Melody Maker, March 16, 1985: Difference between revisions
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I don't know specifically whether it was this grim knowledge that fuelled Costello's performance here, but at the Logan Hall on Saturday night, he seemed utterly consumed by the kind of articulate rage one remembers so vividly horn has very earliest appearances: mind you, he probably needed to tic at his best to avoid being upstaged by the rest of the bill. | I don't know specifically whether it was this grim knowledge that fuelled Costello's performance here, but at the Logan Hall on Saturday night, he seemed utterly consumed by the kind of articulate rage one remembers so vividly horn has very earliest appearances: mind you, he probably needed to tic at his best to avoid being upstaged by the rest of the bill. | ||
The Men They Couldn't Hang were a revelation | The Men They Couldn't Hang were a revelation and their thrilling version of "Iron Masters" was simply heartstopping. It was matched head-on for emotional impact by the South Wales Miners' Choir, whose moving, dignified performance threatened to leave the house knee-deep in Kleenex. The old lump in the throat had barely cleared when Billy Bragg appeared to deliver a scorching broadside that climaxed with the incendiary "Between The Wars" and a fine new song, "Tomes Like These": more on Bragg In next week's paper. | ||
Costello led The Attractions into the spotlight for the first time in over four months dressed like a dandy going to war, in an outsize Crolla jacket and fatigue trousers. From the careening opening salvo of "All You Thought Of Was Betrayal," the first of six new songs in the set, it was clear that this was going to be a performance of vintage power and persuasion. As they cleaved through a splitting, crackling programme it was dramatically obvious that The Attractions had fully regained the sensational, electrifying edge that had recently deserted them. There was no evidence here of the meandering indifference of last year's Hammersmith Palms shows. This was a furiously lethal outing, designed principally around brilliantly resurrected classics from the Costello songbook — "No Action," "Watching The Detectives," "You Belong To Me," "Less Than Zero," even a swooning "Alison" — and typically astute covers, notably an inspired reading of Merle Haggard's "No Reason To Quit." | Costello led The Attractions into the spotlight for the first time in over four months dressed like a dandy going to war, in an outsize Crolla jacket and fatigue trousers. From the careening opening salvo of "All You Thought Of Was Betrayal," the first of six new songs in the set, it was clear that this was going to be a performance of vintage power and persuasion. As they cleaved through a splitting, crackling programme it was dramatically obvious that The Attractions had fully regained the sensational, electrifying edge that had recently deserted them. There was no evidence here of the meandering indifference of last year's Hammersmith Palms shows. This was a furiously lethal outing, designed principally around brilliantly resurrected classics from the Costello songbook — "No Action," "Watching The Detectives," "You Belong To Me," "Less Than Zero," even a swooning "Alison" — and typically astute covers, notably an inspired reading of Merle Haggard's "No Reason To Quit." |
Revision as of 22:20, 18 September 2019
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