Hi-Fi News & Record Review, January 2015: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> | <center><h3> Elvis Costello </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Steve Sutherland </center> | <center> Steve Sutherland </center> | ||
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Anyway, to cut to the chase, one of the characters in the movie that seemed to resonate deeply with these blokes for some strange reason was a particularly unpleasant thug called Luca Brazi who was a kind of Mafia enforcer and Marlon Brando's go-to guy whenever some serious, don't-f***-with-me message-sending ultra-violence was deemed necessary. | Anyway, to cut to the chase, one of the characters in the movie that seemed to resonate deeply with these blokes for some strange reason was a particularly unpleasant thug called Luca Brazi who was a kind of Mafia enforcer and Marlon Brando's go-to guy whenever some serious, don't-f{{nb}}***-with-me message-sending ultra-violence was deemed necessary. | ||
Luca, if memory serves, finally got garrotted in a bar after being stabbed through the hand and this time the message got relayed ''back'' to Papa Brando: "Luca Brazi sleeps with the fishes." Which means, apparently, that they've dumped his remains in the river. I believe it's the same as being told someone's wearing a concrete overcoat. | Luca, if memory serves, finally got garrotted in a bar after being stabbed through the hand and this time the message got relayed ''back'' to Papa Brando: "Luca Brazi sleeps with the fishes." Which means, apparently, that they've dumped his remains in the river. I believe it's the same as being told someone's wearing a concrete overcoat. | ||
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This is an album about being a loser in life and a no-hoper in love, but it doesn't romanticise these situations like the famous '70s singer-songwriters did and doesn't once plead for our pity. It writhes and it hurts and it gets all nasty, like a punked-up version of Mr Costello's only avowed hero, Gram Parsons. | This is an album about being a loser in life and a no-hoper in love, but it doesn't romanticise these situations like the famous '70s singer-songwriters did and doesn't once plead for our pity. It writhes and it hurts and it gets all nasty, like a punked-up version of Mr Costello's only avowed hero, Gram Parsons. | ||
Delivered with a barely suppressed sneer, Costello's songs exhibit a wicked way with words. Take the album title, ''My Aim Is True'': are his intentions honourable or does he dream of shooting the girl? The title's taken from "Alison," the album's pivotal track which, if you weren't | Delivered with a barely suppressed sneer, Costello's songs exhibit a wicked way with words. Take the album title, ''My Aim Is True'': are his intentions honourable or does he dream of shooting the girl? The title's taken from "Alison," the album's pivotal track which, if you weren't really listening, could be taken for a love song. But lend and ear and… ouch! ''"Sometimes I wish that I could stop you from talking when I hear the silly things that you say."'' Impotent threats are Mr Costello's calling cards. | ||
"The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes" goes: <i>"I said, 'I'm so happy I could die.' She said, 'Drop dead,' then left with another | |||
guy."</i> No-one had ever heard anything like it. | |||
And it wasn't just the ladies Mr Costello had it in for. "I'm Not Angry" rails against the crap data-processing job he had before Stiff came to the rescue, while "Less Than Zero" lambasts the BBC for a documentary they screened going easy on fascist leader Oswald Mosley. | |||
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KNOCK-KNEES | |||
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And it didn't even stop there! Oh no! Styled like a bitter and (literally) twisted Buddy Holly (all knock-knees and spittle), Mr Costello went the whole ten yards and beyond to get his album noticed. | |||
First he plugged in outside a convention of CBS record executives in London and busked a protest at not being picked up by an American distributor. He got arrested and his album got a deal. Then he broke America on his own terms, taking the opportunity to play ''Saturday Night Live'' when The Sex Pistols couldn't get visas and, inspired by what Jimi Hendrix once did on the ''Lulu'' show, he stopped playing "Less Than Zero," the song he was scheduled to play, and launched into something new called "Radio Radio," which was critical of the corporations who owned the airwaves. It was a song which he had been specifically requested not to play. | |||
An ''SNL'' ban followed toot sweet and bad boy Elvis was on his way. He's surely mellowed by now, but I'm still watching my back all the same. | |||
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'''Hi-Fi News & Record Review, January 2015 | '''Hi-Fi News & Record Review, January 2015 | ||
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[[Steve Sutherland]] reviews the 180g vinyl release of ''[[My Aim Is True]]''. | [[Steve Sutherland]] profiles Elvis Costello. | ||
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''Hi-Fi News'' reviews the 180g vinyl release of ''[[My Aim Is True]]''. | |||
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<br><small>Page scans.</small> | <br><small>Page scans.</small> | ||
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<center><h3> My Aim Is True </h3></center> | |||
<center>''' Re-release verdoct </center> | |||
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<center>'' Hi-Fi News </center> | |||
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This Mobile Fidelity release has been half-speed mastered from the original analogue tapes by Shawn Britton. The gatefold sleeve is made of heavy cardstock and inside carries photos of the original analogue tapes inside their boxes. Unlike the UK Stiff original, this MoFi reissue also includes "Watching The Detectives," recorded by Costello in 1977 with future backing band, The Attractions. Cleaner and somewhat brighter-sounding than the UK original, this 180g reissue comes heartily recommended. | |||
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[[image:2015-01-00 Hi-Fi News & Record Review cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:2015-01-00 Hi-Fi News & Record Review cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
[[image:2015-01-00 Hi-Fi News & Record Review page 03.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:2015-01-00 Hi-Fi News & Record Review page 03.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Cover and contents pages.</small> | <br><small>Cover and contents pages.</small> | ||
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Revision as of 22:29, 16 February 2015
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