MOG

Bernard Fanning’s tea-stained, old-fashioned photograph on Tea & Sympathy, makes me swoon, the same goes for his music.

Fanning, known to most, but not all, is the front man for the Australian group Powderfinger. Bernard Fanning was the most played artist on Australian radio in 2006, winning numerous awards – Best Male Artist, Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year – the album has gone five times platinum, and also achieved an Australian first as the highest selling album on iTunes. So … for the Australians, they might say this album was way overplayed. Here in the States, Chicago metropolitan area to be exact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Tea & Sympathy was introduced to me late last year and has been on heavy rotation in my house for a few months. Fanning co-produced this album with Tchad Blake (Gomez, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson) and their collaboration has created a most gentle, beautiful album. Fanning’s intoxicating vocals and harmonies, along with instruments such as the mandolin, harmonica, fiddle, and most importantly the lap steel guitar, convey his heartfelt message to a tee.

“From the intricate finger-picking that underscores the weary-but-hopeful “Thrill Is Gone” to the fiddle-kissed “Songbird,” Tea and Sympathy gets the balance right, largely due to its unflagging organic vibe. And unlike the self-consciousness that accompanies so much self-consciously retro rock, Fanning’s compositions exude a quiet elegance and an affable confidence -- traits that mark him as the sort of guy who’s capable of becoming a part of rock’s rich tapestry, rather than merely a mender of its threads.”

“Bernard succeeds in peeling back the layers, both emotionally and aurally, throughout Tea and Sympathy. While many of the album’s songs deal vividly with loss – Fanning says, “I was in a relationship that broke down, and writing was a part of the mourning process” – its lingering notes are ones of optimism about what lays beyond the horizon.”

All the proceeds of the single “Watch Over Me” have been donated to Youngcare a nationally registered charity and non-profit organization formed to help young Australians with high care needs. In the following interview, Fanning tells the story of how he became familiar with the charity and his reasons for contributing to their cause.

If you haven’t listened to Tea & Sympathy, I encourage you to give it a whirl. As for me, I’ll have another cuppa tea, please.