London Independent, June 9, 2013: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Elvis | <center><h3> Elvis's army bares its soul once more </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Simon Price </center> | <center> Simon Price </center> | ||
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As a rapid-fire format for Costello and his Imposters – bassist Davey Faragher plus Attractions stalwarts Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve (who absconds in the encores to play the Hall's massive organ) – to showcase his back-catalogue, it's fine. And it is mostly back-cat: Costello's upcoming album with The Roots can wait. | As a rapid-fire format for Costello and his Imposters – bassist Davey Faragher plus Attractions stalwarts Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve (who absconds in the encores to play the Hall's massive organ) – to showcase his back-catalogue, it's fine. And it is mostly back-cat: Costello's upcoming album with The Roots can wait. | ||
It opens with his cover of Sam & Dave's "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down." It's followed by "High Fidelity" whose Supremes-referencing first words are "Some things you never get used to." Which establishes Costello's credentials as a soul fan, if not quite a soul man. Regardless of the strength of his voice, which he demonstrates unamplified off-mic, its tone is too adenoidal for that. | It opens with his cover of Sam & Dave's "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down." It's followed by "High Fidelity" whose Supremes-referencing first words are ''"Some things you never get used to."'' Which establishes Costello's credentials as a soul fan, if not quite a soul man. Regardless of the strength of his voice, which he demonstrates unamplified off-mic, its tone is too adenoidal for that. | ||
There comes a day in everyone's life where they're grown-up enough to get Elvis Costello, and I passed it some time ago. At 13, his pedal steel-drenched cover of George Jones's "Good Year For The Roses" was insufferably schmaltzy, but now it's almost painfully close to the bone. Funny, that. | There comes a day in everyone's life where they're grown-up enough to get Elvis Costello, and I passed it some time ago. At 13, his pedal steel-drenched cover of George Jones's "Good Year For The Roses" was insufferably schmaltzy, but now it's almost painfully close to the bone. Funny, that. | ||
"Oliver's Army," though, is the big one. When you're a child, it's just a jolly romping pop melody. Then you figure out it's one of the most chilling political pop songs of all time. Its power is the sound of measured anger, articulated with restraint. Nowadays, sneaking a song about The Troubles, complete with the provocatively loaded phrase "white nigger" to No. 2 in the charts, seems impossibly audacious. Performed half-quiet half-loud, it's requested tonight by a woman whose father is dying of cancer. Costello agrees immediately. | "Oliver's Army," though, is the big one. When you're a child, it's just a jolly romping pop melody. Then you figure out it's one of the most chilling political pop songs of all time. Its power is the sound of measured anger, articulated with restraint. Nowadays, sneaking a song about The Troubles, complete with the provocatively loaded phrase ''"white nigger"'' to No. 2 in the charts, seems impossibly audacious. Performed half-quiet half-loud, it's requested tonight by a woman whose father is dying of cancer. Costello agrees immediately. | ||
It's not the only moving moment: it's touching to hear the entire Albert Hall singing ''"Alison, I know this world is killing you …"'' Nor is it the only late Seventies smash. It's commonplace to credit The Clash with pioneering the rock-reggae cross-over, but nearly all the old punks had a try, not least Costello, whose "Watching The Detectives" and "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" are immaculate exercises in paranoiac reggae-noir. | It's not the only moving moment: it's touching to hear the entire Albert Hall singing ''"Alison, I know this world is killing you …"'' Nor is it the only late Seventies smash. It's commonplace to credit The Clash with pioneering the rock-reggae cross-over, but nearly all the old punks had a try, not least Costello, whose "Watching The Detectives" and "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" are immaculate exercises in paranoiac reggae-noir. | ||
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{{tags}}[[Concert 2013-06-04 London|Royal Albert Hall]] {{-}} [[London]] {{-}} [[The Imposters]] {{-}} [[Davey Faragher]] {{-}} [[Pete Thomas]] {{-}} [[Steve Nieve]] {{-}} [[I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down]] {{-}} [[High Fidelity]] | {{tags}}[[Concert 2013-06-04 London|Royal Albert Hall]] {{-}} [[London]] {{-}} [[The Imposters]] {{-}} [[Davey Faragher]] {{-}} [[Pete Thomas]] {{-}} [[Steve Nieve]] {{-}} [[I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down]] {{-}} [[High Fidelity]] {{-}} [[The Supremes]] {{-}} [[Good Year For The Roses]] {{-}} [[Oliver's Army]] {{-}} [[Watching The Detectives]] {{-}} [[Alison]] {{-}} [[(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea]] {{-}} [[Tramp The Dirt Down]] {{-}} [[Pills And Soap]] {{-}} [[Shipbuilding]] {{-}} [[Everyday I Write The Book]] {{-}} [[Sam & Dave]] {{-}} [[Margaret Thatcher]] {{-}} [[The Roots]] {{-}} [[George Jones]] {{-}} [[The Clash]] {{-}} [[The Attractions]] {{-}} [[:Category:The Revolver Tour|The{{nb}}Revolver Tour]] | ||
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{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[ | [[image:2013-06-09 London Independent pages 50-51 clipping 01.jpg|380px|Pages 50-51 clipping 1.]] | ||
<br><small><!--Elvis Costello plays his hits to a backdrop | <br><small>Clipping.</small> | ||
<small><!--Elvis Costello plays his hits to a backdrop that's half funfair, half supper-club-->Photo by [[Brian Rasic]] / Rex Features.</small><br> | |||
[[image:2013-06-09 London Independent photo 01 br.jpg|320px|Photo by Brian Rasic/Rex Features.]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} |
Latest revision as of 18:19, 23 January 2024
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