Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas plays again!
On - Tasmin Archer
Released:
September 18th 2006
Vocals - Tasmin Archer
Bass - Bruce Thomas
Other instrumentation - John Hughes
Recorded and mixed by John Hughes
Produced by John Hughes
His latest book appears in Jan. 07 -
Immortal Combat: Portrait of a True Warrior
by Bruce Thomas
As told elsewhere-
Diana Krall and Elvis Costello announce the Dec 6th birth of two beautiful baby boys, Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, in New York City. Krall and Costello said "we are ecstatic!". Mother and sons are doing splendidly.
The Times ( London) talk to Diana Krall -
(extract)
I wonder whether, now that she is married to another musical star, there is a competitive element. Do they sneak a peak at the Billboard charts to see who’s up, who down? “No, no, not at all. I’ve been through all that.” A weary chuckle. “It’s the only way I’ve stayed single for so long.”
So how is married life? While home is nominally New York, being Mr and Mrs Costello is a long-distance affair. Both tour heavily and once they didn’t see each other for five weeks. “That was bad, but we phone each other every day and he’s loving what he’s doing and I’m loving what I’m doing. It’s hard but it’s the only way it can work.”
Still, after often touring for 300 days a year, she knows that it’s time to slow down, “even if I wasn’t having a baby”. I try to picture the scene of future domestic contentment. Would, I wonder, Mr and Mrs Costello ever sing together? There’s a pause and a chuckle. “Yeah, when we’re in our eighties on a cruise ship from Vancouver to Alaska we’ll be like: ‘All right Pump It Up everybody. Sing along. Come on. You know it.’ We’ll put it in a different beat. I’ll play a bossa nova.” She dissolves into laughter. “Not before then.”
Continue reading " ‘All right Pump It Up everybody. Sing along. Come on. You know it.’" »
The Royal Danish Theatre
Copenhagen
Denmark
The Secret Songs
A chamber opera by British rock legend Elvis Costello
World premiere
March 1 - April 4 2007
'A chamber opera by British rock legend Elvis Costello
spotlighting Hans Christian Andersens unrequited love
for the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind. Following
last seasons warm-up performance of a song cycle from
the opera, Takkelloftet now presents the world
premiere of Costellos first opera.'
Direction: Kasper Bech Holten
Set design: Stine Martinsen
Cast
Hans Christian Andersen: Allan Klie
P.T. Barnum: Joachim Knop
Jenny Lind: Sine Bundgaard
Dr. Meisling: Kjeld Christoffersen
Henriette Wulff: Elsebeth Lund
Edvard Collin: Bo Kristian Jensen
Mrs Meisling: Andrea Pellegrini
From the Los Angeles Times:
...Bacharach nearly shed some of his warm and fuzzy persona. This album came mighty close to arriving in stores with a parental advisory sticker.
"Who Are These People?" features Costello, in his best pinched-rage voice, decrying liars and leaders who "can't admit when they're wrong." It ends with Costello singing: "See things really have to change/ Before it's too late."
But in the studio the song had a different ending involving a certain f-word. Bacharach was persuaded by label executives to put a less spiky ending on a lushly orchestrated track.
"But I loved the way it sounded."
The songwriter repeated the original line a few times, savoring the phonetic charge of the bomb he almost set off.
"We should have left it in," he said. "That line says it all.
"That's where we are. I'm being honest."
He says now he expects to release the R-rated version as a single or download or import. "I want people to hear it."
( Submitted by And No Coffee Table)
"I thought that show was tremendous," Costello said. "Both Bob Dylan and Merle Haggrad were absolutely at their peak. Bob has a great new band. He's playing very intricate arrangements. ...Merle Haggard was as funny as hell and sang like a bird. It was a terrific complementary show of two people you admire." - Elvis Costello
The above quote was found at the top of a fantastic behind the scenes review of the recent Bob Dylan - Merle Haggard Tour.
Emmylou Harris talks about Elvis -
( extract)
Of course I've known Elvis, not well, but over the years. We were talking about a country show we did years ago in the Valley in California - the club's not even around anymore and as far as we know the show didn't even air. George Jones was on it and he was on it, and Elvis was talking about how he had the mumps. (Laughs.) And I remember that show. And more recently he was kind enough to do our Concerts for a Landmine Free World overseas about three years ago. Besides his voice, his songwriting, energy and his passion for his work and for everything, it was just delightful to spend time with him on those tours.
And then he asked me to sing on the record. I was very happy to do it. I just loved the songs and was also very happy that he was doing The Scarlet Tide, which is one of those new songs that came along that you sort of went, "How come I didn't know about that song?" (Laughs.) The words are so heartbreaking and the melody is so gorgeous. So that was just a wonderful day in the studio.
He presented me as a present a 40-gigabyte iPod that he had programmed with every kind of music available and a little pair of speakers. I call it the Elvis Shuffle. I just put it on shuffle and I never know what's going to happen. I put it on and I listen to it at night on low volume and I will wake up sometimes at like 4 in the morning to Desolation Row and I'll be brought up just enough, and then I'll wake up to some other wonderful old blues track. Or then there will be some jazz, or just beautiful piano sonatas. It was just the most extraordinary gift.
( Submitted by Martin Foyle)
The Hollywood Reporter notes -
Extract -
Beyond "Walk the Line," Burnett has created music for two other forthcoming features. He scored and wrote three songs for Wim Wenders' "Don't Come Knockin'," the Sony Pictures Classics release screening at Cannes next month. He has collaborated again with Costello -- whose Burnett-produced 1986 classic "King of America" gets an expanded rerelease by Rhino on Tuesday -- on "Sulfur to Sugar Cane," a song to be sung by Sean Penn in Steve Zaillian's remake of "All the King's Men," due in December from Columbia.
Continue reading "T-Bone, Elvis do new song for Sean Penn movie" »
The opening acts for Elvis' U.S. Tour will be Tift Merritt ( March) and Sondre Lerche ( April) .
.... is the welcome variation on the usual 'Elvis Lives' headline in this account of Elvis' forthcoming Hans Christian Andersen opera. These new quotes appear -
According to Henrik Engelbrecht, head of dramaturgy at the Royal Danish Opera: "We looked around the serious end of the rock scene for a person we thought could contribute to our art form. We very quickly came up with Elvis.
"We went to see him in Dublin with the idea of doing something about Hans Christian Andersen. We thought we would be teaching him about Andersen but he knew all about him.
"He already had a very operatic idea: that of a staged song cycle connected with the life of Andersen and actually about the writer's obsession with Jenny Lind [the Swedish soprano].
"There is an element of fiction: in Costello's version, Andersen has written Lind a number of secret arias (he was also something of an actor and composer) and the scenario is that he presents his pieces to her for the first time to sing."
Nick remembers early Elvis -
Extract - His mood brightens,however, when he starts talking about Elvis Costello, whose best work remains the records Nick produced for him.
When I was in Brinsley Schvarz, he used to come and see us all the time Nick recalls. He was always there, looking very intense. Even when he was with other people, he always seemed to he standing apart from them. The first time I actually spoke to him was in a pub in Liverpool. He was at the bar, and I thought, Well.., there he is again. Id better buy him a drink. Because I was famous then, you see. I was in the Brinsleys, man. We were pub rock
legends, earning 175 a night. We were big time. And I went over and he just glared at me. Damned unsettling. You know the way he is. Anyway, after that, whenever I saw him, we'd have a drink. I just thought he was a very intense fan. Then he moved to London and we lost touch. And then we started Stiff and one day I saw him at the local tube station.
Hed just been around to the office to buy a copy of So It Goes'. And we started chatting and he said hed been trying to get a deal, and then he told me the story he now trots out all the time.
At the time, he thought he was like something out of one of those oldfashioned films where a guy walks into a music publishers office and says, Boy, have I got a song for you! And he plays it on the piano and
the publisher leaps up and says, It so happens that Miss Fay Fontaine is next door! And they wheel in old Fay and she sings it gorgeously and its a fucking
great big hit and our boys away. And Elvis obviously thought this was the way to do it.
So hed been going around to these record companies and theyd ask him for a tape and hed tell them he was going to sing the songs, and then hed pull out an acoustic guitar. Of course, they were appalled. Theres something very intimidating about sitting with Elvis - he sings at full blast, and hes got an
incredibly loud voice and he emotes like mad.
So hed be there emoting away like theres no tomorrow and the guys phone would ring and it would be his wife or something and Elvis would be in the middle of some song and the guy would be going, 'Eight? Yes. Thatll he fine, darling. Lamb casserole? Wonderful! And poor old Elvis would be there wondering what to do. Should he carry on singing? Should he stop?
Should he carry on singing, but try to be a bit quieter?
Anyway, it turned out hed left a tape at Stiff and when I got to the office Jake [Riviera, later Costellos legendarily fiery manager] was raving about
Mystery Dance',because he thought Edmunds could cover it. Then we listened to the tape again, and Jake said, No. Fuck it.This guy can make a record of his own. Hes got tons of stuff here.'
I wasnt convinced, I must admit. The song that finally changed my mind was Alison'. I was stunned when I heard that. I'm absolutely mad for a weep and when Im in the humour, Im hopeless. And when I heard EC doing Alison for the first time, I wept like a baby.
Elvis' former partner Cait O'Riordan has appeared on Irish TV , playing bass with The Radiators, Plan 9. In the next few weeks she will be doing Irish dates with The Enemigos and U.K. and Irish dates with The Pogues.
The Pogues back catalogue is being re-issued , featuring production work by Elvis on the albums Red Roses For Me and Rum, Sodomy and The Lash. These re-issues will include the first CD release of assorted Costello produced b-sides and E.P. tracks .
Paul answers some questions -
Extract -
Of all the other songwriters you've collaborated with since the break-up of the Beatles, which partnership did you think worked best? Gareth Jones, by e-mail
Paul - Elvis Costello. He and I sat down with two acoustic guitars and threw ideas at each other. When we were happy enough with the result we made a quick demo to capture the feel. It was also a great privilege to work with Stevie Wonder.
Nick Lowe talks about his classic song 'Peace , Love and Understanding and Elvis' version of it -
Extract - "I think it was the first actual original idea I ever
had. I remember thinking that I had better be careful
to keep it simple and not mess it up." Still, Lowe
said, the song was "forgotten by all" until Costello
tapped it for the landmark album "Armed Forces."
"He is the one that gave it an anthem quality, and it
was one-take, all energy with his eyes bugging out
when he sang it," Lowe said. With a chuckle, he said
that his own stage performance of it these days is
"slightly more reflective, a gentle country soul tune
where no one gets hurt."
The lyrics to Ms Krall's recent album have been transcribed. After all the hoopla at the albums release maybe they could do with some re-assessment.
The Girl in the Other Room
I've Changed My Address
Narrow Daylight
Abandoned Masquerade
I'm Coming Through
Departure Bay
Newsweek puts Dylan on the Cover in anticipation of his upcoming autobiography, includes new interview (with Elvis name-check) and book excerpt.
Elvis feels the need to ( gulp!) share
Todays Observer (London) has its monthly music supplement. Its big feature is on Elton John , how his forthcoming new album is ' his best in years ', 'how
great he is', blah , blah ,blah , the usual old guff that his record company somehow manage to persuade some semi-serious publication to spout every few years.
In side columns to the feature some 'celebs' are rounded up to say nice things about Reg. Along with Sam Taylor-Wood ,Rod Stewart , Rufus Wainwright and
(football manager) Graham Taylor , Elvis is somehow roped in .
Elvis Costello:
OMM: What makes Elton special?
His joy, his knowledge of the musical past, and an
impressive curiosity for new music; he knows much more
about new releases than many more self-consciously hip
artists.
What's your favourite song of his?
It changes all the time. One of the more well-known
titles would be 'Sorry ...' I heard Ray Charles do it
two years ago and it knocked everyone out and made me
want to sing it myself. 'Tiny Dancer' has an amazing
stucture, too, and a great lift to the chorus. These
songs are hard! There are a couple of melodies on the
new record which are up there with his best,
particularly 'My Elusive Drug' and 'Turn the Lights
Out'. Full of unexpected changes. I also love some of
those delicate songs from way back, such as 'Come Down
in Time' or 'Sixty Years On'...
What is he like as a friend?
Elton (and David) have been very loving friends to my
wife in the past few years; we have no words to
describe their kindness to us as a couple. It is
amazing that anyone who works so hard could find time
to check in on friends not doing so well or simply to
be so gracious, courteous and wickedly humoured. This
life often makes people much more selfish.
The great Steve Earle pays his respects:
"How different would your music be now if you'd made it all the way to CBGB?I missed the punk thing when it started. I was living in Mexico. But I was up in Austin, staying with a friend, and someone said the Sex Pistols were playing at Randy's Rodeo in San Antonio, which was a block from where I grew up. I rode with them, and it was an awful gig. Sid Vicious got hit with a bottle in the second song. He just staggered around and bled for the rest of the night. But on that same trip, I went by the house of another friend in Austin, and he said, "You gotta hear this." It was My Aim Is True, by Elvis Costello. I went, "OK, now I know why I need an electric guitar." There would have been no Guitar Town without that."
For UK fans, Elvis featured in a BBC2 TV Documentary about Emmylou Harris aired Friday 3rd September at 11.35pm (hopefully there will be repeats)
The film also features, among others, Keith Richards, Steve Earle, Linda Ronstadt and Willie Nelson. It contains unseen footage of Emmylou performing with Gram Parsons - her mentor and one of EC's heroes.
(Submitted by Paul Bernays)
Rolling Stone reports that Mick Jones has found tapes which
"contain demo versions of fifteen songs that would end up on the band's classic London Calling, plus six unreleased songs, including a cover of Bob Dylan's "Man in Me."The Vanilla Tapes have long been legend among fans -- now they will be released for the first time as part of a three-disc package to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of London Calling, due out on September 21st. The package contains the remastered original album and a DVD with interviews and footage of the London Calling sessions.
Elvis has rejoined the missus on her tour , as this account on a Krall fan forum tells -
Saratoga Mountain Winery
Diana stopped to talk at this point to introduce her next song that she "wrote with one of my favorite composers, Elvis Costello", and who happened to be off to the side in the audience sitting with Michelle (Krall). At that point everyone chuckled and someone shouted "Hi Elvis!!" which Diana quipped, "Hey - this is supposed to be all about me." Everyone laughed pretty hard and with an aw shucks kind of comment she said "I'm just jokin'."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe at one of these following gigs he may finally join her on stage , as opposed to all those charity/ceremonial shows-
July
21 : Saratoga, CA - Moutain Winery
23 : Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
24-25 : Woodinville, WA - Chateau Ste. Michelle
August - 2004
10 : Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Theater
11 : Minneapolis, MN - Northrop Auditorium
13 : Kansas City, MO - Midland Theatre
14 : Saint Louis, MO - Fox Theater
15 : Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace Theatre
17-18 : Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theater
20 : Toledo, OH - Stranahan Theater
21 : Detroit, MI - Fox Theater
22 : Pittsburgh, PA - Heinz Hall
24 : New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
The New York Times asks Lucinda to think about Dylan:
"Bobby Dylan, for all the years of being influenced by your humor, your wit, your brilliance and your sweet-ass attitude, thank you." - By Lucinda Williams
Singer/songwriter Stuart Davis, known on the indie circuit for his
Buddhist-Muslim-Hindu-Taoist-Jew-Christian-infused brand of biting pop/folk,
has released an online studio album of Elvis Costello covers.
STUART'S ALBUM NOTES FOR "DAVIS DOES ELVIS"
i first fell in love with elvis when i heard Other Side Of Summer on the
radio. he sang "Was it a millionaire who said 'imagine no possessions'?" i
was laughing and alarmed at the same time. did he just take a shot at the
sacrosanct John Lennon?, i wondered. shortly after that i owned almost
everything he'd ever released. although this bootleg tribute album doesn't
really reflect it, i'm as crazy for his later material as i am for the early
years. to me songs like This Is Hell (Brutal Youth), 20% Amnesia (Brutal
Youth), Poor Fractured Atlas (All This Useless Beauty), and pretty much
everything from the CD Mighty Like A Rose are perfect, but on this recording
i ended up just throwing together songs that translated at least somewhat to
acoustic guitar and voice. plus it's just a bootleg recording, meant to be
a fun little salute to one of my heros. as some may remember, for a while i
was opening up for myself on tour as Elvis Costello, i would dress up in a
suit, put the glasses on, use a sharpie marker to color in a gap in my front
teeth, and then hit the stage and do six or seven Elvis tunes (that's the
source of the photos on the album artwork), then get off, change clothes and
come back out as Stuart Davis. it was the inversion of my fantasy, opening
for Elvis. no such luck yet. this little bootleg is just my way of having a
good time and saying thanks to one of the greatest songwriters i've ever
heard. i've spent many hundreds of hours enrapt in the mystery of Elvis.
he's had many incarnations as an artist, sometimes they didn't work, but
he's still as cool as shit after it's said and done. what is it with England
anyway? the Beatles, XTC, and Elvis, all from that little island. if Bach
weren't German, one might suspect a conspiracy theory...
Steve Nieve has responded to these questions
on his site`s messageboard ( password is...`password`!)-
Was it unnerving to be so close to the audience? Did
it affect your concentration? What percentage of what
you're doing with the new songs is spur-of-the-moment
inspirational experimentation and how much is what you
already have fixed in your mind in terms of your ideas
about what your contributions to the arrangements
should be? Any other insights that you're willing to
share r.e. your give-and-take with Elvis during these
initial points of the composition? (So many questions
- sorry).
Steve`s response -
Being so close to the audience reminded me of the
early days, but playing all new material (well
almost), I didn't have time to think about it, or let
it bother me. My contributions to the arrangements are
a mixture of experimentation and parts neccessarilly
fixed in stone. I think that's the nature of the
element that the 'keyboards' take up in the overall
picture. Also I'm playing a lot of machines where the
output has an element of chance: moog filters and
modulators, the theremin for example. The drums and
bass, once a decision has been taken on the direction
of a song, have to stay within that decision. For the
guitar and keyboards, there are more choices. Still
E.C. is open to the initial decision about a song
being re-evaluated, and so everyone is equally
involved in creative choices. After the 'notes' of a
song are more or less decided on, there are countless
decisions, which bass guitar, which amplifier, which
snare drum etc etc. And on top of that, inspiration is
allowed in all quaters, not just from the band but
also the production team. The studio here is very
special, and the way we are set up inside very
unusual. Just one detail will explain: we have the
same sound system we used in the club set up in the
studio, there are no headphones in sight. If we need
to replace a line of vocal or overdub a guitar, or
piano, the direct sound on tape goes back down through
the monitor speakers to re-create the 'spill' of the
live band on all the mics, as the overdub is recorded.
So even the overdubs have the sound of everyone
playing on them, and match up with the original.
That's clever. The Sweet Tea studio belongs to Dennis
Herring, who is obviously a very talented chap, loves
records and we are all enjoying working with him. He
has created an environment that welcomes inspiration,
and avoids completely the feeling that most studios
give: the terrible feeling of the recording button
being pressed, and you suddenly find the song
difficult to play. I can honestly say I didn't have
that feeling once yet
The Sunday Times (London) has a feature on Diana Krall , promoting her new album, that shows she is as able as Elvis as regards discussion of their private life.
Excerpt -
When Diana Krall embarked on a 'fearful experience' with her husband, Elvis Costello, there was no knowing it would produce her most exciting album yet.
Krall is clearly wary of her new album being received as a personal diary and nothing else. "Unfortunately," she says, "people are sort of writing more about that than the music, and that's new for me." Never the most expansive of interviewees, she sounds as if she views the task of promoting her new album as a particularly unwelcome and intrusive one. "All the talking," she begins. "You start overanalysing. You start to go, 'What the hell am I talking about? What am I doing this for?'"
Her reticence is surely also shyness, though it can suddenly bare its fangs. At one point, venturing to suggest that her collaboration with Costello must have been an intense experience for a new couple under the same roof, and hearing her verbal shutters begin their descent, I said that I didn't mean intense as in mad. "No," she barked back. "I don't either."
The Guardian (London) reports -
Excerpt - Ronan McManus was a year old when his half-brother
Declan - also known as Elvis Costello - released his
first album. Ronan grew up thinking of the distant
"Dec" as just another punk flailer, albeit one who
turned up to collect Christmas and birthday presents
("Dec likes getting presents; he's quite childish that
way"). Now, Ronan and his three siblings, who record
with their friend David Bowles under the name
Riverway, are discreetly refusing to mine the Costello
connection in the run-up to their own debut single,
Don't Start Me Off (released on April 12 on Kapow).
"I grew up seeing him on TV, and I guess it made the
music business seem attainable to us, because he did
it before our eyes," says Ronan about the man who
articulated the angst of a generation. The differences
between Costello and Riverway would make a fruitful
genetic study, with their contrasting feelings about
the music business filling several chapters. While the
young Costello came out armed with a Most Hated list
that included, well, just about everybody, Riverway
are "more easygoing, more of a team, and that comes
across in the music," says Ronan. "I suppose we're
pretty well-adjusted."
"Elvis had the angry-young-man thing going on," agrees
Ronan. "But the world was different then. Our approach
has always been different. Everyone had individual
stamps then, and it's harder to find that now." Well,
he said it.
Continue reading "Growing up with Elvis - his brother tells all" »
Unavailable by Clover...is now available!
Featuring frontman Huey Lewis who went on to form Huey Lewis And The News after Clovers split in 1980, Clover moved to the UK in 1976 from California,
signing to the Vertigo label and touring with a number of bands including Thin Lizzy, to establish themselves. Produced by Robert Mutt Lange [Def
Leppard, Shania Twain ] Unavailable has never been available on CD before .
This fine album, recorded around the time the lads were backing Elvis on MAIT, is finally available on cd. Completists only you may think - it's actually quite good.
Get it from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
( Submitted by Martin Foyle to the Costello Fan Forum )
.....in a video for her performance of the song.
The same link has links to extracts from other songs on her new album. Ticketmaster has listings for her forthcoming Canadian/U.S. shows.
Diana Krall talks about her new album and , of course , Elvis .
( extract)
( The writer imagines Ms Krall`s new
album/ life is a house )
But you cant stay in this melancholy place too long.
Move out to the hallway, and youll see a wedge of
light seeping through a crack in the door on the
right. Walk through, and youre in a room on Vancouver
Island, where Krall is at the piano, feeling out a
tune. Elvis Costello is out on the balcony sculpting
lyrics that will become another song on the new
record, "Abandoned Masquerade." Kralls left hand
twinkles with a large but tasteful diamond ring.
The two began dating before the Grammys last year,
then married in England in December. Observe them
together for a few minutes, and youll see two kids
besotted with each other, giggling over private jokes,
the world their playground. It is the only time,
except when she is onstage safely behind the piano,
losing herself in the middle of an improvisation
that Krall really lets go.
She laughs now about the fact that she wasnt that
familiar with Costellos music before they met.
"People would hate me for that: Argggh! How could she
not know everything? But because of that, I got to
know him as a person."
Naturally, shes come to respect her new husbands
songwriting craftsmanship. "Its pretty damn exciting
to be writing with Elvis Costello," she continues.
"Ive learned a lot. I feel almost like a 16-year-old
going through a learning process because hes pushed
me, and where I felt like I was going to give up I
cant do it, its frustrating, Im not good enough
hes like, No, lets just keep going. Well get it.
Its pretty wonderful to have that."
Next door is another room that houses Costellos own
music. His latest album, North, resonates with his
discovery of Krall and Canada. "Give me the ice and
snow/ Let me go north," he sings on the spartan title
track. She returns the sentiment on Girl, recording a
languorous and full-throated "Almost Blue," which
Costello originally wrote for Chet Baker. Kralls
version, which embraces the songs supple romantic
longing, begins with a quietly jaw-dropping
progression of complex harmonies she improvised after
soaking herself in Aaron Copland records.
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
Steve`s journal continues , right up to last night in Nashville.
(password : chronicle)
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 (thats 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, Im 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)
.....says the The Tennessean.
Nashvilles 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.''
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?)
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".
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.
Continue reading "Michael Ball covers God Give Me Strength" »
Elvis joins a cast of stellar guests on Los Lobos new album; "The Ride, out on May the 4th.
From RollingStone: "Costello, unable to join the band in the studio due to touring commitments, recorded a vocal for "Matter of Time" (originally on 1984's How Will the Wolf Survive) during a sound check in Oslo, Norway. "We'd be at the studio, just waiting for his package to arrive," Perez says. "It was like Christmas. We gathered around and put it on; it's a stunning performance." Also guesting is Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson and Garth Hudson.
(Submitted by Sverre Ronny Strum)
The Jan./Feb. issue of No Depression has a long feature on T-Bone Burnett. Besides the great news that a new album from Elvis` `brother` is on the way this comment about the success of the `O Brother..` album appears -
Shaken by the attacks of September 11...there can be little doubt that hearing music from the country music mountain-top soothed the souls of people who had gotten a glimpse of the bowels of hell.
"Elvis {Costello} said that `O Death` {sung a cappella by Stanley} was the truest response to the bombing that had come from the arts," said Burnett. "That`s true even though it was actually done before 9-11. It was an unconscious thing."
From a 1995 Dylan interview:
"Q: But how do you feel about the idea of a rock hall of fame itself?
A: Nothing surprises me anymore. It's a perfect time for anything to happen."
"Q: Across the Atlantic is a fellow named Elvis Costello, who, after you, takes a lot of shelf space in my stereo. Both of you are prolific, turn out distinctive albums each time, have great imagery have a lot to say and so on. Is there any reason that in all the years I've never seen your names or faces together?
A: It's funny you should mention that. He just played four or five shows with me in London and Paris. He was doing a lot of new songs, playing them by himself He was doing his thing. So you to be there."
And for any Dylan fans a fantastic interview with Larry Charles about Dylan and Masked and Anonymous - Coming on DVD Feb 17!
The Brodsky Quartet will be warming up for their February dates with Elvis in the U.S. by doing some of his songs in a concert in Holland on Jan.30th.
Friday 30 January 2004, 7.00 & 9.00 pm
Holland, Concertgebouw Amsterdam
Brodsky Song Show
Sjon / Nott Anna and the Moods
Django Bates How the string quartet came to exist
Songs by Costello, Bjork and others
Jaqueline Dankworth, singer
Vincent van de Berg, narrator
Rafer Guzmn writes in Newsday (New York)
"Norah Jones' piano-jazz debut "Come Away With Me" sold more than 7 million copies and earned a slew of Grammys. Now, the breathy singer is poised for another attack, with a second album in February. But in April, she'll have competition from chanteuse Diana Krall, who's enlisted new hubby Elvis Costello on her latest disc. Let the war for the adult contemporary airwaves begin!
NORAH JONES
Label Blue Note
Albums So Far 1
Grammys 8
New Disc Untitled
Producer Arif Mardin (Aretha Franklin, Jewel)
Musicians The Band's Levon Helm and Garth Hudson
Power Celebs Dolly Parton sings on one track.
We Predict Potentially rootsy feel may win Jones new fans.
DIANA KRALL
Label Verve
Albums So Far 7
Grammys 2
New Disc "The Girl in the Other Room"
Producer Tommy LiPuma (Barbra Streisand, Al Jarreau)
Musicians Jazz ringers Christian McBride and Peter Erskine
Power Celebs Elvis Costello co-writes six songs.
We Predict Costello may help middlebrow Krall pull in the hipster crowd.
Details of the new Diana Krall album have appeared.
'The Girl in the Other Room,' the first album by acclaimed artist Diana Krall to feature her original compositions, will be released April 27, 2004, by Verve Records. The record, Krall's eighth,includes six songs co-written by Krall and Elvis Costello.
In addition, Krall offers her interpretations of Mose Allison's "Stop this World," Tom Waits' "Temptation," Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow," and Costello's "Almost Blue," along with "Love Me Like a Man" (made popular by Bonnie Raitt) and "I'm Pulling Through" (made popular by Billie Holiday)."Temptation" will be released in March as the album's first single.
'The Girl in the Other Room' was co-produced by Krall and three-time Grammy winner Tommy LiPuma. Musicians Anthony Wilson (guitar), Christian McBride(bass), John Clayton (bass), Peter Erskine (drums), Jeff Hamilton (drums), and Terry Lyne Carrington (drums) back Krall's piano and vocals.
Diana Krall - 'The Girl in the Other Room' track listing:
1. "Stop This World" (Mose Allison)
2. "The Girl in the Other Room" (music and lyrics by Diana Krall and Elvis Costello)
3. "Temptation" (Tom Waits)
4. "Almost Blue" (Elvis Costello)
5. "I've Changed My Address" (music by Diana Krall, lyrics by Diana Krall and Elvis Costello)
6. "Love Me Like a Man" (Smither)
7. "I'm Pulling Through" (Herzog)
8. "Black Crow" (Joni Mitchell)
9. "Narrow Daylight" (music by Diana Krall, lyrics by Diana Krall and Elvis Costello)
10. "Abandoned Masquerade" (music by Diana Krall, lyrics by Elvis Costello)
11. "I'm Coming Through" (music by Diana Krall, lyrics by Diana Krall and Elvis Costello)
12. "Departure Bay" (music by Diana Krall, lyrics by Diana Krall and Elvis Costello)
Former Attraction Bruce Thomas has just published On The Road...Again , a memoir of his activities in the 1990s. This includes his time back with Elvis and co. from 1993 to 1996. Little really is told about Elvis but we learn a lot about some pretty crazy things Bruce got up to. Contrary man that he is he finishes the book with a fake review of it that concludes
` This is the story of a man suffering from `the Diana syndrome` - someone with too much time on his hands and just enough money to indulge himself. While he conceitedly casts himself in the role of some kind of astral superhero connected to all life itself , he is actually becoming ever more introspective and isolated.
Those who know will take into account his divorce, and his other failed relationships , and worry that what is going on here is a little sadder and a lot more mundane than he , himself , realizes.
The author may well be `on the road again`. But is it a road that`s on anyone else`s map? `
Stuart Davis will be releasing an EP of Elvis Costello covers sometimes in mid-January. You can get a bit of a preview of his take on Beyond Belief, because Stu performed it live on a recent radio appearance. This is not one of the studio versions for the EP, this is just a live run through on a radio show.
(Submitted by Will)
LENNON VIDEO EXCLUSIVES TODAY ONLY
11 John Lennon videos. 24 hours only. Location Links Below.
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A report on the first night of the Bruce Holiday Series. (Elvis is a potential guest at an upcoming show).
"Other surprises included Springsteen's hard-rocking "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," written by Nick Lowe and popularized by Elvis Costello; and Van Zandt's earnest version of the Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)." Drawing from his own catalog, Springsteen pulled "None But the Brave" and From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)" from the rarities disc of his recent anthology, "The Essential Bruce Springsteen"; and "Thundercrack," "Seaside Bar Song" and "The Wish" from "Tracks," his 1998 boxed set of previously unreleased material and B-sides."
Solomon Burke was on 60-Minutes last night, with a brief Elvis Costello name-check. Good segment. Here's the written version.
"The music business may be cruel, but it's also irresistible. So last year, after a 30-year hiatus, he jumped at the chance to make a new album with songs written for him as a tribute by such giants as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello."
"Nor should we forget the Elvises - both of them. Burton led Presley's backing band from 1969 until his death in 1977, and says he was sitting at his desk at home in California one day when he picked the telephone and heard a voice say "James, this is Elvis Costello". "I nearly dropped the phone." He toured Australia with Costello in 1987 after playing on his album, King of America.
And the Elvis? "I was with him 'til he died," says Burton, who was in Australia in 1999 with the Elvis, The Concert virtual-reality show, featuring the King on giant video screens. He returns this week with Presley's Taking Care of Business (TCB) Band - Jerry Scheff (bass), Glenn D. Hardin (piano) and Ronnie Tutt (drums) - and Australian singer Mick Gerace, who starred in the show, Intimate and Rare/In the Spirit of Elvis."
The Losers Lounge celebrates its 10th anniversary in December with a special tribute to Burt Bacharach. The show, which takes place in New York City at Fez under Time Cafe on Dec. 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12, will feature 30 Bacharach compositions--both famous and obscurities--performed by an all-star lineup of New York music scensters.
`New York music scensters`- sounds like Elvis....
The first article ever written about Bob Dylan - New York Times, Sept. 1961.
You've probably heard that Burt is fooling around again. EC's name has appeared in many reviews, and here's another: "This collaboration revives Bacharach in a way the Elvis Costello pairing Painted by Memory could not. Where Costello's voice is a limited instrument, Isley is one of the most underrated of the '60s soul childrenhis velvety mid-range and tender falsetto have remained a staple of basement seductions and slow-jam radio for generations."
Wanda Jackson has really got fond of the new Elvis in her life.
`She has just released Heart Trouble, her first album in 15 years, revealing an influence so wide that the CD includes a duet with a different Elvis -- the one surnamed Costello.
Wendell (Wendell Goodman , Wanda`s husband) grouses, "I've got a new Elvis in my life."
But she smiles and tells him, "It's a good thing you've got such a good ego." `
`Elvis Costello insisted on meeting Wanda rather than dubbing in his voice for their duet, the old country standard Crying Time. Before recording the song, she vaguely recognized his name. Now she compares him to "a comfortable old pair of shoes." `
.....if Elvis wasn`t having enough hassle with bass guitarists , former Attraction bassist Bruce Thomas` follow up memoir to The Big Wheel - On The Road Again - appears to be finally available. In it Bruce will write about his return to Attraction duty in the 1990`s - along with what he`s been up to over the years. It`s publication has been delayed from this past summer by the minor fact that Bruce hadn`t got around to finishing it .
Johnny Cash Memorial Tribute: A Celebration of Friends and Family
Will be retelecast Friday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. ET/PT on CMT.
"The CMT tribute special features performances by members of the Cash family and diverse music artists including Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., Rodney Crowell, Marty Stuart, Brooks & Dunn, Travis Tritt and Steve Earle. Award-winning actor and director Tim Robbins, a life-long Cash fan, hosted the emotional evening. Former Vice President Al Gore spoke of Cash's humanity.
Highlights from the CMT special include Rosanne Cash's poignant performance of "I Still Miss Someone," Crow's rendition of the Trent Reznor penned and now Cash classic "Hurt" and Brooks & Dunn and Carlene Carter's salute to "Jackson." Bono, Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Charles, Reznor and Dan Rather reflected on Cash's life in taped messages."
Excerpt: "This once-in-a-decade talent brought a crowd of more than 4,000 to George Washington University's Smith Center on Saturday night. The White Stripes -- Jack and his ex-wife, Meg White, who plays drums -- are the most heartening musical story of 2003, and their ascent marks one of those rare and wondrous moments when you look at the Billboard charts and think: Sometimes the system works....The reality is that if the White Stripes played the very same set in a tiny venue, you'd probably quit your job and follow the band for the rest of your life...."
The lovely Laura Cantrell has been talking about touring with Elvis in 2002.
Joshua Jabcuga: Elvis Costello asked you to open for
him for 17 shows on his 2002 tour. What did you learn
from touring with him?
Laura Cantrell: Well, it was a great learning
experience just showing up as we had to do a lot of
things in a professional way that we had never done
before. But in terms of watching Elvis do that many
shows in a row was so revelatory. I had no idea the
man still rocked so hard with his version of the
Attractions, now called the Imposters. He was amazing,
sang from his gut for hours, pulled songs out of the
air and made his audience go berserk. I had really
only seen him perform as a duo with
Steve Nieve so I had no idea it would be so intense.
He really maintains a relationship with his audience
through the music itself.
A benefit concert , composed of covers of Costello songs , happens in Indianapolis , Indiana , U.S. tonight , Nov.21.
Under the name Tonic Ball Two , the basic details are:
Featuring: Otis Gibbs, the Pieces, Bigger Than
Elvis, Jennie DeVoe, Danny Flanigan, the Retreads,
Saraswati and others performing the songs of Elvis
Costello.
When: 8 p.m. today.
Where: Radio Radio, 1119 E. Prospect St.
Tickets: $18. For more information, visit the Tonic Ball Web site.
The proposed setlist is :
Ann McWilliams - Alison
Otis Gibbs - Whats So Funny
danny flanigan and the rain chorus - Man Out Of Time
Matt Boyer - So Like Candy and Kinder Murder
The Retreads - No Action
Saraswati - Senior Service
Joel Henderson - Whats Her Name Today?
Yoko Moment - Red Shoes
Blackberry Jam - Watching The Detectives
Bluenote Trio - Almost Blue
Deano and the Distractions - Veronica
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are there too.
"Much like Elvis Costello in his punk days, Jack White is using primitivism to convey something broad and deep. Right now, it looks like there's no end to where he can go. " - NY Daily News
Amen.
The great RT in interview and song.
CMT will televise the memorial celebration for Johnny Cash on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Taping of the concert, titled the Johnny Cash Memorial Tribute, will take place on Nov. 10 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Artists already lined up to perform include the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Kris Kristofferson, Rosanne Cash, Larry Gatlin, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, George Jones, John Mellencamp, Hank Williams Jr., Jack Clement, Marty Stuart, Jimmy Tittle and Johnny Western."
Detailed article about the concert Here
The show is on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 8 p.m. ET/PT, reprising on Sunday (Nov. 16) at 2 p.m. ET/PT. CMT.com will feature coverage of the telecast throughout the week.
Since reviewers never lie or write for dramatic effect :-)
"Hearts of Oak" s