Creem, February 1985: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Elvis Costello's Cruel World Blues </h3></center> | <center><h3> Elvis Costello's Cruel World Blues </h3></center> | ||
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Aided and abetted by Road Manager Colin Waters, I found myself seated in the lobby of a posh "European-style" hotel, waiting rather apprehensively for the elevator doors to open. I'd interviewed Costello twice before, and it had been no easy task. When he finally appeared, Elvis seemed somewhat tired, guarded, and rumpled — but his mood lightened to amiable, and eventually jovial, as our 15-minute interview stretched into a two-hour visit. | Aided and abetted by Road Manager Colin Waters, I found myself seated in the lobby of a posh "European-style" hotel, waiting rather apprehensively for the elevator doors to open. I'd interviewed Costello twice before, and it had been no easy task. When he finally appeared, Elvis seemed somewhat tired, guarded, and rumpled — but his mood lightened to amiable, and eventually jovial, as our 15-minute interview stretched into a two-hour visit. | ||
After rejecting the seafood buffet and inquiring about bacon in the Caesar's salad (one of his crew describes him as "a fussy vegetarian with expensive tastes"), E.C. talked openly and intensely. The tape stopped for the main course: what's missing here is discussion of video, family history, | After rejecting the seafood buffet and inquiring about bacon in the Caesar's salad (one of his crew describes him as "a fussy vegetarian with expensive tastes"), E.C. talked openly and intensely. The tape stopped for the main course: what's missing here is discussion of video, family history, the Monkees, fast food, and religion. | ||
''You've been compared to numerous songwriters, like | ''You've been compared to numerous songwriters, like Cole Porter, probably a lot more than you'd like... One reason why your songs are so extraordinary is the way they are performed, with the horn arrangements, the blue notes, and the way the voice is used as an instrument. What is your inspiration for this type of technique? | ||
I think that comes from the fact that I got a little disillusioned with rock 'n' roll as such a few years ago, and just decided to build myself a couple of bridges back to kinds of music — well, not necessarily back, sideways if necessary — to kinds of music other than rock 'n' roll, still employing them with the rock 'n' roll instrumentation. Whenever people try to incorporate other styles of music in pop music, it's often pomposity, self-importance — "Look at us, we're classical rock — why isn't everybody impressed?" | I think that comes from the fact that I got a little disillusioned with rock 'n' roll as such a few years ago, and just decided to build myself a couple of bridges back to kinds of music — well, not necessarily back, sideways if necessary — to kinds of music other than rock 'n' roll, still employing them with the rock 'n' roll instrumentation. Whenever people try to incorporate other styles of music in pop music, it's often pomposity, self-importance — "Look at us, we're classical rock — why isn't everybody impressed?" | ||
Without making too much of a fuss of it, I was just trying to find some new musical ideas. So I did start listening to a lot of pre-rock 'n' roll music — a lot of jazz ballads and the sort of songs of that era — and I even wrote a couple of songs which were after the fashion. The song structure of "[[Almost Blue (song)|Almost Blue]]" from '' | Without making too much of a fuss of it, I was just trying to find some new musical ideas. So I did start listening to a lot of pre-rock 'n' roll music — a lot of jazz ballads and the sort of songs of that era — and I even wrote a couple of songs which were after the fashion. The song structure of "[[Almost Blue (song)|Almost Blue]]" from ''Imperial Bedroom'', for example. But obviously I'm not from that era. I can't really just make myself turn into that kind of thing. And also the world has changed as well, so it would be inappropriate and a bit of a sham, really. You end up being some show-business recreation of it, like Manhattan Transfer: technically correct, but they always seemed to be devoid of any feeling. So this was the challenge in doing that — trying to employ some musical ideas which were exciting and fresh to me, ones I hadn't used before — incorporate them into my own sound and try to mold them into something new. | ||
''How about the country material? The country album, '' | ''How about the country material? The country album, ''Almost Blue'', came out of a rock background. Do you think there's any more country in the future for you? | ||
I don't know. I think that was a very punk thing to do, to go to Nashville and make a record with | I don't know. I think that was a very punk thing to do, to go to Nashville and make a record with Billy Sherrill. I've had a liking of country music. It's a style, obviously, which is not natural to me. It's something I've learned, but something I really fell in love with quite a few years back. I've ended up incorporating it in different degrees. | ||
There was a country song cut at the very first session I ever did — "[[Stranger In The House]]" — although it didn't come out for a few years. There was a country song on ''Trust'', a quite pronounced one. There's country influence on quite a few of the guitar sounds on other songs. So I think there's always a possibility we may cut another song. I don't know whether we'd go and do another album. If we did go to Nashville, it would be to record our own material, or if we were to record another country record, it would be songs that I wrote. There would be little point in doing another covers album. | There was a country song cut at the very first session I ever did — "[[Stranger In The House]]" — although it didn't come out for a few years. There was a country song on ''Trust'', a quite pronounced one. There's country influence on quite a few of the guitar sounds on other songs. So I think there's always a possibility we may cut another song. I don't know whether we'd go and do another album. If we did go to Nashville, it would be to record our own material, or if we were to record another country record, it would be songs that I wrote. There would be little point in doing another covers album. | ||
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Uh... I've been very... ungracious in the past about the covers. I suppose I could've been more generous. I don't actually like hardly any of the covers, technically speaking. [[Dave Edmunds|Edmunds]]'s cover is good. I'm proud of the [[George Jones]] record that I did with him, but I think he would be the first to say it's not his greatest performance and it's certainly not mine. But the thrill of doing it with him kind of precluded me...uh, the nervousness... | Uh... I've been very... ungracious in the past about the covers. I suppose I could've been more generous. I don't actually like hardly any of the covers, technically speaking. [[Dave Edmunds|Edmunds]]'s cover is good. I'm proud of the [[George Jones]] record that I did with him, but I think he would be the first to say it's not his greatest performance and it's certainly not mine. But the thrill of doing it with him kind of precluded me...uh, the nervousness... | ||
Well, the appearance on George Jones [[Concert 1981-04-28 Los Angeles|TV special]] was wonderful, but you had the mumps, right? | ''Well, the appearance on George Jones [[Concert 1981-04-28 Los Angeles|TV special]] was wonderful, but you had the mumps, right? | ||
I've never seen that, 'cause I felt so awful and looked so dreadful. I probably sang better on that program than I did on the recorded session. I was more confident about singing that kind of material by then, and he put me at ease, because he'd been very generous over the making of that program. Everybody was standing miles away from me. I occasionally hear interesting versions of my songs. I only have knowledge of one mercenary cover — where I know for a fact that the producer of the record strong-armed the group into recording one of my songs. That was [[The Outlaws: In The Eye Of The Storm|the Outlaws]]. I believe they've no interest at all in that track ("[[Miracle Man]]"), they're totally embarrassed by the fact that they were made to do it because it's so out of what they normally do. I only heard it for the first time very recently. But the rest of the versions, whether I like them or not personally, the people did them with sincerity because they liked the song. I think that's as much of a comment as I should make. If I personally have reservations about their ability to interpret the song, that's my personal feeling. Theirs is that they could, otherwise they wouldn't have attempted it. There are versions which I find quite interesting. | I've never seen that, 'cause I felt so awful and looked so dreadful. I probably sang better on that program than I did on the recorded session. I was more confident about singing that kind of material by then, and he put me at ease, because he'd been very generous over the making of that program. Everybody was standing miles away from me. I occasionally hear interesting versions of my songs. I only have knowledge of one mercenary cover — where I know for a fact that the producer of the record strong-armed the group into recording one of my songs. That was [[The Outlaws: In The Eye Of The Storm|the Outlaws]]. I believe they've no interest at all in that track ("[[Miracle Man]]"), they're totally embarrassed by the fact that they were made to do it because it's so out of what they normally do. I only heard it for the first time very recently. But the rest of the versions, whether I like them or not personally, the people did them with sincerity because they liked the song. I think that's as much of a comment as I should make. If I personally have reservations about their ability to interpret the song, that's my personal feeling. Theirs is that they could, otherwise they wouldn't have attempted it. There are versions which I find quite interesting. | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creem Wikipedia: Creem] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creem Wikipedia: Creem] | ||
*[http://www.facebook.com/lisatraxler/posts/10207123534393393 Facebook: Lisa Traxler] | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creem 1985-02-00}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Creem 1985-02-00}} |
Latest revision as of 12:34, 18 October 2016
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