Paul Kelly

Hearing what people have to say about Paul Kelly, you'd swear he was a folk/rock god. And you'd probably be right. David Fricke of Rolling Stone magazine talks about one of Kelly's performances, saying, "It was one of those rare moments in music-when the singer and the song together become something else, indivisible, yet with a warm broad resonance that leaves plenty of room for the rest of us." Neil Finn of Crowded House says, "I have been stopped in my tracks many a time by the deep atmosphere and warmth of his words and music"... "not a trace of pretence or fakery in there." Kelly, a native Australian, made his North American debut in 1987 with his album Gossip. What was unusual about his debut was that he was introduced to our fair continent as a polished musician-even as a prospective icon-with four albums already under his belt in Australia. What impresses audiences and critics alike is Paul Kelly's consistency. On the other hand, Kelly's music is not easily defined, and certainly not predictable. He makes the transition seamlessly from straight-ahead rock 'n roll to blues to punk-pop a la Elvis Costello to African-driven rhythm, all in a space as short as a single album. He is also embraced for his lyrics, which touch on growth, discovery and relationships in a way that is anything but ordinary. In fact, his lyrics were compiled and published in a book aptly named Lyrics in 1993.

  -- LG