...Nothing but a Dream explained

...nothing but a dream
Type:studio
Artist:Paul Kelly
Cover:Nothing But A Dream.jpg
Alt:A silhouette of the artist in left profile. He is carrying a guitar case and standing on rocks in front of a bright but blurred shot of the ocean to his right. His name is in orange, block capitals at chest height. The album title is just below and written in smaller, black, lower case print.
Genre:Pop
Prev Title:Smoke
Prev Year:1999
Next Title:Ways & Means
Next Year:2004

...nothing but a dream is a studio album recorded by Australian singer-songwriter, Paul Kelly. It was released on 13 August 2001 via EMI Records, and peaked at No. 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 46 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.[1] [2] It was also released in the United States on Cooking Vinyl and included four tracks from Kelly's earlier extended play, Roll on Summer (2000). In Australia and New Zealand the album provided three singles, "Somewhere in the City" (July 2001), "Love Is the Law" (October) and "If I Could Start Today Again" (January 2002).[3]

Two days before the album appeared Kelly had issued a five-track EP, Paul Kelly Exclusive CD, which was provided free with The Weekend Australian Magazine – it has two tracks, "The Pretty Place" and "Somewhere in the City", from the album. It was the first CD to be included with an Australian newspaper magazine,[4] although this did cause problems with home deliveries, with many subscribers missing out.[5] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2002 ...nothing but a dream won Best Adult Contemporary Album for Kelly and he was nominated for Best Male Artist.[6]

Reception

AllMusic's Jason MacNeil rated the US version of ...nothing but a dream at four-out-of-five stars and explained, "the songs speak of a certain longing and asking for redemption, but are dominantly roots pop arrangements."[7] He observed, "An added bonus is the four additional tracks from a previously released EP, with the funky duet of 'Roll on Summer' being the high point of the lot."[7]

Steve Newton of The Georgia Straight felt it, "contains its share of solo, acoustic ballads, but also sees the singer-songwriter performing with the full band."[8] Newton described the track, "Would You Be My Friend", where Mick Harvey is "handling guitar, organ, bass, and drums" as a "soothing" rendition.[8] They recorded it in Harvey's back yard shed and Kelly explained, "'He's got a bigger shed than me, but he's got the same eight-track tape machine, so we've got a similar basic setup'."[8]

Personnel

Credits:[7]

Musicians
Recording and artwork details
Paul Kelly Exclusive CD
Type:EP
Artist:Paul Kelly
Cover:PK-exclusive_CD.jpg
Recorded:2000–2001
Genre:Rock/pop
Length:12:51
Label:The Australian/EMI
Producer:Paul Kelly, Mark Wallis, Andy Baldwin, Professor Ratbaggy

Paul Kelly Exclusive CD

Paul Kelly Exclusive CD is a five-track extended play by Paul Kelly, which was provided free with The Weekend Australian Magazine in August 2001.[9] [10] [11] It is a compilation with four audio tracks including two from Kelly's forthcoming album, ...nothing but a dream ("The Pretty Place" and "Somewhere in the City"), one from his previous four-track EP Roll on Summer ("I Was Hoping You'd Say That") in 2000, and one from an associated project Professor Ratbaggy's 1999 self-titled album ("Love Letter"). A music video for "Somewhere in the City" was provided as the fifth track.[10]

It was the first CD to be included with an Australian newspaper magazine,[12] although this did cause problems with home deliveries, with many subscribers missing out.[13]

Personnel

Credits:[14] [11]

Musicians
Recording details

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Discography Paul Kelly . Hung . Steffen . Australian Charts Portal (Hung Medien) . 10 May 2018 .
  2. Web site: Discography Paul Kelly . Hung . Steffen . New Zealand Charts Portal (Hung Medien) . 10 May 2018 .
  3. Web site: The Recordings of Paul Kelly as a solo artist . Eva Blanda . Other People's Houses . Australian Music Website . October 2003 . 10 May 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928112028/http://www.amws.com.au/pk/discography/pk-d-IIa.html . 28 September 2011 .
  4. Web site: The Weekend Australian Magazine targets free thinkers . B&T magazine . 2008-09-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040925080457/http://www.bandt.com.au/news/de/0c0070de.asp . September 25, 2004 .
  5. Web site: Flat newspapers . ABC Radio . 2008-09-01.
  6. Web site: ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2002: 16th Annual ARIA Awards . Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) . 10 May 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111211125021/http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2002 . 11 December 2011 .
  7. Web site: Nothing but a Dream – Paul Kelly | Songs, Reviews, Credits . . 10 May 2018 .
  8. News: Paul Kelly Wonders if 'Every Fucking City' Will Go Over in Vancouver . Newton . Steve . The Georgia Straight . Ear of Newt . 11 January 2015 . 10 May 2018 . Note: originally written on 21 March 2002.
  9. Web site: Paul Kelly Exclusive CD . Discogs . 2008-09-01.
  10. Kelly, Paul . Paul Kelly exclusive CD : 4 track EP plus CD-ROM . 2001 . . Canberra . 10 May 2018 .
  11. Paul Kelly . 11 August 2001 . Paul Kelly Exclusive CD . . CDRP637 .
  12. Web site: The Weekend Australian Magazine targets free thinkers . B&T magazine . 2008-09-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040925080457/http://www.bandt.com.au/news/de/0c0070de.asp . 25 September 2004 .
  13. Web site: Flat newspapers . ABC Radio . 1 September 2008.
  14. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20131022052859/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/k/kellypaul.html . Paul Kelly . Holmgren . Magnus . Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren) . 22 October 2013 . 21 March 2014 .