No comments about I Often Dream of Trains.

5 comments about Deeper Water.

1. While working in Los Angles a fellow employee asked if anyone wanted to go to a concert with him. The performer was someone I never heard of, but I thought it would be interesting. Is was much more than interesting, it was entertaining. I think you could mention Paul Kelly in a music store and get no reaction, he is really undiscovered in North America. I am online now having listened to this album (and his Words and Music, Deeper Water is the better of the two) nearly to death, too buy a couple more of Kelly's cd's. If you haven't listened to Paul Kelly, it's all in the songwriting, his tells stories, it is varied, and as mentioned before, entertaining



2. Deeper Water is another fine album from one of Australia's best exports, Paul Kelly. What I like about Kelly is the way in every CD he rocks, and is never reluctant to show both adult anger and tenderness. Deeper Water is no exception, from the aural seduction of Blush, to the (auto?)biography of wonder, love, and tragedy in the title song, to a love song to his little girl (Madeleine's Song). The Amazon reviewer is right to invoke John Hiatt and Lou Reed; you could also throw Dave Alvin into the mix of people whose good company Kelly keeps. Anastasia Changes Her Mind is a classic -- she leaves, lipstick traces on the bathroom mirror, the only goodbye and suddenly -- kissing that legacy for luck -- he can do no wrong at the racetrack. She comes back, wipes off the old farewell, and the gambling luck is gone. Yes, "it's hard, it's hard, when Anastasia changes her mind." Either way.
   
   Lots of variety and not a bad track in the bunch. Go for it.



3. His voice is soulful with a spritz of laughter..... His lyrics are movies of the week....His crying and whining are true and sad....His humor rocks the halls of Heaven....His stories are the under current of real life......He's a cowboy with a drama queen sulking in the distance.....The melodies and the music flow with rivers full and fresh.....His talent and understanding of the human situation are intense and tender.....There is no mistaking the beat in this man's heart.....His libido is healthy, his heart on his sleeve.....Men listen to him; Women drool......Angels walk before him just to pave the way..... Forget Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.....Paul's cds will cure all of that, and more.....Buy this CD.....Give yourself something worth having......Thanks again, Paul...what would we do without you?



4. "Deeper Water" recently surfaced for me. There are three exceptional tracks. The opener "Blush" has a great expansive vocal on the addictive chorus, sounding like an Australian Eagles track with a driving beat, "All I want, I confess, I just want to see her blush, all across her chest, take off her cotton dress." The title track also rocks with a vengence and has a great life cycle theme from young boy, to young man, to aging man, "Well the years hurry by & the woman loves the man, then one night in the dark she grabs hold of his hand, says, "There, can you feel it kicking inside!" "Give In To My Love," is a great pop confection with drving lead guitar & some obvious double entendre, "I want to show you my love; it's bigger than a Cadillac, but you keep up your resistance & you drive me back; I want to show you all my love; it's bigger than a Cadillac." Other tracks on the CD are consistently good. Notably, the bounce of "Extra Mile," the sense of surprise & betrayal on "I'll Forgive But I Won't Forget," the South African mbaqanga on "Madeleine's Song," the blues-inflected guitar on "Difficult Woman"; and the dreamy drench of sound on "California." "Deeper Water" is a good set with some classic tracks that still sounds fresh. I hope this one washes up on your beach! Enjoy!



5. Deeper Water is the second album of new material from Paul Kelly post Messengers (PK's former band). It is a darker work than it's predecessor, Wanted Man. Musically it has a harder rock edge, as demonstrated by the excellent opening track Blush and the infectious lead single Give In To My Love. Lyrically it continues the move away from the parochial concerns and settings of earlier work to focus on more universalised themes of love and growing up. This is Kelly looking beyond his homeland of Australia, as evidenced in the wonderfully longing California.

   This is an album about relationships and what it is to be human. That this is a darker work than its predecessor is immediately signified by the dominant use of black on the cover (as opposed to the previous album's largely white look). This is carried on by the B&W pictures of water in the sleeve, hinting at deep currents and metaphorically referencing the dark, unpredictable, emotional nature of the characters who populate the songs within. Of course this also points to the key song on the album, the title track, with its story of growing up and the experiences, both of pleasure and of pain, that make up life. This song, and the dedication of the album to The Messengers late guitarist, signal the ever present notion of death. Concurrently, the title track speaks of birth and new life and the wonder of youth, as does Madeleine's Song (about Kelly's young daughter).

   While it is true that there is less humour and musical diversity on this record than on some of Kelly's other work, it is still a strong collection of songs, and are as insightful of the human condition as ever. Although it is not his best album, everything Kelly does is above average. And this is worth owning simply for the wonderful Anastasia Changes Her Mind - a song I once saw Paul give a brilliant impromptu performance of at a Writer's Week talk in Adelaide, South Australia.

5 comments about Division Day.

1. ....as I said in the intro, I like anything by Elliott Smith and this is no exception. This sounds a little like the Beatles, but it does make sense because I have read that he loved the Beatles. For Elliott Smith fans, it's a good get.
   
   Matt Zarnstorff



2. I love Elliott Smith and this was no disappointment (except that with only two songs it ends so soon!) I'm a big fan of the production, especially on "Division Day".



3. Big fan of Elliott, division day is a very catchy song with a great melody play the 7" all the time, no name isn't as strong as division day but still exceptional.



4. This is a great single, i have the 7-inch on vinyl and i play it as often as any other elliott record. Love side one but no name isn't as good as division day.



5. So I'm an Elliott freak that is all I can say... yeah this little single is well worth the small token price of some 3 bones and change... go ahead and buy it give a true artist a break and support him through buying new instead of used.

No comments about The Young Snakes Featuring Aimee Mann.

No comments about Left Of Center.

1 comments about Sessions at West 54th.

1. For anyone (like myself) who live in the Heartland/"Red State" America and may not get an opportunity to see Suzanne in concert, listening to this CD is probably the next best thing. Thanks to PBS shows like Sessions at West 54th (which is no longer on the air), alternative artists like Suzanne have a venue to showcase their musical talents. As for the CD, Suzanne's voice in this acoustic setting hits all the right notes as her performance is flawless. I hope that more performances like this are forthcoming in the future.

1 comments about Why We Fight.

1. I can't believe no one has reviewed this yet. It's been out for years and years. Well, since nobody else has spoken up, I'll do it. If you like folk/rock/pop, you should pick this album up, especially if you are into good songwriting. The melodies are infectious and the lyrics are top notch. There isn't a bad song on the whole album, but there are a few that really stand out(at least for me, they do.) "Ordinary Weekend" is one of them. The lyrics to this song are like reading a really good novel. Except you get a catchy melody to go with it. "Me Against Me" is another incredible track. It has a great feeling-lonely-late-at-night vibe to it. There are plenty of other tracks I could go on and on about like, "Dead Centre of Town", "The Original Miss Jesus", "Where The Bodies Are", but if I get started I'll go on forever. Let me just say that JWH is such a good writer that I'm not surprised he wrote a book. To wrap this up, if you are a JWH fan and you don't have this, get it. If you are unfamiliar with the man, picture a cross between Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello and you'll have some idea of what you're in for. I hope this helps.

1 comments about Phantom Center.

1. This is a cd by the artist Ferron--NOT--Tori Amos. Yes she does supply supporting vocals for this album, however, I had a difficult time distinguishing her from the other supporting vocals. It's not like when she is supporting tom jones, bt or even robert plant. the womens voices are very similar. I would only suggest purchasing this if you are a true DIE HARD Tori faN, you know the kind that have to have everything she has sung-(like me).

No comments about Philadelphia Gig Poster.

No comments about Bad Reputation (CD-Single).