The Merri Soul Sessions – 2014

Smells Like Rain (feat. Linda Bull)
What You Want (feat. Vika Bull)
Keep On Coming Back For More (feat. 
Clairy Browne)
Sweet Guy (feat. Vika Bull)
Righteous Woman
Don’t Let a Good Thing Go (feat. Dan Sultan)
Where Were You When I Needed You (feat. Clairy Browne)
Thank You
I Don’t Know What I’d Do (feat. Kira Puru)
Down On the Jetty (feat. Vika Bull & Linda Bull)
Hasn’t It Rained (feat. Vika Bull & Linda Bull)

Paul Kelly presents The Merri Soul Sessions featuring Clairy Browne, Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, Vika and Linda Bull

The Merri Soul Sessions is the twentieth studio album by Paul Kelly, which was issued on 12 December 2014 on his own label, Gawdaggie Records. Kelly had developed the concept after hearing Vika Bull sing lead vocals on her live version of his song, “Sweet Guy” – originally released as a single in June 1989 – during touring as a backing singer in his group. For the album Kelly provided lead vocals on two tracks and invited various vocalists to sing lead on the other nine of eleven tracks. Aside from Kelly or Vika Bull, individual tracks featured lead vocals by Linda Bull (her sister), Clairy Browne, Kira Puru or Dan Sultan.

The album was recorded live-in-the-studio in Northcote, with Kelly co-producing with Steve Schram (Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes), alongside the Merri Creek, which gave the album its name. Kelly explained his concept to Australian Musician‘s junocreative, “I started to imagine a soul revue type record performed live in the studio with a variety of singers and the one band.”

RELEASE DATE: 1 December 2014
PRODUCER: Paul Kelly and Steven Schram

A NOTE FROM PAUL – JULY 2014

Some of you may remember posts from me in February and March this year rerecording sessions with Clairy Browne, Vika Bull, Linda Bull, Dan Sultan, Kira Puru and myself. We’ve mixed the songs up, pressed them to acetate – I still don’t know how this stuff works – and made a stack of seven inch singles just like my older sisters used to buy and bring home in the 60s. You can get ‘em if you want or download them without worrying about turntables, amps, styluses (or should that be styli?) and all that jazz. But if you buy the records don’t forget to change the speed to 45!

The Merri Soul Sessions – 2014