Elvis bio - first review
Record Collector (London) has a review of
COMPLICATED SHADOWS
The Life And Music Of Elvis Costello
by
Graeme Thomson
Extract -Undertaking several dozen personal interviews with Elvis cohorts past and present, Thomson fleshes out the most complete portrait yet of one of the most enigmatic and uncompromising musicians of the last 30 years. Thus, we have insights from school chums, fellow strugglers on the 70s folk club circuit, key figures in the pub rock hierarchy, and, most intriguingly, a succession of frequently unflattering reminiscences from estranged Attraction Bruce Thomas.
It’s this willingness to show his subject as a tarnished human being that especially pleases, side-stepping the blind adulation that all but destroys the credibility of most Costello tomes. Thomson is undoubtedly a massive fan and his critical appraisals are spot-on, but he’s not averse to pointing out mistakes Elvis has made along the way. The singer has occasionally been a nasty piece of work, he has made some bad records, and we ain’t glossing over any of that here. There’s also much discussion of his troubled love life, but it never descends into scandal-sheet salaciousness.
Complicated Shadows gets a great review in this month's Record Collector:
COMPLICATED SHADOWS
The Life And Music Of Elvis Costello
Graeme Thomson
****
Canongate, £16.99
ISBN 1-84195-544-2
Only the man himself could have done better
Where previous Costello studies have invariably failed is in their authors’ over-reliance on press cuttings to tell the story, thereby offering very little the target readership doesn’t already know. Thankfully, Thomson’s level-headed and brilliantly written book delves much deeper than those cut-and-paste disappointments.
Undertaking several dozen personal interviews with Elvis cohorts past and present, Thomson fleshes out the most complete portrait yet of one of the most enigmatic and uncompromising musicians of the last 30 years. Thus, we have insights from school chums, fellow strugglers on the 70s folk club circuit, key figures in the pub rock hierarchy, and, most intriguingly, a succession of frequently unflattering reminiscences from estranged Attraction Bruce Thomas.
It’s this willingness to show his subject as a tarnished human being that especially pleases, side-stepping the blind adulation that all but destroys the credibility of most Costello tomes. Thomson is undoubtedly a massive fan and his critical appraisals are spot-on, but he’s not averse to pointing out mistakes Elvis has made along the way. The singer has occasionally been a nasty piece of work, he has made some bad records, and we ain’t glossing over any of that here. There’s also much discussion of his troubled love life, but it never descends into scandal-sheet salaciousness.
Complicated Shadows is particularly fascinating on the details of Costello’s childhood and teenage years, signposting the drive and relentlessness that has informed his varied career moves to the present day. And, like all the best music biographies, it will have you itching to play the albums again.
Thomson has done an exemplary job in getting to grips with an often difficult and reclusive personality, and in the absence of EC putting pen to paper himself, this is far and away the next best thing.
Terry Staunton