Best of Capricorn Records

Richard Clapton is - and probably will always be - the great undiscovered genius of Australian rock music. Not to say that he's completely unknown outside of his home country. Neil Young did specifically request him as as opening act for one of his Australian tours, and Jackson Browne has also admitted to being a Clapton fan. To appreciate the magnitude of Clapton's appearance on the Australian pop music scene, you really need to understand what a dismal situation it was in during the early to mid 1970's. The favourite band of the era were called 'Sherbet'. The best loved male singer was a soapie actor who wore a white suit and red carnation. If this weren't bad enough, we had glam rock acts like Willian Shakespeare, who made Garry Glitter look sensible, and at least two of the favoured bands of the era (Ol' 55 and Silver Studs) specialised in 'Happy Days' era pre-Beatles pop covers. The few genuinely worthwhile acts (The Dingos, Radio Birdman, The Saints, etc) weren't allowed within a bull's roar of Countdown - the tv pop show which dictated which singles Australian audiences were exposed to.

The dozen existing songs – including the No. 1 title track ‘Here And Now,’ the sensual ‘Tip of My Tongue’ and the glass half full ‘Happy Does’ – are being supplemented by four equally diverse tracks: ‘Wind On’ from David Lee Murphy and Rodney Clawson, ‘Fields of Glory’ from Josh Osborne, Ashley Gorley and Ross Copperman, ‘My Anthem’ from Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally and Jason Gantt and ‘Streets,’ co-written with Tom Douglas.