"Careless" is a song by Australian rock group

Paul Kelly and the Messengers Paul Maurice Kelly (born 13 January 1955) is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other ar ...

, released in October 1989 as the second single from their 1989 studio album, ''

So Much Water So Close to Home ''So Much Water So Close to Home'' is an album by Australian rock band Paul Kelly and the Messengers and was originally released in August 1989. The title comes from a short story of the same name by author Raymond Carver. Carver died in Augus ...

''. The song was written by Kelly and co-produced with

Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...

. The single was released in October 1989 on the Mushroom Records label. It peaked at number 116 on the

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

singles chart. The song was later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with " It's a Man's Man's ...

on ''Difficult Woman'' (1994),

Angie Hart Angela Ruth Hart (born 8 March 1972), billed as Angie Hart, is an Australian pop singer best known for her role as lead vocalist in the alternative pop rock band Frente! and the indie pop duo Splendid with her then husband Jesse Tobias. Hart's ...

on ''Women at the Well'' (2002), and Ozi Batla (MC for The Herd) on ''

Before Too Long "Before Too Long" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as the first single from their debut double album, ''Gossip''. It was released in June 1986 on the original White Label Records, a subsidiary of Mushr ...

'' (2010).

Background

Paul Kelly had formed Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls in 1985, named from a line in Lou Reed's " Walk on the Wild Side". The Coloured Girls were Michael Barclay on drums and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

, Peter Bull on keyboards, Steve Connolly on

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

and

Jon Schofield Jon Schofield is an Australian musician (bass guitar, guitar and vocals) who has played in a range of bands from indie rock 1960s inspired band, Grooveyard, to The Coloured Girls (a.k.a. The Messengers) of Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls.Spence ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

. For international releases from 1987 they used the name Paul Kelly and the Messengers to avoid possible racist interpretations. In August 1989 after two albums the group issued, ''

'' under the band name Paul Kelly and the Messengers in all markets. The album peaked at No. 10 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. It was recorded in the United States with

, best known for his work with

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

, co-producing with Kelly. Litt had re-mixed some of Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls' earlier tracks for their US releases as by Paul Kelly and the Messengers. ''So Much Water So Close to Home'' was released on Mushroom/White Records in Australia and A&M Records in the US and Europe. " Sweet Guy" was the first single from the album and peaked at number 53 on the

singles chart. "Careless" was the second single from the album, but failed to chart on the

top 100 singles chart. It peaked at number 92, however, on the Kent Music Report chart The video for "Careless" was directed by

Kimble Rendall Kimble Rendall (born 1957) is an Australian director, musician and writer mostly known for his Second unit direction of ''The Matrix Reloaded'' (2003), ''The Matrix Revolutions'' (2003), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ''Casanova'' (2005) and ''Ghost Ride ...

(

XL Capris XL or variants may stand for: Arts and entertainment * XL (band), a J-Pop band * XL Recordings, a British independent record label * XL, a character in the animated series ''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' Businesses and organizations Transport ...

, Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels,

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...

) and features Kelly and his band performing the song around an open fire, interdispersed with film from a wedding video. In May 1992 Kelly recorded a live version for his solo concert performance at the Athenaeum Theatre for the VHS album ''Paul Kelly Live at the Athenaeum, May 1992'' (1992). It was directed and produced by Mat Humphrey. A related 2× CD album ''

Live, May 1992 ''Live, May 1992'' is a solo live double album by Paul Kelly (Australian musician), Paul Kelly and was originally released in 1992. It was released on Mushroom Records in Australia and marked Kelly's solo departure from his band The Messengers. ...

'' also included "Careless". In 2004 Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions performed the track for the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, ''Ways & Means'', in the section subtitled ''Live in Boston''. Kelly and his nephew Dan Kelly recorded the song as part of Kelly's A – Z Tours from 2004 to 2010, it was issued on the 8× CD album, '' The A – Z Recordings'' (2010). Since its release, it has been

on ''Difficult Woman'' (1994) – Kelly produced her album, also wrote the title song, " Sweet Guy" and "Foggy Highway". In 2002,

(ex-

Frente! Frente! (or Frente) were an Australian folk- pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later r ...

) performed it on ''Women at the Well'', a Kelly

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by female artists. Ozi Batla (MC for The Herd) sang both "Careless" and "Sydney From a 727" for the Kelly tribute show and related album, ''

'' (2010). The song also appeared on the soundtrack to the 1990 Australian film, ''Weekend with Kate''.

Composition

"Careless" is a song with a length of two minutes and fifty-four seconds. The song is set in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...

and has a medium

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

with a piano range of G₂–B₄ and a vocal range of F₄–B₄. Kelly is credited with both lyrics and music. Kelly adjusted the chords for

The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout ...

' track, "Apology Accepted", from ''

Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express ''Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express'', the fourth album by The Go-Betweens, was released in March 1986 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records, the record label that would release the remainder of the original group's LPs through their bre ...

'' (1986) and "came up with the tune... t'sa circle song, with a progression of chords cycling in the same order... The melody may change for the chorus but the chords don't. There is no 'new bit', no change-up via a bridge or middle eight, no modulation". He also acknowledges that the chorus to the song uses the same two notes as the closing refrain on The Go-Between's " Cattle and Cane". "Special Treatment" is a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

that Kelly wrote highlighting the

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination ...

Australian Aborigines Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isla ...

. "Special Treatment" was composed in response to claims by a

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n pastoralist that Aborigines receive better treatment than other Australians. "'Special Treatment' is another one like that, a specific situation and write to it..." Kelly's song wryly spells out what that the special treatment has actually meant.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Mike DeGagne liked "Everything's Turning to White" and "Sweet Guy" from ''So Much Water So Close to Home'', he observed they were " o of Paul Kelly's best written tunes ... nestled in amongst the others here... some of the other tunes seem a little weak in the content department". Although not specifically mentioned, "Careless" is one of the other tracks on the album.

Track listing

# "Careless" (Paul Kelly) – 2:54 # "Special Treatment" (Kelly) – 3:11

Personnel

Paul Kelly and the Messengers * Michael Barclay – drums,

* Peter Bull – keyboards * Steve Connolly –

* Paul Kelly – guitar, vocals, harmonica *

–

Recording details – "Careless" * Producer –

, Paul Kelly * Engineer – Scott Litt ** Assistant –

Clif Norrell Clif Norrell is an American record producer, recording engineer, music mixer, and musician. He has worked with many prominent artists including Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Jeff Buckley, No Doubt, Rush, Faith No More, Shania Twain, Mick Jagger, D ...

, Jim Dineen * Studio –

Ocean Way Studios Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

** Mastered – Precision Lacquer ** Mixed – The Grey Room Recording details – "Special Treatment" * Producer – Neale Sandbach * Engineer – Neale Sandbach * Studio –

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Studio 22 for ''Blah Blah Blah''

Charts

References

;General * Note: Archived nlinecopy has limited functionality. * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Careless 1989 singles Paul Kelly (Australian musician) songs Song recordings produced by Scott Litt 1989 songs Mushroom Records singles Songs written by Paul Kelly (Australian musician)