New York Rocker, April 1981: Difference between revisions
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Live, this progression has been truer, straighter. On earlier tours, Costello and the Attractions started out as a full-force gale that grew into a hurricane. Later, they learned to set pace and dynamic nuance within songs, but still operated in the straight 4|4 time of lyrical R&B constructions. Now there are waltzes (“New Amsterdam”), neo-classical figures (“Shot With His Own Gun”), Bo Diddley boppers (“Lovers’ Walk”) and lots of the Elvoid mutant pop that adorns his last three albums. Once Elvis Costello concerts followed the progression of sex starved hermit in a bordello, starting hard and climaxing into a “Lipstick Vogue”/”Pump It Up” frenzy. Today’s model is more subtle, still in total control. He teases, he flirts. He twists the proverbial knife until it hurts. Then you’re off the hook – for a while at least. | Live, this progression has been truer, straighter. On earlier tours, Costello and the Attractions started out as a full-force gale that grew into a hurricane. Later, they learned to set pace and dynamic nuance within songs, but still operated in the straight 4|4 time of lyrical R&B constructions. Now there are waltzes (“New Amsterdam”), neo-classical figures (“Shot With His Own Gun”), Bo Diddley boppers (“Lovers’ Walk”) and lots of the Elvoid mutant pop that adorns his last three albums. Once Elvis Costello concerts followed the progression of sex starved hermit in a bordello, starting hard and climaxing into a “Lipstick Vogue”/”Pump It Up” frenzy. Today’s model is more subtle, still in total control. He teases, he flirts. He twists the proverbial knife until it hurts. Then you’re off the hook – for a while at least. | ||
He’s dropped a lot of old favorites (the two last mentioned, “Chelsea”, “Oliver’s Army”) in favour of some newies. Too bad they’ve gone, but you don’t really miss them. ''Get Happy!!'' is amply represented with nine numbers, all but “Temptation” taken from side two, six more songs are culled from ''Trust''. All in all, some 26 tunes parade across the stage, including covers that ranged (in various shows) from Patsy Cline’s | He’s dropped a lot of old favorites (the two last mentioned, “Chelsea”, “Oliver’s Army”) in favour of some newies. Too bad they’ve gone, but you don’t really miss them. ''Get Happy!!'' is amply represented with nine numbers, all but “Temptation” taken from side two, six more songs are culled from ''Trust''. All in all, some 26 tunes parade across the stage, including covers that ranged (in various shows) from Patsy Cline’s “[[He's Got You|He’s Got You]]” to the Temptations’ “Don’t Look Back” to Junior Parker’s “[[Need Your Love So Bad|I Need Love So Bad]]” to “Little Sister” by Elvis ! | ||
While Costello’s assured, effective and expressive singing leads the songs through melodic loop-da-loops, bassist Bruce Thomas keeps the beat and provides melodic counterpoint. Steve Naive/Hart bounces from classically-inspired piano accompaniment to psychedelic aural miasmas that curtain the rest of the band. Drummer Pete Thomas supports all with his off-center yet propulsively supple drumming, his snare drop on a stately “Clowntime Is Over” could induce heart attacks. | While Costello’s assured, effective and expressive singing leads the songs through melodic loop-da-loops, bassist Bruce Thomas keeps the beat and provides melodic counterpoint. Steve Naive/Hart bounces from classically-inspired piano accompaniment to psychedelic aural miasmas that curtain the rest of the band. Drummer Pete Thomas supports all with his off-center yet propulsively supple drumming, his snare drop on a stately “Clowntime Is Over” could induce heart attacks. | ||
The personal high point of the Palladium show was the consecutive combination of “King Horse” and “Big Sister’s Clothes”, in this writer’s opinion, Costello’s two most conceptually perfect lyrical work-outs. But the set was really full of highlights. Costello’s Bob Quine –like solo on “Temptation”, the return of “Hand In Hand” to live play, the appearance of Glenn Tilbrook for “From A Whisper To A Scream” and the appearance of Wonder’s “Jammin’ (Master Blaster)” in the middle of “Watching The Detectives”. It was a nearly perfect concert. | The personal high point of the Palladium show was the consecutive combination of “King Horse” and “Big Sister’s Clothes”, in this writer’s opinion, Costello’s two most conceptually perfect lyrical work-outs. But the set was really full of highlights. Costello’s [[Robert Quine|Bob Quine]] –like solo on “Temptation”, the return of “Hand In Hand” to live play, the appearance of [[Glenn Tilbrook]] for “From A Whisper To A Scream” and the appearance of Wonder’s “Jammin’ (Master Blaster)” in the middle of “Watching The Detectives”. It was a nearly perfect concert. | ||
[[Squeeze]], who opened, were very good and deserve a review of their own, but are only getting a paragraph. Their live presentation misses Jools Holland’s smarmy wit – he’s been replaced by Paul Carrack, formerly of Ace, who offered a cocktail soul version of “How Long (Has This Been Going On)”. They wisely chose to concentrate on tunes from ''ArgyBargy'', their latest and best LP. “Goodbye Girl” is as close as Squeeze will ever come to penning the perfect pop song, but this night’s pounding boogie rendition obliterated the song’s melodic charm. Up-tempo numbers like “Pulling Mussels From A Shell” fared better. Their diligent efforts were rewarded with enthusiastic demands for an encore. | [[Squeeze]], who opened, were very good and deserve a review of their own, but are only getting a paragraph. Their live presentation misses Jools Holland’s smarmy wit – he’s been replaced by Paul Carrack, formerly of Ace, who offered a cocktail soul version of “How Long (Has This Been Going On)”. They wisely chose to concentrate on tunes from ''ArgyBargy'', their latest and best LP. “Goodbye Girl” is as close as Squeeze will ever come to penning the perfect pop song, but this night’s pounding boogie rendition obliterated the song’s melodic charm. Up-tempo numbers like “Pulling Mussels From A Shell” fared better. Their diligent efforts were rewarded with enthusiastic demands for an encore. | ||
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Before anyone’s even had the chance to burp after digesting ''Taking Liberties'' and ''Get Happy!!'' rock’s most compulsive malcontent shouts yet again upon our collective chest, funnel in hand, pouring another piping helping of his murky complaint fillled stew. Setting aside his potentially endearing qualities for a second, the sheer accelerating tonnage of his recent recorded output (54 tunes released domestically in the past year) compels us to ask: “What is this man going on about? Why does he set it to music? Can’t he go to the bathroom without writing a song about it? Here’s a man obviously driven by the need to communicate, yet his intentions are continually obscured by this obsession with the baroque filigree of mundane detail. He gives us endless examples of personal minutiae, in themselves quite lucid, but the fragments never coalesce. If one were to take a machete to this thorny gnarled forest of non-stop verbiage one still might never slice to the core of Elvis Costello. He will not say what he means and appears willing to go to great lengths in order not to say it. | Before anyone’s even had the chance to burp after digesting ''Taking Liberties'' and ''Get Happy!!'' rock’s most compulsive malcontent shouts yet again upon our collective chest, funnel in hand, pouring another piping helping of his murky complaint fillled stew. Setting aside his potentially endearing qualities for a second, the sheer accelerating tonnage of his recent recorded output (54 tunes released domestically in the past year) compels us to ask: “What is this man going on about? Why does he set it to music? Can’t he go to the bathroom without writing a song about it? Here’s a man obviously driven by the need to communicate, yet his intentions are continually obscured by this obsession with the baroque filigree of mundane detail. He gives us endless examples of personal minutiae, in themselves quite lucid, but the fragments never coalesce. If one were to take a machete to this thorny gnarled forest of non-stop verbiage one still might never slice to the core of Elvis Costello. He will not say what he means and appears willing to go to great lengths in order not to say it. | ||
His latest | His latest slate, ''Trust'', extends this imagery yet ? of inadequate manhood metaphor, paranoia, free thinking, dissatisfaction, fingers, knuckles, more fingers, women’s garments and portions of women’s garments. | ||
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Latest revision as of 15:01, 1 January 2017
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