Mountain Stage Radio Show
The 1997 EC appearance with the Fairfield Four (show also features Steve Earle) will re-broadcast Aug 1 on some stations.
July 31, 2003
More on the Cole Porter Film
From The LA Times: "The scene is a masked ball in 1920s Venice and on stage, under a drizzle of streamers, Elvis Costello is leading a five-piece band through a boisterous version of Cole Porter's "Let's Misbehave." The music's swinging, everyone's dancing, and the bosoms — both men's and women's — are pleasurably heaving.
Costello's voice slides through the lyrics like a trombone. He bends his body backward — fingers snapping, shiny shoes tapping — and the band kicks the dancers into an orgy of exuberance, like King Louie and his apes boogieing with Baloo in "The Jungle Book."
(Submitted by John Foyle)
==========
Full Text
It's like night and day
'De-Lovely' bills itself as the antithesis of the Hollywood version of Cole Porter's complicated married life.
By William Wallace, Special to The Times
Party's on.
The scene is a masked ball in 1920s Venice and on stage, under a drizzle of streamers, Elvis Costello is leading a five-piece band through a boisterous version of Cole Porter's "Let's Misbehave." The music's swinging, everyone's dancing, and the bosoms — both men's and women's — are pleasurably heaving.
Costello's voice slides through the lyrics like a trombone. He bends his body backward — fingers snapping, shiny shoes tapping — and the band kicks the dancers into an orgy of exuberance, like King Louie and his apes boogieing with Baloo in "The Jungle Book."
Misbehaving. Just the way Cole Porter loved it.
The scene is from the set of director Irwin Winkler's "De-Lovely," a movie about the brilliant American songwriter that wrapped up shooting last week 4 and that the director emphatically declares will not be a biopic. "There's only been one Cole Porter movie, and it was a whitewash," the energetic 72-year-old Winkler says, referring to the thin plot and wholesome tone of the 1946 "Night and Day," starring Cary Grant.
Different times, of course, but that picture sailed over what Winkler and scriptwriter Jay Cocks ("Gangs of New York") see as the essence of the man: the unconventional but emotionally intimate relationship the gay Porter (Kevin Kline) shared with his socialite wife, Linda Lee (Ashley Judd).
"Linda was so important to him throughout their life together — she saw him find his voice," says Robert Kimball, who has been the artistic advisor to the Cole Porter Trust for 37 years and who visited the set in June to see what Winkler was up to. "She honored and respected him and introduced him to a wider cultural world. And when he had relationships with men, Cole looked to her for advice and approval.
"Friends who were there told me that at her funeral, he cried like a baby." It is a love worthy of cinematic exploration, though any movie about Cole Porter is always going to be about the music. Winkler will use about 30 songs to tell the Porters' love story, and they remain, of course, some of the best songs of the heart ever written ("Thirty songs — and I wish we could use more," Winkler says with a twinkle).
But there will be no Louis Armstrong on the "De-Lovely" soundtrack. No Ella. For the digital era, Winkler has asked modern recording artists to step up to the mike (hence Costello's bandleader). Instead of Sarah Vaughan singing "It's De-Lovely," we get British pop star Robbie Williams, and so on: from Diana Krall ("Just One of Those Things") to Natalie Cole ("Every Time We Say Goodbye") and — more of a stretch, this — Alanis Morissette ("Let's Do It [Let's Fall in Love]"). The producers wanted Norah Jones too but couldn't strike a deal. "She's got a wall of Grammys in front of her," one executive laments.
Like the angel toting up the good and bad moments in George Bailey's wonderful life, "De-Lovely" unfolds as a retrospective accounting from the viewpoint of a widowed, lonely and apparently broken man. Porter's lyrics provide the guide for the story. It takes him back to his fawned-upon childhood in Peru, Ind., and follows as he becomes America's songwriting king of musicals and movies. The journey will be stylish, Winkler promises, with plenty of big production numbers. The commercial backwash of "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago" shows no sign of easing, though the idea of "De-Lovely" was pitched to the Porter estate trustees in pre-"Chicago" 2000. (It will be released by MGM/UA next year.)
Yet the film will not be all Art Deco drawing rooms and bellinis at sunset.
Porter's life was marked by several tragedies, from Linda's miscarriage and their later separation to the bitter aftermath of the 1937 horse-riding accident that crushed his legs and left him in pain until his death in 1964 (Porter eventually had one leg amputated).
It is his relationship with Linda upon which Winkler's movie rests.
Crucially, the film travels through Porter's wasted years in Europe in the post-World War I era, when he was content to be the life of any party. Linda rescued her husband from terminal self-indulgence, her intervention unleashing a singular talent on American popular music.
She was not about to watch Cole's talent atrophy on the shelf of hedonism.
"Linda was saying to him, 'Take yourself seriously,' " Kline says in London shortly before filming ended. "Stop being a party boy and get to work."
Kline is himself a singer — "It was the music that attracted me to the role," he says. "I wanted to be a singer before I wanted to be an actor" — and will carry about half the tunes in the movie. But much of the love story's authenticity will depend on Judd's ability to portray a believable muse. It is a terrific challenge: to show the complicated love between a gay man with an appetite for sexual adventure and the woman who saw into his soul and drew out the genius.
"I just genuinely assume it's an alchemy I understand," the 35-year-old Judd says as she watches Costello rip into "Let's Misbehave" one more time. "It's about believing in someone, something I know about from being with my sister [Grammy-winning Wynonna] and my husband [Scottish race car driver Dario Franchitti], who has a rare and extraordinary gift. It's a kind of compassion towards the character of their gift."
Yet Porter was a complicated, mysterious guy, Kline says, "and we don't know what happened behind closed doors. You can read all the biographies you want, as I've done, but in the end you sort of wheedle out a compromise vision of the character."
And clearly there was a part of Porter that was addicted to danger. "By every report, theirs was a deep and abiding affection for one another," Kline says of the marriage. But while Linda condoned his bisexuality, he adds, "she became increasingly worried when his search for sex became more and more indiscreet."
For Winkler, that means getting the sexual calibration right. Too much and "De-Lovely" descends into campiness. Too sanitized and it risks the wrath of those for whom Porter is a gay icon. Kline says the movie will be "fairly explicit in terms of Cole's appetites, though there is nothing sexually graphic on screen. You'll see the kinds of excess to which he indulged," the actor says. "He could get down and dirty."
Facts aren't the only thing
There is artistic risk, too, in Cocks' decision to write a script that ignores the conventional constraints of biography. Fresh from being pounded by critics for the historical looseness of parts of his "Gangs of New York" script, he fired off a preemptive strike against would-be detractors this time, issuing a one-page manifesto for the movie that warns his love story won't be handcuffed by history.
"The broad outlines of his life are here but placed within the framework of imagination, not scholarship," Cocks writes. He calls the script "an impressionistic musical biography" in which "we've used facts like notes in a melody, putting them together in a way that may never have happened but that may give a truer, deeper picture of the man, his work and — most important — his heart."
(One departure the film takes is in the ages of the couple: Lee was older than Porter; Kline, however, is 20 years older than Judd.)
Or, as "De-Lovely" producer Rob Cowan puts it, "Hey, it's a movie." But that kind of talk can make Porter purists jittery. There are different versions of how "De-Lovely" originated: Winkler says the estate approached him about making a film that might stimulate sales of Porter's catalog; the trustees say it was Winkler who approached them with the idea. But the sides are clearly trying to accommodate each other (for one thing, the estate's cooperation in dropping its usual royalty fees on Porter songs will save the filmmakers millions).
"I told them I had to tell the story as I saw fit and they said 'fine,' " Winkler says matter-of-factly. Winkler's credits as a producer range from "The Right Stuff" to "GoodFellas," and as a director he made, among other films, "Life as a House" with Kline in 2001. Porter historian Kimball says Winkler has the benefit of the estate's doubts. "He's the pro," Kimball says. "Everyone wants to see the picture done in what we called, in the old days, good taste. But Irwin and Jay Cocks should have the right to make their own movie. I may not like it. I don't want people to do violence to it or make up the facts. But there is no set way to do it, either." What Kimball doesn't want to see at any cost is a lot of messing around with Porter's lyrics. Respect the harmonies and rhythms as much as you can.
But the words are sacred.
Ah, the lyrics. It is worth remembering that in Porter's day, the music was not a special taste with a section of his own at the back of music stores.
Back then it was American popular music (at least, white American music). With his lyrical lists and rhyming schemes, Porter was a sort of WASPy rapper for the swing era: "Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it." The songs were part of the cultural ether.
How they will sound to the generation of what would be his great-grandchildren is Winkler's gamble. "What kind of word is 'beguine'?" a laughing Sheryl Crow said to music producer Peter Asher after cutting her vocal track for "Begin the Beguine" in a London recording studio. "I sound like Doris Day."
Hardly. Crow's version of the standard is sung in a minor key, with the rock chick delivering a bluesy, aching ode to lost love.
The tension in that love is evident in the Venetian ballroom scene — actually filmed in a genteel manor house outside London that was rouged up to look suitably decadent. At the time, Porter is in exile from his destiny, and Linda has summoned Irving Berlin and his wife to Venice to try to light the fire of ambition.
So Chance is coming, but for the moment Kline's Porter is making sure no piano goes unplayed. He is sitting in the corner of the ballroom picking out the notes to "You Do Something to Me" and casting lascivious glances at the hard bods going past. Kline has a good voice, and from the back of the room, Costello listens and laughs.
"I've heard a few old recordings of Porter singing, and he had a terrible voice," Costello says. "Awful. Like a cat screeching from the bottom of a well." (Kimball, more defensively, calls Porter's voice "reedy.")
"Oh, he was a famously bad pianist too," Kline agrees. "He had a pounding, oom-pah left hand. Oh baby, he did not have a light touch." Kline laughs. "You know his obituary in the New York Times read: 'Singer Cole Porter,' " he continues. "Well, he was never a singer.
"But it's perfect for me. I've got a wonderful built-in excuse for bad playing and singing."
July 30, 2003
Cool Elvis Photo Gallery
Just stumbled on the great Costello Pix Gallery over at www.elvis-costello.net. Check it out.
By The Original Artists...
This 'unreleased' CD went for about $75 on ebay.uk yesterday. It contain the Elvis version of 'They Didn't Believe Me' 1995 Polygram release. Seller said it was never released, but I'm nearly certain this is a lie. As usual ebay buyers bid it up to insane prices anyway. I have one of these, and know I paid less than $15 for it. Anyone with more info please comment below.
(Found by John Foyle)
July 29, 2003
Setlists for Landmine Show
I found this old setlist today from one of the shows Elvis did with Steve Earle, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and Nancy Griffith. It was at the John Prine setlist site. Hadn't seen it before so here it is:
January 15, 2002 Concerts For A Landmine Free World- SECC: Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, UK
Emmylou Harris/Red Dirt Girl, Steve Earle/South Nashville Blues, Elvis Costello/Indoor Fireworks, Nanci Griffith/Traveling Through This Part of You. John Prine/All The Best, Emmylou Harris/The Pearl ,Steve Earle/Devil's Right Hand, Elvis Costello/Shipbuilding, Nanci Griffith/Goodnight New York, John Prine/The Other Side of Town, Emmylou Harris/Hour of Gold. John Prine/Angel From Montgomery, Nanci Griffith/I Wish It Would Rain, Elvis Costello/American Without Tears. Steve Earle & Emmylou Harris/Goodbye, Elvis Costello & Emmylou Harris/Take These Sleepless Nights From Me, John Prine/Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone, Nanci Griffith/There's a Light Beyond These Woods (Mary Margaret), Elvis Costello/Alibi, Steve Earle/Dixieland, Nanci Griffith/It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go, John Prine/Paradise
July 28, 2003
Set List Scans
Setlist: Fuji Rock Fest
Nigata, Japan, Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba Ski Resort w/the Imposters
1. I Hope You're Happy Now
2. Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)
3. Radio Radio
4. Everyday I Write The Book
5. Less Than Zero
6. Beyond Belief
7. Clubland
8. Clown Strike
9. Everybody's Crying Mercy
10. Either Side of The Same Town
11. Uncomplicated
12. 45
13. Tart
14. I Can`t Stand Up for Falling Down
15. Honey, Are You Straight Or Are You Blind?
16. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
17. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/You Really Got A Hold On Me
Encore 1
18. Watching the Detectives
19. Pump It Up
20. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
New Show: Newcastle Oct 8th
The Newcastle Opera House announces "Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve" in concert performing songs from North and other favorites. Includes rather long EC bio.
(Submitted by John Foyle)
North Sleeve
(Discovered by John Foyle)
July 27, 2003
The Trademark King
I happened over to the other Elvis' site tonight, and was surprised to see that the 'King of Rock 'n' Roll' is a registered trademark. Looks like dead-fat-elvis, or his current financial handlers, are taking on the trademarked 'king of pop' in an attempt to become the 'king of crass PR moves'. Maybe Lisa-Marie is behind all this, since she's the common link - except she doesn't seem to have a trademarked, must-refer-to-as title herself. Hm.
It should be noted, that both the 'King of Rock 'n' Roll' and the 'King of Pop' do have pretty spiffy web sites. It's good to be king I guess.
EC in Chicago PIX
July 25, 2003
Canadians Love Attention
Welcome to the new Elvis Costello: Music that's lower, slower
EXCERPTS: "One of his albums may be King of America, but Elvis Costello is now making plans to marry the Canadian queen of jazz. The 47-year-old Liverpudlian even hints at moving north, and based on Wednesday's stellar performance at the Jubilee, his citizenship should be expedited. "
But back to the main attraction. Costello, armed mainly with an acoustic guitar and a rich voice mixed with tenderness, regret and punkish brattiness, delivered a phenomenal set worthy of his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-member status. Accompanied by Steve Nieve on piano, organ and melodica, Costello reinvented his entire catalogue -- from 1977's Alison to 2002's 45 -- into sparse guitar numbers with flourishes of classical piano stylings. Highlights included Watching The Detectives, a film-noirish romp with Nieve's cat-like piano tinklings; and God's Comic, which included a spoken-word interlude about the Almighty Being and her love of The Dixie Chicks and ended with Costello leading the crowd in a chorus of "I'm dead" and "I was scared."
"Come to think of it, Krall's presence was felt in every one of Costello's songs, old and new, particularly those on North, due Sept. 23. Not only has he adopted her lower register and slower tempos, songs such as You Left Me In The Dark and Fallen seemed to touch upon the end of his marriage to Caitlin O'Riordan and subsequent engagement. I may be reading too much into his lyrics ,but there's no denying the meaning behind the title track. North is a whimsical number about "the perfection of" Canada's treasures -- moose, ice, snow, blond jazz singers."
"I'm heading north," he sang during his second encore, to the delighted cheers of the crowd.
Elvis Calgary Video
Here it is
(Submitted by John Foyle)
More Journal Entries from Steve Nieve
Notes from the Opening Act
Sondre Lerche who opened for Elvis in Calgary has some related notes in her online diary.
Review: Calgary
Brief report from Calgary Today:
"Continuing that was Sondre Lerche, who headliner Elvis Costello tacked on to the lineup last minute. Lerche made the most of his 15-minute opportunity, winning the Island over with his clean, romantic pop.
It was a great call by Costello, who, in his almost 30-year career, has made many of them. With a wealth of tunes to chose from, the veteran tunesmith, who was joined by pianist Steve Nieve, hopped around his various incarnations and dipped into his deep, deep catalogue to pluck out gems such as Accidents Will Happen and turn them into quiet, pretty, classical works. It's been 25 years since he last was here, and Costello left the crowd completely enthralled and wanting more."
(Submitted by John Foyle)
EC @ RRHOF Portrait
Elvis Costello, shown waiting to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, 2003.
This picture was taken by Gregory Bull of the Associated Press.
Found here in small and large sizes. (above is the large one)
July 24, 2003
Review: Edmonton July 23
Costello in top form at Jube
By MIKE ROSS / Edmonton Sun
EDMONTON -- Part of the fun of Elvis Costello is that you literally never know what he's going to do.
He has an astounding catalogue of original music it would take days to perform live. He could rock out. He could punk out. He once recorded an album of sinister parlour music with a string quartet. Maybe he'll do that. He worked with Burt Bacharach. Maybe show tunes are on the menu. Elvis can do country, too. He started his career in a country band, remember. Perhaps he'll pull out some sort of avant garde new wave David Byrneian pop noir music, whatever that is. Now he's going out with Diana Krall, so jazz is not outside the realm of possibility. Maybe she'll even show up. Elvis has got a new album called North due in the fall. God knows what it'll be.
In last night's case, people were willing to buy tickets when they didn't even know what kind of band Costello was going to have - the Attractions, the Impostors, solo, duo, it was a mystery - but only about 1,900 people. Elvis at the Jubilee Auditorium and it doesn't even sell out. What is the world coming to?
It turned out to be Elvis Costello and the Attraction - keyboardist Steve Nieve - and the performance was just as brilliant as fans hoped it would be. It was actually a little of all the styles mentioned above, delivered flawlessly, spontaneously, passionately, by the two musicians who could cover all styles and do whatever they wanted. Costello is an incomparable songwriter, a masterful performer and a darling of music critics everywhere for a reason.
Several reasons, actually:
ROCK CHOPS: The man has an angry side and expresses it well in angry rock 'n' roll. When he started in the late '70s, he fit right in with the British punk movement, or at least wasn't booted out. Last night, Elvis kicked on the distortion and started to growl in 45 - from the When I Was Cruel album. There was more energy being pumped off the stage than many bands I know, though it was only a duo.
INTELLIGENCE: Faced with covering one dumb rock band after another, music critics find Elvis's smart yet direct lyrics a breath of fresh air. They also all look like him.
THE VOICE: Intelligent songs aren't enough on their own. Costello has a fine ear and is only off pitch when he wants to be, but he has this raw, powerful, desperate quality to his voice that contrasts beautifully with his elegant music. Last night, he came on full force in the opening song, Rocking Horse Road. In Accidents Will Happen, he backed up from the microphone and wailed to great effect. In a strange, grand, Kurt Weill-like song called Shot With His Own Gun, with Nieve showing off his classical music chops, Costello's voice dropped to a cracked whisper. It was beauty and the beast.
ABOVE ALL, EMOTION: This guy is still singing heartbreak tunes written decades ago like it happened yesterday. Costello was especially convincing last night in songs like In the Darkest Place: "He won't love you like I do. In the darkest place I'm lost, I have abandoned every hope. Maybe you'll understand I must shut out the light." Geez, poor guy. Either Elvis is a great actor or has a really screwed up love life. We wish him the best with Diana Krall. Stay tuned for smoky jazz duets.
(Submitted by Kelly Hale)
Masked and Anonymous
This Dylan movie is coming out later this week. Elvis asked me to tell you about it. (Not really, he hardly mentioned it, I'm just jusifying this post for this site :-)
Before you read or hear from those who may choose to 'criticize what they don't understand' check out these reviews:
From Salon: "this summer's strange and brilliant must-see film, an aging troubadour is the last gleam of hope in a corrupt and dictatorial nation"
From Andew Motion, Poet Laureate: "At all these depths, and in all these respects, the film is deeply engaging. It is also revelatory - in the paradoxical sense that it allows Dylan to say some important things out loud, and to keep the silences, and retain the elements of mystery, which are essential to his genius. We should ask for nothing else."
From a highly-articulate Dylan fan, Peter Stone Brown: "Masked and Anonymous" is a wild ride of a movie and to appreciate it it's probably a good idea to try and put any preconceived notions about what a film is or should be aside.... This is no typical or standard movie. The storyline and the plot are incidental to the movie. They are pretty much a backdrop or a frame.... Consider it another chapter in the Bob Dylan canon. Perhaps the things he's wanted to say he couldn't put in a song, though at times the movie is constructed like a song.... And for those who wonder what Bob Dylan really thinks about this world we exist in, well you just might find it here."
More later...
(PS: The soundtrack with new live Dylan and unusual covers of Dylan songs is now available at Amazon)
July 23, 2003
The World And His Soon-To-Be Wife
Boy them Canadians are sure happy to have Elvis to write about. Another article focusing on the 'happy loving couple'. EC interview included.
(Submitted by John Foyle)
FULL TEXT
===========
from the Vancouver Sun:
Love match media blitz takes Elvis by surprise
... but Diana Krall's beau says he isn't fazed by all the attention
Kerry Gold / Vancouver Sun / Wednesday, July 23, 2003
For the first time in 25 years, Elvis Costello is playing Calgary, and he has a sneaking suspicion that jazz artist and fiancee Diana Krall might have something to do with it.
Since the announcement of their engagement, 47-year-old Costello says he has been getting more bookings in Canada. He says this while laughing, because so far the fuss surrounding their surprising relationship hasn't fazed him.
"I was a little bit startled about the amount of coverage we are getting, particularly in the Canadian papers you know," he said, in an interview from Las Vegas. "When I arrived in Toronto, there was a picture of us that was bigger than a story about the war -- that was a bit shocking. That takes you back a little bit. And you know, there seemed to be a couple of weeks when they were making up reasons to drop our name into things. I do know there is bound to be curiosity, but it's been pretty good natured, I have to say. Nobody's trying to say anything mean.
"There's nothing scandalous. I think people know that we are both pretty dedicated to the music that we perform," he says, a reference to their obvious status as a power duo in the world of serious music.
The relationship he describes as "a great thing," although he's not revealing the date of their wedding. And their collaboration doesn't yet extend to the musical variety, although Costello won't totally discount the idea.
"Maybe we will in the future, but you don't want to do everything together. You want to keep it special, you know. Just because we're together doesn't mean we have to be the next Steve and Eydie," he says, laughing. "Or the next Lucy and Desi."
Costello and Nanaimo-native Krall form an illustrious musical union, what with Krall's success as a contemporary jazz artist who has made the difficult crossover to the mainstream. And Costello, the son of a jazz bandleader born in Liverpool, is widely considered one of the best songwriters of his generation.
Costello already had strong ties to Vancouver, with family members in the Lower Mainland, including his "Auntie Mary," and an extended family of cousins here.
And judging from his minimalist show at the Orpheum Monday night, Costello has a penchant for Canadiana in ways that don't involve his fiancee. As one of four encores, he dedicated a song to the area north of the border with such gratitude, it made you wonder if he'd named his new album, North, in honour of Krall's homeland.
The Orpheum show was one of four that switched format on a tour that otherwise includes Costello's backing band, the Imposters. With long-time pianist Steve Nieve at the grand piano and on the melodica, Costello used only guitar, microphone, and the heritage room's famous acoustics to hold us spellbound, with slight re-workings of old songs and extended notes that would fade as he stepped away from the microphone stand.
While Nieve worked out dramatic flourishes and subtle underpinnings at the piano, Costello focused our attention on the emotional depth of his songwriting. He'd often stand at the edge of the stage, particularly on the new songs, and sing unamplified, keeping time with his hand.
"I like as much as possible to use little amplification, and sing as much using the hall as possible, because that way there is nothing between you and the audience, which is the most direct you can get," he explained in our interview.
As is increasingly the fashion these days, the always outspoken Costello peppered his two-and-a-half hour show with lots of anti-U.S. comments, such as jabs at President George Bush and corporate America. Following an unamplified version of a song, he received the loud applause with, "Thank you. That was the anti-Clear Channel portion of the show."
It's heartening to see that Costello hasn't lost the irreverence that caused him to once change his name from Declan (McManus) to Elvis, as a direct challenge to the music industry. But these days, he no longer has to fight to be heard. He is one of the few artists who can make records of his choosing, without radio play or chart-topping sales. The record labels call him a credibility act.
"I know I do pretty well with songwriting," he said. "I know that's the trick skill I have. I can't juggle. I can't ride a bicycle. I can't touch-type. But I can write songs. I started early and I've been doing it a long time. I started writing songs when I was 13, and as soon as I learned to play guitar, I wanted to write my own songs. From 17 or 18 I knew I wanted to get them out there. I didn't have any ambitions about being successful.
"When you see these programs on TV about being famous, you really notice that their aspiration is to be famous, not to be good at music or learn to write songs. They want to be famous ahead of all those things. That's why it is so difficult to hear music of consequence there."
Costello's songwriting repertoire is huge, which means he has the luxury of changing the setlist on any given night. Monday night, Costello played old standards from his prolific songbook, including Accidents Will Happen, Man Out of Time, Brilliant Mistake, Almost Blue, Watching the Detectives, Alison, Everyday I Write the Book, What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding, newer songs, such as All This Useless Beauty, 45, and his Burt Bacharach collaboration, I Still Have That Other Girl. It was all part of a wise master plan to blend the familiar with the spanking new.
And his effort was received with repeated standing ovations. It seems almost impossible for Costello to deliver a performance that is anything less than brilliant.
The charismatic voice is strong, stronger than the voice that emerged in 1977 with his break-out album My Aim Is True. Costello believes his voice is stronger, too, which could explain why he so enjoys rooms designed for unenhanced amplification.
"I have sung with other people, I sang with a string quartet, all of those things help you develop your voice," he explained earlier. "And that's coming to the service of the new songs that I write."
And as he promised in our interview, he gave the Vancouver audience the world premier of several of those new songs off his album North, to be released in September. He might have given us the entire album, as he'd previously considered, but a heckler in the balcony blew a hole in the delicate fabric of the mood by blurting out, "We're falling asleep up here."
Costello seemed thrown by the outburst, and responded, "Bob Dylan once got booed for turning electric. It's the first time I've ever been booed for playing music," to much applause.
It was a shame, because Costello had already been concerned about audience reaction to this premiering of the new material.
"If we get taken in the mood, and people respond to them, maybe we will perform all the new songs," he said. "But they are very new to us. We haven't actually had much experience in performing them in front of people. We have performed them in the studio. So it's hard to say. You have to think about how long you can sustain people's interest."
It took several songs to pick up the dynamic that was in the process of being established, but by the time he was into the encores, he'd returned to the gleeful, slightly silly mood that he'd been in during our interview.
The sampling of new material, written at the piano, indicated short, elegant songs with lots of spaces for dramatic instrument solos. A particular standout was a song called Still, one of several eloquent love songs that showcased Costello's painstaking attention to lyrics.
"They are very intimate," says Costello. "And a lot of them are the most tender songs I have ever written."
Clearly, he has met his northern Muse.
kgold@png.canwest.com
Detroit Review
Elvis Costello & the Imposters: Now I Try to be Amused
by Stephen Macaulay
EXCERPTS:
"Whereas the last time we saw Costello he was out in support of When I Was Cruel, it seems evident from the hard-charging opening that he is now out in support of his entire collection, or at least that part of it which is likely to be purchased by the kind of people who attend outdoor concerts and like to dance and sing along with the lyrics (i.e., Almost Blue would not be a concert favorite). Rhino has all of those great reissues out there, and it would certainly be to his benefit if (1) those of us who got things originally were to refresh our collection and (2) those who may be late to Clubland will get what they've missed. So he played, and played. The small talk and the chit-chat were irrelevant. This was a man who was playing like he was almost out of time."
"While there are more than a small number of performers and bands who are out there trying to eke out some extra dough a la a pension of sorts by playing their handful of hits, with Costello—and let's not forget that his first U.S. album came out in 1977, so do the math—it didn't seem so much like he was a retread trying to gain traction. There was a sonic relevance."
Also check out the author's review of EC's 2002 Detroit show "I Used To Be Disgusted" (he's clever with those titles...)
FULL TEXT
-------------
Elvis Costello & the Imposters: Now I Try to be Amused
Glorious Noise contributor Stephen Macaulay writes:
Elvis Costello & the Imposters
Freedom Hill Amphitheater, Sterling Heights, MI, July 15, 2003
"He may be older, but he surely isn't tired."—overheard observation
Or maybe it has something to do with Diana Krall. There was Costello, looking more fit and trim than he has for years. An outdoor venue in July with the sun still high enough in the sky so that he could see the crowd without spots interfering. With the Imposters backing him (Nieve, Thomas [Pete], and Faragher). And he ripped into "Radio, Radio" and continued non-stop for over 20 minutes, playing essentially the "greatest hits" from My Aim Is True and This Year's Model, supplemented with some other old tunes (e.g., "Every Day I Write the Book") to some recent vintage ("Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)"). He finished up that frenzied blast—one after the other after the other—with a twist, by doing the classic jazz standard "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy." Krall, again, perhaps, but still indicative of the Costello who'd throw in "My Funny Valentine" with "Watching the Detectives." He came and he came hard.
Whereas the last time we saw Costello he was out in support of When I Was Cruel, it seems evident from the hard-charging opening that he is now out in support of his entire collection, or at least that part of it which is likely to be purchased by the kind of people who attend outdoor concerts and like to dance and sing along with the lyrics (i.e., Almost Blue would not be a concert favorite). Rhino has all of those great reissues out there, and it would certainly be to his benefit if (1) those of us who got things originally were to refresh our collection and (2) those who may be late to Clubland will get what they've missed. So he played, and played. The small talk and the chit-chat were irrelevant. This was a man who was playing like he was almost out of time.
A funny thing about this. While there are more than a small number of performers and bands who are out there trying to eke out some extra dough a la a pension of sorts by playing their handful of hits, with Costello—and let's not forget that his first U.S. album came out in 1977, so do the math—it didn't seem so much like he was a retread trying to gain traction. There was a sonic relevance. Perhaps that's the difference between those musicians who continue and those who play the State Fair venues: relevance is earned only by a continued progression borne of work in new directions, only to stay true to the original point. An Almost Blue and a Painted From Memory and a Juliet Letters are required in order to get from '77 to '03 and beyond without becoming a self-parodying novelty act.
Even though the angels may be wearing his red shoes, he's still getting older.
Read Stephen Macaulay's review of Elvis' previous tour, Well, I Used to be Disgusted, from June 2002
Setlist: Vancouver July 21
Rocking Horse Road
Accidents Will Happen
Shot With His Own Gun
In The Darkest Place
Brilliant Mistake
45
All This Useless Beauty
Man Out Of Time
Still Too Soon To Know (unamplified vocals)
You Turn To Me
Fallen
Still
Can It Be True?
God's Comic
Either Side Of The Same Town
Watching The Detectives
Almost Blue
====
Everyday I Write The Book
When It Sings
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/You Really Got A Hold On Me
====
Alison
Everybody's Crying Mercy
Shipbuilding
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding
North
====
I Still Have That Other Girl
The Birds Will Still Be Singing
Couldn't Call It Unexpected #4 (all three songs here unamplified)
Show time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.
(Submitted by Micheal Hernandez)
July 22, 2003
Preview: Edmonton
Elvis Costello keeps us guessing
The article itself is a rehash of another interview that ran earlier in the tour. But there is this 'interesting' sidebar:
"THE MANY FACES OF ELVIS
- Cowboy Elvis -- In interviews for his first record, Costello listed Gram Parsons and George Jones as his major influences. He proved his sincerity in 1981, when he released the Nashville homage, Almost Blue. Last year, Costello collaborated with roots country artist Lucinda Williams.
- The belligerent drunk -- At a Holiday Inn in Columbus, Ohio, in 1979, Costello got into a drunken battle with musician Stephen Stills about the worth of the flower-power generation as opposed to the punk generation. When Costello made a racial slur against Ray Charles and called him "blind" and "ignorant," Stills decided it was all right to hit a man with glasses. The resulting publicity was a nightmare for Costello, who held a news conference apologizing for his remarks. Costello was almost certainly not a racist. He's participated in Rock Against Racism and Ray Charles later stuck up for Costello, saying: "Drunken talk isn't meant to be printed in the paper."
- The producer -- Costello produced The Pogues second album, Rum, Sodomy & the Lash in 1985. Costello's love affair with the Celtic punk band came to fruition a year later when he divorced his first wife, Mary Costello, and married Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan. "We're the Sonny and Cher of the '80s," Costello announced, "and I'm Cher."
- The unlikely stud -- While he was married to Mary, Costello began an affair with Playboy playmate and notorious rock groupie Bebe Buell, who would eventually give birth to Steven Tyler's love child, actress Liv Tyler. Recently, 48-year-old Costello made headlines when he split up with O'Riordan, his wife of 16 years, and took up with the smouldering Canadian jazz diva Diana Krall. Krall and Costello are now engaged to be married.
- The many aliases of Elvis -- For his 1986 album, Blood and Chocolate, Costello took on the role of Napoleon Dynamite, the tormented narrator of the record. For King of America, also released that year, he briefly reverted to his birth name. For 1989's Spike, he became the Beloved Entertainer. In 1985, he performed briefly as a duo with acclaimed producer- singer/songwriter T-Bone Burnett.
- The Pop-lite balladeer -- In 1998, Costello recorded the album, Painted
>From Memory, with easy-listening maestro Burt Bacharach. Costello also
appeared with Bacharach in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, performing the sentimental I'll Never Fall In Love Again.
- The classical artist -- In the early 1990s Costello got bored with rock and threw himself head-on into the world of classical music. In 1993, he recorded The Juliet Letters with the famed Brodsky Quartet. He's reportedly working with the quartet again on his latest album, North, which will be released Sept. 23.
(Submitted by Kelly Hale)
FULL TEXT
========
Elvis Costello keeps us guessing
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
The Associated Press, File / Elvis Costello, who's in Edmonton on Wednesday, finds him sandwiching arena gigs between appearances at folk, blues and jazz festivals. The Journal, File / Costello, circa 1995 Opening guest: Sondre Lerche
With: Steve Nieve
When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Where: Jubilee Auditorium
Tickets: $49 and $55 (plus service charges) at TicketMaster
If there's one thing Elvis Costello's followers can predict, it's that their predictions will usually be wrong. From straight-ahead rock to challenging string-quartet arrangements to pop collaborations with Burt Bacharach, the singer has restlessly pursued new ground with almost every project.
Wednesday night, Costello plays a gig at Edmonton's Jubilee Auditorium with keyboard player Steve Nieve, prior to an appearance Thursday at the Calgary Folk Festival. He has already played the Montreal Jazz and Ottawa Blues festivals on this same Canadian spin.
"That pretty much says everything about definitions and what I'm about," said Costello, 48.
What unites Costello's work is the quality of his songwriting. Over the course of a 26-year career, even his weakest material has shown clever craftsmanship. His best is the stuff of full-on inspiration. Costello would be the first to admit that not all his efforts have been stellar: this is, after all, the man who began the liner notes to the reissue of Goodbye Cruel World (1984) by congratulating the reader for buying his worst album.
Still, there's a minimum standard.
"I've never yet gone into the studio without songs," he said. "You'd be surprised how many people do that. They say 'We're going to make a record,' and the very last thing they thought to do is write any material. They sort of try and will it into existence -- particularly if they've got strong personalities. They might even have instrumental signature sounds. In a lot of minds, that's enough to make a record. But it doesn't do it for me."
Further evidence of consistency can be found in the reissues of Costello's back catalogue that started coming out two years ago, each supplemented by a full disc of bonus material related to the sessions. This Year's Model (1978), Brutal Youth (1994) and Spike (1989) are among the albums that have been rehauled so far.
"Part of the possibility of the process of reissuing them is that people may hear them afresh," Costello said. "Certain fashions of the time may prejudice people's ears to a record on its first release. A little down the road, the intentions become a little clearer on review -- maybe not to me, but to the listener. I always knew what I was doing."
Even the angry young man of the punk-rock era doesn't seem entirely foreign to his older self, Costello said.
"I still sing some of the songs from even my earliest records, but they're transformed somewhat by the passage of time --- hopefully not in a bad way," he said.
In a recent appearance as guest host of The Late Show With David Letterman, a witty and self-confident Costello bantered with Kim Cattrall and Eddie Izzard, revealing a flair for on-camera comedy that few expected. "I don't see myself as a talk-show host, but some sort of musical thing on television -- I could certainly handle that," he said. "I've always known I could do it. Nobody ever really thought to give me a chance."
For now, the immediate concern is live performance. "I kick myself when I think about people that I might have seen if I'd been a little less lazy and got out. The best place to hear music these days is in concert."
And, of course, expect the unexpected. "A lot of music is pretty much all the same: it kind of comes out of a big sausage machine. We try to keep things from being too predictable."
The Montreal Gazette
- - -
THE MANY FACES OF ELVIS
- Cowboy Elvis -- In interviews for his first record, Costello listed Gram Parsons and George Jones as his major influences. He proved his sincerity in 1981, when he released the Nashville homage, Almost Blue. Last year, Costello collaborated with roots country artist Lucinda Williams.
- The belligerent drunk -- At a Holiday Inn in Columbus, Ohio, in 1979, Costello got into a drunken battle with musician Stephen Stills about the worth of the flower-power generation as opposed to the punk generation. When Costello made a racial slur against Ray Charles and called him "blind" and "ignorant," Stills decided it was all right to hit a man with glasses. The resulting publicity was a nightmare for Costello, who held a news conference apologizing for his remarks. Costello was almost certainly not a racist. He's participated in Rock Against Racism and Ray Charles later stuck up for Costello, saying: "Drunken talk isn't meant to be printed in the paper."
- The producer -- Costello produced The Pogues second album, Rum, Sodomy & the Lash in 1985. Costello's love affair with the Celtic punk band came to fruition a year later when he divorced his first wife, Mary Costello, and married Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan. "We're the Sonny and Cher of the '80s," Costello announced, "and I'm Cher."
- The unlikely stud -- While he was married to Mary, Costello began an affair with Playboy playmate and notorious rock groupie Bebe Buell, who would eventually give birth to Steven Tyler's love child, actress Liv Tyler. Recently, 48-year-old Costello made headlines when he split up with O'Riordan, his wife of 16 years, and took up with the smouldering Canadian jazz diva Diana Krall. Krall and Costello are now engaged to be married.
- The many aliases of Elvis -- For his 1986 album, Blood and Chocolate, Costello took on the role of Napoleon Dynamite, the tormented narrator of the record. For King of America, also released that year, he briefly reverted to his birth name. For 1989's Spike, he became the Beloved Entertainer. In 1985, he performed briefly as a duo with acclaimed producer- singer/songwriter T-Bone Burnett.
- The Pop-lite balladeer -- In 1998, Costello recorded the album, Painted
>From Memory, with easy-listening maestro Burt Bacharach. Costello also
appeared with Bacharach in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, performing the sentimental I'll Never Fall In Love Again.
- The classical artist -- In the early 1990s Costello got bored with rock and threw himself head-on into the world of classical music. In 1993, he recorded The Juliet Letters with the famed Brodsky Quartet. He's reportedly working with the quartet again on his latest album, North, which will be released Sept. 23.
Calgary Herald
Ran with fact box "The Many Faces of Elvis", which has been appended to this story.
Vancouver Tease Report
Sounds like the tour had quite a finale:
"Quickie report:
* Six new songs!!!
* Dumbass heckler gets shot down by Elvis!
* THREE encores!
* Unamplified third encore (I Still Have That Other Girl, The Birds Will Still Be Singing, CCIU4)!!
* Unamplified Still Too Soon To Know in the middle of the set!!
* "If you read your history books, you remember that Bob Dylan got booed when he went electric. This is the first time I've been booed for just playing music."
* "His mother probably told him to come home early, so he didn't want to miss the rock 'n roll."
* (To the heckler) "You know where the door is."
* "In the words of another Irish poet, 'we really mean it, man.'"
* Meet 'n greet: some guy apologized for the heckler, but, to paraphrase Elvis, "it made for a better show."
* The Krall family was there! (which explains why this show was so great)
* Steve on fire!!!
* Homeless spoon guy got an autograph and played Tube Snake Boogie for us, and Elvis had us applaud.
(Submitted by Mike Hernandez)
July 21, 2003
Name Check: New Bacharach CD News Release
Burt's getting remastered on a greatest hits CD and Vivendi drops EC's name in the first paragaph.
Title of Costello's new album hints at new life with Krall
Canada.com article tries to read things into new Costello CD title.
EXCERPTS: "The 48-year-old musician, almost universally hailed by critics as one of the smartest, most honest and creative songwriters around, has made a career of mixing it up...His musical oeuvre is a Pandora's Box of genres based largely on the themes of women, guilt and revenge. With love as a metaphor for dissatisfaction and anger, soul, punk, ska, pop, reggae, classical and country have all found niches in his library. His current tour finds him sandwiching arena gigs between appearances at folk, blues and jazz festivals."
"But a closer examination of the lyrics for the song, which isn't on the track list,but listed as a special bonus song available on the Internet, more explicitly explain his intentions:
"Up where polar bears and moose and geese will play. And some of them address you en francais. Give me the ice and snow. Time to go . . . North."
FULL TEXT
========
In just over two months, Elvis Costello will release North, his 24th album in 26 years. That's right -- two dozen albums since he blazed onto the scene, hanging tightly onto the coattails of the British new wave and punk invasion with his brilliant debut album, 1977's My Aim Is True.
But fans who show up at tonight's show with the hopes of hearing him showcase his new songs may be disappointed. North, written at the end of last year and recorded late this past spring, is, by all accounts, a richly textured album that features classical chamber ensemble the Brodsky Quartet, as well as a 34-piece orchestra (Costello conducted) and a lot of ballads on solo piano. Costello plays guitar on only one of the album's songs and fewer than a dozen bars at that. Hardly the upbeat stuff of Pump It Up or Watching the Detectives.
More likely, Costello's headline show tonight will feature, along with his older hits, songs from last year's When I Was Cruel release, his first collection of new material in six years.
"(North) begins with a song called 'You Left Me in the Dark' and ends with a track called 'I'm In the Mood Again,'" Costello said recently of his yet-to-be-released album. "You have to listen to what goes on in between to find out why.
"(It) will be something quite different."
Well, that almost goes without saying when it comes to Costello. The 48-year-old musician, almost universally hailed by critics as one of the smartest, most honest and creative songwriters around, has made a career of mixing it up.
His musical oeuvre is a Pandora's Box of genres based largely on the themes of women, guilt and revenge. With love as a metaphor for dissatisfaction and anger, soul, punk, ska, pop, reggae, classical and country have all found niches in his library. His current tour finds him sandwiching arena gigs between appearances at folk, blues and jazz festivals.
One result of this cornucopia is that Costello has never quite fit in anywhere. Still, when you consider a body of work that includes such brilliant songs as Alison, (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding, Shipbuilding, Man Out Of Time, Veronica and Everyday I Write the Book, it's somewhat surprising to discover that, in terms of record sales, he never really made it that big.
Costello will try again with North, an apt title considering he is preparing to walk down the aisle with Nanaimo jazz singer Diana Krall (third time lucky for Elvis?).
Hinting of a possible relocation to his fiancee's homeland, Costello's only public comment on the album's title was, "That's where I'm headed."
But a closer examination of the lyrics for the song, which isn't on the track list,but listed as a special bonus song available on the Internet, more explicitly explain his intentions:
"Up where polar bears and moose and geese will play. And some of them address you en francais. Give me the ice and snow. Time to go . . . North."
Love isn't the only thing going well for Costello lately. Last March he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And seven weeks ago, he received a Founder's Award for songwriting from performance rights organization ASCAP, joining such previous recipients as Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits and Quincy Jones.
"He seems very happy," said friend and collaborator Burt Bacharach, "and I wouldn't be surprised if that starts to come out in some of his lyrics."
Berkley Article w/Interview
His Aim Is High (Mercury News)
EXCERPTS: ``These last group of songs I wrote predominantly either backstage during the last tour. I just had the music coming into my head all the time and I'd have to turn it off long enough to do the show, and then maybe start working on it again the minute I came offstage. I bought a little electric keyboard that could be turned down to really quiet volume so I could play at night in the hotel rooms without disturbing other guests. And as a consequence the music developed a very intimate voice -- I tended to find the music in keys that suited that late night. . . .
It's also much more blandly titled than any of his previous efforts. But Costello gets a little touchy when quizzed about ``North,'' insisting that the album
takes its title from ``a point on a compass.''
``I had a period last year when I dressed more casually for a while, over the last couple of years, but I've sort of shifted back toward suits and ties some of the time and a more casual jacket some other times. But occasionally it gets uncomfortable to dress like that because it's so hot onstage. But I still feel right; I feel there's a certain rightness to just dressing that way. For me. It's a personal thing.
(Submitted by John Foyle)
COMPLETE TEXT
============
His aim is high / Jaan Uhelszki / Special to the Mercury News
Published: Friday, July 18, 2003
Over the past three decades, Elvis Costello has
skipped effortlessly from low-brow to high-brow
without fogging up his trademark black-rimmed
spectacles.
Ever since releasing ``My Aim Is True,'' his
critically acclaimed debut in 1977, the former New
Wave icon has shape-shifted from acerbic rocker to
fashionable collaborator, making music with an
unlikely group of people along the way, including Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, the Brodsky Quartet and mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter.
Most recently he has written the score for an Italian
dance company's adaptation of Shakespeare's ``A
Midsummer Night's Dream,'' which features Michael
Tilson Thomas conducting the London Symphony
Orchestra. He also recently completed work with John
Malkovich on a television script about a female rock
band.
When writing the script became too irksome, Costello
turned it into the tetchy song ``Tear off Your Own
Head (It's a Doll Revolution),'' the first single from
his latest album, ``When I Was Cruel.'' But he didn't
stop there.
``I even wrote `Spooky Girlfriend' with Destiny's
Child in mind. Don't you think they'd sound good
singing that?'' Costello asks, speaking on the phone
from a tour stop in Providence, R.I.
``I've never seen any of the things that I've done in
the last years as a side issue or a detour,'' he says.
``I've always been completely committed, and people
perceive the rock 'n' roll records as the only
authentic voice of the music that I write. I can't
subscribe to limiting yourself to one form of
expression exclusively. If you didn't really feel it,
it would be insulting to the audience to limit it to
just what you think they can understand. That's
patronizing, and I could never do that.''
Having said that, the author of such contemporary
classics as ``Pump It Up'' and the winsome ``Alison''
is not coming to Berkeley's Greek Theatre to expand
our minds. He's here to rock, despite the fact that
his next album, ``North,'' due out in September,
contains 11 intimate ballads and has less than 12 bars
of electric guitar on the entire record.
``These last group of songs I wrote predominantly
either backstage during the last tour. I just had the
music coming into my head all the time and I'd have to
turn it off long enough to do the show, and then maybe
start working on it again the minute I came offstage.
I bought a little electric keyboard that could be
turned down to really quiet volume so I could play at
night in the hotel rooms without disturbing other
guests. And as a consequence the music developed a
very intimate voice -- I tended to find the music in
keys that suited that late night. . . .
``I sing most of this record in the lowest register of
my voice -- I haven't exploited that much on a record.
So it's good after 25 years to actually make a record
where it's recognizably me but it's also recognizably
different than any other record that I've made.''
It's also much more blandly titled than any of his
previous efforts. But Costello gets a little touchy
when quizzed about ``North,'' insisting that the album
takes its title from ``a point on a compass.''
``I think that people like to put way too much store
in names. It's like you eat the corn flakes, you don't
eat the packet. I've never understood why people put
so much store by what's on the cover. You want it to
draw people's attention, you want the title to
intrigue people, and then it's the content. Well, it
is obviously a direction, literally, in which I've
spent a lot of my life moving. And in this case it
just meant what I said.''
The Diana Krall factor
But the cognoscenti insist that ``North'' is a
reference to Nanaimo, in British Columbia, the
hometown of Diana Krall, Costello's constant companion
for the past several months. The two began seeing each
after Costello filed for divorce from his wife of 16
years, former Pogues member Cait O'Riordan, in
September 2002. But no one knew how serious the
romance was until Krall's father, Jim, an accountant
in Nanaimo, inadvertently leaked their engagement to
the Victoria Times on May 2. Although he didn't
provide any details or when the nuptials will take
place, he did give the union his blessing.
Costello attended Krall's show at Yoshi's in Oakland
on May 31, sharing a table with longtime pal Tom
Waits. But Krall will be en route to a jazz festival
in Naples when Elvis steps onstage at Berkeley's Greek
Theatre.
``Just because I'm releasing `North' is not to say
that I've lost any love for rock 'n' roll,'' Costello continues. ``I mean, that's really what we're on: a rock 'n' roll tour. And the great thing about it is we don't have any inhibition about where we draw the songs from.
``I don't like to live exclusively in the distant
past, but this tour has us playing more songs from the
last 10 years than, say, last year. We tended to
initially start with a blueprint of `When I Was
Cruel,' `Blood and Chocolate' and `This Year's Model'
-- apparently being the three records that fitted
together the best -- and as the year went on we added
a lot into it and ended up with an 80-song record tour
by the end of it.''
The Imposters includes keyboardist Steve Nieve,
drummer Pete Thomas (of Costello's longtime band the
Attractions) and newcomer bassist Davey Faragher. The
last took over for Bruce Thomas, who wrote ``Big
Wheel,'' a tell-all book in 1990 about being on the
road with Costello, which many said caused Thomas'
dismissal. (``It really had nothing to do with the
book,'' Costello told Blender magazine in 2002. ``He's bad-tempered and miserable and doesn't concentrate.'')
Costello says he and the Imposters are performing
because they have fun doing it.
``There isn't any commercial agenda other than to see
as many people in the hall as we can. We don't have a
record that's currently out. We're not making a
special case for `When I Was Cruel,' although some of
those songs obviously feature in the show. This is a
huge luxury of having a large catalog. We're pulling
songs from all over the place, and we can change the
set radically from night to night. We'll just have to
see how the mood strikes us when we reach Berkeley.''
Dressing for work
But the mood seems upbeat today. ``I usually like to
wear a gorilla suit or the pink rabbit suit onstage.
But unfortunately they haven't come back from the dry
cleaners in time for the tour,'' says Costello, until
he's reminded that he is not a member of the Flaming
Lips. ``I've always tended to just wear a suit, or a
suit jacket. It's just a personal feeling that I feel
like I'm getting dressed to go to work now. I don't
feel the need to wear a rhinestone suit, and not sure
I would really look that good in it, so I've pretty
much always dressed like a variation of that, my whole career.''
``I had a period last year when I dressed more
casually for a while, over the last couple of years,
but I've sort of shifted back toward suits and ties
some of the time and a more casual jacket some other
times. But occasionally it gets uncomfortable to dress
like that because it's so hot onstage. But I still
feel right; I feel there's a certain rightness to just
dressing that way. For me. It's a personal thing.
Review: Las Vegas
Costello pulls out all stops, delivers a classic
EXCERPTS:
"Striding to the stage promptly at 9 p.m., Costello and his three-piece band, the Imposters, tore through their first seven numbers without pausing even for a single second. ... the 47-year-old scoured his vast songbook like an excited college DJ, plucking gems from nearly every album in his catalog."
"Costello looked every bit the part of rock royalty, clothed in a black suit and black shirt and sporting his trademark black-rimmed eyeglasses. His voice sounded crisp and biting as ever and his guitar sang, though he left much of the soloing to longtime collaborator Nieve."
"During the two-hour, 15-minute performance, Costello paid special attention to his overlooked mid-1990s period, presenting "Clown Strike" and "Just About Glad" from 1994's "Brutal Youth" and two cuts from his 1995 covers project, "Kojak Variety." The band's anguished rendition of James Carr's "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" and a revved-up run through "Uncomplicated" provided a strong finish to the main set, with an hour's worth of music still to come."
Also: Missed earlier in the week - the Las Vegas Preview.
"He probably won't perform any weddings, but Elvis will be back in the building tonight in Las Vegas."
FULL TEXT
=========
Costello pulls out all stops, delivers a classic
By Spencer Patterson
Twenty-two minutes into his performance Friday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, Elvis Costello took a sip from his coffee mug.
The way his show had progressed to that point, you'd have thought he'd go looking for an oxygen tank instead.
Striding to the stage promptly at 9 p.m., Costello and his three-piece band, the Imposters, tore through their first seven numbers without pausing even for a single second.
The onslaught included such early Costello classics as "Everyday I Write the Book" and "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," signaling that this would not be a concert dominated by new material.
The singer/guitarist would go on to play just one song from last year's "When I Was Cruel," and debuted nothing from his upcoming September release, "North."
Instead, the 47-year-old scoured his vast songbook like an excited college DJ, plucking gems from nearly every album in his catalog.
The crowd of 1,260, much of it middle-aged, couldn't keep pace with the unflagging Costello. Until three marathon encore sessions, fans sat for most of the night, rising to applaud enthusiastically between songs before returning to their seats.
Costello didn't seem to mind, though he coaxed his audience to its feet once before ending the initial hits blitz.
While keyboardist Steve Nieve, drummer Pete Thomas and bassist Davey Faragher kept the beat going between songs, Costello stood three feet behind his microphone and simply waited for the crowd to rise before coming forward to sing "Radio, Radio."
Apparently, recently inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers don't have to say "jump" to get fans to do it.
Costello looked every bit the part of rock royalty, clothed in a black suit and black shirt and sporting his trademark black-rimmed eyeglasses.
His voice sounded crisp and biting as ever and his guitar sang, though he left much of the soloing to longtime collaborator Nieve.
Eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, the bearded keyboardist spiced up the quartet's rhythms all night. One minute Nieve was giving New Wave classic "Pump It Up" its roller-rink flair, the next he was transforming "Clubland" into something akin to Flamenco.
Faragher, a recent newcomer to the lineup, had no trouble keeping up with the far-ranging set list. Thomas, one of Costello's original Attractions, looked simply delirious, banging away and singing the lyrics to every song even though there was no microphone nearby.
During the two-hour, 15-minute performance, Costello paid special attention to his overlooked mid-1990s period, presenting "Clown Strike" and "Just About Glad" from 1994's "Brutal Youth" and two cuts from his 1995 covers project, "Kojak Variety."
The band's anguished rendition of James Carr's "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" and a revved-up run through "Uncomplicated" provided a strong finish to the main set, with an hour's worth of music still to come.
The trio of encores featured more of Costello's best-known material, including "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea," "Less Than Zero" and a swinging "Watching the Detectives" with improvised lyrics tacked onto the end.
Costello also had some fun with his finale, adding one version of The Who's "The Kids Are Alright" into Nick Lowe's classic, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," before finally calling it quits.
Former Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson entertained early arrivers with an excellent opening set of countrified, mainly acoustic roots rock.
The shaggy singer's gravelly voice sounded even grittier than usual, and his cohort, British guitarist Paul Stacey, made instant fans of those paying attention to his dynamic yet understated solos.
The duo also got a surprise boost from special guest Warren Haynes. The guitarist for the Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule sat in on two songs, including traditional number "I Know Your Rider," made popular by the Grateful Dead.
"When you can get Warren Haynes on a Friday night when there's no Allmans or Gov't Mule, it's a lucky Friday," Robinson announced.
Actually, just the start of a very lucky Friday night.
Setlist: Seattle July 20
Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve (No Imposters)
Rocking Horse Road
Accidents Will Happen
Shot With His Own Gun
Brilliant Mistake
In The Darkest Place
45
The Long Honeymoon
Toledo
Man Out of Time
Sally Sue Brown
Indoor Fireworks
God's Comic
Everyday I Write The Book
Either Side of The Same Town
Tart
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
----
Watching the Detectives
Almost Blue
----
Everybody's Crying Mercy
Shipbuilding
(What's so funny 'bout) Peace, Love and
Understanding
(Submitted by John Harrison)
EC's Contribution to Cole Porter Movie Confirmed
MGM Press release: Additional musicians have been added
to the high-wattage line-up of top pop talent in MGM Pictures' De-lovely, a
big-screen musical portrait of American songwriter Cole Porter. Natalie Cole,
Lara Fabian, Mario Frangoulis, and Mick Hucknall will join Elvis Costello,
Sheryl Crow, Vivian Green, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette and Robbie Williams
in singing and dancing their way through some of Porter's best-loved songs to
tell the story of his life. Starring Academy Award(R)-winner Kevin Kline,
Ashley Judd, and Jonathan Pryce, De-lovely is being directed by Oscar(R)-
winner Irwin Winkler from a script by two-time Oscar(R)-nominee Jay Cocks.
Costello performs "Let's Misbehave" while Vivian Green sings "Love for Sale" and Jazz stylist Krall performs "Just One of Those Things."
FULL TEXT
=========
More Music Stars Get De-lovely
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER LOGO
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. logo. (PRNewsFoto)[JL]
SANTA MONICA, CA USA 11/19/2001
Natalie Cole and Others Added to Stellar Cast of MGM Cole Porter Musical
LOS ANGELES, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Additional musicians have been added
to the high-wattage line-up of top pop talent in MGM Pictures' De-lovely, a
big-screen musical portrait of American songwriter Cole Porter. Natalie Cole,
Lara Fabian, Mario Frangoulis, and Mick Hucknall will join Elvis Costello,
Sheryl Crow, Vivian Green, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette and Robbie Williams
in singing and dancing their way through some of Porter's best-loved songs to
tell the story of his life. Starring Academy Award(R)-winner Kevin Kline,
Ashley Judd, and Jonathan Pryce, De-lovely is being directed by Oscar(R)-
winner Irwin Winkler from a script by two-time Oscar(R)-nominee Jay Cocks.
The film is being produced by Winkler, Rob Cowan, and Charles Winkler, with
Simon Channing Williams and Gail Egan as executive producers.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011119/MGMLOGO )
"We're thrilled to make these additions to our incredible cast," says
director Irwin Winkler. "It's amazing to have such an impressive collection
of musicians in one film and wonderful how they feel so passionate about the
project. Their love of Porter's music is bringing an unbelievable energy to
De-lovely."
"De-lovely is shaping up to be something wholly unique," says producer Rob
Cowan. "The performances are wonderful and the size and spectacle of the
production are something to see."
In De-lovely, Porter is looking back on his life as if it was one of his
spectacular stage shows, with the people and events of his life becoming the
actors and action on a stage. Through elaborate production numbers and
popular hits like "Anything Goes," "It's Delovely," and "Night and Day,"
Porter's elegant, excessive past comes to light -- including his deeply
complicated relationship with his wife and muse, Linda Lee Porter. De-lovely
is a sparkling celebration of Porter's music as well as a stirring exploration
of the artist's journey and the undying power of love.
In the film, Natalie Cole performs "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" while Mick
Hucknall of Simply Red fame does a rendition of "I Love You." French
chanteuse Lara Fabian and Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis perform a duet of
Porter's beloved "So in Love." Of the talent previously announced, Morissette
sings "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love," Crow croons "Begin the Beguine," and
Williams puts his stamp on "It's De-Lovely." Costello performs "Let's
Misbehave" while Vivian Green sings "Love for Sale" and Jazz stylist Krall
performs "Just One of Those Things." In addition to the musical artists,
actor Kevin Kline (starring as Cole Porter) will perform 14 numbers, including
a duet of "In the Still of the Night" with co-star Ashley Judd (as Porter's
wife, Linda). Judd sings other songs as well, including "True Love." The
soundtrack to the film will be released by Sony Music.
Production began on the film May 5, 2003, and will continue to the end of
July. The film is being shot in international locations.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (NYSE: MGM), through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Studios Inc. subsidiary, is actively engaged in the worldwide production and
distribution of entertainment product, including motion pictures, television
programming, home video, interactive media, music, and licensed merchandise.
The Company owns the largest modern film library in the world, consisting of
approximately 4,000 titles. Its operating units include MGM Pictures, United
Artists, MGM Television Entertainment, MGM Networks, MGM Distribution Co., MGM
Worldwide Television Distribution, MGM Home Entertainment, MGM On Stage, MGM
Consumer Products, MGM Music, MGM Interactive and MGM Online. In addition,
MGM has ownership interests in international television channels reaching
almost 100 countries around the globe. For more information on MGM, visit MGM
Online at http://www.mgm.com.
Media Contacts: Eric Kops, 310-449-3320
SOURCE MGM Pictures
Web Site: http://www.mgm.com
Photo Notes: NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011119/MGMLOGO AP Archive:
http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or
+1-212-782-2840
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issuers of news releases and not PR Newswire are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
More news from PR Newswire...
Copyright © 1996-2002 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.
A United Business Media company.
Setlist: Berkley July 19
I Hope You're Happy Now
Lipstick Vogue
Beyond Belief
Radio Radio
Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)
Everyday I Write The Book
Everybody's Crying Mercy
Clubland
Clown Strike
My Dark Life
In The Darkest Place
Just About Glad
Pump It Up
Either Side Of The Same Town
I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
Uncomplicated
All The Rage
Sweet Dreams
Indoor Fireworks
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/You Really Got A Hold On Me
Encore:
Watching The Detectives/Help Me
Honey Hush
Peace, Love And Understanding? (with a few lines from The Kids Are
Alright)
(Submitted by Nunki/Jean Filkins)
July 20, 2003
New Nieve Downloads
Steve Nieve has posted two songs in MP3 format from his upcoming solo project.
Hot Site: Costello Mystery Covers
Geez this is a nice site. Download cover versions of Elvis songs from every possible corner of the music world. So what if he doesn't tell you what songs they are. And you have to remember to visit nearly every day...
Name Check: Costello in NYC Country
NY Post article features Laura Cantrell and mentions that she opened for Elvis last year. (You can download Laura's cover of 'Indoor Fireworks' here.)
Preview: Seattle tonight
From Hearld.net: Elvis Costello: For more than 25 years, he's written songs that range from angry to beautiful to insightful and irreverent. 7 p.m. July 20, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville; $59.50, $89.50; 206-628-0888
Review: Denver II
Over the past decade, Elvis Costello devotees who prefer the pop songcraft, clever wordplay and bristling, crackling sound that first brought him to attention in 1977 have had reason for concern. He's delved into other genres working with decidedly adult artists - '60s pop professional Burt Bacharach, Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, the Mingus Orchestra.
But his latest CD, "When I Was Cruel," goes back to taut, bilous rock. Costello describes it as a "rowdy rhythm" record. Nearly 16 months after its release, he's still touring to support it. He visited Universal Lending Pavilion on Wednesday night with the Imposters, featuring two original members of his seminal band, the Attractions - keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas.
Elvis Costello’s been rocking out, but his next project is with his fiancée, jazz singer Diana Krall. The set included "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" (the reunited Bangles cover it on their new album), "Radio Radio" (in a Clear Channel-owned-and-operated venue!) and "Alison" (which morphed into "Suspicious Minds" - apparently Costello's into the other Elvis, or at least "Lilo & Stitch").
At the one-hour mark, Costello unplugged his guitar and walked off stage, the band scurried after him, the house lights came up and music was piped over the PA. Thankfully, the singer/songwriter/guitarist returned (he was reportedly mad about monitor problems), but it was cool to see some real vitriol. It wasn't all show biz.
Costello never said a word to the crowd until his several encores, which were generous. He veered from saloon singer (Merle Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down") to soul man ("You Really Got a Hold on Me"). The finale of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" showcased Nieve's churning organ, Thomas' busy beats and Davey Faragher's sharp, muscular bass.
On the way out of the venue, fans were praying that Costello will make another album with the Imposters. The answer is no. At least not right away. And probably not until he makes the inevitable record with his fiancee, jazz singer Diana Krall. A new album is set for Sept. 23 release by Deutsche Grammophon. According to his publicist, "North" contains 11 ballads written at the piano and sung predominantly in his intimate speaking register. Instrumentation ranges from solo piano to a 48-piece ensemble. There are fewer than 12 bars of electric guitar on the entire record.
Describing the album, Costello said, "The record begins with a song called 'You Left Me in the Dark' and ends with a track called 'I'm in the Mood Again.' You have to listen to what goes on in between to find out why."
Trainspotting in Poughkeepsie
''What we discovered during our opening week, when we presented everything from large orchestral work and Ballet Hispanico to Elvis Costello, was that the local community came out in large droves..."
July 19, 2003
Setlist: Vegas July 18th
1. I Hope You're Happy Now
2. (Tear Off Your Own Head) Doll Revolution
3. Every Day I Write the Book
4. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
5. Accidents Will Happen
6. Beyond Belief
7. Radio Radio
8. Everybody's Cryin' Mercy
9. Clubland
10. Clownstrike
11. Just About Glad
12. Pump It Up
13. Either Side of the Same Town
14. High Fidelity
15. I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down)
16. Pouring Water On A Drowning Man
17. Uncomplicated
Encore 1
18. Watching the Detectives (with Your Funeral and My Trial)
19. Dust 2
Encore 2
20. Brilliant Mistake
21. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
22. Honey Are You Straight? (Or are you blind?)
23. Less Than Zero (Fun to hear again)
24. Sweet Dreams
25. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
26. (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace Love and Understanding?
(Submitted by Jill Rydman)
July 17, 2003
Upcoming 'Piano Jazz' appearance
From Baldwin Pianos
"Marian McPartland: One of Baldwin’s most prestigious artists, Ms. McPartland was in NYC this week ( May `03) taping several segments for upcoming air dates for her NPR “Piano Jazz” series, including a guest appearance by Elvis Costello."
Upcoming BBC Appearance
Elvis Costello is to appear in a 'concert of words and music', on September 15th in London, it was announced this evening (well, more like mentioned in passing really).
BBC Radio 2 Dj, and one time rock journalist, Stuart MaConie was in converstaion with Chris Difford when he happened to mention the up coming event. Apparently the gig will be broadcast (didn't say when) as part of the BBC's 'sold on song' season, and in support of the new album 'North', which Mr Difford referred to as 'stunning'.
(Via John Foyle)
Denver Review
Costello, in a roundabout way, always leads back to rock roots
From the Rocky Mountain News:
EXCERPTS: "Wednesday night's show was another richly satisfying return to the songs that established Costello as one of the finest writers of the rock era.
"Particularly fine was a ramrod version of Complicated Shadows, a track from All This Useless Beauty that is as musically driving and lyrically sharp as anything in his songbook.
"He also dug out chestnuts such as Wondering from the country album Almost Blue and I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down from Get Happy."
FULL ARTICLE
Denver review - http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/music/article/0,1299,DRMN_54_2115673,00.html
Costello, in a roundabout way,
always leads back to rock roots
July 17, 2003
More than most artists, Elvis Costello has fans that
will willingly follow whatever side trip he's doing,
be it orchestras, string quartets, jazz standards or
a stint with Burt Bacharach.
Part of the reason is that there's always something
interesting in those projects.
But they also know he'll always get his fill then
come back to this - ripping through his repertoire
with a rock band.
Wednesday night's show was another richly satisfying
return to the songs that established Costello as one
of the finest writers of the rock era.
Kicking off with I Hope You're Happy Now from the
overlooked Blood and Chocolate album, Costello powered
through a set that combined his biggest hits (Pump It
Up, Radio Radio, Everyday I Write the Book) with songs
from his latter-day albums.
Particularly fine was a ramrod version of Complicated
Shadows, a track from All This Useless Beauty that is
as musically driving and lyrically sharp as anything
in his songbook.
For every deep album cut such as Clown Strike or Just
About Glad, he'd come back with a crowd favorite,
superbly performed.
Backing band The Imposters features drummer Pete Thomas
and keyboardist Steve Nieve, both virtuosos in their
own right. The addition of bassist Davey Faragher eased
old tensions in the band and also added some badly
needed backing vocals.
The only thing that marred the evening was an odd
incident where, barely an hour into the show, Costello
abruptly chopped off the set and left the stage,
surprising even his band. The musicians left, the house
lights came on and it seemed the show was over.
But a few minutes later Costello came back and wowed the confused crowd with a strong, if less animated, set of encores, heavily stocked with early classics (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea, Man Out of Time, Less Than Zero, Honey Are You Straight or Are You Blind and more.
He also dug out chestnuts such as Wondering from the
country album Almost Blue and I Can't Stand Up For
Falling Down from Get Happy.
Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes opened the show with
a combination of cover songs and originals that showed
he shouldn't quit his day job with the Black Crowes.
Huh? He what? Uh oh.
.
Setlist: Denver July 16
I Hope You're Happy Now
Tear Off Your Own Head
Everyday I Write The Book
Beyond Belief
Radio Radio
Everybody's Crying Mercy
Clubland
Clown Strike
Complicated Shadows
Alison-->Suspicious Minds
Just About Glad
Pump It Up (extended outro with band intros)
Either Side Of The Same Town
Encore 1:
Man Out Of Time (during which he broke his G string)
Less Than Zero
45
Honey Are You Straight Or Are You Blind
Chelsea
Wondering
Encore 2:
I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
Pouring Water On A Drowning Man
Uncomplicated
Watching The Detectives-->Your Funeral, My Trial-->Watching The Detectives
Encore 3
Sweet Dreams
Indoor Firewor