Hand It Down

Hand It Down is the second studio album by Australian country music singer-songwriter James Blundell, released in July 1990 by EMI. It was produced by Garth Porter The album peaked at number 50 on the ARIA albums chart. It provided four singles "Age of Grace" (July 1990), "The Blue Heeler" (October), "Water" (1991) and "Time on His Hands" (September). At the 1991 ARIA Music Awards Hand It Down won Best Country Album.

Hand It Down
Studio album by James Blundell
Released	July 1990 (1990-07)
Studio	Festival 301 Sussex (Sydney)
Genre	Country contemporary country
Length	37:14
Label	EMI
Producer	Garth Porter
James Blundell chronology
James Blundell (1989) Hand It Down (1990) This Road (1992)
Singles from Hand It Down
"Age of Grace" Released: July 1990 "The Blue Heeler" Released: October 1990 "Water" Released: 1991 "Time on His Hands" Released: 16 September 1991

Background

Australian country music singer-songwriter James Blundell released his second studio album Hand It Down in July 1990.^[1][2] It was recorded across three studios in Sydney: Festival Studios, Studios 301 and Sussex Studios with Garth Porter (Rockwell T. James, the Sherbs, Sunnyboys) producing for EMI Records.^[3][4] Porter also provided keyboards, percussion and piano and co-wrote three tracks with Blundell.^[3] Blundell promoted Hand It Down with tours in Australia, United States and Canada.^[5] It provided four singles "Age of Grace" (July 1990), "The Blue Heeler" (October), "Water" (1991) and "Time on His Hands" (September).^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]

Megan Bird of The Canberra Times described Hand It Down as "a philosophical blend of ballads and up-tempo rockers which deal with life and the values of old rural Australia and the new urban world."^[7] AllMusic's reviewer rated it at three-out-of-five stars.^[6]

It debuted at number 77 on the ARIA Albums Chart for the week commencing 6 August 1990 and peaked at number 50 in October 1991. At the 1991 ARIA Music Awards Hand It Down won the Best Country Album.^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Age of Grace"	3:35
2.	"Time on His Hands" (Blundell, Denise McCumstie, Garth Porter)	3:44
3.	"The Blue Heeler"	4:17
4.	"Water" (Blundell, Zack Turner)	4:32
5.	"Rock Me" (Heather Field, James Gillard)	3:18
6.	"Hand It Down"	3:29
7.	"There Walks a Man"	3:32
8.	"I'm Afraid" (Blundell, Billy Dean)	3:30
9.	"Meanwhile" (Blundell, Porter)	4:16
10.	"Across the Miles" (Blundell, Porter)	3:01
Total length:		37:14

All tracks are written by James Blundell,^[9] unless otherwise noted

Personnel

Credits:^[3]

Musicians

• James Blundell – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, backing vocals

• Chris Bailey – backing vocals
• James Gillard – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Mark Meyer – drums
• Larry Muhoberac – piano, piano accordion
• Garth Porter – keyboards, percussion, piano
• Mark Punch – guitars (acoustic, electric), backing vocals
• Ian Simpson – banjo

Artisans

• Ted Howard – audio engineer
• Merran Laginestra – assistant engineer
• Garth Porter – producer

Charts

Chart (1990–91)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10]	50

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Edition(s)	Label	Catalogue
Australia	July 1990	CD MC	Standard	EMI Records	794791

References

1. "James Blundell Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
2. "James Blundell". Country Music Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Hand It Down – James Blundell | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
4. Holmgren, Magnus. "Garth Porter". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 23 October 2003. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
5. "Blundell to Play Hotel Crown". Times. Vol. 79, no. 3, 970. South Australia. 4 October 1991. p. 6. Retrieved 5 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "James Blundell – Hand It Down". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
7. "Blundell's Gold Career". The Canberra Times. Good Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 361. 10 January 1991. p. 12. Retrieved 5 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Winners by Year 1991". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
9. "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Age of Grace'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
10. "Australiancharts.com – James Blundell – Hand It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2018.