Creem, June 1980: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Elvis Costello seeks the window up above </h3></center> | <center><h3> Elvis Costello seeks the window up above </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Jeff Nesin </center> | <center> Jeff Nesin </center> | ||
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''' Elvis Costello And The Attractions <br> | |||
Get Happy!! | |||
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When a 21-year-old Elvis Presley, stepping out from under the banks of studio lights at the Ed Sullivan Theater, cupped his hands over his eyes and gazed out over the audience grinning his Hall of Fame grin, he was, in George Wallace's wonderful phrase, "sending them a message." In one gesture he shrugged off conventional show biz decorum and reached out to kids everywhere, letting them know that thoug he may be on TV he certainly wasn't of TV. When, a few years later, the Rolling Stones sauntered into the studio for their first BBC appearance without matching band suits(!), a couple of them in polo shirts(!!), the same thing happened. Mick J. stared at the camera leering his Hall of Fame leer and the rest is history. | When a 21-year-old Elvis Presley, stepping out from under the banks of studio lights at the Ed Sullivan Theater, cupped his hands over his eyes and gazed out over the audience grinning his Hall of Fame grin, he was, in George Wallace's wonderful phrase, "sending them a message." In one gesture he shrugged off conventional show biz decorum and reached out to kids everywhere, letting them know that thoug he may be on TV he certainly wasn't of TV. When, a few years later, the Rolling Stones sauntered into the studio for their first BBC appearance without matching band suits(!), a couple of them in polo shirts(!!), the same thing happened. Mick J. stared at the camera leering his Hall of Fame leer and the rest is history. | ||
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I'm suspicious by nature and my standards are — uh — rigorous. In the first flush of new wave enthusiasm, when those folks who now think that the Clash is the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world were thrilled to find a hard edged limey with U.S. commercial potential, I was genuinely offended. I thought he was a rock star from <i>Superman Comics</i>' bizarro world — absolutely everything was somehow wrong: his assumed nom de bop (total irony), his appearance (Buddy Holly on belladonna), his petty nastiness (he certainly had no gift for the grand gesture), etc. And yet, obviously, something important was going on — I can't usually list that many reasons for ''liking'' someone. The mid-60's Dylan parallel was clear: the sound of the band, the "how far in do you want to go" lyrics, and, of course, the hortatory tone, the imperious, impervious cynicism. The second album, ''This Year's Model'', began to grow on me. With the release of ''Armed Forces'' last year, I felt compelled to listen and, grudgingly, to admire Elvis Costello. | I'm suspicious by nature and my standards are — uh — rigorous. In the first flush of new wave enthusiasm, when those folks who now think that the Clash is the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world were thrilled to find a hard edged limey with U.S. commercial potential, I was genuinely offended. I thought he was a rock star from <i>Superman Comics</i>' bizarro world — absolutely everything was somehow wrong: his assumed nom de bop (total irony), his appearance (Buddy Holly on belladonna), his petty nastiness (he certainly had no gift for the grand gesture), etc. And yet, obviously, something important was going on — I can't usually list that many reasons for ''liking'' someone. The mid-60's Dylan parallel was clear: the sound of the band, the "how far in do you want to go" lyrics, and, of course, the hortatory tone, the imperious, impervious cynicism. The second album, ''This Year's Model'', began to grow on me. With the release of ''Armed Forces'' last year, I felt compelled to listen and, grudgingly, to admire Elvis Costello. | ||
None of this inner struggle (curiosity, repulsion, admiration) could have prepared me for ''Get Happy!!'', a work of such richness, complexity, and unflagging energy that I remain astonished. I am frankly at a loss to explain why its release wasn't treated as a certified, bona fide rock & roll event (it hasn't exactly been greeted with a rush of acclaim) although this may have more to do with Costello's quirky, constricted splendor than with the expiration of his 15 minutes of fame. Be that as it may, ''Get Happy!!'' is an extraordinary piece of work with 20(!!) songs | None of this inner struggle (curiosity, repulsion, admiration) could have prepared me for ''Get Happy!!'', a work of such richness, complexity, and unflagging energy that I remain astonished. I am frankly at a loss to explain why its release wasn't treated as a certified, bona fide rock & roll event (it hasn't exactly been greeted with a rush of acclaim) although this may have more to do with Costello's quirky, constricted splendor than with the expiration of his 15 minutes of fame. Be that as it may, ''Get Happy!!'' is an extraordinary piece of work with 20(!!) songs — 18 originals and two totally reupholstered soul covers — on one record. | ||
Everything about this project, from the careful, unobtrusive production (the redoubtable [[Nick Lowe]]) to the bongo party cover art (the redoubtable VAT 245 4945 42) is precise and economical. Only two songs run over three minutes but all 20 are as long and full as they mean to be — which makes me think of E. C.'s long-standing interest in American country music formalized in last year's duet with George Jones. The songs turn on clever verbal hooks and twists mounted on a straightforward and accessible melodic structure, punctuated by subtle and often unexpected touches and cemented by fierce sincerity in the vocals. If this reads like a synopsis of Chapters 1-5 of the Nashville Hitmaker's Handbook, so does much of the record. It may not sound like country, but it's built like country. I wonder if he's been invited to one of Johnny Cash's after dinner song swaps yet. Better call him up June, the boy's overdue. | Everything about this project, from the careful, unobtrusive production (the redoubtable [[Nick Lowe]]) to the bongo party cover art (the redoubtable VAT 245 4945 42) is precise and economical. Only two songs run over three minutes but all 20 are as long and full as they mean to be — which makes me think of E. C.'s long-standing interest in American country music formalized in last year's duet with George Jones. The songs turn on clever verbal hooks and twists mounted on a straightforward and accessible melodic structure, punctuated by subtle and often unexpected touches and cemented by fierce sincerity in the vocals. If this reads like a synopsis of Chapters 1-5 of the ''Nashville Hitmaker's Handbook'', so does much of the record. It may not sound like country, but it's built like country. I wonder if he's been invited to one of Johnny Cash's after dinner song swaps yet. Better call him up June, the boy's overdue. | ||
Throughout the record it's clear that Lowe and the superb Attractions could do anything they had a mind to but, incredibly, chose to simply serve the songs. To present 20 songs — each one with its own integrity and intensity intact — is a minor miracle. Without going into detail (and turning this into ''War & Peace''), the songs that are obscure sound great and hold out the promise of substantial meaning. The songs that are obsessive — as most of his are — don't lose their universality for their obsessiveness. If anything, they seem to gain scope and suggestibility from their very single-mindedness. (Welcome to the 80's.) Through almost an hour's worth of tunes Costello dazzles with his impassioned singing and his inspired use of language, particularly his country-style genius for finding the complex in the commonplace. (Simile of the month: "Giving you away like motel matches".) All this without the vanity of a lyric sheet — you have to listen to this record to know what's on it. | Throughout the record it's clear that Lowe and the superb Attractions could do anything they had a mind to but, incredibly, chose to simply serve the songs. To present 20 songs — each one with its own integrity and intensity intact — is a minor miracle. Without going into detail (and turning this into ''War & Peace''), the songs that are obscure sound great and hold out the promise of substantial meaning. The songs that are obsessive — as most of his are — don't lose their universality for their obsessiveness. If anything, they seem to gain scope and suggestibility from their very single-mindedness. (Welcome to the 80's.) Through almost an hour's worth of tunes Costello dazzles with his impassioned singing and his inspired use of language, particularly his country-style genius for finding the complex in the commonplace. (Simile of the month: "Giving you away like motel matches".) All this without the vanity of a lyric sheet — you have to listen to this record to know what's on it. | ||
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[[image:1980-06-00 Creem page 52.jpg| | [[image:1980-06-00 Creem page 52.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Page scan.</small> | <br><small>Page scan.</small> | ||
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<center><h3> Linda puts her two cent in (finally) </h3></center> | |||
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<center> Jeff Nesin </center> | |||
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'''Linda Ronstadt <br> | |||
Mad Love | |||
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[[image:1980-06-00 Creem page 54.jpg|130px|right]] | |||
Mitch Cohen reviews Linda Ronstadt's Mad Love. Mitch Cohen reviews Linda Ronstadt's Mad Love. Mitch Cohen reviews Linda Ronstadt's Mad Love. Mitch Cohen reviews Linda Ronstadt's Mad Love. | |||
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<small>Photo by [[Lynn Goldsmith]].</small><br> | |||
[[image:1980-06-00 Creem photo 01 lg.jpg|320px]] | |||
<small>Cover.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1980-06-00 Creem cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:1980-06-00 Creem cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
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[[Category:Album reviews]] | [[Category:Album reviews]] | ||
[[Category:Get Happy!! reviews]] | [[Category:Get Happy!! reviews]] | ||
[[Category:Mad Love reviews]] |
Revision as of 20:51, 19 April 2023
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