TOURING with Adam Harvey is like putting on a comfortable old pair of jeans for Beccy Cole.
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In fact, the first time the duo hit the road together, Cole's son was still in a pram – he turned 18 recently.
So when the chance to record The Great Country Songbook, Volume II, the answer was a no-brainer.
“It's so much fun when you do something with a mate you know really well,” Cole said.
“This will be our ninth national tour together, it's a tried and tested thing for us.
“We know we're going to be doing something we both like, we have a similar approach to what we think an audience enjoys in this setting.”
The first instalment of The Great Country Songbook was recorded by Harvey and Troy Cassar-Daley in in 2013.
Cole said she and Harvey had challenged each other with the songs they had selected for the album.
“Both of us came to the table with a list of songs we each wanted to do for the album, and a lot of those songs were similar, but we had a few that each of us either hadn’t heard or hadn't thought of,” she said.
“Sometimes you can get very precious about your own songs, but it’s a completely different process for something like this.
“Doing a cover is a great way to step away from that, you get to honour and pay tribute to the songs and artists that are the reason you're in this business in the first place.
“There's a song on the album called ‘You're the Reason My Kids Are Ugly’, a lot of people think it's one of the worst ever titles for a country song, but it's a really fun and funny song.
“Adam is a big Johnny Cash fan, he came with a lot of Cash and June Carter songs that I'd forgotten about.
“’It Ain't Me Babe’ is a great song that was actually written by Bob Dylan.
“I love the way Dylan wrote, he broke a lot of rules with songwriting.
“Everything back then was very soft and sweet, but he kind of said things as they were, and it worked well for Johnny Cash and June Carter.”
With a busy touring schedule planned after the release of the album earlier this year, Cole was looking forward to stopping in Albury so she could catch up with another country music great – Sara Storer.
“I generally get to Albury around once a year,” she said.
I’ve played there many times before, I really enjoy all the cafes on the main street, that sort of thing.
“Having close friends like Sara nearby is a great bonus as well.”