Distilling the essence of us

The double album Gossip was the very first Paul Kelly album I bought. I can’t remember when, but I guess it was around 1986. I am sure I nearly wore it out playing it (these were the days of vinyl), and I have been a fan ever since. I think of Paul Kelly as more of a story teller than a singer, with his marvellous ability to distil out the essence of humanity.

And living away from home in Europe, there is nothing like a dose of Paul Kelly to easily get back in touch with Australia. The nation, its icons and it psyche are embedded in his words.

I couldn’t name a favourite album or track. The catalogue is too vast, and there are so many tracks that have such gems in them. I am always finding something new in the songs, even tracks I have listened to many times. So I thought I would try and come up with a dozen. They are in no particular order, and I am sure this would be different on a different day, but here goes:

• How to Make Gravy
• To Her Door
• I Can’t Believe we were Married
• Sydney from a 747
• Every f*#king City
• Everything’s Turning to White (the same story on which the recent film Jindabyne is based)
• Deeper Water
• Winter Coat
• Forty Miles to Saturday Night
• From Little Things Big Things Grow (written with Kev Carmody)
• When I First Met your Ma
• The covers of It Started with a Kiss (original by Hot Chocolate) and Reckless (Australian Crawl)

Cricket is obviously a passion for Kelly, and is the spur for this post. Coming on top of the earlier numbers Bradman and David Gower (a hidden track on the album Comedy), Kelly has now recorded a song about Shane Warne. The notes introducing the track are thus:

“I was watching this year's Sydney Ashes test on TV around the same time as listening to Lord Kitchener's (aka Aldwyn Roberts) great calypso song London Is The Place For Me. The Kitchener tune suggested to me a new set of lyrics based on the adventures of Shane Warne.”

And in his unique way, Paul Kelly has captured the essence of a sportsman that has become a part of modern cricket folklore, and a part of modern Australian culture. The good, the unbelievable and the infamous are captured, all in four short minutes. But rather than me rave on, check it our for yourself…

Shane