London Times, October 3, 2003: Difference between revisions
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The dozen songs on ''North'' lay him open to criticisms that go far beyond the crooning voice and the orchestral arrangements, for they constitute a deeply revealing song-cycle that begins with the break-up of his 16-year marriage to Cait O'Riordan, charts his subsequent desolation and then celebrates his falling in love with the American jazz singer Diana Krall. | The dozen songs on ''North'' lay him open to criticisms that go far beyond the crooning voice and the orchestral arrangements, for they constitute a deeply revealing song-cycle that begins with the break-up of his 16-year marriage to Cait O'Riordan, charts his subsequent desolation and then celebrates his falling in love with the American jazz singer Diana Krall. | ||
The album's opening song finds him disconsolately lamenting to his former lover, "you left me in the dark" | The album's opening song finds him disconsolately lamenting to his former lover, ''"you left me in the dark."'' By the end he's rapturously declaring to the new woman in his life: ''"My darling you make everything seem right."'' Which is all very well when you're a teenager. But it's a bit undignified in a middle-aged man, isn't it? | ||
"The morbid consideration of whether the record exactly details my life isn't important," he says. "You can look ridiculous when you fall in love and there's a rapturous expression in some of the songs. But they are not happy-go-lucky. They are more about arriving at some kind of peace. I hope people will see something of their own lives reflected in it because it's not exactly unprecedented for people to move from a desolate place to a happier state." | "The morbid consideration of whether the record exactly details my life isn't important," he says. "You can look ridiculous when you fall in love and there's a rapturous expression in some of the songs. But they are not happy-go-lucky. They are more about arriving at some kind of peace. I hope people will see something of their own lives reflected in it because it's not exactly unprecedented for people to move from a desolate place to a happier state." | ||
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Does it seem paradoxical to parade his emotions so nakedly in the songs and then regard any further questions about his private life as an intrusion? "Of course people will have that curiosity if they know anything about you," he responds. "But real life is a lot more complicated than songs can ever be. No matter how good they are, songs can't be a literal recitation of life. They have to be crafted into coherence." | Does it seem paradoxical to parade his emotions so nakedly in the songs and then regard any further questions about his private life as an intrusion? "Of course people will have that curiosity if they know anything about you," he responds. "But real life is a lot more complicated than songs can ever be. No matter how good they are, songs can't be a literal recitation of life. They have to be crafted into coherence." | ||
Love or loathe the record, Costello has come a long way from the bitter and vengeful young punk of the late 1970s. Only one of his past four albums, last year's ''When I Was Cruel'', has been a collection of rock songs. Before that came ''For the Stars'' — an album with the soprano Anne Sofie von Otter — and ''Painted | Love or loathe the record, Costello has come a long way from the bitter and vengeful young punk of the late 1970s. Only one of his past four albums, last year's ''When I Was Cruel'', has been a collection of rock songs. Before that came ''For the Stars'' — an album with the soprano Anne Sofie von Otter — and ''Painted From Memory'', with Burt Bacharach. | ||
So just who does Costello think he is? "I'm an artist. That's what I do and it makes you selfish and self-absorbed and I have absolutely no embarrassment about that. People say I'm self-indulgent. Well of course. That's because I'm an artist." | So just who does Costello think he is? "I'm an artist. That's what I do and it makes you selfish and self-absorbed and I have absolutely no embarrassment about that. People say I'm self-indulgent. Well of course. That's because I'm an artist." | ||
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He admits he tailored his early abrasive style to get himself heard, but insists that punk's impact has been considerably over-stated. "The cultural annotators talk about the year of punk, but it was really the year of disco. In London they might have all been down the Roxy, but in Wakefield they were dancing around their handbags to the Bee Gees." | He admits he tailored his early abrasive style to get himself heard, but insists that punk's impact has been considerably over-stated. "The cultural annotators talk about the year of punk, but it was really the year of disco. In London they might have all been down the Roxy, but in Wakefield they were dancing around their handbags to the Bee Gees." | ||
As to his own current crooning style, he points out that even as early as "Alison," on his spiky debut album ''My Aim | As to his own current crooning style, he points out that even as early as "Alison," on his spiky debut album ''My Aim Is True'', many of his best-known songs were ballads. "I always thought that I was a ballad singer who can sing rock 'n' roll. I love to make a noise and I've got a powerful kind of voice that scares people to hell. But you can't do that with the songs on this album. They are very quiet and nonhistrionic and to use that other end of the dynamic range was great. | ||
"But I don't see why you have to give up one in order to do the other." | "But I don't see why you have to give up one in order to do the other." | ||
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'''''North'' is released by Deutsche Grammophon. Elvis Costello plays Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on October 7, Newcastle Opera House (Oct 8), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (Oct 10), London Festival Hall (Oct 11) and Birmingham Symphony Hall (November 7) | '''''North'' is released by Deutsche Grammophon. Elvis Costello plays Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on October 7, Newcastle Opera House (Oct 8), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (Oct 10), London Festival Hall (Oct 11) and Birmingham Symphony Hall (November 7) | ||
{{tags}}[[North]] {{-}} [[Steve Nieve]] {{-}} [[Concert 2003-10-07 Glasgow|Glasgow]] {{-}} [[Concert 2003-10-08 Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle upon Tyne]] {{-}} [[Concert 2003-10-10 Manchester|Manchester]] {{-}} [[Concert 2003-10-11 London|London]] {{-}} [[Concert 2003-11-07 Birmingham|Birmingham]] {{-}} [[A Midsummer Night's Dream]] {{-}} [[London Symphony Orchestra]] {{-}} [[Cait O'Riordan]] {{-}} [[Diana Krall]] {{-}} [[You Left Me In The Dark]] {{-}} [[Can You Be True?]] {{-}} [[When I Was Cruel]] {{-}} [[For The Stars]] {{-}} [[Anne Sofie von Otter]] {{-}} [[Painted From Memory]] {{-}} [[Burt Bacharach]] {{-}} [[Bee Gees]] {{-}} [[Alison]] {{-}} [[My Aim Is True]] {{-}} [[Shipbuilding]] {{-}} [[Tramp The Dirt Down]] {{-}} [[Margaret Thatcher]] {{-}} [[Deutsche Grammophon]] | |||
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{{Bibliography notes header}} | {{Bibliography notes header}} | ||
{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | |||
|prev = London Times, September 12, 2003 | |||
|next = London Times, October 13, 2003 | |||
}} | |||
'''The Times, October 3, 2003 | '''The Times, October 3, 2003 | ||
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Latest revision as of 01:41, 24 November 2022
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