Men At Work "Cargo (1993 Reissue, UK, Columbia, 983 287 2)"

Cargo is the second studio album by the Australian pop rock band Men at Work, which was released in April 1983. It peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, No. 2 in New Zealand, No. 3 on the United States Billboard 200, and No. 8 on the United Kingdom Albums Chart. Four singles were released from the album, with "Overkill" being an international top 10 hit in Canada, Ireland, Norway, and US Billboard Hot 100. This was the last Men at Work album to feature the original lineup.

Australian pop rock group Men at Work released their second album, Cargo, in April 1983, which peaked at No. 1 – for two weeks – on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In New Zealand it reached No. 2. The album was recorded and finished by mid-1982 with Peter McIan producing again, but its release was pushed back due to the continued success of their debut album, Business as Usual. On the international market, where Business as Usual was still riding high, Cargo appeared at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and No. 8 in the UK. The lead single, "Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive", was issued in Australia, ahead of the album, in October 1982; it reached No. 6 there in late 1982 and peaked at No. 28 in the US the following year. The second single "Overkill" was released in March 1983 and made it to No. 5 in Australia, and No. 3 in the US. A third single "It's a Mistake" followed in June and only reached No. 34 in Australia, but peaked at No. 6 in the US. The much less successful fourth and final single "High Wire" was released in late 1983 and only reached No. 89 in Australia, but reached No. 23 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The band toured the world extensively in 1983.

In Smash Hits, Fred Dellar praised Cargo as "an immaculately constructed album of outback pop for in-front people". Rolling Stone's Christopher Connelly wrote that Cargo "may lack a track with the body-slamming intensity of 'Who Can It Be Now?' and 'Down Under', but song for song, it is a stronger overall effort than Business as Usual". He chiefly praised the album's dark, paranoid lyrics. John Mendelssohn of Record also felt that none of the tracks measured up to Men at Work's early hits, but went further, saying the album in its entirety is inoffensive but forgettable, with "Upstairs in My House" being the only highlight. He found the band's instrumental solos particularly dull, and assessed that Men at Work's one asset is that "Colin Hay may be the most effortlessly soulful pop singer since Sting".

In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised "Overkill" and "It's a Mistake" as "demonstrating more depth than anything on the debut". However, he asserted that the album parallels their debut in that it focuses on two strong singles while it is "weighed down by filler".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Colin Hay except as noted.

1. "Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive" 4:38
2. "Overkill" 3:47
3. "Settle Down My Boy" (extended to 4:10 on the 2003 remaster) Ron Strykert 3:31
4. "Upstairs in My House" Hay, Strykert 4:03
5. "No Sign of Yesterday" (extended to 6:34 on the 2003 remaster) 6:15
6. "It's a Mistake" (extended to 4:47 on the 2003 remaster) 4:34
7. "High Wire" 3:02
8. "Blue for You" 3:55
9. "I Like To" Strykert 4:03
10. "No Restrictions" 4:31

Recording information:

Peter McIan – production, engineer

Paul Ray – engineer

David Price – assistant engineer

Greg Noakes – photography

Ron Strykert – artwork

Nathan D. Brenner – international manager

Men At Work "Business As Usual (USA, CBS, CK 37978)"

Business as Usual is the debut studio album by Australian new wave band Men at Work, which was released in November 1981 in Australia, and April 1982 in the United States. It spent nine weeks at the top of the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart from December 1981 through to March 1982. The Australian version had a black and white cover design; overseas releases had a similar design, but in a black and yellow colour scheme. Business as Usual was one of the most successful albums internationally by an Australian group. It spent an unprecedented 15 weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 from late 1982 to early 1983; and five weeks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom Albums Chart in early 1983. Business as Usual was also one of the highest selling Australian albums in the early 1980s, with 6 million copies shipped in the US.

In February 2010, a Federal Court judge in Sydney found that the flute riff from "Down Under" had been plagiarised from the Australian song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree", written in 1932 by Marion Sinclair. The Federal Court determined that the copyright was still current (Sinclair died in 1988) and had been assigned to Larrikin Music. The judge found that "a substantial amount of the original song" had been reproduced in "Down Under". Larrikin Music had suggested 60% of the royalties would be appropriate compensation, but the court decreed they shall receive only 5%, and only on mechanical rights for the song since 2002, and on future profits.

In October 2010, Business as Usual was listed in the book 100 Best Australian Albums.

By early 1981, Australian new wave group Men at Work consisted of Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, keyboards and vocals; Colin Hay on vocals and guitar; John Rees on bass guitar; Jerry Speiser on drums and backing vocals; and Ron Strykert on lead guitar and vocals. Hay was the group's main songwriter both on his own, with Strykert, or with other bandmates. The group signed with the Australian branch of Columbia Records, which issued their second single, "Who Can It Be Now?", in June that year. As record producer they used United States-born Peter McIan (Franne Golde, Serious Young Insects). The track was one written by Hay alone, and, in August, it peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.

The group had already returned to the studio to continue working with McIan, who produced their debut album, Business as Usual, which included the earlier single. The second single from the album, "Down Under", was released in November and was a reworked version of the B-side to their debut single, "Keypunch Operator", from the previous year. "Down Under" was co-written by Hay and Strykert, and became the group's first number-one hit in December – which stayed at the top for six weeks. The album was released on 9 November 1981, it entered the top 50 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart in December peaking at No. 1 for nine weeks and appearing in the top 50 for 118 weeks.

The non-album B-side, the jam-oriented instrumental "Anyone for Tennis", was omitted from the 2003 remaster of Business as Usual (which contained both the other non-album B-sides from this era). It appears only on the B-side to "Who Can it Be Now?".

Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described Business as Usual: "Aside from the strength of the music, part of the [its] appeal was its economy. The production sound was low-key, but clean and uncluttered. Indeed, the songs stood by themselves with little embellishment save for a bright, melodic, singalong quality". Gerry Raffaele for The Canberra Times felt "[it] generally stays at a high level, tight and jerky, although I still favour the tracks which have appeared as singles ... There is a delicacy about this music – and that is not a thing you can say about too many rock groups".

Track listing

Business as Usual – Standard edition – Side one

1. "Who Can It Be Now?" Colin Hay 3:21
2. "I Can See It in Your Eyes" Hay 3:29
3. "Down Under" Hay, Ron Strykert 3:42
4. "Underground" Hay 3:03
5. "Helpless Automaton" Greg Ham 3:21
6. "People Just Love to Play with Words" Strykert 3:29
7. "Be Good Johnny" Hay, Ham 3:35
8. "Touching the Untouchables" Hay, Strykert 3:39
9. "Catch a Star" Hay 3:28
10. "Down by the Sea" Hay, Strykert, Ham, Jerry Speiser 6:53

Total length: 38:00

Recording information:

Peter McIan – production, engineering

Jim Barbour – engineering

Paul Ray – additional engineering

John Dickson – front cover illustration

Men At Work "Down Under (Single & Video)"

"Down Under" is a song recorded by Australian rock band Men at Work. It was originally self-released in 1980 as the B-side to their first local single, "Keypunch Operator", before the band signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. Both early songs were written by the group's co-founders, Colin Hay and Ron Strykert. The early version of "Down Under" has a slightly slower tempo and different arrangement from the later Columbia release. The best-known version was then released on Columbia in 1981 as the second single from Men at Work's debut studio album Business as Usual.

The hit song went to number one in their home country Australia in December 1981, and then topped the New Zealand charts in February 1982. The song topped the Canadian charts in October 1982. In the United States, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on 6 November 1982 at No. 79, and reached No. 1 in January 1983. Topping the US Billboard chart for four non-consecutive weeks, it eventually sold over two million copies in the US alone. Billboard ranked it at No. 4 for 1983. In the UK, the song topped the charts in January and February 1983: the only Men at Work song to make the UK top 20. The song also went to No. 1 in Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland, and was a top 10 hit in many other countries.

"Down Under" is perceived as a patriotic song in Australia; it remains popular and is often played at sporting events. In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time so far, "Down Under" was ranked number 2 behind Cold Chisel's "Khe Sanh".

The lyrics to "Down Under" depict an Australian man travelling the globe (specifically mentioning Brussels and Bombay, as well as the hippie trail), meeting people who are interested in his home country. The story is based in part on singer Colin Hay's own travels abroad, including a prominent reference to a Vegemite sandwich (a popular spread in Australia, which was nowhere to be found in Brussels in that time, whereas the character is supposed to receive a Vegemite sandwich), which derived from an encounter with a tall baker from Brussels who emigrated from Brunswick, Melbourne. Hay has said the lyric was partly inspired by Barry Humphries' character Barry McKenzie, a comically stereotypical Australian who tours abroad.

Slang and drug terms are featured in the lyrics. It opens with the singer "travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie". In Australian slang, "fried-out" at that time meant that it is in really poor condition and overheating (as in a short circuit rather than drunk/high), "Kombi" is short for "Kombinationskraftwagen" and refers to the Volkswagen Type 2, and "full of zombie" refers to the use of a type of marijuana. "Hippie trail" refers to a subcultural tourist route popular in the 1960s and 1970s which stretched from Western Europe to South-East Asia. The song also contains the refrain "where beer does flow and men chunder". To "chunder" means to vomit.

Speaking to Songfacts about the overall meaning of the lyric, Hay remarked:

The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the overdevelopment of the country. It was a song about the loss of spirit in that country. It's really about the plundering of the country by greedy people. It is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense. It's really more than that.

The music video comically plays out the events of the lyric, showing Hay and other band members riding in a Volkswagen Kombi van, eating muesli with a 'strange lady', eating and drinking in a café, and lying in an opium den. The band are moved along at one point by a man in a shirt and tie who places a 'Sold' sign in the ground. Exterior shots were filmed at the Cronulla sand dunes in Sydney. The band are seen carrying a coffin across the dunes at the end. This, Hay has explained, was a warning to his fellow Australians that their country's identity was dying as a result of overdevelopment and Americanisation. Hay has also stated that the same ominous sentiment lies behind the choral line, "Can't you hear that thunder? You'd better run; you'd better take cover".

Billboard called it a "tongue-in-cheek story song that relies on percussion and vocals more than sax."

The song is a perennial favourite on Australian radio and television, and topped the charts in the US and UK simultaneously in early 1983. It was later used as a theme song by the crew of Australia II in their successful bid to win the America's Cup in 1983. Men at Work played this song in the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, alongside other Australian artists.

The song is also the walkout music for Australian current, two-time UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski, and for Australian darts player Simon Whitlock.

In May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs from 1926 to 2001, as decided by a hundred-strong industry panel. "Down Under" was ranked as the fourth song on the list.

The song was ranked number 96 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s" in October 2006.

"Down Under" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2007.

"Down Under" was one of the goal songs for Australia during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"Down Under" was named the greatest song of all time on Triple M's GOAT 600 countdown in 2024.

Men At Work "'81–'85 (Australia, CBS, CDCBS450349 2)"

'81–'85 is the first greatest hits album by Australian pop rock band Men at Work, released in November 1986. The album includes tracks from the band's three studio albums. The album reached number 42 on the Australian charts.

The album was re-released in 1992 as The Works and was certified platinum in Australia.

Tracklist:

1. "Down Under" Hay, Ron Strykert Business as Usual (1981) 3:40
2. "Be Good Johnny" Hay, Greg Ham Business as Usual 3:35
3. "Hard Luck Story" Hay Two Hearts (1985) 3:41
4. "It's a Mistake" Hay Cargo (1983) 4:31
5. "Shintaro" Strykert non album track 2:52
6. "Everything I Need" Hay Two Hearts 3:35
7. "Who Can It Be Now?" Hay Business as Usual 3:31
8. ""Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive"" Hay Cargo 4:14
9. "Still Life" Ham Two Hearts 3:51
10. "Overkill" Hay Cargo 3:45
11. "Underground" Hay Business as Usual 3:04
12. "The Longest Night" Ham live; non album track 4:04
13. "Sail to You" (Extended Mix) Hay, Ham, Strykert Two Hearts 5:46
14. "Down Under" (Extended Mix) Hay, Strykert "Down Under" 12" single (1981) 5:23

6 page booklet contains track list, credits and Band's history by Glen A. Baker.

1st Australian release.

CD Info: Made in Japan

Various Artists "Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s Vol.15"

Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s is a series of compilations issued by Rhino Records, on both CD and audio cassette, featuring various artists from the new wave era 1977–1985.

The series contained 15 volumes. The first five were released on 21 June 1994, volumes 6–10 on 18 October 1994, and the last five volumes on 20 June 1995. Additional themed volumes—New Wave Dance Hits, New Wave Women, New Wave Halloween, and New Wave Christmas—came out in subsequent years. Rhino Records discontinued the series, due to rights issues and with no plans to re-release them. Many of the songs in the series are mastered from the 7" single masters. The series includes some songs making their first CD appearance (in some rare cases, their only CD appearance).

The fifteenth volume was released on both CD [R2 71977] and audio cassette on June 20, 1995. Includes liner notes by Jean Rosenbluth.

1. "Walking on Sunshine" Katrina & the Waves 4:00
2. "Head over Heels" Tears for Fears 4:19
3. "It's a Mistake" Men at Work 4:34
4. "Life in a Northern Town" The Dream Academy 4:18
5. "Beat's So Lonely" Charlie Sexton 5:18
6. "Guitar, Talk, Love & Drums" Gary Myrick 4:18
7. "Since Yesterday" Strawberry Switchblade 2:56
8. "Obsession" Animotion 4:04
9. "Endicott" Kid Creole and the Coconuts 4:29
10. "Perfect Way" Scritti Politti 4:06
11. "So in Love" Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 3:31
12. "Election Day" Arcadia 4:34
13. "19" Paul Hardcastle 3:40
14. "Why?" Bronski Beat 3:58
15. "Some People" Belouis Some 4:01
16. "Like a Virgin" The Lords of the New Church 3:49

Compiled & Produced for release by: David McLees & Andrew Sandoval

Sound Produced by: Bill Inglot

Compilation Assistance: David Kapp, Emily Cagan, Jim Neill, Brady Benton, Ken Lesnik, Joe Phiefer, Ted Myers, Gary Peterson, Gary Stewart, Chris Farman

The licensing King: Mark Pinkus

Discographical Annotations: Patrick Milligan

Project Assistance: Garson Foos, Keith Altomare, Jim Neill, Steve Poltorak, Craig Kamins, Bill Inglot, Jock Elliot, Antone DeSantis, Arny Schorr, Darcy Sullvan, Stephen K. Peeles, Norma Edwards, Nancy Hopkins, Michaeal Mazzarella, Nat Brewster, Janet Grey, David Miller.

Research: Patrick Milligan, Gary Peterson

Remastering: Bill Inglot, Andrew Sandoval & Ken Perry

Front Cover Photo: Blind Gary & Dirty Pierre Silva (Volumes 6–15 only)

Design: Julie Vlasak (Volumes 6–15 only) & Steve Bates

Art Direction (Volumes 6–15 only): Monster X

Rhino New Wave Hits of the '80s Team: Keith Altomare, Steve Bates, Emily Cagan, Chris Clarke, Julie D'Angelo, David Born, Garson Foos, Teresa McGurrin, David McLees, Jim Neill, David Newberg, Mark Pinkus, Faithe Raphael

Special Thanks: Michael Ackerman, James Austin, Hugo Bernham, Jay Boberg, Chris Castle, Cliff Chenfeld, Paul Cope/Record Rover, Jesse & Rachel Donahue, Richard Foos, Maria Garza, Jeff Gold, Paul Grein, Tanya Harman, Bruce Harris, Keith Johnson, Lisa Kellerhouse, Howie Klein, Scott Lasker, Bill Levenson, Tom Lopinski, Donna Malyszko, Toby Mamis, Paul C. Mawhinney/Record Rama, Maria Mandez, Brad Morrison, Mark Mulcahy, Frankie Pine, Ken Reed/Main Street Records, Fred Schneider, Suzanne Steers, Lisa Sutton, Gerrard Talbot, David Tedds, Vincent Vero, Paul Williams

Men At Work "Cargo (2003 Reissue, Remastered, US, Columbia, CK 86608)"

Cargo is the second studio album by Australian pop rock band Men at Work, which was released in April 1983. It peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, No. 2 in New Zealand, No. 3 on the United States Billboard 200, and No. 8 on the United Kingdom Albums Chart. Four singles were released from the album, with "Overkill" being an international top 10 hit in Canada, Ireland, Norway, and US Billboard Hot 100.

Australian pop rock group, Men at Work, released their second album, Cargo, in April 1983, which peaked at No. 1 – for two weeks – on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In New Zealand it reached No. 2. The album was recorded and finished by mid-1982 with Peter McIan producing again, but its release was pushed back due to the continued success of their debut album, Business as Usual. On the international market, where Business as Usual was still riding high, Cargo appeared at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and No. 8 in the UK. The lead single, "Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive", was issued in Australia, ahead of the album, in October 1982; it reached No. 6 there in late 1982 and peaked at No. 28 in the US the following year. The second single "Overkill" was released in March 1983 and made it to No. 5 in Australia, and No. 3 in the US. A third single "It's a Mistake" followed in June and only reached No. 34 in Australia, but it did peak at No. 6 in the US. The much less successful fourth and final single "High Wire" was released in late 1983 and only reached No. 89 in Australia, but did reach No. 23 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The band toured the world extensively in 1983.

In Smash Hits, Fred Dellar praised Cargo as "an immaculately constructed album of outback pop for in-front people". Rolling Stone's Christopher Connelly wrote that Cargo "may lack a track with the body-slamming intensity of 'Who Can It Be Now?' and 'Down Under', but song for song, it is a stronger overall effort than Business as Usual". He chiefly praised the album's dark, paranoid lyrics. John Mendelssohn of Record also felt that none of the tracks measured up to Men at Work's early hits, but went further, saying the album in its entirety is inoffensive but forgettable, with "Upstairs in My House" being the only highlight. He found the band's instrumental solos particularly dull, and assessed that Men at Work's one asset is that "Colin Hay may be the most effortlessly soulful pop singer since Sting".

In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised "Overkill" and "It's a Mistake" as "demonstrating more depth than anything on the debut". However, he asserted that the album parallels their debut in that it focuses on two strong singles while it is "weighed down by filler".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Colin Hay except as noted.

1. "Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive" 4:38
2. "Overkill" 3:47
3. "Settle Down My Boy" (extended to 4:10 on the 2003 remaster) Ron Strykert 3:31
4. "Upstairs in My House" Hay, Strykert 4:03
5. "No Sign of Yesterday" (extended to 6:34 on the 2003 remaster) 6:15
6. "It's a Mistake" (extended to 4:47 on the 2003 remaster) 4:34
7. "High Wire" 3:02
8. "Blue for You" 3:55
9. "I Like To" Strykert 4:03
10. "No Restrictions" 4:31

2003 remaster bonus tracks

1. "Shintaro" (B-side from "It's a Mistake" single) Strykert 2:52
2. "'Till the Money Runs Out" (B-side from "Overkill" single) Hay, Strykert, Greg Ham, Jerry Speiser, John Rees 3:06
3. "Upstairs in My House" (live; B-side from "Dr. Heckyl & Mr. Jive" 12" (listed as "Upstairs at My House" on the 2003 remaster) Hay, Strykert 3:13
4. "Fallin' Down" (live; B-side from "High Wire" Australian single) 7:55
5. "The Longest Night" (live) (previously unreleased) Ham 4:04

The live tracks on the 2003 remastered edition are from a concert recorded 28 July 1983 at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland (tracks 13 and 14) and from a 1983 concert in Berkeley, California (track 15).

Recording information:

Peter McIan – production, engineer

Paul Ray – engineer

David Price – assistant engineer

Greg Noakes – photography

Ron Strykert – artwork

Nathan D. Brenner – international manager

Various Artists "Time Life: Sounds Of The Eighties - 1982"

Time Life: Sounds of the Eighties was a 10-volume series issued by Time-Life.