U.S. Catholic, December 2013: Difference between revisions
(Create page for U.S. Catholic magazine review of ''Wise Up Ghost'') |
(formatting) |
||
Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
{{:Magazine index}} | {{:Magazine index}} | ||
{{Bibliography article header}} | {{Bibliography article header}} | ||
<center><h3> | <center><h3> Wise Up Ghost </h3></center> | ||
<center>'''Elvis Costello and The Roots | <center>'''Elvis Costello and The Roots </center> | ||
---- | ---- | ||
<center>Nicholas Liao </center> | <center> Nicholas Liao </center> | ||
---- | ---- | ||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
The coupling might raise a few eyebrows, but Elvis Costello and hip-hop outfit The Roots have more in common than one might think. | The coupling might raise a few eyebrows, but Elvis Costello and hip-hop outfit The Roots have more in common than one might think. | ||
The | The Roots' performances — fluent in jazz, soul, and funk — distinguish them from their peers in the rap world, where live instruments can be rare. And Costello has dabbled in as many musical idioms over the years as he has recorded albums, often to memorable effect. | ||
The seeds for this unlikely joint effort were sown during | The seeds for this unlikely joint effort were sown during Costello's appearances on ''The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon'', where The Roots are the house band. The record certainly carries a freewheeling vibe from those informal early sessions, with almost half of the songs being more than five minutes long. That gives Costello ample space to talk about what's on his mind — chiefly, corruption and vice in their many forms: political and spiritual, personal and corporate. | ||
On the | On the album's opener, "Walk Us Uptown," Costello snarls, ''"Will you walk us uptown / while our tears run in torrents / to suffer in silence or pray for some solace.''" Bitterness gives way to a weariness with propaganda on "Tripwire": "''You're either for or against us / and that is how the hatred begins''." | ||
But is the whole greater than the sum of the parts? | But is the whole greater than the sum of the parts? Costello's vocals are as inspired as ever, and The Roots drummer Questlove's backbeats hit hard. But the flabby arrangements threaten to eclipse the obvious chemistry — that The Roots' funk grooves are a natural vehicle for Costello's sharp delivery. There's some unrealized potential here. | ||
While ''Wise Up Ghost'' doesn't succumb to the usual downfall of supergroup recordings — talent canceling out talent — neither does it count as either artist's essential listening. But one gets the sense that their ambitions were perhaps more modest. It's more an after-hours, loose-tie affair. Attendance is optional, but you won't be sorry you were there. | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
{{tags}}[[Wise Up Ghost]] {{-}} [[The Roots]] {{-}} [[Blue Note]] {{-}} [[Late Night With Jimmy Fallon|The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon]] {{-}} [[Walk Us Uptown]] {{-}} [[Tripwire]] {{-}} [[Questlove]] | {{tags}}[[Wise Up Ghost]] {{-}} [[The Roots]] {{-}} [[Blue Note]] {{-}} [[Late Night With Jimmy Fallon|The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon]] {{-}} [[Walk Us Uptown]] {{-}} [[Tripwire]] {{-}} [[Questlove]] | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
Line 28: | Line 30: | ||
{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
'''U.S Catholic, Vol. 78, No. 12, page 42, December 2013 | '''U.S Catholic, <!-- Vol. 78, No. 12, page 42, --> December 2013 | ||
---- | ---- | ||
[[Nicholas Liao ]] reviews ''[[Wise Up Ghost]]''. | [[Nicholas Liao]] reviews ''[[Wise Up Ghost]]''. | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | |||
[[image:Wise Up Ghost album cover.jpg|180px|border|link=Wise Up Ghost]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
Line 39: | Line 43: | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201311/listen-wise-ghost-28156 | *[http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201311/listen-wise-ghost-28156 USCatholic.org] | ||
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claretians#Publications Wikipedia:Claretians | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claretians#Publications Wikipedia: Claretians/ Publications] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S Catholic 2013-12-00}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:U.S Catholic 2013-12-00}} |
Latest revision as of 02:37, 12 May 2020
|