Imaginate by Taxi Ride

Imaginate, the October 1999 debut from Melbourne's Taxiride, came with a better origin story than most. Tim Watson, Tim Wild, Jason Singh and Dan Hall had all done time in local cover bands before they cut an EP, a friend who drove a taxi helped spread it around, and the band named itself after the way people first heard the songs: from the back seat. A Warner executive caught on, and the album was recorded at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles and Secret Sound Studios in Melbourne with Jack Joseph Puig producing.

The sound is sunny pub-rock pop with harmonies stacked high enough to tip a hat to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, all buffed to a radio-ready shine. Tim Wild's "Get Set" and the follow-up "Everywhere You Go" both went top 15 at home, "Get Set" won the band the ARIA for Breakthrough Artist (Single), and the album itself went to number one and double platinum. Garage Mahal came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.