That the cover art for Wanted Man is a colophon rendering of Australia's mythic outlaw Ned Kelly makes perfect sense. Keeping a low profile Down Under, Paul Kelly periodically emerges with albums that raid the storehouse of critical praise, then he retreats to mine poetic gold. Nick Cave co-wrote the great "God's Hotel," but everything else on Wanted Man reflects a singular voice; folk, reggae, midtempo rock, jazz-inflected pop and hard-edged ballads – Kelly swings them all deftly. Especially astute when musing on love – "Just Like Animals," about the joys of healthy lust; "Song From the Sixteenth Floor," about desperate desire – he packs his songs with ripe detail, his mind's eye a keen beam on the workings of the human heart. (RS 698/699)

PAUL CORIO