Solid Rock (Goanna song)

"Solid Rock" is a song written by Shane Howard and recorded by Australian rock band Goanna. The song deals with issues of land rights for Indigenous Australians and was released in September 1982 as the lead single from the band's debut studio album, Spirit of Place. "Solid Rock" peaked at number 3 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

"Solid Rock"
Single by Goanna
from the album Spirit of Place
ReleasedSeptember 1982
GenreFolk rock
Length4:28
LabelWEA Records
Songwriter(s)Shane Howard
Producer(s)Trevor Lucas
Goanna singles chronology
"Solid Rock"
(1982)		 "Razor's Edge"
(1983)

At the 1982 Countdown Music and Video Awards, "Solid Rock" won Best Debut Single.[1]

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Solid Rock" was ranked number 13.[2]

Background and release

According to Howard, the inspiration came on a ten-day camping trip at Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) during 1980 where he had a "spiritual awakening" which brought "the fire in the belly" to the surface over injustices to Australia’s indigenous peoples. Howard said "I realised that this country that I grew up in, that I thought was my country, wasn't. I had to reassess my whole relationship with the land and the landscape, and understand that we had come from somewhere else, and we had dis-empowered a whole race of people when we arrived."[3]

WEA were reluctant to release it as a single and Howard initially had reservations about whether commercial radio would play it because of its politically sensitive theme but then Howard insisted on its release to make a statement about the European invasion of Australia.[3][4] The song was released in September 1982.

Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described it as "a damning indictment of the European invasion of Australia."[5]

Track listing
7" WEA Records (100223)

Side A: "Solid Rock" - 4:28
Side B: "Four Weeks Gone" - 5:42

Charts
Chart (1982/83) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 71

Cover versions
gollark: Routing should be fine since skynet is broadcast-only.
gollark: Yes, exactly.
gollark: Basically just anyone who wants to run one, I guess.
gollark: Operators meaning?
gollark: Unfortunately, the P2P bit is proving quite hard, and will probably take ages.

References
  1. "Countdown Date: 19/4/1983". Countdown Archives. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  2. "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  3. Choudry, Aziz (7 November 2002). "Sweet and Dangerous Music: Soundtrack for a Secret Country". Shane Howard. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  4. Kruger, Debbie (July–August 2002). "They Wrote the Songs Pt2". APrap. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  5. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Goanna'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 24 June 2004.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. https://www.billboard.com/music/goanna
  8. "Solid Rock feat. Shannon Noll". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  9. "Solid Rock feat Shane Howard". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  10. "Solid Rock Cover-The Waifs-Freemantle Arts Center Jan 30, 2020". Blanca. Retrieved 2 February 2020.


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