DePauw University DePauw, October 17, 1986

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Costello's newest lacks needed focus


John Sisson

Declan MacManus, alias Elvis Costello, is experimenting again.

MacManus' newest, Blood & Chocolate, is his eleventh album and his second release this year. King of America, which was released last spring, featured a new Costello — the old Costello. On King of America, Costello was striving to get back to the roots, the soul, the honesty. He went as far as changing his name back to his given name, and further wiped the slate clean by separating himself from his long-time back-up band, the Attractions.

The Attractions ended up playing with him on only one track of King of America, but they are backing MacManus again on all of Blood & Chocolate. It is an ambitious album, and in keeping with King of America in its lyrical and musical content. It is honest, simple, and not altogether polished.

The lyrics on Blood & Chocolate are more autobiographical than anything MacManus has ever released even as Costello. One could speculate that several lines were inspired by and/or aimed at his ex-wife, for instance, the entire song "I Hope You're Happy Now." By no means does the autobiographical nature of the lyrics make them bad, but such close-to-home subjects make focus hard for any writer to hold on to.

There are, of course, many good lines — as on all of MacManus' albums. "They say the gold paint on the palace gates comes from the teeth of pensioners." "You can take the truthful things you've said to me and fit them on the head of a pin." "He's contemplating murder again, he must be in love." "You put a penny in the slot. She called you her Magic Fingers." "But you make him sound like frozen food, his love will last forever."

But of all the good lyrical ideas, only four cuts of Blood & Chocolate stand on their own — lyrically and musically. "I Hope You're Happy Now," keeps focus and runs sardonically through a smooth pop melody. "Tokyo Storm Warning" sounds like a "Pump it up" variation pumped full of "Subterranean Homesick Blues"-ish lyrics. "Crimes of Paris" is a bittersweet, give-and-take love song, on which MacManus is accompanied by his wife, Cait O'Riordan, lead singer of the Pogues. And "Poor Napoleon," the strongest cut on the album, focuses on one who sets himself up for pompous, tragic love. On the song, MacManus is accompanied only by O'Riordan, a bass and a tambourine. "Poor Napoleon" is simply executed, lyrically cutting, and more focused and polished than any other cut on the album.

Musically MacManus is going back to music with a lot of soul, but sometimes the experimenting gets in the way. There are several simple cuts, in which the music takes the back seat, but unfortunately, so does the aim of the song. In the powerful cut "I Want You," MacManus starts out with a musical and lyrical facsimile of Elvis Presley's "Love me tender," and then gets lost in a mess of redundant lyrics and chords. "Uncomplicated," the first song on the album, epitomizes MacManus' losing his aim in experimentation.

As was seen on King of America, MacManus is trying to "find himself" by dropping the Elvis Costello thing. He has dropped a lot of the complicated lyrics, dubbing, melodies, and struck out to find his heart. In Blood & Chocolate, he seems to be over the trauma and is experimenting and having fun again. The inside lyric sheet is spiced up with quips of Esperanto, and MacManus dubs himself even anther identity, "Napoleon Dynamite."

Blood & Chocolate could not be a more honest album, but it needs more thought on focus and technique. The ambition to the end is there — as always — but the experimental means do not arrive at the destination. And it just leaves me wondering where MacManus is going next.


Tags: Declan MacManusBlood & ChocolateKing Of AmericaThe AttractionsI Hope You're Happy NowTokyo Storm WarningPump It UpSubterranean Homesick BluesCrimes Of ParisCait O'RiordanThe PoguesPoor NapoleonI Want YouElvis PresleyUncomplicatedNapoleon DynamiteNew Musical ExpressLondonLetters to the editor

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The DePauw, October 17, 1986


John Sisson reviews Blood & Chocolate.


Reader Geoff Klinger responds to the review in the Nov. 11 issue.

Images

1986-10-17 DePauw University DePauw page 06 clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.


The DePauw, November 11, 1986

Student disagrees with Costello review


Geoff Klinger

1986-11-11 DePauw University DePauw page 04 clipping 01.jpg

Editor:

Well, shoot. I am torn between the fact that The DePauw is doing write-ups of legends in the music industry, and the recent write-up of Mr. Costello's latest album (The DePauw, Oct. 17), Yes, I am off-campus, but I still do get The DePauw (and lucky me gets to read of all the nifty things I'm missing). Anyway, I am glad none of the true Costello devotees of two years ago were around to read this. Is it really such a shame that Elvis tries to shake-off the chains of American popular music, and blend getting back to basics with new and innovative techniques? I hope he never falls into a classification that is easily recognized, defined and least of all overplayed on an American radio show (as New Music Express puts it from London: the sanitizing of albums that is forced by the United State's "brain-shrink radio stations" — referring to the molding of Pato Banton in General Public's latest.)

When I was at a hole-in-the-wall nightclub in London, Elvis came out unannounced and did a 45-minute set. That is unpredictable. He sang with a genuine tone and an enthusiasm that he seemed to have lost — almost like a musical rebirth. It is that lack of definition, unpredictability and renewed feeling in his latest that makes it timeless (once again). Perhaps that is why all of the European reviews I read have nothing but praise for Blood & Chocolate. I am cheered by the fact that Costello was given such a lengthy column in The DePauw (it somewhat restores my faith in our grand institution) but that lack of definition/focus is not a negative thing, and lines like the "(the album) just leaves me wondering where MacManus is going next" only shows he's achieved part of his goal by avoiding pre-packaging and predictability (a popular item at DePauw).



1986-10-17 DePauw University DePauw page 06.jpg
Page scan.

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