Kim Salmon – Hookline and Singer

Before reading this be warned that this reviewer thinks Kim Salmon is one of the greatest songwriters to ever grace this shitty swampland, so please don't expect balance or anything remotely resembling criticism of the tunes contained in the grooves of this perfect piece of plastic, these are just the ravings of of an unashamed fan. So lets get started....
This is a limited vinyl pressing of only 200 copies of a very rare cassette release of Kim performing solo in Victoria Australia in 1992. Both the original cassette and this LP were only sold at Kim's shows adding to their elusive nature for the "must have all" fan. The set list spans Kim's long and illustrious career containing songs from the Scientists (Swampland, Travis aka If Its the Last Thing That i Do, Shine) through to the Beasts of Bourbon (There's a Virus Going Round, Cool Fire, Words From a Woman to Her Man, Something to Lean On), the Surrealists (Feel, Rose Coloured Windscreen, Hanging Out, Desensitized), STM (Obvious is Obvious, Playground, Don't Expect Anything) plus two tasty covers (Sundown, Blue Velvet).
The live mix by Andrew (Heppy) Hepburn is impeccable and he also "conceived and realised" the original cassette release - I'd like to give Heppy a big hug or a rather large t, whichever he prefers. I really love hearing these songs in this stripped down and unadorned solo form, it really highlights the quality of the songs and the performance. My personal favourites would probably be Swampland (9 parts water 1 part genius), Desensitized (everything great about Kim's songwriting is amply illustrated here) and the opener, Virus Going Round and the closer, Something to Lean On, both outshine the Beasts originals in my opinion. Frankly, its an album overloaded with highlights.
Strangely the crowd seem rather subdued, politely clapping now and then - at one point Kim informs them "that's where the song ends you can clap now." It's lucky I wasn't there or you'd probably be hearing some idiot in the crowd whooping and hollering throughout the set. If you love any of the bands mentioned here you really have to find yourself a copy of this incredible release, if you are one of the uninitiated then this is also a great starting point. Kim Salmon is a national treasure and his influence and musical legacy has been grossly understated.
I was hoping someone who owns a copy of the original cassette release might add it to the discogs database.