Creem, September 1984: Difference between revisions
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All right, enough about what ''Goodbye Cruel World'' isn't? Well, except for "Peace In Our Time," it has the most side-twoish side two of any EC LP yet: songs such as "[[Joe Porterhouse]]" and "[[Sour Milk-Cow Blues]]" are the kinds of things that were floating around on EPs and flips of singles until collated on ''Taking Liberties''. The album also continues Costello's explorations into waltz time (no contemporary pop composer save Sondheim has taken us for so many waltzes), and the elegant romanticism it implies contrasts nicely with his unsparing observations of domestic strife. As far as I can recall, [[Worthless Thing|this]] is the first time Elvis II has gone on record re Elvis I, and he also [[The Deportees Club|mentions]] Frank Sinatra, who, by the way, should be diving head first into the Elvis II songbook ("Kid About It," "Almost Blue" and "The Only Flame In Town," just for starters) instead of bothering with Alan & Marilyn Bergman. | All right, enough about what ''Goodbye Cruel World'' isn't? Well, except for "Peace In Our Time," it has the most side-twoish side two of any EC LP yet: songs such as "[[Joe Porterhouse]]" and "[[Sour Milk-Cow Blues]]" are the kinds of things that were floating around on EPs and flips of singles until collated on ''Taking Liberties''. The album also continues Costello's explorations into waltz time (no contemporary pop composer save Sondheim has taken us for so many waltzes), and the elegant romanticism it implies contrasts nicely with his unsparing observations of domestic strife. As far as I can recall, [[Worthless Thing|this]] is the first time Elvis II has gone on record re Elvis I, and he also [[The Deportees Club|mentions]] Frank Sinatra, who, by the way, should be diving head first into the Elvis II songbook ("Kid About It," "Almost Blue" and "The Only Flame In Town," just for starters) instead of bothering with Alan & Marilyn Bergman. | ||
''"I hung up the phone tonight / Just as you said 'I love you' / Once this would have been coincidence / Now these things start to bother me."'' Lovely. The melodies glide like Hans Brinker | ''"I hung up the phone tonight / Just as you said 'I love you' / Once this would have been coincidence / Now these things start to bother me."'' Lovely. The melodies glide like Hans Brinker, while the ice is about to crack. He's loquacious and audacious (see, it's contagious), and his antennae are always out to catch bullying intimidations, political or emotional (or cultural: some people have already called "Worthless Thing" his anti-MTV diatribe; I'm not so sure, but I wouldn't dismiss the interpretation). Like ''Punch The Clock'', ''Goodbye Cruel World'' is a jumble, lacking the focus of his best works (albums 1 through 4 and 8 on my scorecard), and much of it goes kablooey. My advice is to disregard the sideshow and concentrate on what's going on in the center ring. | ||
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Revision as of 21:33, 6 May 2015
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