Paul Kelly: “Christmas Train” (2021) CD Review

I am fairly certain there is a law compelling musicians to release at least one holiday album during their careers. They do so with varying degrees of success, but I figured when Paul Kelly got around to appeasing those behind that odd statute, he would put out something special. And, indeed, Christmas Train, his new holiday release, is something special. As he mentions in the album’s liner notes, he set out to “incorporate many of the different strands of Christmas – secular and sacred, ancient and modern, serious and fun – into an idiosyncratic tapestry of sound and story.” And, yeah, he delivers a fantastic mix of traditional pieces and more modern songs, addressing many different aspects of the holiday, and doing it all with sincerity and joy. He gives us two albums’ worth of music here, seventy-five minutes of holiday cheer. And Paul Kelly obviously took a lot of care and consideration in putting together these tracks. There is a lot to love here. This release instantly became one of my absolute favorite holiday albums.

Paul Kelly starts things off with “Nativity.” He has put poems and sonnets to music before, and here he takes John Donne’s poem, and sets it to beautiful music. Christmas is of course a time for family, and this CD is something of a family affair, with Paul’s daughters Maddy and Memphis providing backing vocals on this track, adding another layer of beauty to it. That’s followed by one of the holiday’s prettiest songs, “Silent Night.” Paul Kelly delivers a sweet rendition with a Hawaiian vibe, with Shane Reilly on ukulele and pedal steel guitar. Part of this one is sung in its original German. Paul Kelly gets some help on vocals from Alice Keath and Sime Nugent. Then we get one you might not know, Casey Bennetto’s “Swing Around The Sun.” And indeed, this one gently swings, this track possessing a delicious jazz vibe. It also has a playful bent, its opening line being “Christmas comes but once a year and that’s a lucky break.” Paul Kelly is clearly have a delightful time with this song, totally getting into the spirit of the thing, and this ends up being one of the disc’s highlights for me. “And I bet some day along the way your faith will be restored/Come sit beside me on the ride, I’m happy you’re on board.”

“Christmas,” a song written by Chris Harrington and Wes Harrington, and originally recorded by Melbourne band Large Number Twelves, seriously rocks. And the repeated line “I wanna go back to the people I love” will certainly speak to a lot of folks in these days of the pandemic when traveling is again hazardous and many things are once again being canceled. Then Linda Bull joins Paul Kelly on lead vocals for “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home).” This track has a wonderful, classic sound, right out of the early 1960s, when Darlene Love released her version. And in a way it follows that theme of wanting to be with someone you love established in the previous track. There is such great energy to this track. And again, this album is something of a family affair, with Maddy and Memphis Kelly again providing harmony vocals, and nephew Dan Kelly on 12-string acoustic guitar and backing vocals, and grandson Juniper Kelly on bells.

Ever since my childhood, “Little Drummer Boy” has been one of my favorite Christmas songs. Paul Kelly’s rendition has an interesting tone at the beginning, a military sound, with a darkness behind it, almost like it is emerging from the smoke of a battle field. There is a beauty to it as well, like the song is able to spread a calm, a peace over the land. Paul Kelly gets quite a bit of help on vocals on this track, from bother Tony Kelly, sister Mary Jo Kelly, and daughters Maddy and Memphis, along with Vika Bull and Linda Bull. This is an excellent rendition. Paul Kelly follows that with an Irish folk song, “Arthur McBride.” It is a good choice to follow his version of “Little Drummer Boy,” for it continues a sort of military theme, this song being a sort of anti-war song, and actually it contains the line “And a little wee drummer, intending to camp.” And yes this song is related to Christmas, taking place on Christmas morning. Dan Kelly plays mandolin on this one, and Cameron Bruce provides some nice work on harmonium and organ.

One of the best tracks on The Staple Singers’ The Twenty-Fifth Day Of December (which was re-issued on vinyl on Black Friday) is “The Virgin Mary Had One Son,” an absolutely stunning bluesy gospel number. Paul Kelly dives into this excellent song, the lead vocals here provided by Emma Donovan, who gives a passionate and powerful performance. Vika and Linda Bull provide the harmony vocals. This is a very cool track, the mood established in part by Ashley Naylor’s work on slide electric guitar, Dan Kelly on baritone guitar, and Cameron Bruce on organ. Then Marlon Williams sings lead on a gorgeous rendition of “Tapu Te Po (O Holy Night),” featuring the work of Dhungala Children’s Choir. Perhaps one of the most surprising choices is “Shalom Aleichem,” with another excellent guest vocal performance, this one by Lior Attar. Paul Kelly, Emily Lubitz and Alice Keath provide the harmony vocals, the voices unaccompanied by any instruments. It is a gorgeous and moving piece. (By the way, an English translation of the lyrics is provided in the liner notes.)

Paul Kelly then sets another poem to music, this time Thomas Hardy’s “The Oxen.” I especially like Dan Kelly’s work on electric guitar on this track. That’s followed by “The Friendly Beasts,” which has a traditional folk sound, the vocal work having the feel of an old record, which I love. Kasey Chambers sings on this track. That in turn is followed by another song with a great folk sound, “Three Drovers.” Here Paul Kelly is joined by Alice Keath on vocals and banjo, and by Sime Nugent on vocals. This track also features some nice work by Paul Kelly on harmonica. We then are treated to a cover of The Band’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight,” a song that for one reason or another we don’t hear that often. It was included on The Band’s 1977 album Islands. Gerry Hale adds some nice work on fiddle to this rendition. That’s followed by another unusual choice, “Surah Maryam.” It is a reading of several verses from the Qur’an (or Koran), done by Waleed Aly, backed by Phil Carroll on Turkish mey (a wind instrument). These verses are about the angel speaking to Mary about her upcoming pregnancy. Interestingly, Paul Kelly does not appear on this track.

“Coventry Carol” is a gorgeous piece that is at first all vocals. And there are a lot of singers joining Paul Kelly on this one, including Kate Miller-Heidke, Jess Hitchcock, Alice Keath, Marlon Williams, Sime Nugent, and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. Then halfway through the track, horns are introduced. Richard Shirley and Kieran Conrau are both on trombone, and Rachel Shaw is on French horn. This one creates a serious, spiritual atmosphere. That’s followed by another song I don’t hear that often, Caetano Veloso’s “In The Hot Sun Of A Christmas Day.” This was originally included on Veloso’s 1971 self-titled album (like Peter Gabriel, he released several self-titled albums). This track features some cool work on drums by Peter Luscombe. Cameron Bruce plays marimba and Mellotron on this one. Then we get the one Paul Kelly original song on this release, “How To Make Gravy,” one of his most popular songs, originally released twenty-five years ago. This is a new version, featuring Ashley Naylor on slide electric guitar, Cameron Bruce on organ, Bill McDonald on bass, Dan Kelly on electric guitar, and Linda Bull on backing vocals. I believe that, other than Paul Kelly himself, only drummer Pete Luscombe played on both the original version and this new one. Anyway, it’s always great to hear this song, and this is a really good rendition, with a passionate vocal delivery. “Won’t you kiss my kids on Christmas day, please don’t let ‘em cry for me.”

Things really take off with “Christmas Train,” the album’s title track, a totally fun number featuring Vika Bull on lead vocals. This one was written by Tony Bramel and originally recorded by The BellRays. Then we go back to the spiritual realm with a wonderful rendition of the hymn “Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing,” written by Robert Robinson in the 1700s. This version is adapted from an arrangement by Sufjan Stevens, and features Dan Kelly on banjo and Cameron Bruce on organ. It concludes with a section delivered a cappella. Interestingly, this album wraps up with two tracks on which Paul Kelly does not himself appear. The first is a gorgeous rendition of “Intonent Hodie,” arranged by Alice Keath, who sings on this track, and also plays guitar and violin. This is all her. The second is a totally cool and sweet rendition of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” that features Alma Zygier on vocals, and Willie Zygier on acoustic guitar. “Maybe it’s much too early in the game/Oh, but I thought I’d ask you just the same/What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?”

CD Track List

1. Nativity
2. Silent Night
3. Swing Around The Sun
4. Christmas
5. Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
6. Little Drummer Boy
7. Arthur McBride
8. The Virgin Mary Had One Son
9. Tapu Te Po (O Holy Night)
10. Shalom Aleichem
11. The Oxen
12. The Friendly Beasts
13. Three Drovers
14. Christmas Must Be Tonight
15. Surah Maryam
16. Coventry Carol
17. In The Hot Sun Of A Christmas Day
18. How To Make Gravy
19. Christmas Train
20. Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
21. Intonent Hodie
22. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

Christmas Train was released on November 19, 2021.