London Observer, May 2008: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> This year's model is good enough to eat | <center><h3> This year's model is good enough to eat </h3></center> | ||
<center>''' Elvis Costello ''' / Momofuku </center> | <center>''' Elvis Costello ''' / Momofuku </center> | ||
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<center> Graeme Thomson </center> | <center> Graeme Thomson </center> | ||
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'''An album informed by noodles? Graeme Thomson tells us not to worry: this is Elvis at his best. <br> | |||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
Elvis Costello began his recording career in 1977 at Stiff Records, a label renowned for its canny, cavalier marketing escapades. Thirty years on, the old dog hasn't forgotten the tricks of his trade. The decision initially to give his new record a vinyl-only release wasn't simply a defiant declaration that albums should still be regarded as unified works of art (''Momofuku'' even opens with the sneering couplet: ''"In the not very distant future / When everything is free"''; are you listening, Thom?), it also ensured that by the time ''Momofuku'' slipped out as — inevitably — a CD and download, it had received more attention than anything Costello has done since the invention of the iPod. | Elvis Costello began his recording career in 1977 at Stiff Records, a label renowned for its canny, cavalier marketing escapades. Thirty years on, the old dog hasn't forgotten the tricks of his trade. The decision initially to give his new record a vinyl-only release wasn't simply a defiant declaration that albums should still be regarded as unified works of art (''Momofuku'' even opens with the sneering couplet: ''"In the not very distant future / When everything is free"''; are you listening, Thom?), it also ensured that by the time ''Momofuku'' slipped out as — inevitably — a CD and download, it had received more attention than anything Costello has done since the invention of the iPod. | ||
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Costello sounds enthused and utterly uninhibited throughout. Now 53, the angry young man of legend is long dead, but his friendships with Elton John and Sting, his upcoming role as a TV host, and a second swing at fatherhood (movingly recounted on the reflective ballad "My Three Sons") certainly hasn't dampened down his fervour. Instead, his evident contentment has infused his music with a relaxed, joyful dimension. ''Momofuku'' harks back to the days when Costello's albums harboured no aspirations beyond herding a fistful of great songs together and firing them out into the world. In contrast to recent thematic works (the stiff rhythmic base haphazardly applied to ''When I Was Cruel''; the muted piano music of ''North''; the loosely conceptual ''Delivery Man''; the collaboration with Allen Toussaint on ''The River in Reverse''), ''Momofuku'' jumps distractedly all over the place in the manner of classic Costello records of yore. | Costello sounds enthused and utterly uninhibited throughout. Now 53, the angry young man of legend is long dead, but his friendships with Elton John and Sting, his upcoming role as a TV host, and a second swing at fatherhood (movingly recounted on the reflective ballad "My Three Sons") certainly hasn't dampened down his fervour. Instead, his evident contentment has infused his music with a relaxed, joyful dimension. ''Momofuku'' harks back to the days when Costello's albums harboured no aspirations beyond herding a fistful of great songs together and firing them out into the world. In contrast to recent thematic works (the stiff rhythmic base haphazardly applied to ''When I Was Cruel''; the muted piano music of ''North''; the loosely conceptual ''Delivery Man''; the collaboration with Allen Toussaint on ''The River in Reverse''), ''Momofuku'' jumps distractedly all over the place in the manner of classic Costello records of yore. | ||
For all his impressive reach, ''Momofuku'' provides persuasive proof that simplicity and directness still suit Costello. It's telling that the highlights recall the landmark work he did in the first decade of his career: the soulful "Flutter | For all his impressive reach, ''Momofuku'' provides persuasive proof that simplicity and directness still suit Costello. It's telling that the highlights recall the landmark work he did in the first decade of his career: the soulful "Flutter & Wow" revisits the gentler corners of ''Get Happy!!''; "Harry Worth" echoes the sticky lounge music of "The Long Honeymoon"; while "Go Away," "American Gangster Time" and "Stella Hurt" crunch along on a wave of disdainful put-downs and cheesy organ like long-lost outtakes from ''This Year's Model''. Meanwhile "Turpentine," a rueful backwards glance at Costello's dread drinking days and the emotional ransom they extracted, crackles like a less regimented "Tokyo Storm Warning." | ||
Elsewhere, he returns to the mid-Sixties beat-pop that first inspired him. "Mr Feathers" is particularly wonderful, stumbling through the minor keys like a cross between "Sunny Afternoon" and "I'm Only Sleeping," but the fact is that ''Momofuku'' is a fresh, punchy joy from top to toe. And full marks for getting the word "galoshes" in there. | Elsewhere, he returns to the mid-Sixties beat-pop that first inspired him. "Mr. Feathers" is particularly wonderful, stumbling through the minor keys like a cross between "Sunny Afternoon" and "I'm Only Sleeping," but the fact is that ''Momofuku'' is a fresh, punchy joy from top to toe. And full marks for getting the word "galoshes" in there. | ||
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Download: | '''Download: "Turpentine," "Stella Hurt," "Mr. Feathers" | ||
{{tags}}[[Momofuku]] {{-}} [[The Imposters]] {{-}} [[Stiff Records]] {{-}} [[Jenny Lewis]] {{-}} [[David Hidalgo]] {{-}} [[Elton John]] {{-}} [[Sting]] {{-}} [[My Three Sons]] {{-}} [[When I Was Cruel]] {{-}} [[North]] {{-}} [[The River In Reverse]] {{-}} [[Flutter & Wow]] {{-}} [[Get Happy!!]] {{-}} [[Harry Worth]] {{-}} [[The Long Honeymoon]] {{-}} [[Go Away]] {{-}} [[American Gangster Time]] {{-}} [[Stella Hurt]] {{-}} [[This Year's Model]] {{-}} [[Turpentine]] {{-}} [[Tokyo Storm Warning]] {{-}} [[Mr. Feathers]] | |||
{{cx}} | |||
{{Bibliography notes header}} | {{Bibliography notes header}} | ||
{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | |||
|prev = London Observer, June 4, 2006 | |||
|next = London Observer, October 17, 2010 | |||
}} | |||
'''Observer Music Monthly, May 2008 | '''Observer Music Monthly, May 2008 | ||
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Observer Wikipedia: The Observer] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Observer Wikipedia: The Observer] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Observer 2008-05-00}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:London Observer 2008-05-00}} | ||
[[Category:Bibliography]] | [[Category:Bibliography]] | ||
[[Category:Bibliography 2008]] | [[Category:Bibliography 2008]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:London Observer| London Observer 2008-05-00]] | ||
[[Category:Observer Music Monthly| Observer Music Monthly 2008-05-00]] | |||
[[Category:Newspaper articles]] | [[Category:Newspaper articles]] | ||
[[Category:Album reviews]] | [[Category:Album reviews]] | ||
[[Category:Momofuku reviews]] | [[Category:Momofuku reviews]] |
Latest revision as of 14:34, 25 July 2021
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