Customer Reviews

Deeper Water

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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?

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

"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!

This songwriter knows how to use the English language better than most book writers! Deeper Water and Anastasia Changes Her Mind are but two examples of terrific stories set to music. You won't be disappointed if you buy this album, sit back in an easy chair, and let the songs wash over you. Chances are you'll become an instant PK fan.

Great stories, beautiful music, and talented musicians. What more do you need?

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.

Musically there is nothing spectacular here, but Kelly's lyrical genius as always makes up for this. There's more personal pain in "Deeper Water" than other Kelly albums, and though he would probably deny it vehemently it begs the question of what was going on in his life in 1995. "A Difficult Woman" and "I'll forgive, but I won't forget" are not about fun times, to say the least... Other tracks speak of obsession in various forms.

"Blush", with a heavy rhythm nothing short of carnal, is the great. The cover track is incredibly moving, although you might have to be over 30 and have a kid to get it.

Deeper Water is not my favourite Paul Kelly album--I still prefer Under the Sun & Comedy. But there's still something here for Kelly fans. Paul Kelly can distill Oz like no other artist, and although there are no overtly Australian tracks, the feel is there--blue skies over gold beach sand, gentle breezes, stale ciggies & spilt beer. It's not a culturally acquired taste, like Vegemite, but probably only Australians will recognise the themes. It's enough to make this expat Australian collapse in a homesick mess...

A great mix of pop rock, blues, lovely ballads and some the best songwriting you'll hear anywhere. It amazes me that Paul's not better know in North America. Everyone, and I mean everyone who hears this guy cannot get over how good he is. John Hiyatt once said that if there was any justice, Paul Kelly would be picking up a grammy. Well, it seems that Paul's too good for that! No fluff here, just an honest artist doing his thing.