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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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. | ||
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"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. | "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. | 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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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. | 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 | 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? | ||
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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 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. | 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 (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. | 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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{{Bibliography next | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = Musician, November 1984 | |prev = Musician, November 1984 | ||
|next = Musician, | |next = Musician, April 1986 | ||
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'''Musician, No. 89, March 1986 | '''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 cover.jpg| | [[image:1986-03-00 Musician cover.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
[[image:1986-03-00 Musician illustration.jpg| | <br><small>Cover.</small> | ||
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<br><small>Illustration by Sarah Schwartz.</small> | |||
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<br><small>Photos.</small> | <br><small>Photos.</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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"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. | ||
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<small>Photo by [[Ron Delany]].</small><br> | |||
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<small>Photo by [[Barry Schultz]].</small><br> | |||
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[[image:1986-03-00 Musician photo | [[image:1986-03-00 Musician photo 05.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Photo | <br><small>Photo.</small> | ||
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Revision as of 00:07, 4 August 2020
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