Tea & Sympathy (album)

After the 2004 release of Fingerprints: The Best of Powderfinger, 1994–2000, Powderfinger took a hiatus, and several members played in the side projects Drag and The Predators. Fanning decided to work independently and acted on direction he felt unable to explore as a member of Powderfinger. Some of his inspiration was derived from a will to see if he was capable of recording a solo album, considering what he viewed as his limited guitar playing abilities; compared to bandmates Darren Middleton and Ian Haug. Fanning wanted to create a politically oriented album with which he could attack then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, following Howard's 2004 election victory over Mark Latham. However, the death of Fanning's brother from cancer in 2002, Fanning explained that after going through "a pretty weird time in the past twelve months", he did not intend to talk about his experiences, but to express them through music. While writing Fanning listened to music of guitarists Lightning Hopkins, Tom Petty, and singer-songwriter Gillian Welch, who all influenced his work. "I'd love to play guitar like that, but I simply don't have the skill to do it", said Fanning of Hopkins' work. The album's title comes from a saying which Fanning explained to The Age as "you offer someone tea and sympathy, you sit down with them, have a cup of tea and you just talk." He noted that there is a credit on an album by The Rolling Stones for the provision of "tea and sympathy". The album cover photography and album inlay photography is by Ami Barwell ==Touring and promotion==

Fanning toured much of Australia to support Tea & Sympathy. Prior to the launch of two major tours, Fanning held a number of low-key album launch shows. These drew praise from critics—Time Off's Ben Preece reported, "The chemistry between the Powderfinger frontman and his band (nicknamed The Gap Jazz School Choir) is excellent and their constant in-between song banter is hilarious. Then, of course, there’s the music." He commended the multiple genre changes during the 90-minute performance, as well as Fanning's vocal showcase. On 11 August, Fanning announced that tours across the United States and Canada would follow the album's 8 August North American release. An 11 September UK release was also announced with Dew Process revealing that numerous London shows had already been sold out. Performances in London attracted much expatriate support; Fanning joked, "I think I have about 14 English fans". ==Album and single releases==

Tea & Sympathy was released in Australia on 31 October 2005, in North America on 11 August 2006, and in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2006. The album peaked at number one on Australia's ARIA Albums Chart and number 11 on New Zealand's RIANZ Albums Chart. The Australian Record Industry Association has since certified Tea & Sympathy platinum five times over for sales in excess of 350,000 units. "Wish You Well" was the first single released from the album. Although it did not chart in Australia, it peaked at number 24 in New Zealand, and topped the Triple J Hottest 100, 2005. The inspiration for the song came to Fanning when he woke one morning, "and 'Wish You Well' just arrived in a splurge. There were swallows flying around. I was in an unusually positive frame of mind." musicOMH's Barnaby Smith described "Wish You Well" as reminiscent of Daryl Braithwaite and a "basic song with [a] catchy chorus you might sing round a campfire". The online release "Songbird" was the album's second single. The song was broadly popular, and contributed to Fanning's winning "Songwriter of the Year" at the 2006 APRA Awards. "Songbird" won "Most Performed Blues and Roots Work" at the 2007 ceremony and was nominated for "Most Performed Australian Work". The single did not appear on the ARIA Singles Chart, but peaked at number 11 on the Australian national airplay charts. All proceeds from the single were passed on to Australian charity Youngcare. Fanning also toured with Kasey Chambers, again giving proceeds to the charity. "Watch Over Me" spent eight weeks on the ARIA Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 16. The song was performed by Fanning, Chambers, and Clare Bowditch at the 2006 ARIA Awards. ==Music and lyrics==

I realised about three songs into writing it how insulting that was to people who write country music ... someone like me trying to make a country record. —Bernard FanningOn why he abandoned his plan to make a purely country record. setting the mood for the rest of the album. Numerous songs on the album are influenced by Neil and Tim Finn; "Believe", "Sleeping Rough", "The Strangest Thing", and "Wish You Well" all have comparisons drawn to the brothers. Sometimes construed as a relationships-based song, "Watch Over Me" was written by Fanning after watching Pope John Paul II's funeral. "Down To The River" was equally slow in portions, mixed in with sections of "searing, heart-rending pleading"—praised as the best song Fanning had written by musicOMH's Barnaby Smith. ==Reception==

Tea & Sympathy was awarded "Best Cover Art" and "Album of the Year" at the 2006 ARIA Music Awards; it was also nominated for "Best Blues & Roots Album" and "Highest Selling Album". "Wish You Well" won "Best Video", while "Watch Over Me" was nominated for "Single of the Year". "Wish You Well" topped the Triple J Hottest 100, 2005, Fanning won "Best Male Artist" for his work on the album, and as part of his acceptance speech challenged fellow Australian musicians to write protest songs—something they had been criticised for a lack of by ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Rob Hirst. Tea & Sympathy was nominated for the inaugural J Award in 2005, and Fanning won "Songwriter of the Year" at the 2006 APRA Awards. MTV Australia named Tea & Sympathy "Album of the Year" at its 2006 Video Music Awards. Tea & Sympathys critical reception was moderate. It was generally seen as being less entertaining than Fanning's Powderfinger work—The Age said Powderfinger were a "rock band ingrained in the national psyche" like Cold Chisel, but that Tea & Sympathy showed little resemblance to Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes's groundbreaking debut album, Bodyswerve. Barnaby Smith of musicOMH said the album was not "a work to suggest [Fanning's] solo career might better Powderfinger". The BBC's Jenna Bachelor wrote that the album is "pleasant enough without pulling up any trees". Despite Fanning's claims he could not write a country song, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and BBC drew comparisons to Neil Young and supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The ABC said Tea & Sympathy resembled the band's work, "though without the hippy, drippy lyrics", Fanning's vocals drew praise; Allmusic's Andy Whitman said he was a "fine, soulful singer" whose "vocal presence alone merits attention". ==Track listing==

• "Thrill Is Gone" – 3:11 • "Wish You Well" – 2:31 • "Not Finished Just Yet" – 3:17 • "Songbird" – 2:36 • "Believe" – 3:07 • "Which Way Home?" – 3:21 • "Wash Me Clean" – 2:37 • "Hope & Validation" – 3:09 • "Sleeping Rough" – 4:34 • "The Strangest Thing" – 3:14 • "Further Down the Road" – 4:41 • "Down to the River" – 4:13 • "Yesterday's Gone" – 2:34 • "Watch Over Me" – 3:31 • "Weekend of Mystery" (iTunes bonus release) – 3:26 20th anniversary bonus disc • "For You and I" • "Steady Job" (demo) • "Watch Over Me" (featuring Kasey Chambers & Clare Bowditch) • "Songbird" (acoustic) • "Believe" (performed by The Paper Kites) • "Weekend of Mystery" • "Thrill Is Gone" (acoustic) • "What a Fool I've Been" • "Songbird" (performed by Jem & Troy Cassar-Daley) • "Shelter for My Soul" ==Personnel==

UK sessions Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6 and 9–14. • Bernard Fanning – guitars and vocals • Jerry Marotta – drums and percussion • Keith Duffy – bass guitar • John Bedggood – mandolin, fiddle, strings, keyboards and backing vocals • Tchad Blake – lap steel guitar • Ben Quinn – backing vocals • Stu Miller – backing vocals Australian sessions Tracks 3, 5, 7 and 8. • Bernard Fanning – guitars and vocals • Duane Billing – drums and percussion • Matt Engelbrecht – bass guitar and lead guitar • Chris Bosley – bass guitar Production • Bernard Fanning – producer • Tchad Blake – producer, engineer and mixer (Real World Studios, Box, UK) • Claire Lewis – assistant engineer (Real World Studios, Box, UK) • Mark McElligott – engineer and mixer (Leafy Bug Studios, Brisbane, Australia) ==Charts and certifications==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end chart ==Certifications==