London Times, October 15, 1978: Difference between revisions
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Three tours of America in 12 months, too many hours spent in anonymous hotel rooms and the converted Greyhound bus in which the band travel, have dispelled whatever sense of wonder Costello might have felt — when working as a computer operator for a London cosmetics company only 18 months before — about being in what he calls "The Promised Land." When on tour he seldom rises before noon. And when he appears at the poolside he is dressed in spite of the heat rather than because of it: perspiring in a grey suit (one of a job-lot, bought for £7 in a clearance sale in Liverpool) and a tab-collar shirt, buttoned tight to the throat. Perhaps it is the heat which gives him the brusque, rather impatient air of someone who appears always to be on his way to somewhere else — or at least wishes he was. | Three tours of America in 12 months, too many hours spent in anonymous hotel rooms and the converted Greyhound bus in which the band travel, have dispelled whatever sense of wonder Costello might have felt — when working as a computer operator for a London cosmetics company only 18 months before — about being in what he calls "The Promised Land." When on tour he seldom rises before noon. And when he appears at the poolside he is dressed in spite of the heat rather than because of it: perspiring in a grey suit (one of a job-lot, bought for £7 in a clearance sale in Liverpool) and a tab-collar shirt, buttoned tight to the throat. Perhaps it is the heat which gives him the brusque, rather impatient air of someone who appears always to be on his way to somewhere else — or at least wishes he was. | ||
Elvis Costello's ascent has been positively meteoric by any standards. Without so much as a recording contract to his name in May of last year, within nine months — around the time "Watching the Detectives" gave him his first Top 10 single — he was being described by Elton John as the best rock singer in Britain. Both his albums have enjoyed considerable success in this country (his third will be released shortly). But it is in America that his greatest potential lies. His first release, ''My Aim Is True'', was the biggest-selling British import record of 1977. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the bible of the American rock business, [[named]] it one of the best five records of the year. His second album, ''This Year's Model'', coasted into the best-seller charts on a wave of equally extravagant critical praise. | Elvis Costello's ascent has been positively meteoric by any standards. Without so much as a recording contract to his name in May of last year, within nine months — around the time "Watching the Detectives" gave him his first Top 10 single — he was being described by Elton John as the best rock singer in Britain. Both his albums have enjoyed considerable success in this country (his third will be released shortly). But it is in America that his greatest potential lies. His first release, ''My Aim Is True'', was the biggest-selling British import record of 1977. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the bible of the American rock business, [[Rolling Stone, December 29, 1977|named]] it one of the best five records of the year. His second album, ''This Year's Model'', coasted into the best-seller charts on a wave of equally extravagant critical praise. | ||
The highly stylised aggression of British punk rock may have been greeted with indifference by American audiences. But in Costello they appear to have found the perfect antidote to the comfortable complacency which has infected American pop: an artist who combines excitement, wit and a refreshingly challenging intelligence in his songs. | The highly stylised aggression of British punk rock may have been greeted with indifference by American audiences. But in Costello they appear to have found the perfect antidote to the comfortable complacency which has infected American pop: an artist who combines excitement, wit and a refreshingly challenging intelligence in his songs. | ||
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<small>Page scan.</small><br> | <small>Page scan.</small><br><!-- 'Elvis is King,' said Elvis Costello's promoters, ambiguously; but after Presley's death the slogan was abandoned --> | ||
[[image:1978-10-15 London Times page 53.jpg|380px]] | [[image:1978-10-15 London Times page 53.jpg|380px]] | ||
Revision as of 18:31, 30 July 2020
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