Elvis Costello: Classic or Dud

"Peace in Our Time," which almost got him booed off Carson.

doesn't sound like booing to me! sounds like a rather warm reception.

they should've booed him for dissing prince tho! (unless calling prince "an imposter" is a sneaky way of saying "i hope that he will be a member of the band i form a couple decades hence").

he adores Prince. He's covered "Pop Life" several times.

huh -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrVHssXodqI

man if i was on a music trivia game show i would totally want elvis costello on my team

xpost - yeah there's a clip of him doing (the end of) 'purple rain' at a show while the bangles go-go danced on stage

I could never figure out the "Peace in Our Time" brewhaha. Was it just because of the passing whack at Reagan? You'd think the studio audience wouldn't be attuned enough to what he was singing to boo. Anyway, I don't hear any booing, either. Maybe that is what Xgau meant by "almost."

He and Prince sort of feuded for a while. EC wanted to cover "Pop Life," but Prince kept saying no. "Elvis Costello once planned to do a cover version of the song, with altered lyrics, but Prince refused. Costello later recorded the song "The Bridge I Burned," which borrows the chord sequence from "Pop Life""

prince just said no cuz ec was on warners and prince had (hell probably still has) a fatwa.

Ha, no this was before that. I think it was because EC wanted to change the lyrics.

xpost What an insane music trivia line-up!

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/elvis-costello/2013/lisner-auditorium-washington-dc-1bc4d53c.html with video clips from his current US solo tour

Friday night I saw Elvis Costello live for the first time in quite awhile. 2 hours plus solo set in DC. There were both thrilling moments and disappointing ones. Plus a funny mention of "Paul McCartney in his bermuda shorts watching Costello rehearse at Lisner for the Gershwin Award event at the White House awhile back). Elvis was up there with his choice of 5 different guitars plus a keyboard and his (what I think were) high-tech music stands with lyrics and stuff. Some of it rocked (he also had foot pedals and such and had the guitar sounds looping and feeding back at times), although much of it was more quiet, occasionally too singer/songwriter/folkie. He did a long set and for a number of tunes could be clearly seen with his head and eyes down reading the lyrics as he sung them. But he looked at the audience a fair amount too and told some interesting stories. I am a fan of his first 5 albums or so and mostly lost interest after that. So I was glad when he opened with "Green Shirt," albeit rearranged, and later weaved in "High Fidelity" as part of a medley.

But he lost me when he raced through a number of later recorded songs. While singing solo can bring out the melodies, here it hid them and showed their weaknesses--including a certain sameyness. I wish the Attractions had been up there--though those tunes might still have not worked. There were more highlights to come though. A nice version of "Beyond Belief," a medley of "Radio Sweetheart," and Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said," and the encores that included "Shipbuilding," a gorgeous acapella from the front of the stage sans mic "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives." He also did his original version of "Radio Radio" (called "radio Soul" on the setlist) that was about the joy radio gave him (and his dad), and not the anger that corporate radio later inspired. 2 new ones from his latest effort with the Roots worked--"Tripwire," and a solo keyboard rendition of the sweet slow "The Puppet Has Cut His Strings" (which he has been doing elsewhere as a medley with the beautiful old number "Almost Blue").

Invasion Hit Parade
Ascension Day
She's Pulling Out the Pin
Come the Meantimes

He raced through these numbers

I was surprised to hear this was a full-on solo tour, wish i could've caught it -- closest to that i've seen/heard recordings of was when he toured with Nieve on piano in the '90s, i wonder how often he's played completely solo.

btw Nieve released a solo album recently with EC and tons of other famous guest vocalists all over it -- some nice sounds here and there but mostly pretty lame.

In his early pub rock days I wonder if he ever performed solo? Wiki says he was just in bands then, though.

He played some solo shows, at least informally, in the pub rock era. Generally lots of covers at open mic-type nights. Lots of covers.

Thanks.

Freelancer reviewing the solo show from Friday for the Washington Post liked it all--songs from every era. I am still not so convinced (but I will see which albums the songs came from specifically to better understand what I like and don't)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/concert-review-elvis-costello-has-war-peace-on-his-mind-at-solo-lisner-auditorium-show/2013/11/24/545b23b8-552b-11e3-bdbf-097ab2a3dc2b_story.html

he's got a book coming out

here's a genuinely funny extract

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/12/elvis-costello-and-the-curse-of-top-of-the-pops

Yeah that extract is great. I wonder if he wrote it all by himself or whether he got some help from a ghost writer. If the former, he should probably think about jacking in the music lark and becoming a full-time writer.

i'm not sure why he'd need a ghost writer; he's written plenty of prose before, and it's always very witty.

Yeah, his liner notes show a basic understanding of subject-verb agreement and an ability to drop a bon mot.

even just putting together his liners for those early 2000s rhino reissues would make a pretty good book, i think.

yeah i wouldn't mind if he recycled those in this or another book, have em all in one place

recycle those in this book you say, surely he would never do such a thing oh wait

One of those weeks we were scheduled to appear on Tops Of The Pops to perform our new single, "I Wanna Be Loved". As the song ended, "a representative of the Elvis Costello Group" was testily summoned over a public address system.

Being the only barely responsible person on hand, I presented myself at the foot of the iron stairs to the production gantry above the studio floor. When the producer finally emerged, he attempted to give me a dressing down because Pete Thomas had ruined the illusion of live performance on an entirely mimed programme by playing the final drum fill of our song on his head, while in tight close-up. The fact that the drummer from the group Tight Fit had got up from his drums in the middle of "The Lion Sleep Tonight" and bent over so his bandmate could mime beat out a marimba solo on a keyboard design printed on the arse of his loincloth was completely lost on the apoplectic BBC stooge.

When taping ended, a stern voice came crackling over the public address system. “A representative of the Elvis Costello group” was summoned to the foot of the iron stairs leading to the production gallery. Being the only vaguely responsible person on hand, I presented myself at the headmaster’s office. The producer emerged, apoplectic with rage, and attempted to give me a dressing-down for Pete having ruined the illusion of a live performance. I shut him down immediately.

The drummer from Tight Fit had got up during the middle of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, walked forward and bent over – so his bandmate could beat out a marimba solo on a keyboard printed on the arse of his loincloth, while his drums magically continued to play. The shattering of illusions was the least of their problems.

book is 674 pp, so excerpts is about all i can handle

even just putting together his liners for those early 2000s rhino reissues would make a pretty good book, i think.

"Congratulations! You've just purchased our worst album." is up there with great opening lines in literary history imo.

All of his liner notes can be found here btw: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/My_Aim_Is_True_(1993)_liner_notes

haha yeah that was good

xp

It was dark when I awoke. I could hear the rats scuttling across the rehearsal room floor. It was just as I had been warned. If the lights went off, the rats came out. Feeling for my shoes, I edged to the light-switch and illuminated the drinking party passed out on another ragged sofa. I tried to get back to sleep with lights on. I was going to make a record the next day.

xp lol yeah, perfect. glad there's a little bite in that excerpt -- after that tv show he hosted, i thought EC was getting toothless.

The audiobook is now loaded on my phone, but I need to finish this Jim Henson bio I took out from the library first. Looking forward to digging into this ASAP.

"Congratulations! You've just purchased our worst album."

would have been a lot funnier if it opened the liner notes to every one of his albums!

Ha.

i just imagine some guy's sad face when he expectantly cracks open the liner notes to armed forces...

I dunno, if anything it would raise expectations!

all liner notes collected here FYI

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Goodbye_Cruel_World_%281995%29_liner_notes

Pretty sure you mean here

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Trust_(1994)_liner_notes

Really liked his book. In a lot of ways it reflects his all over the place career, but it makes a really strong case for Costello as some sort of genius shaped and directed by the company he kept. Almost an anti-Bowie, really, a strong traditionalist whose collaborators drew out various aspects of his personality and background: jazz, ABBA, soul, Beatles, country, etc. In fact, it's kind of interesting to hear how important country was to him from the very start, and how much of his musical tastes were codified collecting records while touring America nonstop, sort of his equivalent of the Beatles hanging in Hamburg. Also touched by his affection for his father and family, and respect the way he carefully illuminates his three very different marriages (on that point sot of makes me want to read a Diana Krall book!). In the end I left feeling sort of guilty for taking him for granted for so long, as a songwriter but specifically as a lyricist. And it's a ton of fun reading accounts of him almost accidentally rubbing shoulders with so many of his musical heroes, from Dylan and McCartney and Bacharach to Allen Toussaint and George Jones.

he is currently writing songs for a musical of the 1957 Elia Kazan film, “A Face in the Crowd.”

and lives in Vancouver now

from a fawning interview in the NY Times, mostly about Costello and his time in NYC

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/arts/music/elvis-costellos-new-york-soul.html?&moduleDetail=section-news-2&action=click&contentCollection=Music®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=article

Are they permanently in Vancouver? I had some idea they might be coming back at some point.

To be pedantic, he lives in the British Properties of the Municipality of West Vancouver, which is a couple of cities distant from Vancouver in the Lower Mainland. It's known as the richest neighbourhood in one of the most exclusive cities in Canada.

Not much detail in the story on his current residence, its more about Costello and NYC, and the Brooklyn living author (who is the NY Times metro section editor) and his Costello fanaticism since he was a teen (he's now 50)

Some details on the Imperial Bedroom album, as Costello is gonna play it on some tour gigs with the Imposters

My freshman year roommate wants to go to one of those shows so maybe I will report back.

Via Wiki:

Elvis Costello has written 17 songs for A Face In The Crowd, a planned stage musical based on Budd Schulberg's story originally published as Your Arkansas Traveler and adapted into the 1957 film A Face In The Crowd written by Schulberg, directed by Elia Kazan, and starring Andy Griffith.

The musical's book is written by Sarah Ruhl, who had previously collaborated with Elvis on an unfinished musical about WHER, the all-female Memphis radio station.

An invitation-only reading of A Face In The Crowd was held in New York on June 10. The New York Post reported that Elvis and his backers want Hugh Jackman to star. The Swiss newspaper Zürich Tages Anzeiger reported the musical was expected to premiere in 2017.

Elvis premiered nine of the songs in concert in the spring of 2016 and an additional song in the Fall of that year.

A detailed article about this project can be found at the ecsongbysong blog.

Went last night. He opened with "Night Rally."

Followed by "Lipstick Vogue." Which I feel like in the old days was near the end of the set.

Everyone gets armbands and 3D glasses.

Ha. Really? He did all of Imperial Bedroom, plus more, right? DC show sold out at high ticket prices before I decided I really wanted to go no matter the price. Oh well. Freelancer for the Washington Post loved the gig.

Night Rally is a great song

It was pretty good. Similar to when I, and no doubt you, saw him back in the day. Think he skipped maybe one from Imperial Bedroom, "You Little Fool." He also did three from his upcoming musical project, A Face in the Crowd.

Night Rally is a great song

He played a deep cut that I wasn't familiar with, "Seconds of Pleasure."

No he did do "You Little Fool." Must have erased it from my memory.