Two Kinds of Soul:
Carrack and Kelly
One man croons, the other one broods
Paul Carrack may be the most-heard
unknown rock singer in the world. He
was the vocalist on a number of major
hits in the United States and his native
England, but none of these recordings has
been under his own name. Remember the
propulsive "How Long" by Ace in 1974, or
the bouncy "Tempted" by Squeeze in 1981,
or the eerie "Silent Running" by Mike and
the Mechanics last year? All those tunes
featured the soulful voice of Paul Carrack.
Unfortunately none made Carrack a
household name. And neither have his solo
efforts-the hard-to-find "Nightbird" from
1980 and 1982's "Suburban Voodoo," per-
haps the finest album of blue-eyed soul to
be issued in this decade. Now, however,
Carrack means to do something about his
unjust anonymity with his third album, One
Good Reason (Chrysalis).
To begin with, Carrack has updated his
Motown-ish approach to pop. "One Good
Reason" is definitely a high-tech recording,
awash with synthesizers for both melodies
and sweetening. Perhaps this is the influ-
ence of the album's producer, Christopher
Neil, who produced Mike and the Mechan-
ics. For the most part, the electronics work
well with Carrack's rough-edged singing.
For example, the first single from the al-
bum, "Don't Shed a Tear," uses a snappy
tempo and a slightly dirty arrangement for
this song about a soured relationship.
Sneers Carrack, "Don't shed a tear for
me / My life won't end without you / Long
as the night will be / The sun will rise
without you."
At times the glossiness takes away the
edge that has given Carrack's music emo-
tional power in the past. The synthesized
"strings" heard on "When You Walk in the
Room" distract from Carrack's soulful
crooning. Where Carrack's last LP, "Sub-
urban Voodoo," had all the heart of the
Temptations at their best, "One Good Rea-
son," with its state-of-the-art stylings,
sounds a lot like Phil Collins. Still very
enjoyable, but not quite as compelling.
Perhaps this is the price a journeyman
must pay to become a star. After all, record
companies haven't been rushing to put out
Carrack's solo records, and he's had to work
in other people's bands. (Recently, he's
been singing the Pink Floyd hit "Money" as
part of ex-Floyd Roger Waters's tour.) But
don't get the wrong impression. "One Good
Reason" is a very entertaining,
if somewhat pasteurized, rec-
ord. Enjoy it. Then check out
"Suburban Voodoo." It's the
real deal.
RON GIVENS
I
I
The first song on Paul Kelly
and the Messengers' Gossip
(A&M) is "Last Train to
Heaven," and the first thing Such a vo
you think is, this is a mistake-
a gloomy chant that's strongly reminiscent
of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready,"
one of the most incandescently joyful soul
songs ever put on wax. Right, you tell your-
self, another doom-struck Aussie pop band,
and you reach for the tone arm. But hold on.
"Last Train to Heaven" grows on you, an
air of determination pushing out of the
droning melody like flowers through a con-
crete sidewalk. Keep listening. "Before the
Old Man Died" sets a creepy lyric-about a
man with a murderous hatred for his dead
father-against chiming guitars and airy
harmonies. It sounds like the toughest
thing the Hollies never recorded. Some-
thing's going on here. Keep listening
through 13 more finely etched songs of
hope and misery. By the time the record
ice: Carrack tries to sing his way to fame
closes with "Randwick Bells," a haunting
story of a young couple who nurse romantic
dreams in the worst of times, you'll feel like
you've taken a long, exhausting, thought-
provoking journey.
Kelly is a lyricist of serious intent, and
his songs sometimes call to mind the ear-
nestness of U2's Bono Vox. But he's much
more of a rock and roller than Vox-musi-
cally, the Messengers sound like U2might if
they would only lighten up a little. "Gossip"
isthisyear'sbest proofthat purposeand pop
savvy needn't be incompatible in rock and
roll. It's strong, smart and serious, and it
rocks besides. One more thing: with 15
tracks-17 on the CD version-it's good
honest value, too. What more couldyou ask?
BiL.L BAROL
Strong, smart and serious-and it rocks: Paul Kelly (center) and the Messengers
44 NEWSWEEKOON CAMPUS
OCTOBER 1987