Garrett brings protest rock version 2.0

Politicians often accuse protest singers of being peanut gallery performers, more interested in hiding behind guitars than getting their hands dirty with the “real” mechanisms of change.

Peter Garrett is not one of those singers.

In 2010, the man who once cried “nothing ventured, nothing gained” jumped the fence into politics, and to paraphrase the former Member for Kingsford Smith: he’s back.

The ex-Midnight Oil frontman will arrive in Geraldton this week for an intimate show to push his debut solo release, A Version of Now.

Speaking from his home in NSW, the 63-year-old sounds well rested despite recently polishing off a lengthy memoir detailing his turbulent experience on the political stage, which he said inspired the album.

“I don’t think anyone saw this coming, including me,” Garrett said. “I’m not aiming to build a solo career. It’s more a result of finding myself completing my memoir with a little bit of space and time.

“In the afternoons, when I put the pen down or got off the computer, I was suddenly finding songs landing on my shoulder and I wanted to do something with them.”

A Version of Now sees the ex-Labor frontbencher stay true to his roots but with a more reflective edge.

Garrett’s irrepressible bark litters the album with each track jumping out of the speakers thanks to some honest treatment from in-demand producer Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, The Drones).

“He’s a real treat to work with,” Garrett said. “He’s not afraid to push things a little bit over the line but mostly it’s all about the music for him.

“The trick was trying to capture it as fast as possible and go with it as far as it led me.

“It was almost weird because we did it so quickly that we didn’t figure out what sounds we had until we were mixing it.”

A Version of Now is sonic proof Garrett isn’t afraid to confront the tough times he experienced at the coalface of Federal bureaucracy.

Album opener Tall Trees sees the singer in full accountability mode before dismissing any hint of regret on I’d Do It Again.

“Generally, I’m positive about my time in politics although it’s not as black and white as that,” he said.

“I went in with my eyes wide open — all your public failings are going to be exposed to a much greater level than your public achievements and that’s the nature of the beast — you don’t expect it to be any other way. But underneath all of that was the question ‘can I be a part of something that’s going to make a difference’.”

Music

Peter Garrett and The Alter Egos

Queens Park Theatre

Saturday, July 23, 8pm