Wide Open Road (song) - Background

Background

The Triffids had toured Europe in 1985 and were based in London but they were unable to raise a major record deal and with a lack of finances, their second studio album Born Sandy Devotional was recorded there in August 1985 with Gil Norton producing (fresh from working with Echo & the Bunnymen). They released two versions of "Wide Open Road", a 7” version and a 12” version. The B-side, "Time of Weakness", was recorded live at the Graphic Arts Club, Sydney. The album reached #27 on the UK charts and the single peaked at #26 on the UK charts while only reaching #64 in Australia. The song was written by David McComb, who described the process:

I started the song at Julian Wu's house in Melbourne. Ah, the end of a beautiful era One morning I sat bolt upright in bed and virtually all the lyrics appeared instantly. I just tried to keep it as blunt and direct as possible, even if the results made myself or the listener squirm I finished the music at a sound-check somewhere in Europe. Like the rest of the Born Sandy Devotional album, it seemed to naturally evoke a particular landscape, namely the stretch of highway in between Caiguna and Norseman, where the Triffids' Hi-Ace monotonously came to grief with kangaroos. —David McComb It was really just another wonderful song from Dave's pen to us. It's never been performed by anyone else with any degree of success in my mind because it's a simple song recorded with extreme dynamic subtlety. Every piece has its place from the softly swooshing drum machine beat to the insistent bass line that doesn't always follow the chords - a true McComb/Casey trademark - to the several melodies that act as counterpoint to the vocal. — Graham Lee This song has a specific meaning, a specific narrative and at the same time a universal story. It could be set, if you think about it, anywhere. The sound was built up to satisfy his vision for his songs. Atmosphere, mystery, the extraordinary, complete lack of cliché, originality. Along the way, a sound was heard that could be construed to be quintessentially Australian. I don't think Dave tried to forge an Australian sound at all. I'm not trying to portray him as a puppeteer here -- all band members brought something special to the mix, but Dave had, more than most (in any band), a sound in his head that he tried his best to replicate on two-inch tape. A very different sound but very like Brian Wilson in his drive and vision (though Brian Wilson couldn't write great lyrics). — Graham Lee

The song reached #68 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 1989 and #49 in 1990 (from 1989 to 1991, voting was not restricted to songs released that year). Its success also resulted in the band's first appearance on Australia's popular weekly musical television show, Countdown.