Paul Kelly – Fever Longing Still (Cooking Vinyl)
His latest is one of his best ever
In his 40+ year career, Aussie Paul Kelly has had a lot of high moments. Yet, his new album, Fever Longing Still, ranks as one of his finest offerings – succeeding because the singer/songwriter gets to show off his many talents.
His 29th studio album opens with “Houndstooth Dress” – Kelly is directing his band, teaching them the song for the first time, yet this version is so good, he decided to include it. I love the groove, and the highly distorted guitar here. Things turn sharply for the dark, “Love Has Made a Fool of Me” – the tasty, wah wah guitar fills are a nice touch.
“Taught By Experts” is a song that Kelly has attempted before, on his 1999 album, Smoke. But, while the original version had a banjo, here it features a 12-string guitar, which really brings out the melody and makes it the definitive version. The off-kilter “Hello Melancholy, Hello Joy,” with it’s tremelo guitar and horns, has a grandiose feel. “Northern Rivers” is more of a straight-ahead folk song. The stark “Double Business Bound” features just Kelly and piano, before the band comes in, giving it a classic country vibe.
“Let’s Work It Out in Bed” is phenomenal: a pounding piano, funky bass and 70’s strings, give it a retro soul feel, as Kelly duets with Reb Fountain on this plea for reconciliation. I swear this could be a hit single.
Things turn again quickly for “All Those Smiling Faces” – Kelly shows off his innate ability to take an everyday activity (in this case, looking at a scrapbook) and build a story around it. It’s something that sounds easy, but absolutely is not. “Harpoon to the Heart” is old timey country, but I love the tasty guitar licks that answer his singing.
“Back to the Future” has some great lyrics about looking back on a relationship, and features a surprise trombone solo. “Eight Hours Sleep” is so true. You can have everything, but you can’t buy good sleep – as anyone who is getting older, you know this to be true.
The album closes with the light jazz of “Going to the River with Dad,” reminiscing about time with his father where he sings “he’s long gone / I’ve passed his span / but myself against him / I’m still measuring.”
Stylistically, Fever Longing Still is all over the road. Yet, Kelly succeeds at everything he tries here. If there’s one thing that ties it all together, it’s love, in all its different aspects. At 69 years old, Paul Kelly is still a lover at heart – a lover at the peak of his talents. Fever Longing Still shows all of them off. —Tony Peters