Uncut, October 2003: Difference between revisions
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<center> Jon Wilde </center> | <center> Jon Wilde </center> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
"Oh, I just don't know where to begin," Elvis Costello swooned in the opening line to his lusciously hummable 1979 hit "Accidents Will Happen". Not strictly true. Elvis Costello has always known precisely where to begin. Knowing when to stop, that's been another kettle of worms. His latest batch of reissues being a case in point. Each has been fattened up for market with a mind-bending welter of bonus tracks, so that ''Get Happy!!'', a 20-track tour de force in the first place, now weighs in at 50 tracks (with ''Trust'' at 31 and ''Punch The Clock'' at 39, see right). As if that wasn't enough, each is accompanied by 28 pages of sleevenotes composed by the Human Jukebox himself. As exhausting as they are exhaustive, as mesmerising as they are maddening, these new editions of his early-'80s work go some way towards explaining why Elvis Costello, pop's most modern pantheist, was ultimately denied his place in the pantheon. Destined to be remembered more as pop's Peter Greenaway (archly ironic, overstaged, cleverly contrived) than its Michael Powell (iconic, visionary, authentic). | "Oh, I just don't know where to begin," Elvis Costello swooned in the opening line to his lusciously hummable 1979 hit "Accidents Will Happen". Not strictly true. Elvis Costello has always known precisely where to begin. Knowing when to stop, that's been another kettle of worms. His latest batch of reissues being a case in point. Each has been fattened up for market with a mind-bending welter of bonus tracks, so that ''Get Happy!!'', a 20-track tour de force in the first place, now weighs in at 50 tracks (with ''Trust'' at 31 and ''Punch The Clock'' at 39, see right). As if that wasn't enough, each is accompanied by 28 pages of sleevenotes composed by the Human Jukebox himself. As exhausting as they are exhaustive, as mesmerising as they are maddening, these new editions of his early-'80s work go some way towards explaining why Elvis Costello, pop's most modern pantheist, was ultimately denied his place in the pantheon. Destined to be remembered more as pop's Peter Greenaway (archly ironic, overstaged, cleverly contrived) than its Michael Powell (iconic, visionary, authentic). | ||
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Given all this, an extended holiday might have been in order after ''Armed Forces''. But, less than a year later, he blazed back with ''Get Happy!!'' And, what do you know? It was his best yet. By a country mile. Twenty first-rate songs packed into 48 breathlessly claustrophobic minutes—driven by fear, disgust, self-disdain, frustration and romantic obsession from the blaring opening gusts of "Love For Tender" to the final torched regrets of "Riot Act" (with its guilt-ridden nods to Ohio and the morally superior shit storm that followed). More than two decades after its first release, there's still so much to take in, so much to admire, that it leaves one dizzy. | Given all this, an extended holiday might have been in order after ''Armed Forces''. But, less than a year later, he blazed back with ''Get Happy!!'' And, what do you know? It was his best yet. By a country mile. Twenty first-rate songs packed into 48 breathlessly claustrophobic minutes—driven by fear, disgust, self-disdain, frustration and romantic obsession from the blaring opening gusts of "Love For Tender" to the final torched regrets of "Riot Act" (with its guilt-ridden nods to Ohio and the morally superior shit storm that followed). More than two decades after its first release, there's still so much to take in, so much to admire, that it leaves one dizzy. | ||
When it first arrived, deadline-panicked reviewers were quick to pick up on Costello's remark that the songs were written after a visit to a Camden Town record store, where he ordered up a large crate of obscure soul singles. Thus, in the white heat of its release, the album was widely described as little more than a pastiche of the Motown/Stax back catalogue (an idea enhanced by the release of the first single from the album, a rendition of Sam & Dave's "I Can't Stand Up [For Falling Down]"). On reflection, it's as stylistically wide-reaching as any of his work, ranging from the high-energy waltz of "New Amsterdam" to ingenious supper club examinations of sexual mores like "Motel Matches" | When it first arrived, deadline-panicked reviewers were quick to pick up on Costello's remark that the songs were written after a visit to a Camden Town record store, where he ordered up a large crate of obscure soul singles. Thus, in the white heat of its release, the album was widely described as little more than a pastiche of the Motown/Stax back catalogue (an idea enhanced by the release of the first single from the album, a rendition of Sam & Dave's "I Can't Stand Up [For Falling Down]"). On reflection, it's as stylistically wide-reaching as any of his work, ranging from the high-energy waltz of "New Amsterdam" to ingenious supper club examinations of sexual mores like "Motel Matches," via the blazing "King Horse," one of Costello's most brilliant songs. | ||
In fact, it's so wide-reaching that it's difficult to know where to start explaining. Never fear. Because Costello's sleevenotes explain everything. Absolutely everything. He was never one to follow John Wayne's advice in ''She Wore A Yellow Ribbon'' when he said, "Never apologise and never explain."At least the second part, anyway. But, in these voluminous notes, he explains each song away with such obsessive, completist zeal that your own instinctive responses are worn down to a frazzle by the time you come to actually listen to the music. As amusing as it is to learn that "the song 'Possession' was actually written in a Dutch taxi during a five-minute journey back to the studio after I had become drunkenly besotted with the waitress in a local cafe", the muso revelation that "Black And White World" leans towards "the narrative style of a Ray Davies song while the final recording was based on a Pete Thomas drum pattern which owed something to the style that Richie Hayward of Little Feat employed on 'Cold, Cold, Cold'", adds nothing to the pure enjoyment of the song while taking plenty away. | In fact, it's so wide-reaching that it's difficult to know where to start explaining. Never fear. Because Costello's sleevenotes explain everything. Absolutely everything. He was never one to follow John Wayne's advice in ''She Wore A Yellow Ribbon'' when he said, "Never apologise and never explain." At least the second part, anyway. But, in these voluminous notes, he explains each song away with such obsessive, completist zeal that your own instinctive responses are worn down to a frazzle by the time you come to actually listen to the music. As amusing as it is to learn that "the song 'Possession' was actually written in a Dutch taxi during a five-minute journey back to the studio after I had become drunkenly besotted with the waitress in a local cafe", the muso revelation that "Black And White World" leans towards "the narrative style of a Ray Davies song while the final recording was based on a Pete Thomas drum pattern which owed something to the style that Richie Hayward of Little Feat employed on 'Cold, Cold, Cold'", adds nothing to the pure enjoyment of the song while taking plenty away. | ||
''Get Happy!!'' arrived in January 1980 as perfectly formed as any album of that decade (give or take a ''Dare!'' or a ''Too-Rye-Ay''). So the thought of 30 bonus tracks is enough to turn molten the blood of any true believer. No worries, though. These extras amount to no throwaway car boot sale. This version of ''Get Happy!!'' is worth the price of admission alone for a frantically souped-up "Getting Mighty Crowded" | ''Get Happy!!'' arrived in January 1980 as perfectly formed as any album of that decade (give or take a ''Dare!'' or a ''Too-Rye-Ay''). So the thought of 30 bonus tracks is enough to turn molten the blood of any true believer. No worries, though. These extras amount to no throwaway car boot sale. This version of ''Get Happy!!'' is worth the price of admission alone for a frantically souped-up "Getting Mighty Crowded," a tub-thumping "From A Whisper To A Scream," a hymnal "Clowntime Is Over" and a gloriously raw-boned "Riot Act." ''Get Happy!!'', always a masterpiece, is now nothing less than a 50-track encyclopaedia of pop and soul. | ||
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'''Uncut, No. 77, October 2003 | '''Uncut, No. 77, October 2003 | ||
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[[Jon Wilde]] reviews the Rhino | [[Jon Wilde]] reviews the Rhino reissues of ''[[Get Happy!!]]'' (named reissue of the month), ''[[Trust]]'' and ''[[Punch The Clock]]''. | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
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<br><small>Page scan and clipping.</small> | <br><small>Page scan and clipping.</small> | ||
<br> | |||
{{Bibliography box | {{Bibliography box 350}} | ||
<center><h3> Trust </h3></center> | <center><h3> Trust </h3></center> | ||
<center>''' Elvis Costello </center> | <center>''' Elvis Costello </center> | ||
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<center> Jon Wilde </center> | <center> Jon Wilde </center> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
In the three-and-a-half years between ''My Aim Is True'' and ''Trust'' (1981), Costello turned tidal with a spurt of gravity-defying creativity not seen since mid-to-late-'60s Beatles. But, with ''Trust'', a perilous peak was reached. Showcasing some of his most acerbic writing, with the Attractions at their most pathologically inventive, ''Trust'' boomed and slammed and whispered with sly creative intent, reaching new peaks of songcraft on "Clubland," "White Knuckles" and "New Lace Sleeves." And it felt like the end of something for Costello, who had long-since established himself as a one-man genre. Nothing here is spoiled by the inclusion of 17 outtakes and demos. Most notable are a demented "Big Sister," the drunken brawl of beat and rhythm that is an early take on "Watch Your Step," and the lovely, subterranean hum of "Sad About Girls" which reminds you how beautifully Costello's unsung voice can brush against the language. | |||
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<br><br> | <br><br> | ||
{{Bibliography box | {{Bibliography box 350}} | ||
<center><h3> Punch The Clock </h3></center> | <center><h3> Punch The Clock </h3></center> | ||
<center>''' Elvis Costello </center> | <center>''' Elvis Costello </center> | ||
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<center> Jon Wilde </center> | <center> Jon Wilde </center> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
After patchy country homage ''Almost Blue'' (1981) and the self-consciously overcooked ''Imperial Bedroom'' (1982) came 1983's ''Punch The Clock''. Despite the inclusion of the quietly scabrous "Pills & Soap" and a plangent, Chet Baker-assisted "Shipbuilding" ("always less of a protest song than a warning sign", says Elvis in his sleevenotes), the album was bullied into submission by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley's over-sheened production, an over-pepped horn section and the shrill backing vocals of the then-ubiquitous Afrodiziak. Despite containing tracks of the quality of "Charm School", ''Punch The Clock'' was a relatively minor work (although it was the only Costello record to be voted ''NME'' Album Of The Year). It's redeemed by a bonus disc that, as Costello explains, "presents the listener with an alternative ''Punch The Clock'', constructed from raw, pre-production studio run-throughs, demos and live tapes." Included is a bollocks-out take on "Everyday I Write The Book" and a horned-up live version of "Possession" — perhaps the most emotionally persuasive thing he's ever done, save for his version of Jerry Chesnut's "Good Year For The Roses." | |||
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<br><small>Photos.</small> | |||
[[image:2003-10-00 Uncut cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:2003-10-00 Uncut cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Cover.</small> | <br><small>Cover.</small> |
Revision as of 15:12, 13 August 2014
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