When comparing these two great Australian/New Zealand songwriters Neil Finns beats out a better tune than Paul Kelly for me. Not to say that Paul Kelly sucks but I prefer to listen to Neil Finns songs whether they be from Split Enz, Crowded House or his solo career.
Why Neil Finn? The big reason is that when compared to Paul Kelly his music is much more interesting due to more complex and surprising melodies and chord progressions. Paul Kelly’s strengths come from his lyrics that make him a great storyteller however he generally uses fairly simple harmonic content/chords in his songs. In comparison Neil Finn musically draws from a broader range of chords and harmony, incorporating more advanced song structures and vocal melodies. Here I will analyse a few Neil Finn and Paul Kelly songs to show why I like Neil Finn songs more than Paul Kelly’s.
Paul Kelly – From Little Things Big Things Grow
While many people love this song for the story of Vincent Lingiarri and his fight for indigenous land rights and reconciliation. I find it tedious to listen to due to the repetitive 4 chord progression that is strummed through the 6 minute plus duration.
It would’ve been better if he changed the chords for the chorus to give the listener a break from the repeated chords of C Am Em and G (using capo 4). A reharmonisation idea for the chorus could be F Am C and G. This simple change would give the listener a break from the same harmony without getting in the way of the story of the song.
Paul Kelly – To Her Door
This is great Aussie classic played with just 4 chords G C D and E minor in the key of G. I prefer this song over From Little Things Big Things Grow as there is more variation within these 4 chords plus the vocal melody has more variation particularly in the chorus. This song also has the bonus of a well crafted guitar solo starting on a low riff and building to a nifty double stop triplet section. However in comparison to Neil Finns songs this is still harmonically basic stuff – not that there’s anything wrong with that!
Paul Kelly – How To Make Gravy
Another great storytelling song about Joe who’s stuck in prison for Christmas. So who’s going to make the gravy? Harmonically this is more interesting than most Paul Kelly songs with the E major progression of E F#m7add11/E G#m6/E F#m7add11/E used in the first section of the song. This chord progression works by moving the E shape up the neck, stretching the pair of fingers 1 fret further and letting the open E and B strings ring out.
However this exact same chord progression is previously used in All Things Must Pass by George Harrison and Melissa by the Allman Brothers. With both of these songs to my ears the more melodic vocals sit better with the chord progression. However the 2nd half of How To Make Gravy with its emotive singing (“give my love to Angus”) and vocal note choices of E, D# to the B sits well with the E based chord progression.
Paul Kelly – Dumb Things
This is a fine rocking song with distinct intro verse and chorus sections to keep things musically interesting but the chords are very diatonic (from the scale) in the key of A minor (A B C D E F G notes). The interesting thing here is the use of D major at the end of the verse which breaks the A minor key by sneaking in a F# note into the chord.
Neil Finn – Weather With You
This is one of Neil Finns simpler songs but it still has twists and turns to keep you on your toes. Most notably the addition of an extra bar of E minor 7 in the 2nd chorus and in the final chorus an extra bar of E major (a wrong chord in the key of D) providing harmonic tension building to a big finish.
Also interestingly this song is in the key of D but spends a lot of its time on E minor 7 (ii) and A major (V) in the verses hinting at the key of E minor with a key change to D in the chorus with the A7sus4 (V) and D (I) chords.
Plus there’s the refreshing D minor, C and F major chord section (“things ain’t cooking”) temporarily changing the key to F.
Neil Finn – Message To My Girl
This Split Enz song written by Neil Finn is one of my favourite tunes. The harmony and melody are really unique but also memorable and catchy. In the verses the chords alternate between Bb/C and C (using capo 1) with a C Mixolydian piano melody in the intro.
This establishes the song in the key of C major. Other interesting non diatonic chords in the verse that create tension include E major and Bb major with a b5 moving to D major.
In the chorus the song breaks more harmonic rules with the inclusion of G minor and Eb. There’s also the great use of Csus4 resolving to C major at the end of the chorus.
The vocal melody in the chorus uses the C major scale (C D E F G A B notes) but with some non-diatonic notes. For example there’s a hint of a Bb note over the G minor chord and an Eb note over the Eb chord. The beginning of the chorus melody also features a reaching perfect 5th interval (C-G) which is a great melodic hook.
Neil Finn – Its Only Natural
This song in the key of E (using capo 1) extensively uses an Esus4 chord in the intro and verses while the intro includes another catchy E mixolydian (E F# G# A B C# D notes) based riff.
There are 3 versions of the chorus (just like in Weather With You) – a short one and 2 longer ones. The longer chorus’ contain a G#7 (III7) chord providing harmonic tension chromatically moving to A major.
The third chorus also includes a reworking of the main riff but using A Mixolydian (A D C# D E F# G) over an A major chord before the song goes back to the E Mixolydian riff to fade out.
Neil Finn – Four Seasons In One Day
Inspired by Melbourne’s ever changing weather this song is in the key of E minor with some interesting changes and elements thrown in. First off there’s the vocal melody in the verses with the big jump of a minor 6 (F# to D for “one day”) and the clever writing of the melody moving up and down like the weather.
Chord wise in the verses there’s an A minor 6 chord with the F# note adding extra harmonic interest and tension.
In the harpsichord solo there’s the use of B7 (V7) chord emphasised by the D# note in the melody.
Furthermore the bridge and the end of the chorus ambiguously hints at the tune being in the relative key of G major.
So now you know why I like Neil Finn songs over Paul Kelly songs. It’s due to Neil’s more advanced and unique use of melody and harmony that wins me over every time.