His stories are our stories.

He's been listening to us, in bits and pieces, forever. He knows how we love, how we cheat, how we treat our women. He knows how we copulate, how we forgive. He knows when we walk away and when we come back.

He knows women so well he can write in their voice - even if he can't sing like them.

In his latest project, The Merri Soul Sessions, he's courted females to sing his words, with stunning results.

A master of invention, Kelly has explored the world of soul music on this latest album, which he is touring now.

Besides long-time collaborators Vika and Linda Bull, and band members Ash Naylor, Bill McDonald, Cameron Bruce and Peter Luscombe, he's invited two young soul divas to the mix - Clairy Browne and Kira Puru - and singer/songwriter Dan Sultan.

"Clairy and Kira, I didn't know. I just knew their work," Kelly says of the professional courtship. "It was like a bit of a leap into the unknown. They were unknown to me, it was like an early date. But we're old pals now."

Other than a delicious remake of Sweet Guy, a song Kelly first recorded 25 years ago when he had a band called the Messengers, the material on the album is new, pieces Kelly had written but chose not to record until he had the right voice for the work or an album package where they would sit comfortably. The album's closer, Hasn't It Rained, was written during the two weeks of recording.

Vika Bull sings lead vocals on Sweet Guy on The Merri Souls project, having impressed Kelly with her carriage of the song in recent years while working with him.

It's a highlight of the live set, as the crowd knows the song but awakens to the notion that it's a female telling the story this time, hanging on that searing line "What makes such a sweet guy turn so mean."

The song on the album that leaves the biggest imprint on your brain, like a slap across the face, is Keep On Coming Back For More, featuring Browne's powerful vocals on top of a thundering, driving beat.

Kelly had the song, influenced by The Seed by The Roots, sitting on the shelf for eight years. It was hearing Browne's breakout hit, Love Letter, that triggered his thoughts of working with her. It also led him to the decision to record the album with producer Steve Schram in Melbourne, who had made Love Letter.

"He knew Clairy and Kira quite well," Kelly says.

"It was very helpful at making them feel at ease. We [the rest] had a long history. They were walking in as newbies. Schram was a good icebreaker for them."

Kelly also liked Schram's working style. The album was recorded in two weeks. The music was rehearsed in the morning and the vocals laid down in the afternoons.

Approaching the concept as a "soul revue" gave it a framework, he explains.

"I've always loved soul and R&B. That music's been a long-time companion.

"My voice doesn't always fit that genre, that's why I haven't done it."

For all of the new soulful songs on the album, the live performance where the group knocks out a few soul classics and then hits party mode with other Kelly classics kicks the energy to an even higher level.

"It's gone very well," Kelly says of the Merri Souls project.

"It was a bit of an experiment when we did it, but it's had a strong response."

Paul Kelly: The Merri Soul Sessions; Anita's Theatre, Thirroul; March 31.