’s hot indeed.
“Oh, that was just a silly song I wrote. Well, I hate to say ‘wrote’ because when you say that you think of great people writing incredible songs. That’s not one of them but we just really went for it. It rocks for sure.”
‘I Can Feel The Fire’ – “I can feel the fire / I can feel the fire oh yeah / I can feel the fire burnin’ / I can see you by my side / Picture you here by my side” – Another song that lyrically is no great shakes but it doesn’t take much to home in on basic, raw human emotions and this Ron Wood song nails it pretty convincingly. It’s from her 1981 hit album So Lucky, co-produced by drummer Ricky Fataar (who had worked with The Flames, The Beach Boys, The Rutles) and Rob Fraboni (Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, The Band, The Beach Boys, Bonnie Raitt etc). The standout track on a work that also includes her biggest hit, the infectious salsa-pop single ‘Say I Love You’, ‘Do You Know What I Mean’ and ‘Baby I’ve Been Missing You’. With former Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan and his Bump Band as the main studio group, there are also appearances from Rolling Stones saxophonist Bobby Keys and backing vocalists Blondie Chaplin, Bobby King, James Ingram and Venetta Fields.
“I loved that Ronnie Wood song. I remember doing a gig in New York before I recorded the album and Ronnie was in the audience. He and his wife invited us back to their place. I was thinking ‘wow, I’m in Ronnie Woods’ house, I can’t believe it’. I had a migraine at the time but it was just so incredible to be there, I was so happy. I just kept saying to myself ‘just enjoy it, you’re in Ronnie Woods’ house’. And I loved working with Ian McLagan and the Bump Band. I loved the Faces too. Mac was so funny and endearing, he had these great stories and we got on so well.”
‘Difficult Woman’ – “A difficult woman / Sometimes hurts her friends when she don’t mean to / A difficult woman / Makes it hard for the ones she loves / It’s easy to do / She’s had to be tough all of her life” – Songwriter Paul Kelly knew what he was about when he produced Geyer’s 1994 album Difficult Woman. It featured a strong set of R&B, jazz and soul tunes including other Kelly-penned compositions, ‘Foggy Highway’, ‘Careless’ and ‘Sweet Guy’.
“I still work with Paul Kelly, on and off things. I loved working with him on that album and I toured with him. We locked into a friendship and we’ve never lost that. I just had the best time with him. I love the way he approaches the songs. He’s a very curious person, he’s so observant and he notices things that most people don’t. He’d describe something and you go ‘oh, yeah’ but you don’t remember seeing that at the time. We actually came up with ‘Difficult Woman’ together. It was something he was mucking around with for some time. I remember talking to him on the phone about it and I’d go quiet, and he’d say ‘Renée, are you still there?’. I was thinking ‘I don’t know if I want to sing that song’. It wasn’t the lyrics so much, it was the chords. He doesn’t come from the blues, he uses major chords that are not blues influenced. That already puts them in a certain vein which was new to me. He brought me to that side of things and I’m sure with me being Rhythm & Blues oriented, he learnt things from me too. We did have a good time. ‘Foggy Highway’ is great to sing too, a very dark, moody song that worked.”
In her memoir she wrote of Difficult Woman, “It was a joy to make. It was quite sparse, darkish and unadorned, and I sang in a softer, huskier voice than usual. It’s through that record that I developed a sweeter sound to my voice. People who had never heard of me before loved this record, but some people who loved me as a belter were a little uncomfortable with it. Overall, thought, it’s a record that’s won a lot of critical acclaim.”
‘Sexual Healing’ – “(Get up, get up, get up, get up / wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up) Ooh baby, now let’s get down tonight / Ooh baby, I’m hot just like an oven / I need some lovin’ / And baby, I can’t hold it much longer / It’s getting stronger and stronger / And when I get that feeling / Sexual healing” – This 1982 Marvin Gaye/Odell Brown classic is one of the horniest songs ever written. It found the one-time Motown titan re-energised for a new generation, like Rick James trying to outdo Prince. Of course, Geyer knew a thing or two about sexual healing (refer back to ‘Sweet Love’) and her version is full of understated, steamy appeal. From her classy 2003 album Tenderland.
“Of course, I loved Marvin Gaye. We recorded that because it has that bubbling feel, that percolating rhythm. That’s what got me into the song. The lyrics are very ordinary, really, they are what they are. We loved that rhythm but we made it our own.”