A Version Of Now
Peter Garrett was never made for politics. A passionate idealist, how he kept sane whilst his environmental policies and integrity were constantly sold out in the name of party politics, is anyone's guess.
Ironically, after resigning amidst the turbulence of the most pathetic era of Australian polutics (sic) – an era where our leaders (such as they are) and their integrity (if you can find any) became ever more one dimensional, spineless and blatantly dishonest – hindsight shows us that his charismatic, pre-politics self is arguably the Prime Minister this country needs more than ever, rather than the scumbags who are actually in the running for the job.
It seems inevitable, then, that he's come back to music, reforming Midnight Oil (despite vehement protestations by the organisation that that was NOT an option not too many months ago), and finally releasing his debut solo album.
Musically, A Version Of Now occupies the same sort of territory as The Oils. Lyrically there is a treasure trove of snippets which personal and political observers will (and have) leap upon to feed their theories about the whys and wherefores of his political career. To Garrett's credit, however, he doesn't use the album as a podium for mudslinging and muckracking – in fact, if anything, he defends his integrity, insisting in I'd Do It Again, 'I went of my own accord to do what I could/I got my hands dirty I had a go.' Can't blame the guy for trying.
Freed of the need to compromise his beliefs and integrity in the name of (what is laughingly called) "the greater good", Garrett is surprisingly sanguine about a chapter of his life that simply didn't live up to his aspirations. The closest he gets to commentary on those often dark days is in Tall Trees, stating, "I saw the best of men and I saw the worse/I saw the best of woman too, from governor to nurse" and "While all the glory hunters were basking in false smiles/Twisted egos and ambitions mile after mile/I went to find a quiet place away from the madding mob/To try and make a difference get on with the job and do it again". It's cutting, but measured as well, and no doubt after swimming in those murky waters the need for a return to home and family life was strong, hence the inclusion of not only two love songs to his wife Doris, but also his three daughters singing on the album.
Having delivered this very restrained (and very nice) album, and with an autobiographical memoir coming very soon, the time is ripe for Garrett to deliver a proper follow-up (under his own name or as Midnight Oil) that is full of the fiery political statement that he was famous for in his younger days.
—Shane Pinnegar
The fourteen years since the last Midnight Oil album have been eventful for Peter Garrett. Moving from music to politics, he spent much of this period as a part of Australia's labour government party, which included many controversial choices during his years of service, only finding himself retiring from government work as recently as 2013. Now that this period is over, however, it's no surprise that Garrett finds himself once again creating music; A Version of Now may be his first solo album, but it'll sound familiar to most Garrett fans, even if it acts as a better lead-in to more Midnight Oil material than it does as a solo introduction.
Stylistically, A Version of Now is extremely straightforward and simple. The focus is always placed on Garrett's easily identifiable, heavily accented singing, filling in the gap behind his voice with the music so they work in harmony rather than fighting for dominance. The lyrics cover what many would expect them to, from addressing his political career and the choices he made throughout it on I'd Do It Again, to simply announcing his return to music on the opening track Tall Trees. Meanwhile, Homecoming covers the period in which he returned home after his political career, with its sentimentality showing through clearly.
There's nothing truly groundbreaking to be found on Garrett's solo debut, but its familiarity is ultimately what fans will enjoy most out of it. Glimpses of his catalogue with Midnight Oil pop up throughout, and there's the added bonus of songs like Homecoming not requiring any bells and whistles on top of their simple arrangement to truly stand out. The only truly unique moment on the album is when he approaches talk-singing at its extreme on It Still Matters, not quite at rapping speeds but covering much more lyrical ground than he does anywhere else, tying the album together nicely as he races to convey his message.
While it won't win over any new fans, Garrett is more than ready to prepare fans for the return of Midnight Oil with A Version of Now, as if he were conveying his memoirs through this alternate channel to quickly address the political situation before launching back into band material. There's no real groundbreaking moments on the album, and its one-note style would come close to dragging if it weren't such a short album. Regardless, A Version of Now has its merits and sits well in Garrett's discography.
— Michael Smith