New Musical Express, February 22, 1986: Difference between revisions
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Two-bottles-a-day-alarming, to be precise. | Two-bottles-a-day-alarming, to be precise. | ||
"That must just be people he laughs, arms spread wide in a of wonderment, "trying to rationalise the fact that you're not who they expect or want you to it's their neuroses, not mine | "That must just be people," he laughs, arms spread wide in a gesture of wonderment, "trying to rationalise the fact that you're not who they expect or want you to be... it's their neuroses, not mine. | ||
"Every couple of weeks or so I still go on a binge and get smashed. But big drinkers? Fuckin' big deal! You're a long time dead. ." | "The ludicrous irony is that The Attractions and I were one of the most notorious drinking and indulging bands going, and we got away with it. We had haloes while everybody else had those drug fiend, the, low-life images. We were much weirder than any of those punk groups, then we all stopped. So in fact you're five years too late. | ||
"Every couple of weeks or so I still go on a binge and get smashed. But big drinkers? Fuckin' big deal! You're a long time dead..." | |||
Message "received"; I'll take a raincheck on "Understood." This might be Elvis Costello (shambling wreck of this parish) on a good day; he might also, methinks, be protesting too much or with the zeal of the newly converted, whatever. What's beyond denial is that he looks mightily better than last year's model, a permapissed blob of perspiring plasticine. | Message "received"; I'll take a raincheck on "Understood." This might be Elvis Costello (shambling wreck of this parish) on a good day; he might also, methinks, be protesting too much or with the zeal of the newly converted, whatever. What's beyond denial is that he looks mightily better than last year's model, a permapissed blob of perspiring plasticine. | ||
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"Yeah, but I ''do'' go up and down. Alcohol is a debilitating pastime. It's like if someone takes a picture of you after your three week annual holiday binge, you're not going to look your best. | "Yeah, but I ''do'' go up and down. Alcohol is a debilitating pastime. It's like if someone takes a picture of you after your three week annual holiday binge, you're not going to look your best. | ||
"I never actually said I was in the competition to be a pin-up. I 'm a celebrity of sorts whether I like it or not, so my appearance ''is'' important... So if I get fucked up by being on a spree a couple of weeks | "I never actually said I was in the competition to be a pin-up. I'm a celebrity of sorts whether I like it or not, so my appearance ''is'' important... So if I get fucked up by being on a spree a couple of weeks... | ||
"But in my line of work, if you drank all the drinks, and took all the drugs you were offered, you would ''die''. Simple as that. | "But in my line of work, if you drank all the drinks, and took all the drugs you were offered, you would ''die''. Simple as that. | ||
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{{Bibliography box}} | {{Bibliography box}} | ||
<center><h3> Crown duels </h3></center> | <center><h3> Crown duels </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Sean O'Hagan </center> | <center> Sean O'Hagan </center> | ||
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'''The Costello Show <br> | |||
King Of America | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
[[image:1986-02-22 New Musical Express page 27 clipping 01.jpg|130px|right]] | [[image:1986-02-22 New Musical Express page 27 clipping 01.jpg|130px|right]] | ||
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''Goodbye Cruel World'' compounded the theory that here was a man with nothing left to say: the more cynical amongst us saw his dalliance with The Pogues and backroom management of the Imp stable as ample evidence of creative debilitation. This LP should have been, had all the loose talk and embroidered rumour of Costello's heartaches and hangovers been true, a chronicle of a year on the skids. Either a bad record or a great howl of desperation. So much for critical theories. ''King Of America'' is neither. It is something entirely different. | ''Goodbye Cruel World'' compounded the theory that here was a man with nothing left to say: the more cynical amongst us saw his dalliance with The Pogues and backroom management of the Imp stable as ample evidence of creative debilitation. This LP should have been, had all the loose talk and embroidered rumour of Costello's heartaches and hangovers been true, a chronicle of a year on the skids. Either a bad record or a great howl of desperation. So much for critical theories. ''King Of America'' is neither. It is something entirely different. | ||
If ''King Of America ''has a precedent, it would have to be the claustrophobic, grime-time scenarios of ''Trust'', but where the latter's sense of guilty complicity and brooding menace spoke of the torture of love gone wrong, these songs possess a stoical calmness, a more measured but no less painfully revealing tone. In many ways ''King Of America'' concerns the burial of the old Elvis Costello and the rebirth of Declan MacManus. Gone, except for one track, are The Attractions, replaced by a bevvy of American session alumni including his friend, T | If ''King Of America ''has a precedent, it would have to be the claustrophobic, grime-time scenarios of ''Trust'', but where the latter's sense of guilty complicity and brooding menace spoke of the torture of love gone wrong, these songs possess a stoical calmness, a more measured but no less painfully revealing tone. In many ways ''King Of America'' concerns the burial of the old Elvis Costello and the rebirth of Declan MacManus. Gone, except for one track, are The Attractions, replaced by a bevvy of American session alumni including his friend, T{{nb}}Bone Burnett, and the legendary James Burton, former guitar picker for Presley and Gram Parsons among others. ''King Of America'' shifts from one kind of song to another, any abiding sense of unity coming as much from the monochrome, but very effective traditional rock 'n' roll backing. On one level Costello/MacManus has redefined his identity by reverting to an older model. Indeed, parts of this record drip of ''Blonde On Blonde'' era Dylan — that grey, steely metallic sound that colours, but never intrudes on, the lyrics. | ||
"Brilliant Mistake" is a startling opening salvo, with Costello railing against the empty heart of America over swirling Dylanesque electric organ and chiming guitars. ''"She said that she was working for the ABC news / it was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use"'' he mocks, as the shallow lifestyles of the idle rich are laid bare in a succession of scathing observations. "Lovable" — co-written with Cait O'Riordan from The Pogues — is a throwaway celebration of romance ''("the toast of the town and the talk of the bedroom")'' and alongside the stomping "Glitter Gulch" and side two's cover of J.B. Lenoir's "Eisenhower Blues," points to a mischievous, devil-may-care approach which comes as something of a surprise. | "Brilliant Mistake" is a startling opening salvo, with Costello railing against the empty heart of America over swirling Dylanesque electric organ and chiming guitars. ''"She said that she was working for the ABC news / it was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use"'' he mocks, as the shallow lifestyles of the idle rich are laid bare in a succession of scathing observations. "Lovable" — co-written with Cait O'Riordan from The Pogues — is a throwaway celebration of romance ''("the toast of the town and the talk of the bedroom")'' and alongside the stomping "Glitter Gulch" and side two's cover of J.B. Lenoir's "Eisenhower Blues," points to a mischievous, devil-may-care approach which comes as something of a surprise. | ||
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NME Wikipedia: NME] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NME Wikipedia: NME] | ||
*[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/h-l/juke.860315a.html elviscostello.info] | *[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/h-l/juke.860315a.html elviscostello.info] | ||
*[http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=13068920@N00&q=%20N.M.E.%2022%3A02%3A1986 Flickr | *[http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=13068920@N00&q=%20N.M.E.%2022%3A02%3A1986 Flickr] [[Stephen McCathie]] | ||
*[https://twitter.com/nothingelseon/status/1299982908510187520 Twitter: nothingelseon] | *[https://twitter.com/nothingelseon/status/1299982908510187520 Twitter: nothingelseon] | ||
*[https://twitter.com/SoundsClips/status/1496083365866450950 Twitter: SoundsClips] | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Musical Express 1986-02-22}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:New Musical Express 1986-02-22}} |
Latest revision as of 23:36, 26 February 2022
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