Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2009: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> | <center><h3> Elvis Costello at the Greek Theatre </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Randy Lewis</center> | <center> Randy Lewis </center> | ||
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'''He delivers a freshly inspired performance with his new band for his latest work, ''Secret, Profane & Sugarcane'', and also generates some musical sparks with opening act Lucinda Williams. | |||
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It's a funny thing in the world of rock music, but for some artists to get creatively amped up, it's necessary to pull the plug. | It's a funny thing in the world of rock music, but for some artists to get creatively amped up, it's necessary to pull the plug. | ||
It worked for | It worked for Bob Dylan, who returned to the wellspring of acoustic folk music in a couple of early-'90s albums before reasserting full command of his songwriting mastery in 1997's ''Time Out of Mind'', a musical renaissance from which he's never looked back. | ||
It worked for | It worked for Bruce Springsteen when he put the E Street Band on hiatus and assembled the Sessions Band to mine the richness of American folk and gospel influences in ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions'' album in 2006. | ||
And it has been working wonders for Elvis Costello with his latest work, | And it has been working wonders for Elvis Costello with his latest work, ''[[Secret, Profane & Sugarcane]]'', from which he drew generously Tuesday at the Greek Theatre in his gloriously energized return to Los Angeles. | ||
If only every artist looking for a jolt of inspiration could snap his or her fingers and go out on the road with an extraordinary ensemble like the band that's backing Costello on this tour, which also incorporated cornerstone songs from throughout his prolific 32-year recording career. | If only every artist looking for a jolt of inspiration could snap his or her fingers and go out on the road with an extraordinary ensemble like the band that's backing Costello on this tour, which also incorporated cornerstone songs from throughout his prolific 32-year recording career. | ||
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The key Nashville-based musicians who played on the album are also with him live: dobro master [[Jerry Douglas]], ace fiddler [[Stuart Duncan]], mandolinist [[Mike Compton]], bassist [[Dennis Crouch]], accordionist [[Jeff Taylor]] and singer-guitarist (and crack songwriter in his own right) [[Jim Lauderdale]]. | The key Nashville-based musicians who played on the album are also with him live: dobro master [[Jerry Douglas]], ace fiddler [[Stuart Duncan]], mandolinist [[Mike Compton]], bassist [[Dennis Crouch]], accordionist [[Jeff Taylor]] and singer-guitarist (and crack songwriter in his own right) [[Jim Lauderdale]]. | ||
If that lineup didn't generate enough sparks on its own, Costello also trotted out opening act [[Lucinda Williams]], whom he lauded as "America's greatest songwriter," drolly adding "and my favorite female vocalist I'm not married to," thereby saving himself from any domestic disputes when he gets back home to his wife, | If that lineup didn't generate enough sparks on its own, Costello also trotted out opening act [[Lucinda Williams]], whom he lauded as "America's greatest songwriter," drolly adding "and my favorite female vocalist I'm not married to," thereby saving himself from any domestic disputes when he gets back home to his wife, Diana Krall, who comes to Los Angeles for two performances at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend. | ||
Their duet on Williams' recent "[[Jailhouse Tears]]" was roots country at its dysfunctional best and that curiously rare breed of song that's actually a dialogue rather than merely a vehicle that allows two voices to harmonize. | Their duet on Williams' recent "[[Jailhouse Tears]]" was roots country at its dysfunctional best and that curiously rare breed of song that's actually a dialogue rather than merely a vehicle that allows two voices to harmonize. | ||
Costello handled the part of the superficially repentant addict/loser boyfriend, "I'll prove it to you somehow / I'm done with every bit / Look at me I'm clean now," to which Williams shot back: "You're so full of [it]." Caustic as the song's exchanges are, Williams could barely refrain from laughing as she shared them with her delighted foil. | Costello handled the part of the superficially repentant addict/loser boyfriend, ''"I'll prove it to you somehow / I'm done with every bit / Look at me I'm clean now,"'' to which Williams shot back: ''"You're so full of [it]."'' Caustic as the song's exchanges are, Williams could barely refrain from laughing as she shared them with her delighted foil. | ||
It dropped in perfectly amid Costello's own songs of life's clueless, shady, defiant or downright evil characters, each of which he inhabited with great zeal. | It dropped in perfectly amid Costello's own songs of life's clueless, shady, defiant or downright evil characters, each of which he inhabited with great zeal. | ||
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Early on he offered the album's leadoff track, "[[Down Among The Wines And Spirits|Down Among the Wines and Spirits]]," a locale he elaborates on as "where a man gets what he merits." And he practically gloated in "[[She Was No Good]]," a tawdry tale of an entertainer's life rooted in the story of European singing star Jenny Lind's first tour to the U.S. in the mid-19th century. | Early on he offered the album's leadoff track, "[[Down Among The Wines And Spirits|Down Among the Wines and Spirits]]," a locale he elaborates on as "where a man gets what he merits." And he practically gloated in "[[She Was No Good]]," a tawdry tale of an entertainer's life rooted in the story of European singing star Jenny Lind's first tour to the U.S. in the mid-19th century. | ||
"[[Sulphur To Sugarcane|Sulfur to Sugarcane]]," a lascivious journey to various ports of call around the country | "[[Sulphur To Sugarcane|Sulfur to Sugarcane]]," a lascivious journey to various ports of call around the country — "the women in Poughkeepsie take their clothes off when they're tipsy" — has quickly become nothing short of a show-stopper in his performances. | ||
Costello applies a mishmash of songwriting styles to the themes he taps on the new album, from art song to Appalachian-style narrative, that sometimes leaves the recording feeling slightly disjointed. But together with the reconfigured versions of other selections from his repertoire, among them "[[(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes|(The Angels Want to Wear My) Red Shoes]]," "[[Blame It On Cain|Blame It on Cain]]," "[[Everyday I Write The Book|Everyday I Write the Book]]," they melded beautifully in concert. | Costello applies a mishmash of songwriting styles to the themes he taps on the new album, from art song to Appalachian-style narrative, that sometimes leaves the recording feeling slightly disjointed. But together with the reconfigured versions of other selections from his repertoire, among them "[[(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes|(The Angels Want to Wear My) Red Shoes]]," "[[Blame It On Cain|Blame It on Cain]]," "[[Everyday I Write The Book|Everyday I Write the Book]]," they melded beautifully in concert. | ||
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'''Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2009 | '''Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2009 | ||
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[[Randy Lewis]] reviews Elvis Costello | [[Randy Lewis]] reviews Elvis Costello & [[The Sugarcanes]] with [[Lucinda Williams]] and [[T-Bone Burnett]], Tuesday, [[Concert 2009-08-18 Los Angeles|August 18, 2009]], Greek Theatre, Los Angeles. | ||
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[[Image:2009-08- | [[Image:2009-08-19 Los Angeles Times photo 01 rd.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
<small>Photo | <br><small>Photo by [[Ricardo DeArata]] / Los Angeles Times.</small> | ||
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times Wikipedia:Los Angeles Times] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times Wikipedia:Los Angeles Times] | ||
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[[Category:Los Angeles Times| Los Angeles Times 2009-08-19]] | [[Category:Los Angeles Times| Los Angeles Times 2009-08-19]] | ||
[[Category:Newspaper articles | [[Category:Newspaper articles]] | ||
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Revision as of 23:31, 25 August 2015
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