Goanna Release 40th Anniversary Version Of 'Solid Rock'

40 years after releasing Solid Rock and their debut album, Spirit Of Place, Goanna have touched two whole new generations with their music. So, it's fitting that they release a new version of that iconic song entitled Solid Rock, Sacred Ground, featuring Emma Donovan's soulful vocal contributions and didjeridu playing from William Barton. 

Solid Rock, Sacred Ground also entails a brilliant string arrangement by Ruth Roshan, performed by members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. 

“It’s been great to bookend the 40-year Goanna story with this exciting version of Solid Rock, Sacred Ground,” Goanna frontman Shane Howard said.

Howard added, "We’ve come a long way as a nation in the past 40 years, but there is more to be done to achieve meaningful justice for First Nations Peoples.

"Life is still too hard for most Aboriginal peoples in this country. The prosperity we enjoy in this nation comes on the back of unbearable sorrow and loss for our Aboriginal brothers and sisters. Back in 1982, Solid Rock called for meaningful change. Solid Rock, Sacred Ground 2022 calls for us to engage, build meaningful relationships and finish the promise of our generation to make those changes for a better future for the coming generations."

2022 has been a spectacular year for Goanna, with the legendary Geelong band completing a sold-out national tour. They also performed at the 2022 AFL Grand Final with a supergroup of First Nations artists, including Donovan and Barton, Christine Anu and Tasman Keith; played at Womadelaide, appeared alongside Midnight Oil and issued an exhilarating farewell performance at Harvest Rock festival in Adelaide.

Solid Rock, a protest song that profoundly resonates with the Australian public to this day, is one of the ten songs that has helped define Australian history and culture that's been added to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA). 

Howard was "deeply moved" when he received the news and said, "It means a lot to know that Solid Rock, which set out to shine a light on the historical injustice suffered by Aboriginal Australians, is now to be formally set in stone as a part of Australian history." 

Check out the new version of Solid Rock below and save it to your library here.