Thirteen years after the release of the original tribute album to the beloved Bundjalung & Lama Lama singer/songwriter, Kev Carmody, EMI has today released an update to the catalogue of covers that honour the songs of protest and poetry that have become classics in not only the Indigenous community but the wider Australian musical landscape.
The original album highlights tracks from Carmody's back catalogue, performed by a wide range of artists including Bernard Fanning, Missy Higgins, Troy Cassar-Daley and Archie Roach, and was produced by Paul Kelly, Carmody's collaborator on the iconic land rights song, From Little Things Big Things Grow.
‘Kev Carmody is the keeper of story, the teller of truth; may his words be forever carried on our voices and may his spirit dwell always in our souls.’ - Stan Grant
In the 2020 update, all of the original 32 songs remain with the addition of six new tracks, featuring new recordings from artists such as Courtney Barnett, Kasey Chambers & Jimmy Barnes, Mo’Ju & Birdz (produced by Trials), Kate Miller-Heidke, Alice Skye, Archie Roach and Electric Fields.
EMI has today released the 2020 edition of the seminal Kev Carmody tribute album Cannot Buy My Soul Source: Supplied
Electric Fields producer, Michael Ross, said in a media statement that the song they covered, From Little Things Big Things Grow, which tracks the land rights battle fronted by Gurindji man Vincent Lingiari, remains just as profound in 2020.
The electro/soul duo bring their own touch to the recording with the addition of original vocal recordings of Lingiari's voice.
“This song is as relevant now as it was when it was first written, and Zaachariaha and I were able to find a new angle to express the story through Kev and Paul’s song writing,” Ross said.
Kate Miller-Heidke delivers a version of Blood Red Rose, a story about the passage of time.
"It’s great to hear the younger ones take it into their own genre, add their own words to them. That’s part of the oral tradition, pass it on,” Carmody said of the new release in a statement.
Cannot Buy My Soul is out now through EMI Recorded Music Australia in digital, CD and streaming formats which can be downloaded here
It will also be available on vinyl for the first time in a release containing the cover versions.
