Customer Reviews

Stolen Apples

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

 

 

I've loved the last 3 releases from Paul Kelly. I felt he was really hitting a highwater mark as songwriter, so I was a bit surpised that after several listens "Stolen Apples" still has not registered the way his other recent material had. Still a great songwriter but for my taste this record is going to stay on the shelf, while "Ways and Means" gets put back into regular rotation.

Paul Kelly is a clever and thoughtful songwriter. This, his 25th album, is a musically diverse and entertaining collection of songs that grow on you with each listen, as all good albums do. The haunting track "You're 39, you're beautiful and your mine" stands among his best songs. Actually I would give this CD 6 stars if I could.

This is a true to form Paul Kelly album so if you like him you'll love it. All the songs are tuneful little vignettes in Paul's signature style and are as readily enjoyable as anything he has ever done on his "pop" records. There is a driving vitality and clarity to the music on this outing that is perfectly underscored by very crisp and clean production. If you have hesitated in picking up this latest of the inimitable PK because of the paucity of praise for it - wait no longer. His sturdy muse is still bearing fruit of a very fine taste.

I have nearly every Paul Kelly CD available, and I really wanted to like this CD. Unfortunately, I think it is his worst CD. Paul Kelly has always impressed me with his ability to create a hook and sing in a warm, familiar style. This CD has two great songs on in, "Fields of France" and "You're 39, you're beautiful, and you're mine". These two songs stand up to the best of his work.

As for the rest of the CD, Kelly comes across as cynical and even bitter. "Right outta my head" is the worst song that he has ever recorded. The lyrical content of this song is poorly executed. The other songs are passable, but Kelly has never filled an album full of filler, as he has here. This is the man who came up with many instantly memorable songs, his career is a long testimony to his ability to write great music. Here, few of the songs sink in, they are either too wordy, or the melody just does not catch. His guitar work comes across as dense, instaed of lyrical. The thing is that he is a great musican, who has consistently impressed over the years, in comparsion, this work suffers against his own standard. The sticker on the front warns of explicit lyrical content, entirely due to "Right Outta my Head", what the sticker should have mentioned was that any other Cd of his would be a better choice for the listener.

Paul Kelly is one of my favorites, so it saddens me to write this, 'Gossip", "Comedy" and "Wanted Man" are were I would start, if you were new to Paul Kelly. Hopefully, this is just a short abberation.