Paul Kelly - Songs from the South Volumes 1 & 2

Rating

: * * * * *

Verdict

:

The collected works of Australia's greatest songwriter is, well, great

That boofhead Warney doesn't need a whole musical. He just needs Paul Kelly to sing his praises as he does on

Shane Warne,

one of the unreleased tracks at the end of volume II of Kelly's collected works. While Kelly's lines ("Mr Warne on his phone, he sent a lot of texts, because he liked to have quite a lot of sex") aren't quite as eloquent as 1987's Bradman, every generation gets the cricket star singalong it deserves.

The first volume covering 20 songs from Kelly's pioneering years 1985-1997 was released a decade ago. On the second instalment, also 20 tracks, Kelly seems to have acquired a a dimmer view of the world - and a wider, funkier, earthier musical palette - on songs that capture the lives of many a character far more unsavoury than Warney.

That's whether it's setting Ned Kelly adventures to bluegrass on

Our Sunshine

; the redneck monologue of

Nothing On my Mind,

or delivering the unsettling

God Told Me To

with Kelly narrating from inside the mind of a deranged murder-accused.

But the past decade has also seen plenty of Kelly the plainspoken hopeless romantic on

I'll Be Your Lover

and

You're 39, You're Beautiful And You're Mine.

If you've ever wondered why Kelly remains so highly rated, here's 40 good places to start.

Russell Baillie