Billboard, February 7, 1998: Difference between revisions
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"A musician of the caliber of Elvis Costello isn't off base too often," Roberts says. "So our job is to follow his lead and give him the mechanism to best express himself, to make our corporate structure work for him, not against him." | "A musician of the caliber of Elvis Costello isn't off base too often," Roberts says. "So our job is to follow his lead and give him the mechanism to best express himself, to make our corporate structure work for him, not against him." | ||
Roberts adds that while there's a certain expectation of success for all of Costello's projects, the pop efforts aren't necessarily assumed to be the best bet. "It's often the things that seem left of center that are just what the market wants," he says. "Really, Elvis' attitude toward music is refreshing. Conservatism is not something this business needs." | |||
Costello and Warner Bros. agreed to disagree last year, after a round of mounting, mutual recrimination over the commercial disappointment of his last album, "All This Useless Beauty." The label released Costello from his commitment for one more new album, instead electing to compile the retrospective set ''Extreme Honey'' with his full participation (''Billboard'', Oct. 25, 1997). The disc was released last fall in conjunction with an intimate Attractions concert video, ''Live—A Case For Song''. | |||
''Live—A Case For Song'' is probably the last you'll see of the Attractions, by the way: Costello promises that no matter what pleasures his PolyGram future may hold, an album with his old group won't be one of them. (The tour for ''All This Useless Beauty'' wasn't much of an interpersonal or musical success, he says.) But definitely ongoing is Costello's work with Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve, with whom he has been touring off and on as a duo for several years. Look for a Mercury album featuring Nieve's music and Costello's lyrics around the turn of the century. | |||
Like Roberts, Danny Goldberg, CEO of Mercury Records Group (U.S.), expresses faith in Costello's legacy of quality. "After Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, or Paul Simon, who of the next generation has a similar stature? Elvis Costello is on the very short-list of people who do," Goldberg says. "Not every record he's made has been a hit, but they're all serious records, records of integrity. This project with Burt Bacharach is incredibly exciting — I can't wait to hear it." | |||
Costello — an inveterate collaborator who's worked with everyone from McCartney to the Mingus Big Band over the years — plans to go into the studio with Bacharach this summer. Costello is contributing lyrics and teaming with Bacharach on the music; the arrangements will probably mix spare voice-and-piano duets with lush pop orchestrations. The pair have already produced "God Give Me Strength," which appeared on the MCA soundtrack to the film ''Grace Of My Heart'' in late '96. | |||
'' | "God Give Me Strength" is also featured on the recent Reprise set ''Live On Letterman'', and the upcoming Costello/Bacharach album will include a version of the emotive ballad, which Costello says offers a clue as to the character of the rest of the material. | ||
"'The grand, dramatic pop ballad is such an endangered species these days, at least in terms of sincerity," Costello says. "All these songs and their singers are so hollow. But I feel strongly that there's still a place for real feeling in the pop ballad. Let's just say that Burt and I are here to kick Celine Dion's ass." | |||
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Revision as of 16:09, 24 January 2014
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