Spokane Spokesman-Review, April 4, 1980: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Get Happy!! </h3></center> | <center><h3> Get Happy!! </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Tom Sowa </center> | <center> Tom Sowa </center> | ||
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If Elvis Costello wasn't such a talented songwriter, you could dismiss this effort as a case of New Wave overkill. Costello and the Attractions have combined with producer Nick Lowe to put 20 songs on ''Get Happy!!'' with the result that you're left, on first listen, with the impression Costello is pulling someone's leg. | |||
Taking the notion of the two- or three-minute single to an extreme, Costello forces all this new material into a miniature mold, producing a potpourri of pop ballads that might, to some ears, sound unfinished and impossibly brief. | |||
Brief, as in 15 tunes shorter than 2½ minutes, and only two, (both dazzlers, however) longer than 3:30. | |||
Yet, after a couple listens, all becomes clearer, if not more satisfying. Working against the grain, Costello has left all 20 cuts intact on ''Get Happy!!'' when he could easily have taken half of them, polished them and turned out another commercially successful LP, like his previous ''Armed Forces'' which reached the top 10. Costello, who thrives on an offbeat image, needed something like ''Get Happy!!'' to thumb his nose at the recording industry. | |||
Content-wise, Costello hasn't changed much. Despite the boisterous title, Costello isn't reveling in life's little pleasures. Never one to come right out and get political, he's more comfortable with a chilly British cynicism that doesn't allow much room for emotion, much less romance. | |||
Some tunes, however, contain brilliant little portraits of Costello's continuing list of lovers-losers-victims. "Motel Matches," the nicest soft tune since "Alison" (from Costello's first album) is streaked with double-edged pity: ''"Falling for you without a second look. / Falling right out of your open pocketbook, / Giving you away like motel matches."'' | |||
At least four other cuts — "Opportunity," "Riot Act," "New Amsterdam" and "Temptation" — are first-rate and show that Costello still has his credentials. And, musically, the notable improvement in the strong rhythm work by Costello's band is a pleasant extra benefit. | |||
This is good enough for any New Wave fan. However, if you still want to discover Costello, try either of his first three discs. This one's but a three-star special: it's fun, but too weak to earn four stars. | |||
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{{tags}}[[Get Happy!!]] {{-}} [[The Attractions]] {{-}} [[Nick Lowe]] {{-}} [[Motel Matches]] {{-}} [[Alison]] {{-}} [[My Aim Is True]] {{-}} [[Opportunity]] {{-}} [[Riot Act]] {{-}} [[New Amsterdam]] {{-}} [[Temptation]] | |||
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{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | |||
|prev = Spokane Spokesman-Review, March 7, 1980 | |||
|next = Spokane Spokesman-Review, November 21, 1980 | |||
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'''The Spokesman-Review, April 4, 1980 | '''The Spokesman-Review, April 4, 1980 | ||
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[[image:1980-04-04 | [[image:1980-04-04 Spokane Spokesman-Review clipping 01.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Clipping.</small> | <br><small>Clipping.</small> | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://www.spokesman.com/ Spokesman.com] | *[http://www.spokesman.com/ Spokesman.com] | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane_Spokesman_Review Wikipedia: Spokane Spokesman-Review] | ||
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o_tLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Qu4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4660%2C1494641 news.google.com] | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spokesman-Review 1980-04-04}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Spokane Spokesman-Review 1980-04-04}} | ||
[[Category:Bibliography]] | [[Category:Bibliography]] | ||
[[Category:Bibliography 1980]] | [[Category:Bibliography 1980]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Spokane Spokesman-Review| Spokane Spokesman-Review 1980-04-04]] | ||
[[Category:Newspaper articles]] | [[Category:Newspaper articles]] | ||
[[Category:Album reviews]] | [[Category:Album reviews]] | ||
[[Category:Get Happy!! reviews]] | [[Category:Get Happy!! reviews]] | ||
Latest revision as of 14:52, 25 March 2021
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