Deeper Water

Tracks:

Blush
Extra Mile
I'll Forgive But I Won't Forget
Queen Stone
Deeper Water
Madeleine's Song
Difficult Woman
Give In To My Love
I've Been A Fool
Anastasia Changes Her Mind
California
Gathering Storm

Amazon.com

The title song of Paul Kelly's brilliant Deeper Water begins with a childhood memory of being carried in his father's strong arms above the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean. A folkish, nostalgic arpeggio is played on an electric guitar as the verse gives way to the hymn-like chorus, "Deeper water, deeper water, calling him on." To this point, the song has the well-crafted, country-folk feel of a John Hiatt family number, but then it falls apart. The pretty folk arrangement is overtaken by a disorienting, Lou Reed-ish guitar riff as if the singer had dropped into a bottomless sea, and Kelly describes the analogous experience of falling in love with a woman only to watch her waste away from disease. He sings the fetching melody of the chorus in the same deadpan tone, but now it has a very different connotation. It would seem nearly impossible to capture the tuneful domesticity of Hiatt's work and the droning nightmares of Reed's on the same album--much less the same song--but Australia's Paul Kelly is an extraordinary songwriter and singer. Kelly has had a few hits and exerts lots of influence at home in the antipodes, but he's little more than a rumor in North America, despite releasing six of his 11 albums here, of which this is among the best. He foregoes the obvious gestures of pop music for insinuating rhythms and unassuming melodies which sneak up on the listener and slowly but surely seep in. This understated approach fits his lyrics, which are too aware of the paradoxes and gray areas of adult relationships to deliver simple answers to familiar questions. The album, recorded in Melbourne with Kelly's current Australian band, is full of hints at anger, lust, giddiness and sadness lurking behind the low-key craft of Kelly's rootsy bar-band music. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Thanks to a friend.......2005-01-21

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

An Adult Rocker .......2004-10-10

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.

A voice from Venus................2004-05-02

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?

Bigger than a Cadillac.......2003-03-29

"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!

A darker and harder edged album, but lacking adventure.......2002-03-23

Deeper Water is the second album of new material from Paul Kelly post Messengers (PK's former band). It is a darker work than it's predecessor, Wanted Man. Musically it has a harder rock edge, as demonstrated by the excellent opening track Blush and the infectious lead single Give In To My Love. Lyrically it continues the move away from the parochial concerns and settings of earlier work to focus on more universalised themes of love and growing up. This is Kelly looking beyond his homeland of Australia, as evidenced in the wonderfully longing California.

This is an album about relationships and what it is to be human. That this is a darker work than its predecessor is immediately signified by the dominant use of black on the cover (as opposed to the previous album's largely white look). This is carried on by the B&W pictures of water in the sleeve, hinting at deep currents and metaphorically referencing the dark, unpredictable, emotional nature of the characters who populate the songs within. Of course this also points to the key song on the album, the title track, with its story of growing up and the experiences, both of pleasure and of pain, that make up life. This song, and the dedication of the album to The Messengers late guitarist, signal the ever present notion of death. Concurrently, the title track speaks of birth and new life and the wonder of youth, as does Madeleine's Song (about Kelly's young daughter).

While it is true that there is less humour and musical diversity on this record than on some of Kelly's other work, it is still a strong collection of songs, and are as insightful of the human condition as ever. Although it is not his best album, everything Kelly does is above average. And this is worth owning simply for the wonderful Anastasia Changes Her Mind - a song I once saw Paul give a brilliant impromptu performance of at a Writer's Week talk in Adelaide, South Australia.

Deeper Water
Average customer rating:
Deeper Water
Paul Kelly
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000695NI