Leon Russell - On a Distant Shore

Leon Russell - On a Distant Shore - 2017

The final album by Leon Russell, the great singer-songwriter who passed away in November 2016, will be released by Palmetto Records on 22 September 2019. On A Distant Shore consists of songs which he wrote and recorded over the final year of his life.

The album includes new, updated versions of several of Russell’s trademark compositions, such as ‘This Masquerade,’ ‘A Song For You’ and ‘Hummingbird.’ A press release adds that it will also feature “a collection of new songs influenced by the timeless sounds of the Great American Songbook.”

Leon’s widow Jan Bridges says that the artist himself was delighted with the album. “He said it was his favorite album he ever made,” she enthuses. “He just loved it. He felt like everything clicked into place.”

Co-producer and longtime friend and collaborator Mark Stevens notes: “He was so prolific. He was on a roll. There were days when he’d come into the studio and play something he’d written the night before, and he’d have the whole thing mapped out in his head already.”

“To me, he always remained a mystery to people outside his circle, but this album gave him a chance to show his emotions,” adds Bridges. “In the song ‘Just Leaves and Grass,’ you can hear him let out a real cry. That’s not faked. He was emotional, and he’d get that way at his show, too. On a Distant Shore  is a great portrait of him. An accurate portrait.”

01. On a Distant Shore
02. Love This Way
03. Here Without You
04. This Masquerade
05. Black and Blue
06. Just Leaves and Grass
07. On the Waterfront
08. Easy to Love
09. Hummingbird
10. The One I Love Is Wrong
11. Where Do We Go from Here
12. A Song for You


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