Hidden Things

Background

Paul Kelly & the Messengers gave their last performance in August 1991, with Kelly set to pursue a solo career. He justified his decision: "We forged a style together. But I felt if we had kept going it would have got formulaic and that's why I broke it up. I wanted to try and start moving into other areas, start mixing things up". To round out their career, Kelly organised Hidden Things to collect previously released B-sides, stray non-LP tracks, radio sessions, and other rarities recorded from 1986 to 1991. Except for "Bradman" and "Pastures of Plenty", the tracks had not appeared on earlier albums by Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls or Paul Kelly & the Messengers. The album spawned a single, "When I First Met Your Ma", which was issued in April.

The album was issued in May 1992, after the group had been disbanded, and reached No. 29 on the ARIA Albums Chart. That same month, Kelly recorded a set of solo performances which were later released as the double live album, Live, May 1992.

Composition and recording

Tracks for Hidden Things were recorded between 1986 (by Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls) to September 1991 (by Paul Kelly & the Messengers). The line-up of both bands was: Michael Barclay on drums and backing vocals; Peter Bull on keyboards; Steve Connolly on lead guitar (lead vocals on "Hard Times"); Kelly on guitar, lead vocals (except "Hard Times", "Rock 'n' Soul") and harmonica; and Jon Schofield on bass guitar. The album includes a cover version of Australian Crawl's 1983 number-one hit, "Reckless" which was recorded in 1988 and originally released by Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls as part of the 1989 "Dumb Things" double single. The lead single from the album, "When I First Met Your Ma", describes Kelly's courting of his first wife Hilary Brown – they met at the Kingston Hotel during an early gig by his band The Dots and were introduced by Kelly's then-girlfriend, Juliet. "Sweet Guy Waltz" is a slower version of "Sweet Guy" which was issued as a single from 1989's So Much Water So Close to Home.

In 1984 Kelly met Connolly when the latter was a member of The Cuban Heels, the pair would jam together, and were sometimes joined by Connolly's friend Barclay. "Hard Times" was written and had lead vocals by Connolly. "Other People's Houses" describes a female house cleaner who takes along her son who observes the residents' opulence. "Special Treatment" deals with neglect of Indigenous Australians amid claims "by a Western Australian pastoralist that Aborigines receive better treatment than other Australians". "Rally Around the Drum", was written by Kelly with Archie Roach, and was about an indigenous tent boxing man. "Pastures of Plenty" is a cover of a Woody Guthrie folk song. During the late 1980s, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls often toured with folk rockers Weddings Parties Anything, and both groups combined for "Beggar on the Streets of Love",which was recorded live in the studio of Perth radio station 96fm by Steve Gordon and Bob Vogt. This live version appeared as the B-side on the 1990 single "Most Wanted Man in the World". The song had already been covered by Jenny Morris as "Street of Love" in December 1989.

In 1985, Kelly issued his debut solo album, Post, which spawned the single, "From St Kilda to Kings Cross". A re-recorded version by Paul Kelly & the Messengers was used for the B-side of their 1991 single, "Don't Start Me Talking", and appears on this album. "Rock 'n' Soul" has lead vocals performed by its writer Schofield. "Yil Lull" is a cover version of Joe Geia's 1988 song. "Bradman" describes the cricketer, Don Bradman, and was issued as a double-A single in January 1987 with "Leaps and Bounds" from the 1986 album Gossip. "Elly" is a cover of Kev Carmody's song from Carmody's 1990 album, Eulogy (For a Black Person), which was produced by Connolly. Carmody and Kelly co-wrote "From Little Things Big Things Grow", which appeared on Paul Kelly & the Messengers' 1991 album, Comedy and on Carmody's 1993 album, Bloodlines. The latter version was issued as a single in that year.

Reception

Allmusic's Mike DeGagne felt Hidden Things showed "Paul's genius for telling stories behind the jingle of his acoustic guitar is pure and plentiful throughout... [Kelly's] story telling can be likened to Harry Chapin's, except Kelly leaves more to the imagination, adding a sturdier foundation for pondering and analysis". Green Left Weekly's Deb Sorensen found that Kelly is "a very good songwriter who has avoided just churning out 'pop' music. His lyrics are meaningful and from the heart ... songs which are close to the experiences and feelings of so many Australians without ever becoming jingoistic or banal".

The album reached No. 29 on the ARIA Albums Chart and also reached the Top 40 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.

Track listing

All tracks written by Paul Kelly, except where noted.

Personnel