James Reyne is the latest Aussie music veteran to record a covers album. The former Australian Crawl frontman will release a collection of Elvis Presley songs next year. 
“I wondered whether we could have the AUDACITY, PRESUMPTION and DAMN GALL to try and record an album of my versions of some Elvis songs,” James said in a statement. “We made a LONG list. I researched and rediscovered a lot of the songs that I already knew and a lot that I didn’t. From our LONG list we chose fourteen songs. It was not easy. My main criterion was that the originals had that certain, innate insouciance that grabbed you immediately and, therefore, might translate more easily”.
“The main aim was to try and make the songs my own, always aware of the stupidity of trying to imitate Elvis himself and the folly of even pretending to contend the brilliance of the originals, but keeping a sense of humour intact and still remaining true to any crucial rhythms or cadence or musical elements that existed on those first, seminal, exhilarating recordings. It is probably testament to the artful simplicity of these originals that our recording process was painless and, dare I say, easy,” he said.
James Reyne TCB will hit music stores on April 9. To coincide with the release, James will play two intimate theatre shows. Look out for him at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on May 21, and Sydney’s State Theatre on May 22.
Image source: The Harbour Agency