Uncut, October 2003: Difference between revisions
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<center> Jon Wilde </center> | <center> Jon Wilde </center> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
"Oh, I just don't know where to begin," Elvis Costello swooned in the opening line to his lusciously hummable 1979 hit "Accidents Will Happen". Not strictly true. Elvis Costello has always known precisely where to begin. Knowing when to stop, that's been another kettle of worms. His latest batch of reissues being a case in point. Each has been fattened up for market with a mind-bending welter of bonus tracks, so that ''Get Happy!!'', a 20-track tour de force in the first place, now weighs in at 50 tracks (with ''Trust'' at 31 and ''Punch The Clock'' at 39, see right). As if that wasn't enough, each is accompanied by 28 pages of sleevenotes composed by the Human Jukebox himself. As exhausting as they are exhaustive, as mesmerising as they are maddening, these new editions of his early-'80s work go some way towards explaining why Elvis Costello, pop's most modern pantheist, was ultimately denied his place in the pantheon. Destined to be remembered more as pop's Peter Greenaway (archly ironic, overstaged, cleverly contrived) than its Michael Powell (iconic, visionary, authentic). | "Oh, I just don't know where to begin," Elvis Costello swooned in the opening line to his lusciously hummable 1979 hit "Accidents Will Happen". Not strictly true. Elvis Costello has always known precisely where to begin. Knowing when to stop, that's been another kettle of worms. His latest batch of reissues being a case in point. Each has been fattened up for market with a mind-bending welter of bonus tracks, so that ''Get Happy!!'', a 20-track tour de force in the first place, now weighs in at 50 tracks (with ''Trust'' at 31 and ''Punch The Clock'' at 39, see right). As if that wasn't enough, each is accompanied by 28 pages of sleevenotes composed by the Human Jukebox himself. As exhausting as they are exhaustive, as mesmerising as they are maddening, these new editions of his early-'80s work go some way towards explaining why Elvis Costello, pop's most modern pantheist, was ultimately denied his place in the pantheon. Destined to be remembered more as pop's Peter Greenaway (archly ironic, overstaged, cleverly contrived) than its Michael Powell (iconic, visionary, authentic). | ||
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<center> Jon Wilde </center> | <center> Jon Wilde </center> | ||
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{{4stars}} | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
In the three-and-a-half years between ''My Aim Is True'' and ''Trust'' (1981), Costello turned tidal with a spurt of gravity-defying creativity not seen since mid-to-late-'60s Beatles. But, with ''Trust'', a perilous peak was reached. Showcasing some of his most acerbic writing, with the Attractions at their most pathologically inventive, ''Trust'' boomed and slammed and whispered with sly creative intent, reaching new peaks of songcraft on "Clubland," "White Knuckles" and "New Lace Sleeves." And it felt like the end of something for Costello, who had long-since established himself as a one-man genre. Nothing here is spoiled by the inclusion of 17 outtakes and demos. Most notable are a demented "Big Sister," the drunken brawl of beat and rhythm that is an early take on "Watch Your Step," and the lovely, subterranean hum of "Sad About Girls" which reminds you how beautifully Costello's unsung voice can brush against the language. | In the three-and-a-half years between ''My Aim Is True'' and ''Trust'' (1981), Costello turned tidal with a spurt of gravity-defying creativity not seen since mid-to-late-'60s Beatles. But, with ''Trust'', a perilous peak was reached. Showcasing some of his most acerbic writing, with the Attractions at their most pathologically inventive, ''Trust'' boomed and slammed and whispered with sly creative intent, reaching new peaks of songcraft on "Clubland," "White Knuckles" and "New Lace Sleeves." And it felt like the end of something for Costello, who had long-since established himself as a one-man genre. Nothing here is spoiled by the inclusion of 17 outtakes and demos. Most notable are a demented "Big Sister," the drunken brawl of beat and rhythm that is an early take on "Watch Your Step," and the lovely, subterranean hum of "Sad About Girls" which reminds you how beautifully Costello's unsung voice can brush against the language. | ||
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<center> Jon Wilde </center> | <center> Jon Wilde </center> | ||
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{{3stars}} | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
After patchy country homage ''Almost Blue'' (1981) and the self-consciously overcooked ''Imperial Bedroom'' (1982) came 1983's ''Punch The Clock''. Despite the inclusion of the quietly scabrous "Pills & Soap" and a plangent, Chet Baker-assisted "Shipbuilding" ("always less of a protest song than a warning sign", says Elvis in his sleevenotes), the album was bullied into submission by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley's over-sheened production, an over-pepped horn section and the shrill backing vocals of the then-ubiquitous Afrodiziak. Despite containing tracks of the quality of "Charm School", ''Punch The Clock'' was a relatively minor work (although it was the only Costello record to be voted ''NME'' Album Of The Year). It's redeemed by a bonus disc that, as Costello explains, "presents the listener with an alternative ''Punch The Clock'', constructed from raw, pre-production studio run-throughs, demos and live tapes." Included is a bollocks-out take on "Everyday I Write The Book" and a horned-up live version of "Possession" — perhaps the most emotionally persuasive thing he's ever done, save for his version of Jerry Chesnut's "Good Year For The Roses." | After patchy country homage ''Almost Blue'' (1981) and the self-consciously overcooked ''Imperial Bedroom'' (1982) came 1983's ''Punch The Clock''. Despite the inclusion of the quietly scabrous "Pills & Soap" and a plangent, Chet Baker-assisted "Shipbuilding" ("always less of a protest song than a warning sign", says Elvis in his sleevenotes), the album was bullied into submission by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley's over-sheened production, an over-pepped horn section and the shrill backing vocals of the then-ubiquitous Afrodiziak. Despite containing tracks of the quality of "Charm School", ''Punch The Clock'' was a relatively minor work (although it was the only Costello record to be voted ''NME'' Album Of The Year). It's redeemed by a bonus disc that, as Costello explains, "presents the listener with an alternative ''Punch The Clock'', constructed from raw, pre-production studio run-throughs, demos and live tapes." Included is a bollocks-out take on "Everyday I Write The Book" and a horned-up live version of "Possession" — perhaps the most emotionally persuasive thing he's ever done, save for his version of Jerry Chesnut's "Good Year For The Roses." |
Revision as of 18:23, 19 October 2014
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