Trouser Press, April 1979: Difference between revisions
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When [[Bob Dylan]] broke up with his wife, Sara, a few years ago, the world was treated to the introspective and bitter ''Blood on the Tracks''. Although Elvis's personal life is not quite as public (yet) as the Zim's, ''[[Armed Forces]]'' emerges from the roughly the same emotional territory, although in Costello's case, since he was the dumper, not the dumpee, his venomous lyrics are a bit harder to comprehend. Of course, as the Sultan of Spite, Elvis has a reputation to protect, but you have to wonder about the emotional actions of someone who feeds on anger and frustration. Most of us wait for trouble to find us, but not Elvis - he runs right out and creates his own. Interesting endothermic lifestyle. | When [[Bob Dylan]] broke up with his wife, Sara, a few years ago, the world was treated to the introspective and bitter ''Blood on the Tracks''. Although Elvis's personal life is not quite as public (yet) as the Zim's, ''[[Armed Forces]]'' emerges from the roughly the same emotional territory, although in Costello's case, since he was the dumper, not the dumpee, his venomous lyrics are a bit harder to comprehend. Of course, as the Sultan of Spite, Elvis has a reputation to protect, but you have to wonder about the emotional actions of someone who feeds on anger and frustration. Most of us wait for trouble to find us, but not Elvis - he runs right out and creates his own. Interesting endothermic lifestyle. | ||
I don't care what Elvis does to get his emotional ashes hauled, I'm just a rock critic. I listen to records and write about 'em, but sometimes you stop and wonder what's behind a song. I used to really worry about each line of "Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," and I suppose I always will. In Elvis's case, you can sense the specificness of his subject matter, but there aren't enough clues to jigsaw the puzzle together. The fact that the guy's got severe emotional and romantic disabilities is clear, but at whom or about what will probably remain a mystery for as long as he refuses to do interviews (and probably beyond, judging by the kind of response [[Dave Schulps]] got when he asked Elvis about his songs in [[Trouser Press, December 1977|''TP'' 24]]). I'm not even going to speculate - it's not a good practice when dealing with a schizy character like El. Figure em out for yourself if it matters. | I don't care what Elvis does to get his emotional ashes hauled, I'm just a rock critic. I listen to records and write about 'em, but sometimes you stop and wonder what's behind a song. I used to really worry about each line of "Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," and I suppose I always will. In Elvis's case, you can sense the specificness of his subject matter, but there aren't enough clues to jigsaw the puzzle together. The fact that the guy's got severe emotional and romantic disabilities is clear, but at whom or about what will probably remain a mystery for as long as he refuses to do interviews (and probably beyond, judging by the kind of response [[Special:WhatLinksHere/Dave Schulps|Dave Schulps]] got when he asked Elvis about his songs in [[Trouser Press, December 1977|''TP'' 24]]). I'm not even going to speculate - it's not a good practice when dealing with a schizy character like El. Figure em out for yourself if it matters. | ||
After ''[[This Year's Model]]'' set stellar standards for future Elvis product, speculation about this third album grew and grew until its release started to loom anticlimactically. The double-edged danger of remaining stationary or veering off somewhere awful (like "Stranger in the House") seemed to be a tricky tightrope to negotiate, but Elvis, in his infinite inscrutability, has, I'm relieved and pleased to report, done in spades. Armed Forces exchanges musical violence for sophistication - in melodies, arrangements, performances - variety and subtlety. The lyrics suffer from an excessive penchant towards cheap puns and pseudo-Spoonerisms, which seem to be thrown in mechanically to insure that critics (?) will remark at what a clever dick Elvis is. | After ''[[This Year's Model]]'' set stellar standards for future Elvis product, speculation about this third album grew and grew until its release started to loom anticlimactically. The double-edged danger of remaining stationary or veering off somewhere awful (like "Stranger in the House") seemed to be a tricky tightrope to negotiate, but Elvis, in his infinite inscrutability, has, I'm relieved and pleased to report, done in spades. ''Armed Forces'' exchanges musical violence for sophistication - in melodies, arrangements, performances - variety and subtlety. The lyrics suffer from an excessive penchant towards cheap puns and pseudo-Spoonerisms, which seem to be thrown in mechanically to insure that critics (?) will remark at what a clever dick Elvis is. | ||
The album begins, as did the shows on Elvis's last tour, with "[[Accidents Will Happen]]," a smooth ballad that benefits greatly from a full arrangement (as opposed to the almost accapella live version): a small bit of paranoia to set the LP's tone. Next, "[[Senior Service]]" syncopates its way along, alternating between a calm tone and an almost hysterical delivery of lyrics like "I want to chop off your head and watch it roll into the basket." The repetitive organ riff makes an effective backdrop for the vocals. [[ABBA|Abba]] Costello follows, with a "Waterloo" piano nick opening "[[Oliver's Army]]" on a sprightly pop note that masks the recruiting poster tone of the song. "If you're out of luck or out of work we could send you to Johannesburg." From sprightly to '60s sombre, "[[Big Boys]]" starts like a [[Roy Orbison]] song and ends on an amazing pop refrain that's as good as any Yardley commercial. (Can you just imagine Carnaby Costello wearing a paisley shirt, green polka-dot tie, blue granny glasses and a David Hemmings haircut?) The next song, "[[Green Shirt]]," is completely weird - a mechanical organ ticking away under horn synthesizers as Elvis croons softly, "You can please yourself but someone's gonna get it." | The album begins, as did the shows on Elvis's last tour, with "[[Accidents Will Happen]]," a smooth ballad that benefits greatly from a full arrangement (as opposed to the almost accapella live version): a small bit of paranoia to set the LP's tone. Next, "[[Senior Service]]" syncopates its way along, alternating between a calm tone and an almost hysterical delivery of lyrics like "I want to chop off your head and watch it roll into the basket." The repetitive organ riff makes an effective backdrop for the vocals. [[ABBA|Abba]] Costello follows, with a "Waterloo" piano nick opening "[[Oliver's Army]]" on a sprightly pop note that masks the recruiting poster tone of the song. "If you're out of luck or out of work we could send you to Johannesburg." From sprightly to '60s sombre, "[[Big Boys]]" starts like a [[Roy Orbison]] song and ends on an amazing pop refrain that's as good as any Yardley commercial. (Can you just imagine Carnaby Costello wearing a paisley shirt, green polka-dot tie, blue granny glasses and a David Hemmings haircut?) The next song, "[[Green Shirt]]," is completely weird - a mechanical organ ticking away under horn synthesizers as Elvis croons softly, "You can please yourself but someone's gonna get it." |
Revision as of 00:11, 26 June 2013
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