Sharkmouth

In an August 2013 interview with Michael Smith of TheMusic.com.au, Morris recalled: "I originally did four tracks, 'Blackdog Blues', 'Ballad of Les Darcy', 'Big Red' and 'Sharkmouth' – and I thought I'd see if anyone was interested. We did the rounds and went to all the record companies, and all of them said no." Morris continued with the recording, "I went back offering not only the album but also the publishing on the album and my old publishing, on songs like 'Wings of an Eagle' and 'Sweet, Sweet Love', but they still declined to release it." Morris pressed 500 copies of the album and began performing it at gigs when Robert Rigby from Ambition Entertainment said he'd release it under the FanFare label.{{cite web|url=http://themusic.com.au/interviews/all/2013/08/07/russell-morris-michael-smith/18536/|title= The Real Underbelly|work=TheMusic.com.au|date=7 August 2013|accessdate=24 June 2016}}

The project was created after Morris had read about a 1920s gangster from Sydney, Shark Jaws. This was the driving force behind a desire to create an album including Australian characters from the 1920s and 1930s era. Mitch Cairns explains: "To our knowledge, most 'Australiana' characters have been portrayed in a traditional colonial folk sense, so we wanted to find a way to deliver the stories in a more mainstream vein whilst still placing them in a 'vintage era'. A blues style seemed to be the perfect fit!! We tried to keep the vibe of the album raw and honest with lots of textural instruments and sounds, but above all, it had to be simple and spacious. We are also very honoured to have some very special guests on the album, including Troy Cassar-Daley, Mark Lizotte and Renée Geyer." The album Sharkmouth has stories about Australian characters which are all moulded together in a melting pot of swinging shuffles and delta grooves.{{cite web|url=https://www.jbhifi.com.au/music/browse/pop/sharkmouth/296141/|title=Sharkmouth (standard edition): JB HI-FI |publisher=Jbhifionline.com.au |date= |accessdate=24 June 2016}}

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013, the album was nominated for and won ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album.{{Cite web | url = http://www.ariaawards.com.au/news/64/aria | title = ARIA Noms + Fine Arts & Artisan Winners |publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | date = 14 October 2012 | accessdate = 20 October 2013 }}{{Cite web | url = http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2013 | title = 2013 ARIA Awards Winners By Year | publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | accessdate = 20 October 2013 }}

{{Track listing

| headline = Standard edition{{cite web|url=https://www.jbhifi.com.au/music/browse/pop/sharkmouth/296141/|title=Sharkmouth (standard edition) : JB HI-FI |publisher=Jbhifionline.com.au |date= |accessdate=24 June 2016}}

| total_length = 44:07

| title1 = Black Dog Blues

| writer1 = Morris, Jim Keays

| length1 = 3:33

| title2 = The Big House

| writer2 = Morris

| length2 = 2:44

| title3 = The Ballard of Les Darcy

| writer3 = Morris, Garry Paige

| length3 = 3:57

| title4 = 'Bout to Break

| writer4 = Morris, Mitch Cairns

| length4 = 4:13

| title5 = Sharkmouth

| writer5 = Morris, Paige

| length5 = 4:00

| title6 = Walk My Blues

| writer6 = Morris, Paige

| length6 = 2:43

| title7 = The Drifter

| note7 = featuring Renée Geyer

| writer7 = Morris, Paige

| length7 = 4:14

| title8 = Squizzy

| writer8 = Morris

| length8 = 3:51

| title9 = The Bridge

| writer9 = Morris, Alan Howe

| length9 = 3:06

| title10 = Money Dont Grow on Trees

| writer10 = Morris

| length10 = 3:54

| title11 = Big Red

| writer11 = Morris, Paige

| length11 = 3:33

| title12 = Mr Eternity

| writer12 = Morris, Cairns

| length12 = 4:24

}}

• Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Resonator Guitar [Dobro] – Shannon Bourne
• Artwork By – Adam Miller
• Backing Vocals – Jerson Trinidad (tracks: 10), Steve Romig (tracks: 2, 4, 9, 10, 12)
• Banjo, Cello – Mark Lizotte (tracks: 8)
• Bass – Mitch Cairns
• Drums – Adrian Violi
• Electric Guitar [Solo] – Troy Cassar-Daley (tracks: 10)
• Harmonica – Chris Wilson (tracks: 7, 10, 12)
• Mastered by – John Ruberto
• Mixed by – David Carr
• Piano, Organ – James Black (tracks: 2, 9)
• Producer – Mitch Cairns
• Recorded By, Engineer – Mitch Cairns
• Vocals – Renée Geyer (tracks: 7), Russell Morris

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{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|title=Sharkmouth|artist=Russell Morris|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=2012|certyear=2014}}

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Category:2012 albums

Category:ARIA Award–winning albums

Category:Russell Morris albums