Search - Paul Kelly :: Words & Music

Penetrating Wordsmithing from the Land Down Under

dev1 | Baltimore | 09/23/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Paul Kelly has been satisfying the appetite of Australian music lovers since 1981. He personifies Australia the same way that Bruce Springsteen does in the United States, and the Clash in the UK. Album fifteen, Words and Music, crosses the continents and the oceans to the United States: not unique to his homeland, his flair for Pop and tender ballads is universally strong. Kelly reminds me of Elvis Costello's word plays, Dave Edmunds' roots rock & roll, and Nick Lowe's quirky take on Pop.His characters are real, like the kind of people that one might meet during their day-to-day routine. With a touch of nostalgia, he submits to middle-age (Nothing On My Mind); pays tribute to those who inspired him to be a musician (Words And Music); and a lonesome tale about spending Christmas in jail (reminding me on Tom Waits "I've hit bottom" narratives). The band is tight: jangling Byrds-like guitars (She Answers The Sun-Lazy Bones), stellar melodic lead guitar work (I'll Be Your Lover), and electronic distorted voice and guitar soul grunge rockers (Tease Me). I admire the band because, despite their technical mastery and passion, they don't upstage Kelly's vocals.Outstanding tracks - more than a few. Someone must tell me if the romantic and melodic lead guitar on `I'll Be Your Lover' is Kelly's Les Paul Signature. `Tease Me' is an R&B ride through distorted guitars and vocals from outer space. And `Saturday Night And Sunday Morning' reminds me of the blues rocker that Jagger/Richards should have composed, but Kelly beat them to the punch. `Melting' demonstrates Kelly's lack of pretension - few artists could pull off such a love song. Words And Music rocks the furniture and shakes the walls, and stabs deep into the heart. Gee, I think I'll move to Australia."

Zowie!

vze2c7yx | Worcester, MA United States | 06/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just bought this cd on a tip from a good friend. Now I want to move to Australia. Raw, raunchy and satisfying. Is there something in the water over there or did they just not succumb to stupidity like us in the States yet?"

An ambitious album of intelligence and wit

S. D. Fourmy | London, United Kingdom | 03/23/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album has more ambition than its predecessor, 1995's Deeper Water. The music is more complex and varied, as are the subjects covered by the clever, touching and often funny lyrics. Indeed, the key to this album's success is that it has re-found the sense of fun that inhabits much of Kelly's best work (listen out for a lovely nod to the Beatles in the title track).This is not, however, a collection of comic songs or light weight pop; rather, here is a mature song writer who is able to find the humour in life despite, or maybe because of, it's darker side. It is full of "big subjects" - love, loss, sex, politics, growing up - but all rendered in subtle and original ways. These songs are full of the intimate, personal portraits that are Kelly's speciality (such as in How To Make Gravy), often containing deliciously humorous insights (Tease Me; I'd Rather Go Blind), sometimes spiced up with a certain undercurrent of suburban menace (Nothing On My Mind; Gutless Wonder). Throughout the album a wonderful way with words is exhibited (the subtle criticism inherent in the term little king; the lovely juxtaposition of clichés that makes them sound fresh again in I'll Be Your Lover). Musically the album moves effortlessly through rock, pop, bits of country and funk, and even hints of bluesy gospel on Glory Be To God (a track that would not be out of place on a Nick Cave album). It is full of magical musical touches embellishing the strong tunes - the bassline when it hits it's stride a minute into Melting; the persistent chant that opens Tease Me; the saxophone break on Gutless Wonder; Renee Geyer's almost orgasmic wail half-way through Beat Of Your Heart. And Kelly's vocal delivery is assured throughout, even adventurously exploring new territory on the wonderful opener Little Kings. This album is Paul Kelly working on a big canvas, and exhibits much of what makes his music so great. While not quite reaching the peak of his seminal work, 1986's Gossip, this is nevertheless an excellent album and perhaps more accessible to an international audience as it lacks the parochial references of most of Kelly's earlier work. This is the album that finally won Paul Kelly the well overdue award of best song-writer at the Australian music awards, and I recommend it to any fan of good music."