Musician, March 1986: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3>The | <center><h3> The last Elvis Costello interview you'll ever need{{nb}}to{{nb}}read </h3></center> | ||
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<center>Bill Flanagan </center> | <center> Bill Flanagan </center> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
When Elvis Costello called his last album ''Goodbye Cruel World'' he wasn't kidding. After eight years he was sick of the whole pop star deal. For the rest of 1984 he played solo acoustic shows, turning his back on rock 'n' roll. 1985 was not easier. After a decade of ups and downs he and his wife Mary agreed to divorce. Relations with his non-working band, the Attractions, grew strained. It was just time to lay the whole Elvis Costello thing to rest. So he went and legally changed his name back to Declan Patrick McManus. He added one | When Elvis Costello called his last album ''Goodbye Cruel World'' he wasn't kidding. After eight years he was sick of the whole pop star deal. For the rest of 1984 he played solo acoustic shows, turning his back on rock 'n' roll. 1985 was not easier. After a decade of ups and downs he and his wife Mary agreed to divorce. Relations with his non-working band, the Attractions, grew strained. It was just time to lay the whole Elvis Costello thing to rest. So he went and legally changed his name back to Declan Patrick McManus. He added one more name — Aloysius — in honor of the years lost to the character he'd created and who had taken over his life. | ||
"I don't know why I ever changed it in the first place," Declan said. "Maybe it had something to do with actually believing the myth. It had something to do with actually believing I was in the wacky world of pop music. It happened too quickly to think of the implications. There was only my parents saying, 'That's a bit odd.' I can't see escaping it too easily. When people write about me there'll always be a dash between the names." | "I don't know why I ever changed it in the first place," Declan said. "Maybe it had something to do with actually believing the myth. It had something to do with actually believing I was in the wacky world of pop music. It happened too quickly to think of the implications. There was only my parents saying, 'That's a bit odd.' I can't see escaping it too easily. When people write about me there'll always be a dash between the names." | ||
There were some positive signs. T-Bone Burnett, opening act on Costello's solo tours, became a good friend and the two songwriters collaborated on an exuberant 45 called "The People's Limousine." Better still, Declan fell in love with Cait O'Riordan of the Celtic punk group the Pogues. | There were some positive signs. [[T Bone Burnett|T-Bone Burnett]], opening act on Costello's solo tours, became a good friend and the two songwriters collaborated on an exuberant 45 called "The People's Limousine." Better still, Declan fell in love with [[Cait O'Riordan]] of the Celtic punk group [[the Pogues]]. | ||
I first caught up with Declan, Cait and T-Bone in London in mid-'85, where Costello and Burnett put on a two-man "Coward Brothers" show in a small theatre. Spirits were high early on, but crashed when the Attractions — alerted by sour Costello roadies — confronted Declan with the accusation that he planned to dump them and record his next (Burnett-produced) LP with American session musicians. As it turned out that wasn't quite the case — the Attractions would be included among the players on the new record. But it would not be an Elvis Costello & the Attractions album. | I first caught up with Declan, Cait and T-Bone in London in mid-'85, where Costello and Burnett put on a two-man "Coward Brothers" show in a [[Concert 1985-07-07 London|small theatre]]. Spirits were high early on, but crashed when the Attractions — alerted by sour Costello roadies — confronted Declan with the accusation that he planned to dump them and record his next (Burnett-produced) LP with American session musicians. As it turned out that wasn't quite the case — the Attractions would be included among the players on the new record. But it would not be an Elvis Costello & the Attractions album. | ||
"The record will come out under the name 'The Costello Show,'" Declan explained to me later. "It was almost 'The McManus Gang.' I tried to play down the whole thing. I want it to be gradually assimilated. Otherwise the trash press in England, the ''Daily Mirror'' and the 'Sun', will make a gimmick story out of it. I've been an oddball to them for ten years. I'll be even more of an oddball for changing from one stupid name back to the stupid name I was born with. | "The record will come out under the name 'The Costello Show,'" Declan explained to me later. "It was almost 'The McManus Gang.' I tried to play down the whole thing. I want it to be gradually assimilated. Otherwise the trash press in England, the ''Daily Mirror'' and the ''Sun'', will make a gimmick story out of it. I've been an oddball to them for ten years. I'll be even more of an oddball for changing from one stupid name back to the stupid name I was born with. | ||
The morning after we met in London, history-buff Elvis/Declan and his ten-year-old son traveled to Russia for a short holiday. Unfortunately, Dad forgot about the American dollars he'd stuffed in the bottom of his bag during a U.S. visit. The Soviet customs commissars pulled out that wad and as quick as you could say "currency smuggler" yanked Declan off to an interrogation room. As the door closed the protesting songwriter saw his boy standing alone in the middle of the Ellis Island of the Evil Empire. | The morning after we met in London, history-buff Elvis/Declan and his ten-year-old son traveled to Russia for a short holiday. Unfortunately, Dad forgot about the American dollars he'd stuffed in the bottom of his bag during a U.S. visit. The Soviet customs commissars pulled out that wad and as quick as you could say "currency smuggler" yanked Declan off to an interrogation room. As the door closed the protesting songwriter saw his boy standing alone in the middle of the Ellis Island of the Evil Empire. | ||
That mess got cleared up just in time for Declan to get back to Britain and sing "All You Need Is Love" at Live Aid. | That mess got cleared up just in time for Declan to get back to Britain and sing "All You Need Is Love" at [[Concert 1985-07-13 London|Live Aid]]. | ||
A few months later Declan was in Hollywood. T-Bone and recording engineer Larry Hirsch came into the TV lounge at Sunset Sound to tell him they thought they had a final mix of "You're So Lovable," an uptempo number the former Costello co-wrote with new fiancee Cait. Heading for the mixing board, Declan displayed an impressive knowledge of the technical side of record making, pinpointing an elusive echo that seemed to be on the vocal track as the fallout from an effect on the guitar. He wanted it all as dry as could be. | A few months later Declan was in Hollywood. T-Bone and recording engineer Larry Hirsch came into the TV lounge at Sunset Sound to tell him they thought they had a final mix of "You're So Lovable," an uptempo number the former Costello co-wrote with new fiancee Cait. Heading for the mixing board, Declan displayed an impressive knowledge of the technical side of record making, pinpointing an elusive echo that seemed to be on the vocal track as the fallout from an effect on the guitar. He wanted it all as dry as could be. | ||
T-Bone said later, "I don't think anybody's realized yet how good he is. Because he came in on a trend that was part of a street movement in England. The guy can really sing, can really play, and can really write songs. For me one of the failings of his other records was that while the Attractions play the type of music they play brilliantly, to take them out of their idiom is really unfair to them. They end up sounding not as good as they really are. And most of this record was out of that idiom. This record is a break with his past. It's back to what he really cared about in music in the first place." | T-Bone said later, "I don't think anybody's realized yet how good he is. Because he came in on a trend that was part of a street movement in England. The guy can ''really'' sing, can ''really'' play, and can ''really'' write songs. For me one of the failings of his other records was that while the Attractions play the type of music they play brilliantly, to take them out of their idiom is really unfair to them. They end up sounding not as good as they really are. And most of this record was out of that idiom. This record is a break with his past. It's back to what he really cared about in music in the first place." | ||
For the new album Declan and Burnett wrote up a wish list of perfect players, ignoring voodoo warnings about the alleged incompatibility of diverse styles. T-Bone knew his way around different music scenes, and had no regard for what [[NRBQ]]'s Terry Adams calls the Musical Border Patrol. So the California Costello sessions mixed together jazz greats like [[Ray Brown]] and [[Earl Palmer]], the core of Elvis Presley's TCB Band ([[James Burton]], [[Jerry Scheff]], [[Ron Tutt]]), the Hall & Oates rhythm section, Southern hotshot [[Mitchell Froom]], L.A. session vet [[Jim Keltner]], and those perennial Attractions, who rolled into town late in the project and played the pants off "[[Suit Of Lights]]" — a sort of requiem for Rhinestone Cowboys and other Last Year's Models. "That song's about the dubious embrace of celebrity," Declan explained. "The first verse came from seeing my father play to a very rude audience." Yes, the elder McManus was a musician, too. | For the new album Declan and Burnett wrote up a wish list of perfect players, ignoring voodoo warnings about the alleged incompatibility of diverse styles. T-Bone knew his way around different music scenes, and had no regard for what [[NRBQ]]'s Terry Adams calls the Musical Border Patrol. So the California Costello sessions mixed together jazz greats like [[Ray Brown]] and [[Earl Palmer]], the core of Elvis Presley's TCB Band ([[James Burton]], [[Jerry Scheff]], [[Ron Tutt]]), the Hall & Oates rhythm section, Southern hotshot [[Mitchell Froom]], L.A. session vet [[Jim Keltner]], and those perennial Attractions, who rolled into town late in the project and played the pants off "[[Suit Of Lights]]" — a sort of requiem for Rhinestone Cowboys and other Last Year's Models. "That song's about the dubious embrace of celebrity," Declan explained. "The first verse came from seeing my father play to a very rude audience." Yes, the elder McManus was a musician, too. | ||
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Which is exactly the sort of pretentious rock criticism Declan McManus hates. When we finally sat down in New York in early winter to start what became a series of interviews, the man the world still calls Elvis admitted, "Before you came over Cait said, 'Tell Bill that how you write songs is, I just say mad things and you put them down.' | Which is exactly the sort of pretentious rock criticism Declan McManus hates. When we finally sat down in New York in early winter to start what became a series of interviews, the man the world still calls Elvis admitted, "Before you came over Cait said, 'Tell Bill that how you write songs is, I just say mad things and you put them down.' | ||
"There comes a point," he said, "where you recognize one thing is what you do for a living. Then you play that game of musical chairs and charades for a while. It's sort of like, if ''Goodbye Cruel World'' was a fudged attempt at a full stop, this album is a colon." We both burst out laughing and he added, "How's that for pretentious?" | "There comes a point," he said, "where you recognize one thing is what you do for a living. Then you play that game of musical chairs and charades for a while. It's sort of like, if ''Goodbye Cruel World'' was a fudged attempt at a full stop, this album is a colon." We both burst out laughing and he added, "How's ''that'' for pretentious?" | ||
'''MUSICIAN:''' There used to be a lot of one-upmanship in your writing. This album is a lot more generous. | '''MUSICIAN:''' There used to be a lot of one-upmanship in your writing. This album is a lot more generous. | ||
'''COSTELLO:''' There's not an easy answer for that. I think a lot of the one-upmanship, a lot of the game-playing, was part of the persona. The reason I've changed my name back is to divorce myself from that. I mean, I'm always going to be known as Elvis Costello. Columbia is never going to stand for me abruptly abandoning the name. Also, I don't want it to become a statement, like becoming Robert Velline [Bobby Vee] or John Cougar Mellencamp. I mean, it's a simple thing. I want my life back. This Elvis Costello thing is a bit of a joke really. He doesn't exist. Except in the imaginations of people who've got the records and come to the concerts and wait for me to throw some stupid tantrum. It came out of insecurity. Some of it was real and some of it was playing with reality and some of it was playful. | '''COSTELLO:''' There's not an easy answer for that. I think a lot of the one-upmanship, a lot of the game-playing, was part of the persona. The reason I've changed my name back is to divorce myself from that. I mean, I'm always going to be known as Elvis Costello. Columbia is never going to stand for me abruptly abandoning the name. Also, I don't want it to become a ''statement'', like becoming Robert Velline [Bobby Vee] or John Cougar Mellencamp. I mean, it's a simple thing. I want my life back. This Elvis Costello thing is a bit of a joke really. He doesn't exist. Except in the imaginations of people who've got the records and come to the concerts and wait for me to throw some stupid tantrum. It came out of insecurity. Some of it was real and some of it was playing with reality and some of it was ''playful''. | ||
But this record is more straightforward, there is more generosity. There's more love in this. My last couple of records were kind of dishonest, really. I think there is an honest person lurking in them somewhere. It's hard to talk about this without it coming out sounding pompous. | But this record is more straightforward, there is more generosity. There's more love in this. My last couple of records were kind of dishonest, really. I think there is an honest person lurking in them somewhere. It's hard to talk about this without it coming out sounding pompous. | ||
"Generosity" is a word that flew around a lot. It's something to do with T-Bone's influence. It's unusual to have a producer who prods at your motive in writing and singing the song, who keeps reminding you, "Think of the song!" Not in the sense of "Don't put strings on it" or "It'll be alright when we get the horns on." This was more like making a method record. There would be times in recording when we'd get stuck and no matter who we had in the studio, it would start to sound like a Tom Petty record or something: like a really good modern pop record with all the right sounds, but kind of flat. Those days when it went wrong we'd go back to the hotel and sometimes I'd suggest, "I'd better re-write it." T-Bone would go, "No, there's nothing wrong with the song. We agreed the song was good. You're not singing it right." It was always down to me. It's being generous with what you've got; giving the song enough space to actually be what you originally intended, instead of trying to turn it into something else. Which is what I used to do. With the Attractions, if we didn't get a song in four takes I'd twist a couple of things around at the last minute, and instead of it being a stroke of brilliance I'd completely fuck up. | "Generosity" is a word that flew around a lot. It's something to do with T-Bone's influence. It's unusual to have a producer who prods at your ''motive'' in writing and singing the song, who keeps reminding you, "Think of the song!" Not in the sense of "Don't put strings on it" or "It'll be alright when we get the horns on." This was more like making a ''method'' record. There would be times in recording when we'd get stuck and no matter who we had in the studio, it would start to sound like a Tom Petty record or something: like a really good modern pop record with all the right sounds, but kind of flat. Those days when it went wrong we'd go back to the hotel and sometimes I'd suggest, "I'd better re-write it." T-Bone would go, "No, there's nothing wrong with the song. We agreed the song was good. You're not singing it right." It was always down to me. It's being generous with what you've got; giving the song enough space to actually be what you originally intended, instead of trying to turn it into something else. Which is what I used to do. With the Attractions, if we didn't get a song in four takes I'd twist a couple of things around at the last minute, and instead of it being a stroke of brilliance I'd completely fuck up. | ||
Whereas T-Bone was saying, "Remember what the point was. Why did you write it?" People don't often do that. Producers obviously don't do that enough. It's an unusual kind of production in that sense. | Whereas T-Bone was saying, "Remember what the point was. Why did you write it?" People don't often do that. Producers obviously don't do that enough. It's an unusual kind of production in that sense. | ||
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'''MUSICIAN:''' How did you approach working with such a range of musicians? | '''MUSICIAN:''' How did you approach working with such a range of musicians? | ||
'''COSTELLO:''' We started off with the TCB Band, which was perhaps the most daunting. Everybody was daunting to play with, but because they were Elvis Presley's band I wondered what they'd think of my using the name. But they were so easy-going and open-minded. It was very heart-warming. Ron Tutt made one little joke about it. | '''COSTELLO:''' We started off with the TCB Band, which was perhaps the most daunting. ''Everybody'' was daunting to play with, but because they were Elvis Presley's band I wondered what they'd think of my using the name. But they were so easy-going and open-minded. It was very heart-warming. Ron Tutt made one little joke about it. | ||
Perhaps the payoff to working with those guys — and with respect to any possible tension there might have been over the Elvis identity — was when I left the booth with only four strings left on my guitar while the band was still playing the end of "Glitter Gulch." As I passed Jerry | |||
Perhaps the payoff to working with those guys — and with respect to any possible tension there might have been over the Elvis identity — was when I left the booth with only four strings left on my guitar while the band was still playing the end of "Glitter Gulch." As I passed Jerry Scheff he said, "That kind of reminded me of playing with Elvis." My heart nearly stopped. I got just past him and he added, "Except with Elvis, the ''ballads'' were like that." | |||
T-Bone suggested that we don't keep secret what the songs were about. If we were attempting to make emotionally involved records, we had to let the musicians in on the secret. So first off we'd gather the musicians in the center of the studio and I'd play them the song on acoustic guitar. I'd even explain anything that was a little guarded in the lyric. Perhaps it's easier to talk openly to people who don't know you well. | T-Bone suggested that we don't keep secret what the songs were about. If we were attempting to make emotionally involved records, we had to let the musicians in on the secret. So first off we'd gather the musicians in the center of the studio and I'd play them the song on acoustic guitar. I'd even explain anything that was a little guarded in the lyric. Perhaps it's easier to talk openly to people who don't know you well. | ||
The Attractions played really good on "Suit Of Lights" and we got some other things in the can that will come out as B-sides.The band that got the most tracks on the record, | The Attractions played really good on "Suit Of Lights" and we got some other things in the can that will come out as B-sides.The band that got the most tracks on the record, the TCB Band, were also the people who recorded in the first weeks, so I'm not saying any one group of musicians were better than any others. I'm finding it a lot more fun to go in and do it like this, and the results seem to be better. Next year I might do something completely different. | ||
'''MUSICIAN:''' When you sing "I was a fine idea" — or ideal — "at the time / Now I'm a brilliant mistake," it sounds like a sadder, wiser sequel to your old notion of "This year's model." | '''MUSICIAN:''' When you sing "I was a fine idea" — or ideal — "at the time / Now I'm a brilliant mistake," it sounds like a sadder, wiser sequel to your old notion of "This year's model." | ||
'''COSTELLO:''' Yeah, it would be very arch not to have any recognition of mistakes. But not in the sack cloth and ashes sort of way that certain ex-members of the Beatles went through. You can do it with a little bit of humor. That song's an introduction to the record; a disclaimer, if you like, for everything else on there. It's not supposed to be some gigantic statement. It's not supposed to be confessional or anything, but there are things on the record that are quite true. There's no point in being coy and hiding behind a load of mannerisms any more.There's bits and pieces of a story going throughout which are not necessarily the pages of my life. | '''COSTELLO:''' Yeah, it would be very arch not to have any recognition of mistakes. But not in the sack cloth and ashes sort of way that certain ex-members of the Beatles went through. You can do it with a little bit of humor. That song's an introduction to the record; a disclaimer, if you like, for everything else on there. It's not supposed to be some gigantic statement. It's not supposed to be confessional or anything, but there are things on the record that are quite true. There's no point in being coy and hiding behind a load of mannerisms any more.There's bits and pieces of a story going throughout which are not necessarily the pages of my life. | ||
I've always tended to qualify in songs. I never wanted somebody to point and say, "What a naive position!" And I suppose in doing that I betrayed naivete in the long run. That's the irony of it in retrospect. It's only on the new record that I've written any songs that are completely straightforward. The older ones were always qualified, whether by the weight of songwriting technique necessary to write something like "The Only Flame In Town," or the obscurity, the convoluted writing of songs like "Kid About It" and "Man Out Of Time" — which are actually true songs. | "Brilliant Mistake" is a sad song, but it's also sort of funny. It's about America and it's about lost ambition, not lack of inspiration. It's about a disappointed or frustrated belief. It's a song that people are going to read wrong. One line in it is, "There's a trick they do with mirrors and with chemicals." It means celluloid and mirrors, movie cameras. It occurred to me the other day that people will think it's a reference to cocaine. I could have written a big song about America, like [[Paul Simon]]'s "[[American Tune]]." But I think "Brilliant Mistake" is more like "[[Peace Like A River]]," a personal thing in the face of a big disappointing artifice. | ||
I've always tended to ''qualify'' in songs. I never wanted somebody to point and say, "What a naive position!" And I suppose in doing that I betrayed naivete in the long run. That's the irony of it in retrospect. It's only on the new record that I've written any songs that are completely straightforward. The older ones were always qualified, whether by the weight of songwriting technique necessary to write something like "The Only Flame In Town," or the obscurity, the convoluted writing of songs like "Kid About It" and "Man Out Of Time" — which are actually true songs. | |||
'''MUSICIAN:''' "Alison" stood apart from the rest of your early work. Was that an attempt to be confessional? | '''MUSICIAN:''' "Alison" stood apart from the rest of your early work. Was that an attempt to be confessional? | ||
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On the first two albums there's a lot of what people took to be the "wimp" and "loser" thing. Because I was really anti the posturing of rock 'n' roll, the crotch-thrusting element of it, I tried to write the opposite of that. I am really grossly offended by Led Zeppelin, not only because they're total charlatans and thieves, but because it actually embarrasses me. I grew up being bludgeoned with Deep Purple and all that heavymetal shit. That was uppermost in my mind when I wrote "Miracle Man" and some of the other songs that seemed to be making some sort of myth out of the wimp. It wasn't a conscious thing of me trying to make a myth out of what people took me to be; it was more an attempt to redress the balance against the weight of tasteless songs. | On the first two albums there's a lot of what people took to be the "wimp" and "loser" thing. Because I was really anti the posturing of rock 'n' roll, the crotch-thrusting element of it, I tried to write the opposite of that. I am really grossly offended by Led Zeppelin, not only because they're total charlatans and thieves, but because it actually embarrasses me. I grew up being bludgeoned with Deep Purple and all that heavymetal shit. That was uppermost in my mind when I wrote "Miracle Man" and some of the other songs that seemed to be making some sort of myth out of the wimp. It wasn't a conscious thing of me trying to make a myth out of what people took me to be; it was more an attempt to redress the balance against the weight of tasteless songs. | ||
Two types of rock 'n' roll had become bankrupt to me. One was "Look at me, I've got a big hairy chest and a big willy!"and the other was the "Fuck me, I'm so sensitive" Jackson Browne school of seduction. They're both offensive and mawkish and neither has any real pride or confidence. Those songs on the first couple of records helped mold my persona, but to me there was a lot of humor in it. I was laughing at the alternatives. It was wanting to have another set of clichés because the old clichés were all worn out. | Two types of rock 'n' roll had become bankrupt to me. One was "Look at me, I've got a big hairy chest and a big willy!"and the other was the "Fuck me, I'm so sensitive" Jackson Browne school of seduction. They're both offensive and mawkish and neither has any real pride or confidence. Those songs on the first couple of records helped mold my ''persona'', but to me there was a lot of ''humor'' in it. I was laughing at the alternatives. It was wanting to have another set of clichés because the old clichés were all worn out. | ||
I had a lot of songs written before the first album came out. I wrote songs from the time I learned to play the guitar when I was about fifteen. I don't know why I did it; I didn't have any ambitions to be a professional musician. But I always wrote songs. I remember quite distinctly certain songs occurring tome when I was still working in a day job. I just wrote them down on the train on scraps of paper in my pocket — lines snatched out of nowhere. The first tape I touted around had about thirty songs on it. I think two of those songs ended upon the first album. All the rest were scrapped or remodeled. Once I had the opportunity to write an album I set about dismantling all the affected complexities of my songwriting. When you're not working for any audience you experiment with different styles. You say, "Can I write a song like such and such?" | I had a lot of songs written before the first album came out. I wrote songs from the time I learned to play the guitar when I was about fifteen. I don't know why I did it; I didn't have any ambitions to be a professional musician. But I always wrote songs. I remember quite distinctly certain songs occurring tome when I was still working in a day job. I just wrote them down on the train on scraps of paper in my pocket — lines snatched out of nowhere. The first tape I touted around had about thirty songs on it. I think two of those songs ended upon the first album. All the rest were scrapped or remodeled. Once I had the opportunity to write an album I set about dismantling all the affected complexities of my songwriting. When you're not working for any audience you experiment with different styles. You say, "Can I write a song like such and such?" | ||
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'''COSTELLO:''' That was one of the ones from the time I was sitting around saying "Can I write one like this?" There was a real idea behind it, but it was very stylized, very much after the fashion of a Robbie Robertson song. In live versions I would even put in a guitar break with the same sort of modulations he would get into — like in "Just Another Whistle Stop" where Robertson goes through a lot of lower modulations. Of course, it wouldn't come out anything like I planned; it probably sounded like Bob Quine on a bad night. | '''COSTELLO:''' That was one of the ones from the time I was sitting around saying "Can I write one like this?" There was a real idea behind it, but it was very stylized, very much after the fashion of a Robbie Robertson song. In live versions I would even put in a guitar break with the same sort of modulations he would get into — like in "Just Another Whistle Stop" where Robertson goes through a lot of lower modulations. Of course, it wouldn't come out anything like I planned; it probably sounded like Bob Quine on a bad night. | ||
A couple of the other songs on that album, like "Sneaky Feelings," were arranged after the style of Tamla/Motown, but you couldn't tell because I recorded them with Clover, a California bar band. | |||
We were learning a big stack of songs and they couldn't always remember the names. I wanted to do "Red Shoes" and they said, "Oh, you mean the one that sounds like the Byrds?"And I kind of blushed because it was obvious. As the song is about the compromise of age, I'd written it with something of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" in it. It needed that same kind of ringing sound. Whereas on "Waiting For The End Of The World" I had in mind the Velvet Underground. I don't think Clover had ever heard the Velvet Underground, so it came out sounding nothing like them, which was good. | A couple of the other songs on that album, like "Sneaky Feelings," were arranged after the style of Tamla/Motown, but you couldn't tell because I recorded them with [[Clover]], a California bar band. | ||
I was using yesterday's records as blueprints, as all pop music is. All the good pop | |||
We were learning a big stack of songs and they couldn't always remember the names. I wanted to do "Red Shoes" and they said, "Oh, you mean the one that sounds like [[the Byrds]]?" And I kind of blushed because it was obvious. As the song is about the compromise of age, I'd written it with something of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" in it. It needed that same kind of ringing sound. Whereas on "Waiting For The End Of The World" I had in mind the [[the Velvet Underground|Velvet Underground]]. I don't think Clover had ever heard the Velvet Underground, so it came out sounding nothing like them, which was good. | |||
I was using yesterday's records as blueprints, as all pop music is. All the good pop clichés had been written and there hadn't been any new ones for a while. I wanted to take some of the ready-made clichés that [[Gerry Goffin|Goffin]] & [[Carole King|King]] or [[Smokey Robinson]] would come up with and come up with my own photo-negative versions of them. Almost every song on my first album was an opposite — a diseased version — of another song. Like "No Dancing." | |||
'''MUSICIAN:''' When you say you dismantled the "affected complexities" of your songwriting for your first album, do you mean because of the punk climate in England at the time? | '''MUSICIAN:''' When you say you dismantled the "affected complexities" of your songwriting for your first album, do you mean because of the punk climate in England at the time? | ||
'''COSTELLO:''' I went out and got those records, the Pistols album and the Clash records, and I thought, "This is what's getting all the attention." I knew that the songs I'd written would sound really precocious, I knew they had a lot of American influences and that was very out of fashion. I thought I would just get dismissed out of hand. My accent on the first record sounds much more American than it does now. I can't get away from it; it's just the way I learned to sing. I suppose it's derived from the singers I really admired at the time — Rick Danko, Van Morrison, Randy Newman. It never occurred to me. That's why Johnny Rotten was so great: he was the first actual English rock 'n' roll singer. | '''COSTELLO:''' I went out and got those records, the [[The Sex Pistols|Pistols]] album and [[the Clash]] records, and I thought, "This is what's getting all the attention." I knew that the songs I'd written would sound really precocious, I knew they had a lot of American influences and that was very out of fashion. I thought I would just get dismissed out of hand. My accent on the first record sounds much more American than it does now. I can't get away from it; it's just the way I learned to sing. I suppose it's derived from the singers I really admired at the time — [[Rick Danko]], [[Van Morrison]], [[Randy Newman]]. It never occurred to me. That's why Johnny Rotten was so great: he was the first actual English rock 'n' roll singer. | ||
Given the opportunity to actually make a record and given the musical climate in England at the time, I thought my songs were going to sound very diffuse. So I scrapped most of the material, keeping only the songs that were the most jaggedy.Then I wrote a load more that were very concise. That's where that first album came from. And that meant I was an album ahead, 'cause I had songs that got dismantled or certain lyrics got used again. For about four years I was always an album ahead in terms of material. I always had a lot of songs on hand, which was quite useful because it meant I could discard a lot of things. | Given the opportunity to actually make a record and given the musical climate in England at the time, I thought my songs were going to sound very diffuse. So I scrapped most of the material, keeping only the songs that were the most jaggedy.Then I wrote a load more that were very concise. That's where that first album came from. And that meant I was an album ahead, 'cause I had songs that got dismantled or certain lyrics got used again. For about four years I was always an album ahead in terms of material. I always had a lot of songs on hand, which was quite useful because it meant I could discard a lot of things. | ||
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'''COSTELLO:''' The "Quisling Clinic" in "Green Shirt." There's a Quisling Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. Anything that sounds like it should be in quotes probably was. Those songs are actually not very well written. They're kind of fragmented. If you take the songs apart they don't actually make any sense.They don't say very much. It's more the intention with which they were said. That was my moment record. Probably the only one I will have because that was my pop star record.That's when I was a pop star in England for about ten minutes. I was self-conscious of that. The record inevitably doesn't make any sense because we were all completely mad. | '''COSTELLO:''' The "Quisling Clinic" in "Green Shirt." There's a Quisling Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. Anything that sounds like it should be in quotes probably was. Those songs are actually not very well written. They're kind of fragmented. If you take the songs apart they don't actually make any sense.They don't say very much. It's more the intention with which they were said. That was my moment record. Probably the only one I will have because that was my pop star record.That's when I was a pop star in England for about ten minutes. I was self-conscious of that. The record inevitably doesn't make any sense because we were all completely mad. | ||
After making three records you realize you've sort of created your own tradition. Then the process becomes a little more difficult. When we got to the recording of ''Get Happy'' I'd written a lot of the songs on the road. We arranged them following the fashion of the previous record, except slightly more up-tempo — because things were getting more frantic. We were taking more drugs, drinking more, had a more manic attitude. That inevitably led to a more frenetic sound. We went in to record and it sounded hideous. Really hideous. It sounded crass, cute, everything I despised about a | After making three records you realize you've sort of created your own tradition. Then the process becomes a little more difficult. When we got to the recording of ''Get Happy'' I'd written a lot of the songs on the road. We arranged them following the fashion of the previous record, except slightly more up-tempo — because things were getting more frantic. We were taking more drugs, drinking more, had a more manic attitude. That inevitably led to a more frenetic sound. We went in to record and it sounded hideous. Really hideous. It sounded crass, cute, everything I despised about a band with "a sound." I'd already seen a few people I admired fall into that trap and get stifled by it. So we went down to the pub and had a drink and said, "Let's do it like Booker T and the MGs." Then we went back upstairs again. It was a really crass, almost joking suggestion. But we made a whole record that was our soul album. | ||
Again, everything was played too fast because of our attitude at the time. It wasn't in control, it was very maniacal and emotional. But somewhere in the heart of the better songs is some sort of purity. | Again, everything was played too fast because of our attitude at the time. It wasn't in control, it was very maniacal and emotional. But somewhere in the heart of the better songs is some sort of purity. | ||
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Rock 'n' roll has a potential for evil — far beyond any conception of it as "the Devil's music" — simply because it runs away, it belies any sort of responsibility. If you write from that perspective, you don't have any morality or responsibility. | Rock 'n' roll has a potential for evil — far beyond any conception of it as "the Devil's music" — simply because it runs away, it belies any sort of responsibility. If you write from that perspective, you don't have any morality or responsibility. | ||
I got frustrated at that time. After ''Trust'' came out I tried to take stock, take a bit more care of myself. A lot of the feeling of that album was defeated by the tenor of the record. It was very tense. It still puts me on edge to listen to it. If ''Get Happy'' was manic and played too fast, ''Trust'' was made on the very ends of our nerves. We were completely worn out. When I pulled "New Lace Sleeves" and "Watch Your Step" out of the past I thought, "This may be the last record; I'm digging up the old stuff." I thought I was being cheap by recording them. In fact, they're two of the best songs on the record. When they came back through the speakers they made more sense, they said more than some of the others. They were written with a clearer head, four or five years before. Something like"Luxembourg" didn't make any sense at all. I sounded like a barking madman. It could be in Chinese! It wasn't 'til I did it solo last year that anybody knew it had words. | I got frustrated at that time. After ''Trust'' came out I tried to take stock, take a bit more care of myself. A lot of the feeling of that album was defeated by the tenor of the record. It was very tense. It still puts me on edge to listen to it. If ''Get Happy'' was manic and played too fast, ''Trust'' was made on the very ends of our nerves. We were completely worn out. When I pulled "New Lace Sleeves" and "Watch Your Step" out of the past I thought, "This may be the last record; I'm digging up the old stuff." I thought I was being cheap by recording them. In fact, they're two of the best songs on the record. When they came back through the speakers they made more sense, they ''said'' more than some of the others. They were written with a clearer head, four or five years before. Something like"Luxembourg" didn't make any sense at all. I sounded like a barking madman. It could be in Chinese! It wasn't 'til I did it solo last year that anybody knew it had words. | ||
After a few months I got dissatisfied with ''Trust''. I felt I wasn't actually speaking to anyone, I might as well have been talking to myself. I was just repeating this thing. I had the reputation of being able to spin a few words. So what? Anybody can spin a few phrases. I was given enough rope to tie myself up in knots. It didn't have any meaning, it didn't communicate to anybody, and it wasn't how I felt. | After a few months I got dissatisfied with ''Trust''. I felt I wasn't actually speaking to anyone, I might as well have been talking to myself. I was just repeating this thing. I had the reputation of being able to spin a few words. So what? Anybody can spin a few phrases. I was given enough rope to tie myself up in knots. It didn't have any meaning, it didn't communicate to anybody, and it wasn't how I felt. | ||
My five minutes of stardom was definitely up. I was staring at cultdom and thinking, "Is it worth wrecking my health and getting so upset for this?" If it wasn't important to anybody else, why should it be so important to me? I could see myself slipping into that rather pathetic, self-pitying stance. | My five minutes of stardom was definitely up. I was staring at cultdom and thinking, "Is it worth wrecking my health and getting so upset for ''this''?" If it wasn't important to anybody else, why should it be so important to me? I could see myself slipping into that rather pathetic, self-pitying stance. | ||
I made the country record, ''Almost Blue'', to get away from songwriting. I didn't anticipate the violent reaction some people would have to it. It became sort of a joke. We put a sticker on it saying, "This record may bring out a violent reaction in narrow-minded people." I'd completely underestimated the false and hypocritical way some people in America assume ownership of this music. People who couldn't give a damn about it actually, who couldn't name five country songs. It annoyed me because I probably cared more about | I made the country record, ''Almost Blue'', to get away from songwriting. I didn't anticipate the violent reaction some people would have to it. It became sort of a joke. We put a sticker on it saying, "This record may bring out a violent reaction in narrow-minded people." I'd completely underestimated the false and hypocritical way some people in America assume ownership of this music. People who couldn't give a damn about it actually, who couldn't name five country songs. It annoyed me because I probably cared more about the songs I was singing than all the bloody hacks in Nashville. Billy Sherrill, the guy who produced it, turns out yards of music every week. He's a complete and utter hack. Hasn't got an ounce of feeling in him. | ||
But in getting away from what I had been doing I realized it wasn't so bloody important. When I straightened up I had enough sense to say, "If you don't look after yourself a bit more you're going to be dead. Stop taking drugs, stop drinking so much, and behave a bit. You're really turning into a bore about being an artist. It's not important to anybody, and if you carry on like this you're not going to do anyone any good. You're just going to be a dead boy." | But in getting away from what I had been doing I realized it wasn't so bloody important. When I straightened up I had enough sense to say, "If you don't look after yourself a bit more you're going to be dead. Stop taking drugs, stop drinking so much, and behave a bit. You're really turning into a bore about being an ''artist''. It's not important to anybody, and if you carry on like this you're not going to do anyone any good. You're just going to be a dead boy." | ||
I wrote a load of songs during the time I was doing ''Almost Blue''. I actually had time to consider things. I became conscious again of technique. I had a piano and I sat around and wrote almost all of ''Imperial Bedroom'' on the piano. Which I can't play! My father taught me a little bit when I was about seventeen. I would dance up and down the keyboard, learning chord shapes on the piano like people learn chord windows on the guitar. I developed a bit of this spidery technique and went off, making up a lot of chords that weren't strict majors and minors. I didn't even know the names of them. I'd show them to Steve Nieve and he'd interpret them, voice them better ways. I was bored with rock'n'roll and conscious of the screaming sound being self-defeating. I thought maybe if I didn't scream and shout and whine so much, I might put it over a bit better. If it's right for the song, that's great. But I'd become aware of the pitfalls of bellowing beyond the point of feeling. | I wrote a load of songs during the time I was doing ''Almost Blue''. I actually had time to consider things. I became conscious again of technique. I had a piano and I sat around and wrote almost all of ''Imperial Bedroom'' on the piano. Which I can't play! My father taught me a little bit when I was about seventeen. I would dance up and down the keyboard, learning chord shapes on the piano like people learn chord windows on the guitar. I developed a bit of this spidery technique and went off, making up a lot of chords that weren't strict majors and minors. I didn't even know the names of them. I'd show them to Steve Nieve and he'd interpret them, voice them better ways. I was bored with rock 'n' roll and conscious of the screaming ''sound'' being self-defeating. I thought maybe if I didn't scream and shout and whine so much, I might put it over a bit better. If it's right for the song, that's great. But I'd become aware of the pitfalls of bellowing beyond the point of feeling. | ||
I'd been listening to a lot of standards, and thinking maybe I could write something styled after that, sort of crossed with baroque psychedelic records like the Left Banke. I had lots of piano meanderings. I sent one tune to Sammy Cahn to see if he could write lyrics for it! This sounds a bit pompous, but I had this mad notion that I wanted a link with that era. He's a bit of an old ham, but he wrote "All The Way" — and that's a pretty good song. I talked to him on the phone and he was a bit bemused by me, I think. But in the end the piece was far too meandering in structure for him to get an idea of and he sent it back. Chris Difford then wrote some lyrics for it and it became "Boy With A Problem." | I'd been listening to a lot of standards, and thinking maybe I could write something styled after that, sort of crossed with baroque psychedelic records like the Left Banke. I had lots of piano meanderings. I sent one tune to Sammy Cahn to see if he could write lyrics for it! This sounds a bit pompous, but I had this mad notion that I wanted a link with that era. He's a bit of an old ham, but he wrote "All The Way" — and that's a pretty good song. I talked to him on the phone and he was a bit bemused by me, I think. But in the end the piece was far too meandering in structure for him to get an idea of and he sent it back. Chris Difford then wrote some lyrics for it and it became "Boy With A Problem." | ||
I can't actually play any instrument properly. I can't read music. And here's the New York Times calling me the new George Gershwin. It was so ridiculous, really embarrassing. It was embarrassing to watch these people fall into the trap of their own critical conceits. And it tainted what I was doing, as if the conceits were my own! I simply liked those records. Like, "Almost Blue" is directly modeled on Bill Henderson's "The Thrill Is Gone." It's not close enough to be a plagiarism suit, but it's transparently modeled after it. I had Chet Baker in my head when I wrote it. But it's a sincere lyric, and if the tune's not totally original, there are millions of songs based on that kind of minor blues progression. You don't have to be a virtuoso to write those. | I can't actually play any instrument properly. I can't read music. And here's the ''New York Times'' calling me the new George Gershwin. It was so ridiculous, really embarrassing. It was embarrassing to watch these people fall into the trap of their own critical conceits. And it tainted what I was doing, as if the conceits were my own! I simply liked those records. Like, "[[Almost Blue (song)|Almost Blue]]" is directly modeled on Bill Henderson's "The Thrill Is Gone." It's not close enough to be a plagiarism suit, but it's transparently modeled after it. I had Chet Baker in my head when I wrote it. But it's a sincere lyric, and if the tune's not totally original, there are millions of songs based on that kind of minor blues progression. You don't have to be a virtuoso to write those. | ||
So I wrote all these songs, we rehearsed them, and when we went into the studio the ballads stayed more or less the same but the more up-tempo songs changed. Geoff Emerick, the producer, got a very different vocal sound from Nick Lowe's. I didn't change the keys, but I changed the register on about half the vocals on the record. After we recorded the backing tracks, three or four of the songs ended up being an octave lower than we'd rehearsed them. Then I started chopping up the structures of the songs. "Beyond Belief" became a different song completely. When the band came back the verse and chorus structure had disappeared and it was one continuous conversation with over-lapping vocals. ''Imperial Bedroom'' was the only time I ever used the studio as part of the writing process. | So I wrote all these songs, we rehearsed them, and when we went into the studio the ballads stayed more or less the same but the more up-tempo songs changed. Geoff Emerick, the producer, got a very different vocal sound from Nick Lowe's. I didn't change the keys, but I changed the register on about half the vocals on the record. After we recorded the backing tracks, three or four of the songs ended up being an octave lower than we'd rehearsed them. Then I started chopping up the structures of the songs. "Beyond Belief" became a different song completely. When the band came back the verse and chorus structure had disappeared and it was one continuous conversation with over-lapping vocals. ''Imperial Bedroom'' was the only time I ever used the studio as part of the writing process. | ||
During the recording of ''Imperial Bedroom'', Bruce Thomas of the Attractions thought I was being too obsessed with | During the recording of ''Imperial Bedroom'', Bruce Thomas of the Attractions thought I was being too obsessed with — that I couldn't write about anything but — domestic strife. But it wasn't that I was obsessed with it, it just made the strongest songs. It's not because of that subject; the saddest songs make the strongest songs. I always write better sad songs. | ||
'''MUSICIAN:''' Do you sometimes reveal more of yourself than you intend? | '''MUSICIAN:''' Do you sometimes reveal more of yourself than you intend? | ||
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"Indoor Fireworks" has technique in it; it's almost one of those metaphor songs like "The Only Flame In Town." It's just technically better written, regardless of whether it's more important to me. | "Indoor Fireworks" has technique in it; it's almost one of those metaphor songs like "The Only Flame In Town." It's just technically better written, regardless of whether it's more important to me. | ||
'''MUSICIAN:''' What makes "Indoor Fireworks" such a better song is that with "Only Flame" — as with Joni Mitchell songs like "Electricity" and "You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio" — the metaphor seemed more important than the content. | '''MUSICIAN:''' What makes "Indoor Fireworks" such a better song is that with "Only Flame" — as with [[Joni Mitchell]] songs like "Electricity" and "You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio" — the metaphor seemed more important than the content. | ||
'''COSMANUS:''' By the middle of the second verse of "Only Flame in Town" you start to think, "Oh god, that's a good one,""Aw, that one's a bit dodgy!" | '''COSMANUS:''' By the middle of the second verse of "Only Flame in Town" you start to think, "Oh god, that's a good one,""Aw, that one's a bit dodgy!" | ||
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'''MUSICIAN:''' Whereas in "Indoor Fireworks" when you say, "I'll build a bonfire of my dreams and burn a broken effigy of me and you," the fact that it extends the fire metaphor is completely secondary to the emotion. | '''MUSICIAN:''' Whereas in "Indoor Fireworks" when you say, "I'll build a bonfire of my dreams and burn a broken effigy of me and you," the fact that it extends the fire metaphor is completely secondary to the emotion. | ||
'''McMANUS:''' I tried to write one that had some chill in it. Like "May Ye Never Be Alone." I was aiming up there. Whereas when I wrote "The Only Flame In Town" I was trying to write like Allen Toussaint. I was thinking, "How tough does Hank Williams ever get?" He didn't ever shy away from the matter. If you're going to be true to yourself you've got to say, "Could I say it as cold as Hank Williams did?" You have to keep reminding yourself how strong the really strong songs are. | '''McMANUS:''' I tried to write one that had some chill in it. Like "May Ye Never Be Alone." I was aiming up there. Whereas when I wrote "The Only Flame In Town" I was trying to write like [[Allen Toussaint]]. I was thinking, "How tough does Hank Williams ever get?" He didn't ever shy away from the matter. If you're going to be true to yourself you've got to say, "Could I say it as cold as Hank Williams did?" You have to keep reminding yourself how strong the really strong songs are. | ||
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{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
'''Musician, No. 89, March 1986 | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = Musician, November 1984 | |||
|next = Musician, April 1986 | |||
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'''Musician, No. 89, March 1986 | |||
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[[Bill Flanagan]] interviews Elvis Costello | [[Bill Flanagan]] interviews Elvis Costello and [[T Bone Burnett]]. | ||
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[[image:1986-03-00 Musician photo 02.jpg| | <br><small>Cover.</small> | ||
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<center><h3></h3></center> | <center><h3> Playing with the big boys </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Bill Flanagan </center> | |||
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'''T-BONE:''' There's so much prejudice about music on both sides. The English people think L.A. musicians are all phony, and the L.A. people think the English can't really play and sing. The young people think the old people can't play rock 'n' roll, and the old people think the young people don't know how to play music at all. But we've had all sorts of people working on this record and for me it abolishes a lot of the prejudices. | '''T-BONE:''' There's so much prejudice about music on both sides. The English people think L.A. musicians are all phony, and the L.A. people think the English can't really play and sing. The young people think the old people can't play rock 'n' roll, and the old people think the young people don't know how to play music at all. But we've had all sorts of people working on this record and for me it abolishes a lot of the prejudices. | ||
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'''ELVIS:''' There were moments of humor to keep me from getting too reverent. Once, James Burton was putting on a solo that had a lot of his ratatat. I just couldn't believe this was happening on my record. It was brilliant! Then Jerry Scheff comes by and goes, "Looks like we're goin' to dicky dicky heaven on this one." It reminded me — this was my record — stop being a fan! | '''ELVIS:''' There were moments of humor to keep me from getting too reverent. Once, James Burton was putting on a solo that had a lot of his ratatat. I just couldn't believe this was happening on my record. It was brilliant! Then Jerry Scheff comes by and goes, "Looks like we're goin' to dicky dicky heaven on this one." It reminded me — this was my record — stop being a fan! | ||
The arrangements appeared out of thin air. Because the songs are written quite simply on the guitar they fit into some quite traditional rhythm patterns. Yet because we were using acoustic bass, brushes on the drums, the touch of the thing didn't sound so stock. The way it was recorded gave it an intimacy I haven't had on record before. Even if we were playing what amounted to a country rhythm, it didn't come out sounding like Nashville. We tried to do "Indoor Fireworks" with Ron Tutt playing drums but it sounded too stock country, so we took the drum out and added an organ. Then we took out the one electric guitar we were going to have and had two acoustics. That got us closer to the song. The use of acoustic bass gave it a lot more warmth. Quite often the mood was set just by the tone of that instrument. Jerry | The arrangements appeared out of thin air. Because the songs are written quite simply on the guitar they fit into some quite traditional rhythm patterns. Yet because we were using acoustic bass, brushes on the drums, the touch of the thing didn't sound so stock. The way it was recorded gave it an intimacy I haven't had on record before. Even if we were playing what amounted to a country rhythm, it didn't come out sounding like Nashville. We tried to do "Indoor Fireworks" with Ron Tutt playing drums but it sounded too stock country, so we took the drum out and added an organ. Then we took out the one electric guitar we were going to have and had two acoustics. That got us closer to the song. The use of acoustic bass gave it a lot more warmth. Quite often the mood was set just by the tone of that instrument. Jerry Scheff's playing was very emphatic and made it very easy for me. Because it isn't a raucous album, there had to be a resolution to the playing or the whole thing would have caved in. It would have become boring and ground to a stop. | ||
Some songs that weren't considered strong found their way onto the album because of the way they were played. When we started to record I tried to do a ballad, but I was a bit nervous. So I said, "Let's shake things up a bit," just to find our feet. So we did "The Big Light," which is just a lightweight song about hangovers. And it was played so well! As the track on the album fades in we'd been playing the opening phrase for three minutes. I kept expecting the band to go into "Viva Las Vegas." That's one of their trademark sounds, and when they were playing that it gave me the greatest feeling. Those early sessions unbalanced my expectations of what would go on the record. | Some songs that weren't considered strong found their way onto the album because of the way they were played. When we started to record I tried to do a ballad, but I was a bit nervous. So I said, "Let's shake things up a bit," just to find our feet. So we did "The Big Light," which is just a lightweight song about hangovers. And it was played so well! As the track on the album fades in we'd been playing the opening phrase for three minutes. I kept expecting the band to go into "Viva Las Vegas." That's one of their trademark sounds, and when they were playing that it gave me the greatest feeling. Those early sessions unbalanced my expectations of what would go on the record. | ||
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'''ELVIS:''' You start thinking, "How the hell am I going to impress these people?" The answer is you don't want to bother about that. After I got over my nerves I just enjoyed being in the studio playing with them. They put me at ease. | '''ELVIS:''' You start thinking, "How the hell am I going to impress these people?" The answer is you don't want to bother about that. After I got over my nerves I just enjoyed being in the studio playing with them. They put me at ease. | ||
You start calling your own technique into question, but technique is the last thing you should think of. Being conscious of technique is the enemy of spontaneity for a singer. The antidote for that is a bottle of whiskey, which is how we cut "Eisenhower Blues." After we did "Poison Rose" we cracked open a bottle and everyone had a drink. That got us in the mood to do "Eisenhower Blues." On that cut we had a band that went from Ray Brown to Mitchell Froom to [ | You start calling your own technique into question, but technique is the last thing you should think of. Being conscious of technique is the enemy of spontaneity for a singer. The antidote for that is a bottle of whiskey, which is how we cut "Eisenhower Blues." After we did "Poison Rose" we cracked open a bottle and everyone had a drink. That got us in the mood to do "Eisenhower Blues." On that cut we had a band that went from Ray Brown to Mitchell Froom to [Al Jarreau's] Tom Canning! | ||
When T-Bone originally suggested using Jim Keltner on drums I balked. I regarded him as one of those names you read on California records. People get their names tainted by association. You can't help where you work. One of the problems with being the best session player is that the worst people can afford to pay you. Jim Keltner in fact had the most wild and open attitude of all the players on the record. Of all the drummers, he was the most unusual. Which really surprised me, really upset my expectations. I expected some very steady, one-style player and he was like a crazy beatnik. It was inspiring to watch. His way of playing is almost edible. You can taste it! He had a really good sense of humor. | When T-Bone originally suggested using Jim Keltner on drums I balked. I regarded him as one of those names you read on California records. People get their names tainted by association. You can't help where you work. One of the problems with being the best session player is that the worst people can afford to pay you. Jim Keltner in fact had the most wild and open attitude of all the players on the record. Of all the drummers, he was the most unusual. Which really surprised me, really upset my expectations. I expected some very steady, one-style player and he was like a crazy beatnik. It was inspiring to watch. His way of playing is almost edible. You can taste it! He had a really good sense of humor. | ||
Because the changes didn't have as many kinks in them, we'd sometimes fall into the obvious trap of grandstanding the choruses. On "I'll Wear It Proudly" I had to keep reminding myself of the reason for the song. It was Jim's idea to hold back on the feel | Because the changes didn't have as many kinks in them, we'd sometimes fall into the obvious trap of grandstanding the choruses. On "I'll Wear It Proudly" I had to keep reminding myself of the reason for the song. It was Jim's idea to hold back on the feel — when he could be hammering it in — that made the song more believable. | ||
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<center><h3>Pump It Up</h3></center> | <center><h3> Pump It Up </h3></center> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
[[image:1986-03-00 Musician page 52.jpg|150px||border|right]] | |||
"Mostly I played a little Martin," Elvis says, "number 00018. I also played a D28. I only played electric guitar on the bridge of one song, 'Lovable.' I played T-Bone's modified National Electric. It's a dirty-sounding guitar with a funny pick-up. The strings are so heavy it sounds like a six-string bass," which saved Elvis going into the next room to grab the Fender six-string bass he'd been planning to use. For guitar strings E.C. used Martin Marquis mediums. | "Mostly I played a little Martin," Elvis says, "number 00018. I also played a D28. I only played electric guitar on the bridge of one song, 'Lovable.' I played T-Bone's modified National Electric. It's a dirty-sounding guitar with a funny pick-up. The strings are so heavy it sounds like a six-string bass," which saved Elvis going into the next room to grab the Fender six-string bass he'd been planning to use. For guitar strings E.C. used Martin Marquis mediums. | ||
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''King Of America'' was recorded with Telefunken 251 microphones on the voices and guitars. Then things got really ecological: no synths, virtually no electric guitar, lots of acoustic bass. | ''King Of America'' was recorded with Telefunken 251 microphones on the voices and guitars. Then things got really ecological: no synths, virtually no electric guitar, lots of acoustic bass. | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
<br> | <br><br> | ||
<small>Photo by [[Ron Delany]].</small><br> | |||
[[image:1986-03-00 Musician photo 06 rd.jpg|360px|border]] | |||
<small>Photo by [[Barry Schultz]].</small><br> | |||
[[image:1986-03-00 Musician photo 07 bs.jpg|360px|border]] | |||
[[image:1986-03-00 Musician photo | [[image:1986-03-00 Musician photo 05.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Photo | <br><small>Photo.</small> | ||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
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*[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/m/mu8603a.html elviscostello.info] | *[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/m/mu8603a.html elviscostello.info] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musician 1986-03-00}} | |||
[[Category:Bibliography 1986 | [[Category:Bibliography]] | ||
[[Category:Bibliography 1986]] | |||
[[Category:Musician| Musician 1986-03-00]] | [[Category:Musician| Musician 1986-03-00]] | ||
[[Category:Magazine articles | [[Category:Magazine articles]] | ||
[[Category:Interviews | [[Category:Interviews]] | ||
[[Category:1986 interviews]] |
Revision as of 00:07, 4 August 2020
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