Mojo, June 2006: Difference between revisions
(+image links) |
(formatting / sorting / +interview text) |
||
Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
<center> David Fricke </center> | <center> David Fricke </center> | ||
---- | ---- | ||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
For me, the most topical and moving moment on this marvellous album is the one I saw recorded at Piety Street in New Orleans last December: [[Allen Toussaint]], a son of the Crescent City and a legend in its music, in the booth, singing the third verse of "[[Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?]]," a funky song of giving and fraternity that he wrote and produced for [[Lee Dorsey]] in 1970. Standing at the mike in his characteristic jacket-and-tie, Toussaint sang in a creamy tenor as if he had no woes in the world. The words were heavy with nothing but: ''"What happened to the Liberty Bell / I heard so much about / It didn't ding dong / It must have dinged wrong / It didn't ding long."'' | For me, the most topical and moving moment on this marvellous album is the one I saw recorded at Piety Street in New Orleans last December: [[Allen Toussaint]], a son of the Crescent City and a legend in its music, in the booth, singing the third verse of "[[Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?]]," a funky song of giving and fraternity that he wrote and produced for [[Lee Dorsey]] in 1970. Standing at the mike in his characteristic jacket-and-tie, Toussaint sang in a creamy tenor as if he had no woes in the world. The words were heavy with nothing but: ''"What happened to the Liberty Bell / I heard so much about / It didn't ding dong / It must have dinged wrong / It didn't ding long."'' | ||
Line 46: | Line 44: | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:2006-06-00 Mojo page 96.jpg| | [[image:2006-06-00 Mojo page 96.jpg|x250px|border]] | ||
<br><small> | [[image:2006-06-00 Mojo page 97.jpg|x250px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Illustration by Peter Bagge.</small> | |||
<br><br> | |||
{{Bibliography box 350}} | |||
<center><h3> "Whoops, there it is!" </h3></center> | |||
<center>'''Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint talk to David Fricke. </center> | |||
---- | |||
<center> David Fricke </center> | |||
---- | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | |||
[[image:2006-06-00 Mojo page 98.jpg|130px|border|right]] | |||
''Allen, what was it like collaborating with Elvis, compared to artists like Irma Thomas and Ernie K-Doe in the '60s? | |||
'''AT''': "In those days, it was from total scratch. The artists didn't see the bigger picture; they were waiting to see what would happen, what I'd write for them. In the '50s, there was a guy named Allen Orange, and we did a couple of songs together. But it wasn't really collaborative. I was the music maker, he had some lyrics, and we did one or two [singles] together. 'This was quite different. Elvis was about making things happen, hearing bits of music I made and using them to create a song. He had a scope, a vision, and he invited me into directions I wouldn't have thought of. [Smiles] Let me say, that Elvis took me by the hand and said, 'Let's go!" | |||
'''EC''': "We were writing 'Six Fingered Man' that's about the seven deadly sins. I tried playing this opening roll, in my ham-fisted way. But when you hear it on the record, the roll Allen does is so New Orleans. I couldn't have played that. And the ornaments and decorations in his piano style became the building blocks of the compositions. It was me saying, 'Can you take this out of my hands and make it work?" | |||
''The subject matter is very personal, especially for Allen. Did you set out to make frank, topical music about this broken city? | |||
'''AT''': "I didn't deliberately decide to make a statement to anyone about this. However, something about the art itself takes care of us, pushes things forward. There are many things to be said, that I would never normally say in a song. But when I look down, whoops, there it happens in a song somewhere. I guess there is something in me that writes beyond what I say. And that's fine with me." | |||
'''EC''': "Allen said something to me when we were at Madison Square Garden. Allen had heard more about the state of his house, and I remember going up and saying, 'Sorry to hear about this' - about the songs and music he had lost. And his response was, 'I have to write more.' He was able to let go. He knew his songs would rise above that. | |||
'''AT''': 'This is not a sympathy record. This was done with integrity that is good at any time. The songs here can live in war and peace, anytime, anywhere." | |||
{{cx}} | |||
{{cx}} | |||
<br> | |||
[[image:2006-06-00 Mojo cover.jpg|x120px]] | [[image:2006-06-00 Mojo cover.jpg|x120px]] | ||
<br><small>Cover.</small> | <br><small>Cover.</small> | ||
Line 67: | Line 87: | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojo_(magazine) Wikipedia: Mojo] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojo_(magazine) Wikipedia: Mojo] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mojo 2006-06-00}} | |||
[[Category:Bibliography 2006 | [[Category:Bibliography]] | ||
[[Category:Bibliography 2006]] | |||
[[Category:Mojo| Mojo 2006-06-00]] | [[Category:Mojo| Mojo 2006-06-00]] | ||
[[Category:Magazine articles | [[Category:Magazine articles]] | ||
[[Category:Album reviews | [[Category:Album reviews]] | ||
[[Category:The River In Reverse reviews | [[Category:The River In Reverse reviews]] | ||
[[Category:Interviews]] | |||
[[Category:2006 interviews]] |
Revision as of 01:16, 11 September 2014
|