West 53rd hits inner west

Inner west venue Notes Newtown is set to reverberate to the sounds of Ian ‘Mossy’ Moss in July, with the former Cold Chisel rocker playing the venue as part of his Soul on West 53rd album tour.

Although the new album might strike fans as a departure from the sounds of Chisel which made his name, Soul on West 53rd is, in fact, close to Moss’ heart. “I was born and raised in Alice Springs, and back then there was only ABC radio, and they always seemed to play a lot of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke,” he says. “I remember being drawn to that particular style, even at that early age. It wasn’t really about setting any new directions or trends – it was purely a chance to do an album of soul songs, which I’d been hanging out to do for many years.”

The album features new takes on classic soul songs from the likes of Cooke, as well as Al Green, Otis Redding and Levi Stubbs. Integral to the process were recording sessions in New York with producer Danny Kortchmar and star soul session musicians, including drummer Steve Jordan, keyboardist Leon Pendarvis, bassist Neil Jason, and guitarist Hugh McCracken.

“The first week in New York was just meeting up with Danny and probably no more than two or three bars each day with a couple of guitars and a little recorder, working out the keys and the arrangements,” says Moss. “I didn’t feel too nervous about the whole thing, [but] I was a little bit shy,” he laughs. “There was a little bit of, ‘You can do it – you can rise to the occasion…’”

Putting his initial shyness aside, Moss himself is excited about the possibilities stemming from the album. “Working with such classic songs has brought a lot of ideas for original material as well,” he says. “For the next album, featuring my own songs, I’d expect it to follow the same style. There’s something really great going on here.”