RUSSELL MORRIS – Sharkmouth

Shane | 20 February 2013 | Reply

Label: EMI
Released: October 2012
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

Russell Morris has travelled a long road since he scored his era-defining hit with the psychedelic rock single The Real Thing in 1969. Sharkmouth sees Morris getting down n’ dirty blues style, and the results are arguably his best album yet.

Opener Black Dog Blues, a co-write with former Masters Apprentices lead singer Jim Keays, with whom Morris has toured the country for some years and recorded with under the Cotton, Keays & Morris banner, sees Morris redefining his sound with aplomb.

Morris gets authentic on this album – authentic in a US blues sense – there’s little attempt to redefine the sound, or infuse it with an Aussie element, and this works in his favour – why reinvent the wheel when you have the chops to pay homage to the real thing? (see what I did there..?)

Walk My Blues sees Morris visiting the music of the Mississippi Delta, Money Don’t Grow On Trees is a gritty shuffle straight from Tennessee, and The Drifter, a duet with Aussie soul rock queen Renee Geyer, sees her raw and bluesy vocal perfectly counterpointing Morris’s husky growl. Big Red sees Morris singing a paen to a legendary racehorse, and Mr Eternity is an epic harmonica punctuated blues to close out a rather grand album.

Sharkmouth is a bloody great album, featuring one of this country’s perennial talents doing what he does best – writing great songs, playing great music. One of these days Morris and his peers won’t be around any more and the world will miss him. Get on board his work now, while you still can.

https://www.facebook.com/realthingrussellmorris

http://www.russellmorris.com.au