Jonathan Kelly – Twice Around The Houses - Mott the Dog's Rock Music Reviews

1,214

5 Stars

Album cover with a typical picture of Jonathan wearing his great coat, scarf and carrying a rolled up newspaper – an everyday picture in the early seventies during the winter months in the UK. Jonathan Kelly: one of the people.

Audio CD (paid link)

The fickleness of the record buying public has always amazed me. Some records (vinyl, CDs, tapes, eight track, whatever you want to call them, whatever genre you’re from) make it and some don’t. Sometimes, to this humble dog, a very average album will sell in zillions (take Frampton Comes Alive for example. I mean, what were people thinking?), while an absolute classic goes completely unnoticed.

Twice Around the Houses is a classic example of the latter. Jonathan Kelly’s debut album for the major league RCA label was given masses of quality marketing, prestigious gigs at all the top venues, his appearance on BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test is legendary, was a regular at major festivals (playing with just a miked up acoustic, he was always easy to whip on and off between longer ensembles), and always went down a storm where ever he played. But somehow it just didn’t happen.

*Jonathan in reflective mood, probably wondering what plans the*
*record company suits were thinking up to thwart his way of life.*

Well, I can hear you thinking the obvious answer is: he just wasn’t any good. Wrong. He was good, real good.

Twice Around The Houses starts off with the sublime Madeleine, a mid-tempo song about un-requited love. The feeling that is in Jonathan’s voice leaves you in no doubt that this is a song sung through experience and would have made an excellent single. But, alas, time has moved on.

Next out of the traps is a lovely song about life in the British countryside. Not to look for too much in life in the way of always looking at the grass on the other side, may not be the answer to your questions, and it’s not always as green as it seems. Next song, ‘We’re All Right Till Then,’ is one of the most poignant protest songs this dog has ever heard. The chorus says it all, really.

“Cos we’re all right riding on the back of the mule; Yea, we’re alright sliding down the back of the fool; We’ll be alright till when; That farmer finds a friend.”

*Jonathan Kelly on stage at the Marquee Club in London. In an*
*intimate atmosphere, his work was mesmerizing.*

With words like that I’m surprised the album wasn’t bought by every downtrodden farmer in the world.

To lighten the load we then have the glorious ‘Ballad Of Cursed Anna,’ always a concert favorite with audiences, telling the story of the folly of youth. A tragi-comedy of a song that always plucks at heart strings but still leaves a smile on the lips.

Every track on the album is well-constructed and the variety is quite remarkable. From acoustic sad ballads like ‘I Used To Know You’ to the fun filled rock ‘n’ roll of ‘The Train Song‘.

Just one listen to this album will blow away all your blues. Jonathan became disillusioned with the whole of the music business, so he cut and ran. He had to do it for himself. How long can you live with high praise from the media, but a stark lack of sales?

*Jonathan Kelly in relaxed mood. He always had his own sort of*
*cigarettes, which he was always generous to hand around.*

Jonathan Kelly never had a “Year of the Cat,” a “Streets of London,” or even a “Baker Street” to lift him – like his contemporaries – on to a higher more commercial plane of international stardom. It’s great being an underground cult hero, but you have got to eat. Who knows how big he might have become if he’d stayed in the game? What I do know is that one minute he was playing and the next he picked up the wife and kids and returned to the valleys of Wales, turning his back on the music business forever.

But now, through the courtesy of B.G.O., we can listen to his wonderful work. Do yourself a favour, next time you want to spruce up your music collection, get this album. You won’t regret it. Your joy begins when the disc starts spinning.