Celebrated musician Missy Higgins has turned to a fertile source of inspiration for her latest musical project: her fellow Australian songwriters.
The chart-topping, award-winning Higgins has revealed that her new studio album will see her traversing 40 years of Australian music history as she covers 15 songs by a diverse roster of homegrown talent, from Paul Kelly and Slim Dusty, through to Divinyls, The Angels, and up to The Drones and Something For Kate. (View the full tracklisting and artwork below.)
Entitled OZ, the record is described as “Australian stories for the ears, the eyes, the head and the heart,” but also for the bookish, as Higgins’ forth and latest album will be accompanied by a book which uses the various Aussie “re-imaginings” as “the starting point for a sprawling series of essays; reflecting on life, love and how not to wear high heels.”
Higgins explains she wanted to “try something different” when approaching her fourth studio album. “I couldn’t decide between making a covers album or writing a book so I decided to do both at once. Musically it’s intended to be a real mixed bag of lollies,” she says.
“Obviously part of the reason I called the whole project OZ is that it’s all about Australian songs. Plus, for the first time, I recorded the whole thing in Australia. However the title has a second meaning. I like the idea of songwriters being like the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz. Some people think we’re special people who have special powers but really we’re just scared little people hiding in a backroom somewhere, working like crazy to make sure we don’t get found out.”
The OZ recordings were co-produced by Higgins alongside American orchestrator Jherek Bischoff, best known for his work with Kronos Quartet, David Byrne, and Amanda Palmer – who makes a guest appearance on the LP (alongside cameos from Dan Sultan and Kate Miller-Heidke).
The collection was also notably mixed by the Grammy-scooping Jay Newland, who also worked on Missy Higgins’ breakthrough debut album, 2004’s The Sound Of White, the first of three #1 Australian albums for Higgins.
With 2007’s On A Clear Night and 2012’s The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle also hitting the top of the charts, Higgins currently matches a record held by Kylie Minogue, Delta Goodrem, and Olivia Newton-John for the most #1 ARIA albums by an Australian artist. Should OZ make it four #1 albums, Higgins will join the exclusive club currently occupied by Country heiress Kasey Chambers.
OZ will be available as a complete clothbound CD and book package, as well as in separate physical and digital formats on 19th September.
OZ tracklisting:
1. ‘You Only Hide’ (Something For Kate)
2. ‘Old Fitzroy’ (Dan Sultan)
3. ‘NYE’ (Perry Keyes)
4. ‘Shark Fin Blues’ (The Drones)
5. ‘Was There Anything I Could Do’ (The Go-Betweens)
6. ‘Back To The Wall’ (Divinyls)
7. ‘Don’t Believe Anymore’ (Icehouse)
8. ‘The Biggest Disappointment’ feat. Dan Sultan (Slim Dusty)
9. ‘Everybody Wants To Touch Me’ (Paul Kelly)
10. ‘Curse On You’ (The Blackeyed Susans)
11. ‘No Secrets’ (The Angels)
12. ‘Before Too Long’ feat. Amanda Palmer (Paul Kelly)
13. ‘Blackfella/Whitefella’ feat. Crystal Itjuwalyi Butcher (Warumpi Band)
14. ‘Calm And Crystal Clear’ (Neil Murray)
15. ‘The Way You Are Tonight’ (Don Walker)
