Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Detours & Rendezvous liner notes: Difference between revisions
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"[[My Brave Face]]" — [[Paul McCartney]] | "[[My Brave Face]]" — [[Paul McCartney]] | ||
I first met Paul McCartney when we opened the show for [[Wings]] during the 1979 Concerts for Kampuchea series in London. He was very friendly and good at putting people at ease who might have been a little overwhelmed . . . him having been in The Beatles, like. He was also singing and playing tremendously. During the '80s we were often working in AIR studios at the same time, sometimes sharing the engineering skills of [[Geoff Emerick]]. Once or twice Paul and [[Linda McCartney|Linda]] came down the hallway for a chat, and on a few occasions we were obliged to retrieve a slightly over-enthusiastic Attraction from their studio. | I first met Paul McCartney when we opened the show for [[Wings]] during the 1979 [[Concert 1979-12-29 London|Concerts for Kampuchea]] series in London. He was very friendly and good at putting people at ease who might have been a little overwhelmed... him having been in [[The Beatles]], like. He was also singing and playing tremendously. During the '80s we were often working in AIR studios at the same time, sometimes sharing the engineering skills of [[Geoff Emerick]]. Once or twice Paul and [[Linda McCartney|Linda]] came down the hallway for a chat, and on a few occasions we were obliged to retrieve a slightly over-enthusiastic Attraction from their studio. | ||
Receiving the invitation to write with Paul was very exciting, but not without its anxieties. I had always tried to be ingenious when borrowing ideas from Lennon & McCartney, but sometimes it's a thin line between influence and larceny. | Receiving the invitation to write with Paul was very exciting, but not without its anxieties. I had always tried to be ingenious when borrowing ideas from Lennon & McCartney, but sometimes it's a thin line between influence and larceny. | ||
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Our writing sessions could not have been more enjoyable or instructive. We set up in a room above Paul's studio with two acoustic guitars, an electric piano, and a big notebook and worked at great speed for about five hours a day. Sometimes we prepared music separately and then reworked it together. Sometimes we pulled things out of the air. Once we had finished writing, we would go downstairs and knock off a demo recording. Each of the three-day sessions produced at least as many songs. | Our writing sessions could not have been more enjoyable or instructive. We set up in a room above Paul's studio with two acoustic guitars, an electric piano, and a big notebook and worked at great speed for about five hours a day. Sometimes we prepared music separately and then reworked it together. Sometimes we pulled things out of the air. Once we had finished writing, we would go downstairs and knock off a demo recording. Each of the three-day sessions produced at least as many songs. | ||
I found that Paul was very exact in the setting of words. He did not like to vary or extend a repeated melodic line just to accommodate a lyrical trick, where as I would always want to steal notes to allow an extra syllable or two. In time we seemed to switch roles, Paul suggesting long bursts of lyric set on one or two notes, while I introduced some Merseys harmonies and cadences into the dialogue song "You Want Her Too," which provoked, what used to be called, an "old-fashioned look" from Mr. McCartney. Nevertheless, I think there was more to our collaboration than musical allusions. Paul was very sympathetic in his handling of my personal lyrical details in "[[Veronica]]" and "[[That Day Is Done]]." I think our work together is well illustrated by a series of "character" songs: "[[Mistress And Maid]]," "[[So Like Candy]]," the unreleased "[[Tommy's Coming Home]]," and "My Brave Face." | I found that Paul was very exact in the setting of words. He did not like to vary or extend a repeated melodic line just to accommodate a lyrical trick, where as I would always want to steal notes to allow an extra syllable or two. In time we seemed to switch roles, Paul suggesting long bursts of lyric set on one or two notes, while I introduced some Merseys harmonies and cadences into the dialogue song "[[You Want Her Too]]," which provoked, what used to be called, an "old-fashioned look" from Mr. McCartney. Nevertheless, I think there was more to our collaboration than musical allusions. Paul was very sympathetic in his handling of my personal lyrical details in "[[Veronica]]" and "[[That Day Is Done]]." I think our work together is well illustrated by a series of "character" songs: "[[Mistress And Maid]]," "[[So Like Candy]]," the unreleased "[[Tommy's Coming Home]]," and "My Brave Face." | ||
Four McCartney/MacManus compositions appeared on the ''[[Paul McCartney: Flowers In The Dirt|Flowers In The Dirt]]'' album. Our other songs were shared out over our next few record releases. A few remain unrecorded. And there is always the chance that we might get together for another writing session. | Four McCartney/MacManus compositions appeared on the ''[[Paul McCartney: Flowers In The Dirt|Flowers In The Dirt]]'' album. Our other songs were shared out over our next few record releases. A few remain unrecorded. And there is always the chance that we might get together for another writing session. | ||
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:''Hercules lives next door to Venus and Mars | :''Hercules lives next door to Venus and Mars | ||
:''Beside your pretty blue shoulder something may trouble Jerome | :''Beside your pretty blue shoulder something may trouble Jerome | ||
:''Now that you're up with your friends I know you'll never come home . . . | :''Now that you're up with your friends I know you'll never come home... | ||
as if he had been doing it his entire life. | as if he had been doing it his entire life. | ||
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"[[Shadow And Jimmy]]" — [[Was (Not Was)]] | "[[Shadow And Jimmy]]" — [[Was (Not Was)]] | ||
This song is a bit of a mystery to me. I know it was cowritten one afternoon with [[David Was|David Weiss]], then one of the fiendish brains behind [[Was (Not Was)]]. It speaks to me of time on my hands in a Hollywood hotel between sessions for the album ''[[King Of America]]''. I think David and I wrote together as an experiment. What came out was a chilly tale of two strange fish. Their lives are filled with bathing beauties and barbecued ribs. I don't recall ever mentioning hockey in a song before . . . or since. | This song is a bit of a mystery to me. I know it was cowritten one afternoon with [[David Was|David Weiss]], then one of the fiendish brains behind [[Was (Not Was)]]. It speaks to me of time on my hands in a Hollywood hotel between sessions for the album ''[[King Of America]]''. I think David and I wrote together as an experiment. What came out was a chilly tale of two strange fish. Their lives are filled with bathing beauties and barbecued ribs. I don't recall ever mentioning hockey in a song before... or since. | ||
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:''She's prepared to read your mind | :''She's prepared to read your mind | ||
:''That's all very well 'til you find because of the wine you drank | :''That's all very well 'til you find because of the wine you drank | ||
:''Your mind is just a blank | :''Your mind is just a blank... | ||
However, you probably know that old saying, "Thinking you are Cole Porter comes before a fall." When I heard Charles' recording, he had not only dispensed with most of my changes and turned the song into a blues, but he had also distilled those lines down to the essential: "I find it hard to think when I drink." Of course I was a little disappointed, but his take on the song had a lot of charm, so we agreed to publish both versions, with the first draft taking its title from the opening line. | However, you probably know that old saying, "Thinking you are Cole Porter comes before a fall." When I heard Charles' recording, he had not only dispensed with most of my changes and turned the song into a blues, but he had also distilled those lines down to the essential: "I find it hard to think when I drink." Of course I was a little disappointed, but his take on the song had a lot of charm, so we agreed to publish both versions, with the first draft taking its title from the opening line. | ||
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As director of the 1995 Meltdown Festival at London's South Bank Centre I was able to seek out and collaborate with the Brodsky Quartet, [[Fretwork]], [[The Jazz Passengers|the Jazz Passengers]] and [[Deborah Harry]], [[Donal Lunny]], Anúna, Composer's Ensemble, [[Marc Ribot]], [[June Tabor]], [[Steve Nieve]], [[The Fairfield Four]], [[Jeff Buckley]], and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gunther Schuller. | As director of the 1995 Meltdown Festival at London's South Bank Centre I was able to seek out and collaborate with the Brodsky Quartet, [[Fretwork]], [[The Jazz Passengers|the Jazz Passengers]] and [[Deborah Harry]], [[Donal Lunny]], Anúna, Composer's Ensemble, [[Marc Ribot]], [[June Tabor]], [[Steve Nieve]], [[The Fairfield Four]], [[Jeff Buckley]], and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gunther Schuller. | ||
Guitar player and composer [[Bill Frisell]] and I also put together a short program of his transcriptions of some of my songs, together with tunes such as "[[Weird Nightmare]]" and "[[Gigi]]." We ended the set with some words that I had set to music that Bill had sent to me. The result was "Deep Dead Blue." Our first public appearance together was recorded and later issued under that title on a limited-edition CD by Nonesuch Records. | Guitar player and composer [[Bill Frisell]] and I also put together a short program of his transcriptions of some of my songs, together with tunes such as "[[Weird Nightmare]]" and "[[Gigi]]." We ended the set with some words that I had set to music that Bill had sent to me. The result was "Deep Dead Blue." Our first public appearance together was recorded and later [[Deep Dead Blue|issued]] under that title on a limited-edition CD by Nonesuch Records. | ||
[[Michael McGlynn]] is a remarkable composer and leader of the choral group Anúna. He has also been a good friend and a fine teacher in helping me overcome my reluctance to master musical notation. This allowed me to work more freely on ''[[The Juliet Letters]]'' and subsequent "written" compositions. | [[Michael McGlynn]] is a remarkable composer and leader of the choral group Anúna. He has also been a good friend and a fine teacher in helping me overcome my reluctance to master musical notation. This allowed me to work more freely on ''[[The Juliet Letters]]'' and subsequent "written" compositions. | ||
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"[[The Comedians]]" — [[Roy Orbison]] | "[[The Comedians]]" — [[Roy Orbison]] | ||
I had [[Roy Orbison]] in mind when I wrote this song, but I had no idea that I would ever meet him or that he would ever get to sing it. If you hear my version, it is hard to imagine him wanting to do so. Being in a strange, negative frame of mind during the recording of Goodbye Cruel World and aware that we had a surfeit of mournful ballads, I sacrificed the song to a quirky arrangement that lost almost all of the original drama. | I had [[Roy Orbison]] in mind when I wrote this song, but I had no idea that I would ever meet him or that he would ever get to sing it. If you hear my version, it is hard to imagine him wanting to do so. Being in a strange, negative frame of mind during the recording of ''[[Goodbye Cruel World]]'' and aware that we had a surfeit of mournful ballads, I sacrificed the song to a quirky arrangement that lost almost all of the original drama. | ||
A couple of years later [[T Bone Burnett]] enquired whether I had a tune for the sessions he was producing on Roy's ''[[Roy Orbison: Mystery Girl|Mystery Girl]]'' album. I knew that I had a rare opportunity to rescue a squandered song and have it sung by the voice for which it was really intended. It was easy enough to return the song to the bolero rhythm that I had borrowed from "Running Scared," but I also decided to remove much of the rather opaque lyric, replacing it with a romantic nightmare set on a Ferris wheel. I also added further modulations to create the kind of final chorus that you expect to hear on a [[Roy Orbison]] record. | A couple of years later [[T Bone Burnett]] enquired whether I had a tune for the sessions he was producing on Roy's ''[[Roy Orbison: Mystery Girl|Mystery Girl]]'' album. I knew that I had a rare opportunity to rescue a squandered song and have it sung by the voice for which it was really intended. It was easy enough to return the song to the bolero rhythm that I had borrowed from "Running Scared," but I also decided to remove much of the rather opaque lyric, replacing it with a romantic nightmare set on a Ferris wheel. I also added further modulations to create the kind of final chorus that you expect to hear on a [[Roy Orbison]] record. | ||
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Over the years my thoughts about adventure and travel have got mixed up with family history in songs such as "[[New Amsterdam]]," "[[Kid About It]]," "[[American Without Tears]]," "[[Last Boat Leaving]]," and "[[Veronica]]." However, the idea of running away to sea had rather lost its romantic implication by the time I wrote this song. The words speak of an imaginary place where all the false promises that I had been inclined to swallow swilled together in the same poisonous glass. I suppose it is of little consequence that one of the real-life locations, the fibre-glass nightclub, was actually a fire-trap dive in Rome. It is transported by the trickery of song into a personal version of America. | Over the years my thoughts about adventure and travel have got mixed up with family history in songs such as "[[New Amsterdam]]," "[[Kid About It]]," "[[American Without Tears]]," "[[Last Boat Leaving]]," and "[[Veronica]]." However, the idea of running away to sea had rather lost its romantic implication by the time I wrote this song. The words speak of an imaginary place where all the false promises that I had been inclined to swallow swilled together in the same poisonous glass. I suppose it is of little consequence that one of the real-life locations, the fibre-glass nightclub, was actually a fire-trap dive in Rome. It is transported by the trickery of song into a personal version of America. | ||
Sometime in the spring of 1984 I ditched the ugly clutter of my recorded version of the song (which can also be found on the unhappy '' | Sometime in the spring of 1984 I ditched the ugly clutter of my recorded version of the song (which can also be found on the unhappy ''Goodbye Cruel World'' album) and reworked the tune as a ballad. Unburdened by some of these very personal aspects, the mighty [[Christy Moore]] was able to give the song a more universal feeling, which turns it into a sympathetic tale of the hapless exile. | ||
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Annie Ross & The Low Note Quintet give the song a splendid, unsentimental reading, taking my written introduction and using it as an instrumental before the tag. Unfortunately, in the context of the film, Hal was unable to use the double-time bridge where our heroine really dishes the dirt about the leading lady in her favourite show. Instead the lyric, written with my wife, [[Cait O'Riordan]], concludes: | Annie Ross & The Low Note Quintet give the song a splendid, unsentimental reading, taking my written introduction and using it as an instrumental before the tag. Unfortunately, in the context of the film, Hal was unable to use the double-time bridge where our heroine really dishes the dirt about the leading lady in her favourite show. Instead the lyric, written with my wife, [[Cait O'Riordan]], concludes: | ||
:''The flowers and pearls, the long lost relations . . . | :''The flowers and pearls, the long lost relations... | ||
:''that lovesick tomboy comes in bloom . . . | :''that lovesick tomboy comes in bloom... | ||
:''the pointless heartaches that seem to belong in my blue room . . . | :''the pointless heartaches that seem to belong in my blue room... | ||
:''can't stand the suspense . . . | :''can't stand the suspense... | ||
:''the endless embraces . . . | :''the endless embraces... | ||
:''each episode lends a silly pretence . . . | :''each episode lends a silly pretence... | ||
:''say 'I will turn away' when I will never miss . . . | :''say 'I will turn away' when I will never miss... | ||
:''it starts with a joke and ends with a punishing kiss. | :''it starts with a joke and ends with a punishing kiss. | ||
"[[Shamed Into Love | "[[Shamed Into Love]]" — [[Rubén Blades]] | ||
It is funny to think that this song should be inspired by a dog, particularly as it speaks of the very human failure to confide feelings and fears. | It is funny to think that this song should be inspired by a dog, particularly as it speaks of the very human failure to confide feelings and fears. | ||
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Of all the titles in this collection, I think this is the song I would have least expected to be covered. That it should be sung by one of the most deeply rooted singers in English traditional music was an even greater surprise. | Of all the titles in this collection, I think this is the song I would have least expected to be covered. That it should be sung by one of the most deeply rooted singers in English traditional music was an even greater surprise. | ||
The original version can be found at the end of '' | The original version can be found at the end of ''The Juliet Letters'', a sequence of songs and musical pieces cowritten with the [[Brodsky Quartet]]. Although some of the songs have been performed in the theatrical piece "Letters" (devised by five members of the company and orchestra of the Gothenburg Opera for their workshop stage), this is the first attempt by anyone to perform one of the ''Juliet'' numbers using different instrumentation. I think I detect the hands of Norma's excellent supporting players, Martin Carthy and [[Richard Thompson]], in making an arrangement that sometimes goes beyond strict transcription into reharmonisation. | ||
This song came to me after one of those moments when you realise that the world can get along without you — in this case, walking away from a car crash. In time it seemed the ideal song to end The Juliet Letters. Norma Waterson has sung her share of those folk ballads where lead is poured into sleeping lovers' mouths to seal up their kisses or similar dark fates, so she has no trouble dealing with the note of resignation in this song. | This song came to me after one of those moments when you realise that the world can get along without you — in this case, walking away from a car crash. In time it seemed the ideal song to end ''The Juliet Letters''. Norma Waterson has sung her share of those folk ballads where lead is poured into sleeping lovers' mouths to seal up their kisses or similar dark fates, so she has no trouble dealing with the note of resignation in this song. | ||
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"[[Indoor Fireworks]]" — [[Nick Lowe | "[[Indoor Fireworks]]" — [[Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit]] | ||
I met Nick Lowe in 1972 in a pub opposite the Cavern in Liverpool . . . so there isn't space here to tell you everything I know about him. | I met Nick Lowe in 1972 in a pub opposite the Cavern in Liverpool... so there isn't space here to tell you everything I know about him. | ||
I could mention all the time I spent pinching his ideas when he was in a professional band and I was just getting started . . . that he might have had his tongue in his cheek when he wrote "[[(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?|(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding]]," but that the song worked out quite well for both of us . . . that he produced my first five albums . . . that he once recorded an LP called ''[[Vanity Fair 2000-11-01#Nick Lowe|Jesus Of Cool]]'' . . . that he came back to produce ''[[Blood & Chocolate]]'' after a seven-year break . . . that he agreed to play bass on half of ''[[Brutal Youth]]'' . . . and that after all the great records that he has made and all the records he has produced for other folks, he is still ridiculously underrated. | I could mention all the time I spent pinching his ideas when he was in a professional band and I was just getting started... that he might have had his tongue in his cheek when he wrote "[[(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?|(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding]]," but that the song worked out quite well for both of us... that he produced my first five albums... that he once recorded an LP called ''[[Vanity Fair 2000-11-01#Nick Lowe|Jesus Of Cool]]''... that he came back to produce ''[[Blood & Chocolate]]'' after a seven-year break... that he agreed to play bass on half of ''[[Brutal Youth]]''... and that after all the great records that he has made and all the records he has produced for other folks, he is still ridiculously underrated. | ||
I've loved Nick's songwriting since the days of "The Last Time I Was Fooled" and "[[The Ugly Things]]" through "[[Heart Of The City]]," "Cracking Up," "Rose Of England," and "All Men Are Liars" to "The Beast In Me," "[[Lover Don't Go]]," and the exquisite "Shelley, My Love." He wouldn't thank me for being too sentimental with my compliments, but he would probably be amused to find out how much I've taken from him. | I've loved Nick's songwriting since the days of "The Last Time I Was Fooled" and "[[The Ugly Things]]" through "[[Heart Of The City]]," "Cracking Up," "Rose Of England," and "All Men Are Liars" to "The Beast In Me," "[[Lover Don't Go]]," and the exquisite "Shelley, My Love." He wouldn't thank me for being too sentimental with my compliments, but he would probably be amused to find out how much I've taken from him. | ||
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{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
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<br><small>Booklet.</small><br> | <br><small>Booklet.</small><br> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
WELCOME! If you're reading this, I'm assuming that you're more than a casual Costello fan. And as such, you've got something pretty special in your hands. As somebody whose admiration for the man is definitely more than casual, I was compelled to do this project for no other reason than to show off an underappreciated and at times unknown side to the work of my all-time favorite songwriter and performer. I went about collecting every performance of an Elvis Costello song that he had not recorded himself and/or had something more to offer than the fact that it was a cover of a previously released Costello/MacManus composition. It either had to be a great performance that gave the song new meaning, witness [[Tasmin Archer]]'s emphatic take on "[[All Grown Up]]" or [[Nick Lowe]]'s lamenting approach to "[[Indoor Fireworks]]," or one that was an almost complete rewrite or rearrangement, such as [[Roy Orbison]]'s "[[The Comedians]]" and [[Christy Moore]]'s "[[The Deportees Club|Deportees Club]]" reborn from their ''[[Goodbye Cruel World]]'' incarnations. Hearing all of this in raw form, I was hoping that, in the end, I would have something that amounted to more than just a bunch of songs. When I listened to the final version, I was struck by two things: 1) the depth and variety of Costello's writing included in this strange and beautiful mix of roots rock, '60s-style pop, lounge, jazz, traditional folk, and other genres too unusual to name and 2) how many great records might have escaped my ears (and yours) had Costello himself not had the sense of adventure, good taste, and musical passion to work with many of these (at times criminally neglected) artists. | WELCOME! If you're reading this, I'm assuming that you're more than a casual Costello fan. And as such, you've got something pretty special in your hands. As somebody whose admiration for the man is definitely more than casual, I was compelled to do this project for no other reason than to show off an underappreciated and at times unknown side to the work of my all-time favorite songwriter and performer. I went about collecting every performance of an Elvis Costello song that he had not recorded himself and/or had something more to offer than the fact that it was a cover of a previously released Costello/ MacManus composition. It either had to be a great performance that gave the song new meaning, witness [[Tasmin Archer]]'s emphatic take on "[[All Grown Up]]" or [[Nick Lowe]]'s lamenting approach to "[[Indoor Fireworks]]," or one that was an almost complete rewrite or rearrangement, such as [[Roy Orbison]]'s "[[The Comedians]]" and [[Christy Moore]]'s "[[The Deportees Club|Deportees Club]]" reborn from their ''[[Goodbye Cruel World]]'' incarnations. Hearing all of this in raw form, I was hoping that, in the end, I would have something that amounted to more than just a bunch of songs. When I listened to the final version, I was struck by two things: 1) the depth and variety of Costello's writing included in this strange and beautiful mix of roots rock, '60s-style pop, lounge, jazz, traditional folk, and other genres too unusual to name and 2) how many great records might have escaped my ears (and yours) had Costello himself not had the sense of adventure, good taste, and musical passion to work with many of these (at times criminally neglected) artists. | ||
Thanks, EC. | Thanks, EC. | ||
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{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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<br><small>Booklet.</small><br> | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} |
Revision as of 17:05, 23 June 2013
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