The Face, March 1986: Difference between revisions
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{{:Bibliography index}} | {{:Bibliography index}} | ||
{{:The Face index}} | {{:The Face index}} | ||
{{:UK & | {{:UK & Ireland magazines index}} | ||
{{Bibliography article header}} | {{Bibliography article header}} | ||
<center><h3> The happy death of Elvis Costello </h3></center> | <center><h3> The happy death of Elvis Costello </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Nick Kent </center> | <center> Nick Kent </center> | ||
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'''A comic drama in three parts, involving the troubled troubadour in intrigues of his own devising and nightmares of others' imagination, in which he finally lays his ghost to rest… | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
<center> Part one </center> | |||
''"And they pulled him out of the cold, cold ground. <br>And they put him in a suit of lights."'' | ''"And they pulled him out of the cold, cold ground. <br>And they put him in a suit of lights."'' | ||
::<small> Declan P.A. MacManus, "Suit Of Lights" 1986 </small> | ::<small> Declan P.A. MacManus, "Suit Of Lights" 1986 </small> | ||
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The world was stunned this past month when, after almost a year of speculation concerning physical deterioration and possible mental instability, Elvis Costello, the self-styled "knock-kneed mis-shapen misanthrope" of rock, was claimed to have executed himself in what many insiders regard to be a ''bizarre schizophrenic slaying!'' | The world was stunned this past month when, after almost a year of speculation concerning physical deterioration and possible mental instability, Elvis Costello, the self-styled "knock-kneed mis-shapen misanthrope" of rock, was claimed to have executed himself in what many insiders regard to be a ''bizarre schizophrenic slaying!'' | ||
Rumour had been rife regarding Costello's purported problems: indeed one brave journalist had made sensational reading in a recent issue of a rock weekly by describing the troubled troubadour's last desperate months, during which, sighted "at London gigs and clubs he (Costello) was a bloated, sweating presence. For whatever reasons he looked a wreck" | Rumour had been rife regarding Costello's purported problems: indeed one brave journalist had made sensational reading in a recent issue of a rock weekly by describing the troubled troubadour's last desperate months, during which, sighted "at London gigs and clubs he (Costello) was a bloated, sweating presence. For whatever reasons he looked a wreck." This intrepid scribe went on to draw weighty conclusions from rumours "too difficult to substantiate, too persistent to ignore" that "tell of a troubled love life, a drink problem and an artistic stone wall." Reflecting on Costello's new recording — "an undisguised plea for compassion, for a breathing space, for a ray of hope" — the pop pundit concluded that the mediocre version of an old Sixties hit, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", was in fact nothing less than "a harrowed howl for help." Elsewhere, mention made of the victim's penchant for "agonisingly slow self-flagellation" and "public disembowelment." | ||
Not long after these words appeared in print, a voice claiming to be Costello's psychiatrist, a certain Dr. McManus, contacted the aforementioned reporter by phone — only a matter of hours prior to the suicide of his patient — in an attempt to force a confrontation with the troubled genius. "It was a long shot," Dr. McManus stated, "but it might just have worked." | Not long after these words appeared in print, a voice claiming to be Costello's psychiatrist, a certain Dr. McManus, contacted the aforementioned reporter by phone — only a matter of hours prior to the suicide of his patient — in an attempt to force a confrontation with the troubled genius. "It was a long shot," Dr. McManus stated, "but it might just have worked." | ||
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1985 was the first year since the creation at the tail end of '76 of Elvis Costello — quote unquote — that the singer didn't release an album. Not that he was exactly donkeying around: there were production chores for at least two acts, most specifically the Pogues, a short solo tour in Australia and another solo one-shot that proved to be one of the few actual ''musical'' highlights of Live Aid. ("A noble enough cause… but it was such an incredible shame that so little good music came out of such a gigantic event.") He also performed in a "cameo" role for playwright Alan Bleasdale, "a very fleeting role as a magician who loses his nerve — a human exploding card trick if you like," in Bleasdale's new film, ''No Surrender'' (see page 72). More crucially, he recorded some 18 tracks, with colleague | 1985 was the first year since the creation at the tail end of '76 of Elvis Costello — quote unquote — that the singer didn't release an album. Not that he was exactly donkeying around: there were production chores for at least two acts, most specifically the Pogues, a short solo tour in Australia and another solo one-shot that proved to be one of the few actual ''musical'' highlights of Live Aid. ("A noble enough cause… but it was such an incredible shame that so little good music came out of such a gigantic event.") He also performed in a "cameo" role for playwright Alan Bleasdale, "a very fleeting role as a magician who loses his nerve — a human exploding card trick if you like," in Bleasdale's new film, ''No Surrender'' (see page 72). More crucially, he recorded some 18 tracks, with colleague T{{nb}}Bone Burnett producing, over in Los Angeles that were to consummate a radical breaking-away from the role he felt he'd been shoehorning himself into. Finally — and vital to his state of mind — he fell in love. | ||
Released in the beginning of March, '' | Released in the beginning of March, ''King Of America'' is the first album barring his debut release, ''My Aim Is True'', not to feature The Attractions backing him throughout. Yet more pointedly, the record, although it will be issued under the umbrella soubriquet of The Costello Show (he preferred The McManus Gang but bowed to the corporate choice) is the first determined demonstration of Costello to rid himself of his infamous handle. | ||
"Last year I officially had my name changed back to the name I was first christened with — Declan Patrick McManus." In fact, it's officially Declan Patrick ''Aloysius'' McManus, the Aloysius part lifted from comedian Tony Hancock whose middle name provided this spot of inspiration. | "Last year I officially had my name changed back to the name I was first christened with — Declan Patrick McManus." In fact, it's officially Declan Patrick ''Aloysius'' McManus, the Aloysius part lifted from comedian Tony Hancock whose middle name provided this spot of inspiration. | ||
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"But no-one picked up on that back then. Nor did they … well, speaking quite frankly, I'm amazed that no-one at the time exposed the fact that I was into almost totally wrecking myself on drink and chemicals for … well, three years virtually non-stop! Really it was nothing thousands of other groups in our position weren't also doing, particularly then, but still the real irony is that when there were those influences around, the press didn't rumble it. I was into a daily thing of artificial stimulation — drinking myself into a stupor, fuelling myself on cocaine, but no-one suspected a thing. | "But no-one picked up on that back then. Nor did they … well, speaking quite frankly, I'm amazed that no-one at the time exposed the fact that I was into almost totally wrecking myself on drink and chemicals for … well, three years virtually non-stop! Really it was nothing thousands of other groups in our position weren't also doing, particularly then, but still the real irony is that when there were those influences around, the press didn't rumble it. I was into a daily thing of artificial stimulation — drinking myself into a stupor, fuelling myself on cocaine, but no-one suspected a thing. | ||
"I mean, I look back on virtually the last ten years and Elvis Costello … you see Elvis Costello was always partly an 'invention'. Not like Ziggy Stardust so much but certainly the name — which | "I mean, I look back on virtually the last ten years and Elvis Costello … you see Elvis Costello was always partly an 'invention'. Not like Ziggy Stardust so much but certainly the name — which Jake Riviera came up with in fact — and this image, y'know, of me as 'the knock-kneed mis-shapcn misanthrope of rock' was definitely calculated. I always felt this thing back then… this fear that I can only liken to a child being afraid of the dark. I needed this persona and I clung to it because if I gave the game away, I felt I would be never quite assured enough of myself. So I rationalized it — and still do to a slight extent. Elvis Costello is a good brand name, you know, like 'Durex'! | ||
"But it got carried away and in the process I became falsely 'enigmatic', if you like, and ''very contrary''. At the same time I don't want this to sound schizophrenic because I'm ''not'', and the person who wrote those songs has always been ''me''. Plus I was very, very bitter and angry and … well, the first year I played with The Attractions I was performing live almost exclusively on this level of anger and just ''incredible'' nervous energy. And then it got to that stage where I would be functioning on mental or, y'know, 'artificial' energy. But I found that as I continued, it became automatically a thing of me never letting my guard down. | "But it got carried away and in the process I became falsely 'enigmatic', if you like, and ''very contrary''. At the same time I don't want this to sound schizophrenic because I'm ''not'', and the person who wrote those songs has always been ''me''. Plus I was very, very bitter and angry and … well, the first year I played with The Attractions I was performing live almost exclusively on this level of anger and just ''incredible'' nervous energy. And then it got to that stage where I would be functioning on mental or, y'know, 'artificial' energy. But I found that as I continued, it became automatically a thing of me never letting my guard down. | ||
"Well, I see it as having served its purpose, but ''now'' I don't need it. 1 don't need the game-playing and the whole smoke-screen, thank you, because it only clouds the issue. Like a friend recently asked me about the fact that in ' | "Well, I see it as having served its purpose, but ''now'' I don't need it. 1 don't need the game-playing and the whole smoke-screen, thank you, because it only clouds the issue. Like a friend recently asked me about the fact that in 'Suit Of Lights' (a ''King Of America'' track) there's this description of a funeral taking place and he — half-knowingly by this time I'm certain — asked me whose funeral it was. I just looked at him and said,'' 'Isn't it obvious'?''" | ||
"I prefer my own name or the name I was born with, I should say. I think Declan McManus is a beautiful name actually. It sounds wonderful and it feels closer to me. Because I've been around, right, and at the age of virtually 32 there are more important things to deal with than being the great 'enigma'. Things like' 'truth' and 'beauty' to name but two. I'm a big, strong lad now and … all that security and protection just insularizes you and it can leave you empty. | "I prefer my own name or the name I was born with, I should say. I think Declan McManus is a beautiful name actually. It sounds wonderful and it feels closer to me. Because I've been around, right, and at the age of virtually 32 there are more important things to deal with than being the great 'enigma'. Things like' 'truth' and 'beauty' to name but two. I'm a big, strong lad now and … all that security and protection just insularizes you and it can leave you empty. | ||
"I don't live like that and I don't have any problems. People don't bother me in the street that much and if they do recognize me they're very agreeable and courteous. The only trouble there has been is a certain tendency I find in that I sometimes get quite loony letters from certain fans. There are people out there who seem to think I know the answers to some great unfathomable question. Like there's one guy who helps run this magazine — ''The Elvis Costello Information Service'' — which I quickly should add I'm very flattered by overall, but this one guy, finally I felt I should meet him. I went along with T | "I don't live like that and I don't have any problems. People don't bother me in the street that much and if they do recognize me they're very agreeable and courteous. The only trouble there has been is a certain tendency I find in that I sometimes get quite loony letters from certain fans. There are people out there who seem to think I know the answers to some great unfathomable question. Like there's one guy who helps run this magazine — ''The Elvis Costello Information Service'' — which I quickly should add I'm very flattered by overall, but this one guy, finally I felt I should meet him. I went along with T{{nb}}Bone Burnette who is one of the most patient and sweet-natured people I've certainly ever encountered. He's a born-again Christian but never once has he even hinted at trying to engage me in any kind of ''conversion''. We just get on fantastically well. And T{{nb}}Bone after five minutes became quite intolerant towards the guy because he, having been around Dylan during the Rolling Thunder Revue, is hyper-aware of all the pitfalls of the 'enigma'. And he realised even quicker than I did that this person just couldn't be communicated with rationally. I wanted to show this guy that Elvis Costello is just as human and fallible as him and that, no, I don't hold the magic key to the unravelling of life's great mysteries. But five minutes into talking, I realized this person wasn't interested in having it proven to him that Elvis Costello is just a human being. | ||
"So I felt maybe it was time to put Elvis Costello, the brand name, to rest as the only other solution." | "So I felt maybe it was time to put Elvis Costello, the brand name, to rest as the only other solution." | ||
<br> | |||
<center> Part two </center> | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
:''"Look at the man that you call 'Uncle' <br>Having a heart attack around your ankles."'' | :''"Look at the man that you call 'Uncle' <br>Having a heart attack around your ankles."'' | ||
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"No-one else was interested," maintains Pogues' leader Shane McGowan. "At least nobody who we felt could remotely do us justice in the studio." | "No-one else was interested," maintains Pogues' leader Shane McGowan. "At least nobody who we felt could remotely do us justice in the studio." | ||
Come February of 1985, the Pogues and Costello completed work on a single, " | Come February of 1985, the Pogues and Costello completed work on a single, "A Pair Of Brown Eyes," and it became clear that both parties were benefitting from the liaison. In the process of this alliance, Elvis was clearly becoming similarly enamoured by the considerable charms and salty wit of Pogues' bassist, the formidable Caitlin O'Riordan, better known as "Cait" (pronounced "Cot"). | ||
Born in Nigeria of Irish parentage, Ms. O'Riordan, some ten years Costello's junior, had already won considerable notoriety for herself as the very epitome of wide-eyed abandon, thrusting the neck of her cumbersome Fender Precision bass out at the Pogues' audience while rending the air with banshee-like yelps when the mood took her. As a bass-player she is scarcely a virtuoso but as a singer, a vocation she explored with considerable aplomb whilst fronting the short-lived but extremely worthy Pride Of The Cross, she clearly possesses a talent that has yet only been hinted at. A single, released on Big Beat (ironically it was turned down by Costello's own Imp label) entitled "Tommy's Blue Valentine" (a homage to her hero, Tom Waits, written by Pogues colleague Phil Gaston) was excellent whilst her rendition — on the flipside — of Peggy Lee's "Black Coffee" clearly denotes a flexibility of range and considerable interpretive skills that could well cause the likes of Sade sleepless nights. | Born in Nigeria of Irish parentage, Ms. O'Riordan, some ten years Costello's junior, had already won considerable notoriety for herself as the very epitome of wide-eyed abandon, thrusting the neck of her cumbersome Fender Precision bass out at the Pogues' audience while rending the air with banshee-like yelps when the mood took her. As a bass-player she is scarcely a virtuoso but as a singer, a vocation she explored with considerable aplomb whilst fronting the short-lived but extremely worthy Pride Of The Cross, she clearly possesses a talent that has yet only been hinted at. A single, released on Big Beat (ironically it was turned down by Costello's own Imp label) entitled "Tommy's Blue Valentine" (a homage to her hero, Tom Waits, written by Pogues colleague Phil Gaston) was excellent whilst her rendition — on the flipside — of Peggy Lee's "Black Coffee" clearly denotes a flexibility of range and considerable interpretive skills that could well cause the likes of Sade sleepless nights. | ||
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By autumn of last year, after the Pogues' ''Rum, Sodomy & The Lash'' sessions had been wrapped up, they were living together at a location which, when reached by phone, Costello (by this time officially rechristened D.P.A. McManus by deed-poll) would simply describe as "the Bulgarian Embassy", often hanging up immediately afterwards. Then, come December, members of the Pogues noticed an expensive-looking ring on the third finger of their bass player's left hand. Costing over a thousand pounds, the ring's appearance led to an inevitable conclusion: Declan Patrick Aloysius McManus and Caitlin O'Riordan were engaged. | By autumn of last year, after the Pogues' ''Rum, Sodomy & The Lash'' sessions had been wrapped up, they were living together at a location which, when reached by phone, Costello (by this time officially rechristened D.P.A. McManus by deed-poll) would simply describe as "the Bulgarian Embassy", often hanging up immediately afterwards. Then, come December, members of the Pogues noticed an expensive-looking ring on the third finger of their bass player's left hand. Costing over a thousand pounds, the ring's appearance led to an inevitable conclusion: Declan Patrick Aloysius McManus and Caitlin O'Riordan were engaged. | ||
The relationship has since gone conspicuously public with Ms. O'Riordan standing alone by her man — and a cumbersome double bass — as he mimes his good intentions on the "Misunderstood" video. Meanwhile her name appears alongside his on the songwriting credits for a new song, " | The relationship has since gone conspicuously public with Ms. O'Riordan standing alone by her man — and a cumbersome double bass — as he mimes his good intentions on the "Misunderstood" video. Meanwhile her name appears alongside his on the songwriting credits for a new song, "Lovable." | ||
So where does all this leave The Attractions? You may well ask. I certainly did only to have Costello/McManus at first defining relations with his former group as being on temporary hold … "We'll play together again if — and when — the situation arises." He dismisses rumours of antipathy between his former cronies and T | So where does all this leave The Attractions? You may well ask. I certainly did only to have Costello/McManus at first defining relations with his former group as being on temporary hold … "We'll play together again if — and when — the situation arises." He dismisses rumours of antipathy between his former cronies and T{{nb}}Bone Burnette, who supported him on his solo tour of '84, as "complete rubbish — I got really angry when I read that stuff in the gossip columns because it just isn't true." | ||
The individuals in The Attractions, when I attempted to query them, chose simply not to communicate their feelings regarding this current state of flux. Facts however tend to speak for themselves: Costello and the Attractions played together in public only once last year in the early spring at a miner's benefit held at London's [[Concert 1985-03-09 London|Logan Hall]]. The mood backstage was not exactly cheery, principally because this was the night the group were informed that they would not be playing behind Costello at the Live Aid bash. "They had us over a barrel," claims Costello. "Obviously the band wanted to play but it was explained that, as one of the few people along with Phil Collins and Sting, say, who could play solo, could I be the trouper and dump the band? I felt really bad but there really was no choice in the matter." | The individuals in The Attractions, when I attempted to query them, chose simply not to communicate their feelings regarding this current state of flux. Facts however tend to speak for themselves: Costello and the Attractions played together in public only once last year in the early spring at a miner's benefit held at London's [[Concert 1985-03-09 London|Logan Hall]]. The mood backstage was not exactly cheery, principally because this was the night the group were informed that they would not be playing behind Costello at the Live Aid bash. "They had us over a barrel," claims Costello. "Obviously the band wanted to play but it was explained that, as one of the few people along with Phil Collins and Sting, say, who could play solo, could I be the trouper and dump the band? I felt really bad but there really was no choice in the matter." | ||
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The Live Aid affair plus the fact of being excluded from all but one track of ''K.O.A.'' (although Elvis and The Attractions had in fact ''recorded'' versions of many of the songs slated for that album) and, finally, the touchy matter of having to witness the release of a "Best of" package that exclude their group name … these circumstances all add up to a degree of animosity. | The Live Aid affair plus the fact of being excluded from all but one track of ''K.O.A.'' (although Elvis and The Attractions had in fact ''recorded'' versions of many of the songs slated for that album) and, finally, the touchy matter of having to witness the release of a "Best of" package that exclude their group name … these circumstances all add up to a degree of animosity. | ||
Meanwhile | Meanwhile Steve Naive has been working on a new project with former Deaf School singer Steve Allen. An EP entitled "Ring-A-Ding-Ding" is due for imminent release — not on any Costello-affiliated label, but on Warner Bros. (Naive did in fact end up contributing to Live Aid by playing keyboards on the Jagger/Bowie duet of "Dancing In The Street"). Drummer Pete Thomas has been working with former employer John Stewart over in the States. | ||
When queried about the acoustic setting of ''King Of America'', Costello finally opens up about his frustration regarding the last few albums with The Attractions. | When queried about the acoustic setting of ''King Of America'', Costello finally opens up about his frustration regarding the last few albums with The Attractions. | ||
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"People are going to say when they hear this record, 'Ah yes, he's been influenced by the Pogues! Celtic folk or whatever'. But … this is the simple truth … if you'd heard the way I demo'd the songs on the last two albums, then the feel was almost exactly the same. The main problem was that in the studio I would always tend to get carried away. I'd never know when to stop. That why ''Punch The Clock'' and particularly ''Cruel World'' failed, really. | "People are going to say when they hear this record, 'Ah yes, he's been influenced by the Pogues! Celtic folk or whatever'. But … this is the simple truth … if you'd heard the way I demo'd the songs on the last two albums, then the feel was almost exactly the same. The main problem was that in the studio I would always tend to get carried away. I'd never know when to stop. That why ''Punch The Clock'' and particularly ''Cruel World'' failed, really. | ||
"On ''Imperial Bedroom'' I wrote all those songs on the piano which isn't an instrument I'm particularly a master of. I lost perspective on the arrangements on that album and ''particularly'' when I returned to the guitar for the other two. It just reached a point where I was getting so carried away trying to reflect the lyrics, the whole thing would end up sounding unbalanced. They'd sound queasy and horrific because that's what the lyric were about. ''That's'' why those albums were failures. I should have kept to the original stripped-down feel of the songs or else worked like 'Oliver's Army' where the music and the lyrics complement each other for maximum effect and that's what T | "On ''Imperial Bedroom'' I wrote all those songs on the piano which isn't an instrument I'm particularly a master of. I lost perspective on the arrangements on that album and ''particularly'' when I returned to the guitar for the other two. It just reached a point where I was getting so carried away trying to reflect the lyrics, the whole thing would end up sounding unbalanced. They'd sound queasy and horrific because that's what the lyric were about. ''That's'' why those albums were failures. I should have kept to the original stripped-down feel of the songs or else worked like 'Oliver's Army' where the music and the lyrics complement each other for maximum effect and that's what T{{nb}}Bone showed me. He'd keep saying 'forget the embellishments. Concentrate on the song." | ||
<br> | |||
<center> Part three </center> | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
:''"Mouth almighty, that's what I've got <br> Mouth almighty, telling you what's what."'' | :''"Mouth almighty, that's what I've got <br> Mouth almighty, telling you what's what."'' | ||
:::- Elvis Costello, "Mouth Almighty | :::- Elvis Costello, "Mouth Almighty" 1983 | ||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
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"After ten years of making records you can't expect any artist to suddenly change the face of popular music overnight with one record," he says defensively. | "After ten years of making records you can't expect any artist to suddenly change the face of popular music overnight with one record," he says defensively. | ||
The presence of the original Elvis (Presley)'s TCB musicians — | The presence of the original Elvis (Presley)'s TCB musicians — Ron Tutt, James Burton and Jerry Scheff — on several tracks of ''King Of America'' is, however, more than a mere novelty. This unit after all played on Gram Parsons' ''GP'' — a seminal waxing as far as Costello is concerned — and "they're simply the best players for a certain style. They were great, y'know. They seemed to respect me and even turned up to hear the rough mixes. It was wonderful talking to them between takes. That was how 'Eisenhower Blues' came about — a one-take jam which happened directly as a result of us talking about the Fifties in America. They were obviously amused at the way this young limey upstart had these opinions and, of course, they'd been there, they'd lived through it and had helped create the basis of the myth. They were great and T{{nb}}Bone and I made sure that we went for live takes. We set things up so that it would be so much like a Fifties record session as technology would permit. Virtually every track on the album is a basic live take. In fact, we'd never go over four takes. It had to possess that spontaneity because that's the way I work best, I now believe." | ||
This is in contrast to its predecessor, ''Goodbye Cruel World'', which Costello now views as a failure. Although the record's producers | This is in contrast to its predecessor, ''Goodbye Cruel World'', which Costello now views as a failure. Although the record's producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley clearly instigated the process, Costello refuses to condemn anyone but himself for the decision to implement a situation where "everything we recorded was done to sound … well, ''too'' calculated, I now feel. And in the process, all the inspiration was drained from the performances. It was all my fault. No-one forced me to work that way. But with ''Cruel World'' and part of ''Punch The Clock'' I was trying to deal directly with the contemporary pop market, so to speak. I wanted to make hit records and as such, felt compelled to compete in an arena where I frankly am not … well it just isn't my particular forté. Plus I felt I was trying to shoehorn too much into one song. | ||
On the new record I made a conscious attempt to make my lyrics and tunes less … dense. I was starting to sound maybe a little pompous." | On the new record I made a conscious attempt to make my lyrics and tunes less … dense. I was starting to sound maybe a little pompous." | ||
The subject of the singles market provokes some insights. After all, Costello throughout the Eighties has been forced to witness some of his finest songs — " | The subject of the singles market provokes some insights. After all, Costello throughout the Eighties has been forced to witness some of his finest songs — "High Fidelity," "Peace In Our Time" and others — flop ignominiously in a market in which he initially chose — quite rightly — to make success his number one priority. "My attitude towards singles now is completely mercenary. Someone else is hired to pick 'em and I just go along with their choice. You see, the way I view it, only half-a-dozen singles ever truly represented my work. I used to view each single like having a child. They were my children and … it reached a point where I was getting far too precious, viewing that one song as being my ambassador if you like. I can't pick hits anymore. I can't get ''that'' worked up because when all is said and done it's ''only'' a record and if people like it, fine." | ||
At a time when this writer, for one, used to be amused and is now actively ''disgusted'' by the state of pop, this antipathy — coming as Elvis Costello was about to release easily his most focussed and eloquent work since ''Imperial Bedroom'' — seemed odd. When I queried the stance, he virtually shot back. | At a time when this writer, for one, used to be amused and is now actively ''disgusted'' by the state of pop, this antipathy — coming as Elvis Costello was about to release easily his most focussed and eloquent work since ''Imperial Bedroom'' — seemed odd. When I queried the stance, he virtually shot back. | ||
"Christ I think this album's absolutely incredible! And even though I didn't release anything apart from that Coward Brothers [[ | "Christ I think this album's absolutely incredible! And even though I didn't release anything apart from that Coward Brothers [[The People's Limousine (single)|single]] (with T{{nb}}Bone) last year, I still ardently believe that I was at least peripherally involved in helping make one of the only two records actually worth paying good money for last year." | ||
This clearly meant the Pogues' | This clearly meant the Pogues' ''Rum, Sodomy & The Lash'', but the other one? Costello reacts as though I've just asked him a particularly naive question, then fires back — "Tom Waits' ''Raindogs'', of course!" | ||
''Meat Is Murder''? Costello bluntly dismisses it. I don't even bother to enquire about Prefab Sprout's great ''Steve McQueen'' or the last R.E.M. album. If I'd mentioned Prince … well, Costello made his feelings on ''that'' subject clear in his live version of "Worthless Thing", whilst Madonna's form is alluded to — with a typical doggerel pun — on "Sleep Of The Justice": 1985's queen of the pop pin-ups is last year's ''"immaterial girl!"'' | ''Meat Is Murder''? Costello bluntly dismisses it. I don't even bother to enquire about Prefab Sprout's great ''Steve McQueen'' or the last R.E.M. album. If I'd mentioned Prince … well, Costello made his feelings on ''that'' subject clear in his live version of "Worthless Thing", whilst Madonna's form is alluded to — with a typical doggerel pun — on "Sleep Of The Justice": <!-- sic --> 1985's queen of the pop pin-ups is last year's ''"immaterial girl!"'' | ||
"I don't want to name the obvious names and get into the usual slagging. These people have had enough publicity. Okay, how do I feel I fit into the current pop firmament? I don't, quite simply." | "I don't want to name the obvious names and get into the usual slagging. These people have had enough publicity. Okay, how do I feel I fit into the current pop firmament? I don't, quite simply." | ||
Back at the beginning of the Eighties, Costello and Bruce Springsteen were way ahead of the pack, almost neck-and-neck as commercial hotshots. Now, five years on, Springsteen has completely grasped the mass imagination of his country and to a | Back at the beginning of the Eighties, Costello and Bruce Springsteen were way ahead of the pack, almost neck-and-neck as commercial hotshots. Now, five years on, Springsteen has completely grasped the mass imagination of his country and to a lesser extent Europe, whilst Costello is still held in a certain reverence — his songwriting an inspiration acknowledged by the likes of George Michael — but hasn't won over remotely the same kind of majority. As I am saying this I can sense Costello simmering. The subject of Bruce, King of the Heartland, has caused him to aim some untypically cheap shots Springsteen's way over the last couple of years. More pointedly, I recall — back in early 1978 — witnessing Costello, then the young heavyweight contender, reading that Springsteen's yet-to-be-released ''Darkness On The Edge Of Town'' might be titled ''Racing In The Streets''. The image of his face smirking with triumphant relish as he savoured the tentative vision of shutting down the Boss remains with me still. | ||
"Oh God. I tend to get quoted as always knocking him but … I don't dislike Springsteen. He has written some good songs but I just feel, particularly now, that there's something very wrong imagewise — someone is giving him very bad advice or something, I don't know. But, well, the Rambo parallel is too obvious but … so okay, the guy's been working out at the gym but ''why'' does he have to keep showing off his bloody muscles all the time? You know, it's okay Bruce, you can roll yer sleeves back down again. Plus this mentality — 'Hey guys what should we use as a back-drop?' 'Well howzabout ''the flag?''' I don't know. It just seems very crass to my way of thinking. | "Oh God. I tend to get quoted as always knocking him but … I don't dislike Springsteen. He has written some good songs but I just feel, particularly now, that there's something very wrong imagewise — someone is giving him very bad advice or something, I don't know. But, well, the Rambo parallel is too obvious but … so okay, the guy's been working out at the gym but ''why'' does he have to keep showing off his bloody muscles all the time? You know, it's okay Bruce, you can roll yer sleeves back down again. Plus this mentality — 'Hey guys what should we use as a back-drop?' 'Well howzabout ''the flag?''' I don't know. It just seems very crass to my way of thinking. | ||
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{{Bibliography next | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = The Face, July 1984 | |prev = The Face, July 1984 | ||
|next = The Face | |next = :Category:The Face | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''The Face, No. 71, March 1986 | '''The Face, No. 71, March 1986 | ||
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[[image:1986-03-00 The Face photo 04 .jpg|360px|border]] | [[image:1986-03-00 The Face photo 04 .jpg|360px|border]] | ||
<br><small>EC as Rosco in ''No Surrender''.</small> | <br><small>EC as Rosco in ''[[No Surrender]]''.</small> | ||
Latest revision as of 14:42, 6 July 2023
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