Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian folk singer, who is recognised for his eclectic music tangents across his prolific music career. Born 13th January, 1955, it was in his teenage years when he discovered his aptitude and affinity for music. After having a difficult upbringing, including the shocking death of his father when Paul was 13, Paul lacked direction, and his drug and illicit substance use became more proliferous, as he grew into his later teenage/younger adult years. Paul was the 6th child of nine, and he was raised in a strictly catholic household, of which his family upheld very strongly, although Paul himself describes himself as non-religious.
Paul Kelly attended Rostrevor College, a Catholic, Christian Brothers school in South Australia. His musical endeavours commenced, as he studied the trumpet and piano, becoming proficient in both. Paul was a highly distinguished sportsman, captaining the first 11 cricket team, and playing in the first 18 Australian-rules football team. Although his musical and sporting prowess were pellucid, his academic results could not be understated, as he graduated as the D.U.X of his senior year at Rostrevor College. Paul went on to study arts at Flinders University, but left after a term after commencing his tertiary studies in 1973, as his disenchantment with academic life grew. Lacking direction, he began writing spoken word and commissioned a magazine in congruence with his friends. For the next three years, Paul worked a number of jobs whilst learning the guitar, before finally travelling to a Melbourne in 1976.
In Melbourne, Paul was enveloped by literature, which he spent a great amount of time studying, whilst sleeping on a mattress on the floor and living a modest life. During this time he was situated in a musically inclined environment, whilst he formed his first band, known as the ‘High Rise Bombers.’ As Paul was in his early 20s, he was inexperienced, albeit ambitious, and he did not want his band to fall under the ‘cover band’ label, and wanted to utilise his ensemble as a creative outlet for his musical ideas. It was during this time, circa 1976, when he began what would prove to be a great many years of substance abuse, encapsulating a plethora of illicit substances, primarily constituting, but not limited to, heroin, which was the drug of choice, especially for performing musicians, who often had unrestricted access to this illegal paraphernalia, which was simply a darker component of the music industry.
After deciding that his band had reached a plateau, he ceased making music with the ‘High rise Bombers,’ and formed a new band, ‘The Dots,’ which was highly influenced by his youthful, sexual energy, however Paul, being young and impressionable, was still rather naïve at the time, incontrovertibly leading to his difficulty in keeping bands together. Due to his infallible perfectionism, he decided to discontinue the band in 1984, after not being satiated with the studio albums released prior with ‘The Dots,’ named ‘Talk,’ and ‘Manila.’ It was during this time when he decided to go solo, and thus moved to Sydney and recorded a solo album, ‘Post,’ which did not have the support of a record label, and thus exposing and releasing the album became an unprecedented obstacle. With little money, the album was of a lower quality, however it captured the essence of the musician perfectly, so perfectly, that Mushroom Records decided to offer Kelly another contract, and thus Paul formed his 3rd band, in 1986, known as ‘Paul Kelly and the Coloured girls.’
The band were highly prolific, recording an enormous, 14-track double album, known as ‘Gossip.’ The album went gold in Australia, and a number of tracks from the album were hits amongst the Australian populous, such as ‘Before too long,’ and ‘Darling it hurts.’ To avoid any racial tension, as the name ‘Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls,’ had obvious racial allusions, Paul decided to rename the band to ‘Paul Kelly and the Messengers,’ in the winter of 1987. After two more successful albums, ‘So Much Water, Close to Home,’ and ‘Comedy,’ Kelly decided to disband, and dissolved the group after a farewell tour, as he believed they had peaked, and could only go downhill from their apex of which they had built from in prior years.
After many tangential off-shoots from the rock roots he had built himself on, Paul decided to transcend his musical limits, after he toured America and Australia for the next two years, and break racial barriers by collaborating with Aboriginal artist Archie Roach, an activist for Aboriginal rights, an esteemed musician, and a great influence on Kelly. In a collaborative effort, the pair produced the ‘Charcoal Lane’ album, an album for the promotion of racial awareness in Australia. Paul would become incredibly attuned to the injustices of which the Australian indigenous would be burdened, and thus gave himself the responsibility of advocating for the resolution of racial tension in Australia, especially amongst the indigenous community, through his songs written for the stage play, ‘Funerals and Circuses.’ Paul would become more outspoken about his ambitions for indigenous Australia in years to come, and has not let time taint his message of racial restoration in the slightest.
Paul released a ‘Greatest Hits’ album in 1997, going double platinum, receiving a succeeding album 11 years later, in 2008. During this period, in 1999 he formed a new band, ‘Professor Ratbaggy,’ which predominately produces technology-based music. In 1999, he also released a collaborative album with ‘Uncle Bill,’ in the style of American Bluegrass. Although sales have declined in recent years, Paul’s efforts to remain relevant, have been largely successful through his willingness and desire to collaborate with other famous, or budding artists, like Kira Puru, Vika Bull, Dan Sultan and Clairy brown, with which he recorded the 2014 album ‘The Merri Soul Sessions,’ a largely soul and R&B based-album. Paul has collaborated, and continues to collaborate with many artists today, and is not lacking in musical output, releasing 3 albums from 2016 – 2018, including the poetically influenced, ‘Seven Sonnets and a Song,’ ‘Life is fine,’ and ‘Nature’ in 2016-2018 respectively, which all saw sales increase from previous years, such as the collaborative efforts with ‘Professor Ratbaggy,’ ‘Stardust Five, ‘(2006) and ‘Stolen Apples,’ with which he released a live album of performances with the band from 2007-2008. In 2018, Paul still performs and creates music by himself, and with the assistance of his band formed in 2002, known as ‘Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions,’ of which a relatively high level of success has been attained with the band.
His musical influences include Peter, Paul and Mary, early Australian folk singers, as well as Australian bands such as the Hoodoo Gurus, the Go-Betweens, Archie Roach and Jimmy Horton, as well as the likes of Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen, all of which produce(d) different styles of music. Each influence played a role in crafting the musician Kelly is today, and his eclectic music tastes as a child, including opera, and classical music, largely attributed to his grandmother, who often played the records, as well as dozens of artists throughout his life, including those aforementioned and many others, are in abundance. The styles of which Kelly has been influenced by are countless, however rock, blues, r&b, soul, bluegrass, opera, classical, and folk music are just a few of the genres of which Kelly has taken inspiration from, to become what would be arguably the greatest Australian musician and song-writer in history. In the words of Kelly “Good poets borrow, great poets steal.” This really could not be any truer in the case of Kelly.
Paul Kelly is known as a folk artist, specifically for his raw, emotional lyrics and sensual performing, and he specialises in acoustic performance, in a bid to become more attuned with the audience to which he is performing. Folk music is defined as “music that originates in traditional popular culture or that is written in such a style. Folk music is typically of unknown authorship and is transmitted orally from generation to generation.” – this definition captures the very essence of Paul, who prides himself, albeit humbly, on his lyrical ability, as well as his ability to convey raw emotion to an audience, usually about his experiences, Australian social issues and pressing matters in the current world. Despite this, Paul does not want to be known as just a folk singer, and thus has formulated a plethora of bands over the years, all of which have other stylistic influences, and extend over many genres of music.
In his entire 40 year career as an artist, Paul has released 22 studio albums with a multitude of bands, including 10 soundtrack albums, 2 compilation albums, 4 video albums and 4 live albums. There has been great variation in sale figured throughout this time, although to this day, albums such as the ‘Greatest hits’ compilations, as well as newer released continue to sell well, representing decades of musical proficiency by the Australia artist, who continues to transcend musical barriers, and make musical history in modern times.
Archie Roach
Archie Roach, and Indigenous Australian song writer, rose to fame in the early 90s. His critically acclaimed debut album ‘Charcoal lane’ brought him into the forefront of Australian Music, as his songs about the ‘Stolen Generation’ resonated with the country. He would quickly become a force in Australian folk music. Roach had fallen victim to the ‘Stolen Generation’ and was adopted by a white, Scottish family as a young boy. He found his love of music by going to church, and quickly adopted the guitar as his instrument of choice. Becoming disillusioned with his upbringing, he quickly became livid and left his adopted family. He would spent over a decade looking for his biological family, and eventually found another ‘Stolen’ child, Rose Hunter, on the streets of Sydney. The two were soulmates, and formed ‘the Altogethers,’ with one another. Roach was discovered, after performing ‘Took the Children Away’ on a local news channel, and was asked to open for Paul Kelly numerous times, whilst Roach recorded his Debut Album in 1990. His debut album was a hit, and in no time, and after collaborating with Bob Dylan, Paul Kelly and several others Archie Roach was on a global scale. Whilst reaching an enviable level of superstardom, Roach has been debilitated by an onslaught of ill-health, including a stroke less than a decade ago, whilst on tour, after losing his beloved wife to a heart attack in 2010, followed by a cancer diagnosis preceding the removal of one of his lungs. Unbelievably Roach was well enough to record another album in 2012 ‘Into the Bloodstream. Still an active and touring musician, his latest studio album was ‘Let Love Rule,’ released in 2016.
The Hoodoo Gurus
The Hoodoo Gurus took inspiration from many a diverse source, including B-grade movies, poorly produces sit-coms, and American pop music, to create the distinctive sound which only the Hoodoo Gurus possess. Formed in Sydney in 1981, Hoodoo Gurus singer Dave Faulkner, James Baker, Ex-Scientist Rod Radalj and Kimble Rendall were unique in that their band consisted of 3 guitars and no bass. Their catchy songs quickly gained attention, and were offered a record deal in 1981. Succeeding their debut single "Leilani," Radalj and Rendall quit the band, and Brad Shepherd and bassist Clyde Bramley took their place. In 1983, the Hoodoo Gurus released their first critically acclaimed album names, ‘Stoneage Romeos,’ featuring hit records, "I Want You Back," "In the Echo Chamber," and "I Was a Kamikaze Pilot." After James Baker left the band, to be replaced by Mark Kingsmill, James was the only original remaining member. Bramley exited, replaced by onetime Divinyl Rick Grossman. After the 1985 effort ‘Mars Need Guitars’ failed to resonate with radio stations across Australia, Clyde Bramley decided to leave the band. After the remaining member had relative success in the following years, they lacked musical inspiration, and thus took a calculated hiatus from music. After this period, the Hoodoo Gurus released another album ‘Crank’ in 1994, featuring heavier songs, succeeded by ‘In Blue Cave,’ in 1996. As musical ideas were scarce, the band announced a disbandment to the public in 1998. In 2000, Faulkner, Shepherd, and Kingsmill reformed, and were quick to make new content, and in 2004, the band reunited, featuring previous bassist Rick Grossman on bass. With a successful tour ensuing, the band released ‘Mach Schau’ in 2004. 5 years later, the band struck a deal with Sony Music Australia, and recorded their 2010's ‘Purity of Essence,’ which saw positive reception. The band continue performing today.
Johnny Horton
Johnny Horton was arguably one of the most proficient honky-tonk singers of the 1950s. Born in Los Angeles in 1925, in modest household, his struggling mother taught him guitar at age 11. After moving to Alaska to become a Fisherman, he started writing songs, disenchanted with his current life. After winning a talent contest in East Texas, he was inspired to continue a career in the performing arts. After beginning his career performing small venues, he was quickly approached by known con-man and incompetent manager Fabor Robison. Shortly after his signing his first record deal, the deal fell through, inspiring Robison to create his own Label, Abbott Records. After befriending Hank Williams, in 1952, the two became friends, and Hank gave Horton guidance on how to promote himself and formulate an image. After still having no chart success, Horton was considering a retirement from the business, to work his regular hayride job. In a moment of luck, when Horton hired Tillman Franks. This would bring immediate success. At his first recording session at his new record label, he recorded "Honky Tonk Man," giving him an immediate ‘rockabilly’ label. After a few successful singles, including three top 15 hits and one top 10 hit, his luck quickly ran out, in in 1957-1958, his music didn’t reach the charts. In the latter half of 1958, he recovered, and released two successful singles, charting long enough for Horton to regain popularity. of "When It's Spring Time in Alaska" was his most successful song. Charting for 10 weeks, and crossing over into the pop-charts. At the peak of his career, his life was cut drastically short in a fatal car accident in 1960. Although his career was short, he has remained influential, and his legacy as a Honky-tonk/Rockabilly musician will subsist for many years to come.
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were a Brisbane-based rock band, formed in the 1980s by enthusiastic teenagers Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, enchanted and inspired by the sensual and raw rock of Bob Dylan, and the Velvet Underground and encouraged by many Australian Punk Bands in prior decades, forming in the Punk Revolution which began in the 1970s, attributed largely to bands such as the Sex Pistols. The 1980s band were successful in their own right, although as the band took an intermittent period in the 1990s, as they each wanted to record solo albums, and whilst they did not have the same reception or popularity as content released with the collective unit, each band member who partook in the undertaking of a solo album gave respectable efforts, and managed to maintain a high level of musicianship throughout this time, preserving the band’s accumulated legacy. Their first two singles released were influenced by the British invasion, and show an affinity for the pop/rock era of the 1960-1970s influx of this type of music. Gaining a drummer in the band early on, they signed a record deal quickly, and quickly recorded an LP, centring around non-traditional rock/unorthodox instrumentalization. The album proved to be a success, and with this in mind, the band continued to produce 5 excellent LPs in future years. After the aforementioned hiatus in the 1990s came to an end, the band decided to reenter the music scene as a band, and release a new album, titles ‘The Friends of Rachel Worth,’. The band proceeded to recorded succeeding albums released in 2003, and 2005, rec a 2005 concert in their hometown, the DVD/CD package. That final album, ‘Striped Sunlight Sound’ was released in ea rly 2006, just before the tragic death of original member Grant McLennan in 2006. The band have not been active since the death of McLennan in 2006, but their musical footprint will remain-ever present in Australian classic rock.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan, born May 24, 1941, is an American musician, lyricist and poet, who has been at the forefront of popular culture for 5 decades. His most celebrated and recognised songs include "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin,’ a direct opposition to the American Civil War. Dylan focuses on lyrical content, and delves into pressing social issues concerning philosophy, literature and society. Bob has an eclectic discography, with genres ranging from folk, blues, and country to gospel, to rock and roll, and many more. Bob has been touring since the 1980s, and has effectively never taken a substantial break from music since said time. Dylan made first major breakthrough as a musician with the release of 1963s ‘The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan’, including mega-hit "Blowin' in the Wind.” After his seemingly overnight success, he found himself unable to tour temporarily after being involved in a major motorcycle accident in 1966. Throughout his long career, Dylan has estimated record sales at 100 million, ranking him in the top 10 best-selling artists of all time. Dylan has received 11 Grammy Awards, one Golden Globe Award, and a single Academy Award, as well as being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. Just 2 years ago, Dylan was awarded of the honour of receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, the reason – "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” Bob has had a profound impact on the world, and his inspired, and insightful songs will likely be immortalised in the messages Dylan conveyed so powerfully and effectively throughout his long, proliferous career. Still touring today, Bob Dylan has secured himself as one of the greatest and most devoted artists of the modern era.
Verse 1]
Hello Dan, it's Joe here
I hope you're keeping well
It's the 21st of December
And now they're ringing the last bells
If I get good behaviour
I'll be out of here by July
Won't you kiss my kids on Christmas Day?
Please don't let 'em cry for me
The song is about a man called Joe, who has quite obviously done something regrettable to have ended up in gaol. It is nearing Christmas, as line 3 would suggest, it is the 21st December, and it does not look like Joe will be out of the facility by Christmas Day, rather July the next year. He pleads to Dan to kiss his kids and make them feel loved on Christmas Day, as he is distraught that he won’t be out of jail by then to do it himself.
[Verse 2]
I guess the brothers are driving down from Queensland
And Stella's flying in from the coast
They say it's gonna be a hundred degrees, even more maybe
But that won't stop the roast
Who's gonna make the gravy now?
I bet it won't taste the same
Just add flour, salt, a little red wine
And don't forget a dollop of tomato sauce
For sweetness and that extra tang
This verse makes it clear that Christmas is a family event, as both the brothers and sisters are coming from interstate for the occasion. Joe details his concern for the production of the gravy, as it is obviously a recipe which he is accustomed to making at Christmas time. As he sadly cannot attend, he tries to lighten the mood with a reminder on how to get a signature tang, by adding tomato sauce to the mixture.
[Chorus 1]
And give my love to Angus, and to Frank and Dolly
Tell 'em all I'm sorry, I screwed up this time
And look after Rita, I'll be thinking of her
Early Christmas morning when I'm standing in line
Joe is clearly distraught that he cannot be there in person to demonstrate his affection and care for his family, and he makes it clear he takes responsibility for his undisclosed mistake. He states his love for his significant other, Rita, who he cannot be there with at what is supposed to be a unitive and bonding time.
[Verse 3]
I hear Mary's got a new boyfriend
I hope he can hold his own
Do you remember the last one? What was his name again?
Ahh, just a little too much cologne
And Roger, you know I'm even gonna miss Roger
'Cause there's sure as hell no one in here I want to fight
Joe has heard work of Mary’s new boyfriend, Mary likely being a close family member. He mentions this to keep himself in the loop, and try to be as attentive as he can towards his family, so as to not lose touch. He obviously misses them dearly, clearly alluded to in the line ‘And Roger, you know I'm even gonna miss Roger 'Cause there's sure as hell no one in here I want to fight.’ This tell us that although he had quarrels with ‘Roger,’ he even misses him, and would not want to fight with anyone but Roger.
[Chorus 2]
Oh, praise the Baby Jesus, have a Merry Christmas
I'm really gonna miss it, all the treasure and the trash
And later in the evening, I can just imagine
You'll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back
Joe explicitly states his desire to be back home, and it is made very clear that he will miss every aspect of Christmas, from the treasure to the trash, and the household traditions. Joe is obviously yearning to be home.
[Chorus 3]
And you'll dance with Rita, I know you really like her
Just don't hold her too close
Oh, brother, please don't stab me in the back
I didn't mean to say that, it's just my mind it plays up
Multiplies each matter, turns imagination into fact
Joe speculates that Dan will dance with his spouse, as he knows he fancies her, all he requests is that he doesn’t get to intimate, and stab him (a good friend) in the back. He then states that he doesn’t mean it like that, it’s just his hyperactive imagination processing every possible fear he has about everything.
[Chorus 4]
You know I love her badly, she's the one to save me
I'm gonna make some gravy, I'm gonna taste the fat
Ahh, tell her that I'm sorry, yeah, I love her badly
Tell 'em all I'm sorry, and kiss the sleepy children for me
You know one of these days, I'll be making gravy
I'll be making plenty, I'm gonna pay 'em all back
This heart-wrenching verse details how Rita has been a driving force in keeping Joe motivated to live on, and how he misses her dearly. Again he reiterates on the time when he will come home to his beloved and make his signature gravy, to pay them back for all the time lost to his time in jail and allow things to go back to the way they were before. Joe cannot wait to be reunited with his family
In summary, How to Make Gravy, is a representation of all of the unfortunate individuals won’t be able to be there for their families at Christmas time. This song has a more profound meaning to those who have done regrettable things in the past, preventing them from maintaining a close familial relationship with their family or loved ones. The motif of gravy and inside family jokes detailed throughout the song symbolises his tight-knit familial bond and the memories formed with them.
John Farnham and Paul Kelly – Analysis between musical styles
John Peter Farnham is an English-born Australian singer, born 1 July 1949 Dagenham, Essex, England. His musical styles include Pop rock, adult contemporary and soft rock. Pop rock, literally meaning, ‘popular rock’ is the style in which his greatest hits, including You’re The Voice, and Pressure Down are written in. Pop-Rock differs from traditional rock, as it often strays from the traditional, bass-guitar driven music of rock and roll, or rock, and is usually considered a more moderate, more universal, hence ‘popular’ version of Rock. Adult contemporary music, is incredibly similar to soft-rock, the other style in which John Farnham writes his music in, and thus can be analysed together. Adult contemporary is music of the present day, usually ballad-heavy tunes, with easy to listen to melodies, and a soulful, rock-influenced, ballad-like sound to each of them. John Farnham has forged the latter part of his 50 year career on Adult contemporary and soft-rock, releasing popular hits such as Burn for You, and When the War is Over.
As aforementioned, Paul Kelly has an eclectic music taste, and produces music in the Australian rock, acoustic and folk categories. Paul Kelly focuses on acoustic performance, and places great value on lyrics within a song, and uses them to conduce vivid imagery within one’s mind when one is listening to the song. This is characteristic of folk music, where the lyrical content outweighs the musical content, although Paul Kelly certainly is certainly not lacklustre in that department either. Paul is an acoustic performer, typical of folk music, where a story is being told, and all that is required is a guitar or similar instrument to provide basic musical support for the supplementary vocals. Paul Kelly also writes songs in the ‘Australian Rock’ category, which is traditional rock music with references to Australia, Australian culture, and Australian society. Kelly specialises in music relating to Australia.
Both musicians produce(d) different genres of music. John Farnham specialised in producing songs which were catchy, anthemic and had global appeal. He formulated hits such as ‘You’re the Voice’ not as message songs, rather songs which could be sung along to in anthemic fashion, rather than producing folk songs, with lyrical content being the primary component of the song. Farnham rarely, if ever, produced acoustic songs, and in concert, seldom performed acoustic, with just an instrument to provide backup for his voice. Whilst he writes songs relating to Australia, and in songs airs his disdain for war, he always made his voice the selling point of the song, along with a catchy hook and recognisable melody. Kelly was quite the opposite. Whilst he could write catchy songs, his focus was self-admittedly on the lyrics, rather than the complexity of the songs instrumental components. This is the major difference between the two artists. Kelly simply does not have the vocal proficiency to write songs centred around vocal power-housing, whereas Farnham certainly does have the range, power and technique to move an audience with his vocal prowess alone. Despite this, neither are superior to the other, it is down to subjective taste. Both Farnham and Kelly have impressive discographies, with many number one hits, and a relevance to Australia. Whilst genres vary between the two, their influences are simply incontrovertible.
Cameron Tunno