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Personal songs keep this Australian band relevant Little River Band
By John Benson
Reminiscing about soft-rock bands from the late ’70s and early ’80s naturally brings up the Little River Band, which comes to Stambaugh Auditorium on Sunday.
At its height, the Australian group used a strong vocal harmony and powerful guitar sound to score one radio hit after another. The list includes “It’s a Long Way There,” “Help Is on Its Way,” “Happy Anniversary,” “Reminiscing,” “Lady,” “Lonesome Loser” and “Take It Easy On Me.”
Today, the act continues to tour, playing anywhere between 80 and 100 shows a year. This brings up the question: Why is the Little River Band still popular?
“First of all, the songs were never written with haircuts or keyboard sounds or fads in mind,” said singer-bassist Wayne Nelson, calling from his Florida home. “They were personal songs about life. Also, we have never, in the entire time the band has been in existence, slacked off on the presentation. There are a lot of vocals and guitars. It takes some discipline to stay healthy and be able to play and deliver the show. The fact is the show is so good, we’ve contemporized it a little bit and not rested on our laurels playing the songs like they were recorded in ’77 and ’78.”
Though Nelson laughed at the idea of adding a hip-hop element to attract the younger generation, he did point out the group did recently incorporate a percussion loop into its set. As far as new material is concerned, the Little River Band isn’t resting on its laurels. Not only did the act recently release its first Christmas CD, but a brand-new album is due out next spring.
These days, nostalgic acts enjoy at best a precarious existence, touring their hits as long as fans buy tickets and, occasionally, — maybe against their better judgment — testing the market with new material in hopes radio will give airplay. It rarely happens. More so, these days the only stations airing Little River Band tunes are of the soft-rock variety.
This brings up an all-too-common phenomenon for Nelson, who says his band often is confused for one of its peers.
“It happens all the time,” Nelson said. “Ambrosia is one. People come to our show and they want to hear ‘How Much I Feel,’ and they’ll yell it out at shows. Some people think we’re Pure Prairie League and want to hear ‘Amie.’ We’ll be in the middle of one of our biggest hits, and people just get up and leave. They realize we’re not the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. That’s why I say we fall into a category with Player, Ambrosia and the fringe of The Eagles.”
It’s the latter act that set the standard for the vocal harmony sound. Nelson tells a story about how in the early ’80s when the Little River Band opened for The Eagles, he and his band mates would sneak off to hear the backstage vocal warm ups of Don Henley, Glenn Frey and the others. Apparently, word came back to the Little River Band camp that The Eagles would do the same — clandestinely listening to the Little River Band warm up.
In his retelling of the story, Nelson sounds like a kid who met his favorite baseball player. It’s this same sentiment — being a big fish in a small, soft-rock pond — that explains why the singer discounts the Little River Band’s chances of making it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Still, he’s proud of the Little River Band’s legacy.
“Obviously, it’s the great vocals,” Nelson said. “There’s more power to people singing together than a lot of people give credit to. I don’t mean to sound like we’re ‘Up With People’ or ‘Glee,’ but rock ’n’ roll takes a whole other dimension when it’s being sung as strongly as it’s being played. I hope to be remembered as one of the great vocal bands of our era.”