Bernard Fanning: Шай мен Қабақтай Көңіл (Bernard Fanning: Shai men Qabaqtay Kөńil)

Tea & Sympathy is the debut solo album by Australian musician Bernard Fanning. It was released on 31 October 2005, by Dew Process records while Powderfinger—Fanning's main band—were on hiatus. Contrary to Powderfinger's usual alternative style, the album blends alternative and country folk music. Most of the record was written after the cancer related death of his brother in 2002. His brother's death coincided with the end of Fanning's twelve year relationship with his partner, and both events were instrumental in his move away from his typically political and socially lyrical subject matter. Fanning recorded four songs at his home studio in Brisbane and the rest at Real World Studios near Bath, England. Fanning worked with producer Tchad Blake in both sessions. To support the album's release Fanning toured Australia twice and performed across North America and the UK. "Tea & Sympathy" topped the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums chart and won three awards at the 2006 ARIA Awards, as well as an APRA Award. At the J Award of 2005, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.

After the 2004 release of Fingerprints: The Best of Powderfinger, 1994–2000, Powderfinger took a hiatus, and several members played in the side projects Drag and The Predators. Fanning decided to work independently and acted on direction he felt unable to explore as a member of Powderfinger. Some of his inspiration was derived from a will to see if he was capable of recording a solo album, considering what he viewed as his limited guitar playing abilities; compared to bandmates Darren Middleton and Ian Haug. Fanning wanted to create a politically oriented album with which he could attack then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, following Howard's 2004 election victory over Mark Latham. However, the death of Fanning's brother from cancer in 2002, Fanning explained that after going through "a pretty weird time in the past twelve months", he did not intend to talk about his experiences, but to express them through music. While writing Fanning listened to music of guitarists Lightning Hopkins, Tom Petty, and singer songwriter Gillian Welch, who all influenced his work. "I'd love to play guitar like that, but I simply don't have the skill to do it", said Fanning of Hopkins' work. The album's title comes from a saying which Fanning explained to The Age as "you offer someone tea and sympathy, you sit down with them, have a cup of tea and you just talk." He noted that there is a credit on an album by The Rolling Stones for the provision of "tea and sympathy". The album cover photography and album inlay photography is by Ami Barwell On 11 August, Fanning announced that tours across the United States and Canada would follow the album's 8 August North American release. An 11 September UK release was also announced with Dew Process revealing that numerous London shows had already been sold out. Performances in London attracted much expatriate support; Fanning joked, "I think I have about 14 English fans".

Tea & Sympathy was awarded "Best Cover Art" and "Album of the Year" at the 2006 ARIA Music Awards; it was also nominated for "Best Blues & Roots Album" and "Highest Selling Album". "Wish You Well" won "Best Video", while "Watch Over Me" was nominated for "Single of the Year". "Wish You Well" topped the Triple J Hottest 100, 2005, Fanning won "Best Male Artist" for his work on the album, and as part of his acceptance speech challenged fellow Australian musicians to write protest songs—something they had been criticised for a lack of by ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Rob Hirst. Tea & Sympathy was nominated for the inaugural J Award in 2005, and Fanning won "Songwriter of the Year" at the 2006 APRA Awards. MTV Australia named Tea & Sympathy "Album of the Year" at its 2006 Video Music Awards. Tea & Sympathys critical reception was moderate. It was generally seen as being less entertaining than Fanning's Powderfinger work—The Age said Powderfinger were a "rock band ingrained in the national psyche" like Cold Chisel, but that Tea & Sympathy showed little resemblance to Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes's groundbreaking debut album, Bodyswerve. Barnaby Smith of musicOMH said the album was not "a work to suggest [Fanning's] solo career might better Powderfinger". The BBC's Jenna Bachelor wrote that the album is "pleasant enough without pulling up any trees". Despite Fanning's claims he could not write a country song, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and BBC drew comparisons to Neil Young and supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The ABC said Tea & Sympathy resembled the band's work, "though without the hippy, drippy lyrics",

Fanning's vocals drew praise; Allmusic's Andy Whitman said he was a "fine, soulful singer" whose "vocal presence alone merits attention".