Photo Credit: Joe Brennan

Paul Kelly has today released ‘Houndstooth Dress’, the second track to be lifted from his forthcoming album ‘Fever Longing Still’ set for release on November 1.

“There have been many songs over the years based on accessories and apparel – Raspberry Beret, Blue Jean Baby, These Boots Are Made for Walking, Famous Blue Raincoat, Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat, Dirty Jeans, Short Skirt/Long Jacket and a whole lot more. My old song Winter Coat belongs to this venerable genre. I think of Houndstooth Dress as the latest in this long line. I wrote it just before going into the studio so threw it to the band without having had a chance to rehearse. Commandeered the piano and taught it to them on the go. Only two chords. In a minor key but not a minor feeling. We got it on the first take as you can hear from the chat at the start.” explains Kelly

WATCH ‘HOUNDSTOOTH DRESS’ HERE

Love has always been at the heart of many of Paul Kelly’sgreatest songs. To Her Door, How to Make Gravy, Careless, If I Could Start Today Again, Deeper Water, When I First Met Your Ma, Sweet Guy, Dumb Things,Firewood and Candles, The Oldest Story in the Book. All with a different angle on that most boundless subject of them all.

Kelly’s latest album, Fever Longing Still, will be released on November 1 and is available for pre-order now. It is his first of new original material since 2018’s Nature and delivers 12 additions to that superb catalogue of love songs spanning more than 40 years. The album’s title comes from a line in Sonnet 147 by Shakespeare, whose writing has thrilled and inspired Kelly ever since schooldays.

With love as the topic, Kelly finds a way to keep replenishing the creative well. Even if it can take some time for a song to surface.

“I never know what the themes are until I am in the middle of doing a record,” Kelly says. “I don’t set out with an album in mind. Over the past 20 years I just get the band together and put down a batch of songs. I put them in what I call my odd-socks drawer on the computer and as they accumulate I see which ones work together.”

Kelly adds: “There has been a long gap since the last album of new songs and I realise now that this record is a bit like Gossip, an album with a long gestation where the songs are all quite different to each other in style.”

Like Gossip, Fever Longing Still is an album driven by a band in peak form. “Looking back on what we’ve done with these songs, it’s really a band record,” Kelly says. “That made me reflect on the longevity of the band, this squad. Peter Luscombe (drums) has been with me for more than 30 years, Bill McDonald (bass) and Dan Kelly (guitar) for 20. Even the newbies Cameron Bruce (keys) and Ash Naylor (guitar) have been with me since 2007. Our philosophy is eclectic, we want to make each song different to the last. I just love the band and that when I take a new song to them it can take on a completely new life.”

“I think of that when I keep going back to older songs too. I just try to finish things and get them right, and not be afraid to start again. You are going to have misfires but that doesn’t mean the song isn’t good. It just needs the time to be right.”

When you hear an album as strong as Fever Longing Still,you know that time is now.

PAUL KELLY – NEW ALBUM ‘FEVER LONGING STILL’ OUT NOVEMBER 1
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW – VINYL WILL BE RELEASED ON SUSTAINABLE BIO VINYL COMPOUND

TRACKLISTING

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

FOLLOW PAUL KELLY

Website: paulkelly.com.au

Facebook: facebook.com/paulkellyofficial

Twitter: twitter.com/paulkelly

Instagram: instagram.com/paulkelly

YouTube: youtube.com/paulmauricekelly