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Oz (album)

Oz is the fourth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, and was released by Eleven on 19 September 2014. It is Higgins' first cover album, which is accompanied by a book of the same name that collects a series of essays by Higgins; using each song title as a jumping off point. The album's title refers to each of the artists covered being from Australia, as well as being a reference to the land of Oz as established in The Wizard of Oz.[1]

Oz
Studio album by
Missy Higgins
Released19 September 2014
Recorded2013–2014
GenreBaroque pop, adult contemporary
Length55:07
LabelEleven
Warner Bros./Reprise
ProducerMissy Higgins, Jherek Bischoff
Missy Higgins chronology
The Ol' Razzle Dazzle
(2012) 		Oz
(2014) 		Solastalgia
(2018)
Singles from Oz
  1. "Shark Fin Blues"
    Released: 7 July 2014

Upon release, Higgins said “I wanted to try something different this time around. I couldn’t decide between making a covers album or writing a book so I decided to do both at once. Musically it’s intended to be a real mixed bag of lollies.” adding “I like the idea of songwriters being like the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz. Some people think we're special people who have special powers but really we're just scared little people hiding in a backroom somewhere, working like crazy to make sure we don't get found out.”[2]

The album was originally conceived by Higgins and her manager, John Watson, as a circuit-breaker during the several years of depression and writer's block that preceded the singer's third album, The Ol' Razzle Dazzle in 2012. Higgins successfully persisted with writing her own material, but came back to the idea of interpreting some of her favourite Australian songs in 2013.[3]

The album's lead single is "Shark Fin Blues", originally released by The Drones on their 2005 album Wait Long by the River.... It was released via SoundCloud on 7 July 2014.[4] A music video for the song was released on 11 August 2014.[5]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian     [6]
The Music     [7]
Renowned for Sound     [8]

Everett True from The Guardian said: "Having Missy Higgins cover a series of widely disparate songs in her trademark style leads to an unintentional levelling off, a flattening of variety. Whether this is to the album's detriment will come down to how much you like Missy Higgins."[6]

Carley Hill from The Music said: "Higgins has made these much-loved tracks sing with a bold, new voice", adding, "Higgins' lush symphonic rendering of The Drones' guttural "Shark Fin Blues" is arguably the best on the album."[7]

Helena Ho from Renowned for Sound said: Higgins transformed "each track based on her own musical style, so that it is worthy to be critiqued as a new song altogether." adding "Oz is a tribute to some of the country’s greatest music artists."[8]

Ali Birnie from Beat Magazine said: "Higgins has made these songs shine with her unique and beautiful style."[9]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Original ArtistLength
1."You Only Hide"Stephanie Ashworth, Paul Dempsey, Clint HyndmanSomething for Kate2:44
2."Old Fitzroy"Dan SultanDan Sultan3:59
3."NYE"Perry KeyesPerry Keyes3:55
4."Shark Fin Blues"Gareth LiddiardThe Drones5:16
5."Was There Anything I Could Do?"Robert Forster, Grant McLennanThe Go-Betweens2:52
6."Back to the Wall"Christina Amphlett, Richard Feldman, Mark McEnteeDivinyls3:53
7."Don't Believe Anymore"Iva DaviesIcehouse2:52
8."The Biggest Disappointment" (duet with Dan Sultan)Joy McKeanSlim Dusty3:01
9."Everybody Wants to Touch Me"Paul KellyPaul Kelly3:06
10."Curse on You"Phillip Kakulas, Graham Lee, David McCombThe Blackeyed Susans3:04
11."No Secrets"Graham Bidstrup, Doc NeesonThe Angels3:00
12."Before Too Long" (duet with Amanda Palmer)Paul KellyPaul Kelly4:21
13."Blackfella/Whitefella" (duet with Crystal Itjuwalyi Butcher)George Djilaynga, Neil MurrayWarumpi Band4:11
14."Calm and Crystal Clear"Neil MurrayNeil Murray3:43
15."The Way You Are Tonight"Don WalkerDon Walker5:02
16."Confide in Me" (iTunes exclusive)Steve Anderson, Dave SeamanKylie Minogue3:33
Total length:58:33

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[13] Gold 35,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Missy Higgins' Oz is Both an Album and a Book". Music Feeds. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Missy Higgins' 'OZ' Is Both An Album And A Book". Music Feeds. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Missy Higgins on life and her new album, OZ". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Shark Fin Blues by Missy Higgins on SoundCloud". SoundCloud. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Missy Higgins - Shark Fin Blues [Official Video] - YouTube". YouTube. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  6. ^ a b True, Everett (19 September 2015). "Missy Higgins: Oz review – a prettified collection of Australian covers". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b Hill, Carley (15 September 2014). "Missy Higgins – Oz". The Music. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. ^ a b Ho, Helena (27 September 2014). "Album Review: Missy Higgins Oz". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  9. ^ Birnie, Ali (September 2014). "Missy Higgins: Oz". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Missy Higgins – Oz". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  11. ^ "Charts.nz – Missy Higgins – Oz". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  12. ^ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  13. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
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