Does anyone know if Elvis's liner notes for 'Dusty In Memphis' are available on the web? I already have the album, and don't want to buy it again just for the notes!
Cheers guys x
Elvis notes for 'Dusty In Memphis'
This is Elvis` sleevenote for the new UK editon of
Dusty Springfield`s Dusty In Memphis (Mercury 063
297-2)
( This is an exact transcription - I`m no
grammatical expert but some of the wording does seem a
little odd in places!)
What words best describe the quality of voice
and singing on `Dusty In Memphis`?
I`m damned if I know. You could start by
saying the singing is `cool`, in that it is elegant
and restrained but it also has great warmth and power.
Doesn`t the tone sound like some kind of vapour at
times? No , that just doesn`t do it justice . It is
true to say that the voice is recorded in the audio
equivalent of `extreme close-up`? every breath and
sigh is caught and yet it can soar. Knowing that
these things are beyond words , I offer these few
lines of adoration and praise.
Dusty Springfield`s singing on this album is
among the very best ever put on record by anyone. It
is overwhelmingly sensual and self- possessed but it
is never self-regarding. The delivery might be
confidential , intimate or vulnerable in the opening
lines of a song only to explode in the chorus with
unknowable emotion. Every crescendo is well judged ;
the performances are never showy or bombastic. The
most striking impression throughout is one of honesty.
The most famous songs in this collection are
probably `Son of a Preacher Man` and `Breakfast in
Bed` - simply one of the most knowingly adult records
ever made. This track may have the greatest vocal
entrance of Dusty`s career. Her vocal tone on the line
, `She`s hurt you again, I can tell` , tells an entire
story in itself.
On `Son of a Preacher Man` , Dusty recalls the
life of a young girl. She teases through the taboo
tale , lending her brand new style to the Memphis
funk. She had clearly left behind the world of her
English vocal contempoaries. Don`t get me wrong ;
Dusty`s London recordings are wonderful. However , at
times the accompaniments sound as if the players are
struggling to receive messages from overseas about the
music that the singer is interpreting with ease. Then
again , many of the best cuts have a glorious European
drama that would have been totally alien to the
Memphis players.
Now Dusty had a rhythm section that dove deep
into the groove but could also play with extreme
delicacy. She also had Arif Mardin`s arrangements to
sparkle and illustrate her voice with Spanish guitars,
shimmering strings and snaking lines of oboe. All this
was immaculately ordered by the production team of
Mardin , Tom Dowd , and Jerry Wexler. The only
comparison that comes to mind is the musical journey
of that other great Irish soul singer , Van Morrison ,
in the records such `Moondance` and `Tupelo Honey` ( a
song that Dusty would later cover). Even when the
accompaniments have touches of period charm such as
the electric sitar introduction to `in the Land of
Make Believe` or the Tennessee version of a Byrds
guitar figure in the opening of `Don`t Forget About
Me` , it is Dusty`s performance that is timeless.
Most extraordinary is her poise and confident
progress through a frankly berserk , psychedelic
Brazilian- influenced arrangement of Michael Legrand`s
utterly French melody for `Windmills of Your Mind` .
The occasionally comic surrealism of the lyric never
sounded better.
Dusty`s ethereal and seamless tone is
perfectly matched to Burt Bacharach`s exquisite and
otherworldly , `In the Land of Make Believe` while
Carole King`s song of the earth ,` No Easy Way Down`
is as well suited to Dusty as the same compser`s
`Natural Woman` was to Aretha Franklin, Gerry Goffin`s
lyric speaks of romantic disappointment and the
embrace of melancholy.
It could have no finer advocate. However ,
there are two other songs in particular which serve to
best illustrate the musical ambition and achievement
of `Dusty in Memphis`. They are both by Randy Newman
and are almost unique in their tenderness and
straight-faced passion, among his catalogue of dark
humoured portraits.
The first , `Just One Smile` opens with a series
of rising , questioning phrases and unravels into an
gracious but constantly surprising melody that might
have come from the Catania of Bellini`s time. This is
soulful music of the first order even though it
arrives froma place beyond our expectations. The
second of these unusual songs is `I Don`t Want To
Hear It Anymore`. It written from the point of view of
a betrayed woman living in a poor apartment block? She
can hear the gossip and innuendo coming through the
walls , hence the title. However , the song never
descends into soap opera melodrama thanks to the
remarkably ambitious melody , a line that Dusty
negotiates with converstaional ease , so that you
hardly realise how far your ear has travelled when you
are hurled into the longing of the chorus.
The arrangement contains the sort of sublime
touch that , for me , places `Dusty in Memphis` right
up there with Aretha`s `I Never Loved A Man The Way I
Love You` album. In the final verse she sings : `Ain`t
it sad` said a woman down the hall , `That when a nice
girl falls in love , ain`t it too just bad she had to
fall for a boy that doesn`t care for her at all`. At
this moment a cool vocal group enters and utter
their judgement with such pity and cruelty : `It`s so
sad` and the song crashes into the final devastating
chorus : `I don`t want to hear it anymore!`
Hearing this record again in all its stereo and
mono glory , I realise that this is just one moment
among so many others on `Dusty in Memphis`, that will
chill and thrill , always and forever.
Elvis Costello May 2002.
Dusty Springfield`s Dusty In Memphis (Mercury 063
297-2)
( This is an exact transcription - I`m no
grammatical expert but some of the wording does seem a
little odd in places!)
What words best describe the quality of voice
and singing on `Dusty In Memphis`?
I`m damned if I know. You could start by
saying the singing is `cool`, in that it is elegant
and restrained but it also has great warmth and power.
Doesn`t the tone sound like some kind of vapour at
times? No , that just doesn`t do it justice . It is
true to say that the voice is recorded in the audio
equivalent of `extreme close-up`? every breath and
sigh is caught and yet it can soar. Knowing that
these things are beyond words , I offer these few
lines of adoration and praise.
Dusty Springfield`s singing on this album is
among the very best ever put on record by anyone. It
is overwhelmingly sensual and self- possessed but it
is never self-regarding. The delivery might be
confidential , intimate or vulnerable in the opening
lines of a song only to explode in the chorus with
unknowable emotion. Every crescendo is well judged ;
the performances are never showy or bombastic. The
most striking impression throughout is one of honesty.
The most famous songs in this collection are
probably `Son of a Preacher Man` and `Breakfast in
Bed` - simply one of the most knowingly adult records
ever made. This track may have the greatest vocal
entrance of Dusty`s career. Her vocal tone on the line
, `She`s hurt you again, I can tell` , tells an entire
story in itself.
On `Son of a Preacher Man` , Dusty recalls the
life of a young girl. She teases through the taboo
tale , lending her brand new style to the Memphis
funk. She had clearly left behind the world of her
English vocal contempoaries. Don`t get me wrong ;
Dusty`s London recordings are wonderful. However , at
times the accompaniments sound as if the players are
struggling to receive messages from overseas about the
music that the singer is interpreting with ease. Then
again , many of the best cuts have a glorious European
drama that would have been totally alien to the
Memphis players.
Now Dusty had a rhythm section that dove deep
into the groove but could also play with extreme
delicacy. She also had Arif Mardin`s arrangements to
sparkle and illustrate her voice with Spanish guitars,
shimmering strings and snaking lines of oboe. All this
was immaculately ordered by the production team of
Mardin , Tom Dowd , and Jerry Wexler. The only
comparison that comes to mind is the musical journey
of that other great Irish soul singer , Van Morrison ,
in the records such `Moondance` and `Tupelo Honey` ( a
song that Dusty would later cover). Even when the
accompaniments have touches of period charm such as
the electric sitar introduction to `in the Land of
Make Believe` or the Tennessee version of a Byrds
guitar figure in the opening of `Don`t Forget About
Me` , it is Dusty`s performance that is timeless.
Most extraordinary is her poise and confident
progress through a frankly berserk , psychedelic
Brazilian- influenced arrangement of Michael Legrand`s
utterly French melody for `Windmills of Your Mind` .
The occasionally comic surrealism of the lyric never
sounded better.
Dusty`s ethereal and seamless tone is
perfectly matched to Burt Bacharach`s exquisite and
otherworldly , `In the Land of Make Believe` while
Carole King`s song of the earth ,` No Easy Way Down`
is as well suited to Dusty as the same compser`s
`Natural Woman` was to Aretha Franklin, Gerry Goffin`s
lyric speaks of romantic disappointment and the
embrace of melancholy.
It could have no finer advocate. However ,
there are two other songs in particular which serve to
best illustrate the musical ambition and achievement
of `Dusty in Memphis`. They are both by Randy Newman
and are almost unique in their tenderness and
straight-faced passion, among his catalogue of dark
humoured portraits.
The first , `Just One Smile` opens with a series
of rising , questioning phrases and unravels into an
gracious but constantly surprising melody that might
have come from the Catania of Bellini`s time. This is
soulful music of the first order even though it
arrives froma place beyond our expectations. The
second of these unusual songs is `I Don`t Want To
Hear It Anymore`. It written from the point of view of
a betrayed woman living in a poor apartment block? She
can hear the gossip and innuendo coming through the
walls , hence the title. However , the song never
descends into soap opera melodrama thanks to the
remarkably ambitious melody , a line that Dusty
negotiates with converstaional ease , so that you
hardly realise how far your ear has travelled when you
are hurled into the longing of the chorus.
The arrangement contains the sort of sublime
touch that , for me , places `Dusty in Memphis` right
up there with Aretha`s `I Never Loved A Man The Way I
Love You` album. In the final verse she sings : `Ain`t
it sad` said a woman down the hall , `That when a nice
girl falls in love , ain`t it too just bad she had to
fall for a boy that doesn`t care for her at all`. At
this moment a cool vocal group enters and utter
their judgement with such pity and cruelty : `It`s so
sad` and the song crashes into the final devastating
chorus : `I don`t want to hear it anymore!`
Hearing this record again in all its stereo and
mono glory , I realise that this is just one moment
among so many others on `Dusty in Memphis`, that will
chill and thrill , always and forever.
Elvis Costello May 2002.
-
tokyo vogue
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Thanks John
John, that's great. Thanks so much - please don't tell me you transcribed it all yourself!!!!!!!!
Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis
by
Warren Zanes
I`ve just finished reading this book. Nothing sensationally new in it but an interesting , thoughtful effort all the same. Zanes has an interesting and amusing way of encapsulating things. Writing about Son Of A Preacher Man he writes -(P.7)
The story it told was suggestive , subversive , and cunningly so. I`d looked down enough blouses in church to know just how the sacred and the profane can meet at prayer time.
Elsewhere he neatly sums up the bag of emotional strife that Dusty was with the following (P22) -
If Dusty had always stuck close to the general territory of the teenage unrequited love saga , which , it seems , always had an audience , with the Memphis record she slipped out the back door and went wandering in the night of it all .
While he does bang on a bit about the myths of `The South` - and gives Alan Lomax a very hard time - this short book has given me a whole new perspective on this album.
Incidentally , he has also read Elvis` sleeve note to the 2002 re-issue - he quotes the `simply one of the most knowingly adult records ever made ` line on p.9.
http://www.continuumbooks.com/book_deta ... 8FAASXIBDX
Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis
Warren Zanes
Excerpt
The love that is the subject of Dusty in Memphis is different from the love of her earlier songs: it is a love that is all at once diffuse, dark, unpredictable, ecstatic, and a terrible deal. It is a love too big for the lyrical (and for that matter musical) framework of Dusty’s earlier pop productions, no matter the breadth of that work. Like Memphis itself, the love that is the subject of Dusty in Memphis is indeed bursting with the contrary: it happens not simply when you yearn for it, as in some adolescent dream, but when you’re not prepared for it; it reveals itself not simply under the star-filled skies where a moon hangs low--in fact, as the first and last tracks on side one attest, it might be at its best when the sun’s just arriving at work.
by
Warren Zanes
I`ve just finished reading this book. Nothing sensationally new in it but an interesting , thoughtful effort all the same. Zanes has an interesting and amusing way of encapsulating things. Writing about Son Of A Preacher Man he writes -(P.7)
The story it told was suggestive , subversive , and cunningly so. I`d looked down enough blouses in church to know just how the sacred and the profane can meet at prayer time.
Elsewhere he neatly sums up the bag of emotional strife that Dusty was with the following (P22) -
If Dusty had always stuck close to the general territory of the teenage unrequited love saga , which , it seems , always had an audience , with the Memphis record she slipped out the back door and went wandering in the night of it all .
While he does bang on a bit about the myths of `The South` - and gives Alan Lomax a very hard time - this short book has given me a whole new perspective on this album.
Incidentally , he has also read Elvis` sleeve note to the 2002 re-issue - he quotes the `simply one of the most knowingly adult records ever made ` line on p.9.
http://www.continuumbooks.com/book_deta ... 8FAASXIBDX
Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis
Warren Zanes
Excerpt
The love that is the subject of Dusty in Memphis is different from the love of her earlier songs: it is a love that is all at once diffuse, dark, unpredictable, ecstatic, and a terrible deal. It is a love too big for the lyrical (and for that matter musical) framework of Dusty’s earlier pop productions, no matter the breadth of that work. Like Memphis itself, the love that is the subject of Dusty in Memphis is indeed bursting with the contrary: it happens not simply when you yearn for it, as in some adolescent dream, but when you’re not prepared for it; it reveals itself not simply under the star-filled skies where a moon hangs low--in fact, as the first and last tracks on side one attest, it might be at its best when the sun’s just arriving at work.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 33-0730305
DVD
Dusty Springfield - Full Circle [1994]
Release Date: March 20, 2006
http://www.libertas.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ID=2321
' Described as 'Britain's best ever pop singer' this is the story of the late, great Dusty Springfield and her rise to fame in the 60s to her return on the 80s. Very little was ever known about Dusty but this 1994 documentary was made with her help and approval.
A career retrospective of Dusty Springfield. Excellent archival performance footage including her BBC/ITV television shows. Includes rare footage of Dusty and Jimi Hendrix. Dusty explains the inspiration for her hair and eye makeup! Popular comediennes Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French play host for the documentary and there are interviews with Dusty, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Martha Reeves, Elvis Costello, Jerry Wexler and many others.
Runtime 50 mins'
DVD
Dusty Springfield - Full Circle [1994]
Release Date: March 20, 2006
http://www.libertas.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ID=2321
' Described as 'Britain's best ever pop singer' this is the story of the late, great Dusty Springfield and her rise to fame in the 60s to her return on the 80s. Very little was ever known about Dusty but this 1994 documentary was made with her help and approval.
A career retrospective of Dusty Springfield. Excellent archival performance footage including her BBC/ITV television shows. Includes rare footage of Dusty and Jimi Hendrix. Dusty explains the inspiration for her hair and eye makeup! Popular comediennes Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French play host for the documentary and there are interviews with Dusty, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Martha Reeves, Elvis Costello, Jerry Wexler and many others.
Runtime 50 mins'
Re: Elvis notes for 'Dusty In Memphis'
It seems Elvis was in a BBC radio programme back in May -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00b7ygt
' Johnnie Walker hosts a special season of programmes featuring some of Radio 2's finest British music profiles.
3/5. Dusty Springfield
Johnnie tells the story of one of the finest singers to come out of Britain. Never confined to a genre, her voice was as suited to jazz as it was to Pet Shop Boys' electronica, but it was as the queen of white soul that she was acclaimed. Featuring many of Dusty's biggest hits, the programme includes contributions from Neil Tennant, Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach.'
Broadcast:
1. Icons Revisited, Dusty Springfield
13 May 2008
22:30-23:30
BBC Radio 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This site has a download of the show -
http://radiomensa.podomatic.com/entry/2 ... 4_00-07_00
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00b7ygt
' Johnnie Walker hosts a special season of programmes featuring some of Radio 2's finest British music profiles.
3/5. Dusty Springfield
Johnnie tells the story of one of the finest singers to come out of Britain. Never confined to a genre, her voice was as suited to jazz as it was to Pet Shop Boys' electronica, but it was as the queen of white soul that she was acclaimed. Featuring many of Dusty's biggest hits, the programme includes contributions from Neil Tennant, Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach.'
Broadcast:
1. Icons Revisited, Dusty Springfield
13 May 2008
22:30-23:30
BBC Radio 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This site has a download of the show -
http://radiomensa.podomatic.com/entry/2 ... 4_00-07_00