Bergens Tidende, April 6, 1998

Bibliography   72 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UK & Ireland weeklies UK & Ireland magazines UK & Ireland newspapers US newspapers US rock magazines US music magazines US magazines US alternative weeklies European magazines European newspapers Canada  •  Mexico  •  Asia Australia  •  New Zealand South America  •  Africa Blogs  •  Fanzines  •  Books Online publications Bergens Tidende   1998 April 6 2001 April 23 2003 July 26   2003 September 23 2004 September 21 2004 October 13  2006 May 30  2007 June 6  2008 May 13 2013 March 21  2013 August 3 2014 February 12 2014 October 2 Norway publications  ABC Nyheter BergensAvisen Bergens Tidende Det Nye Glåmdalen K-79 Lofotposten Mokhasinen Natt & Dag Nordlands Framtid Oslo Aftenposten Oslo Dagbladet Oslo Dagsavisen Puls Stavanger Aftenblad Telemarksavisa Trondheim Adresseavisen Verdens Gang European publications  Austria   •   Belgium Croatia/Yugoslavia Czech Rep.   •   Denmark Estonia   •   Finland France   •   Germany Greece   •   Hungary Iceland   •   Italy Netherlands   •   Norway Poland   •   Portugal Romania   •   Spain Sweden   •   Switzerland — Elvis Is King! Frode Bjerkestrand One of rock's greatest ironical artists is still like he used to be. "The Rolling Stones have inflatable women, and U2 have a gigantic TV-screen, and I? I have this torchlight," Costello proclaimed to a packed Voss Idrettshall last night. Thus, making his beautiful ballad "Alison," performed in the dim light of a 25W lightbulb, the highlight of the concert. That this song could be so stunningly beautifully performed 22 years after its first edition is simply quite unbelievable. There's always reasons to be sceptical when middle-aged entertainers of Costello's magnitude embarks on a nostalgic-tour, but he manages to breath new life into these great old songs of his, not least thanks to the collaboration with piano player Steve Nieve. Costello in 1998 is nearer to cabaret than to rock 'n' roll, and Elvis' new approach makes him so much less pathetic than other superstars at his own age. When Costello opens with "Why Can't A Man Stand Alone?" it's touching. He has taken good care of the near-desperate expression in his voice, and he sings with a mighty power and vibrating pathos. Not least in the way he still sings about the delightful "Veronica." At the same time he's capable of quieting it all down to the extent that you just have to listen. Elvis Costello delivered a kind of intimate-vaudeville over his extraordinary songwriting career, a career which most certainly is not over by far. In addition to this, he presented the audience with a teaser of what we might expect when he enters the studio with King of kitsch, Mr. Burt Bacharach, this summer. In fact, "God Give Me Strength" almost sounded like a somewhat sarcastic plea before going on to this new task... It was great to find out that Elvis Costello is still one of rock's greatest wordsmiths. A very good concert. Very!!! Bergens Tidende, April 6, 1998 Frode Bjerkestrand reviews Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve, Sunday, April 5, 1998, Vossajazz, Voss, Norway. (English translation by Sverre Ronny Saetrum.) Front page blurb: A worthy finale at the Vossajazz Festival Frode Bjerkestrand Elvis Costello surprised most of the assembled on the final day of Vossajazz. His concert at Voss Idrettshall last night was a fantastic journey through an equally fantastic songwriter career. Best of all, Elvis was in great shape, both musically and verbally. The sharpest and most intellectual "side-commentator" in rock has, thank God, had the wit to stay far away from the big rock format and he manages really well as a cabaret act.

External links

• Bergens Tidende
• Wikipedia: Bergens Tidende
• elviscostello.info