Glam Adelaide had the chance to catch up with the one and only Rick Brewster, lead guitarist of iconic Aussie rock band The Angels, ahead of their Face To Face 40th Anniversary tour of Australia. We chatted about their re-release of the Face to Face album and their songwriting process.
J: You’ve got the Face To Face 40th anniversary tour coming up very soon, and you’re going to be here in Adelaide in November. Are you looking forward to it?
Yeah, I certainly am. It went so well the first time, most of the shows sold out. It was a pity that we had to postpone our show at The Gov. It was only because we did the symphony show, and there was a bit of a conflict there. But hopefully when we go out later in the year it’ll be really great. We’re a lot better rehearsed now.
J: Was the symphony show recorded?
Yeah, it was multi-track recorded and filmed. It went so well, I believe it’s being released onto a DVD. It’s amazing how our songs all fit so well with an orchestra. I think because we come from a classical music background, it’s filtered through to the songs, I know it has with my approach to guitar solos.
J: You re-recorded the album Face To Face in its entirety, can you tell me a bit about that?
Yeah, we did it in Adelaide actually, at House of Sap. We did the whole album pretty much as we originally recorded it in 1978, apart from a few things that have evolved a little over time. The whole album was recorded in two days, as opposed to the year it took in 1978. It’s a double CD of Face To Face, with one studio and one live recording.
J: Where did you originally record the album back in 1978?
We did all of our recoding at Albert Productions on King Street in Sydney. Once we signed with them, we recorded there for the next four years. There were some fantastic producers and songwriters we got to work with, and we were able to see a lot of other bands recording as well. It was an amazing time.
J: Are you guys working on any new music at the moment?
Yeah, we are. We’re probably half way through recording a new album. We’re gonna keep chipping away at it, so you will hear them sometime in the near future. We do a lot of shows in the year, as well as a lot of other things, so we’ll keep working on it at every opportunity until it’s done. There’s no point putting pressure on ourselves and rushing it, but it should be done by the end of next year at the latest.
J: I think your fans will appreciate that. It’s better not to rush an album, taking your time can have a much better end result.
Yeah, we’ve been in situations in the past where we’ve had pressure put on us by a record label or by management, and it’s great because we work hard under pressure, but it’s not always the best possible end result.
J: You guys have been together for over forty years, has much changed in your songwriting process?
Yeah, a little bit. We’ve continued to improve over the years. I don’t find that I get as much time to write as I used to, it’s just what happens when you get older and have a family and other commitments. I write when I can, but the actual process of writing is pretty much the same. Usually I’ll start with a riff, something I come up with, and then find a lyric, then I go from there. Sometimes I find a lyric first and it goes the other way. That’s what works for me.
You can catch The Angels on their upcoming Face To Face 40th Anniversary tour in all major cities across Australia. To keep up to date with what The Angels are doing, check out their website. Grab your tickets for the Face To Face 40th Anniversary tour today, before they sell out! You don’t want to miss out on this amazing show.
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