Album Notes

One of Australia’s most instantly recognized voices in Country Music – Steve Eales - has taken a conscious step in a completely new direction for his solo career - combining Australian stories and values with his unique blend of Aussie Country Rock along with his weather beaten honey vocal which showcases diversity and power.

Affectionately known in country music circles as Ealesy – he grew up surrounded by sheep stations in South Australia. Following a move to the high country of Victoria as a teenager, Ealesy developed a strong love of horse riding in the mountains. This - coupled with his love of music - saw a natural progression into country music. He was inspired by real life experiences and the beauty of the country which was outside his window.

As a founding member of the vocal trio, Sovereign, Ealesy became one of the best loved voices in Australian country music – resulting in winning quite a number of prestigious country music awards including Male Vocalist of the Year 2004 in the Victoria & National Country Music Awards. In early 2007, Sovereign decided it was time to spread their wings and go their separate ways. “It’s sad to see Sovereign end - but at the same time it’s exciting for all of us to take up new and exciting challenges”, says Ealesy.

For the next chapter of Ealesy’s musical career comes his debut solo album, “The Battler”, which lives and breathes a sense of real Australia. It highlights Steve Eales as one of the country’s most exciting songwriters - telling tales of good times, personal struggles and love gone wrong - while drawing on many of his own personal experiences the entire time. “These songs have a big piece of me in them and I’m so proud of how the album has turned out”, he says.

Steve Eales is unashamedly country and loves sharing his music with his loyal fans who can relate to the stories. Many often share the funny experiences or hard ships talked about in his songs and it’s this human element to his music that will ensure that Steve Eales will continue to attract new fans to shows and to seek out his records.

The Battler
“The Battler” is the debut solo album from one of Australia’s most loved and instantly recognizable voices in country music, Steve Eales.

Up until recently, Eales was the driving heartbeat of the multi award winning country trio, Sovereign. The band members have gone their separate ways and Eales is continuing his musical journey as a solo artist in his own right and he can certainly hold his own.

“The Battler” showcases Steve Eales at his very best – not only his weather beaten honey vocal but his attention to lyrics and music and the ability to tell Australian stories with the right amount of emotion or that cheeky demeanor unique to Ealesy.

“The Battler” opens with the infectious and catchy “Brave” about a bloke being a nervous wreck while trying to impress the woman of his dreams. “Through Camooweal”, “Move On”, “When A Cowboy Gets The Blues” and “After All” are great examples of Steve’s natural ability to paint a picture and create the soundtrack of the image going on in your mind. “Girls on Horses”, “Gone Dancing” and “Cowboy Crowd” show off the fun and cheeky side while the title track, “The Battler”, sheds the story of how tough singers in bands can do it at times. It’s reminiscent in style to Keith Urban’s recent hits but only Steve Eales could deliver the true feelings of “The Battler”.

Flawlessly produced by Eales along with Reggie Bowman (formally of the chart topping band, Southern Sons) and a little help from the legendary Ross Wilson – “The Battler” is a shift in sound not only for Steve Eales personally but also Australian Country Music in general – and will position him right at the top of the resurgence of Aussie Country Rock.