Roadrunner, March 1979

Bibliography   72 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UK & Ireland weeklies UK & Ireland magazines UK & Ireland newspapers US newspapers US rock magazines US music magazines US magazines US alternative weeklies European magazines European newspapers Canada  •  Mexico  •  Asia Australia  •  New Zealand South America  •  Africa Blogs  •  Fanzines  •  Books Online publications Roadrunner   1978 May 1978 June 1978 October 1978 December 1979 February 1979 March 1979 April 1980 February 22  1980 April 1981 December  1982 July Australia publications  Newspapers Adelaide Advertiser The Australian Brisbane Courier-Mail Canberra Times Lismore Northern Star Melbourne Age Melbourne Herald Sun Melbourne Observer Nation Review Newcastle Herald Queensland Times Sydney Daily Mirror Sydney Daily Telegraph Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Sun-Herald Victor Harbor Times West Australian West Australian Sunday Times Magazines ABC Radio 24 Hours Adelaide Review Audio Technology Australian Musician Australian Nat. Univ. Woroni Australian Women's Weekly Black+White BMA Magazine The Bulletin Countdown Crowd DB Magazine Drum Media EON Extra Follow Me Gentlemen Inpress Juice Juke Melbourne Beat Men's Style Australia Mint Magazine The Music On The Street Rage Reverb Magazine RAM Reader's Digest Revolver Rhythms Rip It Up Roadrunner Rolling Stone Semper Street Fever Sydney Star Observer Time Off UNSW Tharunka Who Online publications AU Review Australian Stage Music Feeds Scenestr Tone Deaf — Armed Forces Elvis Costello Ross Stapleton The third album from Elvis Costello comes hot on the heels of his Australian tour so Costello fans have already been introduced to some of the material on it. However, as anyone who attended his concerts would testify the live Costello is quite different to the recorded one. This album immediately strikes you as being similar to his previous two but further listening reveals its true quality. Costello's vocal style is undoubtedly responsible for this initial impression because his distinctive style does not appear repetitive. There is no mistaking that tense and sometimes strangled singing, vehemently attacking the lyrics and bending vowels into the Costello mode. The production on this album is clean and precise highlighting Costello's singing and negating his guitar playing to the point of irrelevance... not that that matters with the Attractions behind him solid and strong all the way. The rhythm section of Bruce Thomas and Pete Thomas provide a consistent base for all the tracks here. Although it seems very basic and simple at first, close listening reveals an intricate rhythmic partnership. Now that may be more by design of the producer than natural partnership but whatever the case, it works. One thing that is certainly not contrived on this album is the piano and organ playing of Steve Naive. His playing adds color and depth right through the album despite the overpowering vocals. It provides a perfect complement to the melodies and certainly showcases his musical training for it is both lyrical and thoughtful. In fact, I think if it wasn't for his presence on the album, Costello would have had only a duplicate of his last album. Naive may be a petulant little shit on stage but he knows what he's doing when it comes to music. The cover and inner sleeve of this album deserve a mention because of their obscurity and the trouble taken with them. I'm not going to bother trying to interpret them because any meaning that can be read into them is purely subjective... they're a symbolist's delight. The lyrics are similarly obscure and the same applies as above. Only Costello knows what they're really about and anything you or I make of them is conjecture. This raises the question of whether the lyrics are important or is the music the thing? Costello may have had a grand theme for this album and his subject is obvious but its importance is debatable particularly when the music stands on its own merits. Yet something about Costello's style is disturbing. It's a feeling that you've heard it somewhere before although you know it wasn't the same. Just as he created a unique identity and labelled it with a synthesis of infamous names he synthesises a unique sound by combining various musical styles which seem obvious although you can never quite pinpoint them. American Squirm Nick Lowe Joe Camilleri This month, the singles are reviewed by Joe Camilleri of Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons, with help from Falcons roadies Geoff and Tony. At times the conversation deviated from the record at hand, but the sidetracks were often as interesting as the review comments so I've left most of them in - D.R. Joe: I don't think it'll do very well here. It's interesting because it's definitely directed at the American market. Interesting kind of work on that one with that jangling guitar, very sixties sound. I think it's a good record. It's one record that I find I have to listen to a few times. That's the second time I've heard it and I still haven't got right into it. Nick Lowe has that effect on me with his records, like with Jesus Of Cool. I didn't like that at first but it really grew on me. It's unfortunate that these singles don't get an opportunity except on stations like 3RRR or 2JJ. But even at their strongest peak those stations will never break through. I don't think 10 per cent of the people are aware that it's available to them. Maybe when FM comes in, 'cos it has to come in strong, there might be a little more awareness. Maybe if some of these commercial stations go FM it'll make a difference. This tune will probably be one of the top 10 tunes in the 3RRR top forty, but it probably wouldn't even get a hearing anywhere else. It's hard to tell, of course. Costello's breaking through and there's a few others. Elvis Costello Keith Shadwick Elvis Costello ran into problems prior to the release of the new LP and single: He pulled the same stunts at the Dominion in Tottenham Court Road as he had in Sydney, refusing all encores and generally giving the audience short shrift, while the band sounded tired and bored: It seemed for a couple of weeks as though the inevitable media reaction was to overtake him, but the new LP and another round of concerts in the last couple of weeks have revived his career. Only the older numbers sound tired now: "Detectives" was delivered as though he was sleepwalking. Either he's following managerial decrees for enigmatic behavior too closely or he's just sick of playing the same thing for two years now. Anyway, he's still in a pretty healthy position. Roadrunner, March 1979 Sue Denim reviews Armed Forces Joe Camilleri reviews the single for Nick Lowe's "American Squirm." Keith Shadwick reports on EC's Dominion Theatre stand. Also includes part 2 of Stuart Matchett's interview with Dave Robinson. Images Page scans. Out of the gutters The story of Stiff Records: Part Two Stuart Matchett Last issue, Dave Robinson described the circumstances that lead to the formation of Stiff Records in London — the rise of the pub rock circuits, and the dissatisfaction with the Establishment record companies, etc etc. In part two of the interview, Robinson goes on to recall the early days and growth of Stiff, the self-styled "undertakers to the industry." We had a tiny office and most of the room was taken up by these boxes of eight-track tapes which were the demos we had from the Hope and Anchor studio days. I've still got millions of them. If I had the time, I'd love to put together a 10-record set in a box. You'd sell about 2000 copies but the people who bought them would have everything there on record. Once it's on vinyl it becomes something special — well, to me, anyway. How did you go about signing up people for Stiff? We made a list, actually...a very quick list. Micky Jupp was the final person on it and we signed him recently, so we've actually completed our list of signings. It was run on a co-operative basis, like the pub rock thing, and we try to keep that in the record label. People who were doing well co-operated to help people who weren't doing so well — play on their records or give them a song — and it's worked out very well like that. Remaining text and scanner-error corrections to come... Cover.

External links

• ro.uow.edu.au
• trove.nla.gov.au