Casey Kelly is one of the greatest performing songwriters in the songwriting capitol of the world, and HimOwnSelf is a masterwork by a master. His two Elektra albums from the early 70's are brilliant collections including several songs that were recorded by others. Since then, like the songs of other great Nashville hit writers Dave Loggins and Randy Sharp—both of whom had several albums in the 70's—many of Casey's songs have been made into hits by others. Nearly every song on HimOwnSelf has been recorded by major country stars; some of them recorded many times. Nevertheless, like the original recordings of Loggins, Sharp, Jesse Winchester, Skip Ewing, or Cheryl Wheeler, Casey Kelly's versions are revelations of the songwriter’s craft. The wit, pathos, and beauty of his creations come through in these interpretations. The acoustic instrumentation is designed to make the voice and words come to the forefront where they belong, and as on his earlier albums, Casey's own vocal harmonies are beautiful. I don't know whether anyone else has recorded “Polly, the Newspaper Dolly,” but I do recall that it won an award in the American Song Festival in the mid-70’s. The puns in that song and the great, gentle, though slightly scatological, humor in “The Wish” are great bonuses. I wholeheartedly recommend this album to any fan of great songwriting and great performers.
Check him out at http://www.myspace.com/caseykellymusic
or caseykelly.net.
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