Nobody who writes as many topdrawer songs as Paul Kelly does should be as unknown as he is. Kelly's last album, Gossip, was chock-full of tough, tuneful standouts; there were fifteen songs on the album, seventeen on the CD and twenty-four on the double-disc set that was released in his home country, Australia. Under the Sun isn't as expansive, but it may be even more consistently appealing. This is a collection of bittersweet, finely drawn character sketches and reminiscences that mix rock & roll grit with the lilt of good soul music and the heart-tugging simplicity of the best country ballads. Kelly has said he'd most like his songs to be covered by soul crooner Aaron Neville and country veteran George Jones; he's one of the few rockers who has written songs that deserve both those voices.

Mostly, though, Under the Sun is a spare, rootsy rock album, a down-under version of John Cougar Mellencamp's heartland sketches. From the roadhouse bite of the album's first single, "Dumb Things," to the halting ballad "Know Your Friends," Kelly writes intelligent, vivid short stories; most of them are imbued with sweetness and nostalgia. For their part, the Messengers support him with the quiet virtuosity of musicians who've been together for five albums.

In the end, the song that most succinctly sums up Kelly's strengths may be "Little Decisions," which floats on a delicious pop-soul groove and is full of wonderfully ingenuous advice: "If drinking is the problem/Then drink a little less." A lovely hymn to common sense, restraint and understatement, it could be the signature tune for a songwriter who does nearly all the little things right, whose small stories add up to a big album. (RS 537)

STEVE POND