Dayton Daily News, March 9, 1980: Difference between revisions
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Three years ago when Elvis Costello made his American debut on Saturday Night Live, he risked acceptance in the States to make a stinging, though valid, comment | Three years ago when Elvis Costello made his American debut on ''Saturday Night Live'', he risked acceptance in the States to make a stinging, though valid, comment on the dismal state of American popular music. | ||
Many people considered his performance a disaster, and it has been an uphill struggle for Costello ever since. | Many people considered his performance a disaster, and it has been an uphill struggle for Costello ever since. | ||
Costello's first three albums have chalked up respectable sales, his last album ''Armed Forces'' going gold. But he has yet to make the big breakthrough. | Costello's first three albums have chalked up respectable sales, his last album ''Armed Forces'' going gold. But he has yet to make the ''big breakthrough''. | ||
''Get Happy!!'' (Columbia JC-36347) just might be the album Costello haters will learn to love. Gone is the image of the little beady-eyed, spike-topped geek snarling his way into your living room. This year's model comes complete with a conspiratorial smirk and wink from those Buddy Holly horn-rims. Elvis wants to be friends. | ''Get Happy!!'' (Columbia JC-36347) just might be the album Costello haters will learn to love. Gone is the image of the little beady-eyed, spike-topped geek snarling his way into your living room. This year's model comes complete with a conspiratorial smirk and wink from those Buddy Holly horn-rims. Elvis wants to be friends. | ||
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But don't get me wrong. ''Get Happy!!'' is still an Elvis Costello album, all 20 songs and 50 minutes crammed with high-insight, low-compromise emotion. Costello is, after all, the most thoughtful songwriter going. It's just that now we get a little honey with the vinegar. | But don't get me wrong. ''Get Happy!!'' is still an Elvis Costello album, all 20 songs and 50 minutes crammed with high-insight, low-compromise emotion. Costello is, after all, the most thoughtful songwriter going. It's just that now we get a little honey with the vinegar. | ||
The groundwork for ''Get Happy!!'' was laid in the ' | The groundwork for ''Get Happy!!'' was laid in the '60s by the Four Tops, Sam & Dave, Martha & the Vandellas, Wilson Pickett, the Supremes and Otis Redding, to name a few of the Tamla, Stax and Motown influences that permeate the album. | ||
But unlike so many white performers who have made a career out of homogenizing black music, Costello and his Attractions have produced a happy synthesis of rock-n-soul. | But unlike so many white performers who have made a career out of homogenizing black music, Costello and his Attractions have produced a happy synthesis of rock-n-soul. | ||
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[[Don Reynolds]] reviews ''[[Get Happy!!]]''. | [[Don Reynolds]] reviews ''[[Get Happy!!]]''. | ||
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[[image:1980-03-09 Dayton Daily News page 4-D clipping 01.jpg|360px|border]] | [[image:1980-03-09 Dayton Daily News page 4-D clipping 01.jpg|360px|border]] |
Latest revision as of 05:06, 9 May 2019
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