Kelly tried to get out of the stereotype they had built for themselves with
Ghosts Of Love (Bomp, 1990), by far their most experimental work,
but also the one that almost decreed their demise.
Wedding Day will remain one of Kelly's most tender songs.
Portugal (Green Monkey, 1990) and
Private Electrical Storm (Green Monkey, 1992)
appeared only on cassette.
The band was given for dead. They came back, instead, years later with
Strung Behind The Sun (Camera Obscura, 1997), in which songs arranged
in the psychedelic pop manner of the mid 1960s
(Doctor Dragonfly)
coexist with the usual unassuming ditties
(When The Summer Said Goodbye).
The new edition of the band, which kept only Kelly and drummer
Karl Wilhelm of the original line-up and introduced Eric Lichter,
is inferior in fact of sprightliness and enthusiasm, but has the gift
of never lowering itself to amateurism.
The various Dying To Love You and Andrew and Paul
may sound all alike, and all trivial, but never ridicule.
Indian Winter (Get Hip, 1998) collects the singles cut by the band
from the beginning to Emma Is Crying, which are likely to constitute
the best of their art.
The psychedelic phase peaked with
All Clues Lead To Meagan's Bed (Camera Obscura, 1998), and its
Rattlesnake Kiss,
The Secret Of Her Smile and Queen Of Sunshine, although they
still sound mainly tributes to the 1960s.
The band always had the vocation, but still hasn't found the ambition.
The psychedelic raga of Egyptian Snowflake and
Morning In Myra's Room is the Beatles variant, not the Velvet
Underground variant.
The ballad Dear Jane almost accidentally strikes gold.
Seven Fathoms Down And Falling (Woronzow, 1999) marked the debut of
guitarist Laura Weller and boast a couple of additions to the major repertory
(Seven Fathoms Down And Falling,
Just A Breath Away and She Doesn't Love You Anymore), but the
band has never sounded so tame (or adult, depending on perspective).
The Carolers' Song (Hidden Agenda, 2001) is a collection of pop ditties
inspired by holiday music.
Goblin Market is Laura Weller's original band and side-project. Kelly
collaborates on Ghostland (Camera Obscura, 2001), a collection of
gothic/baroque ballads.
The title-track is the highlight on
This Is Where We Disappear (Woronzow, 2001).
Narcotic Kisses (Camera Obscura, 2002) is a collection of singles
and rarities.
Jeff Kelly had readied seven solo albums, beginning with
Coffee In Nepal (Green Monkey, 1987 - DiDi, 1991), and
four of which make up the
boxed Melancholy Sun (Camera Obscura, 1999), and two of which are
limited edition and home-made:
Ash Wednesday Rain (Green Monkey, 1996), with
Baby Jane Approximately, and Twenty Five.
Indiscretion (Hidden Agenda, 2001) is perhaps the closest his solo
works have come to recreate Green Pajamas' (catchy, gentle and well-orchestrated) sound.
Through Glass Coloured Roses (Hidden Agenda, 2003) is a career retrospective.
Jeff Kelly's skills both as songwriter and as arranger shine on
21st Century Seance (Hidden Agenda, 2005), at least in the most
melodramatic and tense songs (The Secret's of Bethany's Mouth,
Salome, Black Guitar) that employ an arsenal of tricks to
complement his literate lyrics.