Search - Paul Kelly :: Ways & Means

A Big, Fun Record!

S. D. Fourmy | London, United Kingdom | 03/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Paul Kelly is Australia's most acclaimed singer-songwriter, though he is barely known outside of his native land. He is sometimes compared with Dylan or Springsteen, although this perhaps sets up false expectations. What can be said is that his style is closer to them than to the more `pop' approach of someone like Bowie. Since his early pseudo-punk records of the late 70s and early 80s, Kelly has produced a series of albums (some with his band the Messengers, but more recently as a solo artist) full of narrative style songs in the pop/ rock genre but with increasing country/ folk/soul/ bluegrass influence.



WAYS AND MEANS is the most band-orientated album Kelly has produced for some time, and subsequently has less of the singer-songwriter style to it than recent works. Thematically it can be seen as a riposte to the gloomy view of love and life depicted on his previous album, the delicate and beautiful NOTHING BUT A DREAM. This rather sombre album was a small and focused study structured with a careful musical and thematic progression (somewhat ruined in the US by the addition of the excellent, but incompatible, `Roll On Summer' EP). Its successor, by contrast, is happy and uplifting and is a sprawling work spread over two discs, lurching disconcertingly between musical styles, its organic and slightly chaotic feel captured in the broad strokes and clashing colours of the cover artwork. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the album works marvellously well as a joyous and often riotous exploration of love; while the music may ramble, the theme of love - sign posted on the cover - is adhered to throughout. But rather than indulging in the more predictable tragic love of much popular music, Kelly instead focuses his exploration largely on the happy side of love - a topic far harder to write well about. This makes for an album to warm the winter gloom, or to relax to on a summer's afternoon.



To set the mood, Disc One opens the album with the retro fun of a surf/rock style guitar instrumental that sounds like it is a lost Shadows track. We are then given a taste of the abruptly shifting musical tone of this record with the narrative style country-folk of `Oldest Story In The Book', followed by the bluesy rock of `Heavy Thing'. These three contrasting but equally excellent tracks make for a scintillating opening to the record, whetting the appetite for the rest of the album. But perhaps the highlight of Disc One, and one of Kelly's all time great songs, is the gentle beauty of `Won't You Come Around', with its delicate musical build-up, lovely guitar work and catchy chorus. This is a classic Paul Kelly song, reminiscent of his earlier work; indeed, it wouldn't sound out of place on his 80s albums with the Messengers. The rest of the disc continues the musical schizophrenia with the heavy rocking `Crying Shame' and the mad fairground piano of `To Be Good Takes A Long Time'. The set ends with the haunting `Nothing But A Dream', a precursor to the slower musical style that dominates Disc Two.



The second disc continues the theme of love, while adopting a more measured and coherent musical approach than the first. While this creates a different mood, one of greater introspection, it is no less successful, and contains some moments of tender beauty. Chief among these is the gentle and wonderful `Your Lovin' Is On My Mind', a song full of both sadness and joy. Other tracks adopt a more ominous sound, with the insistent acoustic and slide guitar of `Curly Red' and `My Way Is To You'. But there are still light-hearted moments, such as the self-deprecating `King Of Fools' and the fun of `Young Lovers'. The album finishes with another instrumental, the cheerful and vaguely nostalgic-sounding `Let's Fall Again'.



Overall, and unusually for Kelly, WAYS AND MEANS is defined more by its sound than its themes or lyrics. And in this it is a great success, managing to capture the obvious enjoyment of the musicians involved. This is probably Paul Kelly's best backing band since the Messengers, and they gel so well that they already sound as though they've been playing together for years. All of Kelly's albums over the past decade have been extremely good, but this is perhaps the most fun he has injected into a record since the light-hearted WANTED MAN back in the early 90s. While his last record, NOTHING BUT A DREAM, was a small masterpiece, WAYS AND MEANS is somehow too broad and unfocussed to receive the same accolade, but this does not make it a poorer record. If anything, it is more enjoyable. And as ever with Kelly's work, there is enough musical and lyrical depth to allow it to improve with each listen. Put simply, this is a fantastic record, and I can't praise it highly enough.

"

Beyond the shores of OZ.........

Kiwi | The Land of Enchantment | 04/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Where do I start? Paul is exceptionally talented and deserves a much larger audience for his inspiring tales of love and lust. I'm doing my best to get his aura spread out as far and wide as this Universe will take it.....I can't remove his cds from my player, neither at home or in the car. He sees things through eyes that are intuitive and thoughtful and it is obvious his heart is full even when it is empty. The melodies and the sounds are just breathtaking. The songs attach themselves to you and stay in your head for days on end. Yes, sometimes he is like Springsteen; yes, sometimes he sounds like Dylan, but mostly he is himself which is rhythm and blues on vegimite...... These songs are gifts to bounce off the soul.....These two cds are slower and full of thought and ponder. He still has the knack of calling a spade a spade but with more knowledge and wisdom sprinkled around the corners. I have always been a lover of good storytelling. Harry Chapin had that wonderful fill of taking a moment and inventing a story about it.... Paul does this too with great abandon. There is happy in life; there is sad.. Paying attention to his lyrics and style will bring a spring to your step and have you begging for more..... Paul is seeing life through the eye of an eagle and the mind of a Guru. It is what it is, and it is fabulous. Thank you Paul.... God Speed....."