New Musical Express, October 24, 1981: Difference between revisions
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There's no perversion of the songs' intentions, either. It might be the sophisticated view that country is trite, and maudlin and sentimental. But Elvis still plays it straight. The easy option of exploiting the coy, camp and kitsch angles — which would overcome most English rock artists — isn't entertained for a moment. Costello and company cut through the layers of smart prejudice to find the music's enduring values: its sly humour, its lyrical craftsmanship (more echoes of EC's own approach), its melancholy dignity. | There's no perversion of the songs' intentions, either. It might be the sophisticated view that country is trite, and maudlin and sentimental. But Elvis still plays it straight. The easy option of exploiting the coy, camp and kitsch angles — which would overcome most English rock artists — isn't entertained for a moment. Costello and company cut through the layers of smart prejudice to find the music's enduring values: its sly humour, its lyrical craftsmanship (more echoes of EC's own approach), its melancholy dignity. | ||
Down to detail. Side one opens with a brash rock work-out, in the [[Rockpile]] vein, "[[Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)?]]": it's the noise of a group enjoying itself, and not to the exclusion of our enjoyment, The remainder of the side is calmer — like "Success" (“has made a failure of our home”), Merle Haggard's "[[Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down]]", and the beautiful "[[Brown To Blue]]", all about the divorce that ''"changed your name from Brown to Jones / And mine from Brown to Blue..."''. If you've just opened a beer, stand by to cry into it. | Down to detail. Side one opens with a brash rock work-out, in the [[Rockpile]] vein, "[[Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)?]]": it's the noise of a group enjoying itself, and not to the exclusion of our enjoyment, The remainder of the side is calmer — like "Success" (''“has made a failure of our home”''), Merle Haggard's "[[Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down]]", and the beautiful "[[Brown To Blue]]", all about the divorce that ''"changed your name from Brown to Jones / And mine from Brown to Blue..."''. If you've just opened a beer, stand by to cry into it. | ||
Flip across and there's the year's best-deserved hit, "[[Good Year For The Roses]]," a poignant [[George Jones]] lip-trembler. The easy-rocking "[[Sittin' And Thinkin']]," "[[Colour Of The Blues]]" (yep, that colour again) and Billy Sherrill's "[[Too Far Gone]]" lead up to the pumping beat of the Jerry Lee/Joe Turner number "[[Honey Hush]]," then finally, "[[How Much I Lied]]" — more of that grief inhibited by the stern necessity for manly appearances. | Flip across and there's the year's best-deserved hit, "[[Good Year For The Roses]]," a poignant [[George Jones]] lip-trembler. The easy-rocking "[[Sittin' And Thinkin']]," "[[Colour Of The Blues]]" (yep, that colour again) and Billy Sherrill's "[[Too Far Gone]]" lead up to the pumping beat of the Jerry Lee/Joe Turner number "[[Honey Hush]]," then finally, "[[How Much I Lied]]" — more of that grief inhibited by the stern necessity for manly appearances. | ||
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{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
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<center><h3> Elvis plays the Albert Hall <br> — with Royal Philharmonic </h3></center> | |||
<center><h3> Elvis plays the Albert Hall <br> with Royal Philharmonic </h3></center> | |||
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<center> ''NME </center> | <center> ''NME </center> | ||
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Costello will be the first rock star to appear at the Albert Hall since the ill-fated Frank Zappa show, though the actual rock 'n' roll content is likely to be minimal — the first half will be devoted to country music and, in the second set, Elvis will perform with the 86-piece RPO. The material in this second half will be varied but, said a spokesman, "will be maximized to use the full scope of the orchestra". | Costello will be the first rock star to appear at the Albert Hall since the ill-fated Frank Zappa show, though the actual rock 'n' roll content is likely to be minimal — the first half will be devoted to country music and, in the second set, Elvis will perform with the 86-piece RPO. The material in this second half will be varied but, said a spokesman, "will be maximized to use the full scope of the orchestra". | ||
Meanwhile on November 8, London Weekend's ''[[The South Bank Show|South Bank Show]]'' screens an hour-long documentary — networked nationally — about the making of ''Almost Blue''. Directed by Peter Carr (who made the City programme about Malcolm Allison and Manchester City), it was shot mainly in Nashville, but also includes footage of the country show which Costello and the band played in [[Concert 1981-07-30 Aberdeen|Aberdeen]] earlier this year. | Meanwhile on November 8, London Weekend's ''[[The South Bank Show|South Bank Show]]'' screens an hour-long documentary — networked nationally — about the making of ''Almost Blue''. Directed by Peter Carr (who made the ''City'' programme about Malcolm Allison and Manchester City), it was shot mainly in Nashville, but also includes footage of the country show which Costello and the band played in [[Concert 1981-07-30 Aberdeen|Aberdeen]] earlier this year. | ||
The LP contains 12 tracks, none of them Costello compositions, several of them country standards — "Why Don't You Love Me" ([[Hank Williams]]), "Sweet Dreams" ([[Don Gibson]]), "I'm Your Toy" ([[Gram Parsons]]), "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down" ([[Merle Haggard]]), "Sittin' And Thinkin'" ([[Charlie Rich]]) and "Honey Hush" ([[Big Joe Turner|Joe Turner]]), as well as Costello's current chart single "Good Year For The Roses." | The LP contains 12 tracks, none of them Costello compositions, several of them country standards — "Why Don't You Love Me" ([[Hank Williams]]), "Sweet Dreams" ([[Don Gibson]]), "I'm Your Toy" ([[Gram Parsons]]), "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down" ([[Merle Haggard]]), "Sittin' And Thinkin'" ([[Charlie Rich]]) and "Honey Hush" ([[Big Joe Turner|Joe Turner]]), as well as Costello's current chart single "Good Year For The Roses." |
Revision as of 18:00, 22 January 2017
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