I find myself from time to time, rediscovering different songs from older Costello albums, or seeing them in an entirely different light. A few weeks ago, I rediscovered a bunch of stuff that I overlooked on B&C, and before that, Spike and MLAR. I thought I would share this week’s rediscovery with everyone.
This week’s rediscovery is Town Cryer. I have always appreciated the production of IB as a masterpiece, IMO, but not this song in particular. Prior to this past week, I must have listened to the song for the lyrics and missed the production of the song, because I don’t remember the song gripping me so much before. The song starts simple with piano and progresses to a full-blown orchestra arrangement.
Has anyone else rediscovered an EC song or songs like this?
Rediscovering Songs
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HolyCoatAndHat
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Mr. Average
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Well, since you asked, and I was just thinking about it last night...
I am in process of rediscovering Trust through an entirely different cognitive lens.
I purchased and embraced the first 8 elvis costello albums in the perfect order of their release, and waited anxiously for each new record to hit the bins (in the days of vinyl, and I worked in a record store). The musical cocktails that EC served up after Armed Forces left the impression of an artist who was searching wildly to discover a niche (recall, these are impressions from the late 70's early 80's). Get Happy, Trust, Almost Blue, Taking Liberties (B-sides) and Imperial Bedroom, then Punch the Clock had my head swirling, because I both wanted him to stay in the MAIT/TYM era, yet I was mystified by what he was doing along the way. My friends all panned Get Happy as trash, and I liked it, so there was something terribly wrong with me, or so I thought.
Trust intrigued at the time because I was a huge fan of Squeeze and I love the duet he does with Tilbrook on "From a Whisper to a Scream". But at the time, I wanted more of that, and it wasn't until Imperial Bedroom that I felt that I had really grown into Elvis. About that time, however, I began to grow away with subsequent releases, because I felt that he had peaked with IB, and was taking 13 steps down into rock star hasbeendom with each subsequent record. Again, this has to be taken in the context of ordering...taking his music as it came, temporally, and not having the ability to pick and choose era's of his creative genius.
With the reissue of Trust, and a sort of retrograde analysis ability afforded by the reissues, I have come to a new appreciation for the songs of Trust, the ordering of the songs on the record, and the continued evolution of one of the greatest songwriters of our time.
So for me, I am rediscovering Trust, and I look forward to doing the same thing with Punch the Clock. For some reason, I could not listen to King of America when it originally was released, so I am hoping for a similar epiphany of sorts with this reissue.
Since you asked...
I am in process of rediscovering Trust through an entirely different cognitive lens.
I purchased and embraced the first 8 elvis costello albums in the perfect order of their release, and waited anxiously for each new record to hit the bins (in the days of vinyl, and I worked in a record store). The musical cocktails that EC served up after Armed Forces left the impression of an artist who was searching wildly to discover a niche (recall, these are impressions from the late 70's early 80's). Get Happy, Trust, Almost Blue, Taking Liberties (B-sides) and Imperial Bedroom, then Punch the Clock had my head swirling, because I both wanted him to stay in the MAIT/TYM era, yet I was mystified by what he was doing along the way. My friends all panned Get Happy as trash, and I liked it, so there was something terribly wrong with me, or so I thought.
Trust intrigued at the time because I was a huge fan of Squeeze and I love the duet he does with Tilbrook on "From a Whisper to a Scream". But at the time, I wanted more of that, and it wasn't until Imperial Bedroom that I felt that I had really grown into Elvis. About that time, however, I began to grow away with subsequent releases, because I felt that he had peaked with IB, and was taking 13 steps down into rock star hasbeendom with each subsequent record. Again, this has to be taken in the context of ordering...taking his music as it came, temporally, and not having the ability to pick and choose era's of his creative genius.
With the reissue of Trust, and a sort of retrograde analysis ability afforded by the reissues, I have come to a new appreciation for the songs of Trust, the ordering of the songs on the record, and the continued evolution of one of the greatest songwriters of our time.
So for me, I am rediscovering Trust, and I look forward to doing the same thing with Punch the Clock. For some reason, I could not listen to King of America when it originally was released, so I am hoping for a similar epiphany of sorts with this reissue.
Since you asked...
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
I agree with you both. For me the reissues really open up new avenues of appreciation and enrichment. Town Cryer is stunning. Hearing the early versions on IB is really a revelation, not least the slow, sexy and low Kid About It, which gets me every time.
In the same way my appreciation often deepens on hearing Elvis do stuff live, especially of a new record that I've lived with for maybe a month or two before the tour rolls in to town, something just clicks in how he expresses the song on that night and it cuts a little deeper. This was especially true of Spike and ATUB.
I listen to the Costello/Nieve versions of PFM more than the original LP for some reason. Maybe it's something about the space and drama he puts into live performance. I do always come away with new insight and thinking 'wow, that guy is really committed to what he does!' A particular oldie in the set might set me off on a whole new trail of rediscovery.
In the same way my appreciation often deepens on hearing Elvis do stuff live, especially of a new record that I've lived with for maybe a month or two before the tour rolls in to town, something just clicks in how he expresses the song on that night and it cuts a little deeper. This was especially true of Spike and ATUB.
I listen to the Costello/Nieve versions of PFM more than the original LP for some reason. Maybe it's something about the space and drama he puts into live performance. I do always come away with new insight and thinking 'wow, that guy is really committed to what he does!' A particular oldie in the set might set me off on a whole new trail of rediscovery.
Hi, thanks for your welcome Misha. With Elvis's music you have to go away to come back and rediscover. His musical tastes have broadened my outlook a lot and set me off on some great paths of discovery: Mose Allison is one who springs straight to mind. I keep meaning to go back through EC's millenium music list from Vanity Fair, when I've enough money to buy even a fraction of what he recomends!