Two Underrated Aussie Albums
By Daniel Sumpton | Misfit Media Columnist
Damien Leith’s Gospel
Gospel by 2006 Australian Idol winner Damien Leith is inspired by the beautiful Gospel music covered by Elvis Presley. It is also inspired by a tour Damien Leith held himself called “Elvis - The Gospel Collection,” that has a performance you can watch right now on his official website for a small fee. The album is reminiscent of Leith’s glory days when he released Roy: A Tribute to Roy Orbison, an album that is now a decade old. Unfortunately, Gospel did not chart at all in Australia, unlike his Roy Orbison cover album that debuted at number 2 on the ARIA charts and eventually went platinum. This is why it is unbelievably underrated.
It was explained in the Misfit Media article titled “Shannon Noll’s ‘Raw’: The Cover Album Conundrum” that Damien Leith was one of the most prominent victims of said conundrum. It is detailed that after a third flop album with original tracks, Leith became boxed in as an artist mainly good for a Mother’s Day present with a boxed set of Murder, She Wrote. He has basically slipped out of relevance entirely as a result of being boxed this way. Aussies all over have missed out on a buried gem with incredible Gospel tracks by an artist that has a voice so smooth he won a competition for it.
Isaiah Firebrace’s Self Titled Album
On the 13th of July, 2019, I watched Isaiah Firebrace live in my home town Charters Towers where he gave a performance to a small, but engrossed crowd. I had not considered him enough prior to bother having an in depth listen to his debut album, and I certainly didn’t care enough to watch his, or anybody’s X Factor performances prior. It turns out that Isaiah has a highly impressive collection of covers that suit his style despite being the last Australian X Factor winner before the show's cancelation. He also has the lowest charting debut aside from the very first season’s winners.
Although short in length, the collection of re-recorded X Factor performances and covers comes off impressively consistent. Adele’s “Hello” is transformed from overblown trite, to a sweet, though understated traditional pop song. A song that can be neatly packaged as it is with a cover of Pharrell Williams’ Happy. Isaiah’s debut has something for everyone on the record, and the singer is certainly one to watch. You can easily call him Australia’s Frank Ocean with his ability to turn anything into soft and silky heartstring pullers.