Apropos Of Nothing, May 26, 2008: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3>Elvis Costello's | <center><h3> Elvis Costello's triumphant Momofuku </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Jeff Vaca</center> | <center> Jeff Vaca </center> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
Listening to ''Momofuku'' by Elvis Costello and the Imposters is like getting a postcard from a long-lost friend that you thought | Listening to ''Momofuku'' by Elvis Costello and the Imposters is like getting a postcard from a long-lost friend that you thought you'd never hear from again. Since I haven't bought that much of his work in recent years, it's probably not fair for me to say that it's his best record in years, but it's so good that it's hard for me to believe that it isn't. | ||
The use of | The use of "record" here is intentional; Costello organized the album for release on vinyl, complete with a Side 1/ Side 2 sequencing. If you close your eyes and listen real hard, you can almost imagine that it's 1978 or 1979 again, with the organ of Steve Nieve and drums of Pete Thomas providing the basis for a sound that fits right in to the ''This Year's Model'' / ''Armed Forces'' mold. When Nieve and Thomas joyfully (one assumes) play out the coda to "American Gangster Time," you wonder if they were thinking back to those high-octane days of thirty years ago. | ||
But Elvis Costello clearly | But Elvis Costello clearly isn't the same person he was thirty years ago. Some of the best songs on the album are those which, quite simply, he would not have been capable of writing in 1978 (or even 1988, for that matter). "Flutter & Wow," obviously something he wrote for his wife Diana, contains the following lyrics, which clearly demonstrate that the "Angry Young Man" persona is a matter of the distant past. | ||
''Last rays of sunlight die | {{n}}''Last rays of sunlight die <br> | ||
''Full moon begins to rise | {{n}}''Full moon begins to rise <br> | ||
''Reflected in your eyes | {{n}}''Reflected in your eyes | ||
''I | {{n}}''I can't believe that this is happening <br> | ||
''You make the motor in me | {{n}}''You make the motor in me <br> | ||
''Flutter and Wow | {{n}}''Flutter and Wow | ||
That's a long way from ''This Year's Model'''s "''Don't want to be a goody-goody / I don't want just anybody / No I don't want anybody saying / You belong to me, you belong to me"'' | |||
With words like those, Elvis is veering close to Air Supply territory, but the depth of his singing and the strength of the arrangement make the words matter, and the listener is left thinking that this is a man who has earned his happiness, and one who had to suffer the depths of his emotions in order to revel in the heights. Los | With words like those, Elvis is veering close to Air Supply territory, but the depth of his singing and the strength of the arrangement make the words matter, and the listener is left thinking that this is a man who has earned his happiness, and one who had to suffer the depths of his emotions in order to revel in the heights. Los Lobos' David Hidalgo, one of several high profile guests on the record, definitely puts his stamp on this song; it sounds as if it could easily fit on a contemporary Los Lobos album. | ||
And then | And then there's "My Three Sons," his love song to them: | ||
''I love you more than I can say | {{n}}''I love you more than I can say <br> | ||
''What I give to one | {{n}}''What I give to one <br> | ||
''The other cannot take away | {{n}}''The other cannot take away <br> | ||
''I bless the day you came to be | {{n}}''I bless the day you came to be <br> | ||
''With everything that is left to me | {{n}}''With everything that is left to me | ||
''Here is your pillow | {{n}}''Here is your pillow <br> | ||
''Go to sleep and I will follow | {{n}}''Go to sleep and I will follow <br> | ||
''May you never have any more sorrows | {{n}}''May you never have any more sorrows <br> | ||
''But | {{n}}''But that's something you can't count upon <br> | ||
''Still I want it for my three sons | {{n}}''Still I want it for my three sons | ||
But for those who want a dash of that old Elvis anger, there are plenty of songs where that is highlighted, including | But for those who want a dash of that old Elvis anger, there are plenty of songs where that is highlighted, including "No Hiding Place," "American Gangster Time," "Stella Hurt," and "Go Away." But even those songs feel imbued with the wisdom that only advanced years can bring. And those songs, as well as the others on the album, represent a musical triumph — this is the first time where Costello has seamlessly melded the no-holds barred approach from his youth with the musical prowess he has gained, in partnership with luminaries such as Paul McCartney, Allen Toussaint, and Burt Bacharach. | ||
The most prominent of the | The most prominent of the album's other guests is Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley's leader, and her contribution, as part of a "vocal supergroup" which appears on half of the album's songs, is also significant, lending the songs a modern sound that plants them firmly in the 21st century. And last but not least, ''Momofuku'' was named for Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of instant noodles. | ||
To sum up, ''Momofuku'' is a great album — perhaps the best of the year, so far. | |||
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{{tags}}[[Momofuku]] {{-}} [[The Imposters]] {{-}} [[Steve Nieve]] {{-}} [[Pete Thomas]] {{-}} [[American Gangster Time]] {{-}} [[This Year's Model]] {{-}} [[Armed Forces]] {{-}} [[Flutter & Wow]] {{-}} [[Diana Krall]] {{-}} [[Los Lobos]] {{-}} [[David Hidalgo]] {{-}} [[My Three Sons]] {{-}} [[No Hiding Place]] {{-}} [[Stella Hurt]] {{-}} [[Go Away]] {{-}} [[Allen Toussaint]] {{-}} [[Burt Bacharach]] {{-}} [[Jenny Lewis]] {{-}} [[Rilo Kiley]] | {{tags}}[[Momofuku]] {{-}} [[The Imposters]] {{-}} [[Steve Nieve]] {{-}} [[Pete Thomas]] {{-}} [[American Gangster Time]] {{-}} [[This Year's Model]] {{-}} [[Armed Forces]] {{-}} [[Flutter & Wow]] {{-}} [[Diana Krall]] {{-}} [[You Belong To Me]] {{-}} [[Los Lobos]] {{-}} [[David Hidalgo]] {{-}} [[My Three Sons]] {{-}} [[No Hiding Place]] {{-}} [[Stella Hurt]] {{-}} [[Go Away]] {{-}} [[Allen Toussaint]] {{-}} [[Burt Bacharach]] {{-}} [[Jenny Lewis]] {{-}} [[Rilo Kiley]] | ||
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'''Apropos Of Nothing, May 26, 2008 | '''Apropos Of Nothing, May 26, 2008 | ||
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[[Jeff Vaca]] reviews ''Momofuku''. | [[Jeff Vaca]] reviews ''[[Momofuku]]''. | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
Latest revision as of 04:49, 5 October 2020
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