Deborah Conway: Sydney Morning Herald

The brand plays on

Deborah Conway's new solo album, Exquisite Stereo, is not a solo album. You can tell by listening to it. Sure, it bears the Conway signature: it's strong, it's gutsy, it's emotional. And then there's that unmistakable voice. But, at least compared with her last solo outing, My Third Husband, there is now a hard pop edginess. Guitar, bass and drums step forward and vie for centre stage, so to speak, rather than hiding in the curtains.

"We've got a live band this time," Conway reveals, "it's much rockier. The band was live last time but there was lots of programming too. We yearned for the serendipity of five people all thrashing around playing rock 'n' roll. And I think band records are always better than records by solo artists. Ideas just bounce off each other."

The band, it should be noted, are called City of Women (think Fellini, think another Conway song off Ultrasound also Fellini-inspired) and they are not just any band either. COW -- an unfortunate acronym -- comprise longtime partner and co-songwriter Willy Zygier, Cameron Reynolds and the rhythm section of Augie March, Edmond Ammendola and Dave Williams.

"I suppose Willy and I are 'Deborah Conway'," she says as if her name were a brand. "And so, in a sense, it has always been a joint project. But getting fresh blood," she says referring to the Augies who were recommended by a mutual friend before their signing to BMG, "there's no substitute."

Given that Conway agrees that Exquisite Stereo is a band record that has benefited from all the advantages of playing and recording as a group it is important to ask why, then, did Conway present the album as a solo release with the splendid COW uncredited on the cover sleeve. Did she toss? Did she turn?

"Kind of," she affirms. "But there was always this little doubt about whether City of Women was a good name. Instead of trumpeting it out on a front cover, we secreted it away."

Did this decision have anything to do with considering herself a brand?

"I definitely feel like there's a Deborah Conway brand involved. I once tried to change my name to my father's original name, but I was discouraged by the record company because I had a brand name as Deborah Conway."

And the brand, she says, is inextricably linked with the song that came out in 1991.

The 'song', of course, was It's Only the Beginning. A massive hit, it was also her last. Since then here album sales and profile have, to be fair, steadily declined. Presumably because she didn't want her brand to keep producing the same record?

"That's right. And I've never been able to do that. And so," she continues, laughing, "I've sacrificed the other thing that comes with being a brand name: success. That song somewhat fossilised me," she says, "and that's been a bit tough. I'd like to somehow shake the shackles off that. Without wishing to discourage anyone from playing it," she adds, "because obviously it's a nice little earner. I'm still waiting for a bank to use it for a home loan ... it's only the beginning ... it'd be good, wouldn't it?"

added Monday, 23 August, 2004

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