The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Pretty self-explanatory
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sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
JPadoo
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by JPadoo »

Much too soon to know whether TBNI is an all time EC record. However, it IS a damn good record, with at least 6 tracks I would add to an updated EC playlist.I would certainly not hesitate to say that it feels like it has long term staying power, as it continues to impress and amaze with each listen. So, yes, I understand the excitement most of us are expressing up to this point. I mean how rare IS it that a musician 45 years into his or her career makes a record this vital? And f I HAD to rank it at this point I believe it’s without a doubt in the top 7.
Hawksmoor
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by Hawksmoor »

Fishfinger king wrote:That’s trying to avoid hyperbole!!!!?
It’s an extremely good album and more than we deserve at 67. EC album of the millennium? Fair enough. But better than This Year’s Model, Get Happy!!, Imperial Bedroom and King of America? There are no duds on Boy Named If - all solid 7 to 8/10 tracks. However no 9s or 10s really imho.
Ha! The 'trying to avoid hyperbole' was based on my 'one the verge of suggesting' and the genuine question 'has he made his best LP at 67?' I don't know, and that's why I'm asking. But I honestly think it's possible.

The phrasing, the little licks of instrumentation, the pauses, the wordplay - and yes, I realise that 40+ years in, we have all cottoned on to the idea that Elvis Costello is quite good at the wordplay thing - and just...the tunes! I remember a review of 'Every Day I Write the Book' (in 1983 - might even have been the NME) that said something like 'wow - an Elvis Costello single that refuses to leave the ears'. That was a quite cool and perceptive remark and I do think it might be true of several tracks here.

And there are 10s here for me - 'My Most Beautiful Mistake', 'Mr Crescent', 'Magnificent Hurt', 'Paint the Red Rose' and possibly 'Mistook Me...'

And for sure, 'the phrasing, the little licks of instrumentation, the pauses, the wordplay' - they're no strangers to an Elvis Costello record, I get that. I just feel like 45 years of writing songs, singing songs, and playing with Pete and Steve (no disrespect to Davey at all) have just suddenly all clicked into place. Is it 'still too soon to know'? Maybe. What I do know is that when I'd played 'Get Happy!!' twice I knew it was the best record anybody ever made. Last week I changed my mind,
JPadoo
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by JPadoo »

Well, as I also believe that Get Happy!! IS the greatest record ever made, I understand and respect your opinion.
You always express your thoughts so articulately, and your passion for the record is fantastic. My favorite records are always the ones that I need to live with for awhile, so who knows? I am loving the album right now, that’s for sure.
Poor Deportee
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by Poor Deportee »

Little doubt in my mind that it is an all-time great EC album. There is a richness and a mastery to both composition and performance which rivals anything he’s done. He’s absorbed all the lessons of his sometimes-trying “collaboration” years and has them effortlessly at his fingertips, while remaining rooted in a coherent and rich “pop” idiom. Absolutely wonderful stuff.
When man has destroyed what he thinks he owns
I hope no living thing cries over his bones
Hawksmoor
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by Hawksmoor »

Poor Deportee wrote:Little doubt in my mind that it is an all-time great EC album. There is a richness and a mastery to both composition and performance which rivals anything he’s done. He’s absorbed all the lessons of his sometimes-trying “collaboration” years and has them effortlessly at his fingertips, while remaining rooted in a coherent and rich “pop” idiom. Absolutely wonderful stuff.
Very much this. I remember a review of 'Almost Blue' - might even have been the NME - which said (something like) 'OK, it's a covers LP, but it's still fun, and let's see how it inspires him when he gets back to writing original LPs'. And of course the next original LP was 'Imperial Bedroom' so I guess it turned out OK :D.

But the same is true here. I adore many of those experimental and collaborative LPs he's done in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s (and some I adore a bit less, but that's fine). But there's something about this LP that feels as though everything is feeding into it - all the lessons learnt, all the techniques discovered, all the little tricks, what works and what doesn't. It's a towering achievement, and every time I listen to it, I find something new.

This time it's Nicole Atkins' arrival on the line 'soulful and wounded expression'. I listen to a lot of music, and I listen to a lot of Elvis, and I loved 'Hey Clockface' actually. But this is in a different league, it really is.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Poor Deportee
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by Poor Deportee »

Can I just put in a word for “Mr Crescent?” It’s that final verse…with its implication that he is suffering from dementia, and the memory of what should have been his true love (lost long ago to his own untrustworthiness and reputation) floods his bewildered mind (“I wonder where my Honey has gone?”). Oh my gosh. What seems to be a fairly standard, if lovely, EC ballad about dissolute characters becomes utterly heartbreaking in that moment. :cry:
When man has destroyed what he thinks he owns
I hope no living thing cries over his bones
JPadoo
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by JPadoo »

Could be the greatest closing track in the history of EC records, topping even Couldn’t Call it Unexpected and The Birds Will Still be Singing.
Hawksmoor
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by Hawksmoor »

Poor Deportee wrote:Can I just put in a word for “Mr Crescent?” It’s that final verse…with its implication that he is suffering from dementia, and the memory of what should have been his true love (lost long ago to his own untrustworthiness and reputation) floods his bewildered mind (“I wonder where my Honey has gone?”). Oh my gosh. What seems to be a fairly standard, if lovely, EC ballad about dissolute characters becomes utterly heartbreaking in that moment. :cry:
Absolutely. And for me, another argument for why this whole thing works as a whole LP, not just a collection of tracks. Those last few lines of 'Mr Crescent' are poignant anyway, but if you listen to the whole LP straight through - growing up, loss of childhood innocence, broken relationships, being a bastard in your adult life, paying the price - then those last couple of lines are stomach-churning and tear-inducing. And I hadn't even factored in the dementia thing, but you're dead right.

It's simply a masterclass in how to write and construct a popular music LP - borne of 45 years' experience and learning, of course. But that last line, 'I wonder where my honey has gone?' and then the guitar comes in behind it...perfectly phrased, perfectly sung, 50 minutes of intrigue, magic and heartbreak leading to that moment.
Hawksmoor
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by Hawksmoor »

JPadoo wrote:Could be the greatest closing track in the history of EC records, topping even Couldn’t Call it Unexpected and The Birds Will Still be Singing.
It might be. But I am going to have to throw in ''Sleep of the Just'. Maybe 'Riot Act', although I appreciate there's ambiguity as to whether that is the closing track.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/ ... recaptured

Elvis Costello and the Imposters: The Boy Named If review – the glory days recaptured
4 stars
With the punch and pace of yore and the depth and richness of maturity, the singer-songwriter is back at his best

Four-and-a-half decades into a constantly evolving career, Elvis Costello seems to have come full circle. After the lavish reissue of 1979’s Armed Forces in 2020, and last summer’s reappraisal of This Year’s Model with Spanish-language guest singers, The Boy Named If also locates itself very firmly in Costello’s late-70s/early-80s purple patch.

There’s a real punch to most of the 13 songs here, the Imposters rocking hard and rolling back the years to infuse the taut arrangements with real urgency. Winning melodies abound, particularly on Mistook Me for a Friend and the title track, about an imaginary friend who can be blamed for all of one’s misdeeds. As ever with Costello, there is a richness to the lyrics, and as on 2018’s Look Now, his protagonists are on occasion female: the pretty tune of The Difference conceals a kernel of darkness, with an abused daughter committing patricide.

Equally thought-provoking is Paint the Red Rose Blue, which details the death of a relationship (this time from a male perspective). Even when the tempo drops, the quality doesn’t, the rich imagery of Trick Out the Truth being a case in point. Effortlessly classy.
——————————-

https://www.google.be/amp/s/amp.theguar ... t-playlist

Honest playlist
‘After seeing Aretha Franklin you’re never the same again’: Elvis Costello’s honest playlist
He could request Frank Sinatra before he could speak, and recites Noël Coward lyrics, but what does the singer-songwriter enjoy behind closed doors?
Dave Simpson

The first song I remember hearing
It’s a family legend that even before I was forming sentences, I knew how to request I’ve Got You Under My Skin sung by Frank Sinatra on the record player. Of course I’m biased, but my wife [jazz musician Diana Krall] does the other, definitive version.
***
The first record I owned
In 1962, I heard my dad [singer Ross MacManus] rehearsing a song from Georgie Fame’s Fame at Last EP and he gave me the record. Georgie is an unsung great advocate for other artists. I once got to sing with Count Basie and totally humiliated myself because I’d learned his classic Lil’ Darlin’ off a Georgie Fame record.
***
The song that is my karaoke go-to
Maybe it is because I gave up drinking 25 years ago, but my exposure to karaoke is limited to watching Bill Murray doing (What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding in Lost in Translation. I would pick King of the Road by Roger Miller; it is a song where you could make up anything and nobody would notice.
***
The song I inexplicably know all the lyrics to
I have on many occasions recited Noël Coward’s The Stately Homes of England. It’s a beautiful lyric and very, very funny.
***
The best song to play at a party
I’m thinking of the parties I went to as a teenager, so the Isley Brothers’ Behind a Painted Smile is my pick. I was the person who would haunt the edge of the dancefloor, open the Party Seven pale ale and hope to fascinate some girl with my wit and charm, usually unsuccessfully.
***
The performance that I’ll never forget
For me, Aretha Franklin doing Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) live on The Cliff Richard Show. After a moment like that you’re never the same again. This song is rich in the gospel she absorbed as a young girl. I’d happily listen to her piano intro alone over 20 times.
***
The best song to have sex to
Behind Closed Doors by Charlie Rich. It’s not the song, it’s the statement in the title. Then we fade to black …
***
The song I want played at my funeral
Louis Armstrong singing Fats Waller’s Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now. I walked down the aisle to this – that’s another kind of pledge, isn’t it? So if I must die, I’m keeping out of mischief after that.

Elvis Costello’s new album, The Boy Named If, is out now.
Last edited by sweetest punch on Mon Jan 24, 2022 3:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Neil.
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by Neil. »

Crazy busy at the mo but I have had time to listen to this a few times. It's an incredible, exciting piece of work - WOW!!!
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Oh Boy! Elvis Costello talks to RTÉ Arena: https://www.rte.ie/culture/2022/0118/12 ... rte-arena/
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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