Wayne Roland Brown Announces the Release of His New Album Lightning Ridge and the Ballad of Johny Jones
This project is a tribute to the extraordinary men and woman who mine for opal in the barren outback of Australia, in particular the miners, opal cutters, and opal dealers of Lightning Ridge.
The album features songs written by Wayne Rolland Brown, Buddy Mondlock, Guy Clark and Fred Koller. Legendary Australian Actor, Jack Thompson, (Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones) lends his talent to the project as the voice of Harold Hodges in the song “Harold Hodges Teeth.”
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Song by Song from Wayne Roland Brown
"Down Under"(Wayne Roland Brown & Fred Koller) - Every opal miner dreams of the big find and a holiday house at the gold coast.
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"Ratters" (Wayne Roland Brown & Fred Koller) - Ratters are people who steal your opal while you are in town getting supplies.
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"The Ballad of Johny Jones"(Wayne Roland Brown & Buddy Mondlock) - A real character, a real story.
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"Easy Come Easy Go" (Wayne Roland Brown) - self explanatory.
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"Harold Hodges Teeth" (Wayne Roland Brown & Buddy Mondlock) - Another real character who ran the abattoir and the pub.
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“The Cup” (Buddy Mondlock) - This song describes the loneliness of living in the outback of Australia, particularly if you are not finding any opal.
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"Man of Colours" (Wayne Roland Brown & Buddy Mondlock) - Julius was a Lightning Ridge icon, an opal cutter who also made amazing opal mosaics that are now highly collectable.
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"Free Beer Tomorrow" (Wayne Roland Brown & Buddy Mondlock) - Say no more!!!!
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"Mud" (Buddy Mondlock & Guy Clark) - You can’t mine without water.
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"When Will My Time Come" (Wayne Roland Brown) - The opal mining life is hard on marriages. Wives often leave and families are split. This song is a dialogue between a father and daughter. My wonderful daughter Simone helps out with this tune.
Credits: Wayne Roland Brown – Vocals and Guitar Dave Pomeroy – Bass Rob Ickes – Dobro Rick Lonow – Drums Jack Pearson and Pat Bergeson – Guitars Jeff Taylor – Accordian Aaron Brown – Background Vocals and Violin Simone Brown – Vocal Duet on “When Will My Time Come” Dobe Newton – Enthusaiastic Backup Vocal on “Free Beer” Jack Thompson – Voice of Harold Hodges Kathryn Hooghuis, Katherine Miller and Georgia Barbour – Background Vocals on “Ratters”
Bruce Lynch – String Arrangement – Auckland, NZ Nicky Crayson – Background Vocal Arrangement on “Ratters”
Sound Emporium – Recording Studio, Nashville, TN Dave Sinko – Main Recording and Mixing Engineer, Nashville, TN Mark Moffat – Engineer – Nashville ABC Studios – Recording Studio – Sydney David Bates – Engineer Sydney
Reg Mobassa – Paintings for Cover Art
Barbara Laszewski Garner – Art Direction
Special Thanks To: Johny Johns and all the great characters, both past and present, of the Australian opal industry.
About Wayne:
Wayne Roland Brown is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, song writer, independent record producer, gemstone dealer, jewelry designer and founder Gondwanaland Opals.
Wayne has recorded 15 albums. His debut album on E. A. R. Records, Flight of Fancy, includes his hit song, “Essential Sensual,” which was in the Tom Cruise movie, Cocktail. His latest album, Lightning Ridge and the ballad of Johny Jones is a collection of songs about the characters he has met over the last 30 years as a collector and buyer of Australian opal.
Over 100 of Wayne’s songs have been recorded by such diverse artists as Seals and Crofts, Tom Kimmel, Bob La Castra, Peter Emmett, and Doug Parkinson. He has worked as a co-writer with Lacy J. Dalton, Tony Coulton, Layng Martine, Jr., Buddy Mondlock, Fred Koller, and Tom Kimmel.
