Chicago Sun-Times, January 19, 1981: Difference between revisions

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There’s no question that a special sort of bond exists between Elvis Costello and his audience. Few high-intensity rockers would dare open their first Chicago appearance in almost two years with a brand new ballad, accompanied only by spare solo piano backing. Few audiences would stand through it with rapt attention, as the full house at the Uptown Theater did Saturday night.


What makes Costello so special? Within the pages of a rock magazine a few months back, some light was shed on the Costello mystique from a most unusual source.


According to singer David Lee Roth, self-styled stud from the heavy-metal Van Halen band, the reason Elvis gets a much better critical response than a band like Van Halen is that most critics look more like the unassuming Costello.
While I think Roth’s a little off the mark (surprisingly enough, all the rock reviewers that I know bear a closer resemblance to Robert Mitchum or Tyrone Power than to either of these callow rock ‘n’ roll  upstarts), there’s a kernel of truth in his observation. Bespectacled, knock-kneed, too slight to withstand a strong breeze.  Costello’s got something of the common touch, especially when compared with all the he-men and pretty boys who once dominated rock ‘n’ roll.  A rock Walter Mitty, he has shown that the fantasy is within the reach of anyone.
Of course, beauty (or lack thereof) is only skin deep. If Elvis’ appearance rings true, his material does so even more.  In contrast to the bluster and the swagger that once defined the typical rock stance, Costello’s songs are filled with the vulnerability of a man who knows what it’s like to be “second place in the human race” and the integrity of an artist who has risen above it on his own terms.
Over the course of 75 minutes at the Uptown, Elvis crammed in 26 songs, giving his audience more – more of himself and more passion per second than practically any other rocker around. In concert, his ballads cut deeper than on record, his rockers drive with more urgency.  And his singing consistently stays close to the heart.
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Atypical Elvis Costello cooks up
26-tune feast at Uptown


Don McLeese

There’s no question that a special sort of bond exists between Elvis Costello and his audience. Few high-intensity rockers would dare open their first Chicago appearance in almost two years with a brand new ballad, accompanied only by spare solo piano backing. Few audiences would stand through it with rapt attention, as the full house at the Uptown Theater did Saturday night.

What makes Costello so special? Within the pages of a rock magazine a few months back, some light was shed on the Costello mystique from a most unusual source.

According to singer David Lee Roth, self-styled stud from the heavy-metal Van Halen band, the reason Elvis gets a much better critical response than a band like Van Halen is that most critics look more like the unassuming Costello.

While I think Roth’s a little off the mark (surprisingly enough, all the rock reviewers that I know bear a closer resemblance to Robert Mitchum or Tyrone Power than to either of these callow rock ‘n’ roll upstarts), there’s a kernel of truth in his observation. Bespectacled, knock-kneed, too slight to withstand a strong breeze. Costello’s got something of the common touch, especially when compared with all the he-men and pretty boys who once dominated rock ‘n’ roll. A rock Walter Mitty, he has shown that the fantasy is within the reach of anyone.

Of course, beauty (or lack thereof) is only skin deep. If Elvis’ appearance rings true, his material does so even more. In contrast to the bluster and the swagger that once defined the typical rock stance, Costello’s songs are filled with the vulnerability of a man who knows what it’s like to be “second place in the human race” and the integrity of an artist who has risen above it on his own terms.

Over the course of 75 minutes at the Uptown, Elvis crammed in 26 songs, giving his audience more – more of himself and more passion per second than practically any other rocker around. In concert, his ballads cut deeper than on record, his rockers drive with more urgency. And his singing consistently stays close to the heart.



Remaining text and scanner-error corrections to come...

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Chicago Sun-Times, October 13, 1986


Don McLeese reviews Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Saturday, January 17, 1981, Uptown Theatre, Chicago, Illinois.

Images

1981-01-19 Chicago Sun-Times page 45 clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.

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