This is the Special Edition of How To Make Gravy – Paul’s 576 page memoirs, packaged with the ‘A-Z Recordings’ 8CD Box Set in a special slipcase. The story and the songs! Housed in deluxe hardback style packaging – the A-Z journey, over 8CD’s takes the listener on a life-journey. The accompanying 64 page, full colour booklet features images and memorabilia from Paul’s 30+ year career as Australia’s most loved troubadour.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A memoir in one hundred songs – superb storytelling from Australia's most prodigious singer-songwriter.

‘In the middle of the journey of my life I found myself inside a tent of mirrors. Ahead lay a labour of trouble. All around, a thronging darkness. A deep slumber had caused me to stray, and to go forward was the only way back.’

Paul Kelly’s long-awaited memoir has its genesis in a series of Spiegeltent concerts first staged in 2004. Over four nights Kelly performed one hundred of his songs in alphabetical order. From the anecdotes he told in between songs grew How to Make Gravy – a memoir like no other. Paul Kelly is a born storyteller. For the past thirty years he has written songs inspired by everything from cricket to religion, from social issues to literature, and of course the land and the history of Australia. His songs have the power to connect people of all generations and favourites such as ‘Before Too Long’, ‘Dumb Things’ ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’, ‘How To Make Gravy’, ‘Leaps and Bounds’ and ‘To Her Door’ are included in this fascinating musical memoir. How to Make Gravy’s four sections mirror the four nights of the A-Z shows.

Each chapter starts with a song lyric followed by a story. Some stories tell Kelly's personal and family history, some take you on a road trip with the band, some form an idiosyncratic history of popular music, others offer insights into the songwriter's art – from the point of inspiration to writing, honing, collaborating, performing, recording and reworking. Playful and honest, insightful and intimate, How to Make Gravy is an irresistible reflection on the big and little things in life.

About The 8CD Set:

THE A-Z RECORDINGS (8CD) collects 105 of Paul Kelly’s treasured gems and compiles these into this lovingly packaged box set. All tracks were recorded live on Paul’s A-Z tours. As Paul himself elaborates:

“All songs were recorded live between 2004 and 2010 at various places during the A to Z shows. These usually ran over four nights – each night a different song list as I worked my way alphabetically through around a hundred songs. The idea was to present the songs undressed, in many cases close to how they sounded when they were first written, before being arranged with a band. I imagined a nice chunky booklet to accompany the recordings – some storytelling, notes on the songs and influences, and so on. I started writing a few things down and didn’t stop. Two years later I had a book. To replace the booklet that became a book, I decided to assemble pictures that would tell stories another way. I hope you enjoy them. “

- Paul Kelly, May 2010