New York Times, August 20, 1984: Difference between revisions
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Mr. Costello has determinedly explored rock and pop genres; his records have delved into garage-band rock, soul, elaborate Beatles-influenced productions and folk-rock derived from Bob Dylan. Backed by the Attractions, he has devoted full concerts to country singing and pop crooning; more recently, he played a solo show like a folksinger, accompanied only by his own guitar. Meanwhile, his 10th and 11th albums, ''Punch the Clock'' and the new ''Goodbye Cruel World'', unveil a punctilious pop style, with instrumental hooks tucked in and around every line of lyrics. | Mr. Costello has determinedly explored rock and pop genres; his records have delved into garage-band rock, soul, elaborate Beatles-influenced productions and folk-rock derived from Bob Dylan. Backed by the Attractions, he has devoted full concerts to country singing and pop crooning; more recently, he played a solo show like a folksinger, accompanied only by his own guitar. Meanwhile, his 10th and 11th albums, ''Punch the Clock'' and the new ''Goodbye Cruel World'', unveil a punctilious pop style, with instrumental hooks tucked in and around every line of lyrics. | ||
Having warmed up all those approaches, Mr. Costello and the Attractions seem to be bursting with the impulse to mix and match. The first part of his two-hour show had the heady unpredictability of any good improvisatory music. The Attractions clearly knew where the songs were headed, but every new turn was a surprise for the audience, from the twitchy bass line that underlined the words ''"invisible shivers"'' in " | Having warmed up all those approaches, Mr. Costello and the Attractions seem to be bursting with the impulse to mix and match. The first part of his two-hour show had the heady unpredictability of any good improvisatory music. The Attractions clearly knew where the songs were headed, but every new turn was a surprise for the audience, from the twitchy bass line that underlined the words ''"invisible shivers"'' in "Watching the Detectives" to Mr. Costello's choppy singing in "Shabby Doll." | ||
As jazz musicians know, experiments in rhythm and phrasing serve to torture-test a song. Mr. Costello's reworkings sometimes obscured his pointed, associative lyrics and showed the limits of his abilities as a melodist. There were also times that the band simply seemed to be doodling away. But Mr. Costello's willingness to kick around his own tunes is something more bands should consider. | As jazz musicians know, experiments in rhythm and phrasing serve to torture-test a song. Mr. Costello's reworkings sometimes obscured his pointed, associative lyrics and showed the limits of his abilities as a melodist. There were also times that the band simply seemed to be doodling away. But Mr. Costello's willingness to kick around his own tunes is something more bands should consider. | ||
After 1¼ hours of shaking up the repertory, the group walked offstage. Mr. Costello returned alone, with his guitar, to play a country song and a slowed-down revision " | After 1¼ hours of shaking up the repertory, the group walked offstage. Mr. Costello returned alone, with his guitar, to play a country song and a slowed-down revision "Peace in Our Time." Then, joined by the Attractions, he ran through record-perfect versions of "The Only Flame in Town" and "Every Day I Write the Book" — his two hit singles in the United States — as if to prove that the Attractions could, after all, be a typical pop band. | ||
Nick Lowe and his Cowboy Outfit played a jaunty opening set. Like Mr. Costello, Mr. Lowe has a collector's grasp of pop styles; he has lately been leaning toward rockabilly, swamp-rock and country two-steps. Mr. Lowe also has a melodic facility that Mr. Costello lacks. But except for a rare song like "Cracking Up," Mr. Lowe sticks to jokey lyrics, and his songs stay cheerfully superficial. | |||
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Revision as of 16:17, 2 April 2019
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