''Cannot Buy My Soul: The Songs of Kev Carmody'', or more simply ''Cannot Buy My Soul'', is a 2007 double-CD compilation

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

featuring various artists performing tracks by Australian singer-songwriter

Kev Carmody Kevin Daniel Carmody (born 1946), better known by his stage name Kev Carmody, is an Aboriginal Australian singer-songwriter and musician, a Murri man from northern Queensland. He is best known for the song " From Little Things Big Things Grow" ...

. They were brought together by rock musician, Paul Kelly, who also performs on a track. Artists include Dan Kelly (Paul's nephew), the

John Butler Trio The John Butler Trio were an Australian Folk music, roots-Rock music, rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler (musician), John Butler, an Australasian Performing Right Association, APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in ...

the Waifs The Waifs (originally styled as The WAiFS) are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by sisters Vikki Thorn (harmonica, guitar, vocals) and Donna Simpson (musician), Donna Simpson (guitar, vocals) as well as Josh Cunningham (guitar, vocal ...

and

Clare Bowditch Clare Bowditch (born 1975) is an Australian musician, author, and occasional actress. At the 2020 ABIA (Australian Book Industry Awards) she won ‘Best New Australian Author’ for her best-selling 2019 memoir ''Your Own Kind of Girl''. At ...

. The first disc is sub-titled, ''The Songs of Kev Carmody'' while the second disc, sub-titled, ''Originals'', is a compilation of Carmody's original versions of the same tracks presented in the same order. It entered the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) albums chart at No. 31 and stayed in the top 50 for three weeks. It won Album of the Year at Deadly Awards 2007. On 9 July 2020, EMI Music Australia announced a re-release of Cannot Buy My Soul with six new recordings, to be released on August 21. The 2020 edition will feature new recordings of Kev Carmody songs from

Courtney Barnett Courtney Melba Barnett (born 3 November 1987) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for her deadpan singing style and witty, rambling lyrics, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP ''I've Got a Friend Calle ...

Kasey Chambers Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country music, Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Mount Gambier to musicians Diane and Bill Chambers (musician), Bill Chambers. Her older ...

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...

, Mo’Ju & Birdz (produced by

Trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, wh ...

Kate Miller-Heidke Kate Melina Miller-Heidke ( ; born 16 November 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in t ...

Alice Skye Alice Skye (born Alice Anderson) is an Australian singer and songwriter. She is a British and Wergaia/ Wemba Wemba woman from Horsham. Career In 2017, Skye was the Triple J Unearthed National Indigenous Winner. She released her debut album, ' ...

and

Electric Fields Electric Fields is an Australian electronic music duo made up of vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player and producer Michael Ross. Electric Fields combine modern electric-soul music with Aboriginal culture and sing in Pitjantjatj ...

. This will be the first time the album will be available on vinyl.

Release and reception

Paul Kelly met

in the 1980s. They co-wrote a track, " From Little Things Big Things Grow", which was first recorded in 1991 by Kelly and his group, Carmody and Kelly released a version as a single in 1993. Kelly decided to bring together fellow Australian artists to record a

of Carmody's songs, with the intention of bringing Carmody's music to a wider audience. The album, named after Carmody's song, "Cannot Buy My Soul", was released on 17 February 2007 on

EMI Music Australia EMI Recorded Music Australia Pty Ltd (called EMI Music Australia until May 2013) is an Australian imprint of Universal Music Australia, formerly a subsidiary label of EMI Recordings Ltd and, between 1979 and 1996, that of Thorn EMI. It is Austr ...

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. Writing for ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

'', Noel Mengel praised the album and said that it was "more than just another tribute album ..a powerful album in its own right as well as an introduction to a diverse body of work." He noted the diversity of styles of the cover versions and called Paul Kelly,

Augie March Augie March are an Australian Pop music, pop and indie rock band formed in 1996 in Shepparton, Victoria. Since 2001 the group consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Glenn Richards, lead guitarist Adam Donovan, bass guitarist Edmondo Ammen ...

and

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison "Missy" Higgins (born 19 August 1983) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her most popular singles include "Scar", " Steer", and " Where I Stood". Her Australian number-one albums are '' The Sound of White'' (2004 ...

' version of "Droving Woman", "stunning". Patrick Donovan from ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' said that it contained a well-chosen selection of tracks. He felt

's version of "Blood Red Rose", was "stunning" and said that "This Land Is Mine", sung by Scott Wilson and

Dan Sultan Daniel Leo Sultan is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won Best Male Artist and Best Blues & Roots Album for his second album, '' Get Out While You Can'' (N ...

, was "evocative". In October 2010 the tribute album was listed in the top 40 in the book, ''

100 Best Australian Albums ''The 100 Best Australian Albums'' (a.k.a. ''One Hundred Best Australian Albums'') is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was ...

''.

Track listing

2007 release

2020 Edition

*Note: The 2020 digital edition lists the 22 cover versions first, with the 2020 tracks listed before the 2007 tracks. These are followed by the 20 Kev Carmody songs, again, with the 2020 tracks listed before the 2007 tracks. *Note: The 2xLP edition features 19 cover versions only. It excludes the tracks "From Little Things Big Things Grow" by The Waifs, "Blood Red Rose" by Claire Bowdich and "Images of London" by Steve Kilbey.

Charts

Release history

References

{{Reflist 2007 compilation albums Compilation albums by Australian artists Kev Carmody tribute albums