Morrissey’s upcoming covers album is shaping up to be an interesting one, with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong named as one of its special guests.
Back in December, Morrissey formally announced that he was gearing up to release a brand new record in 2019.
Produced by Grammy Award-winner Joe Chiccarelli and titled California Son, it’s set to be a covers album, with news of its impending release first being leaked back in October.
“Joe brought in a lot of new musicians and we experimented with a lot of sounds,” Morrissey was quoted as saying in a press release from October. “Everything went fantastically well and we are proud.”
Consisting of twelve tracks, the record will see the famed vocalist take on tunes by the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Roy Orbison, Carly Simon, and much more.
Interestingly, the record also contains a cover of Buffy Sainte Marie’s ‘Suffer The Little Children’, whose title was adopted for a track on The Smiths’ debut album in 1984.
Now, as Pitchfork reports, more details have been announced, including the record’s release date, its list of special guests, and first single.
Check out Morrissey’s cover of ‘It’s Over (feat. LP)’:
Dropping on May 24th, California Son is set to feature vocal contributions from the likes of a number of acclaimed musicians, including Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste, Broken Social Scene’s Ariel Engle, Petra Haden, Young the Giant’s Sameer Gadhia, the Regrette’s Lydia Night, and LP.
Interestingly though, the record also features punk icon Billie Joe Armstrong, whose band Green Day played their first performance in late 1987, just mere months after Morrissey parted ways with The Smiths.
Performing on a cover of The Fifth Dimension’s ‘Wedding Bell Blues’ alongside Lydia Night, it’s too early to say what this song is set to sound like. However, if it it’s anything like Armstrong’s Foreverly – an Everly Brothers cover album recorded with Norah Jones – we reckon this could be an intriguing success.
Morrissey has also dropped the album’s first single, ‘It’s Over’, a Roy Orbison cover featuring LP. Check that one out above.
California Son is set to be released on May 24th via Etienne. Check out the tracklist below.
Check out Billie Joe Armstrong & Norah Jones covering ‘Long Time Gone’:
Morrissey’s California Son tracklist:
1. Morning Starship (Jobriath cover) (feat. Ed Droste)
2. Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow (Joni Mitchell cover) (feat. Ariel Engle)
3. Only a Pawn in Their Game (Bob Dylan cover) (feat. Petra Haden)
4. Suffer the Little Children (Buffy Sainte-Marie cover)
5. Days of Decisions (Phil Ochs cover) (feat. Sameer Gadhia)
6. It’s Over (Roy Orbison cover) (feat. LP)
7. Wedding Bell Blues (The Fifth Dimension cover) (feat. Billie Joe Armstrong and Lydia Night)
8 Loneliness Remembers What Happiness Forgets (Dionne Warwick cover)
9. Lady Willpower (Gary Puckett cover)
10. When You Close Your Eyes (Carly Simon cover) (feat. Petra Haden)
11. Lenny’s Tune (Tim Hardin cover)
12. Some Say I Got Devil (Melanie cover)
