Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky@ Opera House, Sydney(24/7/11)

Mon 25th Jul, 2011 in Gig Reviews

It was Sunday night and the Church of The Sydney Opera House was filled with people who had come to hear the gospel according to Paul Kelly.

With musical arrangements by Paul Grabowsky shaping Father Kelly’s songs into designs that we had never imagined, the joy and beauty of the compositions were given a new light. With a 30 year catalogue of songs to choose from we were given a look inside the soul of a man joked from the stage, “For an atheist I certainly use the word god a lot in my songs….”

Of course this was a religious experience if you take music and song as your saviour. Paul Kelly was joined by the Vika and Linda Bull, Paul Grabowsky and The Australian Art Orchestra and the six voices of the Choir With No Name lead by Tina Harrod. With pristine sound and perfection of playing, Kelly’s songs took on a new meaning and a different level of enjoyment outside of the rock and folk sphere. We had songs that smelled of New Orleans ( Passed Over ) and others that went down the path of reggae, salsa and gospel. This was not a revival but it was a celebration of the spiritual and biblical imagery that Kelly uses in his compositions.

Paul Kelly seemed overjoyed to have this re-imaging of his songs done in the beauty of “the world’s most beautiful building”. This is a long way off from his Sunday Afternoon residency with the Coloured Girls at The Hopetoun in the 80s, but the spirit, beauty and majesty of his songs have certainly stood the test of time, with more to come.