The 1981 Listening Post - Paul Kelly and the Dots - Talk

 Reviewed by Paul J Zickler

Released: March 30 1981 Paul Kelly and the Dots Talk Genre: Pop Rock Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Promise Not To Tell The Lowdown Want You Back Billy Baxter Paul Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist who’s been making music for almost 50 years. Not sure if he’s a household name down under, but he’s certainly well known among Aussie music fans. The Dots were his second band, after Melbourne pub rockers The High Rise Bombers. He later went on to a very successful solo career, peaking in popularity in the mid-90’s, but continuing to release new material continuously up to the present. Kelly is mostly known as a folk-tinged pop rocker, but the many influences of 1981 are present here as well. Billy Baxter, the single, is straightforward two-tone style dub. It was the first of Kelly’s many hits in his home country, even if it’s very different from what came later. The Way Love Used to Be could almost pass for UB40. There’s also some power pop and a dash of new wave, even a hint of country. The inevitable Springsteen story song is Cherry, which doesn’t quite get there, but isn’t bad either. More than anything, Paul Kelly is a songwriter. His singing voice is fine, if a little flat here and there, but his ability to combine a clever and/or compelling lyric with a decent hook is notable. He got better at it later, but even on this early album there are some gems: “Are you stepping out with me tonight? / It’s us against the world / I won’t Bogart the bottle / If you don’t Cagney the girls.” (Promise Not to Tell) “Everyone should know their place / But I find it so hard to leave / You wear your face behind your face / But you know me baby, I wear my heart on my sleeve.” (The Lowdown) “The worst are all inspired / The best are all tongue-tied / They see too many sides, but I / I want you back again.” (Want You Back) It’s tempting to think of Paul Kelly as the Australian Bob Dylan, mostly because of his longevity, songwriting acclaim, and ability to slip in and out of various genres while still sounding more like Paul Kelly than anything else. A quick Google search shows he did indeed open for Bob on a few tours, and he seems to be the first guy the Australian press interviews when a new Dylan album drops. I have a copy of his Greatest Hits from ‘97, and it’s pretty solid. This album is a bit underdeveloped, but it shows some promise. I may come back to the highlights the next time I pull up his solo stuff, but I wouldn’t listen to the whole album front to back again. It’s a pleasant 3 for me.