Album Review: Paul Kelly - Seven Sonnets & A Song

Paul Kelly has never shied away from either his infatuation with the English language nor his belief that master wordsmith William Shakespeare is its greatest proponent.

So on the 400th anniversary of The Bard's passing it's no real surprise that he's released mini-album Seven Sonnets & A Song, in which he puts music to (and sings) six Shakespeare sonnets plus a song from his play Twelfth Night, plus a seventh sonnet by Shakespeare contemporary Sir Philip Sidney.

The project may seem highbrow in theory, but in practice it's anything but — Kelly's assembled his usual crack band and on a casual listen it sounds all the world like a beautifully rendered new collection of his own tunes. On closer inspection, once accustomed to the old-time language and phrasing, the sentiment of these sonnets and songs shines through like a beacon: Sonnet 138 ponders deception in a relationship, Sonnet 73 reflects on accepting mortality and Sonnet 18 — with it's famous opening gambit "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" — marks the glorification of youth. Elsewhere Vika Bull offers a beautiful rendition of Sidney's My True Love Hath My Heart, as moving as anything penned this lifetime.

In lesser hands this could have all been tough going, but Kelly's clear love of Shakespeare meshed with his own unfettered musicality makes this yet another fascinating landmark in his ever-evolving canon.