the angry young man is still inside his 50-year-old body
.....say reviews of Elvis' concerts in England this week.
Brighton -
Would the angry young man of the New Wave have smiled when his guitar lead loosened to create enough static to scar a couple of numbers in this opening gig of his latest UK tour?
And you wonder whether the skinny, geeky gunslinger with thick-rimmed specs would have led a Brighton crowd in a chorus of I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside and implored it to give "home town boy", his drummer Pete Thomas, a rousing welcome home.
But if you think Elvis Costello has gone soft and watered down the intensity of his music, you can think again.
His performance of The Delivery Man, the title track of his new record, oozed the menace of the subject (a murderer called Abel) and passion while showing why Declan McManus' song-writing would put him in any music Hall of Fame.
Robbie Williams won the best song for the past 25 years at the Brits on the same night as this gig for Angels. But those who voted should have been at a packed Dome to discover all the Costello numbers performed from 1980, which were lessons in the art of songwriting.
His three-piece backing band, The Imposters, with Steve Nieve's keyboard wizardry, Thomas' no-nonsense pounding on his kit and the uncomplicated bass, played by newcomer Davey Faragher, complemented Costello's deep, powerful and sensitive vocals.
The sound problems early on were soon sorted as EC warmed up and he neatly bookended his 28-year recording career, going from Abel to "his brother" as he sung Blame It On Cain from his first album, My Aim Is True.
There was something for most people in the balanced set, which encompassed rock (Pump It Up), pop (Radio Radio, Watching The Detectives), country (A Good Year For The Roses) and protest (Shipbuilding) and the tracks off The Delivery Man underlined his jaw-dropping consistency.
EC's frame has filled out but, with his tight-fitting dark suit and tinted shades, he remains instantly recognisable. He seems jollier, yet the angry young man is still inside his 50-year-old body.
.....and London -
extract -
...... plenty of last night's set was drawn from his more accessible, latest long-player, The Delivery Man. It has its roots in country but also frequently references the wiry rock sound of his youth.
Neither of the album's two collaborators, Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris, were able to make it out, apparently because "the Network SouthEast train was late this evening", but the bleak duets Heart Shaped Bruise and Scarlet Tide were still touching sung alone. Costello seemed particularly to enjoy his lively new song Monkey to Man, trying and failing to start a singalong among a disappointingly passive crowd. The classics he penned as a young man were still dotted around, but did not dominate.
Blame It On Cain, Radio, Radio and Watching the Detectives all made welcome appearances. A soulful Alison was augmented with a bit of Elvis doing Elvis, when it morphed into Suspicious Minds halfway through. His voice has retained the old sneer, but there was also a power and richness there that he was happy to show off on smoky slow ones such as the Burt Bacharach collaboration In the Darkest Place, which saw him walking away from the microphone and letting his singing fill the venue unamplified.
Evening Standard, 2005-02-11
David Smyth
Costello's Aim Is Still True
Hammersmith Apollo
David Smyth
ELVIS Costello, like many venerable artists, has had to learn to accept that the songs he wrote 25 years ago are the ones everyone wants to hear most. Bravely, he has never looked back, keeping moving and broadening the scope of his creativity as he gets older. Having turned 50 last year, he has lately achieved hit albums in both the jazz and classical charts, and announced last month that his next project will be an opera about Hans Christian Andersen. He has not forgotten his less high-minded fans, however, and plenty of last night's set was drawn from his more accessible, latest long-player, The Delivery Man. It has its roots in country but also frequently references the wiry rock sound of his youth.
Neither of the album's two collaborators, Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris, were able to make it out, apparently because "the Network SouthEast train was late this evening", but the bleak duets Heart Shaped Bruise and Scarlet Tide were still touching sung alone. Costello seemed particularly to enjoy his lively new song Monkey to Man, trying and failing to start a singalong among a disappointingly passive crowd. The classics he penned as a young man were still dotted around, but did not dominate.
Blame It On Cain, Radio, Radio and Watching the Detectives all made welcome appearances. A soulful Alison was augmented with a bit of Elvis doing Elvis, when it morphed into Suspicious Minds halfway through. His voice has retained the old sneer, but there was also a power and richness there that he was happy to show off on smoky slow ones such as the Burt Bacharach collaboration In the Darkest Place, which saw him walking away from the microphone and letting his singing fill the venue unamplified.
It is doubtful whether his forthcoming opera will provide any moments as universally stirring as Shipbuilding did here. But if these diversions keep music sounding fresh to Costello, everyone will be happy.
First published on Friday 11 February 2005:
Elvis Costello, Dome Concert Hall, Brighton
by Mike Donovan
The Argus , Brighton
Would the angry young man of the New Wave have smiled when his guitar lead loosened to create enough static to scar a couple of numbers in this opening gig of his latest UK tour?
And you wonder whether the skinny, geeky gunslinger with thick-rimmed specs would have led a Brighton crowd in a chorus of I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside and implored it to give "home town boy", his drummer Pete Thomas, a rousing welcome home.
But if you think Elvis Costello has gone soft and watered down the intensity of his music, you can think again.
His performance of The Delivery Man, the title track of his new record, oozed the menace of the subject (a murderer called Abel) and passion while showing why Declan McManus' song-writing would put him in any music Hall of Fame.
Robbie Williams won the best song for the past 25 years at the Brits on the same night as this gig for Angels. But those who voted should have been at a packed Dome to discover all the Costello numbers performed from 1980, which were lessons in the art of songwriting.
His three-piece backing band, The Imposters, with Steve Nieve's keyboard wizardry, Thomas' no-nonsense pounding on his kit and the uncomplicated bass, played by newcomer Davey Faragher, complemented Costello's deep, powerful and sensitive vocals.
The sound problems early on were soon sorted as EC warmed up and he neatly bookended his 28-year recording career, going from Abel to "his brother" as he sung Blame It On Cain from his first album, My Aim Is True.
There was something for most people in the balanced set, which encompassed rock (Pump It Up), pop (Radio Radio, Watching The Detectives), country (A Good Year For The Roses) and protest (Shipbuilding) and the tracks off The Delivery Man underlined his jaw-dropping consistency.
EC's frame has filled out but, with his tight-fitting dark suit and tinted shades, he remains instantly recognisable. He seems jollier, yet the angry young man is still inside his 50-year-old body.