The acclaimed, prolific Australian singer-songwriter (and perennial Song Bar playlist favourite) returns with his distinctive, Dylan-esque folk-rock-country with a landmark of age and his 30th studio album, with profound ballad, poetic detail and reflections on age, regrets, lust, love and death. It’s only a year since his 29th, Fever Longing Still, and Kelly continues to thrive in popularity and output. His songs are very much fuelled by detailed storytelling, and this album is bookended by Tell Us A Story (Part A) and a Part B, but the instant standout is Rita Wrote A Letter, a third instalment in the so-called Trilogy of Joe, going back one of his best known numbers, 1996’s How To Make Gravy, about an inmate writing a letter to his brother from prison. In this latest, a catchy, rhythmic piano-backed melody, the lingering ghost of Joe writes from the grave, about a letter from his ex-wife Rita, beginning with the compact lyrical wit Kelly specialises in: “I really don't know how I'm talking / Six feet down and under the clay / The laws of nature forbid it / But I was never good with rules anyway” and how he clings on to that letter in which she relates how she’s now happy with new man Dan and a baby is on the way. There’s more continuity with The country-style banjo-based The Magpies, based on a Denis Glover poem which Kelly first recorded on his album Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds. Other highlights include the delicate, reflective and then rather moving The Body Keeps The Score, about time, mistakes, and and bad habits catching up on you (Kelly is a former heroin addict). Unflinchingly, on I’m Not Afraid of the Dark, Kelly directly addresses looks the grim reaper: “An old man thinks he’s still a lad / Sad songs never make me sad.” So there’s plenty of lust for life in Kelly, not least in I Keep Coming Back For More is an infectious, bluesy syncopated groove, very Dylan nasal and insatiable, while Made For Me, a catchy handclap-rhythm waltz-time number with Rebecca Barnard, is list love song. With another sort of tender love, Happy Birthday Ada Mae is a sweet, simple tribute song to his two-year-old granddaughter (“I guess I’ll be gone before you’re twenty … can you imagine such a day?”) in which he hopes the best for her future. As ever, poignant, profound songs from one of Australia’s most enduring talents. Out on EMI.
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