Boston Phoenix, March 18, 1986: Difference between revisions

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<center><h3> King Of America </h3></center>
<center><h3> King Of America </h3></center>
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<center> ''Boston Phoenix'' </center>
<center> Boston Phoenix'' </center>
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{{Bibliography text}}
{{Bibliography text}}
His finest work since ''Imperial Bedroom'' (or maybe ''Get Happy!!''), this forlorn. guilt-ridden record mingles the allure Of America with the temptation of fame, and it yearns for the possibility of being heard clearly in a career that has slipped away from Costello. ''"They pulled him out of the cold, cold ground / And they put him in a suit of lights,"'' goes the pivotal track on the record, Producer T-Bone Burnett provides full-bodied yet spare support from a cast of players who center on rock's sources in C & W, blues, and jazz; anchored by a spooky cover of the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," the album catches a marriage breaking up ("Indoor Fireworks"), England choking to a halt ("Little Palaces"), and a host of American dreams gone haywire ("American Without Tears," "Eisenhower Blues," "Brilliant Mistake"). Although too long and scattered, ''King of America'' gives its pervasive self-pity and drunken buffoonery a perverse eloquence. Clowntime is over.
His finest work since ''Imperial Bedroom'' (or maybe ''Get Happy!!''), this forlorn. guilt-ridden record mingles the allure Of America with the temptation of fame, and it yearns for the possibility of being heard clearly in a career that has slipped away from Costello. ''"They pulled him out of the cold, cold ground / And they put him in a suit of lights,"'' goes the pivotal track on the record, Producer T{{nb}}Bone Burnett provides full-bodied yet spare support from a cast of players who center on rock's sources in C{{nb}}&{{nb}}W, blues, and jazz; anchored by a spooky cover of the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," the album catches a marriage breaking up ("Indoor Fireworks"), England choking to a halt ("Little Palaces"), and a host of American dreams gone haywire ("American Without Tears," "Eisenhower Blues," "Brilliant Mistake"). Although too long and scattered, ''King of America'' gives its pervasive self-pity and drunken buffoonery a perverse eloquence. Clowntime is over.


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{{Bibliography notes}}
{{Bibliography notes}}
{{Bibliography next
|prev = Boston Phoenix, March 4, 1986
|next = Boston Phoenix, October 28, 1986
}}
'''Boston Phoenix, March 18, 1986
'''Boston Phoenix, March 18, 1986
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Includes a capsule review of ''[[King Of America]]''.
Includes a capsule review of ''[[King Of America]]''.
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A reader nitpicks [[Joyce Millman]]'s March 4th ''KOA'' [[Boston Phoenix, March 4, 1986|review]].
Reader  Dawn Larson nitpicks [[Joyce Millman]]'s March 4th ''King Of America'' [[Boston Phoenix, March 4, 1986|review]].


{{Bibliography images}}
{{Bibliography images}}


[[image:1986-03-18 Boston Phoenix page 35 clipping 01.jpg|360px|border]]
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<center><h3> Burying Elvis </h3></center>
<center><h3> Burying Elvis </h3></center>
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<center> ''Boston Phoenix'' letters page </center>
<center> Dawn Larson </center>
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{{Bibliography text}}
{{Bibliography text}}
[[image:1986-03-18 Boston Phoenix page 04.jpg|320px|140px|border|right]]
[[image:1986-03-18 Boston Phoenix page 04.jpg|320px|120px|right]]
To Joyce Millman:  
To Joyce Millman:  



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King Of America


Boston Phoenix

3½ star reviews3½ star reviews3½ star reviews3½ star reviews

His finest work since Imperial Bedroom (or maybe Get Happy!!), this forlorn. guilt-ridden record mingles the allure Of America with the temptation of fame, and it yearns for the possibility of being heard clearly in a career that has slipped away from Costello. "They pulled him out of the cold, cold ground / And they put him in a suit of lights," goes the pivotal track on the record, Producer T Bone Burnett provides full-bodied yet spare support from a cast of players who center on rock's sources in C & W, blues, and jazz; anchored by a spooky cover of the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," the album catches a marriage breaking up ("Indoor Fireworks"), England choking to a halt ("Little Palaces"), and a host of American dreams gone haywire ("American Without Tears," "Eisenhower Blues," "Brilliant Mistake"). Although too long and scattered, King of America gives its pervasive self-pity and drunken buffoonery a perverse eloquence. Clowntime is over.

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<< >>

Boston Phoenix, March 18, 1986


Includes a capsule review of King Of America.


Reader Dawn Larson nitpicks Joyce Millman's March 4th King Of America review.

Images

1986-03-18 Boston Phoenix page 35 clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.


Burying Elvis


Dawn Larson

1986-03-18 Boston Phoenix page 04.jpg

To Joyce Millman:

How is it exactly, as you state so unequivocally in your Elvis Costello piece (Arts, March 4), that Costello's "Elvis is king" proclamation seemed "like a brash and scrappy dance on Elvis Presley's still warm grave," when in fact Mr. Presley had a few months to go on this planet when My Aim Is True was released? The point being, the Elvis campaign was intended as a gibe, a poke, not an "unceremonious burial." The name Elvis Costello was the choice of Stiff Records; and Declan MacManus went along for the ride. Regrets? He's had a few.

How about you, Joyce?

Oh, and he didn't revert to Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus. He was born without "Aloysius" — added it later.

— Dawn Larson, Brighton


Joyce Millman replies:

No regrets. By the time My Aim Is True hit Billboard's album charts, Elvis Presley was well and truly dead; what I said was that the "Elvis is king" legend seemed a certain way, not that it was intended a certain way. I'll stand by that observation. I'll also stand by my report that "Aloysius" is part of the album's credits, which is all I did report. When the point is how many times MacManus has changed his name, who cares whether he's changed it another time?



1986-03-18 Boston Phoenix page 35.jpg
Page scan.

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