Greatest Hits Songs From The South volumes 1 & 2 (2CD)

One of the most distinctive songwriters and storytellers of the last 30 years, Australia's Paul Kelly has collected 39 of the finest songs of his career in Songs From The South.' A handpicked introduction to his inimitable lyrical eye and social viewpoint, this is the ideal jumping-off point for music lovers in the UK to discover an astonishingly broad back catalogue that "deserves wider recognition on this side of the world" (The Times).Paul Kelly has been mining themes of sex, death, memory, friendship and love' (to use his own words) since his debut in the eighties. There is barely a genre or subject matter that he hasn't applied himself to over the course of his 25 albums, and Songs From The South' takes it all in. Known for his story telling, many of the songs here show Paul's ability to speak in multiple voices, never casting judgement but always finding the emotion in the tales he tells - whether personal, political or philosophical.Beginning with From St Kilda To Kings Cross' from his first solo album in 1985, Songs From The South' charts Paul's singular career all the way up to 2007's Stolen Apples.' Included along the way are the likes of How To Make Gravy' - a Christmas song without a chorus but with a recipe - and To Her Door', which is featured in the Top 30 Australian Songs Of All Time.A searingly truthful and tuneful songwriter in the vein of Elvis Costello or Ron Sexsmith, he is notable as much for his weaving of comedy and tragedy as for the wide variety of genres he embraces, which include folk, rock, bluegrass, electronica and dub reggae. Now 56, Paul Kelly continues to innovate and refresh his back catalogue. Last year he issued The A-Z Recordings', an 8-disc live album that brought together 100 of his songs performed acoustically - and commemorated the release by reproducing the album across 4 sold-out nights at London's Bush Hall. The process of revisiting and revising such a large swathe of material led to Paul composing his "mongrel memoir" How To Make Gravy'. Songs From The South' is merely the tip of the iceberg of the wealth of essential music that Paul Kelly has lent his hand to over the last 30 years and it reaffirms him as one of the most important voices in modern music.