Reviews

Listen Up: Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Kelly
Under Blue Water (Self-released)

By Tom Geddie

If you want to listen to middle-of-the-road music with nice production values that seldom really takes you anywhere, it’s OK to stop by the local Wal-Mart and buy some top-10 songs produced by a major label in a fancy studio. If you want to take a chance on something new, turn to somebody local like Kelly. That’s it, just Kelly. His first name is Stephen, but he doesn’t use it professionally.

Kelly recorded this 25-minute, acoustic, ballad rock c.d. in one day in his Glue Factory studio in Arlington, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica. Under Blue Water sways more than it rocks, but its songs are simple, sincere, and original.

“Dear Jane,” a soldier’s letter to his girl, comes closest to any of the nine songs to being commercial.

There’s “Jenny’s Eyes,” a celebration of spending innocent time with either his daughter or a lover; it’s hard to say, but in a good way.

Then there are “Don’t Look Now,” a tale of paranoia in a world of shadows and hidden mics and 20 Questions, followed by “Monsters in the Closet,” in which Kelly’s character wants to rest his weary head but fears the creatures that come out late at night to take a bite out of you and me.

You don’t find that kind of lyrical freedom in the discount store bins.

Dallas Music.Com

By Gin E

Local artist Kelly has released his first solo CD Short Stories which shows off his unplugged side. I thought the name suit it well since each song basically told a story. The CD was mostly accoustic guitar but also sported some excellent harmonica playing also done by Kelly. ...I bet Kelly is excellent live. He has that real cozy singer/songwriter feel that makes you want to be there. I especially enjoyed "Go Away" what I thought was one of the more up tempo of the songs. To find out more about Kelly, get a copy of Short Stories, and even listen to some songs yourself go to http://www.kellysrockandroll.com.

                                         Fort Worth Weekly Review
                                                      03/10/2004

                                                        Kelly
                                                     Short Stories
                                                    (Self-released)
                                                 By Ken Shimamoto

Singer-songwriter Stephen Kelly is a journeyman muso who spent 10 years on the road opening for arena rockers like Cheap Trick and REO Speedwagon. Since settling in Texas in 1982, he's played lead guitar in a C&W house band and fronted a series of obscuro local outfits. For the last couple of years, he's worked solo, playing four sets a night in sports bars, sneaking his originals into long sets of covers.

Last year, I panned his eponymous debut c.d. because of its lack of direction and some fairly clunky sound quality. So when the package bearing this disc arrived at the Weekly office, I had a moment of trepidation: Was there a letter bomb inside?

I'm happy to report that Short Stories not only doesn't blow up when you open it, it does a much better job of showcasing its creator's strengths than its predecessor did. While Kelly still plays all of the instruments -- he says it's easier than trying to find good players who aren't already involved in other projects, plus "it makes scheduling a breeze!" -- the overdubbed ones are much better integrated and more organic-sounding here, even the synth strings on "I Know You." Overall, the focus is where it belongs -- on his warm, friendly voice and heartfelt songs.

As a writer, Kelly wears his heart on his sleeve in the manner of massively unhip '70s populist Harry Chapin. (For proof, check out the lovelorn "Go Away.") Short Stories' best moment is the Everyman anthem "Invisible," a paean to folks who (as Bruce Springsteen would say) do the kind of work that keeps the world running, rather than the kind that changes the world. Which, come to think of it, isn't a bad metaphor for a musician like Kelly. Online at http://www.kellysrockandroll.com.