Audio, February 1982

Bibliography   72 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UK & Ireland weeklies UK & Ireland magazines UK & Ireland newspapers US newspapers US rock magazines US music magazines US magazines US alternative weeklies European magazines European newspapers Canada  •  Mexico  •  Asia Australia  •  New Zealand South America  •  Africa Blogs  •  Fanzines  •  Books Online publications Audio   1977 August 1978 January 1978 August 1979 May 1979 September 1979 November 1980 July 1981 February 1982 February 1982 November 1983 November 1984 August 1986 June 1987 January 1989 June 1993 November 1994 June 1996 August US music magazines  Absolute Sound Acoustic Guitar Alternative Press American Songwriter Amplifier Audio Bass Magazine Bass Player The Beat Billboard Blender BMG Discovery Cash Box CBS Broadcast Newsletter CD Review CMJ New Music Monthly Columbia House Discoveries DownBeat Drum! Elmore Magazine Filter Gavin Report Goldmine Guitar Player Guitar World Harp High Fidelity Hits Hot Wacks Quarterly ICE International Bluegrass Jazziz JazzTimes Keyboard M Music & Musicians Mix Modern Drummer Modern Recording & Music Music Connection Music Market Music World New Music Scene No Depression OffBeat Optic Music Option Performing Songwriter Playback Pulse! The Quake Radio & Records Ray Gun Record Review Record World R.E.P. Seattle Sound Magazine Songwriter Connection SoundWaves Stereo Review Stereophile Stomp And Stammer The Street Sweet Potato Under The Radar Vibe Vinyl Propaganda — Almost Blue Elvis Costello & The Attractions Jon and Sally Tiven Sound: A Performance: B- Why country? Elvis' record label hasn't had much success in the United States selling him to an audience outside of the FM rock cultists, which is good for 200,000 or 300,000 in sales but is nothing compared to Journey, Styx, or Foreigner. He has not been able to connect with a hit single via the normal pop route, and as country music seems to have as much space on the AM band as rock, it could be interpreted as a shrewd move for Elvis to have recorded an album of country standards and not-so-standards. But let us not ignore the fact that Elvis' early demos and recordings had a strong C&W tinge to them, and he is able to approach the genre with the genuine passion of an alkie. Thus we have Almost Blue, Mr. Costello's first album featuring all non-original compositions and a producer other than Nick Lowe. It also marks the return of Doobie Bro' John McFee guesting on lead guitar and pedal steel, and though his contribution may not be as awe-inspiring as his playing on My Aim Is True, it certainly adds a nice touch But let's not beat around the bush. While Almost Blue may not be as downright awful as Costello's last LP, Hurt, it isn't the kind of record that you're bound to come back to time and again. It's got some nice things on it, and Elvis sings well on this sort of stuff, but its a curiosity item much like the single "Stranger in the House" except longer. When Bob Dylan went country on Nashville Skyline it was more or less a mindblowing oddity, but Dylan wrote his own cornpone rather than reaching into Hank Williams' and George Jones' catalogs. What's more, that precedent was set a long time ago, and since then many artists have crossed over the line from country to rock and vice versa; there's simply no great surprise here. So what you keep reminding yourself is that this is a marketing gimmick rather than a definitive work. A good country album, perhaps, but for Elvis Costello — allegedly one of the great songwriters of our day currently in a slump — this is simply an all-too-obvious digression. << >> Audio, February 1982 Jon and Sally Tiven review Almost Blue. Images Page scan. Photo by Keith Morris. Cover.

External links

• Wikipedia: Audio (magazine)
• americanradiohistory.com