''Wanted Man'' is a

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

album by Paul Kelly and was originally released in July 1994. It was issued on Mushroom Records in Australia and was Kelly's first solo studio album after disbanding his previous group, The Messengers. Tracks 1–10 were recorded at three Los Angeles studios while tracks 11–13 were recorded in Melbourne. It was produced by Kelly, Randy Jacobs and

David Bridie David Ross Hope Bridie is an Australian contemporary musician and songwriter. He was a founding mainstay member of World music band Not Drowning, Waving which released six studio albums to critical acclaim. He also formed a chamber pop group, ...

. The cover art for ''Wanted Man'' is a colophon rendering of Australia's legendary outlaw

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

(no relation) as a guitarist and was painted by David Band. The album peaked at No. 11 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 resulted in Kelly being

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In the ...

d for 'Best Male Artist' at the

ARIA Music Awards of 1995 The Ninth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 20 October 1995 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. There had been a 18-month gap since the ...

. Three singles were issued from the album, "Song from the Sixteenth Floor", "Love Never Runs on Time" and "God's Hotel" (co-written with Nick Cave) – but none reached the ARIA Singles Chart.

Background

Paul Kelly's first solo studio album after disbanding Paul Kelly & The Messengers was ''Wanted Man''. The group had given their last performance in August 1991, and Kelly resumed his 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". Kelly's first post-Messengers solo release was the live double CD ''

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. ...

'', released in November 1992. Kelly had already relocated to

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 ...

and signed with

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 ...

to tour the US as a solo artist. While in Los Angeles he produced fellow Australian

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 ...

's album ''Difficult Woman'' (1994).

Recording and composition

In late 1992, when living in Los Angeles, Kelly recorded ten tracks for his next album, ''Wanted Man'', at three studios: Stagg St, Clearlake and O'Henry. Kelly returned to Australia in 1993 and had a book collection of lyrics published, aptly titled ''Lyrics''. In Melbourne he recorded three more tracks at the Metropolis Studio. The album was produced by Kelly, 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 ...

) and

(produced

My Friend the Chocolate Cake My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

's 1991 self-titled album). Jacobs and Kelly co-wrote "Ball and Chain". The first track, "Summer Rain", deals with a man's yearning for his girlfriend, Kelly thought the sentiment would translate well but found a curious

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

interviewer asked, "But why would anybody long for rain in summer? ... We get enough rain in winter. We don't want the summer rain. We want the sunshine". The lead single, "Songs from the Sixteenth Floor" was written by Kelly with John Clifforth of

Deckchairs Overboard Deckchairs Overboard were an Australian pop music band based in Sydney which formed in 1982 and disbanded in 1985. The early line-up featured Ken Campbell on vocals, guitar, and drums; John Clifforth on vocals, guitar, and keyboards; Paul Heste ...

. The next single, "Love Never Runs on Time" was written by Kelly. The lyrics describe a truck driver struggling to meet his commitments to work and family. Kelly uses the same protagonist from "

To Her Door "To Her Door" is a song by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as a single ahead of their second album, '' Under the Sun'' (released in North America and Europe as by Paul Kelly and the Messengers). The single was released in September ...

" on 1987's '' Under the Sun'' and then again in 1996's "How to Make Gravy" from the extended play ''

How to Make Gravy ''How to Make Gravy'' is a four-track Extended play, EP by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (Australian musician), Paul Kelly and was originally released on 4 November 1996 on Mushroom Records, White Label Records in Australia. The title ...

''. In the first song, the man moves from being newly married to having children and problems with a drug addiction and undergoing rehab to returning to the family home. By the time of "How to Make Gravy", the man is in prison for assault and is writing a letter to his brother for Christmas. In 2002

Debbie Kruger Debbie Kruger (born 14 August 1962) is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer, she wrote ''Songwriters Speak'' in August 2005, which contains interviews with 45 Australian and New Zealand songwriters about their craft. Kruger was t ...

of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) interviewed Kelly and found, "Kelly’s attraction to the theatrical, however unconscious, has meant occasionally a song’s character will pop up again, sometimes unintentionally". Kelly conceded the three songs were linked, I’ve got a feeling it’s the same guy. He keeps coming back'. Maybe he’ll be in a happier place next time? 'Yeah, he’s a bit of a fuck-up, that guy', Kelly laughs". The final single, "God's Hotel" was co-written with Nick Cave. Kelly had read Cave's book of lyrics, ''King Ink'' (1988), and found "God's Hotel". When interviewing Cave for a newspaper article in ''The Age'', Kelly asked about the lyrics, Cave said "It's just a blues ... You can use the words if you want". Kelly only used five of twelve verses and adapted the tune from the chords of " Bittersweet" by Hoodoo Gurus. "Everybody Wants to Touch Me" describes how a pregnant woman becomes the object of curiosity, wonder or revulsion, although some believe the song relates to a celebrity being the centre of attention (see Paul Kapsis' cover version). In 2000 Kelly's friend

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top 5 hit "Man Overboard". Conw ...

recorded her version for ''The Women at the Well'' tribute album. Kelly noted "I don't like all covers of my songs but I have to say this one's awesome. Absolutely". "Lately" was co-written with Geyer and followed their work on the soundtrack for the ABC-TV mini series ''The Seven Deadly Sins'', Geyer and Kelly sang alongside

Vika Bull Vika and Linda, also known as Vika and Linda Bull, are an Australian vocal duo consisting of Vika Susan Bull (born 1966) and her younger sister, Linda Rose Bull . They came to prominence after singing backing vocals in Joe Camilleri's band The ...

and Conway for the 13 tracks. The cover art for ''Wanted Man'' is a colophon rendering of Australia's legendary outlaw

(no relation) as a guitarist and was painted by David Band.

Reception and charting

''Wanted Man'' peaked at No. 11 on the

and resulted in Kelly being nominated for 'Best Male Artist' at the

. Three singles were issued from the album, "Song from the Sixteenth Floor" (January 1994), "Love Never Runs on Time" (May) and "God's Hotel" (September) – but none reached the ARIA Singles Chart. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s Paul Corio observed that having Ned Kelly on the cover "makes perfect sense. Keeping a low profile Down Under, Paul Kelly periodically emerges with albums that raid the storehouse of critical praise, then he retreats to mine poetic gold". Corio felt the music was "folk, reggae, midtempo rock, jazz-inflected pop and hard-edged ballads – Kelly swings them all deftly".

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 William Ruhlmann was less favourable and said " twas familiar folk-rock, with Kelly singing romantic lyrics over acoustic and electric guitars and a rhythm section. ''Wanted Man'' was less ambitious lyrically than some of Kelly's earlier albums".

Track listing

Personnel

;Paul Kelly's backing band members * Paul Kelly – lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

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 ...

– drums * Bill McDonald – bass guitar * Shane O'Mara – lead guitar ;Musicians (Tracks 1-11) * Sweet Pea Atkinson – backing vocals *

– backing vocals * Harry Bowens – backing vocals *

Linda Bull Vika and Linda, also known as Vika and Linda Bull, are an Australian vocal duo consisting of Vika Susan Bull (born 1966) and her younger sister, Linda Rose Bull . They came to prominence after singing backing vocals in Joe Camilleri's band The ...

– backing vocals * Vika Bull – backing vocals *

John Molo John Molo (born December 5, 1953, Bethesda, Maryland) is an American rock and jazz drummer and percussionist. He has played with a variety of bands, combos, and soloists. Best known for being the drummer for Bruce Hornsby and the Range, he has a ...

– drums, percussion *

Debra Dobkin Debra Dobkin is an American vocalist, percussionist, music producer, and painter. Biography Early history Music and the fine arts have always played important roles in Dobkin's life. She was selected at age 6 for children's scholarship classe ...

– backing vocals * John Gilutin – piano *

James "Hutch" Hutchinson James Hutchinson (born January 24, 1953) is an American session bassist best known for his work with Bonnie Raitt. Though his work takes him nearly everywhere he primarily resides in Studio City, Los Angeles, CA and Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii. Ca ...

– bass guitar * Randy Jacobs – backing vocals * Robert Lloyd *

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...

– keyboards * Helen Mountfort *

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder who campaigned for the rights of Abori ...

– backing vocals * Paul Williamson ;Recording details * Producer – Paul Kelly, Randy Jacobs, David Bridie * Engineer – Terry Becker, Richard Bosworth,

Tony Cohen Anthony Lawrence Cohen (4 June 19572 August 2017) was an Australian music record producer and sound engineer. He worked with Nick Cave's groups the Birthday Party, and then the Bad Seeds from 1979 to 2001. In mid-1986 he had followed Cave t ...

, Warren Croyle, Mark Linett, Simon Polinski **Assistant engineer – Bruce Curnow, Tim Johnston, Jeff Shannon * Mastering – Alan Yoshida * Mixer – Terry Becker,

, Simon Polinski ;Art works * David Band - atwork (paintings, direction) * Christopher Holt - typography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Paul Kelly (Australian musician) albums Mushroom Records albums