Alan Kelly has the gift of writing beautiful songs about everyday matters and he displays it to perfection on this release.

The opening track "Grandmother's Kitchen" has a magic element as it transports us back to a time past. It is the epitome of the small epic. Here we have ordinary lives depicted in the shadow world events from Rockwell covers, listening to the radio about the Berlin Wall and Vietnam. He continues the illusion with recollections of childhood and growing up in "Pirate Wars."

His love of American history comes through in "Jesse," which returns us to the days of the famous outlaw Jesse James. Few will hear "Sons and Fathers" without a tear of recognition. All the material will not have been part of your life but there will be enough to set you thinking.

One fascinating title is "Backside of Goodbye." The content does not disappoint, either. One of my personal favourites is "Roses in a Garden."

This is a beautiful album from the evocative cover picture through thoughtful lyrics to a sincere delivery. Kelly may not set the world on fire but he is definitely an important singer-songwriter chronicling our times.

- Rambles
written by Nicky Rossiter
published 24 October 2004

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