By Jeff Jenkins.
Legacy (1973 – 1981) by Kevin Borich
Kevin Borich is one of Australia’s greatest road warriors. Sixty years after he started making music in New Zealand, he’s still out there. After the enforced Covid layoff, he’s back on the road, where he relishes chatting with fans after a gig.
A perennial inquiry of those keen to take home a souvenir of the show is:
“What’s your best CD?”
So, Borich decided it was time to collate a comprehensive career compilation. Instead of compiling the album chronologically, he decided to do it by mood.
Yes, mood.
The album is called Legacy (1973 – 1981). One disc is “Hot”, the second disc is “Chill”, and the third disc is “Live”.
“I just thought that would be a good way to arrange everything,” Borich explains. “Rock, laidback and live. I think it works well. I mean, if you want to party on, you don’t want a slow song popping up.”
Indeed, this is a Saturday night/Sunday morning record. A party-starter and then a record for the morning after the night before. As Borich sings in ‘Caught In The Middle’, “some like it warm, some like it hot”.
Now, don’t be confused by the dates on the cover. They’re a little loose. The opening track on the Hot disc – Borich’s biggest hit, The La De Das’ ‘Gonna See My Baby Tonight’ – goes back to 1971, while many of the live tracks were done in 2009.
Really, these songs are a celebration of an entire career, not just an eight-year period. And it’s a remarkable ride.
Listening to the collection, it’s surprising that not many cuts from Borich’s catalogue have been covered. Ian Lloyd, from American band Stories, did ‘New City Lights’ in the ’70s, but it’s ridiculous that songs such as ‘Goin’ Somewhere’ and ‘Rock N Roll’ have not been recognised worldwide.
Borich packs more energy into tracks such as ‘Goin Fishin’’ and ‘No Turning Back’ than most rock bands exhibit in an entire career. His blazing guitar work ignites the Legacy set, but as Rhythms’ Ian McFarlane noted, he’s also an underrated songwriter, and a powerful, expressive vocalist.
Then there’s forgotten cuts such as ‘One More Dream’, a pop-rock gem that could have found a happy home on a Rick Springfield album during his chart-topping days. That track even surprised Borich when he was putting the compilation together. “When I heard it, I thought, ‘Oh, that sounds like Kev’s trying to get a hit single,’” he laughs.
Borich has now added ‘One More Dream’ and ‘Shy Boys Shy Girls’ to his live set. “It’s been fun learning those songs, instead of trying to be just funky/bluesy.”
Yep, the Legacy anthology shows there’s many sides to the Kevin Borich story. It’s a triumph, especially as it comes after Borich has overcome some serious health issues. “Thankfully, I got through cancer,” he says, understating his battle with nasopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
Borich credits his wife for aiding his recovery. “She’s a meditation teacher and yoga therapist – she knows all the good stuff to do.”
Thank God he’s still with us. And as Borich declared on his 1979 album, there’s no turning back. A duets album is scheduled for next year. The album, which sees Borich team up with some of his famous friends (one song, ‘Call a Friend’ with Russell Morris, has already been released) is ready to go. Borich says he released the Legacy album first, “because I thought it might lift the profile a bit”. Then he laughs. “And people will go, ‘Oh, he’s still going!’”
Borich is actually still going strong. “I’m grateful for it,” he says of the moments of inspiration that continue to come. “When I pick up the guitar, my antenna will pick things up and I’ll wack them on my phone. I’ve got a phone full of stuff. I call them noodles. I just have to work out the rest of the soup.”
Borich is also working on his autobiography, which he plans to release in 2024.
For an artist who’s shared the stage with Carlos Santana, did the first and final Sunbury Festivals, toured with the Eagles’ Joe Walsh, jammed with Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore, played with Stevie Wright, lived with Michael Chugg in the US and was a founding member of The Party Boys, it promises to be a ripping read.
Legacy (1973 – 1981) is out now on Make Music Not War at kevinborich.com.au