Record Hunter, November 1990: Difference between revisions
(+Flickr: littletriggers link) |
(update browser) |
||
(3 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
{{:Bibliography index}} | {{:Bibliography index}} | ||
{{:Vox index}} | {{:Vox index}} | ||
{{: | {{:UK & Ireland magazines index}} | ||
{{Bibliography article header}} | {{Bibliography article header}} | ||
<center><h3> That year's model </h3></center> | <center><h3> That year's model </h3></center> | ||
Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
'''Elvis Costello grabbed 1977 by the throat. During that time, he launched a four-single salvo, a clutch of classic gigs and a debut LP that left critics drooling. | '''Elvis Costello grabbed 1977 by the throat. During that time, he launched a four-single salvo, a clutch of classic gigs and a debut LP that left critics drooling. | ||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
''"Let's talk about the future now we've put the past away"'' was the prescient last line off " | ''"Let's talk about the future now we've put the past away"'' was the prescient last line off "Less Than Zero" (c/w "Radio Sweetheart") (Stiff BUY 11) released March 25, 1977. A searing 90-second indictment of ageing fascist Oswald Mosley, it marked the obituary of both Declan Patrick MacManus and D P Costello, and the birth of Elvis Costello. | ||
Costello had been intimidating A&R men in their offices for months before his debut. The intense 21-year-old would beard them in their den, and try and cram as much of his 20-minute set in before he was evicted. If he couldn't get his guitar in the door, Costello would dispatch demo tapes, and rumour has it that his was the first to arrive on Jake Riviera's desk when Stiff opened its doors for business. A chance meeting with Stiff house producer Nick Lowe led to Costello signing with the fledgling label. | Costello had been intimidating A&R men in their offices for months before his debut. The intense 21-year-old would beard them in their den, and try and cram as much of his 20-minute set in before he was evicted. If he couldn't get his guitar in the door, Costello would dispatch demo tapes, and rumour has it that his was the first to arrive on Jake Riviera's desk when Stiff opened its doors for business. A chance meeting with Stiff house producer Nick Lowe led to Costello signing with the fledgling label. | ||
Moonlighting from his job as a computer programmer at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics (the "vanity factory" of "I'm Not Angry"), Costello began recording tracks at Pathway Studios. The backing band were | Moonlighting from his job as a computer programmer at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics (the "vanity factory" of "I'm Not Angry"), Costello began recording tracks at Pathway Studios. The backing band were Clover, later to metamorphose into Huey Lewis And The News (Lewis himself was not on the sessions — "I took a vacation.") A different mix of "Less Than Zero" surfaced in the first week of April 1977 on ''A Bunch Of Stiffs'' (Stiff SEEZ 2), the label's second album, a compilation which also featured Graham Parker, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe and Wreckless Eric. | ||
The B-side of Costello's first single was the undiluted C&W of "Radio Sweetheart." A lifelong Country aficionado, Costello would put further backs up in 1981 with the release of his own ''Nashville Skyline'', ''Almost Blue''. "Sweetheart" wasn't available on album in Britain until 1984 when it appeared on ''Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers'', which was an early attempt to sweep up some of Costello's awesome detritus. | The B-side of Costello's first single was the undiluted C&W of "Radio Sweetheart." A lifelong Country aficionado, Costello would put further backs up in 1981 with the release of his own ''Nashville Skyline'', ''Almost Blue''. "Sweetheart" wasn't available on album in Britain until 1984 when it appeared on ''Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers'', which was an early attempt to sweep up some of Costello's awesome detritus. | ||
The second single, | The second single, "Alison"/ "Welcome To The Working Week" (Stiff BUY 14) came out in May 1977, and while nearly drowning under a tidal wave of superlatives, the great buying public were "overwhelmed by indifference." "Alison" achieved a spurious notoriety when Linda Ronstadt included it as one of three Costello covers on her ''Mad Love'' album, of which the composer was less than enthusiastic ("torture…dreadful… duff…waste of vinyl etc). In a week that also saw the release of the Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen," "Alison" dipped out of view, but not of hearts and minds. | ||
[[Concert 1977-05-27 London|May 27]] saw Costello's debut under his new name at West London's Nashville, a performance which transfixed ''Melody Maker'''s | [[Concert 1977-05-27 London|May 27]] saw Costello's debut under his new name at West London's Nashville, a performance which [[Melody Maker, June 4, 1977|transfixed]] ''Melody Maker'''s Allan Jones, and which led to his conducting Costello's first interview, which ''MM'' ran in their [[Melody Maker, June 25, 1977|June 25]], 1977 issue. July 9 saw Costello quit his job at Elizabeth Arden; a gig supporting Wayne County at "the South West's top rock centre" Penzance's The Garden on [[Concert 1977-07-14 Penzance|July 14]], witnessed Costello's first appearance with The Attractions. | ||
"(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" / "Mystery Dance" (Stiff BUY 15) slipped out on July 7, and according to the composer it was "dreamed up during the kind of hallucination that you can only have between Runcorn and Liverpool Lime Street (travelling time approx ten minutes). With lines like ''"I said 'I'm so happy I could die' / She said 'Drop dead!' then left with another guy"'' Costello was cementing his reputation as the most literate, perceptive and angry writer of the New Wave ("The only two things that matter to me… writing all these songs," Costello told ''NME'''s Nick Kent in [[New Musical Express, August 27, 1977|August]], "are revenge and guilt. Those are the only emotions I know about.") | |||
While the world wasn't exactly holding its breath for the Elvis Costello debut album, certain influential parties in the rock press were declaring an interest, and the release of '' | While the world wasn't exactly holding its breath for the Elvis Costello debut album, certain influential parties in the rock press were declaring an interest, and the release of ''My Aim Is True'' (Stiff SEEZ 3) on July 22 confirmed their intuition. Recorded with the help of Clover and producer Nick Lowe on two tracks, it lacks the punch Costello was muscling with The Attractions, but remains a priceless souvenir of Costello's first steps. | ||
''My Aim Is True'' is shot through with venom, even the beguiling "Alison" is deceptively bitter. "Mystery Dance" crackles with suppressed vitriol while "I'm Not Angry" snaps with the iconoclastic chorus: ''"There's no such thing as an original sin." '' | ''My Aim Is True'' is shot through with venom, even the beguiling "Alison" is deceptively bitter. "Mystery Dance" crackles with suppressed vitriol while "I'm Not Angry" snaps with the iconoclastic chorus: ''"There's no such thing as an original sin." '' | ||
Line 32: | Line 32: | ||
Costello's debut album had been recorded over a 24-hour period, with accumulated sick days and holidays from his day job. Early in [[Concert 1977-07-26 CBS|August]] in another Stiff scam, Costello was arrested for buskling outside the CBS Sales Convention at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane. The full weight of the law descended on the busker's shoulders, and Costello was fined £5 for obstruction. | Costello's debut album had been recorded over a 24-hour period, with accumulated sick days and holidays from his day job. Early in [[Concert 1977-07-26 CBS|August]] in another Stiff scam, Costello was arrested for buskling outside the CBS Sales Convention at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane. The full weight of the law descended on the busker's shoulders, and Costello was fined £5 for obstruction. | ||
Finally, with an album under his belt and a band to boot, Elvis And The Attractions hit the road with a vengeance. From mid-[[:Category:1st Attractions Tour|July to September]], the Costello blitzkrieg raged, culminating with an inappropriate appearance at the Crystal Palace Bowl on [[Concert 1977-09-10 London|September 10]], supporting | Finally, with an album under his belt and a band to boot, Elvis And The Attractions hit the road with a vengeance. From mid-[[:Category:1st Attractions Tour|July to September]], the Costello blitzkrieg raged, culminating with an inappropriate appearance at the Crystal Palace Bowl on [[Concert 1977-09-10 London|September 10]], supporting Carlos Santana! | ||
Barely drawing breath, Costello went on to the [[:Category:Stiff's Greatest Stiffs Live|Stiffs Live Tour]], 24 shows from October 3 - November 5 in the company of labelmates Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric and Larry Wallis. Costello was previewing material from his forthcoming second album in his short set, as well as covers including the Everly Brothers' "[[The Price Of Love|Price Of Love]]," The Merseybeats' "[[Really Mystified]]," The Damned's "[[Neat Neat Neat]]" and Bacharach & David's "[[I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself]]" — the latter, along with a fiery "Miracle Man" appear on 1978's ''[[Live Stiffs]]'' album. | Barely drawing breath, Costello went on to the [[:Category:Stiff's Greatest Stiffs Live|Stiffs Live Tour]], 24 shows from October 3 - November 5 in the company of labelmates Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric and Larry Wallis. Costello was previewing material from his forthcoming second album in his short set, as well as covers including the Everly Brothers' "[[The Price Of Love|Price Of Love]]," The Merseybeats' "[[Really Mystified]]," The Damned's "[[Neat Neat Neat]]" and Bacharach & David's "[[I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself]]" — the latter, along with a fiery "Miracle Man" appear on 1978's ''[[Live Stiffs]]'' album. | ||
Line 62: | Line 62: | ||
{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = Vox, | |prev = Vox, November 1994 | ||
|next = Record Hunter, November 1991 | |next = Record Hunter, November 1991 | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 71: | Line 71: | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1990-11-00 Vox Record Hunter cover | [[image:1990-11-00 Vox Record Hunter cover.jpg|380px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Cover.</small> | <br><small>Cover.</small> | ||
[[image:1990-11-00 Vox Record Hunter page | <small>Page scans.</small><br> | ||
[[image:1990-11-00 Vox Record Hunter page 16.jpg|380px|border]] | |||
[[image:1990-11-00 Vox Record Hunter page 17.jpg|380px|border]] | |||
<small>Vox cover and contents page.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1990-11-00 Vox cover.jpg|x120px]] | [[image:1990-11-00 Vox cover.jpg|x120px]] | ||
[[image:1990-11-00 Vox contents page.jpg|x120px]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
Line 90: | Line 93: | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vox_(magazine) Wikipedia: Vox (magazine)] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vox_(magazine) Wikipedia: Vox (magazine)] | ||
*[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/t-z/vox.901101a.html elviscostello.info] | *[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/t-z/vox.901101a.html elviscostello.info] | ||
*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/littletriggers/16177910052/ Flickr: | *[http://www.flickr.com/photos/littletriggers/16177910052/ Flickr:] [[Stephen McCathie]] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vox 1990-11-00}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Vox 1990-11-00}} |
Latest revision as of 21:18, 20 September 2021
|