Sewanee University Purple, October 13, 1983: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Costello's latest not up to par </h3></center> | <center><h3> Costello's latest not up to par </h3></center> | ||
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I heard Elvis Costello's ''Punch The Clock'' this summer and was initially disappointed. I still can't give an ironclad recommendation on it. I've tried to understand the new sound, the horns and ooo-wah back-ups, but it's difficult. In hopes of finding "the essence from within," I re-read some of his past interviews and the current reviews of his latest. I found that I was in agreement with the critics who referred to ''Punch The Clock'' as "awkward" and "confused," but there is no room for the fans who scream "sell-out" just because Costello no longer does the angry young man routine. In a ''New York Rocker'' interview, the so-called tortured artist complained, "I'm writing from the viewpoint of a moderately successful musician," and not "a 22-year-old computer programmer." True, unlike past Elvis album covers, the Elvis seen on the new LP is not in an angst-ridden pose or with the black nerd glasses. His expression is tough to read, though. Is he glaring at you, contemplating the world, or is he just plain bored? | I heard Elvis Costello's ''Punch The Clock'' this summer and was initially disappointed. I still can't give an ironclad recommendation on it. I've tried to understand the new sound, the horns and ooo-wah back-ups, but it's difficult. In hopes of finding "the essence from within," I re-read some of his past interviews and the current reviews of his latest. I found that I was in agreement with the critics who referred to ''Punch The Clock'' as "awkward" and "confused," but there is no room for the fans who scream "sell-out" just because Costello no longer does the angry young man routine. In a ''New York Rocker'' interview, the so-called tortured artist complained, "I'm writing from the viewpoint of a moderately successful musician," and not "a 22-year-old computer programmer." True, unlike past Elvis album covers, the Elvis seen on the new LP is not in an angst-ridden pose or with the black nerd glasses. His expression is tough to read, though. Is he glaring at you, contemplating the world, or is he just plain bored? | ||
(Are ya gonna talk about the album or what?) O.K., ''Punch The Clock'' has a few well-crafted songs suitable for | (Are ya gonna talk about the album or what?) O.K., ''Punch The Clock'' has a few well-crafted songs suitable for AOR airplay, most notably "Everyday I Write The Book," "T.K.O.," and "The King of Thieves." But sit down and listen to the whole thing and you'll begin to loathe the Muzak brass section a la Chicago, like on "Let Them All Talk" and "The World and His Wife." You will also find a sappy piano plinking away that becomes increasingly irritating, especially on "Love Went Mad." Somewhat like David Bowie, Costello should be admired for his adventures into various musical genres, but many times he returns with quirky ditties that don't hold a Bic lighter to his past accomplishments. The trademark cynicism and wit still holds true in his lyrics, but much of Costello's paranoid poetry and clever wordplay falls short of forming a cohesive song. | ||
Exceptions to the above would have to be "Pills and Soap" and "Shipbuilding". Both are eloquently simple in presentation and each concerns protests against war, (specifically Britain's involvement in the Faulkland Island's). The lyrics, ''"Give us our daily bread in individual slices / and something in the daily rag to cancel any crisis,"'' and ''"With all the will in the world / diving for dear life / when we could be diving for pearls"'' poignantly express a nation's troubles, without the political hoopla of say the Clash or U2. Appropriately, both songs did extremely well in the British charts. | Exceptions to the above would have to be "Pills and Soap" and "Shipbuilding". Both are eloquently simple in presentation and each concerns protests against war, (specifically Britain's involvement in the Faulkland Island's). The lyrics, ''"Give us our daily bread in individual slices / and something in the daily rag to cancel any crisis,"'' and ''"With all the will in the world / diving for dear life / when we could be diving for pearls"'' poignantly express a nation's troubles, without the political hoopla of say the Clash or U2. Appropriately, both songs did extremely well in the British charts. |
Latest revision as of 01:34, 25 February 2016
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