Out now on Foghorn Records. Distributed by Black Market Music.
Australian musician John Kennedy was once described by a young enthusiastic journalist as a humble genius. Kennedy is neither a genius nor particularly humble. He is the writer of many fine songs using a collection of pop, country, folk and rock influences to create the hydrid style he calls Urban and Western.
Is This Not Paris? is Kennedy’s 11th album and his first since the release of Someone’s Dad in 2007. This new album continues Kennedy’s established musical themes of travel and heartache. But it is also a departure in many ways. Subtitled Emotion Picture Soundtracks, Is This Not Paris? is a concept album of sorts where Kennedy and his band present songs that were film soundtracks, should have been soundtracks or could still be soundtrack music.
Along with new original songs, this album contains covers of well known film soundtracks mashed with more obscure songs and covers of songs with a strong filmic sense that Kennedy has picked up on his travels around the globe. Kennedy has even covered two of his own hits: Big Country and The Texan Thing, reinterpreting them as soundtrack music. There are also new original spaghetti western and surf instrumentals.
The album was recorded in his adopted hometown of Sydney with his band John Kennedy’s ’68 Comeback Special at Zen Studios, St Peters – only a stone’s throw away from Kennedy’s beloved King Street. Multi-instrumentalist, Jeff Pope’s guitar, dobro, pedal steel and lap steel playing give the songs a stronger roots flavour than the band’s last release.
The title song, Is This Not Paris? features a duet with Kennedy and Megan Heyward that transports Johnny Cash and June Carter’s Jackson to Newtown, Sydney via London and Paris. Wherever the bus routes meet, John Kennedy is there. This new album finds Kennedy bringing it all back home. In the title song he compares Newtown with the City of Light and concludes that, “the Newtown skyline has it’s own romance”. As he sang in his song King Street back in ’85, “All roads lead to Newtown”.
Track listing
1 Robert Mitchum / Ramblin’ Man
2 Lonely Eye
3 Emily
4 Tiki Woronora
5 Motel Satellite
6 Is This Not Paris?
7 You Only Live Twice / Midnight Cowboy
8 Everybody’s Talkin’ / I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City
9 Cool Hand
10 Rockin’ Bed
11 Sleep Walk / This Boy
12 Dick Dale
13 The Texan Thing
14 Big Country Waltz
New CD
Is This Not Paris?
John Kennedy’s ‘68 Comeback Special
Out now on Foghorn Records. Distributed by Black Market Music.
Australian musician John Kennedy was once described by a young enthusiastic journalist as a humble genius. Kennedy is neither a genius nor particularly humble. He is the writer of many fine songs using a collection of pop, country, folk and rock influences to create the hydrid style he calls Urban and Western.
Is This Not Paris? is Kennedy’s 11th album and his first since the release of Someone’s Dad in 2007. This new album continues Kennedy’s established musical themes of travel and heartache. But it is also a departure in many ways. Subtitled Emotion Picture Soundtracks, Is This Not Paris? is a concept album of sorts where Kennedy and his band present songs that were film soundtracks, should have been soundtracks or could still be soundtrack music.
Along with new original songs, this album contains covers of well known film soundtracks mashed with more obscure songs and covers of songs with a strong filmic sense that Kennedy has picked up on his travels around the globe. Kennedy has even covered two of his own hits: Big Country and The Texan Thing, reinterpreting them as soundtrack music. There are also new original spaghetti western and surf instrumentals.
The album was recorded in his adopted hometown of Sydney with his band John Kennedy’s ’68 Comeback Special at Zen Studios, St Peters – only a stone’s throw away from Kennedy’s beloved King Street. Multi-instrumentalist, Jeff Pope’s guitar, dobro, pedal steel and lap steel playing give the songs a stronger roots flavour than the band’s last release.
The title song, Is This Not Paris? features a duet with Kennedy and Megan Heyward that transports Johnny Cash and June Carter’s Jackson to Newtown, Sydney via London and Paris. Wherever the bus routes meet, John Kennedy is there. This new album finds Kennedy bringing it all back home. In the title song he compares Newtown with the City of Light and concludes that, “the Newtown skyline has it’s own romance”. As he sang in his song King Street back in ’85, “All roads lead to Newtown”.
Track listing
1 Robert Mitchum / Ramblin’ Man
2 Lonely Eye
3 Emily
4 Tiki Woronora
5 Motel Satellite
6 Is This Not Paris?
7 You Only Live Twice / Midnight Cowboy
8 Everybody’s Talkin’ / I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City
9 Cool Hand
10 Rockin’ Bed
11 Sleep Walk / This Boy
12 Dick Dale
13 The Texan Thing
14 Big Country Waltz