John Barrett, Renee Geyer, Laurence Maddy, Paul Kelly (Australia), Russell Smith, Rebecca Barnard, Monique Brumby
Format
CD
Release Year
1998
Release Title
Words & Music
Genre
Rock
Additional Product Features
Number of Discs
1
Country/Region of Manufacture
Australia
Additional information
Personnel: Paul Kelly (vocals, guitar); Spencer P. Jones (guitar, background vocals); Shane O'Mara (guitar); Bruce Haymes (keyboards, background vocals); Steven Hadley (bass, background vocals); Peter Luscombe (drums). Additional personnel: Rebecca Barnard (vocals, background vocals); Monique Brumby (vocals); John Barrett (saxophone); Russell Smith, Laurence Maddy (horns); Renee Geyer (background vocals). Producers: Mark Opitz, Paul Kelly, Simon Polinski. Engineers: Chris Dickie, Simon Polinski, Laurence Maddy. Recorded at Woodstock & Sing Song Studios, Melbourne, Australia. WORDS AND MUSIC showcases long-running Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly. Aussie wordsmith par excellence Paul Kelly delivers his strongest batch of soul-stirring pop nuggets and heart-rendingly romantic ballads to date with Words & Music. For his 15th album, cult maestro Kelly draws on a rich tapestry of characters and true to life situations, and has his finger firmly planted on the universal heartbeat with loose, catchy yarns of aging rather ungracefully ("Nothing on My Mind"), musical inspiration (the title track), and Christmas in jail ("How to Make Gravy"). His five-piece backing band, a crack outfit, steers the troubadour from Down Under's powerful voice expertly through crackling electric guitar outbursts, soothing reggae rhythms, and soulful soliloquies alike. Two stunning duets ("She Answers the Sun" with Rebecca Barnard and "Melting" with Monique Brumby) add a unique and welcome feminine perspective to Kelly's sometimes boyish (but always charming) pleas for affection. A mature, satisfying collection of gut-grabbing rockers and goosebump-inducing story songs from a 40-something guy with more youthful energy and wide-eyed adoration for the true spirit of rock & roll than any five Top Ten teen acts on any chart in the world combined. Kelly himself says it best in "Nothing on My Mind": "The young people?/I never did one damn good thing until I was over 30!" ~ Tom Hallett
