Goldmine, December 1983: Difference between revisions
(fix scan error) |
(formatting) |
||
(2 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
It's the morning after his New York concert date and the former Declan Patrick MacManus, hair still rumpled, blue horn-rims in place, and shirt buttoned to the neck, is sipping from a pot of Twinings tea. His room is littered with clothes, magazines and records (everything from 12" funk records to a Motown boxed set to new ones by Style Council and Aztec Camera, the latter who supported his tour). An Aretha tape plays on a portable stereo as the interviewer enters. There's an Elvis Costello tour booklet lying on the floor. The TV set, sound off, is tuned to a show about gorillas, later giving way to ''Sesame Street''. But Costello is wide awake and lucid at this early hour, every bit as intelligent and well-spoken as his songs would lead one to believe he'd be. | It's the morning after his New York concert date and the former Declan Patrick MacManus, hair still rumpled, blue horn-rims in place, and shirt buttoned to the neck, is sipping from a pot of Twinings tea. His room is littered with clothes, magazines and records (everything from 12" funk records to a Motown boxed set to new ones by Style Council and Aztec Camera, the latter who supported his tour). An Aretha tape plays on a portable stereo as the interviewer enters. There's an Elvis Costello tour booklet lying on the floor. The TV set, sound off, is tuned to a show about gorillas, later giving way to ''Sesame Street''. But Costello is wide awake and lucid at this early hour, every bit as intelligent and well-spoken as his songs would lead one to believe he'd be. | ||
"I have some things now that can bear explanation," be says. "1 guess I just have more to say than I did five years ago." Costello is acutely aware of his own history and everything that has surrounded his career. He knows about the myth that defined him to his fans during those silent years and he has an answer for it. And his answer is that it | "I have some things now that can bear explanation," be says. "1 guess I just have more to say than I did five years ago." Costello is acutely aware of his own history and everything that has surrounded his career. He knows about the myth that defined him to his fans during those silent years and he has an answer for it. And his answer is that it was no big deal. | ||
"The reason was very basic. People ''wanted'' to turn it into a myth, but all it was was that we didn't have anything to say. It got blown into this thing that I must be very aggressive. But we didn't have time far some of the niceties that some of the bigger record companies did. When we first started out at Stiff Records, it was all of us doing whatever had to be done, even taking the records and putting than into sleeves. We were very proud of what we were doing and we saw no reason that we should conform to some of the niceties that we regarded as bullshit, receptions and that kind of crap. | "The reason was very basic. People ''wanted'' to turn it into a myth, but all it was was that we didn't have anything to say. It got blown into this thing that I must be very aggressive. But we didn't have time far some of the niceties that some of the bigger record companies did. When we first started out at Stiff Records, it was all of us doing whatever had to be done, even taking the records and putting than into sleeves. We were very proud of what we were doing and we saw no reason that we should conform to some of the niceties that we regarded as bullshit, receptions and that kind of crap. | ||
Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
"I had a very disillusioned attitude towards the record companies, because they were so unimaginative. I disliked most of what was going on. It seemed convenient to them that they could just pigeonhole us as new wave and then they could just absorb it all up. So I was very wary of that as well. Perhaps that's why I'm still going and a lot of the bands that thought they were so outrageous are all split up and beck on the dole. You've got to have the sense to see them try to absorb you. The record business took a step backwards when '77 happened. Then they just absorbed it all and sucked people in. You have to be a bit cunning to sidestep them, or you become ridiculous." | "I had a very disillusioned attitude towards the record companies, because they were so unimaginative. I disliked most of what was going on. It seemed convenient to them that they could just pigeonhole us as new wave and then they could just absorb it all up. So I was very wary of that as well. Perhaps that's why I'm still going and a lot of the bands that thought they were so outrageous are all split up and beck on the dole. You've got to have the sense to see them try to absorb you. The record business took a step backwards when '77 happened. Then they just absorbed it all and sucked people in. You have to be a bit cunning to sidestep them, or you become ridiculous." | ||
Costello has sidestepped the rules at every turn. When be saw himself becoming, in his own words, a "parody" of himself, becoming a typical new wave act, be recorded ''Get Happy!'', a tribute album to Stax-styled soul music. That was the beginning of Elvis Costello's liberation from his own myth. A couple years later came ''Almost Blue'', an album of country standards. At that time he also appeared on a George Jones TV special and a Jones LP. That was followed by ''Imperial Bedroom'', including lushly arranged ballads, completely ignoring the big beat that brought him recognition in the first place. It was a gamble perhaps | Costello has sidestepped the rules at every turn. When be saw himself becoming, in his own words, a "parody" of himself, becoming a typical new wave act, be recorded ''Get Happy!'', a tribute album to Stax-styled soul music. That was the beginning of Elvis Costello's liberation from his own myth. A couple years later came ''Almost Blue'', an album of country standards. At that time he also appeared on a George Jones TV special and a Jones LP. That was followed by ''Imperial Bedroom'', including lushly arranged ballads, completely ignoring the big beat that brought him recognition in the first place. It was a gamble perhaps, but one which paid off; the album was Costello's most critically lauded, proving to any doubters that he is a master musician who refused to lock himself into any trends or expectations. (He's even taped a spot on a TV special dueting with Tony Bennett!) But by that point, Costello had learned enough about the workings of the biz to be able to shoo away the eulogizers; he wasn't buying any new images to replace the old, | ||
"''Imperial Bedroom'' made people give me a whole new set of labels," he flatly states. "The new George Gershwin and all that kind of stuff. I found it ridiculous. It's very flattering, but if you took it seriously you'd be a fool. There are a lot worse things | "''Imperial Bedroom'' made people give me a whole new set of labels," he flatly states. "The new George Gershwin and all that kind of stuff. I found it ridiculous. It's very flattering, but if you took it seriously you'd be a fool. There are a lot worse things I could have been called though, like the new Loverboy." | ||
Costello knew when he recorded ''Imperial Bedroom'' that he would alienate some of his rock audience and wipe out, perhaps permanently, the image that had followed him since he emerged with his first album, ''My Aim Is True'', in 1977. That's what he wanted to. "That record (''Bedroom'') was consciously made in willful disregard of the mainstream. It proved that you have to be in an already commanding commercial position to do something as different as that, and not be overlooked by the larger part of the public. If the Police had made ''Imperial Bedroom'' it would have been a million-selling record. It's not that radical a record, but it's radically different than a lot of other things. | Costello knew when he recorded ''Imperial Bedroom'' that he would alienate some of his rock audience and wipe out, perhaps permanently, the image that had followed him since he emerged with his first album, ''My Aim Is True'', in 1977. That's what he wanted to. "That record (''Bedroom'') was consciously made in willful disregard of the mainstream. It proved that you have to be in an already commanding commercial position to do something as different as that, and not be overlooked by the larger part of the public. If the Police had made ''Imperial Bedroom'' it would have been a million-selling record. It's not that radical a record, but it's radically different than a lot of other things. | ||
Line 57: | Line 57: | ||
"It's not my fault that people aren't bright enough to have thought of these things in the first place. That way of looking at it might sound arrogant, but I can't help what goes on in my head. I'm not going to write like an idiot just because some guy can't respect the use of language. I think this is particularly true of critics who have become hardened and brutalized by awful work and have become cynical. But the public, the person who buys the record and doesn't get it for free, had a different attitude because he's looking for the good in something, not the negative. He's not saying 'Oh, he's being clever again.' ''Rolling Stone'' picked up a verse in 'T.K.O.', the lines ''"They put the numb into number they put the cut into cutie / They put the slum into slumber and the boot into beauty."'' I think that's perfectly acceptable; it's not just being clever for clever's sake. It makes a point. All of those things are true, they are things that are happening. I can't see what's so difficult to understand about that." | "It's not my fault that people aren't bright enough to have thought of these things in the first place. That way of looking at it might sound arrogant, but I can't help what goes on in my head. I'm not going to write like an idiot just because some guy can't respect the use of language. I think this is particularly true of critics who have become hardened and brutalized by awful work and have become cynical. But the public, the person who buys the record and doesn't get it for free, had a different attitude because he's looking for the good in something, not the negative. He's not saying 'Oh, he's being clever again.' ''Rolling Stone'' picked up a verse in 'T.K.O.', the lines ''"They put the numb into number they put the cut into cutie / They put the slum into slumber and the boot into beauty."'' I think that's perfectly acceptable; it's not just being clever for clever's sake. It makes a point. All of those things are true, they are things that are happening. I can't see what's so difficult to understand about that." | ||
"One of the most critically praised songs on the new album is "Shipbuilding" | "One of the most critically praised songs on the new album is "Shipbuilding," a rare collaborative effort by Costello. The music was written by Clive Langer, who, along with Alan Winstanley, produced ''Punch The Clock'', and was also recorded by Robert Wyatt, vocalist/drummer formerly with the British progressive outfit Soft Machine. Wyatt had a hit single with it in England. Costello cites Wyatt as one of his favorite vocalists, and described how the song came about. | ||
"Clive dragged me out to his car one night during a party and told me he wrote this tune and he wanted it to be sung by Robert Wyatt. He asked me if I'd have a go at writing lyrics, and he gave me the tape. I took it to Australia with me as sort of a traveling project. When I got there the idea became fully formed in my head. The Falklands War was current at the time and we were hearing all about it. Rather than having some reaction to the actual horror of the war, being away from home I tended to see some of the more ironic aspects, one of which being the loss of ships. If the war had gone on and on it would have led to actually having to build more, which would have been a rather odd way of re-employing those who had been out of work. "Fortunately the lyric came out very simply, maybe because I was writing to someone else's tune. The song has a beautiful melody, and what Robert managed to do was to understate the lyrics by using the sound of his voice. When I recorded it, it took me a long time because I was, in effect, covering my own song, because I didn't write the music. If I would've written the music and Clive the words, I'm sure I would have found it easier to sing. I quite enjoy singing the song and if you can get something out of it that suggests what it's about, then you don't have to understand every single line." | "Clive dragged me out to his car one night during a party and told me he wrote this tune and he wanted it to be sung by Robert Wyatt. He asked me if I'd have a go at writing lyrics, and he gave me the tape. I took it to Australia with me as sort of a traveling project. When I got there the idea became fully formed in my head. The Falklands War was current at the time and we were hearing all about it. Rather than having some reaction to the actual horror of the war, being away from home I tended to see some of the more ironic aspects, one of which being the loss of ships. If the war had gone on and on it would have led to actually having to build more, which would have been a rather odd way of re-employing those who had been out of work. "Fortunately the lyric came out very simply, maybe because I was writing to someone else's tune. The song has a beautiful melody, and what Robert managed to do was to understate the lyrics by using the sound of his voice. When I recorded it, it took me a long time because I was, in effect, covering my own song, because I didn't write the music. If I would've written the music and Clive the words, I'm sure I would have found it easier to sing. I quite enjoy singing the song and if you can get something out of it that suggests what it's about, then you don't have to understand every single line." | ||
Two other songs on the new album that have received quite a bit of reaction are "Pills And Soap" | Two other songs on the new album that have received quite a bit of reaction are "Pills And Soap," which Costello released on his own newly christened Imp label under the pseudonym "The Imposter" in England, and "Everyday I Write The Book," a punchy, light pop-soul number. The latter became Costello's first-ever entry into the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but ironically, Costello calls it "not a big deal song." It was written, he says, while he and his band the Attractions — Keyboardist Steve Nieve, who recently released his first solo album, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas — were on the road in Europe. | ||
"I usually tend to avoid writing on the road because life on the road is quite inane," he explains. "But I wanted to write just a simple kind of love song, a pop song with a very formal structure. I wanted to write one that followed the rules, one that Carole King or someone like that could have written. It's just light. One of the ideas I had when I started working on this album, to get away from ''Imperial Bedroom'', was to write almost deliberately inane lyrics. Not really inane, but they wouldn't have this heavy meaning to it. I wanted to do it with all the songs, but only a few survived. 'The Element Within Her' is another of that kind, where it's more or less free association." | "I usually tend to avoid writing on the road because life on the road is quite inane," he explains. "But I wanted to write just a simple kind of love song, a pop song with a very formal structure. I wanted to write one that followed the rules, one that Carole King or someone like that could have written. It's just light. One of the ideas I had when I started working on this album, to get away from ''Imperial Bedroom'', was to write almost deliberately inane lyrics. Not really inane, but they wouldn't have this heavy meaning to it. I wanted to do it with all the songs, but only a few survived. 'The Element Within Her' is another of that kind, where it's more or less free association." | ||
Line 109: | Line 109: | ||
Still, the music obsession took hold at an early age. "I kind of always knew I would do it from the time I was about 15. But it wee more of a fantasy or a game then. I didn't know I was going to do it for sure until I actually started doing it when I was 22." Allegedly, he started out playing folk and bluegrass in a band called Flip City, in Liverpool to which he traveled, perhaps to pay homage to some heroes, from his London home. | Still, the music obsession took hold at an early age. "I kind of always knew I would do it from the time I was about 15. But it wee more of a fantasy or a game then. I didn't know I was going to do it for sure until I actually started doing it when I was 22." Allegedly, he started out playing folk and bluegrass in a band called Flip City, in Liverpool to which he traveled, perhaps to pay homage to some heroes, from his London home. | ||
Before long, he started sending around demos of his songs to record companies, which rejected them flat out. He read the music weeklies such as ''Melody Maker'' and when he came across an ad for a label looking for artists, he sent his tape. It was the first tape that Jake Riviera received after forming Stiff Records. He wasn't signed until the next year, 1977, when he became Elvis Costello at Jake's suggestion and released his first single, "Less Than Zero"/"Radio Sweetheart" (a pure country song), produced by Lowe. The message in the runoff groove read: "Elvis Is King" | Before long, he started sending around demos of his songs to record companies, which rejected them flat out. He read the music weeklies such as ''Melody Maker'' and when he came across an ad for a label looking for artists, he sent his tape. It was the first tape that Jake Riviera received after forming Stiff Records. He wasn't signed until the next year, 1977, when he became Elvis Costello at Jake's suggestion and released his first single, "Less Than Zero"/"Radio Sweetheart" (a pure country song), produced by Lowe. The message in the runoff groove read: "Elvis Is King." In a few months, the Elvis for whom he was named would be found dead. | ||
After two more singles, Riviera left Stiff and took Elvis with him to Radar Records in the U.K. But Riviera's most pressing problem was to land a U.S. record deal for Costello. By no small coincidence, the singer set up with his guitar and amp in front of a building where CBS execs were holding a convention. He started to play and before long attracted the attention of several bystanders, and a local officer of the law, who gave him a few warnings before placing him under arrest for disturbing the busy business district street. But not before the new artist impressed enough CBS officials to land himself a deal with Columbia Records in the U.S. He's been with the label ever since, although he left Radar for his own F-Beat label in England, for which he still records. | After two more singles, Riviera left Stiff and took Elvis with him to Radar Records in the U.K. But Riviera's most pressing problem was to land a U.S. record deal for Costello. By no small coincidence, the singer set up with his guitar and amp in front of a building where CBS execs were holding a convention. He started to play and before long attracted the attention of several bystanders, and a local officer of the law, who gave him a few warnings before placing him under arrest for disturbing the busy business district street. But not before the new artist impressed enough CBS officials to land himself a deal with Columbia Records in the U.S. He's been with the label ever since, although he left Radar for his own F-Beat label in England, for which he still records. | ||
Line 178: | Line 178: | ||
*[http://www.goldminemag.com/ Goldmine.com] | *[http://www.goldminemag.com/ Goldmine.com] | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldmine_(magazine) Wikipedia: Goldmine] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldmine_(magazine) Wikipedia: Goldmine] | ||
*[https://www.instagram.com/p/BwNIc7QgUDX/ HyMag.com] | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldmine 1983-12-00}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldmine 1983-12-00}} |
Latest revision as of 05:40, 14 April 2020
|