Orange County Register, September 21, 2013: Difference between revisions
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Like Elton, who raves about New Zealand newcomer Lorde and recently worked with heavy rock band Queens of the Stone Age, Elvis is another champion of the younger breed – among his collaborators in the past decade have been emo-rock outfit Fall Out Boy and indie queen Jenny Lewis. And he just issued one of his boldest experiments yet, teaming with the extraordinarily versatile group the Roots (principally its drummer and de facto leader, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson) for the remarkable collection ''Wise Up Ghost''. | Like Elton, who raves about New Zealand newcomer Lorde and recently worked with heavy rock band Queens of the Stone Age, Elvis is another champion of the younger breed – among his collaborators in the past decade have been emo-rock outfit Fall Out Boy and indie queen Jenny Lewis. And he just issued one of his boldest experiments yet, teaming with the extraordinarily versatile group the Roots (principally its drummer and de facto leader, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson) for the remarkable collection ''Wise Up Ghost''. | ||
Where Elton's latest is stately and wistful, Elvis' new assortment is caustic, barbed, profoundly funky in both word and groove. An occasionally harrowing state-of-the-world address more than one pundit has shakily compared to Sly & the Family Stone's cracked masterpiece There's a Riot Goin' On, it's one of Costello's most trenchant works, biting venomously like he has only sporadically in the past 20 years. | Where Elton's latest is stately and wistful, Elvis' new assortment is caustic, barbed, profoundly funky in both word and groove. An occasionally harrowing state-of-the-world address more than one pundit has shakily compared to Sly & the Family Stone's cracked masterpiece ''There's a Riot Goin' On'', it's one of Costello's most trenchant works, biting venomously like he has only sporadically in the past 20 years. | ||
Taken as a Roots record, albeit with a major guest star, it's among their most satisfying efforts, traditional yet innovative. Girded by Quest's in-your-chest syncopations, it's an impressionistic canvas like D'Angelo's gems from a decade ago, allowing filigree like horn punctuation and unnerving guitar effects to be lightly applied around confrontational beats and wisdom. Unintended though this outcome may be, ''Wise Up Ghost'' comes off like a darker, disillusioned counterpart to the group's more optimistic conscious party with John Legend in 2010, Wake Up!, right down to the yin-and-yang sentiments of those titles. | Taken as a Roots record, albeit with a major guest star, it's among their most satisfying efforts, traditional yet innovative. Girded by Quest's in-your-chest syncopations, it's an impressionistic canvas like D'Angelo's gems from a decade ago, allowing filigree like horn punctuation and unnerving guitar effects to be lightly applied around confrontational beats and wisdom. Unintended though this outcome may be, ''Wise Up Ghost'' comes off like a darker, disillusioned counterpart to the group's more optimistic conscious party with John Legend in 2010, ''Wake Up!'', right down to the yin-and-yang sentiments of those titles. | ||
But what Costello's unexpectedly well-suited detour has in common with Elton's more characteristic collection is restless spirit. | But what Costello's unexpectedly well-suited detour has in common with Elton's more characteristic collection is restless spirit. | ||
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Costello is no stranger to reinventing his songbook; Spotify the bipolar versions of "Clowntime Is Over" or the different shades of rue in his renditions of "Blue Chair" for proof. The overhauling throughout ''Wise Up Ghost'', though, is almost unprecedented. The totalitarian menace of "Pills and Soap," for instance – one of his grimmest but most compelling pieces from the Thatcher years – is here reborn with choke-down-the-evil relevance as "Stick Out Your Tongue," creeping like a phantom GTO cruising the apocalypse. | Costello is no stranger to reinventing his songbook; Spotify the bipolar versions of "Clowntime Is Over" or the different shades of rue in his renditions of "Blue Chair" for proof. The overhauling throughout ''Wise Up Ghost'', though, is almost unprecedented. The totalitarian menace of "Pills and Soap," for instance – one of his grimmest but most compelling pieces from the Thatcher years – is here reborn with choke-down-the-evil relevance as "Stick Out Your Tongue," creeping like a phantom GTO cruising the apocalypse. | ||
Much of the disc's material is original, the wordsmith challenged to twist his timing and meter to fit musical forms he's only dabbled in when backed by the Attractions or the Imposters. Yet for Costellophiles, it's also a self-referencing feast, as quotable passages from neglected but tellingly titled tracks like "Invasion Hit Parade" and "Bedlam," among others, gain radicalized resonance in this Ghost-ly context. | Much of the disc's material is original, the wordsmith challenged to twist his timing and meter to fit musical forms he's only dabbled in when backed by the Attractions or the Imposters. Yet for Costellophiles, it's also a self-referencing feast, as quotable passages from neglected but tellingly titled tracks like "Invasion Hit Parade" and "Bedlam," among others, gain radicalized resonance in this ''Ghost''-ly context. | ||
That, like Elton's scaled-down grandeur, should be enough of an old-is-new trick to suck in longtime fans while quenching both artists' desire to hurtle forward, not stagnate. "You have to push the boundaries," Elton exhorted his collegiate crowd Monday night. "Coasting is dangerous." | That, like Elton's scaled-down grandeur, should be enough of an old-is-new trick to suck in longtime fans while quenching both artists' desire to hurtle forward, not stagnate. "You have to push the boundaries," Elton exhorted his collegiate crowd Monday night. "Coasting is dangerous." | ||
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[[Ben Wener]] reviews ''[[Wise Up Ghost]]'' and [[Elton John]]'s ''The Diving Board''. | [[Ben Wener]] reviews ''[[Wise Up Ghost]]'' and [[Elton John]]'s ''The Diving Board''. | ||
{{Bibliography | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
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Revision as of 22:42, 4 January 2014
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