Stolen Apples
By Paul Kelly
Capitol, 2007
11 tracks, $25.99
It's not surprising that Paul Kelly, who started his career writing poetry and learning guitar, should release Stolen Apples — his first album under his own name since 2004 — which draws inspiration from radical poet William Blake.
Blake's collection of poetry Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) counterposes the innocent world of childhood to the adult world of repression and corruption. Blake's poems address such themes as despotic authority, restrictive morality, sexual repression and institutionalised religion, and the way that these separate modes of control work together to restrict true humanity.
Kelly's music has always explored a true humanity. I remember the rush of raw emotion that came from every track on Gossip (Kelly's second album) in 1986. In 1987, as many Australians were preparing to celebrate the country's bicentenary in 1988, Kelly released Under the Sun with the track "Bicentennial":
"A ship is sailing into harbour
A party's waiting on the shore
And they're running up the flag now
And they want us all to cheer.
"Charlie's head nearly reaches the ceiling
But his feet don't touch the floor
From a prison issue blanket his body's swinging
He won't dance any more
Take me away from your dance floor
Leave me out of your parade
I have not the heart for dancing
For dancing on his grave."
In the 1990s, "Special Treatment" and "From Little Things Big Things Grow" were anthems for the anti-racist activists of my generation.
Now, in 2007, old and new fans of Kelly won't be disappointed with this new album. From the Middle Eastern influence on "Feelings of Grief", to the guitar riffs on "Stolen Apples" and the banjo on "Sweetest Thing", at the same time as offering something new, the album is everything you would expect from Kelly. Even the album cover and lyrics lift-out pays tribute to Blake, who not only printed his own poetry but accompanied them with his own illustrations and decorative images.
"The Lion and the Lamb" has a feel of Kelly's Professor Ratbaggy days and in reclaiming the song he wrote for Tex, Don and Charlie — "You're 39, You're Beautiful and You're Mine" — he puts it to a waltz beat and it's his. "The Ballard of Queenie and Rover" traces the story of Aboriginal artists Queenie McKenzie and Rover Thomas from the Warmum community in the East Kimberly. "Right Outta My Head" has rough energy, and the final track on the album, "Please Leave Your Light On", is pared back Kelly on piano.
Kelly has collaborated on a range of projects over the past 10 years, including movie soundtracks. His long-term collaboration with singer-songwriter Kev Carmody resulted in Kelly producing the Cannot Buy My Soul tribute album of Kev Carmody songs released this year.
Kelly is currently touring the country, so keep an eye out for a gig near you as he winds his way from Western Australia to Queensland.