CD Review, March 1994: Difference between revisions
(formatting +tags) |
(formatting +browser) |
||
Line 21: | Line 21: | ||
For the most part ''Brutal Youth'' comes off like a blatant throwback; and there's no shame in that — not when Costello has so much to throw back to. Producer Mitchell Froom downplays his usual love for sonic doodads in favor of a live-band sound that recalls Nick Lowe's production of the early albums; Lowe himself is along as occasional bassist and guitarist. And though all three Attractions don't appear on every track, the old chemistry does: Keyboardist Steve Nieve is as masterful with left curves as drummer Pete Thomas is with forward motion, while Costello's less shy about playing lead guitar than he was in the old days. | For the most part ''Brutal Youth'' comes off like a blatant throwback; and there's no shame in that — not when Costello has so much to throw back to. Producer Mitchell Froom downplays his usual love for sonic doodads in favor of a live-band sound that recalls Nick Lowe's production of the early albums; Lowe himself is along as occasional bassist and guitarist. And though all three Attractions don't appear on every track, the old chemistry does: Keyboardist Steve Nieve is as masterful with left curves as drummer Pete Thomas is with forward motion, while Costello's less shy about playing lead guitar than he was in the old days. | ||
The album's catchiest tunes tend to get matched with | The album's catchiest tunes tend to get matched with its most venomous lyrics. That's a trick Costello mastered around the time of ''Armed Forces'' (1979), and it still works like a charm: "Sulky Girl" trots out three different chorus hooks, all of them killer; the tune of "You Tripped At Every Step" has a tenderness that the singer won't admit to; "20% Amnesia" is one of the half-dozen hardest rockers Costello ever cut. The Celtic-tinged, dark-humored "This Is Hell" is precisely what the new Pogues album should have sounded like. "Clown Strike" harks back musically to his early rockabilly gem "Radio Sweetheart," while its lyrics find a non-syrupy way to say "I love you just the way you are." The most memorable track "Kinder Murder," also tells the grisliest story — one in which a barfly goes off to commit a rape between rounds. The singer is clearly appalled, but he tells the story simply and lets you fill in the gaps. It's dramatic constraint with clenched teeth, with a nifty guitar riff worked in to boot. | ||
Other songs return to a favorite Costello theme, that of messed-up romances, but with some grown up twists. "Just About Glad" is one of the ultimate non-love songs, celebrating a fling that never happened and that never should have. "That's a song that had to be written," Costello says from his home in Ireland. "Everyone who's gotten to be my age has probably had that kind of experience. I quite liked the joke of saying something like that, and setting it to a loose, messy kind of sound, like the Faces. It's a humorous song, but so are some or the old ones. The one it most resembles is | Other songs return to a favorite Costello theme, that of messed-up romances, but with some grown up twists. "Just About Glad" is one of the ultimate non-love songs, celebrating a fling that never happened and that never should have. "That's a song that had to be written," Costello says from his home in Ireland. "Everyone who's gotten to be my age has probably had that kind of experience. I quite liked the joke of saying something like that, and setting it to a loose, messy kind of sound, like the Faces. It's a humorous song, but so are some or the old ones. The one it most resembles is 'Miracle Man' off ''My Aim Is True''. That was humorous too but I don't think many people realized it because I sang it with such fierce expression." | ||
"There always have been autobiographical elements in the songs, but not as many as people thought," he continues. "You don't slit your wrists and bleed all over the record. That idea has appealed to me on occasion and maybe it will again, but it doesn't at the moment. If anything, some of the most heartfelt songs that have ever been written were done with this craft that some people would interpret as distance; but the effect on the listener can be very profound. Take a song like 'What Is This Thing Called Love,' by Cole Porter. It's obviously crafted, not just about a guy bawling about feelings at the moment he felt bereft of love. But it's all the more powerful for having it worked out." | "There always have been autobiographical elements in the songs, but not as many as people thought," he continues. "You don't slit your wrists and bleed all over the record. That idea has appealed to me on occasion and maybe it will again, but it doesn't at the moment. If anything, some of the most heartfelt songs that have ever been written were done with this craft that some people would interpret as distance; but the effect on the listener can be very profound. Take a song like 'What Is This Thing Called Love,' by Cole Porter. It's obviously crafted, not just about a guy bawling about feelings at the moment he felt bereft of love. But it's all the more powerful for having it worked out." | ||
Line 53: | Line 53: | ||
{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | |||
|prev = CD Review, March 1993 | |||
|next = CD Review, July 1995 | |||
}} | |||
'''CD Review, March 1994 | '''CD Review, March 1994 | ||
---- | ---- |
Revision as of 09:52, 25 January 2022
|