Paul Kelly Songs

Popular Toons 24

A Little Bit Folkie

Full Library 12-8-24_part6

A great night playing some cowpunk in my flannie (flannelette shirt). I pretty much followed the setlist but actually played Desdemona by Paul Kelly which I haven't put on SoundCloud so I used one of his other songs for this playlist. 

Setlist for Open Mic - September 2025 - Cowpunk

Just Like Fire Would (by the Saints)

This is an original blues tune called Epiphany Blues played on electric guitar this time. I like the sound of this guitar so I thought I'd share one of it's recordings. Hope you enjoy!

Epiphany Blues (electrified original)

An old folk song written by Blind Alfred Reed. There have been some famous cover versions by artists like Ry Cooder and Bruce Springsteen. I think my acoustic version is closest to Ry Cooder's though obviously not in the same stratosphere when it comes to ability.

How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? (by Ry Cooder, written by Blind Alfred Reed)

You Can't Take It With You (by Paul Kelly)

The Irish Rover is a traditional Irish folk song. The first rendition I heard was from the 80s by the Pogues and the Dubliners, in the folk punk style of the Pogues. I think my rendition is a bit more folk and a bit less punk than the Pogues. The Pogues also have a famous Christmas song though it's not this one.

The Irish Rover (traditional)

I have been a fan of U2 for a long time and I had Rattle and Hum on cassette back in the 80s. However, for some reason I didn't know that Bob Dylan co-wrote this song and only found out recently. I sang the words on memory and ad libbed a bit so they may not be 100% accurate. Hope you enjoy!

Love Rescue Me (by U2 and Bob Dylan)

I decided to re-release this standard as I wanted to see if I could pep it up a bit. My version is based on the Blues Brothers version.

Sweet Home Chicago - reprise (by the Blues Brothers, written by Robert Johnson)

This is a fun tune by the Smiths from their 1986 classic album The Queen Is Dead. I thought the nylon string worked well on this one because the Smiths always had a lovely crisp clean sound. Hope you enjoy Morrissey's funny lyrics!

Cemetry Gates (by the Smiths)

Six chords, a 6/8 time signature and the truth!

There have been a number of excellent ballad versions of this classic. I have tried to take it back to its rootsy roots. I feel like Leonard Cohen's original would have been at home in a seedy jazz blues bar. Hope you enjoy!

Hallelujah (by Leonard Cohen)

This here is a little ditty I wrote last year. I thought it sounded a bit cowpunk so I gave it the unimaginative name Cowpunk 24. I played around with sounds and ended up playing my acoustic electric through my Vox amp with maximum flanger. Yeeharrrr!

Cowpunk 24 (original)

All songs written by Brooke Russell and arranged by Brooke Russell and The Mean Reds 
Produced and mixed by Joshua Barber 
Engineered by Fraser Montgomery and Joshua Barber at The Aviary Recording Studio, Abbotsford 
Mastered by Lachlin Carrick 
Design by Ben Mastwyk. Photo by Tajette O'Halloran 
Printed by Replicat 

Brooke Russell - Voice, Guitars and Mandolin
Grant Taylor - Guitars 
Ben Franz - Pedal Steel 
Luke Richardson - Double Bass and Vocals 
Joshua Barber - Drums, Vocals, Keys and everything else 
with special guests Ryan Brewer on drums and piano and Emilee South, Leah Senior and Matthew Colin on backing vocals. 

01 - Never's Gonna Take Too Long

Shot Of Love

The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar

The Heart It Beats the Thunder Rolls

London Calling (Remastered)

The Guns of Brixton (Remastered)

Somedays The Song Writes You

The Guitar

Live at Sydney Opera House

To Her Door (Live from Sydney Opera House, 2017)

Leaps and Bounds (Live from Sydney Opera House, 2017)

Love Never Runs on Time (Live from Sydney Opera House, 2017)

Deeper Water (Live from Sydney Opera House, 2017)

Live, February 16th, 1998 performance recorded at Shooters on the Water, West Bank Flats, Cleveland, Ohio.

Lisa Loeb - Stay (Live @ 'Shooters', Cleveland, OH, USA 2/16/1998)

this is one of my favorite granddaddy songs. I did try to add more discordance to the ooos and ahhhs.  I was going to overproduce the shit out of this, but I ended up just thinking it was good with 1 acoustic demo track and then singing overtop of it.  

stay healthy, make something. :) 
it doesn't have to be perfect for it to be meaningful.

The group who couldnt say (grandaddy cover)

Solo acoustic rock n roll! 🎸🎤

I am a solo guitarist mainly playing acoustically. I am a rock n roller with folk, country, blues, jazz and classical influences. It could be summed up as cowpunk.

I have written two songs, Mexico and Solution, and have also written a number of instrumentals. As I don't have many songs of my own, I like to learn to play standards so I have developed a bit of a repertoire.

All originals are copyright. 

Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy it! This is NG, bluesing out!

You Can't Take It With You (by Paul Kelly)

NG Bluesing Out