Great, but something missing

Deeper Water
By Paul Kelly
Mushroom Records through Festival
Reviewed by Deb Sorensen This is the sort of album you think you might be disappointed with on first hearing. It grows on you; it's still got that great Paul Kelly sound, but I'm nagged by the suspicion that it's not as good as his earlier albums. The title track is reminiscent of earlier story-songs like "To Her Door" and "So Much Water, So Close to Home". It tells the autobiographical story of learning how to swim, while the deeper water of the title is also a metaphor for growing up and facing bigger responsibilities. The person who introduced me to Paul Kelly would probably say that the lyrics aren't what makes a song, it's the music. The music for this track, and for most other songs on the album, is good, but there's something missing. What's gone is some of the joy, and all of the social commentary. Songs like "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" from Post and the title track from "Under the Sun" had a more up beat, happier sound. Then there were the songs about the dispossession of Aboriginal people such as "Maralinga (Rainy Land)" from Gossip, and the earlier "Special Treatment". Kelly went through a stage of writing lyrics for and about women dealing with how men see women and domestic violence. These included "So Much Water, So Close to Home" and "What Makes Such a Sweet Guy Turn So Mean?" The lyrics on Deeper Water are much more introspective and sombre, at times even bitter. There's a line in "I'll forgive but I won't forget", which goes "You've let me down in so many little ways/ You apologise and I always accept/ 'Cause I forgive but I don't forget". Despite this if you're a Paul Kelly fan you'll probably like Deeper Water. The second track, "Extra Mile", is a bit of a new sound; there's a lot of Kelly's atmospheric harmonica, and a repetitive riff which ends up sounding like a train. Ray Periera's Caribbean-influenced percussion on "Madeleine's Song" is beautiful! There is also some interesting "ambience" on the last two tracks. While I probably like Kelly's earlier albums better, Deeper Water is definitely not in the "forget it" category.