Melody Maker, February 22, 1986: Difference between revisions
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After the unfortunate over-achieving that riddled the contents of his last two addled projects, Costello has taken matters firmly in hand. Of the album's 15 songs, 12 are superb and the other three aren't totally indifferent. Meanwhile, as the election of T{{nb}}Bone Burnett as producer has proved to be a most providential manoeuvre, if only because Burnett clearly has an exact fix on exactly what ''this'' man and ''these'' songs require for maximum effect in all aesthetic regions. | After the unfortunate over-achieving that riddled the contents of his last two addled projects, Costello has taken matters firmly in hand. Of the album's 15 songs, 12 are superb and the other three aren't totally indifferent. Meanwhile, as the election of T{{nb}}Bone Burnett as producer has proved to be a most providential manoeuvre, if only because Burnett clearly has an exact fix on exactly what ''this'' man and ''these'' songs require for maximum effect in all aesthetic regions. | ||
Recorded strictly live in the studio with a variety of session pros (the principals range from Elvis Presley's TCB nucleus — Messrs Tutt, Scheff and the ubiquitous James Burton on guitar — plus Hall | Recorded strictly live in the studio with a variety of session pros (the principals range from Elvis Presley's TCB nucleus — Messrs Tutt, Scheff and the ubiquitous James Burton on guitar — plus Hall & Oates' trojan rhythm section, as well as superb jazzbos Ray Brown and Earl Palmer), the album as a whole sounds remarkably cohesive, while Costello's formidable pipes have never sounded better. The accent is firmly slanted towards ''acoustic'' backdrops, allowing Costello's melodic prowess the breathing space that had been all but completely eroded by a prior fixation with twisting the music to sound more and more reflective of the lyrics' already well-warped perceptions. | ||
This is all most welcome, because the lyrical thrust of ''KOA'', although it's always rash to generalise about Costello's stream of verbiage, paces the listener through a remarkable shedding of skins, the bidding of fond farewells to a persona its creator now views as ''"a good idea at the time…. Now I'm a brilliant mistake."'' In part, the album publically lays to rest the spectre of "Elvis Costello" after nine years of living a life where finally ''"it becomes a force of habit / if it moves you fuck it, if doesn't move you stab it"''. The funeral scenario of "Suit Of Lights" — the only track featuring The Attractions — is clearly the public burial of "Elvis Costello, media invention," just as on the aforementioned "Brilliant Mistake," he in part exorcises the illusions of the dreams and success he has himself lived through. | This is all most welcome, because the lyrical thrust of ''KOA'', although it's always rash to generalise about Costello's stream of verbiage, paces the listener through a remarkable shedding of skins, the bidding of fond farewells to a persona its creator now views as ''"a good idea at the time…. Now I'm a brilliant mistake."'' In part, the album publically lays to rest the spectre of "Elvis Costello" after nine years of living a life where finally ''"it becomes a force of habit / if it moves you fuck it, if doesn't move you stab it"''. The funeral scenario of "Suit Of Lights" — the only track featuring The Attractions — is clearly the public burial of "Elvis Costello, media invention," just as on the aforementioned "Brilliant Mistake," he in part exorcises the illusions of the dreams and success he has himself lived through. | ||
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Declan MacManus, meantimes is alive and in steaming form; not exactly redeemed, but in matters of love and illusion, an older, wiser, and more compassionate figure. It's clearly MacManus, for instance, reminiscing about his grandfather and musing about WW2's GI brides on the wonderful "American Without Tears"; similarly it's MacManus portraying the officious soldier and his much coveted sister — the central characters of "Sleep Of The Just" — with great poignancy and not a little compassion. | Declan MacManus, meantimes is alive and in steaming form; not exactly redeemed, but in matters of love and illusion, an older, wiser, and more compassionate figure. It's clearly MacManus, for instance, reminiscing about his grandfather and musing about WW2's GI brides on the wonderful "American Without Tears"; similarly it's MacManus portraying the officious soldier and his much coveted sister — the central characters of "Sleep Of The Just" — with great poignancy and not a little compassion. | ||
Most striking, perhaps, is Declan MacManus recalling aspects of his Liverpudlian childhood in some ersatz Catholic ghetto that | Most striking, perhaps, is Declan MacManus recalling aspects of his Liverpudlian childhood in some ersatz Catholic ghetto that provides ''KOA'' with its most chillingly potent song, "Little Palaces." Here, a study of ''"the sedate homes of England"'' where ''"you knock the kids about a bit / because they've got your name / and you knock the kids about a bit / until they do the same"'' transcends time and location. The "little palaces" are everywhere throughout this unfriendly land of ours and hearing that voice, those extraordinary lyrics, you remember — God, Elvis Costello ne Declan MacManus, is still this blighted isle's finest songwriter, a force, who at his best, is simply beyond peer. | ||
There are so many things I've not had a chance to mention: Ron Tutt's ricocheting percussion on "The Big Light," Ray Brown's immaculate double bass and Earl Palmer's sensuous brush-strokes on the wondrous "Poisoned Rose," Los Lobos' David Hidalgo's harmony vocal on "Lovable," Costello's own superb harmonies on "Brilliant Mistake," the excellence of songs like "I'll Wear It Proudly" and "Our Little Angel." | There are so many things I've not had a chance to mention: Ron Tutt's ricocheting percussion on "The Big Light," Ray Brown's immaculate double bass and Earl Palmer's sensuous brush-strokes on the wondrous "Poisoned Rose," Los Lobos' David Hidalgo's harmony vocal on "Lovable," Costello's own superb harmonies on "Brilliant Mistake," the excellence of songs like "I'll Wear It Proudly" and "Our Little Angel." |
Revision as of 00:08, 15 July 2021
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