Carson -

Carson was an Australian blues-rock band from Melbourne that cut the 1970/71 singles “On the Highway” and “Travelling South,” followed by the 1972/73 Harvest albums Carson and On the Air.

Members: Broderick Smith (vocals, harmonica, 1971-73), Greg Lawrie (slide guitar, dobro), Tony Lunt (drums), … (piano, vocals, 1970), Tony Enery (piano, 1970), Paul Lever (vocals, guitar, harmonica, 1970), Ian Ferguson (bass, vocals, 1970-71), Gary Clarke (bass, 1971-73), Mal Logan (keyboards, 1971-73), Barry Sullivan (bass, 1971-73), Ian Winter (guitar, 1971-73), Mal Capewell (saxophone, 1972-73)

Inception

Carson formed in 1970 as the Carson Country Band by a loose-nit group of Melbourne-area musicians. On Rebel Records, they cut their first single: “On the Highway” backed with “Resting Place,” both written by bottleneck/dobro guitarist Greg “Sleepy” Lawrie, formerly of the bands Chocolate and The Creatures.

A. “On the Highway” (3:01)
B. “Resting Place” (3:29)

Lawrie teamed with ex-Chants R&B/Cam-Pact drummer Trevor Courtney in Meating, a one-off behind the 1970 single “Bad Luck Feeling.”

A. “Bad Luck Feeling” (4:55)
B. “Back Home” (4:06)

In 1971, Carson dropped “Country Band” from their name and released the Havoc Records single “Travelling South,” a Lawrie original backed with “Moonshine,” a group-credited number.

A. “Travelling South” (3:25)
B. “Moonshine” (3:40)

By 1972, Carson cemented around Lawrie, guitarist Ian Winter, drummer Tony Lunt, English singer Broderick Smith, and two Kiwi musicians: keyboardist Mal Logan (ex-Healing Force) and bassist Gary Clarke. This lineup secured a deal with Harvest, the progressive division of EMI.

Blown

Carson released their lone studio album, Blown, in November 1972 on Harvest.

Blown contains seven originals, including “Rock and Roll Game,” “Banana Power,” “Better Times Will Come About,” and “Boogie,” which appeared weeks earlier as a two-sided single.

Musically, Blown mines heavy blues-rock territory akin to locals Chain, English stalwarts Chicken Shack (Imagination Lady) and the Canadian band Charlee.

A1. “Rock and Roll Game” (3:15)
A2. “Better Times Will Come About” (4:57)
A3. “Sunday in the City” (5:27)
A4. “Banana Power” (6:35)

B1. “Boogie” (6:56)
B2. “Let Me Sleep” (1:59)
B3. “Up in Queensland” (9:46)

The album was produced by Rod Coe, whose contemporary activity includes albums by Pirana, The La De Das, Lizard, and Shona Laing; he later produced ‎Redhouse and The Saints.

On the Air

In January 1973, Carson taped their performance at Sunbury ’73. Their six-song set constitutes the Harvest release On the Air. The album includes three exclusive originals: “Dingo,” “Laid-back Feel,” and “Sunberry Jam.”

A1. “Dingo” (7:33)
A2. “Laid-Back Feel” (7:22)
A3. “Dust My Broom” (4:20)

B1. “Hey Joe” (7:42)
B2. “Boogie” (10:47)
B3. “Sunberry Jam” (3:52)

In 2020, the album was re-released as a two-disc set titled On The Air (Recorded Live 1970 – 1973), which adds material from seven additional concerts.

Post-Carson

Smith released three albums with rustic-rockers The Dingoes between 1974 and 1979 and subsequently recorded as a solo artist. He was briefly joined by Logan, who left The Dingoes after their first album for stints in the Renee Geyer Band and the Little River Band.

Winter cut two albums with Daddy Cool in 1972/73. Lunt cut two singles with Buster Brown in the mid-70s and played in the short-lived act Alta Mira along with Logan and a pre-Be-Bop Deluxe Charles Tumahai. That band contributed one song, “My Soul’s On Fire,” to the 1973 multi-artist release Garrison The Final Blow Unit 2.

Discography: