New Musical Express, March 1, 1986: Difference between revisions
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"I have no position in pop now, I resigned my post. I'm not in competition with anyone. The best people are in a class of one, and I'm the best example of what I am... | "I have no position in pop now, I resigned my post. I'm not in competition with anyone. The best people are in a class of one, and I'm the best example of what I am... | ||
"Compared to what else's going on today, it's a punk record..." | "Compared to what else's going on today, it's a punk record..." | ||
"What do ''you'' think about ''King Of America''?" I think it's largely wonderful; a vindication of two years out of the racks. It's your most talked about work since ''This Year's Model'' and your best since ''Imperial Bedroom''... "That wouldn't be very hard..." | Declan MacManus — his hand on the plug of the life support system that keeps Elvis Costello alive — is selling me his beloved new LP. | ||
"What do ''you'' think about ''King Of America''?" | |||
I think it's largely wonderful; a vindication of two years out of the racks. It's your most talked about work since ''This Year's Model'' and your best since ''Imperial Bedroom''... | |||
"That wouldn't be very hard..." | |||
...and, in many ways, among Costello's now 11-deep canon, it's often ''different'', sometimes ''unique''... | ...and, in many ways, among Costello's now 11-deep canon, it's often ''different'', sometimes ''unique''... | ||
Uniquely, it's downbeat, careful, almost monochrome. The playing — lots of it courtesy of Presley's old spars, the | Uniquely, it's downbeat, careful, almost monochrome. The playing — lots of it courtesy of Presley's old spars, the TCB (Taking Care Of Business) crew — is an object lesson in low-key virtuosity. | ||
"I resisted the temptation to grandstand, to drive nails through people's heads. I didn't betray the songs... everything serves ''them''... | "I resisted the temptation to grandstand, to drive nails through people's heads. I didn't betray the songs... everything serves ''them''... | ||
"Differently, for the first time since '' | "Differently, for the first time since ''Almost Blue'' at least, a Costello record moves with a traditional, timelessly American, tread, albeit one minutely flecked by wholemeal forms; country, Irish, and whispers of cajun, zydeco and Tex Mex. | ||
"We eschewed the current production fascism which dictates that all drums have to sound like cannon fire, all tambourines have to sound like saxophones. and so on... | "We eschewed the current production fascism which dictates that all drums have to sound like cannon fire, all tambourines have to sound like saxophones. and so on... | ||
"But these songs aren't folk. I'd just seen two perfect hit singles by | "But these songs aren't folk. I'd just seen two perfect hit singles by The Pogues fail because the radio doesn't play "folk." And they're like a punk group compared to one guy with an acoustic guitar, | ||
"Anyway, I'm a ''pop'' writer... | "Anyway, I'm a ''pop'' writer... | ||
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Uniquely, guitarist James Burton finds his often-wondrous, country-tinged playing twinkling with absurd ease behind the voice of a strange chap called Elvis... for the ''second'' time. | Uniquely, guitarist James Burton finds his often-wondrous, country-tinged playing twinkling with absurd ease behind the voice of a strange chap called Elvis... for the ''second'' time. | ||
"In all honesty, I was just as thrilled to be playing with | "In all honesty, I was just as thrilled to be playing with James because he'd worked with Gram Parsons! The good thing was that they talked about Elvis as a ''musician'', just the singer in a band. They didn't have him up on some pedestal. After all the sleaze it was very pleasing to listen to people with fond memories, funny little stories to tell, y'know." | ||
Did they take the piss? | Did they take the piss? | ||
"Only joking asides... it wasn't as if I turned up wearing a gold lamé suit or acting weird..." | "Only joking asides... it wasn't as if I turned up wearing a gold lamé suit or acting weird..." | ||
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"I desperately want a fair hearing for this record, not to have people misread it... "Everything you don't understand on it is ''exactly'' what it appears to be..." | "I desperately want a fair hearing for this record, not to have people misread it... "Everything you don't understand on it is ''exactly'' what it appears to be..." | ||
''King Of America's'' pair of outright rockers (" | ''King Of America's'' pair of outright rockers ("Lovable" — "It's mostly straight, but isn't love ''tricky''?" — and "Eisenhower Blues" — "a satirical blues, anyone who can't see why I recorded it is an idiot!") are self-explanatory, which leaves... | ||
" | "Brilliant Mistake," opening proceedings and setting a sparkling standard for the rest of the LP, concerns itself with The Big Country. | ||
"America? No place on earth has ever been based on such high principles, principles that have either been betrayed or used to beat people around the head with. | "America? No place on earth has ever been based on such high principles, principles that have either been betrayed or used to beat people around the head with. | ||
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"This country, by comparison, has no ''constitutional'' morality yet people would still view America as being more unjust. But that's a huge argument, beyond the scope of this song. I simply chose three little scenes to illustrate America The Brilliant Mistake. It's not the last word... nothing on this record is the last word." | "This country, by comparison, has no ''constitutional'' morality yet people would still view America as being more unjust. But that's a huge argument, beyond the scope of this song. I simply chose three little scenes to illustrate America The Brilliant Mistake. It's not the last word... nothing on this record is the last word." | ||
"''You're not gonna do a thing to"...'' " | "''You're not gonna do a thing to"...'' "Our Little Angel" is a country slide, a distanced view of a Costello mainstay, the coquette. | ||
"It's just a story of a tease, a flirt tolerated by a bunch of hangers on, deflecting the more genuine feelings of ardent suitors. You know that scene, everybody does. It's small and trivial..." | "It's just a story of a tease, a flirt tolerated by a bunch of hangers on, deflecting the more genuine feelings of ardent suitors. You know that scene, everybody does. It's small and trivial..." | ||
And a close relative of " | And a close relative of "You Little Fool." | ||
"Ah, but that was a ''much'' sicker song..." | "Ah, but that was a ''much'' sicker song..." | ||
" | "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" — some bloody hope! | ||
"Beneath The Animals' thuggish version, there was always another song in there. The reason I put it out as a single was to get across the very different ''sound'' of the LP. I ''have'' got some sympathy with the lyric, but not in any desparate way. Perhaps the voice misled people. I had a terrible throat that day, but I kind of liked the effect." | "Beneath The Animals' thuggish version, there was always another song in there. The reason I put it out as a single was to get across the very different ''sound'' of the LP. I ''have'' got some sympathy with the lyric, but not in any desparate way. Perhaps the voice misled people. I had a terrible throat that day, but I kind of liked the effect." |
Latest revision as of 08:01, 25 September 2023
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