« January 2004 | Main | March 2004 »

February 29, 2004

Elvis Fiction on NPR

Elvis was name-checked in a bit of fictional storytelling on NPR's 'Next Big Thing".

Rock Star in the Frozen Section
His name is Robert. He’s a retired musician in his late 40s, living in upstate New York, having chosen the simple life over rock’n’roll celebrity. Or so he thought. This work of fiction was written and performed by David Cale. The story involves meeting a rock star in the supermarket, and somehow the guy sings a song called 'The Girl Who Looks Like Elvis Costello' - It's available online for your listening pleasure.

(Submitted by Kathleen Connally)

Boston setlist

1. 45
2. Accidents Will Happen
3. Home Truth
4. Suit of Lights
5. Shot with His Own Gun
6. This House is Empty Now
7. Pills and Soap (with the Brodsky Quartet)
8. You Left Me in the Dark (with the Brodsky Quartet)
9. Someone Took the Words Away
10. Rocking Horse Road (with the Brodsky Quartet)
11. Real Emotional Girl (with the Brodsky Quartet)
12. You Turned to Me (with the Brodsky Quartet)
13. Fallen (with the Brodsky Quartet)
14. God's Comic
15. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?
16. Either Side of the Same Town
17. When it Sings
18. Inch By Inch /Fever
19. Watching the Detectives
20. Sweet Dreams
1st Encore:
21. When Green Eyes Turn Blue (with the Brodsky
Quartet)
22. Still (with the Brodsky Quartet)
23.Can You Be True? (with the Brodsky Quartet)
24. My Mood Swings (with the Brodsky Quartet)
25. The Birds Will Still Be Singing (with the Brodsky
Quartet)
26. Almost Blue (with the Brodsky Quartet)
2nd Encore:
27. The Scarlet Tide (Elvis, solo ukelele)
28. You'll Never Walk Alone (with the Brodsky Quartet)

3rd Encore:
29. Pump it Up
30. Dark End of the Street

( Submitted by High_Water to Costello Fan Forum)

Wasting time altering the hemline

Besides watching for Elvis in Alison Krauss`s backing band in tonight`s Oscar show we will , of course , be monitoring Ms Krauss`s getup for this occasion. For shoes she has chosen $2m. Fantasy Slippers by Stuart Weitzman ; for clothes she will be resplendent in a
lustrous gold satin bias-cut halter gown with ruffles and delicate crystal
beading on the bodice , designed by Sunny Choi

Attention Fashion/Entertainment Editors:

Alison Krauss selects Sunny Choi for 76th Annual Academy Awards
LOS ANGELES, CA, Feb. 26 /CNW/ - Grammy-award winning singer, Alison
Krauss, has selected to wear a gown from Toronto-based fashion designer, Sunny
Choi, to the 76th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday February 29th, 2004.
Walking down Oscar's red carpet, Alison Krauss will be resplendent in a
lustrous gold satin bias-cut halter gown with ruffles and delicate crystal
beading on the bodice.
Ms. Krauss recorded both Oscar-nominated songs (Best Original Song
category) - "You Will Be My Ain True Love" written by Sting and "Scarlet Tide"
written by Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett, for the film, Cold Mountain. She
will be performing both Oscar-nominated songs during Sunday's ceremony at the
Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

For further information: Vivian Teng, Public Relations Director,
SUNNY CHOI, t: (416) 971-9329, f: (416) 971-5810, e: viviant@sunnychoi.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alison Krauss to wear $2 million shoes to Oscars


Associated Press
Feb. 23, 2004 08:37 AM


NASHVILLE - Alison Krauss will be putting her best
foot forward at this year's Oscars ceremony next
Sunday - in $2 million, all-diamond shoes.

She'll be a big part of the night's four-song
performance from the "Cold Mountain soundtrack," with
Annie Lennox, Sting and Elvis Costello.

But Krauss is already a shoe-in for another honor that
night - she's been chosen to wear shoe designer Stuart
Weitzman's one-of-a-kind Oscars footwear.

Weitzman's daughters are Alison Krauss fans, so she'll
sport this year's $2 million all-diamond Cinderella
shoes with four-inch heels.

On the right shoe, look for a five-carat diamond.

The shoes are borrowed for the evening, of course, but
Krauss will receive replicas studded with crystals to
keep when she turns the real ones back.

And expect a security guard to be dogging her steps as
long as she's sporting the borrowed footwear.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CELEBRITY SHOE DESIGNER STUART WEITZMAN ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF HIS CINDERELLA INSPIRED FANTASY SHOE TO BE WORN AT THIS YEAR’S ACADEMY AWARDS

STUART WEITZMAN TEAMS UP WITH KWIAT DIAMONDS TO CREATE A ONE-OF-A-KIND SHOE MADE WITH AN EXTRAORDINARILY RARE COLORED DIAMOND
SET AMONG 500 CLEAR DIAMONDS


Beverly Hills, CA -- Celebrity shoe designer, Stuart Weitzman, announces that he has created a one-of-a-kind pair of Cinderella-inspired shoes with Kwiat Diamonds that will be worn at the 2004 Academy Awards.

The stiletto sandal on a 4 ½ - inch invisible heel is covered with more than 500 dazzling diamonds set in pure platinum giving the illusion that there is no shoe, just diamonds twinkling on the foot. Nestled among the clear classic diamonds is an extraordinarily rare colored diamond. Never seen before, this diamond, which is amaretto in color and approximately 5 karats, is being specially cut and polished for the Weitzman shoes. With the rare colored diamond valued at well over $1 million and the shoes adorned with an additional 55 karats of clear diamonds, this pair of shoes will likely sell for $2 million or more.

Weitzman points out that, “Because this pair of shoes with such a rare stone, will also be worn on the red carpet by a beautiful, famous and talented woman, it might be considered priceless.” “Every woman dreams of being Cinderella, and Cinderella's fantasy shoe has finally become a reality,” adds Weitzman.

Kwiat Diamonds, with a legacy of exceptional craftsmanship and award-winning designs, has combined the rare diamond with classic diamonds. Lowell Kwiat expressed excitement in discussing the unique gem. “In my family’s nearly 100 years making fine jewelry, we have never seen a diamond of this color. I myself have seen more than a million diamonds, but nothing that looks like this.”

For the last two Academy Awards, Stuart Weitzman has created unique and unforgettable shoes. His beautiful $1 million sandal was worn at the 2002 Academy Awards. Last year he created the ruby shoe inspired by Dorothy's red shoes from the Wizard of Oz; and now this year, the world's most famous fantasy shoes come to life.

Weitzman will unveil the shoes and reveal the name of the star that will wear them during Oscar week at the Stuart Weitzman suite at Le Meridian Hotel in Beverly Hills. He will also present his collection specially designed to be worn at the Academy Awards and personally work with the stars and their stylists to help them choose their shoes for the biggest night in Hollywood. Also available at the suite will be the services of Ona Spa. Once again, Weitzman's Rodeo Drive store will be open 24 hours a day by appointment to handle special requests.

ALL MEDIA COVERING THE OSCARS ARE WELCOME AT THE WEITZMAN OSCAR SUITE.

WEITZMAN WILL BE AVAILABLE OSCAR WEEK FOR INTERVIEWS.

ALL INTERVIEW REQUESTS AND CREDENTIALS TO SHOOT IN THE WEITZMAN SUITE MUST BE APPROVED BY NEAL PUBLIC RELATIONS.

CONTACT: ROGER OR LYNN NEAL @ NEAL PR 714-848-8481

February 28, 2004

Costello has sweetest punch -- still

The Boston Globe reports -

Excerpts: "When the Brodskey Quartet emerged for the first of several chamber music minisets, the ambience turned gloriously avant garde. The quartet kicked out the punches -- no joke -- on "Rocking Horse Road" with a wild and complicated arrangement. They careered through a supple Sgt. Pepper's-style accompaniment on "My Mood Swings," from the "Big Lebowski" soundtrack, and a cover of Randy Newman's "Real Emotional Girl." The sound of Costello's cracked warble surfing the perfectly burnished waves of cello and violin was more than gorgeous; it was downright moving.

The lengthy sections devoted to music from "North" felt, well, lengthy. The pieces are slow and intense, drenched in great intimacy and admirable style, but entirely without hooks. During those stretches it felt more like one was watching Costello relive his changes of heart than perform for an audience. A man of few spoken words, he saved them all up for an extended monologue in the middle of "God's Comic," a demented Tin Pan Alley rocker that imagines heaven, Costello explained, as a VIP lounge in a bad nightclub in 1985 where "Hungry Like the Wolf" plays over and over again. A round of stellar Bush-and-Cheney-bashing abounded, followed straightaway by an epic, two-man stand on "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?" It didn't get any better, or more poetic, or more musical, than that."

( Submitted by Herb Boers )

MUSIC REVIEW
Costello has sweetest punch -- still

By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff, 2/28/2004

The prognosis for Angry Young Men is never good. They die, or disappear
into
the maw of middle age, or, most horrible of all, keep at it. From a
less
artful punk, the vicious sentiments and paranoid delivery of Elvis
Costello's early albums might have suggested a prime candidate for a
bad
ending. His songs were mean and he looked like a brainy time bomb. It
turns
out that's exactly what he was: a literate and distinguished songwriter
who
exploded in every musical direction.

Costello's two-hour concert at the Wang last night spanned his 27-year
recording history, stretching back to the venomous ska-noir of
"Watching the
Detectives" and including many of the languid, lovely pieces from last
year's "North," his 20th album of new material. It's hard to think of
another artist who could command a stage while toggling with reckless
abandon between rock tunes and torch songs. Or one who would venture to
replace the raucous brawl of a rhythm section with the delicate pluck
and
velveteen whirl of a string quartet. Costello succeeds because he
hasn't
changed. The thing that fed the creative fires of his cranky youth -- a
brilliantly unlikely mash of advanced craft and raw passion -- is the
same
stuff that fuels his ambitious new music.

Costello threw the fans a few bones out of the gate, opening the show
with
"45," "Accidents Will Happen," "Home Truth," and "Suit of Lights."
Longtime
pianist Steve Nieve's ornate, baroque fills on the grand piano and
psychedelic melodica moved in odd and often delirious counterpoint to
Costello's nuts-and-bolts guitar thrashing. They rocked, elegantly.

When the Brodskey Quartet emerged for the first of several chamber
music
minisets, the ambience turned gloriously avant garde. The quartet
kicked out
the punches -- no joke -- on "Rocking Horse Road" with a wild and
complicated arrangement. They careered through a supple Sgt.
Pepper's-style
accompaniment on "My Mood Swings," from the "Big Lebowski" soundtrack,
and a
cover of Randy Newman's "Real Emotional Girl." The sound of Costello's
cracked warble surfing the perfectly burnished waves of cello and
violin was
more than gorgeous; it was downright moving.

The lengthy sections devoted to music from "North" felt, well, lengthy.
The
pieces are slow and intense, drenched in great intimacy and admirable
style,
but entirely without hooks. During those stretches it felt more like
one was
watching Costello relive his changes of heart than perform for an
audience.
A man of few spoken words, he saved them all up for an extended
monologue in
the middle of "God's Comic," a demented Tin Pan Alley rocker that
imagines
heaven, Costello explained, as a VIP lounge in a bad nightclub in 1985
where
"Hungry Like the Wolf" plays over and over again. A round of stellar
Bush-and-Cheney-bashing abounded, followed straightaway by an epic,
two-man
stand on "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?" It
didn't
get any better, or more poetic, or more musical, than that.

Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.

Versatile star Costello takes fans for ride, wins applause

Elvis Costello is one lucky rock star. (Boston Herald)

Excerpts: "Many veterans are forced into being human jukeboxes by nostalgic audiences. Yet, regardless of what musical excursion Costello feels like taking - be it a side road into country, a detour into torch singing or a left turn into classical - a portion of his audience will be happy to accompany him with open ears and cheer him on.

Last night at the Wang Theatre the journey included all of the above in a two-hour-plus performance that featured the nuanced contributions of pianist Steve Nieve and the Brodsky Quartet. The 49-year-old Liverpudlian mixed and matched his styles with relative ease, showcasing both his own and BQ violist Paul Cassidy's deft arrangements of the chamber pop songs of Costello's newest album North and rearrangements of New Wave faves.

The latter, including a tremulous and trippy ``Watching the Detectives'' and a reinvigorated acoustic take of ``(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,'' were sprinkled throughout the set. The string players in the Brodsky Quartet, both in a seven-song midset appearance and in a lengthy encore, proved a complementary bunch.

Whether it was embodying the creepy, stalking cadences of bitter ``Pills and Soap'' or evoking - with their muted melancholy - the last moment before the sun sinks over the horizon on the autumnal ballad ``Fallen,'' they added grace.

Pianist Nieve was his usual animated self, attacking the keys on rockers like ``45'' and laying back into filigreed solos that ranged from gentle cabaret caresses to bombastic blasts of percussion. Costello himself was in fine fettle both vocally and comically. The Bachrach gem ``This House is Empty Now'' was a particularly fine melody with which to showcase his seemingly empowered pipes and he went to town with one-liners during, appropriately enough, the mischievous ``God's Comic.'' His barbs grazed everything from weapons of mass destruction to mainstream country music to gay marriage to Cher."

Versatile star Costello takes fans for ride, wins applause
By Sarah Rodman
Saturday, February 28, 2004

Elvis Costello is one lucky rock star.

Many veterans are forced into being human jukeboxes by nostalgic audiences. Yet, regardless of what musical excursion Costello feels like taking - be it a side road into country, a detour into torch singing or a left turn into classical - a portion of his audience will be happy to accompany him with open ears and cheer him on.

Last night at the Wang Theatre the journey included all of the above in a two-hour-plus performance that featured the nuanced contributions of pianist Steve Nieve and the Brodsky Quartet. The 49-year-old Liverpudlian mixed and matched his styles with relative ease, showcasing both his own and BQ violist Paul Cassidy's deft arrangements of the chamber pop songs of Costello's newest album North and rearrangements of New Wave faves.

The latter, including a tremulous and trippy ``Watching the Detectives'' and a reinvigorated acoustic take of ``(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,'' were sprinkled throughout the set.

The string players in the Brodsky Quartet, both in a seven-song midset appearance and in a lengthy encore, proved a complementary bunch.

Whether it was embodying the creepy, stalking cadences of bitter ``Pills and Soap'' or evoking - with their muted melancholy - the last moment before the sun sinks over the horizon on the autumnal ballad ``Fallen,'' they added grace.

Pianist Nieve was his usual animated self, attacking the keys on rockers like ``45'' and laying back into filigreed solos that ranged from gentle cabaret caresses to bombastic blasts of percussion.

Costello himself was in fine fettle both vocally and comically. The Bachrach gem ``This House is Empty Now'' was a particularly fine melody with which to showcase his seemingly empowered pipes and he went to town with one-liners during, appropriately enough, the mischievous ``God's Comic.'' His barbs grazed everything from weapons of mass destruction to mainstream country music to gay marriage to Cher.

Most importantly Costello, recently married to jazz pianist-vocalist Diana Krall, seemed happy and engaged, giving his all to songs of romantic despair and ecstasy with the spark of someone who's known the former and is bursting with the latter.

Elvis Costello's fans are some lucky music fans.

February 27, 2004

Googling Elvis Costello

Since last week, Yahoo no longer uses Google for its search results (using technology instead that it acquired by purchasing inktomi). Here you can see the differences in the results - note that our parent site elvis-costello.com is #3 on Google and #1 on Yahoo. Those Yahoo guys are clearly doing a better job...

Vote For Elvis !

Yahoo Launch are looking for votes for the Oscar songs . Vote early - vote often!

Beacon Setlist - Thurs Feb 26th

1. 45
2. Green Shirt
3. Home Truth
4. No Wonder
5. Long Honeymoon
6. This House Is Empty Now
7. Pills And Soap - w. Brodsky Quartet
8. You Left Me In The Dark - w. Brodsky Quartet
9. Someone Took The Words Away
10. Rocking Horse Road - w. Brodsky Quartet
11. Real Emotional Girl - w. Brodsky Quartet
12. You Turned To Me - w. Brodsky Quartet
13. Fallen - w. Brodsky Quartet
14. God's Comic
15. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And
Understanding?
16. Sleep of the Just
17.Man Out of Time
18. Either Side Of The Same Town
19. When It Sings
20. God Give Me Strength

Encore 1

21. When Green Eyes Turn Blue - w. Brodsky Quartet
22. Still - w. Brodsky Quartet
23. Can You Be True? - w. Brodsky Quartet
24. My Mood Swings - w. Brodsky Quartet
25. The Birds Will Still Be Singing - w. Brodsky Quartet
26. Almost Blue - w. Brodsky Quartet - Elvis on
piano at end & Steve on Melodica
27. I'm In The Mood Again - Elvis solo on piano
28. The Scarlet Tide - Elvis solo on ukelele
29. You'll Never Walk Alone - w. Brodsky Quartet

Encore 3

30. Pump It Up
31. Dark End Of The Street


( Submitted by John Ottaviano )

February 26, 2004

Elvis Costello, a man for all seasons, rocks the Ryman

The Tennessean reports -


( Extract)

The Costello of the late 1970s was an invigorating yet essentially graceless presence, an impudent, bile-spewer who delighted through raw aggression. A quarter-century later, his congested post-punk rasp has morphed into something remarkable, with woody, oboelike tones on the low end and a marvelous, tremulous falsetto at the top of the scale. More importantly, he carries an empathy and a fundamental melancholy that make for richness and depth.

It's impossible to believe that he's not a more pleasant person now, much less a more pleasant performer. Yet, as he displayed at show's end, he can still rock like nobody's business. Those who stuck around for the encore heard Costello sing the plaintive, Oscar-nominated The Scarlet Tide (a song he and T Bone Burnett wrote for Alison Krauss), then plug in a hollow-body electric guitar and slam through 1978's Pump It Up. He closed with soul standard Dark End Of The Street, rendered here as an elegiac sing-along:

''You and me,'' he sang, away from the microphone, standing at the stage's edge, with his voice ringing through the old hall.

''You and me,'' the audience answered back.

Elvis Costello, a man for all seasons, rocks the Ryman


By PETER COOPER
Staff Writer


Remember Deion Sanders? Doesn't matter if you do or don't: He was a Hall of Fame-caliber football player who tried to play major league baseball but couldn't hit the curve ball very well.

See, Elvis Costello can switch from rock mode to crooner to twanger to classical fusionist to whatever else he wants to try, and still hit the tar out of a curve ball.

OK, Costello doesn't look so athletic, and those thick glasses … forget about the curve ball. What I'm trying to say is that the guy seems to be able to flat out do anything he wants, and do it beautifully, as he proved in Tuesday night's concert at Ryman Auditorium.

It's difficult to imagine another artist who could meander around genres the way Costello did and still hold an audience's attention. Even Costello can't do it on records: As with Neil Young, most fans prefer a particular era of Elvis. He joked about this Tuesday, saying some admirers tell him, ''I love your albums … especially the early, angry ones.''

Until the encore, Costello stayed entirely away from very early, particularly mean-spirited things. He and pianist Steve Nieve began with 45, a track from 2002's When I Was Cruel, then shifted to Brilliant Mistake, from 1986's King of America album. The latter song, with its wish to ''watch this hurtin' feeling disappear like it was common sense'' was one of many that owe something to the Nashville country songwriting idiom, a tradition he later honored with covers of the Jerry Chesnut-penned Good Year for The Roses and of Johnny Cash's I Still Miss Someone.

But the country trip was not Costello's only journey. The Brodsky Quartet brought a classical bent that helped Pills and Soup move from foreboding to positively terrifying and that added layering to the singer's recent, more lovey-dovey excursions from last year's North. And Costello also crooned to great effect on numerous compositions, displaying a vocal possession of more octaves than most men have sport coats.

The Costello of the late 1970s was an invigorating yet essentially graceless presence, an impudent, bile-spewer who delighted through raw aggression. A quarter-century later, his congested post-punk rasp has morphed into something remarkable, with woody, oboelike tones on the low end and a marvelous, tremulous falsetto at the top of the scale. More importantly, he carries an empathy and a fundamental melancholy that make for richness and depth.

It's impossible to believe that he's not a more pleasant person now, much less a more pleasant performer. Yet, as he displayed at show's end, he can still rock like nobody's business. Those who stuck around for the encore heard Costello sing the plaintive, Oscar-nominated The Scarlet Tide (a song he and T Bone Burnett wrote for Alison Krauss), then plug in a hollow-body electric guitar and slam through 1978's Pump It Up. He closed with soul standard Dark End Of The Street, rendered here as an elegiac sing-along:

''You and me,'' he sang, away from the microphone, standing at the stage's edge, with his voice ringing through the old hall.

''You and me,'' the audience answered back.

February 25, 2004

Steve Nieve - the journal continues.


Steve`s journal continues , right up to last night in Nashville.
(password : chronicle)

FRI 20TH FEB. TAMPA BAY PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE TAMPA.FL.

Music:

Johnny Cash/ Unchained
TRAVEL: BAND: CREW: AFTER SHOW LOCAL ONLY DRIVE TO BOCA RATON 261 MLS. --------------------------------------------------- VENUE: TAMPA BAY PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE 1010 NORTH MACINNES PL, TAMPA FL. 33602 --------------------------------------------------- We visited the AAA in St, Petersburg to get a quote for auto insurance. Jackson passed his driving license here in the States, a few weeks ago. He’d love to be mobile, but young men under 25 are in the worst bracket. The triple A is great, and one day when he gets driving his own car, I know he’ll want to join up. We also dropped by the main post office to get supplies for the “Windows” mail out. Our hotel is infested with marksmen, from our window they are clearly visible prowling the roof. The Vice President is here giving a speech at an afternoon reception. The atmosphere reminds me of the hotel we stayed in New York at the moment of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Iraq Conflict. There was a United Nations meeting and the delegates were all guests of our hotel. Three armed security guards in each elevator, one sitting outside each elevator door, on all 48 floors. I.D. checks every turn of the corridor. Why in addition to all the inconvenience, do these people have to be so rude and as they say in these parts, macho? Today, two marksmen opposite our window, they see Jackson and myself looking out over their territory. We’re not dressed at all like regular Floridians, black overcoats for one thing. For a minute they are paying more attention to us than the banquet in the grounds below. The audience are very responsive, and it’s the slower, softer songs that get the warmest response, so something has changed around here. My memory of playing the southernmost state, is young people, spaced out on smoking weed, and drinking Budweiser or Rolling Rock with their entire faces painted in bright primary colors. And yes wasn’t our first Tampa Bay gig at the Jai Alai Stadium? One guy, obviously drunk, though missing the grease paint, misunderstanding E.C.’s wonderful improvised scat about the tightened hotel security, and pre election machinations, treads a noisy exit, but is quickly drowned out by the overwhelming appreciation of tonight’s An old St. Pete friend, Gator Dave, his wife Robin, and her sister April were my guests. Back-stage Gator Dave let the cat out of the bag to Milo, about my birthday tomorrow. Now I was trying to keep that a secret. One or so in the morning, Jackson and I sped the hired car over to Tampa airport to the 24 on 7 post office, and out went the first shipment of windows. Thanks Jackson, I couldn’t have done that without all your help. SAT 21ST FEB. MIZNER AMPHITHEATRE BOCA RATON FL. TRAVEL: BAND: CREW: DRIVE TO BOCA RATON DRIVE TO NASHVILLE 261 MLS. NASHVILLE 878 MLS. --------------------------------------------------- VENUE: MIZNER AMPHITHEATRE 590 PLAZA REAL BOCA RATON FL 33432 Our bus driver kindly offered to drop Jackson in St. Pete on his way up to Nashville, Sunday, which meant he could tag along to Boca Raton. Thanks Ron. On the drive E.C. played some DVD’s of T.V. shows from the sixties. Sam and Dave, a lot of Blues artists, Etta James. A show called “The Beat”. Some Ed Sullivan Shows. Wonderful to watch. We are staying in an extraordinary piece of American Architecture, the Boca Raton Beach Club and Resort. I wonder if it’s the same architect that built the Nationale in Havana? Same interior features, I’m sure. Without me knowing it, Muriel had prompted everyone about the significance of Feb 21. There was a birthday cake in my dressing room and a birthday card from all the team. We were playing outdoors, but the crowd made us feel we were inside a cosy theatre. After the first couple of songs E.C. leaned into the mic and before I knew what was happening the audience were singing, in beautiful harmonies, Happy Birthday. It was a swell thing. Jackson met a school friend somewhere in the audience, now that tells you what a small world this is. After the show we shared a glass in the ‘cloistered’ courtyard of the hotel. A relaxing close to the day. --------------------------------------------------- SUN 22ND FEB. FLY TO NASHVILLE TN. TRAVEL: BAND: CREW: FLY TO NASHVILLE DRIVING TO NASHVILLE --------------------------------------------------- Horrible Goodbye at the airport, but it’s a good thing to think of Jackson pulling up to his grandma’s house in that huge tour bus, later today. Long day of air travel. E.C. invited us out to a Japanese restaurant in the evening. Another soft shell crab experience, great. --------------------------------------------------- MON 23RD FEB. NASHVILLE TN. REHEARSE WITH THE BRODSKY,S TRAVEL: BAND: CREW: LOCAL ONLY --------------------------------------------------- VENUE: AT THE RYMAN TIME T.B.A (EARLY EVENING) Seems that bus driver Ron misunderstood the situation. He was supposed to collect the Brodsky Quartet in Montgomery Alabama and drive them to Nashville in time for our rehearsal. Instead, he had in mind to get them here in time for the gig tomorrow. The big silver bus is now in a mad dash to meet the schedule, the Brodsky’s are waiting outside their hotel, telephoning to know what happened. Our rehearsal is re-scheduled for late evening. I visited the Nashville downtown. Everything has a for-sale sign on it. Things are looking depressed, tourism is dramatically down around here. That’s not a good thing. I visited the Hatch Show Print Works on Broadway. They do all the cool looking posters for the Ryman Theatre. They created a famous poster for Elvis Presley, playing at the Florida Theatre, Jacksonville, early in his career. Visit the web site: http://www.hatchshowprint.com After the rehearsal E.C., the Brods, and myself have a good moment of banter in the hotel bar. TUES 24TH FEB.RYMAN AUDITORIUM NASHVILLE TN. TRAVEL: BAND: CREW: LOCAL ONLY AFTER SHOW DRIVE TO NEW YORK 903 MLS. --------------------------------------------------- VENUE: RYMAN AUDITORIUM 116 FIFTH AVE. NORTH NASHVILLE TN. 37219 --------------------------------------------------- I took a short walk over to the Baptist Hospital complex. They have a gymn and a swimming club, open to guests of our hotel. I had the pool all to myself, a long lap pool. Also a very efficient whirlpool, hot and turbulent, which relaxed me so much that I slept off most of the afternoon, waking in time for the soundcheck. The Ryman is the legendary home of the Grand Ole Opry. So many performers have graced these planks, there’s always an air of occasion when you get to play a place like this. The audience sit on church pews, I believe this was originally a mission house, turned theatre, and the acoustics are wonderful. The set, like the last time here, was around two hours in length, yet there were only a handful of songs that we played here last time. That’s amazing. The Brodsky Quartet played with great fire and energy, adding warmth to the North songs. Real Emotional Girl, the Randy Newman song, received their classical touch. E.C. and I performed Heart Shaped Bruise. During the God’s Comic scat, E.C. slammed the President for his decision to ban same sex ‘marriages’ in America. The audience clearly felt the same way. “What’s wrong with people expressing their love for each other”? E.C. was sporting some very pointed and shining silver boots, that didn’t escape one cowboy’s notice in the audience. In between songs this chap was shouting and hollering something about them boots. The atmosphere in the hall was a finely tuned balance between honky tonk and recital hall. A drum-less Pump It Up tipped that equilibrium and the gals took to their dancing feet. After the show, Emmy Lou Harris came back stage with her mum, and family. I also met up with Dave Jacques, double bass and tuba player with John Prine. I left the theatre feeling a strong high from the music and the folks there. The poster for the show, printed by the Hatch Print Company, rolled under my arm.

It was 25 years ago today...Armed Forces remembered


Derek Wright writes -

Must avoid The Beatles reference...must avoid the cliche way to flashback...fighting...struggling...must avoid the obvious...

It was 25 years ago today...

Updated Sgt.. Pepper’s references aside, it was 25 years ago this week that Elvis Costello released his third, and most prolific record, "Armed Forces." On the heals of his first two masterpieces, and only months before indulging himself in cheeky lounge music and jazz, Costello pieced together 13 tracks of subtle - and sometimes not so subtle - political, sociological and personal anguish.

Compiled in the back of tour busses, or by dimly-lit hotel rooms, "Forces" showed Costello’s emergence from an angst-ridden lad, into a twenty-something songwriter. Nearing the age of 24, he began to embrace his over night success, understand the concept of an audience, and battle the highs and lows which come with each.

Produced by the legendary Nick Lowe, "Forces" songs were its strong point. Whereas his two prior releases relied on persona as much as musicianship, this release witnessed a substantial lyrical and musical growth. His band, The Attractions, were as solid players as they come - both in the studio and on the road. When they were in top form, Costello was forced to elevate his performance to not be outdone. The expansive collaboration is evident during "Forces" 40-minute span.

Over the course of his 27 year career, Costello has provided as much greatness and mediocrity. Yet, "My Aim Is True," "This Year’s Model" and "Armed Forces" are traditional staples of outsider expressionism and genuine post-punk rock’n’roll - each elevated higher than the preceding release.

( Submitted by Chris Wright)

Still armed and dangerous

By Derek Wright


Must avoid The Beatles reference...must avoid the cliche way to flashback...fighting...struggling...must avoid the obvious...

It was 25 years ago today...

Updated Sgt.. Pepper’s references aside, it was 25 years ago this week that Elvis Costello released his third, and most prolific record, "Armed Forces." On the heals of his first two masterpieces, and only months before indulging himself in cheeky lounge music and jazz, Costello pieced together 13 tracks of subtle - and sometimes not so subtle - political, sociological and personal anguish.

Compiled in the back of tour busses, or by dimly-lit hotel rooms, "Forces" showed Costello’s emergence from an angst-ridden lad, into a twenty-something songwriter. Nearing the age of 24, he began to embrace his over night success, understand the concept of an audience, and battle the highs and lows which come with each.

Produced by the legendary Nick Lowe, "Forces" songs were its strong point. Whereas his two prior releases relied on persona as much as musicianship, this release witnessed a substantial lyrical and musical growth. His band, The Attractions, were as solid players as they come - both in the studio and on the road. When they were in top form, Costello was forced to elevate his performance to not be outdone. The expansive collaboration is evident during "Forces" 40-minute span.

Over the course of his 27 year career, Costello has provided as much greatness and mediocrity. Yet, "My Aim Is True," "This Year’s Model" and "Armed Forces" are traditional staples of outsider expressionism and genuine post-punk rock’n’roll - each elevated higher than the preceding release.

In light of the 25-year anniversary, here is a song-by-song review of the Hall Of Famer’s most important and thorough output.

Accidents Will Happen - The first notes, Costello’s breathy vocals proclaiming "Oh I just don’t know where to begin," seem as right, and as ironic, of way as any to open. Though originally not the first track, Costello has gone on record saying "It is hard to imagine this record opening with anything rather than the blindingly obvious first line." Possessing one of Bruce Thomas’ most creative and eager bass-lines, and showing a hint of doo-wop influence, the sincere, mid-tempo pleasure sets the tone for the remaining dozen. Inspired by a newfound life away from home and his family, it was penned as a declaration to the inevitable slips of Costello’s morality. Split between preempted defense and the outright acknowledgment of his rapidly growing disdain for corporate politics, the lyrics seem as unapologetic as they do guilty.

Most Memorable Lyric: "It’s the damage that we do/ And never know/ It’s the words we don’t say/ That scare me so"


Senior Service - Taking its cues from albums such as "Heroes" by David Bowie - which the band had been listening to heavily while on the road - it captivates within seconds with the Nintendo-like sounds of Steve Nieve’s keyboard. Costello begins to show his interest in expanding his vocal approach by switching between his murky low tones, to an upbeat, higher pitch during the songs monolithic chorus and bridge. The manic synthesizers get lost behind the lyrical redundancy, yet still create a subtle urgency found without the remainder of the album.

Most Memorable Lyric: "Senior service/ Junior dissatisfaction/ Though it may be second hand/ It’s by no means second rate"


Oliver’s Army - The albums most specific subject matter falls within its three catchiest moments. Inspired by Costello’s first trip to Belfast in 1978, which he saw children decorated in full military fatigues brandishing automatic weapons, the song was one of the few not written on a tour bus. Instead, it was written it its entirety on the return flight to London. The song was designed around the quote "They always get a working class boy to do the killing." Steve Nieve’s elegant piano work, coupled with the underlying acoustic guitar, and Costello’s hopeful demeanor tend to be misleading - it is as lyrically serious as songs can get.

Most Memorable Lyric: "If you’re out of luck/ Or out of work/ We could send you to Johannesburg"


Big Boys - This song was written as Costello’s self-help group, in an attempt to come to grips with his avid attempt to avoid and dissuade praise. Modeled as a confession, it relays a tale of actively choosing a fall from grace by associating with a new image and group of friends. Heavy echoing guitars and large drums create the background for this quick, tell-all rocker.

Most Memorable Lyric: "And you try so hard to be like the big boys"


Green Shirt - Looping samples and space-age sythns lead Costello slightly down the New Wave trail. The albums shortest track hints at the deep-rooted paranoia that is the product of sleep deprivation and childhood angst.

Most Memorable Lyric: "Better cut off all identifying labels/ Before they put you on the torture table"


Party Girls - Written as an homage to a mid-western art student whom Costello barely knew. A newspaper saw the two spending time together after a concert at a local diner, and proceeded to call him a "typical rock star" while also questioning whether or not the girl was a hooker. The song serves as a nice change of pace for a record which has, up until this point, been rather political. Though the message is still proactive and aggressive, it contains a sense of vulnerability missing from the rest of the record.

Most Memorable Lyric: "They say you’re just a party girl/ Just like a million more all over the world"


Goon Squad - Guitars don’t get much spookier than this, and vocals rarely seem as haunting. The title is whispered again and again in the background of the song that Costello referred to as a "black comedy." A dark tale of his own thrust into the spotlight and the new faces he met while consumed by it.

Most Memorable Lyric: "Mother, Father, I’m here in the zoo/ I can’t come home/ I’ve grown up too soon"


Busy Bodies - The simple message that "promiscuity kills" is jumbled around and distorted in this bizarre and convoluted verse structure. With so many words, and so little time, Costello condensed several shortened verses into a few longer diatribe, while also experimenting with a guitar piece designed to emulate Roy Orbison’s "Pretty Woman."

Most Memorable Lyric: "You want attention/ You try my patience/ With the best of intentions/ You are nothing but a nuisance"


Sundays Best - A waltz containing lyrics from store signs, headlines and newspaper ads that caught Costello’s attention while on tour.

Most Memorable Lyric: "Don’t look now/ Under the bed/ An arm, a leg, a severed head"


Moods For Moderns - Another song inspired by David Bowie’s most recent release, "Heroes." Combining elements of contemporary funk and New Wave synths, the Attractions are this tracks most compelling element.

Most Memorable Lyric: "What if none of your dreams come true/ I can never run from you"


Chemistry Class - Written as a reaction to the numerous campuses Costello visited while on his early US tours. After hearing tales of student protests and other activist groups during the mid 70's, he was disappointed with the complacency he witnessed during 1978. Instead of seeing groups of students together in competition against "the man," Costello found himself faced with, as he called them, "people suited for jobs in advertising." In response to the students lack of energy, Costello penned the albums most sedated song.

Most Memorable Lyric: "People pleasing people/ Pleasing people like you/ You’ve been around so long/ But still don’t know what to do"


Two Little Hitlers - Aside from a reference to a Charlie Chaplin film, the song is surprisingly void of 20th century history. The song refers to an egotistical couple unable to successfully manage a relationship. Choppy guitar chords and sparse riffs fall atop a carnival-like organ, as Costello eases in and out of the personal tale.

Most Memorable Lyric: "Two little Hitlers/ Will fight it out until/ One little Hitler/ Does the other Hitlers will"

(What’s so funny ‘bout) Peace, Love and Understanding - The albums high-water mark, revisited and revived by Bill Murray in the 2003 film, "Lost In Translation." The only song not written by Costello - it was written by producer Nick Lowe and intended for his own band. In fact, Lowe recorded a previous version of this track in the band Nick Lowe & His Sound. Though the album maintained a political motif throughout, as well as being recorded the day after Costello participated in an anti-racist festival, this is the only song overtly political. The song contains a smug sense of irony, as the simple question proposed in the title cannot be answered. The albums most consistent and up-tempo track combines the strongest elements of Costello’s social awareness and the Attractions superb musicianship. Not only the most recognizable song for its undeniable pop sense at the time of its release, it is also its longest lasting impression.

Most Memorable Lyric: "So w here are the strong/ And who are the trusted/ And where is the harmony/ The sweet harmony"

Ryman, Feb.24 `04 Setlist

45
Brilliant Mistake
Home Truth
No Wonder
Shot With His Own Gun
This House is Empty Now

(Enter Brodskys)
Pills & Soap
You Left Me in the Dark
Someone Took the Words Away

(Just Elvis & The Brodskys)
Rocking Horse Road
Real Emotional Girl (Randy Newman song)
You Turned To Me
Fallen
(Brodskys exit stage)

God's Comic
Peace, Love & Understanding

Encore 1
Either Side of the Same Town
When It Sings
Good Year for the Roses
Heart Shaped Bruise
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/You Really Got a Hold On Me

Encore 2
(Brodskys Re-enter Stage)
When Green Eyes Turn Blue
Still
Can You Be True?
My Mood Swings
The Birds Are Still Singing
Almost Blue

Encore 3
I Still Miss Someone
I'm in the Mood Again
Scarlett Tide (Elvis on Ukelele)
Pump It Up
The Dark End of the Street

( Submitted by spooky girlfriend on the Costello Fan Forum)

February 24, 2004

Costello Tribute Disc

A disc of covers of Elvis Costello songs is due on March 9th from the Tribute Sounds label .

A Tribute To Elvis Costello

Track Listing

1. Veronica
2. This Town
3. Other Side Of Summer, The
4. Accidents Will Happen
5. Fallen
6. High Fidelity
7. New Amsterdam
8. Everyday I Write The Book
9. Only Flame In Town, The
10. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood


Does this recording - of sorts - of Fallen mark the first cover of a North song?

And will the cover of This Town - bizarre selection that it is - include the immortal line

`You're nobody 'til everybody in this town thinks you're a bastard` ?

Or will it be an instrumental album?

And should we care ?

( Submitted by Anonymous Anonymous)

February 23, 2004

NOT-SO-MELLOW COSTELLO

Elvis was rather specific in an interview for the St.Petersburg Times.

Extracts -

Do you have a favorite torch song? I heard you do
Billie Holiday's Gloomy Sunday on Marian McPartland's
Piano Jazz on NPR.

Oh, you heard that? I love that show. It was great fun. She is lovely. I made a
promise to come back and do some songs I've known and never performed because the (American) songbook is so deep.

Except now it seems like everybody has to be releasing a standards record. The last thing I want to do is join that race. Be like Michael Bolton and Rod Stewart
(laughs). There must be very few of those big microphones left, those big RCA microphones. You have to have one of those and you have to have your tie
undone (laughs). When Rod and Mike are doing it, it's time to get out of town.

Do you have a favorite rendition of an Elvis Costello song?

I've got a few that I really think are pretty great. Johnny Cash's Hidden Shame is pretty amazing. I tried to write it so much suited for him. To have him do it that vividly is pretty amazing.

I wasn't that confident about sending songs out to people when I was younger, so I often had a model in my head to help me write the song, but I was really
writing it for myself. I wrote, like, Stranger in the House for George Jones with no notion of it ever reaching him, and then it did. And, not only did it
reach him, but I was asked to come sing with him on it, which is really weird.

The most unusual one was Chet Baker. He played on a record of mine and I gave him Almost Blue, which was written with him in mind. He did record it before he died. But I didn't know he recorded it, and he died before I could thank him for recording it.

I have no apologies for any sentimentality this may suggest to you, but truthfully, my favorite version of any song of mine right as we speak now is my wife's version of Almost Blue, which you haven't heard yet. It's the best version of it that's ever been recorded.

I'm so . . . I'm, I'm . . . (speechless). I'm so thrilled by it and it's all the better when it's the person you share your life with. She played it in concert when we were just friends and I was (mumbles to himself), "Wow, she can really sing that song."

Is her version better than your version? I think so.

Do you have a favorite era in time, one you might have liked to live in ?

(Heavy sigh) What do people always say, they always say, (affected tone) "Paris in the '20s." I don't know about that. There's a book I read (about Paris) and it talks about how smelly people were even in the 1950s. Cleaning wasn't as familiar and there was no deodorant. So maybe you would think you'd want to go back and then you'd be like, "God, it really smells around here."

So, what gets you angry nowadays?

I have a frightening amount of vitriol aimed at North particularly in England, where they hated the record. What's funny is, after 27 years of doing this, is that
you can make people so furious by singing love songs. I guess they think I've abandoned my supposed punk roots. They don't realize what a punk thing this is. Quiet is the new loud. Quiet is the new loud - and tangerine is the new cranberry (laughs). . . .

There's a war going on - it's turning into a Belfast kind of reality. Iraq is kind of a Belfast. You have these troops shedding blood every day forever and
forever, and it's going to cost you millions of dollars to process a war that you can never win and will never end. And so your president suggests going
to Mars (dramatic pause) as a distraction. . . .

I never, ever, ever thought there would ever be an administration that would make that bunch of inefficient crooks that used to work for Nixon look
good, but you've managed it, your country. It's such a sad thing, because it's such a fantastic country. I've spent such a long time here now. People are very, very welcoming, open. The best of it here is so good.

NOT-SO-MELLOW COSTELLO Series: 10 PRESSING QUESTIONS

GINA VIVINETTO.
St. Petersburg Times.
St. Petersburg, Fla.:
Feb 19, 2004. pg. 1.E

Copyright Times Publishing Co. Feb 19, 2004

Elvis Costello comes to town this week to perform
music from the new North, his slow, and, some critics
complain, too somber album of piano music.

In an unusual move, Costello, 49, will play
back-to-back shows at two venues, but promises wildly
different sets. Calling from New York, Costello
answers 10 Pressing Questions about disgusting food
and the role his wife, jazz singer-pianist Diana
Krall, plays in his music.

(1) So, North - it's a slow, moody record, yet its
tone goes from despair to hope. Is it
autobiographical? It's something that happens to
people and I suppose you can say it happened to me. .
. . But I hope it's written in a way that isn't too
selfish.

It's not everybody's taste; I'm aware of that. Some
people want their music more abrasive. But I've made
plenty of abrasive music. And I'll make it again. I'm
not proposing this is a change of style altogether.
I'm proposing: THESE SONGS GO LIKE THIS. And, to do
them any other way would do them a disservice.

So, you haven't "abandoned rock 'n' roll," as some
reviews are proposing? Oh, that's such nonsense! Rock
'n' roll is actually a musical language, or it's a
state of mind. In some ways, this is a radical thing.
. . . Surely doing something that is completely
radical is more in the spirit of what we call rock 'n'
roll for shorthand, for not being cautious and timid.

So, that could be doing something very gentle,
couldn't it? To do something very intimate.

(2) It sounds like you're developing a more trusting
relationship with your own singing voice, like you're
falling in love with it, finally. It's a little
dangerous. You can start singing in that narcissistic
way. That tends to happen to people who are only very,
very able, with that effortless vocal capacity, which
I don't have. There's a decent amount of struggle in
my singing. The majority of my songs are nearly
impossible to sing - there are a tremendous amount of
words! It's a feat to remember them, let alone utter
them against the music.

But I think the most beautiful narcissistic albums
ever made were Al Green's 1970s records. Where he sang
like he was singing to himself looking in the mirror -
I mean that as a compliment. He was so beautifully
self-possessed.

(3) Do you have a favorite torch song? I heard you do
Billie Holiday's Gloomy Sunday on Marian McPartland's
Piano Jazz on NPR. Oh, you heard that? I love that
show. It was great fun. She is lovely. I made a
promise to come back and do some songs I've known and
never performed because the (American) songbook is so
deep.

Except now it seems like everybody has to be releasing
a standards record. The last thing I want to do is
join that race. Be like Michael Bolton and Rod Stewart
(laughs). There must be very few of those big
microphones left, those big RCA microphones. You have
to have one of those and you have to have your tie
undone (laughs). When Rod and Mike are doing it, it's
time to get out of town.

Your favorites? I don't know - Billie Holiday is, of
course, fantastic. Jazz is fantastic.

Only the Lonely or When No One Cares by Sinatra. So
many individual tracks by one singer - it could be a
torch song, it could be a song from the fairly recent
past, it could be Don't Make Promises (You Can't Keep)
by Tim Hardin. It could be Mr. Fool by George Jones.
It could be About A Girl by Kurt Cobain.

(4) You're known for your collaborations. Is there
someone who's no longer alive that you would have
liked to work with? I lament my laziness and my
narrow-mindedness at an earlier age for not seeing
some people (when they were in their prime). I never
saw Duke Ellington play. I never saw Miles Davis. But
nobody I wanted to have collaborated with. I would
have liked Frank Sinatra to have sung one of my songs.

(5) Do you have a favorite rendition of an Elvis
Costello song? I've got a few that I really think are
pretty great. Johnny Cash's Hidden Shame is pretty
amazing. I tried to write it so much suited for him.
To have him do it that vividly is pretty amazing.

Howard Tate did a recent recording of a song of mine
(Either Side of the Same Town) that I like. Solomon
Burke's The Judgement.

I wasn't that confident about sending songs out to
people when I was younger, so I often had a model in
my head to help me write the song, but I was really
writing it for myself. I wrote, like, Stranger in the
House for George Jones with no notion of it ever
reaching him, and then it did. And, not only did it
reach him, but I was asked to come sing with him on
it, which is really weird.

The most unusual one was Chet Baker. He played on a
record of mine and I gave him Almost Blue, which was
written with him in mind. He did record it before he
died. But I didn't know he recorded it, and he died
before I could thank him for recording it.

I have no apologies for any sentimentality this may
suggest to you, but truthfully, my favorite version of
any song of mine right as we speak now is my wife's
version of Almost Blue, which you haven't heard yet.
It's the best version of it that's ever been recorded.

I'm so . . . I'm, I'm . . . (speechless). I'm so
thrilled by it and it's all the better when it's the
person you share your life with. She played it in
concert when we were just friends and I was (mumbles
to himself), "Wow, she can really sing that song."

Is her version better than your version? I think so.

(6) Some critics suggest North is influenced by
Diana's style. But piano music is something you've
been interested in for decades, wouldn't you argue
that? Obviously, pointing back to songs pre-1980 -
it's not as if I've never referred to pre-rock 'n'
roll song form before.

These songs (on North) relate much more to an earlier
form of songwriting, to what we call classical songs
or "art songs," for lack of a better term, songs I've
listened to . . . by Debussy or Schubert. There's just
as much influence as listening to that kind of music
as any standard form or jazz.

It's a really lazy and easy thing to say because jazz
musicians appear (on the record) that this is a jazz
record. . . . Some of the harmonies have their origins
in jazz composition, but they have just as many in
lieder or folk music.

Now, the influence of my emotional life is profound
upon the mood and the text. But not an influence on my
music. I certainly didn't need any instruction in this
musical form from my wife.

I love her records, but I don't think we influence
each other in that very facile surface way. I think
it's down deeper, as it should be.

(7) What's the most disgusting food you've ever tried
in all your years touring the globe?

(Laughs) Oh, my God, I have no idea!

Come on, you must have tried some weird stuff,
octopus, things like that.

I love octopus. Octopus is my favorite. Do you have
octopus in Florida? I'll be looking out for the
octopus down there. I don't eat meat so that narrows
it down quite a bit. I eat fish, but I don't eat meat,
so the disgusting possibilities are a lot less if
you're trapped in a land with no food like Germany and
the one thing you have to eat is like, sheep's eyes or
something. How long have you been a vegetarian? Well,
I'm not a vegetarian. Okay, a pesce- (Dismissively)
Yeah, whatever it is. I just don't like the taste of
meat. Like I don't like the taste of alcohol.

You're not a big drinker? I'm a non-drinker. People
wouldn't think that, you're such the rock 'n' roller.
And, I used to be a big drinker. But I just lost the
taste for it. I'm very lucky.

(8) Do you have a favorite era in time, one you might
have liked to live in? (Heavy sigh) What do people
always say, they always say, (affected tone) "Paris in
the '20s." I don't know about that. There's a book I
read (about Paris) and it talks about how smelly
people were even in the 1950s. Cleaning wasn't as
familiar and there was no deodorant. So maybe you
would think you'd want to go back and then you'd be
like, "God, it really smells around here."

(9) So, what gets you angry nowadays? I have a
frightening amount of vitriol aimed at North
particularly in England, where they hated the record.
What's funny is, after 27 years of doing this, is that
you can make people so furious by singing love songs.
I guess they think I've abandoned my supposed punk
roots. They don't realize what a punk thing this is.
Quiet is the new loud. Quiet is the new loud - and
tangerine is the new cranberry (laughs). . . .

There's a war going on - it's turning into a Belfast
kind of reality. Iraq is kind of a Belfast. You have
these troops shedding blood every day forever and
forever, and it's going to cost you millions of
dollars to process a war that you can never win and
will never end. And so your president suggests going
to Mars (dramatic pause) as a distraction. . . .

I never, ever, ever thought there would ever be an
administration that would make that bunch of
inefficient crooks that used to work for Nixon look
good, but you've managed it, your country. It's such a
sad thing, because it's such a fantastic country. I've
spent such a long time here now. People are very, very
welcoming, open. The best of it here is so good.

(10) Do you go to bed at night, ever, content with
your career? You hope that whatever it is you do in
life, you're doing as well as you possibly can. You
don't want to be even more a burden on the draining
and the wasting of the paper and the effort in
whatever endeavor you're in. . . . You also hope
you're humble enough that you can remember why you
started out to do it. . . . On a scale of 1- 10, how
are you doing? Once or twice you look and, go, "That
song, or that concert, or that record was as good as I
could be at that moment." It's not the definitive
statement of my life, because that effort's still
ongoing. . . . Why do we (artists) share these things?
Because we feel we can communicate. Well, you do a
very good job, still. (Burst out laughing) Well, thank
you, thank you for the reassurance! You've got the
stuff, kiddo! Thank you! And, weren't you even on The
Simpsons, as yet another feather in your cap? (Both
laughing) You bet. You've done it all. It is the
absolute pinnacle, to have them accept me, me and
Rupert Murdoch, except I don't think Rupert did his
own voice and I did.

Contact Gina Vivinetto at gina@sptimes.com.

Elvis Costello shows range, intensity

The Palm Beach Post was impressed with Elvis`show in Boca Raton.

Extracts

It's not merely that the music matters so much, though
it does. It's that Costello elevates it with his
distinctive, proudly declarative voice. There's an
emotional intensity to his style that most performers
can only approximate. He turns songs into soliloquies
-- at turns pointed and droll -- but he does it
without calling undue attention to his artistry. He's
too busy being a rocker to worry about being the Voice
of a Generation.

Such songs as Shot With His Own Gun and Long Honeymoon
were served up like mini-operas, flavored extra dry.
By the time Costello got around to material from his
latest, jazz-inflected album, North, he proved himself
the quintessential low-fi showman. Add to the mix a
few of his deftly comic remarks -- something about the
evolutionary chain from monkey to man and country star
Toby Keith's place in it -- and it became clear Elvis
wasn't leaving the building anytime soon. He was
having too much smart fun.

Still, Costello never strays too far from a good
rocking groove. By the end of the night, he brought
out a replica of a guitar belonging to that other
musical Elvis -- a Gibson with the right degree of
fuzz -- and played the heck out of Pump It Up, another
old favorite. He explained that the instrument was
merely a "facsimile," like "everything else in rock
'n' roll now."

Elvis Costello shows range, intensity

By Charles Passy, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 23, 2004

BOCA RATON -- Near the end of his two-hour performance
at the Mizner Park Amphitheatre on Saturday night,
Elvis Costello made a joke about his conscious lack of
glitz. An "expensive show," he noted, might have
offered more bells and whistles. "Like Cher," he
added.

Well, we've had our share of Cher. But after watching
the nerdish singer-songwriter work his way through one
of the best catalogs of tunes in the last three
decades, we still want more of Costello.

It's not merely that the music matters so much, though
it does. It's that Costello elevates it with his
distinctive, proudly declarative voice. There's an
emotional intensity to his style that most performers
can only approximate. He turns songs into soliloquies
-- at turns pointed and droll -- but he does it
without calling undue attention to his artistry. He's
too busy being a rocker to worry about being the Voice
of a Generation.

You could tell as much from the start of the show,
when Costello, dressed sharply in a black suit and
black shirt, delivered some of his older, more popular
tunes -- Accidents Will Happen, Everyday I Write the
Book -- in rapid-fire succession. Working in
comfortable partnership with his longtime keyboardist
Steve Nieve, Costello played up the fleet, nervous
quality of his early style, blending punk attitude
with rockabilly restlessness.

As the plentiful but often disrespectful crowd settled
down -- that is, when they still weren't busy
yammering into their cellphones -- Costello switched
gears and went into more of a crooner mode.

Such songs as Shot With His Own Gun and Long Honeymoon
were served up like mini-operas, flavored extra dry.
By the time Costello got around to material from his
latest, jazz-inflected album, North, he proved himself
the quintessential low-fi showman. Add to the mix a
few of his deftly comic remarks -- something about the
evolutionary chain from monkey to man and country star
Toby Keith's place in it -- and it became clear Elvis
wasn't leaving the building anytime soon. He was
having too much smart fun.

Still, Costello never strays too far from a good
rocking groove. By the end of the night, he brought
out a replica of a guitar belonging to that other
musical Elvis -- a Gibson with the right degree of
fuzz -- and played the heck out of Pump It Up, another
old favorite. He explained that the instrument was
merely a "facsimile," like "everything else in rock
'n' roll now."

But Costello, he's an original -- in every sense of
the word.

charles_passy@pbpost.com

February 22, 2004

Boca Raton set list, 21 Feb. `04

1.Accidents Will happen
2.45
3.Everyday I Write The Book
4.Red shoes
5.Long honeymoon
6.This House Is Empty Now
7.Shot With His Own Gun
8.Green Shirt
9.Brilliant Mistake
10.Suit Of Lights
11.All The Rage
12.Man Out Of Time
13.All This Useless Beauty
14.Gods Comic
15.Peace Love And Understanding
16.Either Side Of The Same Town
17.When It Sings
18.Still
19.Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/You Really Got A Hold Of
Me
20.Watching The Detectives
21.Alison/Suspicous Minds
22.The Scarlett Tide
23.Pump It Up
24.Dark End Of The Street


( Submitted by Mario A )

February 21, 2004

A Grimace from E.C.

Steve Nieve is keeping a journal ( password: chronicle) of his activities on the road with Elvis.

Extracts - "I wish I could recall the order of the set we actually performed tonight. The ‘set’ is never in fact the same as the set list E.C. writes out and Milo (that’s our stage manager) tapes to my piano. This is one of the exciting aspects of performing with E.C., you are never going to follow a list. He has so many great compositions up his sleeve, and he takes the risk to follow his heart and go where the mood takes him. (At times, I’m sure, the reaction of the audience tempts him to make certain choices). Tonight E.C. took many detours from the list, and every surprise was a good one.

A strange thing happened during When it Sings. When we perform as a duo, there is a communication that I cannot explain, that mysteriously informs me when I should slow down, or play softer, or play more intense, or whatever. I had the sure feeling that E.C. was making a pause, and so I held back, but it was not the case. E.C. was suspended in mid sentence, he was actually waiting for me. It was a protracted freeze frame that only a grimace from E.C. snapped me out of. Sometimes you need to mark your score “Keep going regardless, do not think about ‘accompanying’. Lead on.” Other weird moments. My synthesizer was set to ‘Farfisa’, when I was expecting ‘subtle analog strings’. The LCD is so small it only displays a three digit number, another thing to watch
your step about."

(Submitted by Chris Wright)

Tuesday, February 17th 2004
9:13 PMJACKSONVILLE FL.

TRAVEL DAY
---------------------------------------------------
Woke at seven a.m. Took a taxi with Muriel and
Antoine, St Martin Belleville to Geneva Airport.
Horrible Goodbyes. Swiss Air to New York. Delta
Airlines to Jacksonville. Nirvana, Sam Cooke, Mystic,
Let It Be Naked and Abdullah Ibrahim on my CD
player.No sign of any of my crew at the hotel. I’m
whacked.
-------------------------------------------------


WEDS 18TH FEB. FLORIDA THEATRE JACKSONVILLE FL.
TRAVEL: BAND: CREW: LOCAL ONLY AFTER SHOW DRIVE TO
CLEARWATER 195MLS.
---------------------------------------------------
VENUE: FLORIDA THEATRE
128 E. FORSYTHE ST.
JACKSONVILLE FL. 32202
---------------------------------------------------
I accidentally left my CD player, and CD’s at the
baggage claim of Jacksonville airport. This doesn’t
bode well. I hare loosing things. I call Delta a
couple of times, and they sound very helpful, though I
have the feeling that nothing will be recovered of
this. I’ve had this CD player 2 years, so I feel bad,
and angry with myself. African Dawn was good company
too. I wish I could recall the order of the set we
actually performed tonight. The ‘set’ is never in fact
the same as the set list E.C. writes out and Milo
(that’s our stage manager) tapes to my piano. This is
one of the exciting aspects of performing with E.C.,
you are never going to follow a list. He has so many
great compositions up his sleeve, and he takes the
risk to follow his heart and go where the mood takes
him. (At times, I’m sure, the reaction of the audience
tempts him to make certain choices). Tonight E.C. took
many detours from the list, and every surprise was a
good one. If anyone has a set list of tonights show,
I’d love them to post it here. Would be interesting to
compare it with the ‘abandoned’ list:
ACCIDENTS/45 ROCKING HORSE ROAD/BRILLIANT MISTAKE
LONG HONEYMOON
SHOT WITH HIS OWN GUN
THIS HOUSE IS EMPTY NOW
YOU LEFT ME IN THE DARK
SOMEONE TOOK THE WORDS AWAY
TOLEDO/NO WONDERHOME TRUTH
YOU TURNED TO ME
FALLEN
GOD’S COMIC/THIS IS HELL
EITHER SIDE OF THE SAME TOWN
INDOOR FIRWORKS/SWEET DREAMS
MAN OUT OF TIME/DEEP DARK TRUTHFUL MIRROR
PEACE LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING
SHIPBUILDING/SLEEP OF THE JUST
WHEN IT SINGS
STILL
GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH
INCH BY INCH/ALMOST BLUE
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HER/I’M THE MOOD AGAIN
I STILL HAVE THAT OTHER GIRL
COULDN’T CALL IT UNEXPECTED
------------------------------------------------------

THRS 19TH FEB.
RUTH ECKARD HALL CLEARWATER FL. TRAVEL: BAND: CREW:
DRIVE TO CLEARWATER DRIVE TO TAMPA 195MLS 41 MLS.
---------------------------------------------------
VENUE: RUTH ECARD HALL
1111 McMULLEN BOOTH RD.
CLEARWATER FL.
34619
---------------------------------------------------
My two children were born in St Petersburg Florida. My
son Jackson is here, so I spent most of the day with
him re-visiting old haunts. Nostalgia is a strange
mixture. Lunch down-town at the Coney Island Hot Dog.
Photo of this legendary Americana will be added to the
personal photograph album asap. I’m actually feeling
pain typing this, which may indicate the force that
attacked the Steinway tonight. The piano just didn’t
respond enough, and had to be beaten into submission.
My fingers are sore as hell. Notice, there are four
shows in a row, a situation that we try to avoid,
mainly to protect E.C’s voice. On stage the same list
was successfully abandoned again tonight. Girl’s talk
was extremely enjoyable to play, followed by Mystery
Dance. After the Jacksonville show, instead of
following the road book and staying in town, we hit
the road, and drove in the night. Road works along the
freeway slowed our journey, (seems American laborers
are OK to work in the night under arc lamps, could be
a Florida thing, with the hot sun in the day?? I’ve
seen it often in Japan). We watched the Buddy Holly
story, and I feel something of that spirit came
tumbling out during this unexpected moment. There were
other moments I thoroughly enjoyed, but I cannot go
through them all. A strange thing happened during When
it Sings. When we perform as a duo, there is a
communication that I cannot explain, that mysteriously
informs me when I should slow down, or play softer, or
play more intense, or whatever. I had the sure feeling
that E.C. was making a pause, and so I held back, but
it was not the case. E.C. was suspended in mid
sentence, he was actually waiting for me. It was a
protracted freeze frame that only a grimace from E.C.
snapped me out of. Sometimes you need to mark your
score “Keep going regardless, do not think about
‘accompanying’. Lead on.” Other weird moments. My
synthesizer was set to ‘Farfisa’, when I was expecting
‘subtle analog strings’. The LCD is so small it only
displays a three digit number, another thing to watch
your step about. Oh yes, copies of Windows arrived
today. So post office tomorrow. That’ll keep me out of
the sun.
---------------------------------------------------

Tampa setlist 2-20-04

45
Green Shirt
Suit of Lights
Long Honeymoon
This House is Empty Now
You Left Me in the Dark
Someone Took the Words Away
No Wonder
Home Truth
You Turned To Me
Fallen
God’s Comic
Sleep of the Just
PLU
Either Side of the Same Town
When It Sings
Still
God Give Me Strength
Watching the Detectives
Almost Blue
I’m in the Mood Again
The Scarlet Tide
Pump It Up
The Dark End of the Street

A solid performance, just under two hours. God's Comic featured a digression about Dick Cheney, who was visiting Tampa today and supposedly staying at the same hotel as EC. Suit of Lights was dedicated to Justin Timberlake...

(Submitted by Snarling Pup to the Costello Fan Forum)

February 20, 2004

Elvis Costello: musical chameleon

.....says the The Tennessean.
Nashville´s finest talk about Elvis , including -


''There were a bunch of people who didn't listen to
country music at all until they heard him embrace
it,'' says veteran singer-songwriter Bill Lloyd, whose
post-Foster & Lloyd solo output has been heavily
influenced by Costello.

''Anybody from another format embracing other music,
be it The Beatles loving soul music or Carl Perkins,
anytime that happens, that's when it gets interesting.
He means so many things to so many different people,
and if he weren't so good at it, he'd be a dilettante.
He's bloody talented in just about every facet of
music.''

Costello's Music City ties can be found primarily on
1981's Almost Blue album, recorded here with longtime
band The Attractions and under the guidance of veteran
producer Billy Sherrill. Costello covered hits
recorded by Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Charlie Rich
and Johnny Mathis, but some of the writers of those
hits had no clue who the young Brit punk popster was
at the time.

''I had no earthly idea who he was, but I started
getting these telegrams talking about him. I thought
he was just another Elvis (Presley) impersonator,''
says Jerry Chestnut, writer of Good Year for the
Roses, originally a hit for George Jones. ''When I
found out who he was and found out about how big an
international artist he was, it was exciting.''

Elvis Costello: musical chameleon


Elvis Costello: ''He means so many things to so many
different people, and if he weren't so good at it,
he'd be a dilettante. He's bloody talented in just
about every facet of music,'' says singer-songwriter
Bill Lloyd.

By LUCAS HENDRICKSON
For The Tennessean


Esteemed rocker reinvents himself time and again

There are artists who decry the public's need to place
labels on music. They claim the music should stand by
itself.

And then there are artists who defy labels, not merely
refusing to be classified, but trying their hands, and
succeeding frequently, at every possible form.

Welcome to the conundrum that is Elvis Costello.

His driver's license may or may not read Declan
McManus, but his tax returns should read ''musical
chameleon'' in the box next to occupation. The man was
a first ballot Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer, yet his
career has been steeped in pop, punk, country,
classical, a dash of opera and now, thanks to his
recent Oscar nomination for The Scarlet Tide from the
Cold Mountain soundtrack, American Civil War
influences.

And he's got the divergent audiences to prove it.

''There were a bunch of people who didn't listen to
country music at all until they heard him embrace
it,'' says veteran singer-songwriter Bill Lloyd, whose
post-Foster & Lloyd solo output has been heavily
influenced by Costello.

''Anybody from another format embracing other music,
be it The Beatles loving soul music or Carl Perkins,
anytime that happens, that's when it gets interesting.
He means so many things to so many different people,
and if he weren't so good at it, he'd be a dilettante.
He's bloody talented in just about every facet of
music.''

Costello's Music City ties can be found primarily on
1981's Almost Blue album, recorded here with longtime
band The Attractions and under the guidance of veteran
producer Billy Sherrill. Costello covered hits
recorded by Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Charlie Rich
and Johnny Mathis, but some of the writers of those
hits had no clue who the young Brit punk popster was
at the time.

''I had no earthly idea who he was, but I started
getting these telegrams talking about him. I thought
he was just another Elvis (Presley) impersonator,''
says Jerry Chestnut, writer of Good Year for the
Roses, originally a hit for George Jones. ''When I
found out who he was and found out about how big an
international artist he was, it was exciting.''

Chestnut never met Costello during the recording of
Almost Blue, but was introduced more than two decades
later at Costello's gig at Ryman Auditorium in 2002.

Longtime devotees have admired Costello's fantastic
slew of output for more than 25 years, even if they
sometimes find it hard to keep up with all his musical
personas.

''I used to collect everything he did, but I stopped
because I wasn't interested about a quarter of the
time,'' Lloyd says. ''But he's remarkably prolific and
incredibly diverse; he's an artist for the
millennium.''

Getting there

Elvis Costello headlines a concert with Steve Nieve
and The Brodsky Quartet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ryman
Auditorium, 116 Fifth Avenue North. Tickets remaining
cost $27.50 and $35.50, and are available through
Ticketmaster (255-9600, www.ticketmaster.com) or the
box office (889-3060, www.ryman.com).


The many faces of Elvis Costello_____

Though it's difficult to encapsulate all of the facets
of Elvis Costello's creative life, you can attempt to
gather the touchstones under five different headings:

_____Attraction_____

• My Aim Is True, 1977
• This Year's Model, 1978
• Armed Forces, 1979
• Get Happy!!, 1980
• Trust, 1981
• Thanks to the snarling, satirical way in which
Costello burst onto the scene, the first five albums
compose the Pentateuch of punk pop. The San
Francisco-based rock outfit Clover backs Costello on
the first record, but The Attractions quickly come
together as not only Costello's touring band, but also
recording partners for the next nine years. These
first five records cover a lot of musical ground, from
sheer acceleration of the harder-edged material on
This Year's Model to the neo-soul experiments on Get
Happy!! to the matured yet eclectic nature of Trust.

_____Exploration_____

• Almost Blue, 1981
EC and The Attractions take up residence in Music City
to record a set of countrypolitan classics such as
Sweet Dreams, Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down and Good
Year for the Roses under the direction of veteran
producer Billy Sherrill. Some Costello fans love it,
others loathe it, but most all have an opinion.
• King of America, 1986
This is Costello's first record since his debut to not
feature The Attractions. He instead employs a slate of
A-list L.A. session folk to take his sound back to its
rootsy beginnings. This is Costello's (or Declan
McManus, whom many of the songs are credited to) real
country record, not his take on somebody else's songs.

• The Juliet Letters, 1993
Right smack dab in the middle of the grunge
revolution, Costello defies conventional (read: radio
and retail) wisdom to roll out an out-and-out
classical record. He and the Brodsky Quartet joined
for ''a song sequence for string quartet and voice''
based on a set of letters to Shakespeare's Juliet.
• All This Useless Beauty, 1996
It's Costello covering artists covering Costello; a
set of songs written for other artists but never
before recorded by the songwriter himself.

_____Collaboration_____

• Spike, 1989
After the artistic successes of King of America and
Blood and Chocolate, Costello pulled the first of his
semi-frequent disappearing acts, reemerging as ''the
Beloved Entertainer'' ‹ think Bono's The
Fly/Macphisto ZooTV era character, only more loungey
and without the satellites and stadiums. Costello
brings folks such as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Roger
McGuinn and Paul McCartney into the sandbox to play,
with he and McCartney cobbling together the jangily
excellent Veronica.
• Costello & Nieve, 1996
Costello and Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve are
captured on one of their occasional piano/guitar tours
in this five-disc live set, recorded in Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and New York City.
Costello's masterful use of mike and voice are
highlighted on the track for My Funny Valentine from
the Boston show. You'll find yourself sitting up and
listening and not realizing why.
• Painted From Memory, 1998
Working with Burt Bacharach, and within the parameters
of Bacharach's output from the '60s, this record
becomes a love letter to the pop form, with limiters
attached, neither man giving in to the other's (or his
own) tendencies to overthink or overwrite.
• For the Stars: Anne Sofie von Otter Meets Elvis
Costello, 2001
And then there are those records you don't quite know
how to get a handle on. Yes, Costello sings and
contributes a few new songs, but this is clearly an
attempt to elevate opera singer von Otter in the
consciousness of Costello's devotees, then hopefully a
wider audience. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so
much.

_____Reclamation_____

• When I Was Cruel, 2002
With his first full original effort of the new
millennium, Costello clearly wanted to give the legion
of followers something substantial to chew on, as it
had been six years since they had been fed. Moments of
the old wit and snark flash forward, but shot through
the filter of age, wisdom and experience. Still, the
folks who glommed onto Costello when they were mere
lads and lasses recognize the transformation in their
own lives.
• North, 2003
Elvis in love. OK, he starts out not in love, but by
the end he's so in love you're a little jealous of
him. Putting away the trappings of rock 'n' roll for
the time being, Costello revisits the idea of a
classical-inspired song cycle (inviting the Brodskys
back for another go), but not taking the form so far
into WPLN territory that you expect to hear the intro
to All Things Considered at the tail end.

_____Television_____

• Saturday Night Live
Costello and The Attractions made their stateside TV
debut during the third season of SNL, with their
infamous startup and shutdown of Less Than Zero and
subsequent blistering version of Radio, Radio near the
end of the show. That deviation from plan kept
Costello off the influential show for a dozen years,
and the incident was parodied during SNL's 25th
anniversary show courtesy of Costello and the Beastie
Boys.
• At the Ryman
Costello's love affair with Ryman Auditorium began
with a 1996 appearance with the Fairfield Four,
followed the next night by an Attractions show in the
same building. The following year, he taped two
episodes of TNN's Ricky Skaggs-hosted series, one
appearing with Skaggs and George Jones (with whom he
had appeared in an HBO special more than 15 years
earlier) and the other with Marty Stuart and Brian
Setzer.
• Crossroads
Costello appeared in the very first episode of CMT's
series in 2001, teaming with Lucinda Williams for a
fan favorite, cross-career respect-fest. Costello
seized the opportunity to remind longtime fans how
much he loved country music, and to help showcase
Williams.

Costello never one for a musical niche

.......says the Palm Beach Post . Besides the usual words on North ´n things we are told -


Costello keeps up-to-date with the latest musical
happenings. He mentions OutKast's Hey Ya! as a record
that has particularly impressed him.

"It's fantastic, not so much as a song, but as a great
piece of recording," he says.

But he's just as likely to listen to jazz or classical
as rock. Ask him to name some of his favorite
composers and he'll quickly mention Ralph Vaughan
Williams, John Dowland and Erich Korngold.

Oh, and don't forget Schubert, who practically
invented the art song as we know it. "He's the
greatest songwriter in history," Costello says.

Costello never one for a musical niche

By Charles Passy, Palm Beach Post Arts Writer
Friday, February 20, 2004

Just when Elvis Costello fans thought they could
breathe a sigh of relief that the eclectic rocker had
returned to his loud, angry roots with 2002's When I
Was Cruel, the British-born artist has unearthed
another facet of his creative persona.

Meet the jazz balladeer.

Such is the Elvis Costello you'll hear on North, his
latest album featuring 11 songs in a mostly
melancholic, slow-paced mode. And it's also likely the
Elvis Costello you'll hear in person, when he brings
his North-inspired tour, featuring his longtime
keyboardist Steve Nieve, to the Mizner Park
Amphitheater on Saturday night.

But the 49-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer
insists it's a mistake to see this as a new twist in
his three-decade career, which was launched in 1977
with My Aim Is True, his widely praised,
punk-influenced debut. If anything, his early success
may be an aberration.

"I'm a ballad singer who happens to sing rock 'n'
roll," he said by phone last week.

And in the same toying-with-expectations manner, he's
quick to dismiss any arty notions of North being a
"song cycle."

"It summons up grand images when you use those words,"
he says.

At the same time, Costello admits the North songs are
generally unified by a relaxed style. In that respect,
it's easy to see the kind of influence his new (and
third) wife, the jazz singer Diana Krall, might have
had on the project.

Says Costello of the songs: "They don't have easy hook
lines. They're more like a monologue. And they're very
contained in the low register and very still in terms
of tempo and rhythms."

Costello (birth name Declan McManus) also makes the
point that he asked the performers on the album,
including both jazz and classical musicians, to take a
less-is-more approach. "I don't have the musicians do
dazzling things because that would have been a
contradiction to the mood of the record.... I was
asking them to play with such stillness."


Costello's head trip

Can North come from the same artist who gave us such
raucously pointed tunes as Radio, Radio, Pump It Up,
(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea and (What's So Funny
'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?

"With me, the different voices I employ represent
different kinds of moods," Costello counters. But he's
quick to add that they "all come out of the same
head."

And it's a head that's always been quick to embrace a
challenge. Costello first surprised his listeners with
Almost Blue, his 1981 album of country covers. In
1993, he teamed up with the Brodsky Quartet, a
classical ensemble, for The Juliet Letters, a
pop-meets-chamber music mélange. The inspiration for
the partnership? A string quartet offers distinct
advantages over a rock group, Costello says.

"You're able to turn corners less consciously," he
explains. (Costello also joined forces with another
classical artist, opera singer Anne-Sofie Von Otter,
in the 2001 album, For the Stars.)

Perhaps Costello's most famous collaboration was his
1998 album with Burt Bacharach, Painted from Memory.
And don't forget his partnership with Paul McCartney,
which resulted in Veronica, one of Costello's few
songs to crack the Top 20.

From these two pop greats, Costello says he learned
the value of "extreme attention to detail." And the
importance of staying true to a song, especially
musically.

"With both of them, once the melodies are established,
they're unyielding rhythmically. They won't
accommodate additional notes.... They want the melody
to be the shape it was," he says of Bacharach and
McCartney. It's in stark contrast to Costello's more
literary-minded approach to songwriting. "My first
impulse is (to focus on) what is being said, not how
it's being sung," he adds.


OutKast, Schubert

But for all Costello's gifts as a songwriter, his
contributions as a singer may be just as significant.
His voice has a blunt edge, but it can be used to
rhapsodic effect. Consider his lilting rendition of
Charles Aznavour's She, which was on the soundtrack to
the Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant comedy, Notting Hill.

It was an opportunity that Costello, who describes
himself as the vocal equivalent of a character actor,
couldn't refuse. "It's like being William Bendix or
Walter Pidgeon and suddenly getting to play the Cary
Grant role," he says, continuing the cinematic
analogy.

He jumped on a similar chance to record Smile for
Japanese television. "I don't write many songs with
that kind of romantic purity to them," he says.

Costello keeps up-to-date with the latest musical
happenings. He mentions OutKast's Hey Ya! as a record
that has particularly impressed him.

"It's fantastic, not so much as a song, but as a great
piece of recording," he says.

But he's just as likely to listen to jazz or classical
as rock. Ask him to name some of his favorite
composers and he'll quickly mention Ralph Vaughan
Williams, John Dowland and Erich Korngold.

Oh, and don't forget Schubert, who practically
invented the art song as we know it. "He's the
greatest songwriter in history," Costello says.


ELVIS COSTELLO: 8 p.m. Saturday, Mizner Park
Amphitheater, Boca Raton. Tickets: $43-$55. Phone:
966-3309.

charles_passy@pbpost.com

Clearwater setlist


1. Accidents Will Happen
2. 45
3. Everyday I Write the Book
4. Rockinghorse Road
5. Shot With His Own Gun
6. This House is Empty Now
7. Someone Took the Words Away
8. Home Truth
9. Toledo
10. Girls Talk
11. Mystery Dance
12. You Turned to Me
13. Fallen
14. God's Comic
15. Man Out of Time
16. Shipbuilding
17. Peace, Love and Understanding
18. Either Side of the Same Town
19. Indoor Fireworks
20. Sweet Dreams
21. Brilliant Mistake
22. When It Sings
23. Still
24. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/You Really Got a Hold on Me
25. Inch by Inch/Fever
26. Almost Blue
27. Scarlet Tide
28. Pump it Up
29. Dark End of the Street

( Submitted by Mr Misery to the Costello Fan Forum )

Acoustic Costello masterful

.....and on to Clearwater , Florida where the paper there commented -


Costello and Nieve opened with Accidents Will Happen, which Nieve punctuated with blasts of cascading piano behind Costello's acoustic guitar, followed by 45, Costello's ode to vinyl records, on which Nieve picked up the melodica - one of those funny little keyboards you blow into like a trumpet, alternating between that instrument and the grand piano. The two continued knocking out favorites: Every Day I Write the Book, (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding? and Man Out of Time.

Costello often removed his guitar and sang at the mike, empty-handed. During these numbers, Costello's vocal range and strength were unmistakable. He has lately honed his voice into a real instrument, found its nuances, built it up and seems at last comfortable with it.

Many times - particularly during a riveting reading of Shot With His Gun - Costello stepped away from the mike, singing as he wandered the stage, his voice as mighty as if he were amplified.

Encores included a grab bag of favorites and covers including the melancholy Almost Blue, a rollicking Pump It Up, a bit of Peggy Lee's Fever, and the Patsy Cline chestnut Sweet Dreams.

Acoustic Costello masterful
By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic
Published February 20, 2004

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLEARWATER - Elvis Costello could teach pop music's current crop a thing or two about "unplugged" performances. The 49-year-old British musician seem to bristle with electricity Thursday before a crowd of 1,408 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in the first of two Tampa Bay area performances. (Costello performs tonight at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.)

Backed only by pianist Steve Nieve, his comrade from the Attractions, Costello culled for more than two hours from his three decade career. Known for complex lyrics that oscillate between the oblique and the poetic, Costello seems lately to be focusing on one theme: amore.

Certainly love drives 2003's North, an album of piano ballads. For those that criticize the album's somber mood - and it's definitely a song cycle tailor-made for twilight and falling leaves - they're missing Costello's point. The songs chronicle a rebirth and suggest that love is cyclical, like the seasons. The heart can rejuvenate.

Costello has found love with new wife, Canadian jazz singer-pianist Diana Krall. The evidence is all over North and in the former Angry Young Man's playful demeanor. Onstage he cracks jokes and encourages audience sing-alongs.

Costello and Nieve opened with Accidents Will Happen, which Nieve punctuated with blasts of cascading piano behind Costello's acoustic guitar, followed by 45, Costello's ode to vinyl records, on which Nieve picked up the melodica - one of those funny little keyboards you blow into like a trumpet, alternating between that instrument and the grand piano. The two continued knocking out favorites: Every Day I Write the Book, (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding? and Man Out of Time.

Costello often removed his guitar and sang at the mike, empty-handed. During these numbers, Costello's vocal range and strength were unmistakable. He has lately honed his voice into a real instrument, found its nuances, built it up and seems at last comfortable with it.

Many times - particularly during a riveting reading of Shot With His Gun - Costello stepped away from the mike, singing as he wandered the stage, his voice as mighty as if he were amplified.

Encores included a grab bag of favorites and covers including the melancholy Almost Blue, a rollicking Pump It Up, a bit of Peggy Lee's Fever, and the Patsy Cline chestnut Sweet Dreams.

- Contact Gina Vivinetto at gina@sptimes.com

February 19, 2004

Jacksonville - ´rough´ setlist

Notangry on the Costello Fan Forum has posted a review and this incomplete setlist

Accidents Will Happen
45
Brilliant Mistake
Shot From His Own Gun
This House is Empty Now
Someone Took The Words Away
Toledo
Home Truth
Indoor Fireworks
Fallen
God’s Comic
Man Out Of Time
Shipbuilding
Peace, Love and Understanding
-----------------------------------
Either Side of the Same Town
When It Sings
Still
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/You Really Got a Hold on Me
------------------------------------
Pump It Up
Watching The Detectives
Almost Blue
Scarlet Tide
Alison
Dark End of the Street

Last night at the seventy-six year old Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve delivered a concert with historic proportions. The two-hour show was a fantastic mix of hits and recent material, albeit somewhat predictable. Shot From His Own Gun was clearly the highlight for me.

Elvis' voice sounded a bit rough at first but smoothed out nicely. I found out after the show that he was quite sick. This surprised me because he seemed to be in good spirits. I commend him for not canceling the gig and hope that he recovers quickly, especially since he has shows the next 3 nights.

The crowd was fairly appreciative but I would have liked to have seen more standing ovations. I noticed that people near the outer edges of the first 10 rows or were much more inclined to stand after the songs . That might be due to the misleading seating distribution for the pre-release. Fortunately, I double checked the seat numbers and knew I would be dead center. I was in Elvis heaven as he looked at us quite often and I was simply numbed when he sang from the front of the stage.

At the start of the second encore, Elvis led into Pump it Up and a girl began dancing up front. A security guy asked her to leave which she did for about 10 seconds. When he asked again, Elvis came to the front of the stage and told him to leave her alone. Well, as we know, that’s the signal for everyone to line the front of the stage for the final few songs, and that’s exactly what we did.

Probably the most awkward moment was at the start of Almost Blue. Unfortunately, Elvis had to sing about the first 20 seconds accompanied by what I thought was feedback from the guitar monitor. Elvis seemed to smile in disgust, if that’s possible. He worked right through it though and everything was fine. At the end of the song, a strong stare to the sound man off stage confirmed his anger.

I really cannot express all the emotions that I experienced last night. For all of you going to upcoming shows, you certainly are in for a treat. This is pretty close to the actual set-list, if not exact. Sorry, I don't remember "You Turned To Me" and am not sure where it goes.

Elvis Costello creates magic

Elvis has kicked of his new tour in Jacksonville , Florida and a local paper has reviewed it.

Excerpt -

That's what made the show so chilling. Costello stood there, like he was about to attack the microphone and belted out tune after tune as a singer, instead of as a rebel.

He's known for being snide and slipping in cantankerous notes here and there. But this night he simply sang and the dissonant notes came out naturally, not out of spite.

On stage, he was a peaceful Costello, who went through a collection that spanned his career. He did songs like Toledo, 45, Home Truth, Indoor Fireworks, You Turned to Me and he only briefly ventured into songs from his most recent album, North. He did Someone Took the Words Away, When It Sings and Fallen.

When he sang This House is Empty, he stepped away from the microphone and sang into the crowd.

There's something beautifully ethereal about hearing someone sing without amplification. Those were times when Costello stood alone, when Costello took centerstage.

And no one in the audience flinched; no one, I bet, dared to move. Those are the moments when the silence in between the notes becomes the most important music. It is as though a single movement could snap that moment back into reality, and nobody wants to be the one to do that.

Costello walked to the front of the stage, very much near the edge. And he sang into the air, while Nieve played scattered notes on the piano. Those were heard over the speakers. But Costello's voice -- it was a direct hit, a direct connect, with the audience.

Costello was a stark figure under the vibrant white hue of the spotlight. He used to scream. But this night his voice warbled with romantic vibratos that were clear and at points terribly haunting.

He had fun, too. He interjected the Smoky Robinson classic You've Really Got A Hold On Me in between Deep Dark Truthful Mirror. And after coming out on stage for the second encore, he picked up his electric guitar and brought the crowd to its feet singing three of his biggest songs, Pump It Up, Watching the Detectives and Alison. Perhaps because of the mellow nature of the first three quarters of the show, these songs sounded like rambunctious punk anthems, even if they were only being played with a piano and guitar.

Costello finished the night by singing an obscure bluesy cover, Dark End of the Street, and again he stepped away from the microphone and sang from the edge of the stage.

It was haunting as he sang "You and me" over and over again, with the hushed chorus of a timid crowd behind him.

In the end, after the houselights had been turned on, the night felt hollow. Maybe it was because we finally had no choice but to disrupt the great moment Costello had created.

Elvis Costello creates magic


Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer plays the Florida Theatre


By EYDER PERALTA
The Times-Union
A man reading The New York Times right before a concert is telling of what an Elvis Costello show should be like. Except it's Elvis Costello: the man who has gone from an angry British punk, to a man very much in love.

Costello opened his U.S. tour Wednesday at the Florida Theatre, and came out with none of the pomp someone in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame should command. Instead, he walked on stage, wearing a sleek, black suit, his signature glasses and a beautiful blue tie.

He went into Accidents Will Happen -- a stripped down, acoustic version of Accidents Will Happen. Costello is touring with only his guitars and his long-time piano man Steve Nieve. And throughout the night, his classics were given makeovers. Songs like Man Out of Time, Watching Detectives and (What's So Funny 'Bout)Peace, Love and Understanding became intimate anthems. There was none of the pounding rhythm section on the album cuts.

That's what made the show so chilling. Costello stood there, like he was about to attack the microphone and belted out tune after tune as a singer, instead of as a rebel.

He's known for being snide and slipping in cantankerous notes here and there. But this night he simply sang and the dissonant notes came out naturally, not out of spite.

On stage, he was a peaceful Costello, who went through a collection that spanned his career. He did songs like Toledo, 45, Home Truth, Indoor Fireworks, You Turned to Me and he only briefly ventured into songs from his most recent album, North. He did Someone Took the Words Away, When It Sings and Fallen.

When he sang This House is Empty, he stepped away from the microphone and sang into the crowd.

There's something beautifully ethereal about hearing someone sing without amplification. Those were times when Costello stood alone, when Costello took centerstage.

And no one in the audience flinched; no one, I bet, dared to move. Those are the moments when the silence in between the notes becomes the most important music. It is as though a single movement could snap that moment back into reality, and nobody wants to be the one to do that.

Costello walked to the front of the stage, very much near the edge. And he sang into the air, while Nieve played scattered notes on the piano. Those were heard over the speakers. But Costello's voice -- it was a direct hit, a direct connect, with the audience.

Costello was a stark figure under the vibrant white hue of the spotlight. He used to scream. But this night his voice warbled with romantic vibratos that were clear and at points terribly haunting.

He had fun, too. He interjected the Smoky Robinson classic You've Really Got A Hold On Me in between Deep Dark Truthful Mirror. And after coming out on stage for the second encore, he picked up his electric guitar and brought the crowd to its feet singing three of his biggest songs, Pump It Up, Watching the Detectives and Alison. Perhaps because of the mellow nature of the first three quarters of the show, these songs sounded like rambunctious punk anthems, even if they were only being played with a piano and guitar.

Costello finished the night by singing an obscure bluesy cover, Dark End of the Street, and again he stepped away from the microphone and sang from the edge of the stage.

It was haunting as he sang "You and me" over and over again, with the hushed chorus of a timid crowd behind him.

In the end, after the houselights had been turned on, the night felt hollow. Maybe it was because we finally had no choice but to disrupt the great moment Costello had created.

eyder.peraltajacksonville.com, (904) 359-4288

February 15, 2004

`Elvis Costello I would trust ' says Randy Newman

This British sunday paper profile of Randy Newman includes this -

I suspect that Newman's perfectionism and self-deprecation reveal a justified conviction that he will be remembered as one of the greats. He guards his back catalogue with a jealousy associated with classical composers. "I heard the record producer Hal Willner was planning a Randy Newman tribute night in Los Angeles," I tell him.

"Yeah, he did it, last month."
"Did you go?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"It was my son's birthday."
"Did they want you to go?"
"I don't know."
"Are you saying you think it would have been difficult
for you to listen to other people doing your songs?"

"Hey - I don't think that. I know it. I really appreciate Hal Willner doing that evening. But I worked hard on the opening chords of 'Sail Away', you know?" So, yes - what the fuck - I want to hear what I did. Anything is not great with a song like that, you know? Some musicians I would trust. Van Dyke Parks I
would trust. Elvis Costello I would trust. But you know what? I would be real careful if I did 'Watching the Detectives'."

FULL TEXT
Feeling Randy

He is one of the few truly unique figures in music. A satirist who creates unforgettable melodies. A writer whose lyrics are poetry. A political commentator who knows just what Donald Rumsfeld is up to. So why is he best known for his 'Toy Story' score? Randy Newman talks about drugs, death threats and depression and why he wishes he could be more like Elton John

By Robert Chalmers - 15 February 2004

They wander the earth like evangelists for some neglected Messiah, tormenting themselves, and others, with the same questions, again and again. Why don't more people love him? Why don't those who do love him, love him more? What kind of a world is it, in which he is not universally revered? I understand the pain of Randy Newman's ardent fans, I tell the singer, because I am one.

"I do recognise that pattern of behaviour," he says. "I always believed that my songs were the kind lots of people could like. That hasn't really proven to be the case. But you know..." Newman pauses, and stares at the rain driving against the window of his Amsterdam hotel room. "I haven't done badly."

And he does have a point. As self- proclaimed underachievers go, Randy Newman is in a league of his own. He has an Oscar in his luxurious residence in west LA. He's supremely talented, wealthy, lauded by performers as diverse as Bob Dylan and Eminem, and regarded by many as America's greatest living songwriter. He has been favourably compared to George Gershwin, Cole Porter and - because music critics, like the rest of us, suffer the occasional rush of blood - Swift and Defoe. Now 60, he's never made a bad record, and his latest CD, The Randy Newman Songbook Vol One, in which he revisits some of his greatest songs with only a piano accompaniment, is majestic. But none of this, somehow, has ever been quite enough.

Newman doesn't enjoy interviews - "grouchy", "miserable" and "sullen" are some of the adjectives he's inspired. He takes a seat opposite me looking like a tousled academic who knows it's his duty to assist but is wary and preoccupied - his manner is that of a forensic scientist who's arrived to testify in court, but has just remembered that he left home with the bath water running.

What is it that he wants, but hasn't got?

"I would have liked to produce more albums," says Newman. His speech, like his singing - in its reed-like quality, not just its southern American vowel sounds - is blacker than that of any white man I've ever met.

"I've made 11 or 12 records in 30 years," he says. "It's just not enough. I mean Elton John at one point did three, maybe even four albums a year and they were, you know..." he gives a mischievous look, "not bad."

The true total of Newman's output, dis-regarding reissues, collections, musicals and live performances, is nine albums - every
one magnificent - in 36 years (see box, page 10). As a result, Newman's position in the rock'n'roll pantheon is rather like one of those million-dollar jackpot machines that stand in the middle of Las Vegas casinos
- surrounded by more prolific yet less rewarding attractions; never less than exhilarating when he does produce, but a source
of widespread frustration in the long peri-
ods when he doesn't.

To those outside his loyal constituency, Newman is best known for his film soundtracks (inspired but unflashy, they include Meet the Parents, Toy Story and Monsters, Inc) and versions of his songs by other people: Alan Price's "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear", say, or Tom Jones's "You Can Leave Your Hat On". Neither of those singles gives much of a clue to the wit, eloquence, and mournful vitality of his own performances on albums such as Sail Away, Little Criminals or his last original release, Bad Love, which came out in 1999. There was an 11 year wait for that one.

"When I wrote 'You Can Leave Your Hat On'," he says, "I never thought anyone could take the guy in the song seriously. To me he wasn't a sexual predator. He was a wimp. I never anticipated that strippers would use that music. I lack the instinct for hits."

Titles, he claims, are something he's never had the knack for. If he'd written a song for Billy Joel, Newman says, he would probably have called it: "I Love You Just the Way You Are, You Old Whore".

One of our own national treasures, the poet John Cooper Clarke, does a routine called Songs That Would Have Been Hits If I Hadn't Made One Mistake In the Title, which includes a reference to a composition called: "Wherever I Lay My Hat, That's My Hat".

Newman gives his deep, sonorous laugh.

"Well, that's been my problem, exactly," he says. "And 95 per cent of hits are straightforward love songs. Mine aren't."

Randy Newman is one of the very few figures in popular music who can truly be termed unique: a satirist who creates unforgettable melodies, he writes lyrics it would be perverse not to describe as poetry. Untypically for a rock legend, the main preoccupation in his writing is often not himself. "Baltimore" would have resonance for anyone living in Hull, Marseille or Peterhead. "Beat up little seagull," the song begins, "on a marble stair. Trying to find the ocean; looking everywhere..."

Other songs are delivered in the persona of racists, child-murderers, slave-traders and alcoholics. "This is not," Newman says "music to eat potato chips by."

A front of cynicism - in the music, as in the man - conceals a smouldering rage at injustice and bigotry. In 1972 he released his study of US foreign policy, "Political Science": "No one likes us, I don't know why/We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try/But all around even our old friends put us down/ Let's drop the big one and pulverise them/ Asia's crowded and Europe's too old/Africa is far too hot and Canada's too cold/And South America stole our name/Let's drop the big one, there'll be no one left to blame us..."

Performing in the US, he used to introduce "Political Science" (which contains his most famous single line "Boom goes London, and boom Paree") by saying: "You know, over in Europe, they believe this song to be a joke."

Three decades ago, "Political Science" was wryly amusing song noir in the mould of Tom Lehrer. Today, after Donald Rumsfeld's remarks about "Old Europe", it reads more like Nostradamus.

"I doubt that Rumsfeld had those lines at the back of his mind when he said that," Newman says. "It's more worrying than that. He's a like-minded guy to the character in the song."

"It's a bizarre coincidence."

"It is, because he used the phrase practically word for word. 'Political Science' is closer now than ever to being something beyond jingoistic exaggeration. It's like the current US administration just don't know the rules. They don't understand that you can't consign a nation - Germany or France, say - to being part of an Old Europe that we don't need any more." *

He's about to begin his European tour in Belgium, where he'll be playing another tune from his Songbook Vol One, "God's Song".
("I burn down your cities/How blind you must be/I take from you your children, and you say how blessed are we/You all must
be crazy to put your faith in me/That's why
I love mankind.")

They go absolutely mad for this in Bruges. It puzzles Newman that he's always been more successful in Belgium than the UK.

"Don't you think you might have sold
better in Britain," I ask him, "if you hadn't been called Randy?"

"I don't know," he says. Newman, whose eyesight is seriously impaired by his crossed eyes, peers at me like a professor acknowledging an impudent but possibly useful interruption from a first-year student. "I do well in London. But on my one foray to Liverpool and Manchester, in the late 1970s..." he frowns, "I just didn't draw. I mean - I enjoyed it. I saw some beautiful country, Jesus. And I had an interesting experience when my car broke down and I had to hitch to Manchester in a truck carrying rat rope."

"Carrying what?"

"Rat rope. The truck was driven by a husband and wife; they made that rope with knots in, that stops rats getting on ships. They dropped me off, then came to the show. I talked to them afterwards, and they just looked so very tired. They'd been hauling rat rope since five o'clock that morning; I guess it just wasn't the best preparation for an evening with the Dean of Satire."

"Are you still in touch with them?"

"Yes," he says, clearly not joking. "They wrote to me the other day, actually."

Now you wouldn't get Bob Dylan writing back to you after 25 years, however great the scenery you showed him from your rat truck. Newman is a real person - interested in others; he can listen as well as talk. When he was starting out, he used to lark about with reporters. In a Chicago hotel, for instance, one woman journalist asked him if his then wife Roswitha was fair or dark. "Look for yourself," he told her, indicating the bedroom where the first Mrs Newman was asleep. Then, when the writer refused - "OK then, you wait here. I'll go look. I've got so famous now, I don't notice any more."

These days, there's more of a sense of distance about him. It's not hard to recognise the man who said of himself: "I have no ease."

"Well, you should have talked to me back then," Newman says, amiably. "In my prime, you should have met me."

Randall Stuart Newman was born in Los Angeles but spent the first years of his childhood, while his father Irving was abroad with the military, travelling the South with his mother Adele, whose Louisiana accent her son inherited. When Randy was eight, his father returned to civilian life as a doctor in LA. Three of Irving's brothers were successful composers in Hollywood.

"You described your father as 'forthright', which sounds like an obituarist's euphemism."

"He was the only adult I knew who got in fights," Newman says. "Once in a parking lot, he told the young attendant: 'Thank you, son.' This kid replied: 'I'm not your son.' My dad said, 'I know you're not my son.' Then, boom, they were fighting. I saw the same thing after someone called him a 'dirty Jew'."

Experience of anti-Semitism has informed Newman's brutal caricatures of bigotry, though neither he nor his father was raised in the religion. When Irving Newman died in 1990, there was no funeral, in accordance with the wishes of the deceased. In the 1970s, Dr Newman told an interviewer he believed his atheism inspired Randy Newman's song "Old Man" ("Won't be no God to comfort you/You taught me not to believe that lie/You don't need anybody/Nobody needs you/Don't cry, old man, don't cry/Everybody dies").

When his father did die, Newman says, "I had trouble feeling the way I should have.
I had warm feelings for him," he explains. "I felt bad all right. But at the end, when he and I were alone together, that song was closer to being about us than was comfortable for me."

As a boy, he says, there were moments when he found his dad "scary".

"I remember once I was lying around watching television with the volume too loud. He kicked me - not that hard - and he called me a turd. I mean he was funny. But he was angry, internally. I don't know what about."

"Do you have that anger?"

"I have had."

"I can imagine you losing it."

"Yeah." He stops himself. "But I don't
any more."

"When did you?"

"Driving my car. Playing sports as a kid. Sometimes in the studio."

Randy's uncle, Alfred Newman, won nine Oscars and wrote the music for, among other pictures, All About Eve, Wuthering Heights
and How the West Was Won. Irving wrote songs too - one was recorded - and played the clarinet. So many sons, I suggest to Newman, fulfill their fathers' thwarted ambitions.

Newman was mocked at school for his severe squint. Corrective surgery achieved little. His condition "made me more insecure, and afraid in the world". His father said that one failed operation, when Randy was a teenager, left his son "shattered and crushed. His problems with his eyesight influenced his thinking a lot; influenced his sadness."

"Some people," Newman says, "have made far too much of my eyes."

Newman went to UCLA where he studied composition. In 1962 he signed to Metric Music, LA's "songwriting factory", where he wrote for The O'Jays, Irma Thomas and Pat Boone. He was cajoled into performing by childhood friend Lenny Waronker, who became his regular producer and, later, president of Warner Brothers.

"You began your career..."

"By complaining," Newman interrupts. "By not even playing on my own demos. Really timid, the whole way, I've been. I only sang because people pushed me."

Once he began recording, his songs were grown-up from the start. The opinions of his invented characters, who are often grotesque, have tended to be mistaken for the singer's own - a misfortune, he says, that he shares with Eminem. It happened with "Short People", Newman's one serious hit, in 1977. "They got little noses and tiny little teeth," he sang. "They wear platform shoes on their nasty little feet." "Short People" was a waspish satire by Newman (6ft) on the absurdity of prejudice - a point that eluded some of his more compact compatriots.

"I got death threats," he says. "My shows were picketed by midgets."

In Alabama a couple of years ago, I tell him, I met an elderly white woman - a liberal, weary of being stigmatised as a Southerner - who brought up the subject of "Rednecks", his scathing indictment of racism sung from the viewpoint of a separatist from Georgia. Talking about the record brought her to the verge of tears - no mean achievement, when it wasn't even playing. ("Now your Northern nigger's a Negro," Newman wrote. "You see he's got his dignity/Down here we're too ignorant to realise/That the North has set the nigger free/And he's free to be put in a cage in Harlem in New York City/And he's free to be put in a cage in the South Side of Chicago, and the West Side...")

"What he understood," the woman explained, "was that, whatever the South may have done, we lived shoulder to shoulder with black people, for generations."

"Well she's right," Newman says. "That's all I was saying. The North has no right to moral superiority. Because it's a lie, basically. White people have black friends on television. You know Los Angeles. It's a segregated town. They all are."

"Rednecks" appeared on Good Old Boys, his fourth studio album, released in 1974. By then the pattern was set - ecstatic reviews; fair but unspectacular sales. Newman had married Roswitha when he was 23; and it had been clear since his teens that music would be his * living. But songwriting, as with many things in Newman's life, has never come easily.

He says the only way he could write - then as now - was to force himself to sit at a keyboard, for four hours at a stretch. Sometimes, he explains, he sits there and nothing happens; after which he avoids the piano for weeks, in favour of televised baseball or history books.

"I spent more time than anyone I know doing nothing. To get into the studio," he says, "I'd have to be running out of money, or they'd have to force me."

Paradoxically, Newman says, given a deadline to produce film music, "I can fulfill any assignment, and fulfill it well."

He began his movie career proper in 1981 with Ragtime, which earned him two Academy Award nominations. (Newman had been a disappointed nominee 16 times at Oscar ceremonies before he finally won for Monsters, Inc.)

As a boy, he recalls, he watched his uncles composing and noticed how "worried and unhappy" they seemed.

"Alfred especially. Maybe it is genetic. It has literally just dawned on me - just this second - that my uncles might have been genetically prone to depression. My uncle Al did 300 movies. He was the greatest there ever was, in my opinion. But basically he'd work till five every afternoon, then start drinking."

"And then?"

"And then he'd go to bed, get up, and do it all again. I don't know why having success - going on stage, having the music sound great, and being happy with it - doesn't carry over into the rest of your life, for him or for me. I hope his depression has no influence on me. I did my best not to have it happen to me. But it did," Newman adds. "Something happened."

"Meaning?"

"I have the same... problem, you know, that my uncle Alfred had."

"How does it manifest itself with you?"

"I don't do the work. My uncle had to, because he did pictures. And if all I did was pictures, I'd work all the time. I'd keep going."

"So you've never woken up with an idea and rushed to the piano?"

"No."

"Which is unusual."

"It is. I think I must block those ideas out. I'm going to try and change that. To try and address the fact that... when you asked me right at the start what was the thing I would wish for most, and I said more work."

In 1986 Newman contracted Epstein-Barr virus, which debilitated him for two years and compounded his malaise. "But imposing discipline on myself was difficult at 12, and it's difficult at 60. To say - OK; today I'll sit there for four hours, no matter what." Of late, he says, "I just haven't been doing it."

Even the title of Songbook Volume One sounds like a mental note to himself to keep at it. According to his record label, Nonesuch, Volume Two comes out next year, and will consist of new, as yet unwritten songs.

"I hope they're right," says Newman.

He now lives quietly with his second wife Gretchen, whom he married in 1990, and their children Patrick, 12, and Alice, 10. He has three grown-up sons from his first marriage, which ended in the mid-1980s. "I was erratic then," says Newman. "I did bad things."

"Bad things?" I hear myself ask, like Alan Partridge in one of his baser moments.

"Drugs and women..." Newman sniffs. "Not being steady. I haven't been in rehab, but I have been erratic." He doesn't wish to expand on this, but it's no secret that one of his enthusiasms used to be amphetamines.

Though he's had his moments with alcohol (Lenny Waronker tells a story about the young Newman spending a night in a cell for mooning), he never drank like his uncle.

"The only thing I ever loved was pain pills. Things like codeine. Or Percocet." More recently, he adds, he has taken Vicodin: these last two prescription drugs, a British expert told me, are "extremely addicting, inducing euphoria and relaxation. Consuming either, unless one is in unremitting pain, constitutes a large and unusual dose."

His use of such drugs, Newman says "may have cost me some".

"Cost you how?"

"Well, they take away that feeling of - now I should be working. You can't work with the pills, or at least I've never been able to. Actually I did, on this last picture I did, Seabiscuit. I couldn't understand what the director wanted. Eventually I just couldn't go on. I took a Vicodin. It's the only time I've worked taking anything like that. They asked me to copy the temp track [music intended to create mood during the editing process, but not destined for the finished film]. The director said, "I love it. It brings tears to my eyes." And I said: "Shit. I can't deal with this." Newman pauses, sounding emotional at what is clearly a very bad memory. "Ultimately, Seabiscuit was an unpleasant experience because I wasn't allowed to do what I was certain was right."

I suspect that Newman's perfectionism and self-deprecation reveal a justified conviction that he will be remembered as one of the greats. He guards his back catalogue with a jealousy associated with classical composers.

"I heard the record producer Hal Willner was planning a Randy Newman tribute night in Los Angeles," I tell him.

"Yeah, he did it, last month."

"Did you go?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It was my son's birthday."

"Did they want you to go?"

"I don't know."

"Are you saying you think it would have been difficult for you to listen to other people doing your songs?"

"Hey - I don't think that. I know it. I really appreciate Hal Willner doing that evening. But I worked hard on the opening chords of 'Sail Away', you know?" So, yes - what the fuck - I want to hear what I did. Anything is not great with a song like that, you know? Some musicians I would trust. Van Dyke Parks I would trust. Elvis Costello I would trust. But you know what? I would be real careful if I did 'Watching the Detectives'."

We meet again three days later in Antwerp, where Newman gives as good a live performance as I've ever seen, to a public that understands him. Introducing "I Miss You" - "A love song I wrote for my first wife, after I'd married my second", Newman tells the audience: "I ran out on my first wife and our children." A ripple of applause. "Thank you so much," he responds. "I'm kinda proud of that too."

Later, he pauses over a chord sequence that reveals his classical training. "I was thinking the other day about Stravinsky, and other artists born in the century before Randy Newman. I got to thinking about the list of all-time great composers, and I was briefly troubled by the thought that I couldn't be absolutely sure my name would be on it... But then Chopin died when he was 39. Now this..." Newman returns to his Steinway, "is one of the chords he didn't grow old enough to learn."

He includes the theme from Toy Story, "You've Got a Friend in Me". "That movie grossed millions," Newman explains, "as I understand it, mainly because of my music, even though sometimes you can't hear it properly because of other noises - like footsteps and dialogue. A dog barks," he adds, "and a week's work is gone."

Backstage, he seems ill at ease, and unsure as to how the evening went. He autographs a Toy Story flyer for my seven-year-old son. I know the name of Randy Newman won't mean much to Jamie now, but - if I can have my own brief rush of blood - if I could bequeath him one record that captures life's capacity to delight, horrify, amuse and disappoint, it would be Newman's Songbook.

Years ago, when he was interviewed by Playboy, the magazine asked Newman for one piece of advice that would benefit readers for the rest of their life.

"And what you told them," I remind him, "was: 'Don't Bend Over.'"

"I was young," he says. "That was a joke."

"You're 60 now - what's your real advice?"

Newman buries his face in his hands, and remains silent for a very long time indeed.

"I'm..." he says eventually, sounding very intense. "That is to say... Jesus, I don't know." Another pause. "You know what my real advice is? It's this: be optimistic. About your life and future. That way, if bad things happen, at least you'll have had some time when you were feeling good."

"And can we learn something from your own life, as an example of how to implement this philosophy?"

"From my life?" Newman replies - this time without a second's hesitation - "No."

'The Randy Newman Songbook Vol One' is out now on EastWest/Nonesuch records. Newman performs on Thursday at the Barbican, London, and on 23 February at Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. For full details visit www.randynewman.com

For the record: the albums that made Randy Newman a cult

Randy Newman 1968: Newman's debut features "I Think It's Going to Rain Today", a hit for both Judy Collins and UB40

12 Songs 1970: "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" is his first number-one, albeit when performed by Three Dog Night

Sail Away 1972: A classic song cycle including such works as "Political Science" and "You Can Leave Your Hat On"

Good Old Boys 1974: Newman's satire comes to the fore in this concept album about the Deep South

Little Criminals 1977: The commercial breakthrough album, featuring the surprise hit single "Short People"

Born Again 1979: Not his best-loved work, but still covers subjects from spies and gay truckers to rich people

Trouble in Paradise 1984: Springsteen parodies and songs lamenting the state of South Africa. Underrated and very funny

Land of Dreams 1988: Still character-based songwriting, but a little autobiography ("Four Eyes") can be found here too

Bad Love 1999: The 11-year wait was ended with Bad Love. The biting wit (often aimed at himself) was still intact

February 14, 2004

Bill Murray Lip Sync's Alison

On the DVD Extras to Lost In Translation, Bill Murray is shown goofing around doing a lip-sync dance to Alison. They played the clip on Letterman last night when Director Sofia Coppola was the guest. <Order From Amazon>

LIT-DVD.jpg

The movie also prominently features Elvis' version of PLU.

February 13, 2004

The Girl In The Other Room - Pre-Order Now

KrallCover.jpg This album is now available for pre-orders from Amazon or cduniverse (a week earlier with the Japanese edition) The editions in the U.K and Japan will feature these bonus tracks * I'll never be the same (Malneck/Signorelli/Kahn, recorded in 1932) * Sometimes I just freak out (I don't know who is the author... Diana maybe?)

February 12, 2004

Elvis `n Sting `n all that

Elvis `n Sting have been telling Entertainment Weekly about their plans for Oscar night .

`But is Elvis relationship with Sting only a "teasing" one? In the past,
he`s taken some potshots at the former Policeman first, by name, in
an old song (1991 "Hurry Down Doomsday"), then on episodic television (a gag on "The Larry Sanders Show"), and, more recently, in comments to the press
after they both were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. So some fans were a bit surprised by Costello's seeming eagerness to sign up for the MusiCares salute.What gives?

"He asked!" says Costello. "He wanted me to be there. Now he`s playing
another game, I think. I think it was a test of my Catholic soul," he laughs. "Or
his, I`m not sure which. Listen, I`ve got no problem with him. He`s a good
musician. Not all of his work is to my taste, any more than I`m sure mine is to
him. But you know, somebody asked me straight out at the Rock & Roll Hall of
Fame, `Were they [the Police] any good?` I said `No, they were bloody
dreadful.`And of course he`s bound to get a little riled by that. But I was speaking what I perceived as the truth, and he might have had his opinion of my
performance. But you know, there are so many people in the world that
deserve your disdain and contempt, and almost none of them are musicians. In fact, none of them are.

"People make jokes about John Tesh as being like an evil force in the world,
but it`s overstating something, isn`t it?" says Costello. "Whereas there are
actually people that are killing other humans. They`re the people that we have
to hate. There aren`t any musicians that I hate. I never went with the Pol
Pot approach to punk-rock. The Year Zero idea of music, actually, that was a
contemptuous idea. All those people who read all those French philosophers,
Malcolm [McLaren, who created the Sex Pistols] and all those people, I always
thought that side of punk was a bit suspect. I never went with the idea
that we`re wiping away the past or that this person is the corporate devil and
this person is the real artist. They`re real if they mean something to
you, and that`s all that matters, isn`it?"


Costello definitely doesn`t want to sing lead on the telecast, even though
he`s been performing "Scarlet Tide" in his own concerts and on talk shows. "I
don`t think anybody`s gonna get sick of hearing her voice," he says. "But
somebody did call up yesterday and said would we join the band. If we can play a credible part in the arrangement, then that wouldn`t be a bad thing.
I guess it would be a nice little support to her; with a singer who hasn`t got a
dance routine, it could look a bit lonely out there on that big stage. Having
played the Kodak, I know you could have a lot of dancing girls on that stage."

Costello even has an idea for how to turn his "Cold Mountain" contribution
into a quasi-production number: "Maybe I could have my leg strapped up
my back, with a crutch and an eyepatch and an old tattered (Civil War) uniform,
and play the fife in the background." `


( Submitted by MnnyMoNHak)


Subject: Sting/Costello take 2
To: COSTELLO-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM


Here is the longer piece I promised. This is a story that will appear
tomorrow on the website, EW.com (and AOL), in slightly shorter form.


By Chris Willman

A quarter century ago, Sting and Elvis Costello were the leading rivals
for
the hearts of new wave fans. Today, they’re rivals for the votes of
that older
demographic known as Academy members—the motion picture academy, not
the
recording one. Both rockers have tunes from the movie "Cold Mountain"
nominated for
a Best Song Oscar, but unlike the battling factions in that Civil War
drama,
they’re setting aside past differences and making like allies.

Costello even participated in an all-star tribute to Sting at the
annual
MusiCares benefit on the Sony Pictures studio lot in L.A. on Feb. 9,
serenading
the honoree with a ukelele-backed version of "Every Little Thing She
Does is
Magic." This, despite some jabs that a less mellow Elvis had taken at
Sting in
the past, playfully or otherwise. Apparently, the movie’s
beating-swords-into-plowshares message really rubs off.

Says Sting, "I’m especially happy that two songs got nominated from
the
movie—Elvis’s song, too, which is great." Costello also expresses
admiration for
Sting’s contribution, and surprise at the nomination for his own: "It
would have
seemed to be almost a little greedy (to expect) both songs to be
acknowledged." Indeed, Miramax seemed to be prepared for the
possibility that the two
numbers—Sting’s "You Will Be My Ain True Love" and the Costello/T
Bone Burnett
collaboration "The Scarlet Tide," both sung by Allison Krauss on the
soundtrack—would cancel each other out in the voting. The studio
initially took out trade
ads touting both, but after only Sting’s picked up a Golden Globe
nomination,
subsequent "for your consideration" Oscar ads left out mention of the
other.
Academy members found both anyway.

Also nominated in this unusually eclectic category were songs from
"Lord of
the Rings" (cowritten and sung by Annie Lennox), "A Mighty Wind"
(cowritten by
Michael McKean), and "The Triplets of Bellevue." (Left out,
surprisingly, were
several picks from the Globes’ all-rock-star lineup, including themes
from
the likes of Bono, Phil Collins, and Eddie Vedder.) "It’s not just a
B.S.
thing—I’m really proud to be in this company," says Costello. "I
know Annie. [They
dueted on an old Eurythmics record.] I know Sting a little bit, to say
hello
to—to tease. And I know Mike McKean, and I’m really, really
delighted their
song from ‘Mighty Wind’ is in there, because that’s a hell of a
song,
particularly as it works as an [independent] song with a great melody
and also works in
the comedic context of that film." Sting is enjoying the company, too..
"It
is an odd assortment, but I’m very happy with all those other
people," he says.
"Annie’s a friend of mine. And I’m a huge fan of Spinal Tap [McKean
played
David St. Hubbens], so there’s no problem with that for me," he
laughs.

But is Elvis’ relationship with Sting only a "teasing" one? In the
past,
he’s taken some potshots at the former Policeman—first, by name, in
an old song
(1991’s "Hurry Down Doomsday"), then on episodic television (a gag on
"The
Larry Sanders Show"), and, more recently, in comments to the press
after they both
were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. So some fans were a
bit
surprised by Costello's seeming eagerness to sign up for the MusiCares
salute.
What gives?

"He asked!" says Costello. "He wanted me to be there. Now he’s
playing
another game, I think. I think it was a test of my Catholic soul," he
laughs. "Or
his, I’m not sure which. Listen, I’ve got no problem with him.
He’s a good
musician. Not all of his work is to my taste, any more than I’m sure
mine is to
him. But you know, somebody asked me straight out at the Rock & Roll
Hall of
Fame, ‘Were they [the Police] any good?’ I said ‘No, they were
bloody
dreadful.’ And of course he’s bound to get a little riled by that.
But I was speaking
what I perceived as the truth, and he might have had his opinion of my
performance. But you know, there are so many people in the world that
deserve your
disdain and contempt, and almost none of them are musicians. In fact,
none of
them are.

"People make jokes about John Tesh as being like an evil force in the
world,
but it’s overstating something, isn’t it?" says Costello. "Whereas
there are
actually people that are killing other humans. They’re the people
that we have
to hate. There aren’t any musicians that I hate. I never went with
the Pol
Pot approach to punk-rock. The Year Zero idea of music, actually, that
was a
contemptuous idea. All those people who read all those French
philosophers,
Malcolm [McLaren, who created the Sex Pistols] and all those people, I
always
thought that side of punk was a bit suspect. I never went with the idea
that we’re
wiping away the past or that this person is the corporate devil and
this
person is the real artist. They’re real if they mean something to
you, and that’s
all that matters, isn’t it?"

[PAGE BREAK]

Sting’s "Ain True Love" pops up as a motif throughout "Cold
Mountain." "When
he comes out of the battle, she [Krauss] is singing the melody as a
piece of
soundtrack, and I was very proud of that," he says. "I thought,
that’s how I
want to be involved as a songwriter in movies, not as someone stuck on
the end
as a marketing tool, which drives me nuts."

A song with "ain" in the title probably isn’t Top 40-bound—"and why
the hell
not?" Sting demands with a laugh—but don’t let the language baffle
you. He
pleaded with director Anthony Minghella to have a shot at writing a
song for
the movie, "and he said ‘Okay, if you can come up with a song that
fits the
idiom of the movie, both lyrically and musically, then you’re on.’
So I went
away, and I’d seen the movie three times, and what I know about the
history of the
South is that a lot of people were of Irish/Scottish/English descent,"
he
says. "And so to write a sort of archaic folk song as if it had been
written
maybe in a slightly earlier period was my brief. That’s what I did,
with lots of
‘ye’s’ and ‘thee’s’ and muskets and cutlasses and stuff
that seemed arcane
and kind of timeless in a way."

Sting’s composition is very melodic, but also has a chant-like
quality. You
might say that it’s… um… hmmm… "It’s modal," Sting says,
helping us out, with
a laugh. "You can use that."

Costello’s "Scarlet Tide," cowritten by soundtrack producer Burnett,
came
about as a request from the filmmakers, but only after he’d recorded
some of the
same sorts of 19th century standards that the White Stripes’ Jack
White sings
in the movie—all of which ended up on the cutting room floor. "I’d
actually
cut a couple of traditional pieces for possible inclusion, because
obviously
they were trying all sorts of different things to try and establish
this texture
of music," says Costello. "Eventually they came on and said, would we
write a
song with a much more specific brief?" --to summarize the film's theme,
which
he sees as being: "Men mess up the world and women put it back together
again." He and Burnett sat down at a piano in a hotel lobby and banged
out the
haunting ballad. "Because of the fact that Ada’s character [Nicole
Kidman] plays
the piano, I said, because of that, do you think we can have that just
slight
bit more sophistication of it being a piano, because so much of the
other music
had been [period Appalachian] string instrument music?"

Having Krauss doing the singing also makes a difference after all those
hillbilly voices and cat-gut banging. "I knew that I was writing it for
a woman’s
voice, because of the lyrical content," says Sting. "But it was T Bone
who
enlisted Allison, who he’d worked with on ‘O Brother, Where Art
Thou?’ When I
heard the result, I was just thrilled. If anybody was going to call you
back from
hell, it would be that voice."

Still unresolved is how the song nominees will be performed—or
excerpted—at
the Feb. 29 ceremony, and whether Krauss (who just won five more
Grammys at
that telecast) will sing both numbers or get a little help. Says Sting,
"I’ll do
some backup singing [as he does on the soundtrack recording]. I’ll
try to
keep myself down," he laughs. He does allow "I could sing a verse.
We’ll see what
the Oscars want, you know. They’re always pressed for time on that
show. I
think they’re gonna try to get us [all the nominees] to sing together
at some
point, which would be interesting."

Costello definitely doesn’t want to sing lead on the telecast, even
though
he’s been performing "Scarlet Tide" in his own concerts and on talk
shows. "I
don’t think anybody’s gonna get sick of hearing her voice," he
says. "But
somebody did call up yesterday and said would we join the band. If we
can play a
credible part in the arrangement, then that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
I guess it
would be a nice little support to her; with a singer who hasn’t got a
dance
routine, it could look a bit lonely out there on that big stage. Having
played
the Kodak, I know you could have a lot of dancing girls on that stage."

Costello even has an idea for how to turn his "Cold Mountain"
contribution
into a quasi-production number: "Maybe I could have my leg strapped up
my back,
with a crutch and an eyepatch and an old tattered (Civil War) uniform,
and
play the fife in the background." Debbie Allen, check your messages!

February 10, 2004

Paperback Writer

NON-FICTION Legendary sound engineer Geoff Emerick and veteran music
journalist Howard Massey's HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE: A Legacy of
Sound, Music, and The Beatles, with a foreword by Elvis Costello, from
the man in charge of the recording of such seminal albums as
"Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," and "Abbey Road,"
with stories of the groundbreaking recording techniques he pioneered to
give them their unique sound and his post-Beatles days (including
working Paul McCartney & Wings).

(Submitted by Nunki)

Elvis Costello to Perform at Oscars

NEW YORK - Elvis Costello isn't too hip to perform at the Oscars.

Costello is nominated for his song "Scarlet Tide," from the film "Cold
Mountain." He will play while Alison Krauss and the Sacred Harp Singers
perform.

Costello's dizzying 25-year career has included rock and country, soul
and pop, punk and classical and jazz. He's responsible for songs like
"Alison" and "Red Shoes."

"I'm delighted to be there and delighted to be a part of it," he told
AP Radio recently. "Some part of you hopes a song endures and has a life
beyond the way it sits in the film, I know I'll sing it for the rest of
my days."


(Submitted by Michael Hernandez)

February 09, 2004

All Grown Up

Celebrity Guess: Head Games
The Post-it note is apparently the new Kabbalah bracelet. All the celebrities are wearing them. On their foreheads, no less. Mike Myers and his wife, Robin Ruzan; Elvis Costello and his wife, Diana Krall; and Moby recently dined at Nobu with notes attached to their craniums in the midst of a rousing game of “Guess Which Celebrity Name I’ve Got Stuck to My Head” (technically called “I’m a Blah Blah.”) Moby guessed that he was Tom Cruise by asking, “Am I a super-hunk?” It took a little longer for Myers to ascertain that he was Jay Leno, and Costello was equally stumped that he was Cher. (Had they been wearing their own names, there might have been a collective existentialist meltdown.)

February 08, 2004

Every Little Thing He Does Is Tragic

Elvis did indeed show up at the Sting-A-Thon.

"The performance highlights included Elvis Costello, who brought a commanding sense to "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." Even a slight fumbling of the lyrics couldn't dampen his ability to convey the romantic wonder of the song."

ECSting.jpg

Some photos to prove it.

(News submitted by Dave Farr, Pix submitted by John Foyle)

February 07, 2004

Elvis goes all George Formby

Elvis reminded us of a British musical hall hero when he accompanied himself with an instrument long associated with George Formby , the ukulele. On the Craig Kilborn show he used it while singing The Scarlet Tide. Having taped that show he then used it while singing Sting`s Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic at the Musicares tribute show for Mr Gordon Sumner.

Now for Elvis` version of WITH MY LITTLE UKULELE IN MY HAND

February 06, 2004

Why Don't You Get Up?

Elvis is mentioned at the bottom of this article on murder songs, and could possibly be mentioned on the show it's promoting.

"In San Antonio, news of the tower shootings greatly affected Leon Payne. He was a blind songwriter and singer who had written the great country standards "Lost Highway" and "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me," recorded by Hank Williams. Payne's "Psycho" is unlike anything else he wrote and indeed is very much unlike most other country songs ever written. It's been recorded a few times, most effectively by Elvis Costello, who cut it live at Hollywood's Palomino Club and released it as the B-side of "Sweet Dreams" on a UK-release single. It also appears on his album Almost Blue.

The dark tale is told matter-of-factly -- which only accentuates the horror -- as the song's pace gets faster and faster, and Costello's voice grows darker and darker. It's the story of the frenzied Whitman of the night before his calm sniper spree. And it ends with the chilling line: You think I'm psycho, don't you Mamma/Mamma, why don't you get up?

"Psycho" remains the most chilling song I have ever heard. It can still make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. And that, my friend, is the indicator of a good and powerful song."

(Submitted by Micheal Hernandez)

February 05, 2004

Still Streaming

Live from the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

I'm in the middle of enjoying this show right now - great pro-shot video, clear sound, and hot performances from EC and the boys. After the cold NORTH winter, it's nice to hear the old Rock -n- Roll.

And in case Elvis (or even Kate) is listening, a free idea. The technology of these webcasts is good enough to start charging. A nice free (or sponsored) show is great - but I'd have happily paid $5 for the right to see this show online and then download nice clean pro MP3's right after. Or make the video free and just sell the MP3s. Every serious Elvis fan in the world is either recording this show to hard drive while they watch (I certainly am) or arranging to trade for the CD from someone who has done it. It'll be in the stores in the Village in 60 days. At this point, most of us are old farts with more money than time - take my $5 and spare me the hassle.

Diana Krall in the Other Room

In the first major write up on Diana Krall`s new album , The Girl In The Other Room , Ms Krall speaks about Elvis` role in it.

The album closes with perhaps the most deeply felt of the self-composed titles. "Departure Bay" contains vivid and touching images of her hometown of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island but also a wrenching description of her family's first Christmas without her mother and a final verse that welcomes new love and hope for the future.

Musically composed by Krall alone, these songs mark a lyrical collaboration with her new husband, Elvis Costello. Explaining how they worked, Krall said: "I wrote the music and then Elvis and I talked about what we wanted to say. I told him stories and wrote pages and pages of reminiscences, descriptions and images, and he put them into tighter lyrical form. For "Departure Bay," I wrote down a list of things that I love about home, things I realized were different, even exotic, now that I've been away".

Diana Krall in the Other Room

Verve Music Group


The depth of feeling which lies behind the beautiful
façade of Diana Krall's highly successful Verve
releases has always been known to her most
appreciative listeners. However, with her latest
album, The Girl In The Other Room, Krall not only
illustrates her understanding of the breadth of
possibilities in the jazz idiom but also reveals her
talent as a songwriter.

Indeed, the title song of the record is a Krall
original. While some may be attracted to the lyrical
portrait of a mysterious woman distracted by love (and
note in passing that the words were co-written with
Elvis Costello), the ear is drawn to the elegant and
effortlessly swinging accompaniment of Krall's piano
and that of her long-time partners in rhythm: Jeff
Hamilton on drums and bassist, John Clayton.

For much of the album, the musical support comes from
drummer Peter Erskine and bassist Christian McBride.
The inventive and sympathetic guitar playing of
Anthony Wilson is heard throughout a record that which
also features drummer Terri Lynne Carrington and Neil
Larson sitting in on Hammond B-3 for one cut.

The album is the first co-produced by Krall and her
long-time producer Tommy LiPuma. Recorded at Capitol
Studios, Hollywood and Avatar Recording, New York
City, the sessions were engineered throughout 2003 by
another long-term cohort, Al Schmitt.

Listeners used to Krall's intimate and seductive
interpretations of standard ballads may be surprised
at first by her present choice of composers. Take a
listen to her take on Mose Allison's timely blues,
"Stop This World" or the driving and joyfully carnal
"Love Me Like a Man" (with its final chorus salute to
Count Basie) and you will hear a singer, bandleader
and piano player in her top form.

Krall's sensual approach to Tom Waits' "Temptation,"
with its extraordinary introduction by Christian
McBride, is balanced by Krall's own exquisite preface
to a most tender rendition of Elvis Costello's "Almost
Blue." A beautifully reflective version of a
relatively obscure standard, "I'm Pulling Through,"
recalls the style of her teacher, Jimmy Rowles.

The spirit of Rowles and an apprenticeship of the jazz
club experiences is inspiration for one of Krall’s new
compositions, "I've Changed My Address," only as Krall
reflects, revisiting some of these venues can be a
shock: "Everything looks pretty much the same but the
place is now a sports bar and there is pool table
where there used to be a piano."

While so much of the music is new, the album itself
recalls a vinyl disc of two sides. The bold and
flowing solos from Krall and guitarist Anthony Wilson
on Joni Mitchell's song of travel, "Black Crow,"
announce a series of original songs that speak of
family and of love, but also of enduring the grievous
loss of a parent. As Krall explained recently: "I went
through a series of deep personal losses and changes.
So...this is what I did instead of shutting the door
and saying ‘I can't deal with it’".

So it is that the gospel changes of the hopeful
"Narrow Daylight" give away to the sophisticated blues
of "Abandoned Masquerade." It is this song that most
clearly expresses the need (for now at least) for the
singer to step out from behind the beautiful romantic
illusions found in so many songs of the past. Once
again, the music leaves the listener in no doubt that
they are hearing the work of a jazz composer.

The gently defiant tone of "I'm Coming Through" marks
another subtle shift of musical scene with wonderful
playing from Anthony Wilson. The content of these last
songs is undoubtedly the most specifically personal
material yet recorded by Diana Krall.

The album closes with perhaps the most deeply felt of
the self-composed titles. "Departure Bay" contains
vivid and touching images of her hometown of Nanaimo
on Vancouver Island but also a wrenching description
of her family's first Christmas without her mother and
a final verse that welcomes new love and hope for the
future.

Musically composed by Krall alone, these songs mark a
lyrical collaboration with her new husband, Elvis
Costello. Explaining how they worked, Krall said: "I
wrote the music and then Elvis and I talked about what
we wanted to say. I told him stories and wrote pages
and pages of reminiscences, descriptions and images,
and he put them into tighter lyrical form. For
"Departure Bay," I wrote down a list of things that I
love about home, things I realized were different,
even exotic, now that I've been away".

Songs often suggest and recall moments in our own
lives and listeners must surely be aware that Diana
Krall's previous recordings contained many personal
but private meanings for the artist. On The Girl In
The Other Room, what was once partly hidden has been
brought beautifully into view.

BORN IN NANAIMO, BRITISH COLUMBIA (NOT FAR from
Vancouver), Diana Krall grew up in the western part of
Canada and began studying the piano when she was four
years old. By the time she was 15, she was playing
jazz in a local restaurant/bar. One person who
encouraged her interest in music was her father, a
stride pianist with a vast knowledge of such Twenties
and Thirties keyboard masters as Fats Waller, James P.
Johnson, and Earl Hines. "I think Dad had every
recording Fats Waller ever made," she says, "and I
tried to learn as many as I could."

Krall was still a teenager when she was awarded a
scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of
Music in Boston. After two years in Boston, she moved
to Los Angeles, where she met her first jazz
heavyweights, including John Clayton, pianist/singer
Jimmy Rowles, and Ray Brown, the legendary bassist who
served as her musical mentor (and played on Only Trust
Your Heart). Krall had lived in Los Angeles for three
years when she moved to Toronto, and it was a Canadian
label that gave her a chance to record for the first
time. In 1993, the Montreal-based Justin Time Records
released her debut album, Stepping Out. In 1994, she
signed with GRP and recorded Only Trust Your Heart,
which featured Brown on bass and Stanley Turrentine on
tenor saxophone and marked the beginning of her
association with Tommy LiPuma (who has worked with
everyone from Barbra Streisand to George Benson).

Since then, LiPuma has produced all of Krall's
subsequent albums for GRP, Impulse!, and Verve,
including All for You: A Dedication to the Nat "King"
Cole Trio (1995), Love Scenes (1997), When I Look In
Your Eyes (1998), The Look of Love (2001), and Live in
Paris (2003). "That was the first time I had produced
that many albums in a row for any artist," he says.
"Diana and I have such a good chemistry between us --
it makes it easy. When one of us makes a suggestion,
the other listens in earnest. We have tremendous
respect for one another."

Krall grew increasingly popular throughout the
Nineties. Only Trust Your Heart, All for You, and Love
Scenes all sold well, but the album that put her over
the top commercially was When I Look in Your Eyes. In
addition to spending 52 weeks in the #1 position on
Billboard's jazz chart, When I Look in Your Eyes won
GRAMMY®’s in two categories, Best Jazz Vocal
Performance and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical,
and received a GRAMMY® nomination in the Album of the
Year category-putting Krall in competition with
Santana, the Backstreet Boys, the Dixie Chicks, and
TLC.

Needless to say, it isn't every day that an
acoustic-oriented jazz improviser finds herself
competing with major rock, country, urban, and
teen-pop stars for a GRAMMY® award. Nor is it every
day that a jazz improviser becomes a major attraction
at the Lilith Fair festival, founded by
singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan to spotlight female
pop-rock and pop artists. But in 1998, Krall had no
problem winning over a young, predominantly female
audience more likely to be into Sheryl Crow or Alanis
Morissette than Abbey Lincoln or Chris Connor.

When I Look in Your Eyes eventually went platinum in
the United States (where it sold over one million
units), double platinum in Canada, platinum in
Portugal, and gold in France. It was a hard act to
follow, but Krall's next album, The Look of Love,
would also be an impressive seller. Released in
September 2001, it entered the Billboard 200 at #9 and
sold 95,000 copies in the U.S. alone in its first
week.

"The thing about Diana is her musicianship," Al
Schmitt said in an interview with the Los Angeles
Times. "More than most singers, she knows what's right
for her, and she knows how to make it happen
musically."

Setlist for House Of Blues Show , Los Angeles , US, Feb.4`04

I Hope You're Happy Now
Doll Revolution
Everyday I Write the Book
Beyond Belief
Radio Radio
Clubland
Clown Strike
Chelsea
Less Than Zero
45
Honey Are You Straight?
Alison/You Win Again/Suspicious Minds
Dust2/Dust
Just About Glad
Either Side of the Same Town
Dark End of the Street

Man Out of Time
Uncomplicated
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/You Really Got A Hold On Me

The Scarlet Tide
PLU
Pump It Up

Mr. Average reports on the Costello Fan Forum

--


The show was remarkable in the brilliance of the seque's from song to song. I know this is trademark for an EC/Attractions/Imposters performance, but I thought that the intensity stayed high throughout directly as a function of the 'seamless' transitions between songs. Hell, it was hard enough for us to catch our breath from song to song in the audience. I don't know how the band can continue at that pace without taking a break!

Of course, the flip side of the fact that one song flowed seamlessly into the next was that the show was devoid of any real commentary from Elvis...something that I look forward to because of the wit, humor, and presence of Elvis from the stage. But he said little...if anything. No song introductions that I can recall. No quips about the Imposters. He yelled out an obligate "ELLLL- LAAAAAAYYYYY" and introduced the band. Other than that, I cannot recall any other spoken word other than those resident on the lyric sheet.

The atmosphere was a bit sterile, as there were images of rotating Amex cards everywhere, free drinks courtesy of Amex (okay, maybe that part was okay), Amex ladies dressed in the very chic colors of their latest credit card offering, etc. The event was clearly recorded for some reason or another, with two camera operators always on/around the stage, and a 'mobile'-crane based camera that swooped out over the crowd for some very nice shots of the band during the performance.

Remarkable things about the playlist for me:
1. He played Beyond Belief. I was happy after that, and could have called it a night, as it is my all time single favorite EC song.
2. He played an extended version of "Pump it up"...probably at least 12 minutes long. That was a little strange, but it certainly captivated much of the younger audience left over from DC.

As usual, the band was relentless in their pursuit of a strong show.

February 04, 2004

Streaming Live EC Tonight

Live from the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

Sushi, Post-its, and Elvis Costello

Someone's trainspotting:
"We never get to celebritize!

We also never go to spots this nice, but tonight we got to rock the corpo plastic at Nobu, which deserves whatever retarded rep it has. Food was bananas. How did we get in? Apparently the Super Bowl happened today and nobody eats sushi when that's going on. Adorable.

So who's eating edamame at the table across from us? Elvis Costello , Diana Kralll, Moby and five other filler people. Fine. Here's the upgrade: For reasons unbeknownst to us audience members, Elvis, Diana and The Mobester decided to rock Post-Its on their foreheads for close to an hour. Don't know what was written on them but I am sure it was delightfully relevant to something. I did not send Elvis a drink, despite wanting to desperately. 1981: Palladium: me, turning 14, Elvis touring on Trust. Squeeze opened. G-g-g-g-gangsta!"

(Submitted by Robert Sabat)

Elvis on Kilborn, Fri Feb 6

The Late Night TV page has it as:

Friday, February 6 - Elvis Costello, Scott Stapp, Five for Fighting.

(Submitted by John Harrison)

February 03, 2004

Elvis To Play Grammies

Elvis Costello is scheduled to perform at the Grammy Awards on February 8th!

(Submitted by John Foyle Via His Secret Admirer Kate)

February 02, 2004

Michael Ball covers God Give Me Strength

Just discovered this - and Valentines is on the way:

A Love Story
Michael Ball - Audio CD (20 October, 2003)

Label: Liberty
ASIN: B0000CFXK9
Catalogue Number: 5919492

Includes God Give Me Strength
------------------------------------------------------
The original press release for it makes familiar reading -

The UK's number one musical star, Michael Ball, the man of whom Andrew Lloyd Webber once declared, 'He just goes on stage and delivers,' releases his new studio album 'A Love Story' for EMI Liberty on 20th October 2003. A beautiful and haunting album, it records, in song, the story of a relationship from beginning to end.

MICHAEL BALL
NEW ALBUM - A LOVE STORY

Release date: 20.10.03
EMI Liberty
Cat no: 591 9492


The UK's number one musical star, Michael Ball, the man of whom Andrew Lloyd Webber once declared, 'He just goes on stage and delivers,' releases his new studio album 'A Love Story' for EMI Liberty on 20th October 2003. A beautiful and haunting album, it records, in song, the story of a relationship from beginning to end.

Parts of it, however, very nearly didn't happen at all. The day after Michael - star of musicals ranging from Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - arrived in New York, the City, and with it the recording studio he was booked into, were plunged into darkness.

With only a one day window to record the final track, a duet with his long time friend and Hollywood star, Antonio Banderas, a race against time was launched to find a studio that could muster enough power to get the track laid down before Antonio had to be back on stage in NINE and Michael back on a plane to London. Just as they were about to accept defeat, a call came from a studio across town which had just had their power restored. In two hours Michael and Antonio had completed their brilliantly energetic version of 'Me and My Shadow'.

With songs ranging from Burt Bacharach's memorable 'God Give Me Strength', Jim Croce's evocative 'Time in a Bottle', US singer Kenny Chesney' 'You Had Me From Hello' to the gently romantic 'She Makes My Day' by Robert Palmer, it is an album for everyone who's ever known what it is to love, lose and love again. The inspiration for 'A Love Story' came from Michael's critically acclaimed one man show 'Alone Together', which ran at the Donmar in 2001.

In October, Michael starts a two month nationwide tour which is already sold out - a testimony as ever to his place as the man once voted the most bankable name by the Society of West End Managers. His career, which spans theatre, stage, recording and hosting his own award-winning radio two series, Ball Over Broadway, began when creating the role of Marius in 'Les Miserables'. He went on to star as Raoul when 'Phantom of the Opera' was first staged and starred in 'Aspects of Love' where he took the emotionally charged anthem 'Love Changes Everything' to number one. Since his debut album reached number one in the UK, there have been 11 gold and platinum solo albums and ten sell out UK tours.

In 2002 he made a triumphant return to the West End Stage to star as the delightfully eccentric Caractacus Potts in the massively successful 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.

Where does he go now? The answer for Michael is very simple. While there are challenges to be met, risks to take, and songs to be sung, the only way is ever up.

A Love Story shows he's on the right track.

1. You Had Me From Hello
2. This Guy's In Love With You
3. What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life
4. Time In A Bottle
5. She Makes My Day
6. You've Changed
7. What Makes You Stay
8. God Give Me Strength
9. Didn't We
10. I Wish You Love
11. I Wish I Were In Love Again
12. Me And My Shadow (duet with Antonio Banderas)


For further details please contact:
DEBRA GEDDES
EMI LIBERTY PRESS
020 7605 5477
debra.geddes@emimusic.com

17.09.03

February 01, 2004

Elvis` launched into an inspired set` , NY , Jan. 27

Elvis joined Diana for a corporate gig this past Tuesday.

The New York Post reports -

TUESDAY, JAN. 27: Back in New York, drifts of snow were building outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, during the party marking the 20th anniversary of A&E, where Mariel Hemingway and Jerry O'Connell caught Diana Krall's jazzy act. Then Liza Minnelli bravely slid up to the hotel in a limo, took the elevator to 36 and belted out a song. After Minnelli and O'Connell ran off to beat the snow, Elvis Costello (Krall's husband), launched into an inspired set.