(ABC Music/Universal)

Three disc extravaganza celebrating the work of the Melburnian troubadour

Like Springsteen, Paul Kelly is one of those songwriters intrinsically connected with his home country, who appeals to lovers of his tender and poetic songs, as well as bogans hollering “To Her Dooooor!” at concerts. He’s clearly inspired generations of musicians and music lovers and for that he should be applauded. Alas (and this is the equivalent of burning the Australian flag to some people), your reviewer has never really warmed to this guy. Kelly tributes are not exactly a unique thing and the prospect of people like Paul Dempsey doing earnest renditions of Dumb Things does not give me a great deal of pleasure. The first two discs are live recordings of Aussie luminaries covering their hero and it gets off to a cracking start with Ash Naylor and Bob Evans doing sterling versions of two of Kelly’s best songs Before Too Long and Love Never Runs On Time. Megan Washington’s a cappella version of Meet Me In The Middle Of The Air brings out the goosebumps, and Clare Bowditch adds a touch of country rock spice to hoary beer anthem To Her Door. Less enjoyable is Katy Steele’s Every Fucking City – not her fault, it’s just a deeply tedious song. There are some nifty reinventions (Adalita turning Sweet Guy into a greasy, churning rock & roll number, for instance) and the third disc of Kelly’s original versions of the songs covered on the previous two CDs is a nifty touch – not to mention an extra incentive for Kelly-ites to commit a few shekels to this comprehensive collection. It’s a set that will simultaneously delight the fans and fail to convert non-believers like myself.

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MATT THROWER

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