Paul Kelly: “Fever Longing Still” (2024) CD Review

Paul Kelly just announced the first of his 2025 tour dates. So far, those listings are for Australia and New Zealand shows, but I am confident that U.S. dates will be added soon and folks here will get the chance to see him perform songs from his excellent new album Fever Longing Still. He recently completed a very short tour of only three shows, including one in Los Angeles where he treated fans to several new songs, all of which were well received. Fever Longing Still is his first new album since 2021’s Christmas Train (which got a vinyl release in 2022). It features all original material, though one of the tracks is an earlier song that he is revisiting. On most of these tracks, Paul Kelly plays acoustic guitar, though he does also play piano, electric guitar and harmonica on certain numbers. Joining him on this album are Dan Kelly on electric guitar, mandolin and backing vocals; Bill McDonald on bass; Peter Luscombe on drums and percussion; Cameron Bruce on piano, organ and backing vocals; and Ashley Naylor on electric guitar. And there are special guests on various tracks. It’s an outstanding album, one of the best I’ve heard this year. Just what we’ve learned to expect from Paul Kelly.

“All right, are you ready?” Paul Kelly asks as the album starts. He is talking to the other musicians, but we can’t help but answer with a resounding, “Yes!” for ourselves. A few years had passed without a new Paul Kelly album, and for fans, that is quite a long time. He announces the song, “Houndstooth Dress,” and so there is a kind of loose, playful, live vibe, which is great. On this track, he plays piano. This is one of the songs he played at the Teragram Ballroom show earlier this month, the only song that night that found him on the keyboard. This track also features some good stuff by his nephew Dan Kelly on electric guitar. There is a strong energy to this song, part of what makes it a good choice for lead track. That’s followed by “Love Has Made A Fool Of Me,” which establishes a very cool vibe immediately. Check out the opening lines, “I’m so sorry, heart/Here we are again/The bright new start/Has come to the old dark end.” Those are lines that all of us can relate to, having been there at one point or another. “The only one who couldn’t see/I’m afraid love has made a fool of me.” Ah, but we will willingly be fools, again and again, until the one day when things suddenly click, which is probably what we expect will happen each time. I love this song. Paul Kelly delivers a delicious vocal performance, aided by backing vocalists Vika Bull and Linda Bull.

“Taught By Experts” is a song that was included on a few earlier releases, including Live, May 1992 and Smoke, as well as the soundtrack to the television series Fireflies. The Live, May 1992 version is a nice solo rendition, and the Smoke version is a bluegrass rendering. This new version has a rather cheerful pop sound, particularly to the guitar work, which works really well. “Now everything has turned around/Down is up and up is down/You got your fingers burned.” That’s followed by “Hello Melancholy, Hello Joy.” This song has that delicious, familiar energy to Paul Kelly’s vocal line, that hint of punk that we love, helping make this track one of the disc’s highlights. “We’re the particle and the wave/We just don’t know how to behave.” Plus, this track features a horn section – Roscoe James Irwin is on trumpet, Kieran Conrau is on trombone, and Phillip Noy is on baritone saxophone. And it ends with a repetition of the word “Joy.” What more could you ask for?

“Northern Rivers” is another song Paul Kelly played at the recent Los Angeles show. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “She made friends with wild creatures/They were her dreaming, her study and her play/She’s kinda wild too, hard to keep in view/The more I know her, the less I do.” The wonderful guitar work seems to lift us, take off into the sky with her. And interestingly that guitar lead is followed by the lines, “Now the birds here have had their season/They’re all fed up and getting ready to fly.” And is that just a hint of a Polonius reference in the line, “Whatever she does, to herself she’s true”? After all, we know Paul Kelly is a Shakespeare fan. This album’s title is in fact a Shakespeare reference. The first line of Sonnet 147 is “My love is as a fever, longing still.” He slows things down then with “Double Business Bound,” a song that features a moving and outstanding vocal performance. “Oh, moon, hide your face, you don’t want to know/My enemies are all around/To my fate I’m solemnly wedded.” This track also contains some really nice work on keys. Cameron Bruce plays piano and organ. And Paul Kelly delivers some good stuff on harmonica. This is another of my personal favorites.

“Let’s Work It Out In Bed” has a catchy rhythm, particularly in that bass line, and a bit of a 1970s flavor. “Sometimes love takes a fall/Sometimes love can be blind/Love is all, let’s be kind, kind, kind,” Paul Kelly sings here. Oh yes! No matter what happens, no matter the troubles, love is really what it all comes down to. He follows that with “All Those Smiling Faces,” another song he played at the Teragram Ballroom show. The lyrics of this one contain some lines from a poem by Dana Gioia, “Finding A Box Of Family Letters.” “Ooh, get on the floor and dance/You don’t have forever/Ooh, get out there and dance/Soon we’ll all be together.” Life is so short, which is why I can never figure out how some folks choose to use their brief span of time to cause harm. Paul Kelly then changes gears with “Harpoon To The Heart,” a delightful country tune. It’s one I fell in love with instantly, and the line that cemented that love is, “And you don’t even know you’re Ahab in this tale.” We can hear in his vocal delivery how much fun he’s having here. Just see if you can keep from smiling while listening to this song, even as he sings, “Every day I hear the baying from behind/Like a hellhound with the scent/Your ghost’s relentless/Though I know your love is only in my mind.” Then “Back To The Future” has a sweeter vibe. “Do you remember our future?/Well, I do.” Those are great opening lines, right away hinting at a rift between the two people, between their perspectives, while one of them seems to want to repair that rift and return to that future they’d planned. Beautiful. Alice Keath provides some nice backing vocal work.

The first time I listened to this album, just before heading out to the Teragram Ballroom concert, one of the songs that really stood out for me was “Eight Hours Sleep.” It was my favorite track during that initial listen, and since then, my love for it has only grown. It’s an absolutely wonderful and moving song, and with a bit of sweet humor to it as well. And for those of us who never seem to get a full night’s sleep, it’s bloody perfect. It contains a reference to Macbeth, someone else who is unable to get a good night’s sleep. Paul Kelly sings, “Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care,” a line that Macbeth speaks soon after murdering Duncan, when he thinks he hears a voice saying that Macbeth does murder sleep. (By the way, the liner notes booklet mistakenly has “sleeve” in place of “sleave” in the lyrics.) Plus, this track contains some gorgeous backing vocal work by Jess Hitchcock. This song was written by Paul Kelly, Billy Miller and Wendell Berry, and Billy Miller joins Paul Kelly on acoustic guitar and backing vocals. The album then concludes with another beautiful song, “Going To The River With Dad.” I was fighting tears when he played this one at the L.A. concert, though the story it relates is a cheerful one, remembered with fondness. Listening to this song, I am filled with memories of my dad, especially ones from my childhood. Here at home, I don’t bother fighting the tears, but just let them flow, though I am smiling all the while. “Trying to fill the unforgiving minute/With the full sixty seconds of living/Yeah, I’m still on the river with dad/With the birdsong bringing the dawn in.”

CD Track List

1. Houndstooth Dress
2. Love Has Made A Fool Of Me
3. Taught By Experts
4. Hello Melancholy, Hello Joy
5. Northern Rivers
6. Double Business Bound
7. Let’s Work It Out In Bed
8. All Those Smiling Faces
9. Harpoon To The Heart
10. Back To The Future
11. Eight Hours Sleep
12. Going To The River With Dad

Fever Longing Still is scheduled to be released on November 1, 2024

Cathy Segal-Garcia: “Social Anthems Volume 2” (2024) CD Review

In 2021, jazz vocalist Cathy Segal-Garcia released Social Anthems Volume 1, which contained covers of songs that address social issues. The Volume 1 of the title promised a second volume, but it took a few years for her to fulfill that promise. In the meantime, she released an excellent live 2-disc album with Phillip Strange, Live In Japan. But now we have Social Anthems Volume 2, which, like the first volume, contains mostly covers of well-known songs. Joining her on this disc are Carey Frank on piano and organ, Nick Mancini on vibraphone, Will Brahm on guitar, Alex Boneham on bass, David Pilch on bass, John Leftwich on bass, Steve Hass on drums, Jay Bellerose on drums, and Chris Wabich on drums, along with a couple of special guests.

On the first album, there were some obvious choices, such as “For What It’s Worth” and “Get Together,” but there were also some surprising choices. On the second volume, she opens with another surprising choice, Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” from his 1986 album So. Not a song you might think of as a social anthem, but her rendition has me focusing on certain lines, in part because of her delivery, lines like these: “Love, I don’t like to see so much pain/So much wasted, and this moment keeps slipping away/I get so tired of working so hard for our survival.” I’m not sure I had paid such close attention to the lyrics back in my teens when I first heard it. I think I had just heard it as a song about romantic love.  She sings, “I reach out from the inside/The inside,” rather than stretching out the word “inside,” as Peter Gabriel did. By the way, on the first volume, she covered Peter Gabriel’s “Down To Earth.” That’s followed by a song whose inclusion on this release immediately strikes us as apt, Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler),” here listed as “Inner City Blues/Make Me Wanna Holler.” Cathy Segal-Garcia delivers a very cool rendition. I love the way it begins with the bass and percussion. This song comes from Marvin Gaye’s 1971 album What’s Going On. Cathy Segal-Garcia dipped into that fantastic album on the first volume as well, delivering a good rendition of “Save The Children.” The band really delivers here, and this track features delicious leads on vibes, piano and guitar. Cathy Segal-Garcia’s vocal delivery has just the right tone, serious and passionate. “Money, we make it/Before we see it, you take it.”

Mon David joins Cathy Segal-Garcia on vocals on “Living For The City,” a song written by Stevie Wonder and included on his wonderful Innervisions album. I like that work on organ at the beginning, giving this version a somewhat mellower feel than the original, and we get just a bit of vocal riffing by Cathy. And then she and Mon David trade lines on the verses. This song tells a compelling story dealing with discrimination and poverty, and it features some excellent guitar work. Cathy offers some scat, which works as a bridge between brief guitar and vibraphone leads. And then the guitar and vibes work in conjunction, which is fantastic. Interestingly, this rendition doesn’t include the complete story, leaving out that section about the bus and the arrest. Cathy Segal-Garcia is covering the single version, rather than the album version. That’s followed by “Russians/My Russia.”  This is an interesting track, combining Sting’s “Russians” with an original composition by Cathy Segal-Garcia titled “My Russia.” The two songs are combined seamlessly. “Russians” comes from Sting’s first album, and uses a theme from Prokofiev. That album was released in the mid-1980s, and the song’s lyrics mention Krushchev and Reagan: “There’s no such thing as a winnable war/It’s a lie we don't believe anymore/Mister Reagan says, ‘We will protect you’/I don’t subscribe to this point of view.” Cathy Segal-Garcia updates the song, mentioning Putin rather than Krushchev, and changing Reagan to Biden, an interesting choice. After all, there is another war going on right now started by the Russians. This track features some strong stuff on organ, particularly toward the end.

The first lines of “Book Of Love” make me laugh, “The book of love is long and boring/No one can lift the damned thing.” This song was written by Stephin Merrit, and originally recorded by his band The Magnetic Fields. Peter Gabriel also covered this one. Paul Jost joins Cathy on vocals on this track, and they deliver a really good rendition. This track includes some great drumming, plus nice work on vibraphone. Social Anthems Volume 1 contained one original number by Cathy Segal-Garcia, and this volume contains two, sort of, or one and a half, if “My Russia” is counted as half the track. Anyway, the full original song is “The Beginning Of You.” It opens with some good work on bass, and very quickly develops a seriously cool vibe. “I don’t know how you broke the door/But I’m not the same anymore,” Cathy sings on this one, and we can hear the change. These lines also stand out for me: “And then you called me your little baby/Made my heart go crazy/Everything got hazy/Lord, I didn’t know me.” Years ago, my girlfriend told me how she’d read that being called “baby” affects the brain in a positive way, offering some relief, and I thought about that upon hearing those lines. I love the percussion on this track. This is one of the album’s best tracks.

I mentioned that on the first volume Cathy Segal-Garcia covered Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” a song written by Stephen Stills. Well, on this album she covers another Stephen Stills song, this one originally performed by Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” This one, coming from the first CSN album, is a more surprising choice than “For What It’s Worth.” “Sometimes it hurts so badly I must cry out loud/I am lonely.” This version features some excellent guitar work in the first section. As it moves into the next section, the organ leads that transition. This section is beautiful, the way she approaches it, even as she sings, “Please be gone, oh, I’m tired of you.” She changes “Be my lady” to “I’m your lady,” which doesn’t just change the gender, but seemingly the outcome. The disc concludes with a remix version of “Inner City Blues,” this version giving it a more modern pop vibe. It doesn’t feel like just a remix, but a different vocal approach. It’s interesting, but I prefer the other version.

CD Track List

1. In Your Eyes
2. Inner City Blues/Make Me Wanna Holler
3. Living For The City
4. Russians/My Russia
5. Book Of Love
6. The Beginning Of You
7. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
8. Inner City Blues (Kapitan Remix)

Social Anthems Volume 2 was released on August 30, 2024 on Dash Hoffman Records.

Splash: “Breaking The Dam” (2024) CD Review

Splash is the solo project of Andrew Lentz, a musician and songwriter based in Minneapolis whom you might know from his work in the band The Floating Perspectives. Breaking The Dam is the debut full-length Splash release, and it features original material, most of the songs written during that first year of the pandemic when things were shut down. Andrew Lentz, in addition to doing the lead vocals, plays acoustic guitar on this album. He is joined by Hayley Anne on vocals, Shannon Frid-Rubin (of Cloud Cult) on violin, Matthew Blake on bass and musical saw, Zach Miller on drums, Matt Patrick on electric guitar, and Eric Songer on trumpet.

The album opens with “Under The Rose,” a somewhat contemplative number in which he asks, “If my whole life is a dream/Then who am I?” I love the way this track builds, particularly the work on percussion. And it features some beautiful work on violin. The song contains an interesting nod to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” – “So carry me down this stream/My whole life but a dream” – making us think of childhood, of innocence, and of our personal paths through life which began back in the time of nursery rhymes. It’s a wonderful opening track, despite the redundancy of the line “And I wandered aimlessly” (is there any other way to wander?). This song was released as a single, with an accompanying music video, many months ago. It is followed by “Orphic Hymn (To Mnemosyne),” which has an interesting, unusual vibe. This is one that Andrew Lentz did not write; it is, rather, the ancient poem set to music. And his vocal line does feel like it is coming from the past. This track is over quite soon, being only a minute and a half long. “Answer” also has a timeless quality, and features some nice work on strings. It is a perfect choice to follow “Orphic Hymn (To Mnemosyne),” the two tracks working so well together.

Andrew Lentz changes gears then with “When The Well Runs Dry,” which begins with percussion, and soon develops a cool, somewhat dark vibe, with just the right amount of fuzz to the guitar. Here are the opening lines: “My patience is slipping/I can’t see no helping hand/Hands still firmly gripping/I won’t follow your command.” He then asks, “But where we gonna be/When the well runs dry?” This song is full of lines that stand out to me, such as these: “When your days seem infinite/It’s easy to put off trying/But now I see the bottom/And the end I can’t deny.” Remember when we felt we had all the time in the world? Now it seems there are constant reminders that more time is behind us than ahead of us. Still, we fight that notion, don’t we? But whatever time we have, we are in charge of how we spend it. There are no answers coming from on high. There is no real authority. This track features some nice backing vocal work, plus some great touches on trumpet. This is one of my personal favorites.

“Here Comes The Flood” begins with some pretty work on guitar, having a contemplative air and soothing effect. So the first line caught me by surprise, “I rode the wave down to your grave.” That’s a line that grabs us, no question. I like the use of internal rhymes in the lyrics of this song. “You in your gown and thorny crown/I, the clown from the wrong side of town/I turned you on, but you turned me down.” This one also makes some great use of backing vocals.  And it builds beautifully, reaching a different level toward the end. Then “Kafka On The Shore” begins on piano and has a somber tone. This is another song for which Andrew Lentz did not write the lyrics. The lyrics come from the book Kafka On The Shore, written by Haruki Murakima. I haven’t read the book, but apparently in the story this song is sung by a character named Miss Saeki. Interestingly, other artists have set these lyrics to music, including Eunbi Kim and Katsuhiko Yoshida. This rendition features some excellent work on strings.

“Always Greener” has some pop elements and energy, and features some good percussion work. There is a Shakespeare reference in this song, something I always appreciate. Andrew Lentz sings, “Well, heavy is the head that bears the crown,” a variation of Henry IV’s line “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” from The Second Part Of King Henry The Fourth.  I also like that electric guitar part in the second half. That’s followed by “Remember Me,” which contains these lines: “Now it seems it’s come to pass/The truth I thought at first would last/Turns out to be less than what remains.” Those lines stand out for me, particularly because of that idea of a truth that didn’t last, a line that gives us something to think about. The other thing I appreciate about that line is the play on “first” and “last.” There is also a somewhat haunting vibe to this song. Then “Light And Shadows” has a gentle, even soothing vibe as it starts, and Andrew sings, “There’s shadows moving on the wall/Don’t let it bother you.” The lines suggest an acceptance of darkness and an understanding that life presents its series of troubles and doubts. His vocal approach has a friendly, sympathetic quality. He’s come through it, and is imparting what wisdom he’s picked up, and without urgency or haste to his delivery. I love the whole vibe of this track.

“God/Willing” is an intriguing title for its use of the slash symbol, breaking up the idea of “God willing” as a single phrase. This one picks up in energy after the line “The light within me shining points the way.” It feels like we are on that journey with him, and the beat tells us we’ll be there soon. And what is the destination? Well, it’s home, of course. I’ve mentioned this before, but there is always something appealing in songs about going home. And here there is the idea that it is all within, both home and god. So it’s up to us how long the journey will take, after all. The album then concludes with “Love & Ignorance.” This one begins in a softer place, on acoustic guitar, and as he sings the first line, “Once you were my world,” we know that he’s going to be singing about the end of a relationship. Ah yes, youthful attraction, which is full of drama and intensity. We may look back on it fondly, even if it was foolish and fleeting. I love these lines: “And when the morning did come/We found the dream was ridiculous.” This track features some pretty work on violin. And Matt Patrick adds some really nice stuff on pedal steel. “But the light, it started to creep in/I’m feeling better now.”

CD Track List

1. Under The Rose
2. Orphic Hymn (To Mnemosyne)
3. Answer
4. When The Well Runs Dry
5. Here Comes The Flood
6. Kafka On The Shore
7. Always Greener
8. Remember Me
9. Light And Shadows
10. God/Willing
11. Love & Ignorance

Breaking The Dam is scheduled to be released on November 1, 2024. The CD release party was on October 11, 2024.

David Harland: “The Escapist” (2024) CD Review

David Harland is a singer, songwriter and guitarist based in Minnesota. While some of his material, such as the songs on his 2019 release Searching For Someday, deal with pain and loss, his new album, The Escapist, provides a release from such things. These days, especially as we near what is shockingly a close election, we seek some sort of escape, some solace, a break. The instrumental tracks on this album are just the thing to help with that, to ease our minds, to give us an opportunity for a break. These are all guitar pieces, original compositions delivered on acoustic guitar. He is joined on certain tracks by Cierra Alise Hill on cello and violin, and by Matt Patrick on electric guitar and percussion.

The album opens with “Ascension,” a pretty and uplifting piece, which makes sense, given its title. The guitar work here suggests we take a breath, look around, and see the beauty of the world. There are moments that offer encouragement too, the guitar seeming to tell us we can we do this, whatever it is we are dealing with in our personal lives. That’s followed by the album’s title track, “The Escapist,” which has perhaps a more serious vibe as it starts, slightly darker tones and a more dramatic sound and structure. But don’t worry, there is nothing discouraging about it. And in the second half, there is a lighter feel, like we’re turning a corner and discovering things are a little easier.

“Fog In The Valley” feels like it takes us on a journey up an old stone staircase out in nature far from any other human structures. We are alone in our work, but are not worried, and rather certain that we will complete this journey, even if it takes us a while to do so. There is a sense of determination here. And at the end, we reach a plateau, and the sun hits our faces, feeling like it is welcoming us, congratulating us. Then with “Last Lament,” we feel we are at home, after a period of sorrow when we have no tears left to shed, and a voice tells us we are not alone, that things will be all right. In the track’s second half, we gain a fresh energy, ready to face the world again if need be. This new energy strengthens us, provides a resolve. Interestingly, it then slows down as it approaches the end, as if there is still some weariness there. Had we been too hasty in our desire to face the world?

“The Lost Lowlands” begins slowly, easing in. This track features some beautiful work from Cierra Alise Hill on strings, delivered with compassion and kindness. There is a friendliness here, a warmth. And if this piece brings tears to our eyes, they are tears of relief. “Sól Seeker” also features the work of Cierra Alise Hill. These days it feels like many of us are seeking the sun, hoping to emerge from darkness. The country itself is in need of it. But this track is on a more individual level, and perhaps it is on that level where the real change is forged. This is a moving piece, with a great beauty. “South Hill Climb” is another beautiful piece, one offering hope and joy. Cierra Alise Hill delivers more wonderful work here, the musicians together creating a beautiful motion to dispel loneliness, to dispel despair. It feels like they can transfer their energy directly to us, that we can join in their movement, in their action. It might be a climb, but we feel it is not a difficult journey now.

“Mourning Song” is a comforting song, which again reaches out to us, reminding us we are not alone. It features pretty work on strings, plus a wonderful theme on guitar, which feels unexpectedly empowering. This is ultimately an uplifting piece. That’s followed by “Descension,” a piece that David Harland is revisiting. It was included on his 2020 album Love In The Underworld (also an instrumental album), though it seems to be perhaps more fitting here, as a companion, or counterpoint, to the album’s lead track, “Ascension.” This rendition features some percussion, not present in the earlier version. The album then concludes with “Sleeping Buddha,” which has a gentle and soothing vibe, the kind of music you want to wrap around yourself, music that shields us from the harsh winds within and without.

CD Track List

1. Ascension
2. The Escapist
3. Fog In The Valley
4. Last Lament
5. The Lost Lowlands
6. Sól Seeker
7. South Hill Climb
8. Mourning Song
9. Descension
10. Sleeping Buddha

The Escapist was released on October 4, 2024.