Creem, May 1981: Difference between revisions
(+US rock magazines index) |
(formatting) |
||
Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
Which brings me to the informed conjecture I mentioned before. While hardly symptomatic of hardening of the arteries, E.C.'s newly broadened perspective bespeaks serious commitment to a lengthy professional career which, I must point out, is not the same thing as bending over, grabbing your ankles, and submitting to the corporate fist. During the week that Costello was in New York two different people told me how pleased they were that he was so obviously happy. (No small matter this — right up there with life and liberty.) A Long Term Artist is what Elvis Costello means to be. Lou Reed is a Long Term Artist and Marvin Gaye is an LTA, too. The Sex Pistols were diametrically opposed to LTAhood. The Clash seemed to be making accomodations. Bob Dylan is an LTA, but after 20 years, he needs a long term rest. The Beach Boys are not LTA's though the music they made from 1962-67 continues to be well received. The Rolling Stones and the Who, both venerable LTA's, continue to punch in from time to time. Will Elvis Costello stand up as well? Will he be able to keep the largest part of his audience? (Could be difficult.) Will he be able to expand his audience? (Interesting possibility.) We'll all be watching. | Which brings me to the informed conjecture I mentioned before. While hardly symptomatic of hardening of the arteries, E.C.'s newly broadened perspective bespeaks serious commitment to a lengthy professional career which, I must point out, is not the same thing as bending over, grabbing your ankles, and submitting to the corporate fist. During the week that Costello was in New York two different people told me how pleased they were that he was so obviously happy. (No small matter this — right up there with life and liberty.) A Long Term Artist is what Elvis Costello means to be. Lou Reed is a Long Term Artist and Marvin Gaye is an LTA, too. The Sex Pistols were diametrically opposed to LTAhood. The Clash seemed to be making accomodations. Bob Dylan is an LTA, but after 20 years, he needs a long term rest. The Beach Boys are not LTA's though the music they made from 1962-67 continues to be well received. The Rolling Stones and the Who, both venerable LTA's, continue to punch in from time to time. Will Elvis Costello stand up as well? Will he be able to keep the largest part of his audience? (Could be difficult.) Will he be able to expand his audience? (Interesting possibility.) We'll all be watching. | ||
''Trust'' has all the earmarks of an LTA release: 14 very good songs which will stand scrutiny. It is not the album to die for in 1981 — there's no "14 new songs from the only band that matters" sticker on the front. Those of you who get your grandest frissons from the shock of the novel should probably look elsewhere. (Actually, you already have.) One must remember that Elvis Costello did not invent modern song — he just writes and sings them very well and knows where to look for this year's models. " | ''Trust'' has all the earmarks of an LTA release: 14 very good songs which will stand scrutiny. It is not the album to die for in 1981 — there's no "14 new songs from the only band that matters" sticker on the front. Those of you who get your grandest frissons from the shock of the novel should probably look elsewhere. (Actually, you already have.) One must remember that Elvis Costello did not invent modern song — he just writes and sings them very well and knows where to look for this year's models. "New Lace Sleeves" and the new country tune "Different Finger" are early standouts on my turntable. (How about a whole LP of country songs one day, speaking of expanding audiences — as an LTA he's entitled.) Before I make this sound too much like one of those Honda retirement communities Red Buttons is always touting, let me make clear that E.C. hasn't switched abruptly from the obsessive to the random comprehensive — it's a "more complete picture" of the same person, after all. And the live show I saw at the [[Concert 1981-02-02 New York|Palladium]] was hot. | ||
E.C. and the superb Attractions (with Rumour guitarist | E.C. and the superb Attractions (with Rumour guitarist Martin Belmont added for the second half) tore through the nearly 25 songs from the first LP through half of the new one plus four amazing covers with poise and power. Costello, whose voice carried the entire set, has developed a vocal aesthetic. It's his complex constricted bani tone that makes all the words (and there are a ''lot'' of them) matter and seem to fit. He works very hard at singing on stage: arms drawn into his chest, fist clenched, eyes closed, looking like a small B.B. King as he reaches for notes and phrasings. (''"Who's making lover's lane / Safe again for lovers?"'') | ||
The cover lifted the show into the realm of the sublime for me. After an opening acoustic " | The cover lifted the show into the realm of the sublime for me. After an opening acoustic "New Amsterdam" largely punctuated by shouts of "down in front," E.C. waved off Bruce Thomas who was running out to plug in, and began a second guitar and piano number, "Gloomy Sunday," a bizarre European cabaret ballad about suicide that Billie Holiday recorded in 1941. A strange choice, it would have been too clever if it hadn't been quite spontaneous. As the set built to a palpable intensity he sang "Little Sister" (a real nod to EP that would have been unthinkable two years ago), a tough "Need Your Love So Bad" (Little Willie John updated by Belmont's bow to Peter Green) and an utterly perfect Patsy Cline song, "He's Got You" (Let's hear it for Hank Cochran). A couple of nights [[Concert 1981-02-07 Passaic|later]] he threw in the old Temptations' classic "Don't Look Back" (Smokey Robinson on pencil.) The night after that he told Tom Snyder, "I admire Cole Porter and Lorenz Hart as lyricists and I really like Hank Williams." Performers who have been around for a bit and plan to stay can afford a relaxed and honest relation to the past which is very different than searching out obscure Sam and the Sham (bless his goatee) B-sides. | ||
Meanwhile, back onstage, E.C., clearly enjoying himself, played on: " | Meanwhile, back onstage, E.C., clearly enjoying himself, played on: "King Horse," "Secondary Modern," "The Imposter," "Green Shirt," "Mystery Dance," "What's So Funny...," not greatest hits, but simply great songs that were alive and exciting for players and listeners alike. For the absolutely last encore he spliced Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster (Jammin')" into the middle of "Watching The Detectives" — an inspired bit of mixing and matching to end an extraordinary show. All in all, an LTA triumph that wasn't too self-indulgent about looking backward, spending most of the time blazing straight ahead. | ||
Costello once vowed that he didn't intend to be around for his own decline — which is witty and eminently quotable, but is, frankly, difficult to arrange. People only avoid the ravages of time by serendipitous (Jim Croce), self inflicted (Ian Curtis), or nasty (Jimi Hendrix) misadventure, and wishing won't make it so. "Hope I die 'fore I get old" has lived to become the Who's albatross. "It's better to burn out / than it is to rust" sounds great only when you pretend not to notice that Neil Young consumes several gallons of naval jelly at a sitting. Besides, when Neil Young writes about himself these days he's interested in "Staying Power." Elvis Costello, 26 and flying, is now a full-fledged Long Term Artist Whether he's around for his own decline or not is immaterial since he seems to realize that he's got a very long way to go. And there's always George Burns. | Costello once vowed that he didn't intend to be around for his own decline — which is witty and eminently quotable, but is, frankly, difficult to arrange. People only avoid the ravages of time by serendipitous (Jim Croce), self inflicted (Ian Curtis), or nasty (Jimi Hendrix) misadventure, and wishing won't make it so. "Hope I die 'fore I get old" has lived to become the Who's albatross. "It's better to burn out / than it is to rust" sounds great only when you pretend not to notice that Neil Young consumes several gallons of naval jelly at a sitting. Besides, when Neil Young writes about himself these days he's interested in "Staying Power." Elvis Costello, 26 and flying, is now a full-fledged Long Term Artist Whether he's around for his own decline or not is immaterial since he seems to realize that he's got a very long way to go. And there's always George Burns. | ||
Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
'''Creem, May 1981 | '''Creem, May 1981 | ||
---- | ---- | ||
[[Jeff Nesin]] profiles | [[Jeff Nesin]] profiles Elvis Costello and reports on his concert with [[The Attractions]] and [[Martin Belmont]], Monday, [[Concert 1981-02-02 New York|February 2, 1981]], Palladium, New York. | ||
---- | ---- | ||
[[Richard Riegel]] reviews ''[[Trust]]''. | [[Richard Riegel]] reviews ''[[Trust]]''. | ||
Line 49: | Line 49: | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 20.jpg| | [[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 20.jpg|x260px]] | ||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 21.jpg|x260px]] | |||
<br><small>Page scans.</small> | <br><small>Page scans.</small> | ||
<br> | <br><br> | ||
{{Bibliography box}} | |||
<center><h3> Trust </h3></center> | <center><h3> Trust </h3></center> | ||
<center>''' Elvis Costello And The Attractions </center> | <center>''' Elvis Costello And The Attractions </center> | ||
Line 61: | Line 62: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 50.jpg| | [[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 50.jpg|120px|border|right]] | ||
"Access" is a word that has never tripped lightly off Elvis Costello's devilishly silver tongue. As in "Access All Areas," rockbiz parlance for an unlimited backstage pass, the type Costello and manager Jake Riviera have been only too glad to issue to hopeful interviewers and photographers, over (these same journalists") dead bodies. Or consider that recent minority-rights cause, access for the handicapped." Even for the disabled group potentially most amenable to Mr. Costello — rock critics, with their "special" need to take their audio-visual reality cut with a minimum of ''print'' coherence — there were no lyric sheets. The gimpy textual analysts among Costello's public could be damned. | "Access" is a word that has never tripped lightly off Elvis Costello's devilishly silver tongue. As in "Access All Areas," rockbiz parlance for an unlimited backstage pass, the type Costello and manager Jake Riviera have been only too glad to issue to hopeful interviewers and photographers, over (these same journalists") dead bodies. Or consider that recent minority-rights cause, access for the handicapped." Even for the disabled group potentially most amenable to Mr. Costello — rock critics, with their "special" need to take their audio-visual reality cut with a minimum of ''print'' coherence — there were no lyric sheets. The gimpy textual analysts among Costello's public could be damned. | ||
Line 70: | Line 71: | ||
Because, I guess, ''Get Happy!!'' was so rich it invited its own invisibility; it's such an inconceivably extended tour de force of rock 'n' roll that the listener, after a disbelieving spin or two. is no longer sure it really exists. (A state of affairs not much helped when Columbia dumped the similarly 20-cutted, similarly exhilarating ''Taking Liberties'', a collection of Costello B-sides and other odd tracks, onto the U.S. market a few months later.) Elvis Costello on record was just too mind-boggling a subject to deal with, throughout 1980. | Because, I guess, ''Get Happy!!'' was so rich it invited its own invisibility; it's such an inconceivably extended tour de force of rock 'n' roll that the listener, after a disbelieving spin or two. is no longer sure it really exists. (A state of affairs not much helped when Columbia dumped the similarly 20-cutted, similarly exhilarating ''Taking Liberties'', a collection of Costello B-sides and other odd tracks, onto the U.S. market a few months later.) Elvis Costello on record was just too mind-boggling a subject to deal with, throughout 1980. | ||
''Trust'' is hardly another. ''Get Happy!!'', but it's far more accessible (a timely term, that) in ways which should bring Elvis Costello and the Attractions many new listeners who, once they're hooked, can work their way forward or backward in the band's catalogue, at will. At once, of course, ''Trust'' has "merely" 14 cuts, a manageable but still generous number; playing a side through isn't so exhausting in its unrelenting stimulation. Elvis Costello's vocals on ''Trust'' are projected and mixed right up front, smooth to the point of crooner-like clarity on cuts like " | ''Trust'' is hardly another. ''Get Happy!!'', but it's far more accessible (a timely term, that) in ways which should bring Elvis Costello and the Attractions many new listeners who, once they're hooked, can work their way forward or backward in the band's catalogue, at will. At once, of course, ''Trust'' has "merely" 14 cuts, a manageable but still generous number; playing a side through isn't so exhausting in its unrelenting stimulation. Elvis Costello's vocals on ''Trust'' are projected and mixed right up front, smooth to the point of crooner-like clarity on cuts like "Shot With His Own Gun." Steve Nieve's beloved pump-it-up organ pulsebeats are replaced in many of the song by slow-rolling, majestic grand-piano flourishes, almost worthy of a post-electroshock-therapied Barry Manilow. | ||
The heart of ''Trust'' is suitably hard-rocking (check the electric opener, " | The heart of ''Trust'' is suitably hard-rocking (check the electric opener, "Clubland"), but late-night mellowness, if not the mixed fortunes of "adult contemporary" radio-radio, beckon from around the edges of nearly every song (cf. the straight-country "Different Finger"), all without compromising the basic Costello artristry. After all, Elvis always almost said that he wanted to go Nashville/Broadway, in good time. It was us who demanded that he go ever onward as the punks' (surviving) elder brother. | ||
The Costellovian lyrics on ''Trust'' are as obliquely provocative as ever, whatever musical contexts they occur within; always clearly enunciated, they're easy to grab in one-line or couplet-length meteor chunks, but the songs' controlling-imagery plots continue to zoom in cryptic clusters, like those neon borealises in ''2001''. It's still difficult, this early in my acquaintance with ''Trust'', to say precisely what Costello's singing ''about'', but his tone is clearly far more conciliatory than on his previous efforts. Far from his early misogyny, Elvis has become precociously feminist, as on " | The Costellovian lyrics on ''Trust'' are as obliquely provocative as ever, whatever musical contexts they occur within; always clearly enunciated, they're easy to grab in one-line or couplet-length meteor chunks, but the songs' controlling-imagery plots continue to zoom in cryptic clusters, like those neon borealises in ''2001''. It's still difficult, this early in my acquaintance with ''Trust'', to say precisely what Costello's singing ''about'', but his tone is clearly far more conciliatory than on his previous efforts. Far from his early misogyny, Elvis has become precociously feminist, as on "White Knuckles" and "You'll Never Be A Man." I could hazard an educated guess, and say that Costello has discovered that women are just as moral as he is but still, what's it all ''mean''? Interesting, these transitional albums. | ||
Still to be revealed, in future Costello lyric and/or interview confessionals: Does E.C. push a power mower during family yard-duty? Is easy-going | Still to be revealed, in future Costello lyric and/or interview confessionals: Does E.C. push a power mower during family yard-duty? Is easy-going Nick Lowe allowed to call him "Elvis" when they work late in the studio? Did the incipient Elvis ever assemble Airfix model-plane kits, in his narrow Catholic youth? Stay tuned. | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem photo 01 er.jpg| | <br><br> | ||
<small>Photo by [[Ebet Roberts]].</small><br> | |||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem photo 01 er.jpg|300px|border]] | |||
<br><br> | |||
<small>Photo by [[Paul Natkin]].</small><br> | <small>Photo by [[Paul Natkin]].</small><br> | ||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem photo 02 pn.jpg| | [[image:1981-05-00 Creem photo 02 pn.jpg|300px|border]] | ||
<br><br> | |||
<small>Cover and page scans.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:1981-05-00 Creem cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 51.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 51.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
[[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 60.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:1981-05-00 Creem page 60.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
Line 108: | Line 112: | ||
[[Category:Album reviews]] | [[Category:Album reviews]] | ||
[[Category:Trust reviews]] | [[Category:Trust reviews]] | ||
[[Category:1981 concert reviews]] | |||
[[Category:English Mugs Tour|~Creem 1981-05-00]] |
Latest revision as of 12:45, 29 December 2020
|