Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1989: Difference between revisions
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It's all unmistakable, undiminished Elvis in its tunefulness, in its revelations of character and situation through metaphor, in its downbeat political observations and in its main musical precincts: British pop-rock, Celtic folk and cocktail/torch music. Familiar, true, but Costello restlessly advances it all into fresh territory. | It's all unmistakable, undiminished Elvis in its tunefulness, in its revelations of character and situation through metaphor, in its downbeat political observations and in its main musical precincts: British pop-rock, Celtic folk and cocktail/torch music. Familiar, true, but Costello restlessly advances it all into fresh territory. | ||
His major step was hiring on the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the tradition-bending New Orleans hornblowers whose sweetly sour voicings provide both avant-garde edge and evocations of a timeless rural South — sort of Otis Redding meets George Gershwin. Whether oblique funk, Band-like soul or a wild '30s cartoon big-band spook-house workout with Costello's Irish lineup, the Dirty Dozen emerge by a nose as | His major step was hiring on the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the tradition-bending New Orleans hornblowers whose sweetly sour voicings provide both avant-garde edge and evocations of a timeless rural South — sort of Otis Redding meets George Gershwin. Whether oblique funk, Band-like soul or a wild '30s cartoon big-band spook-house workout with Costello's Irish lineup, the Dirty Dozen emerge by a nose as <i>Spike</i>'s predominant presence. | ||
Costello mixes and matches other players to keep things moving. On "...This Town...," Roger McGuinn and Paul McCartney contribute to a richly textured pop-rock tapestry, full of starburst chimes and unexpected melodic alleys. In "God's Comic," a crew that includes bassist Buell Neidlinger lays out a cocktail shuffle behind a sly, restrained vocal in this account of a decidedly strange visit with God. | Costello mixes and matches other players to keep things moving. On "...This Town...," Roger McGuinn and Paul McCartney contribute to a richly textured pop-rock tapestry, full of starburst chimes and unexpected melodic alleys. In "God's Comic," a crew that includes bassist Buell Neidlinger lays out a cocktail shuffle behind a sly, restrained vocal in this account of a decidedly strange visit with God. |