MR MUSIC’S PIECE DE RESISTANCE!! (TRACKS REVIEWED BY JOE VAN LANGENBERG). The day Sri Lankan music lovers, his peers & all those holding him in awe over the passing of time, has finally dawned. Desmond ”Des” Kelly, affectionately & respectfully referred to as ”Mr Music”, (a title he carries like a badge of honour), is bursting with justifiable pride. But he remains humbled & modest. Des has now decided to showcase his piece de resistance. A total number of 24 tracks, comprising pulsating baila, soothing instrumentals & thought-provoking specials thrown in for good measure, complete the ”Ultimate” DVD.<\/p>\n
It’s the real deal, a virtual set of memoirs, forming a pivotal part of the great man’s package, which can only be described as professional excellence. What makes this priceless in the truest sense of the word, is the salient fact that this accomplished musician-cum multi-instrumentalist, will be donating all proceeds accrued from the DVD sales, to a home for underprivileged children in Sri Lanka. A magnanimous deed, which only human beings of substance, selflessness & integrity are capable of. Heartfelt & unreserved thanks & appreciation need to be extended to Jude Goonewardena, the gentleman responsible for having compiled Mr. Music’s magnum opus, by tying up the loose ends, thus ensuring the quality of the video, has been enhanced by glamourous visual effects. The cover design & DVD, which have been set in a blaze of glory by Paul Oliver, is worthy of especial mention. To get down to essentials; Des kicks off with ”My land of dreams”, one of his many originals featuring his personal lyrics , belted out with oodles of emotion & providing an insight into his sense of patriotism for the country of his birth, something which courses through his veins & warms the cockles of his heart. ”Defying gravity” made famous by country legend Waylon Jennings, is given the kiss of life, with Des warbling his rich vocals, around one of the most enduring hits of all time. ”Dilhani” is one of the most loved numbers to do the rounds & one dedicated to Sri Lanka’s doyen of sinhala music, the irrepressible & creative genius Clarence Wijewardena, who incidentally composed & wrote the music. It was popularised by Indrani Perera & the Moonstones. Des puts his magical spin on this, with great effect. Mr Music’s touch of class & inimitable style, when dishing out the tribute to Vince Gill in his rendition of ”Look at us”, is one of reciprocal love between two compatible people, who overcome obstacles by drawing inner strength from one another. The Master once again, doesn’t fail to come up trumps, with his version that would have pleased the Ricky Nelson doppleganger. ”The Kelly Cha Cha”, another in a string of Mr Music’s original instrumentals is in a league of its own, with background dancers adding grist to his vocal mill. ”The bottle let me down”, is a fitting tribute by Des to Merle Haggard, who himself grappled with personal demons throughout his glittering, but troubled life, failing to comprehensively slay them, especially the scourge of alcohol & as a consequence, hitting the skids big-time. The backdrop was quite confronting, showing a few followers of Bacchus, drinking away their pride, until the bottle took effect. ”The bicycle” is perhaps one of the catchiest tunes in Mr Music’s array of tracks. It shows an atractively-curvaceous young woman (femme fatale) riding a bicycle, while distracting many testosterone pumped-up males & causing a few mishaps along the way. Once again, the lyrics belong to Des & the music is composed by Wally Bastiansz. ”Cest La Vie” (that’s life\/), ”You never can tell”, is a tribute to the unforgettable Chuck Berry, which is dominated by toe-tapping vamping on the ivories. ”My lovely island home”, an intensely nostalgic song, with lyrics by Des & music by Clarence Wijewardena, is possibly one of the most moving numbers in the repetoire. In a voice laced with deep feeling & love for his motherland, Mr Music reminisces on the way it used to be, back in the halcyon days, when it was a different place etched in time. ”Baila Sellama”, a worthy tribute to the Godfather of baila music, incomparable Wally Bastiansz, who paved the way for aspiring musicians, dished out as only Des is able to. ”Siri Pada Samanala”, is a tribute to Vincent de Paul Peiris by Des, extolling the virtues of Adam’s Peak, while simultaneously displaying its natural beauty in all its pristine glory.The romantic serenade to ”Judy”, a song immortalized by the ‘King of Pop & also dedicated to Judy Tyler, given Mr Music’s delicious twist, is refreshingly different from the original, but unique nevertheless. ”Muhude yamu”, another of Des’ tributes to Wally Bastianz, is a song highlighting potential dangers fishermen face on choppy seas 24\/7. ”Margaritaville”, an instrumental tribute to Jimmy Buffett & ”I just wanna dance with you”, a vocal tribute to George Strait, also impressed in no small measure, with both numbers having a mixed flavour of up-tempo & relaxing feel-good rhythm. ”Sandak Nagee”, a touching tribute to the late Rukmani Devi, dubbed the ”Singing Nightingale”, who died under tragic circumstances & Neville Fernando, two of the most sought-after artistes, who graced countless music venues with aplomb. Mr Music does justice to this unforgettable hit, which has weathered the test of time. ”Vadakaha Sudiya”, with Sinhala lyrics & music by Wally Bastiansz, together with english lyrics by Des Kelly & impeccably sung by the Master himself, brings into sharp focus health hazards caused by consuming such a lethal brew, otherwise appropriately termed ”Kill me quick”. ”Ned Kelly Blues”, a Des Kelly original based on Australia’s most infamous outlaw, but later held in high esteem, is quite listenable. Without a doubt ”Dreamworld” has been one of Mr Music’s most popular hits; the icing on the cake so to speak. Backed by the Semitones, it was a force to be reckoned with, in the days gone by & has still not lost its mojo. As a matter of fact, Des composed this song for his then girlfriend, former Miss Ceylon & Miss Universe second runner-up Maureen Hingert back in 1951, when he was just fifteen years of age & Maureen was only fourteen years old. ”Ramya Manahara”, yet another dedicated to the splendour of the Kandy Perahera, is noteworthy. ”Moonlight & Roses” & ”You’re the only good thing”, two of Gentleman Jim’s melancholic chart-toppers, given frequent airplay at the time, are two more, caressed by Mr Music’s golden tonsils. Last, but by no means least, is ”Let’s keep death of our roads”, a road safety song for Australia, a Des Kelly original & ”International song of Sri Lanka”, music & sinhala lyrics by Ananda Samarakoon & english lyrics by Des Kelly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
”ULTIMATE DVD IN PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE\u201d MR MUSIC’S PIECE DE RESISTANCE!! (TRACKS REVIEWED BY JOE VAN LANGENBERG). The day Sri Lankan music lovers, his peers & all those holding him in awe over the passing of time, has finally dawned. Desmond ”Des” Kelly, affectionately & respectfully referred to as ”Mr Music”, (a title he carries like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11217","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-articles"},"yoast_head":"\n