Irish Times, August 1, 1997: Difference between revisions
(formatting) |
(formatting / emphasis) |
||
Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
'''A bit of soul searching, a touch of country, a dash of afro-beat and a dollop of punk attitude: Tony Clayton Lea explains why he thinks Elvis Costello is the bee's knees | '''A bit of soul searching, a touch of country, a dash of afro-beat and a dollop of punk attitude: Tony Clayton Lea explains why he thinks Elvis Costello is the bee's knees | ||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
August, 1977. One Elvis dies, another Elvis is born. Twenty years on, both have an anniversary for their respective fans to ponder over. While Presley aficionados will mourn the loss of The King, Costello fans will heap praise on the man born Declan Patrick McManus. The reason? ''My Aim Is True'', Elvis Costello's debut album, was released in the last week of July, 1977. It charted on August 6th, 10 days before the other Elvis died. | August, 1977. One Elvis dies, another Elvis is born. Twenty years on, both have an anniversary for their respective fans to ponder over. While Presley ''aficionados'' will mourn the loss of The King, Costello fans will heap praise on the man born Declan Patrick McManus. The reason? ''My Aim Is True'', Elvis Costello's debut album, was released in the last week of July, 1977. It charted on August 6th, 10 days before the other Elvis died. | ||
Born on August 25th, 1955, the only child of an Ulster Catholic, Ross McManus (then a Big Band leader and solo performer), Elvis Costello has gone from punk rock | Born on August 25th, 1955, the only child of an Ulster Catholic, Ross McManus (then a Big Band leader and solo performer), Elvis Costello has gone from punk rock ''ingénue'' to chronicler of the complete emotional spectrum. He spent the best part of his childhood in London, where he attended Catholic schools. After his parents split up, Costello moved with his mother to her native Liverpool for the last two years of secondary school. He left school in 1973 with no ambitions to further his education, but rather hoping to get a job. | ||
Working by day and singing by night in local folk clubs, in 1974 Costello met a well-known musician, Nick Lowe. On Lowe's advice he left Liverpool for London, primarily to be closer to the hub of the recording and music industry. Married by this time, with a child on the way, he was taken on as a computer operator in the Elizabeth Arden perfume factory near London, again singing by night in tiny pub rock venues with a band called [[Flip City]]. | Working by day and singing by night in local folk clubs, in 1974 Costello met a well-known musician, Nick Lowe. On Lowe's advice he left Liverpool for London, primarily to be closer to the hub of the recording and music industry. Married by this time, with a child on the way, he was taken on as a computer operator in the Elizabeth Arden perfume factory near London, again singing by night in tiny pub rock venues with a band called [[Flip City]]. | ||
Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
This period coincided with the emergence of punk rock, but Costello had little opportunity to observe the movement up close. Living in suburbia with a job, a wife, Mary (from whom he separated in the mid-1980s) and a son, Mathew, meant that both money and time were tight. For most of 1975, Flip City no longer in tow, he began to hawk demo tapes of his songs around to record companies — all of which were turned down. | This period coincided with the emergence of punk rock, but Costello had little opportunity to observe the movement up close. Living in suburbia with a job, a wife, Mary (from whom he separated in the mid-1980s) and a son, Mathew, meant that both money and time were tight. For most of 1975, Flip City no longer in tow, he began to hawk demo tapes of his songs around to record companies — all of which were turned down. | ||
He also toured A&R offices giving impromptu performances, most of which received nothing in return except a | He also toured A&R offices giving impromptu performances, most of which received nothing in return except a bemused look — although in one off-the-cuff performance outside a CBS record convention in London, Costello was actually arrested for disturbing the peace. | ||
bemused look — although in one off-the-cuff performance outside a CBS record convention in London, Costello was actually arrested for disturbing the peace. | |||
In 1976, he finally tried a newly-founded independent record company called Stiff Records. They were looking for new talent that had little truck with overt commercialism. He was looking for a record company that would allow him to record his songs without undue concern for a hit single. Costello was signed up immediately: a business and creative marriage made in career heaven. | In 1976, he finally tried a newly-founded independent record company called Stiff Records. They were looking for new talent that had little truck with overt commercialism. He was looking for a record company that would allow him to record his songs without undue concern for a hit single. Costello was signed up immediately: a business and creative marriage made in career heaven. | ||
With his debut album recorded in part on days that Costello took off "sick" from work, ''My Aim Is True'' | With his debut album recorded in part on days that Costello took off "sick" from work, ''My Aim Is True'' introduced him to the public and the rock media as a cold, calculating cuckold with one leg in the bedroom and the other in the kitchen, a man seemingly content to connect the dirty dramatics of the former with the soap-opera antics of the latter. The results were little short of breathtaking. Musically, ''My Aim Is True'' had some of the trappings of punk rock — the scratchy guitars and the sneering attitude — but lyrically the album easily transcended the nihilistic rantings of the best of his contemporaries. Elvis Costello had arrived with a bang. | ||
introduced him to the public and the rock media as a cold, calculating cuckold with one leg in the bedroom and the other in the kitchen, a man seemingly content to connect the dirty dramatics of the former with the soap-opera antics of the latter. The results were little short of breathtaking. Musically, ''My Aim Is True'' had some of the trappings of punk rock — the scratchy guitars and the sneering attitude — but lyrically the album easily transcended the nihilistic rantings of the best of his contemporaries. Elvis Costello had arrived with a bang. | |||
Costello has been described in many ways throughout his 20-year career. Facetious cliches that attempt to define the man and his nature, his world view and his soul-searching, have tripped from many tongues, | Costello has been described in many ways throughout his 20-year career. Facetious cliches that attempt to define the man and his nature, his world view and his soul-searching, have tripped from many tongues, typewriters, and think-pads. Costello himself has used one catch-all description during the latter part of his career to illustrate the absurdity of anyone trying to pin down his ''raison d'etre'' with a glib phrase. | ||
typewriters, and think-pads. Costello himself has used one catch-all description during the latter part of his career to illustrate the absurdity of anyone trying to pin down his raison d'etre with a glib phrase. | |||
This pithy expression — "The Bug Eyed Monster From Planet Guilt And Revenge" — sounds perfect when you consider his many songs about interpersonal relationships. In reality, all it does is to place Elvis Costello in a cultural pigeon-hole — a disservice to the man whose contribution to rock music is far more than just songs about girls, girls, and even more girls. | This pithy expression — "The Bug Eyed Monster From Planet Guilt And Revenge" — sounds perfect when you consider his many songs about interpersonal relationships. In reality, all it does is to place Elvis Costello in a cultural pigeon-hole — a disservice to the man whose contribution to rock music is far more than just songs about girls, girls, and even more girls. |
Revision as of 02:25, 11 March 2018
|