Graeham Goble - After LRB

After LRB

Freed of his commitment to LRB (and touring in particular), Goble was able to indulge his passion for carefully crafted and meticulous studio recordings. His first offering was the 1990 album Broken Voices for which he was composer, producer, vocal arranger, harmony vocalist and acoustic guitarist. Goble recruited Susie Ahern to provide lead vocals.

On his next two offerings Goble again eschewed the role of lead vocalist, offering that responsibility to Steve Wade on the albums Nautilus (1993) and Stop (1995). (Ironically, Wade would go on to take over lead vocals for Little River Band when Shorrock left for the second time in 1996.)

A chance meeting between Goble and Glenn Shorrock in 2001 (and a subsequent telephone call to Beeb Birtles) would lead to these three original members of LRB reforming as a group. Frustrated by their inability to refer directly to their Little River Band antecedence (another band member now owns the rights to the name), the trio perform as Birtles Shorrock Goble (BSG). They have undertaken a number of Australian tours, released a live CD Full Circle and scored a gold award for the live DVD of the same name. To date, the chance to join the lucrative classic rock arena tours in Europe and the USA has eluded BSG.

A Goble composition ("Praise") was included on the 2003 Boots and All album by singer Peter Brocklehurst. The song reinforced Goble's reputation for creating powerful emotive lyrics. At the requiem mass for Bishop John Heaps of Sydney it was noted that the lyrics of "Praise" evoked a deep response in him and brought him to tears.

In 2006 Goble finally released an album as lead singer. The Days Ahead is an optimistic collection of songs that is characteristic of the Goble style. The CD includes the bitter-sweet song "Someone's Taken Our History" that reflects on the history and legacy of Little River Band. That song (and a music video) have prompted considerable discussion and controversy.

Goble released a further solo album Let It Rain in 2008. A featured track is the complex "Initiation Suite" which Goble describes as follows:

"From a very young age I had a "sense" that I was meant to write an important piece of music. When I commenced writing my "Initiation Suite", I knew the moment had arrived. Using the fairytale as inspiration, I've tried to tell the story of a person's life, from beginning to end & beyond, with all the stages (ups & downs, trial & tribulations) in between. It's the universal story of mankind. The story has been told many times before, but this may be the first time it's been put into musical form, particularly the rock/popular music form. Like the fairytale, my "Initiation Suite" has 12 sections (or periods) of a person's life experience on earth."

Of the eleven tracks on the CD, two have been heard previously (albeit in different contexts). "Heart & Soul" appeared on the Birtles Shorrock Goble live DVD Full Circle (with Glenn Shorrock singing lead). "Let It Rain" was performed at the Farmhand Concert for Drought Relief and also popped up at some Birtles Shorrock Goble concerts in 2002. As he has done before, Goble recruited former Little River Band musicians to contribute to the album, including David Briggs, George McArdle, Roger McLachlan, Kevin Murphy and James Roche.