13/10/2024
Back in, I think, 1996, I was introduced to a talented young guy, Adam Power, through a now departed mutual friend. I started producing Adam's records - he is an amazing writer, writing songs that were distinct and drew on Crowded House, The Beatles/McCartney, Oasis, Lenny Kravitz and so many other classic sounds. He'd already recorded a great EP when I met him, but we then went on over about the next 15 years, maybe more, making a whole bunch of incredible music. He played guitars and pianos and I generally played the rest. We became friends over this time, as so many things in our life evolved.
The music industry was not kind to Adam. A major label strung him along for way way too long, with promises and interest and some development opportunities, then silence, then interest, then silence and so on for such a long time. Adam was a super hard worker. He had no benefactor or sugar daddy... everything he did, he did off his own back. 8-10 solo shows a week at his peak. Applied for so many grants and assistance with rarely any luck. He just worked brutally hard to try to make THIS THING work. But the insecurity and "are they interested or not?" really took it out of him. It was really hard to watch someone so incredibly talented be fu**ed over so hard, so often.
Eventually, it just got the better of him and he just stopped and I kinda disappeared. I'll confess, I wasn't a good friend. I had my things to work out and I wasn't as available or supportive. And then I became another chapter in his story that used him up. It wasn't my intention, and I didn't mean to be that. But I can see to him that that's how it came across.
Unfortunately, in that time a lot of pretty seriously bad stuff happened to Adam, health and otherwise. And by the time he had the balls to call me on my bad behaviour, things weren't great. And in the last few years, I've tried hard to make amends. To be better. To help in any way I can. He'd stopped singing a little while ago, but every once a while in our conversations I start to hear a bit of his old fire come back. He came and saw one of my shows recently, and it was wonderful to get his honest critique on it. It made me feel hope that despite it all, music could somehow give him redemption in some way.
Last week, after much deliberation, Adam released a compilation of all his best pop stuff. (The talented bu**er has kids records and so many other things as well!). And I'm listening to it today as I drive around and I'm so proud of him, and this material we made. None of it has aged at all. From the first thing we did together (A song called "Bridges", recorded in the basement of my house in Maroubra) to the Five Dock studio years, all the way through to Love Hz Studios. And then on to the stuff he recorded without me in Nashville. And even a few things from his first EP done before I entered the picture. It's an incredible collection of well crafted pop at the highest level, showing the best of him and some of the very best of me too.
So, if you're looking for something to listen to this week, I'd love it if you had a look at the compilation below. And if you like a track, maybe write a little about it here in the comments. My hope is that eventually I'll be able to convince Adam to come into The House Studio to record something new, someday.
I try not to look at these things as "what if?" situations. The music exists and it's so great. And it represents so much of our lives for such a long time. We're talking the better part of 30 years. And the sessions were always great and joyful and happy. So I'm so glad and grateful to you Adam, for your faith in me for such a long time.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3QxR4YaVSZt3Em3ZH4ztIz?si=kxQSPhxVQZOSSDH2WTq-Lg
Adam Power · Album · 2024 · 24 songs
