Melody Maker, March 11, 1978: Difference between revisions
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Nick Lowe's production is easily his finest hour: a firm but sympathetic treatment of the songs, and embellishments that are carefully considered. It brings Elvis' sneering vocal into dramatic close-up — his voice throughout has tremendous presence — as the Attractions, with characteristic razorblade cool, slice across the mix. | Nick Lowe's production is easily his finest hour: a firm but sympathetic treatment of the songs, and embellishments that are carefully considered. It brings Elvis' sneering vocal into dramatic close-up — his voice throughout has tremendous presence — as the Attractions, with characteristic razorblade cool, slice across the mix. | ||
The themes of infidelity and humiliation are pursued with relentless vigour and imagination. "Hand In Hand" — which has a backward tape fade-in redolent of | The themes of infidelity and humiliation are pursued with relentless vigour and imagination. "Hand In Hand" — which has a backward tape fade-in redolent of 10cc and a gorgeously rich and infectious melody — seems to propose love as a criminal conspiracy: (''"Don't ask me to apologise, I won't ask you to forgive me / If I'm gonna go down, you're gonna come with me"''). | ||
The extraordinary "Living In Paradise" is set against a neurotic calypso backdrop, with Elvis phrasing his lyrics with a flippant, disquieting glee. The song unfolds as an epic of suspicion, jealousy and revenge, replete with the kind of dangerous images that elevated "I'm Not Angry" to such chilling peaks: | The extraordinary "Living In Paradise" is set against a neurotic calypso backdrop, with Elvis phrasing his lyrics with a flippant, disquieting glee. The song unfolds as an epic of suspicion, jealousy and revenge, replete with the kind of dangerous images that elevated "I'm Not Angry" to such chilling peaks: | ||
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Past the polluted river, past the swamps, the marshes by which the numerous chemical plants spew expensive poisons into the water and air — these killer factories, which at night appear like erector set ocean liners shrouded in death-smoke — the rutted and dreamless New Jersey super-highway led us to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, insidiously located only 40 minutes out of New York, beyond the wisps of the network of belching pipes. | Past the polluted river, past the swamps, the marshes by which the numerous chemical plants spew expensive poisons into the water and air — these killer factories, which at night appear like erector set ocean liners shrouded in death-smoke — the rutted and dreamless New Jersey super-highway led us to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, insidiously located only 40 minutes out of New York, beyond the wisps of the network of belching pipes. | ||
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There were no seats, but despite strong efforts by both bands, everyone remained seated on the floor. Willie Alexander's set was received with increasing consternation. It was like watching a comedian tell jokes that no one understood. The students drank cheap wine (which costs as much as decent wine, only it's heavily promoted to these knee-jerks), wore goose-down vests over flannel shirts and combat boots, and had no idea what skinny Willie Alexander was doing rubbing his backside up and down on the mic-stand. | There were no seats, but despite strong efforts by both bands, everyone remained seated on the floor. Willie Alexander's set was received with increasing consternation. It was like watching a comedian tell jokes that no one understood. The students drank cheap wine (which costs as much as decent wine, only it's heavily promoted to these knee-jerks), wore goose-down vests over flannel shirts and combat boots, and had no idea what skinny Willie Alexander was doing rubbing his backside up and down on the mic-stand. | ||
The Boom Boom | The Boom Boom Band did their damnedest, but Willie just violated the Joisey sensibility. To a degree, the audience could have been reacting to something I felt about Willie — that to a degree he's too much of a parodist of rockers past and not all that original — but I think he was given a cool reception because the audience found him rude. He'll go over very well in Britain, I'm sure. There's an innate intelligence working up there, so Willie will have his moments. | ||
Costello was treated with more familiarity, but it wasn't until 30 or 40 minutes into his set that Elvis finally could not handle playing to a bad oil painting anymore. "This isn't ''King Lear'', you know | Costello was treated with more familiarity, but it wasn't until 30 or 40 minutes into his set that Elvis finally could not handle playing to a bad oil painting anymore. "This isn't ''King Lear'', you know," he told the crowd of 700. "We're not in the theatre. Now get up!" And the knee-jerks responded. As usual (it seems), Costello played a wholly different set, in which he not only mixed up the order and selection of songs, but also fiddled with the tempo and vocal arrangements of several of his better recorded numbers. | ||
His command of the crowd was evidenced not by the volume of their response but by the moments of total silence he managed to reach when he hushed the band and just baited the fans with a long, expressionless stare. Stand-out numbers in Costello's set were a slow version of "Less Than Zero," and two new pieces, "You're Not Another Mouth In The Lipstick Vogue," and "This Year's Girl," both rousing rockers. | His command of the crowd was evidenced not by the volume of their response but by the moments of total silence he managed to reach when he hushed the band and just baited the fans with a long, expressionless stare. Stand-out numbers in Costello's set were a slow version of "Less Than Zero," and two new pieces, "You're Not Another Mouth In The Lipstick Vogue," and "This Year's Girl," both rousing rockers. |
Latest revision as of 22:10, 29 April 2024
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