''Deeper Water'', the tenth studio album by Paul Kelly, was released on 12 September 1995 on

White Label Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

in Australia and on

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

in North America. It peaked at No. 40 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 ...

and provided his second consecutive nomination as Best Male Artist at the

ARIA Music Awards of 1996 The 10th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 30 September 1996 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Presenters distributed 28 award ...

. In New Zealand ''Deeper Water'' reached No. 30 on the

Official New Zealand Music Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Musi ...

. Kelly issued its lead single, "Give in to My Love", in October 1995 and followed with "Deeper Water" later that year.

Background

Paul Kelly started recording his tenth studio album, ''Deeper Water'', in September 1994. Two months earlier he had released his previous studio album, '' Wanted Man'', which includes a track co-produced and co-written with Randy Jacobs (member of

Was (Not Was) Was (Not Was) is an American pop rock group founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often fea ...

). For ''Deeper Water'', Kelly and Jacobs co-wrote the title track; and they produced and wrote two further tracks, "Extra Mile" and "I've Been a Fool". Kelly used

Kerryn Tolhurst Kerryn William Tolhurst (born 1948) is an Australian country rock musician, songwriter and producer. He was based in the United States from late 1970s to the late 1990s, although he periodically returned to Australia. He was a founder of the Au ...

(ex-

The Dingoes The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band. They were initially active from 1973 to 1979, and reformed in 2009. Initially based in Melbourne, the band relocated to the United States from 1976. The most stable line-up comprised John Bois on ...

) as producer for "Difficult Woman" and co-produced with him on "Give in to My Love". A third co-producer, Simon Polinski (

Yothu Yindi Yothu Yindi (Yolŋu Matha, Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Australian Aboriginal, Aboriginal and ''List of English words of Malay origin#B, balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as ...

), worked on a track, "Gathering Storm", which Kelly had co-written with Mart Saarelaht (leader of Jex Saarelaht Trio). All the other tracks were produced by Kelly; for the album he used the Platinum and Periscope Studios in Melbourne. Kelly explained the title track's symbolism: "My father taught me to swim. Four of my brothers and sisters were older than me and three younger. I couldn't wait to learn so I could join the older ones who would all rush straight up to the deep end. Deeper water to me meant danger, meant power, meant growing up ... Everytime you move through the big rituals in life it’s like a move into deeper water." One of the album tracks, "Madeleine's Song", was written for his elder daughter, Madeleine Kelly. Another track, "Difficult Woman", was written for, and recorded by,

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 Worl ...

on her album of the same name, which had been produced by Kelly and was released in August 1994. Geyer later used the title for her autobiography, ''Confessions of a Difficult Woman'' (April 2000). In May 1995 Kelly formed a touring backing band with Jacobs on guitar;

Stephen Hadley Stephen John Hadley (born February 13, 1947) is an American attorney and senior government official who served as the 20th United States National Security Advisor from 2005 to 2009. He served under President George W. Bush during the second term ...

on bass guitar;

Bruce Haymes Bruce Geoffrey Haymes is an Australian musician. Since 1976 Haymes has been a member of numerous bands including Avalanche (1978), Richard Clapton Band (1979), Russell Morris and the Rubes (1980–83) and Bachelors from Prague (1985–93). H ...

on keyboards; Graham Lee on lap and pedal steel; and

Peter Luscombe Peter Luscombe is an Australian drummer and composer. Career Luscombe was a member of The Black Sorrows from 1985 to 1993 appearing on the albums ''A Place in the World'' (1986), ''Dear Children'' (1987), ''Hold on to Me'' (1988), ''Harley and ...

on drums. They played a series of sets at the Esplanade Hotel, their performance on 25 May was recorded live for ''

Live at the Continental and the Esplanade ''Live at the Continental and the Esplanade'' is a live album by Australian rock musician, Paul Kelly, which was originally available, from late 1995, by mail order only from Mushroom Records' White Records Label in Australia. It had been rec ...

'' (late 1995). Kelly issued ''Deeper Water''s lead single, "Give in to My Love", in October 1995 and followed with "Deeper Water" later that year. To promote the releases he toured Australia from January in the following year.

Reception

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' Sharon Palmer noticed that "No real surprises or sounds appear on ''Deeper Water'', however a number of songs are notable for the absence of back-up singers on them with Kelly providing all the vocals." William Ruhlmann of

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 databas ...

opined that Kelly used "a more consistent musical style than he had employed on ''Wanted Man''." Ruhlmann continued "most of the songs had folk-rock arrangements, and most concerned romantic subjects, within which Kelly's primary concerns were lust and betrayal." Mark Mordue writing in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' felt that "the songs from ''Deeper Water'' have become part of our lives" displaying Kelly's "poet of the common man credentials are built on both good writing and accuracy." Mordue expanded by describing its "take on family, growing older and love also has a dark edge to it, something in the territory around the songs, that gives the album an unusual intensity and warmth." ''Deeper Water'' peaked at No. 40 on the

and provided his second consecutive nomination as Best Male Artist at the

. In New Zealand ''Deeper Water'' reached No. 30 on the

. Neither of the singles, "Give in to My Love" and "Deeper Water", appeared on the ARIA Singles Chart top 100.

Track listing

Personnel

;Musicians * Steve Hadley – bass guitar, backing vocals * Bruce Haymes – keyboards, backing vocals * Randy Jacobs – vocals, guitar * Paul Kelly – vocals, guitars, harmonica * Graham Lee – electric steel, vocals * Peter Luscombe – drums, percussion * Shane O'Mara – guitars ;Production details * Paul Kelly – producer (except track 7) * Randy Jacobs – producer (tracks 2, 9) * Kerryn Tolhurst – producer (tracks 7-8) * Simon Polinski – producer (track 12), engineer, mixer (Platinum Studios – June 1995) * Adam Rhodes – assistant mixer * Don Bartley – mastering (Studios 301) ;Artwork * Debbie Ladd – design * Jacquie Mitelman – photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Paul Kelly (Australian musician) albums Mushroom Records albums