Paul Kelly – …Nothing But A Dream

Time Off - 14th August 2001
by Matt Connors

Rating: 4/5 stars

Australia’s pre-eminent songman, Paul Kelly doesn’t make bad albums: it’s more a question of how good. His first solo work since 1998’s Words And Music, …Nothing But A Dream is a solid return.

An engaging listen, it mixes Kelly’s traditional narratives with more introspective, personal numbers. The crystalline ‘If I Could Start Today Again’ is his best album opener since Wanted Man’s ‘Summer Rain’, and alongside ‘Change Your Mind’ and ‘Midnight Rain’ makes for a sombre start – it’s all forlorn looks and lost love here.

‘I Close My Eyes And Think Of You’ is a more uptempo number, but the thematic content remains one of absence and loss. The lament gives out on ‘Somewhere In The City’ – which is almost a Kelly cliché – and where our protagonist still misses his gal.

The drum’n’bass thump of ‘Just About To Break’, the hooky pop and snappy rhythms of ‘Love Is The Law’ and the soul folk of ‘The Pretty Place’ and ‘I Wasted Time’ add more meat. ‘Would You Be My Friend’ and ‘Smoke Under The Bridge’ are pure P.K. poetry.

Given time, …Nothing But A Dream will sit proudly in his back catalogue.