Little River Band – We Two. Formed in Melbourne in 1975 this is one of the great bands to come out of Australia. And this song is the band in 1983 running on the fumes of their commercial success. We Two was one of Little River Band’s final Top 40 singles, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The band never broke up and still tours, but the original members left before the turn of the century, and with no Australians left in the group, it’s now an American band. Uh, what? Founding member Beeb Birtles derisively refers to them as a tribute band. So, what’s the deal? Trademarks. Stephen Housden joined the group as lead guitarist on The Net, the album from which this song comes. While he left in 2006, he remains the sole owner of the Little River Band name and trademark, and he works hard to keep founding members from profiting from the brand they built. Relations are acrimonious between him and the original members to put it mildly.
Enough about the legalities and ugliness of the music business. Let’s talk about We Two. I’ve been a fan of Little River Band for a long time and played their songs to death on the radio, but until a few years ago I’d never heard this one. I came across it on iTunes when looking at The Definitive Collection, which is an expanded greatest hits package released in the United States in 2005. I instantly liked it.
John Farnham replaces original lead vocalist Glenn Shorrock and holds his own on a midtempo song lamenting the loss of a romantic relationship. We Two has the classic Little River Band vocal harmonies. I like the insistent bass and how tightly the rhythm section plays together, and the steady rhythm guitar gets my attention at the beginning of the song, too. While no solo, there is an instrumental break at the midway point featuring a repeating guitar riff that flows through the whole song. Atmospheric keyboards come in at the tail end of the composition and run through the fade. We Two doesn’t quite live up to the legacy of the band’s previous work, but on its own, the song is an enjoyable listen:
For the record, I saw Little River Band at a casino on the Oregon Coast in 1996. I think the only original member at that point was the drummer, Derek Pellicci. What was cool was seeing Peter Beckett on guitar and vocals. Beckett is the former lead singer and guitarist of Player, which had the big 1977 hit, Baby Come Back. He joined Little River Band in the late 1980s, and they performed his old group’s song that night. Would I recommend seeing Little River Band in concert today? No. It’s a bunch of guys operating under the name with a tenuous connection to the past. I wouldn’t recommend listening to the modern lineup’s rerecording of the classic songs either. Yeah, they actually did that.
What are your thoughts? Like the song? Hate it? Comment below. ↓
This is part of a series I’m doing on forgotten and obscure songs. Get caught up here.
John Farnham’s voice is somewhat reminiscent of that of Mickey Thomas [Jefferson Starship • Starship] and though I was vaguely familiar with his work, did not realize that he had slipped in to the lead vocal position for the Little River Band for three years.
And, Peter Beckett? Ah… Player. I remember that shortly after Robert Stigwood signed them to his RSO label, he boldly declared that they would become the ‘next Bee Gees.’ They promptly floated off into the sunset, and obscurity.
You’re right! I didn’t even think about that. He does sound a bit like Mickey Thomas.
I think Player followed up “Baby Come Back” with “This Time I’m in It for Love”. That made the Top 10 but was promptly forgotten. They released a handful of singles after that, and each one stiffed.
As for LRB, I think they had one more charting single after “We Two,” and that was the end of their commercial success.