Judith Owen Debuts ‘Somebody’s Child’ Live with Stunning Melbourne Showcase

Something truly special happened in Melbourne last night. Judith Owen performed with her band and is was one of the most special musical moments I have ever experienced.

Judith Owen is one of the true hidden treasures of the music business. Her music and performance will make you smile at one moment and tear up at the next.

Judith is 100% musician. She is a great singer, a great songwriter and especially a captivating performer. Put this lady in front of a piano and a mic and she commands the room.

Judith is in Australia with her band and her husband Harry Shearer to perform in Brisbane for the Queensland Cabaret Festival and in Adelaide for the Adelaide Festival. She has also taken time for two very special shows in Melbourne and Sydney to showcase her new album ‘Somebody’s Child’.

For me it was a privilege to have been part of such an intimate gathering to witness for the very first time ever a complete performance of the ‘Somebody’s Child’ album.

Judith held court and had the audience listening to her every word and captivated by every sound from the band.

And what a band it is. The legendary Leland Sklar, who has played on every album you have ever loved, was on bass. Witnessing what he does so close gave me a greater understanding of the thread that runs through albums by James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Crosby Stills & Nash and Warren Zevon and that is not even naming 1% of his work.

Percussionist Pedro Segundo, at 28 years old, has precision timing and created sounds out of the most basic setup to allow the band to flow.

Then there is Harry Shearer, the most high profile name of the night but very much in the background. Harry would surface for two songs only to create two unique moments with ‘That’s Why I Love My Baby’, the song Judith wrote about him and a completely reimagined jazz version of the Spinal Tap anthem ‘Big Bottom’, giving him a chance to channel his inner Derek Smalls alter-ego.

Judith has a very quick wit but I have to pay credit to Lee for the line of the night after Judith was taking time setting up a song. He said “I was clean-shaven when you started this story”. (Harry did tell me later that he has used that line often).

The show itself was the debut of the ‘Somebody’s Child’ album from start to finish plus The Beatles ‘Blackbird’, Mungo Jerry’s ‘In The Summertime’ and Spinal Tap’s ‘Big Bottom’ as an encore.

Everything about ‘Somebody’s Child’ is a unique experience. From the first story in the title track about how people react to the less fortunate, ‘Tell All The Children’ a song about the future of the planet, the stunning song about loved ones passing ‘No More Goodbyes’, Harry’s song ‘That’s Why I Love My Baby’ or the pure jazz beauty of ‘I Know Why The Sun Shines’, the album takes the listener on a ride with stories of humanity.

In the coming week you can watch the Noise11 interview with Judith and Harry where Judith will go into detail about the songs.

Judith Owen setlist

Somebody’s Child
Send Me A Line
Mystery
Tell All The Children
We Give In
No More Goodbyes
Arianne
More Than This (Roxy Music cover)
That’s Why I Love My Baby (with Harry Shearer)
I Know Why The Sun Shines
Josephine
Aquarius (from Hair)
The Rain is Gonna Fall

Blackbird (The Beatles cover)
In The Summertime (Mungo Jerry cover)
Big Bottom (with Harry Shearer) (Spinal Tap cover)

Judith Owen – Somebody’s Child is available from JB-HiFi