Ways & Means [Import]

Paul Kelly is Australian, and Paul Kelly writes about the workingman. Now that we have that behind us, we can move on to some more pertinent issues like Paul Kelly has a knack for writing great hooks and placing them within good, solid tunes. This new two disc album is a fine example of his ability. At first listen I wondered if two discs worth of material was really justified, but by the third or fourth listen it was clearly the case. Unless you are a sucker for Greatest Hits albums, then this is a fine starting point. If you have already started with Paul Kelly, then this will be a pleasant addition to your collection.

Anyone who knows life in country towns will instantly recognise the mood set by the opening track "Gunnamatta" - at once laconic and sparse with deep undercurrents of violence waiting to erupt from the boredom. I actually found this piece a little disturbing when I think back to the truth of life in country towns where racial tension, boredom, substance and physical abuse create a potent mix. Here the band nails it perfectly.

What is so magical about this album compared to Kelly's other works is the phenomenal band he has managed to pull together. The guitar work by Dan Luscombe, Dan Kelly and Graham Lee creates shifting moods, broad cinematic soundscapes and simple workmanlike progressions when required.

Many times, one will hear pop music where the lyric and the music have little connection with each other. I'd go so far as to say that this is the fundamental problem with most pop music.

Here however, Kelly and his band bring together the two components and the result is breathtakingly more than the sum of its parts. In "Little Bit 'O Sugar" for example, the song is built around a warm, broad slide guitar, slightly unhinged in its chord progressions and inconclusive. It leads the listener into the heart of physical desire. Here, Kelly uses simple repetition of lyrics around the idea of wanting some "sugar" but the musicians take centre stage to build the song into a blistering, slow burning torch song. That Kelly gives the band a purely instrumental track as the opening track is testament to the importance they play as the tracks unfold.

On songs where the lyrics take prominence such as "Beautiful Feeling", the guitar work remains simple and sparse, but never derivative. Lyrically, Kelly is exploring many of typical modern contradictions of love and desire. In "My way is to You" he sings:

...
Many times I've stumbled
Many times I've fallen down
But always I had
The dream of your dear ground
My way is, my way is to you.
...

The love in these songs is gravitational, elliptical and earthly foundation. What takes them even further is the haunting aural cavas created by the musicians accompanying Kelly's vocals.

Here then is an album of slow burning love and lust songs for adults. Not just a great Australian album, but a great album, period.