{"id":8485,"date":"2013-01-02T13:41:41","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T20:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=8485"},"modified":"2013-01-02T13:41:50","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T20:41:50","slug":"paul-kelly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2013\/01\/paul-kelly\/","title":{"rendered":"PAUL KELLY"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

PAUL KELLY<\/strong><\/h1>\n

America gets a chance to discover a revered artist from Down Under\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

It may seem Paul Kelly\u2019s been especially prolific lately. Or it might seem the Australian singer-songwriter has simply been playing up his past. But in fact, it\u2019s been a bit of both. Recently there\u2019s been a deluge of all things Kelly\u2014from the stateside release of two career-spanning compilations (Songs from the South Volumes 1 & 2<\/em> and The \u00a0<\/em>A to Z Recordings<\/em>, a live eight-CD box set), to a memoir (How to Make Gravy<\/em>), to his first studio album in five years, Spring and Fall<\/em>. \u201cActually, both Songs of the South<\/em> and The A to Z Recordings<\/em> have been out in Australia for some time. They\u2019re just new to the States,\u201d Kelly says from his home in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

For now, Kelly is focusing on \u00a0Spring and Fall<\/em>, which traces the ups and downs of a relationship. \u201cLove is certainly the most common theme for songwriters,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I was interested in exploring the emotional and psychological effects of a breakup and rebound.\u201d He cites\u00a0Phases and Stages<\/em>\u2014Willie Nelson\u2019s landmark 1974 concept album detailing the aftermath of a divorce from both a man and a woman\u2019s point of view\u2014as his primary inspiration.<\/p>\n

The impetus for the album grew out of Kelly\u2019s commission by an Australian music academy to adapt some poetry to orchestration composed by students. \u201cI hadn\u2019t written a new song in four years,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI was seriously wondering what I had gotten myself into.\u201d It was authoring the memoir that helped acclimate him to the idea of setting up a theme for the album. \u201cOnce I had the theme, I only needed to put the meat between the ribs,\u201d he says. \u201cThe songs sort of flowed from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly\u2019s songs have been flowing nonstop for the better part of 30 years, the product of such permutations as Paul Kelly and the Dots, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, and Paul Kelly and the Messengers. His songs capture the intimate details of everyday life and shared aspirations, featuring a revolving cast of ordinary individuals whose emotions are tempered by hope and humility.<\/p>\n

Kelly has released more than 20 albums, not counting various compilations, live recordings, soundtracks and efforts with other Aussie artists. He\u2019s also recorded under a variety of guises that often diverged from his usual introspective yet accessible style\u2014from techno-groove experimenter Professor Ratbaggy to bluegrass combo Uncle Bill. \u201cSongwriting can get pretty boring sometimes,\u201d Kelly says. \u201cNot in the creative sense, of course, but in the process itself. So when I\u2019m able to do something different, it takes me out of my world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Lee Zimmerman<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PAUL KELLY America gets a chance to discover a revered artist from Down Under\u00a0 It may seem Paul Kelly\u2019s been especially prolific lately. Or it might seem the Australian singer-songwriter has simply been playing up his past. But in fact, it\u2019s been a bit of both. Recently there\u2019s been a deluge of all things Kelly\u2014from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[5709,5475,5707,5708,5710],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8485"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8488,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8485\/revisions\/8488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}