Morrissey, of The Smiths, 1984. Photo by Harry Prosser/Mirrorpix/Getty Images.
Morrissey has announced a new album of covers titled California Son, set for release on May 24. The tracklisting includes covers of artists such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Laura Nyro, Dionne Warwick and many more, as well as having guests vocals by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong.
The first a single released is an emotionally eloquent rendition of Roy Orbison’s 1964 classic, “It’s Over.”
Check it out below:
Morrissey honours the mood, arrangement and orchestral grandeur of the original while injecting his own distinct majesty to the vocal delivery. Roy Orbison’s songs are notoriously ambitious for their effortless, operatic leaps in octaves, but Morrisey’s quivering baritone and signature, impassioned vulnerability places him in a rare category of artists qualified to tackle a quintessential Orbison classic.
Have a listen to the Roy Orbison original below:
Read more: "I'm Still Taboo" - An Interview With Morrissey
Morrissey has detailed his new album California Son – a 12-track covers record - will be due out May 24 via Etienne (Morrissey’s BMG imprint). Along with the Oribson cover, the album will feature renditions of well-loved classics like Joni Mitchell's “Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow”, Bob Dylan's “Only a Pawn in Their Game”, Dionne Warwick's “Loneliness Remembers What Happens Forgets” and Carly Simon's “When You Close Your Eyes”.
California Son Full Track List:
1. “Morning Starship” (Jobriath cover) [feat. Ed Droste]
2. “Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow” (Joni Mitchell cover) [feat. Ariel Engle]
3. “Only a Pawn in Their Game” (Bob Dylan cover) [feat. Petra Haden]
4. “Suffer the Little Children” (Buffy Sainte-Marie cover)
5. “Days of Decisions” (Phil Ochs cover) [feat. Sameer Gadhia]
6. “It’s Over” (Roy Orbison cover) [feat. LP]
7. “Wedding Bell Blues” (The Fifth Dimension cover) [feat. Billie Joe Armstrong and Lydia Night]
8. “Loneliness Remembers What Happiness Forgets” (Dionne Warwick cover)
9. “Lady Willpower” (Gary Puckett cover)
10. “When You Close Your Eyes” (Carly Simon cover) [feat. Petra Haden]
11. “Lenny’s Tune” (Tim Hardin cover)
12. “Some Say I Got Devil” (Melanie cover)
Listen to Morrissey on Spotify:
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