With a staggering 50 year career and counting, Russell Morris returns with his brand new album, Black And Blue Heart.
Produced by the very highly regarded Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Powderfinger) alongside co-producer Bernard Fanning, Russell continues to find unique ways to challenge himself creatively.
When Russell sent his Black And Blue Heart demos to Nick and Bernard, the producers were blown away immediately calling him to say they could not stop listening to the songs.
DiDia and Fanning speed-dialled their studio ‘dream team’; guitarist Dan Kelly, drummer Declan Kelly and, from Fanning's touring band, bassist Matt Englebrecht and former Wolfmother keyboard player Ian Peres. Perched between the tropical bush and panoramic ocean views of La Cueva Studios near Byron Bay, Black And Blue Heart found its rhythm fast.
“I met Bernard [Fanning] a few years ago,” Russell Morris remembers. The Powderfinger frontman came backstage at one of the Australian rock legend's countless gigs to pay his respects with a mutual friend. “But it wasn't ‘til I moved up to Queensland last year that we sat down and started talking.”
The warmer environs had already exerted a strange, organic influence on the songs Russell was writing in the wake of the platinum-selling, ARIA-winning blues-rock trilogy — Sharkmouth, Van Diemen's Land, and Red Dirt Red Heart — that so spectacularly relaunched his career from 2012 onwards.
“As soon as we heard the demos, the quality and grace of the songs was obvious immediately," Fanning says of the album overall. "It sounded to me like the kind of music only someone with Russell's backstory could make. He's always been renowned for his incredible voice but it's really come into its own now. His tone just communicates this unique life experience, so we just had to get that down."
Born and bred in the USA, Nick DiDia only learnt of Russell’s top-shelf pedigree during the recording process “I was hearing of this amazing Australian music history for the first time as we were making the record,” he says.
It all started of course over 50 years ago when Russell Morris became the first Australian artist to score consecutive number one singles with his first two releases - ‘The Real Thing’, which is one of the classic psychedelic singles of all time, and ‘Part Three Into Paper Walls’. Both reached #1 on the Australian chart, and what followed has become one of the most remarkable stories in contemporary Australian music.
Fast forward to October 2012, when Russell Morris began a trilogy of albums, each with a theme of Australian stories. The first, Sharkmouth, is a collection of tracks about the Australia of the 1920s and 1930s. The album went on to reach #6 on the ARIA Chart, and is certified plati
um.
Then came Van Diemen’s Land in 2014 which focused on significant events rather than the stories of individuals. From the prison ships that began Australia as a penal settlement, to the union strikes, the First and Second World Wars, Van Diemen’s Land covers a vast array of Australian history.
And in 2015 Russell released Red Dirt – Red Heart, with amazing musical stories with unique Australian themes which won the coveted Best Blues And Roots Album at the 2016 ARIA Awards.
And through it all, Russell remains one of the hardest working musicians in the country. For some Artists a new album can almost write itself after almost six decades on the road but it takes a rare combination of talent and circumstances to realise that vision as vividly and succinctly as Russell Morris does on Black And Blue Heart.
Black And Blue Heart Album
Russell Morris
Out 5 April 2019 through Bloodlines
Pre-order available here
Black And Blue Heart tracklist: 1. Ain't No Angel 2. Is There Anybody Out There? 3. Sitting Pretty 4. Black And Blue Heart 5. See You Go 6. Full Moon 7. Not My Lucky Day 8. Fat Man And The Priest 9. Asleep At The Wheel 10. Witness Protection 11. Forever Remembered
RUSSELL MORRIS
AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
Monday 11 March
Huon Festival | Franklin, TAS
Tickets available at the gate
Thursday 14 March
Spiegeltent at Adelaide Fringe Festival | Adelaide, SA
gardenofunearthlydelights.com.au
Friday 12 April
Darwin Casino | Darwin, NT
moshtix.com.au
Saturday 13 April
Edgehill Hotel | Cairns, QLD
oztix.com.au
Thursday 18 April
Byron Bay Bluesfest | Byron Bay, NSW
bluesfest.com.au
Wednesday 24 April (ANZAC Day Eve)
with very special guest Ash Grunwald
The Espy | St Kilda, VIC
moshtix.com.au
(on sale Wednesday 6 March at 9am)
Friday 26 April
The Gov | Adelaide, SA
oztix.com.au
Friday 3 May
Freo Social | Fremantle, WA
moshtix.com.au
Friday 10 May
Paddington RSL | Paddington, NSW
http://www.paddorsl.com.au/
Saturday 11 May
The Triffid | Brisbane, QLD
With very special guest Ash Grunwald
oztix.com.au
(on sale Wednesday 6 March at 9am)
Sunday 12 May
Toronto Hotel | Toronto, NSW
Ph: 02 4959 1033
Thursday 16 May
APIA Good Times Tour
Bunbury Entertainment Centre | Bunbury, WA
bunburyentertainment.com
Friday 17 May
APIA Good Times Tour
Perth Concert Hall | Perth, WA
perthconcerthall.com.au
Saturday 18 May
APIA Good Times Tour
Thebarton Theatre | Adelaide, SA
ticketmaster.com.au
Friday 24 May
APIA Good Times Tour
Geelong Performing Arts Centre | Geelong, VIC
gpac.org.au
Saturday 25 May
APIA Good Times Tour
Palais Theatre | Melbourne, VIC
ticketmaster.com.au
Sunday 26 May
APIA Good Times Tour
Ulumbarra Theatre | Bendigo, VIC
gotix.com.au
Thursday 30 May
APIA Good Times Tour
Empire Theatre | Toowoomba, QLD
empiretheatre.com.au
Friday 31 May
APIA Good Times Tour
QPAC Concert Hall | Brisbane, QLD
qpac.com.au
Sunday 1 June
APIA Good Times Tour
Twin Towns| Tweed Heads, NSW
Ph: 1800 014 014
Sunday 2 June
APIA Good Times Tour
Twin Towns | Tweed Heads, NSW
Ph: 1800 014 014
Thursday 13 June
APIA Good Times Tour
Civic Theatre | Newcastle, NSW
ticketek.com.au
Friday 14 June
APIA Good Times Tour
Enmore Theatre | Sydney, NSW
ticketek.com.au
Saturday 15 June
APIA Good Times Tour
Anita’s Theatre | Thirroul, NSW
ticketmaster.com.au
Sunday 16 June
APIA Good Times Tour
Theatre Centre | Canberra, ACT
canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Friday 7 June
APIA Good Times Tour
Wrest Point Entertainment Centre | Hobart, TAS
ticketmaster.com.au
Saturday 8 June APIA Good Times Tour Princess Theatre | Launceston, TAS mpv.tickets.com