Late last year, Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist Paul Kelly released, Goin’ Your Way, a live collaboration with fellow countryman Neil Finn and this July 29th the songsmith will release a new project (his 21st studio album), Seven Sonnets & A Song. Inspired by the artist’s love for the works of William Shakespeare, Seven Sonnets & A Song is a “mini-album” that finds Kelly singing six Shakespeare sonnets with Australian vocalist Vika Bull taking the lead on “My True Love Hath My Heart,” written by Shakespeare’s contemporary Sir Philip Sidney. Hearing Shakespeare paired with pedal steel, double bass, harmonica and banjo may sound surprising, but once you actually listen, you’ll realize the arrangements work (and work successfully) - and that is a direct result of the creativity and vision of Kelly, who makes the bard’s words accessible with gracefully layered melodies and warm, understated vocals. Opening piece “Sonnet 138” is ethereal and jazzy, “Sonnet 73” evokes a 1970’s folk feel and “Sonnet 18” (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”) which begins acapella beautifully segues into a work that is spacious and string-filled. The album is rounded out by the sparse beauty of “Sonnets 44 & 45,” the atmospheric, slightly volatile “Sonnet 60” (which is performed semi-spoken) and the gentle guitar and harp permeating “O Mistress of Mine” from Twelfth Night. Kelly notes, “Just about anything you want to say, Shakespeare’s said it already.” However, as he proves in Seven Sonnets & A Song, those words can be interpreted such that we see, hear and appreciate them in a whole new way and that is all due to Kelly who once again demonstrates why he is one of the most beloved artists in Australia and beyond.
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