To celebrate the 25-year anniversary of iconic Australian singer-songwriter Deborah Conway’s platinum release String of Pearls, Conway is performing the entire album in shows across Australia.
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Conway is also launching a new album, Everybody’s Begging, with long-time collaborator Willy Zygier.
They will perform Everybody’s Begging and String of Pearls in full, backed by a full band of Australia’s finest musicians at the Milton Theatre on September 17.
String of Pearls’ themes of youthful reflection and tongue-in-cheek irreverence, embodied in hits like It's Only The Beginning, Release Me and the bittersweet title track earned Conway the 1992 Best Female ARIA Award.
String of Pearls, the beginning of Conway’s varied solo career, started with an extensive tour with band The Mothers of Pearl, in which Willy Zygier played guitar.
This was the start of a highly successful songwriting and personal collaboration for Conway and Zygier. They have produced nine albums.
Everybody’s Begging, their latest record is the follow-up to their acclaimed 2013 release, Stories of Ghosts, which presented an unbeliever’s examination of Old Testament themes from a Jewish perspective, exploring the connections between ancient practice and modern life.
Everybody’s Begging is a record in the Talmudic manner, a work of commentary upon a number of beloved songs and artworks.
While artists regularly crib from other's work, Conway and Zygier make the influences explicit - Joni Mitchell, Paul Kelly, Leonard Cohen, Louis Armstrong, Nick Cave, David Bowie and Talking Heads to name a few - in order to explore new themes and differences.
Their commentary is sometimes lyrical, sometimes musical, sometimes commentary upon commentary. Once again Conway and Zygier traverse an emotional landscape of ideas that demands attention and receives it.
Deborah Conway, Willy Zygier and Band will appear at Milton Theatre on Saturday September 17 at 8pm. Tickets are $39.
