Classic, unadulterated Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls.
This is where it all started for many Kelly fans. It's wonderful stuff--Paul's lyrics on this album are pure working class poetry. The musical style is unashamedly lusty-boy pub-band, unsynthesised (I remember when music was real....) and relentlessly cheerful. Every tune on this album is catchy, and even the dark ones are uplifting. "Dumb Things" was the anthem for pre-gen-X, post-baby-boom lost souls. Kelly has honed his lyrical ability since those early days, but his story telling has always been strong.Under the Sun is unmistakably Australian, more so than on later albums. This is particularly obvious on "Forty Miles to Saturday Night" and "To Her Door". When Kelly writes about things Australian, he gets it right. There is emotional truth in the detail here, and the music is damn good. Kelly deserves his status as an Australian working-class (anti-)hero. CB