Straining to outlive the past re:WIWC

[Kevin Davis]

Giving this a closer listen now--I'm up through "Dust 2..." and I'm surprised anything thus far would be perceived as any kind of major stumble. I think the worst I'd say about some of these tunes is that some of the melodies could have really benefited from more nuanced vocal deliveries; "Tart," for example, is probably the most intriguing melody on the record, but the arrangement actively resists showcasing it. I'd love to hear this as a solo piano piece (has it ever been done in one?); I don't think the solo acoustic rendition from the Japanese "Cruel Smile" quite does the job. But of course, this is a common quibble with Elvis, and an arrangement like the one I describe would have been completely out of place on the album.

That said, the only track I really find to be a drag is "Alibi" (the chorus is alright, but it's too long and too repetitive) and I don't think we needed two versions of "Dust." But even the insignificant garage rockers like "Dissolve" and "Daddy Can I Turn This" don't presume to be anything more than they are, and I find it bewildering that any Costello fan wouldn't love "Episode of Blonde." My ears are pretty forgiving when it comes to production, and "WIWC" doesn't offend mine, not as sonic product anyway, and condemning it on the basis of its loops doesn't quite jibe with me. I mean, samples are clearly not Elvis's greatest strength, but--as with anyone--the instances where he incorporates them to effect are pretty special. I don't think I've ever heard another track anywhere, by EC or anyone, that sounds like "When I Was Cruel No. 2"--the lyrics are lucid even by Costello's standards, and that little voice that loops every measure (the one that sounds like it's saying "oon"), as well as that backwards bass sample, give the song a claustrophobic, almost ominous vibe that's unique in Elvis's canon--makes it sound like the narrator popped a fistful of uppers prior to the soiree and is paranoid with the jitters big time by the time he arrives. The song sounds like it knows something disastrous is about to happen.

Anyway, hard for me to argue with a record that spawned what's become a nine year obsession.

[Neil.]

Kevin, great to hear someone getting into Elvis as a teenager (I guess now you must be about 28-29, if you got WIWC aged 19).

So thrilled you got into Elvis in a big way at that point: what an exciting experience that must've been!

I got into Elvis when I was about 14-15 in 1983, so didn't have an insurmountable back catalogue to catch up on - where did you turn next after WIWC? Can you recall your Elvis journey?

And how are you doing at convincing your young(ish) pals that Elvis - undoubtedly! - is king?

(Great piece of writing too, I have to add: you should go into music journalism.)

[The imposter]

I do prefer the newer, funked up arrangement of Spooky Girlfriend showcased on the recent tour. It grooves better than on the album version

[Kevin Davis]

I got into Elvis when I was about 14-15 in 1983, so didn't have an insurmountable back catalogue to catch up on - where did you turn next after WIWC? Can you recall your Elvis journey?

Yeah, I got WIWC on the afternoon of my 19th birthday; I liked it so much that, after my family birthday gathering that evening, I went out and bought "My Aim is True" and "All This Useless Beauty" with gift card money. At that point, Rhino had only reissued two batches of albums (This Year's Model, Blood and Chocolate, Spike, and Brutal Youth were the others I think), so I ate all those up over the next few months. From there on, I just snapped up the reissues as they were released; I think Armed Forces, Imperial Bedroom, and Mighty Like a Rose were the next ones. I jumped the gun on a few, picking up older editions at used shops or over the internet, but by late 2004 I was pretty well complete on the back catalog.

And how are you doing at convincing your young(ish) pals that Elvis - undoubtedly! - is king?

Rotten. I seem to have no trouble making Tom Waits fans out of people, but not a single person I've ever tried to turn on to Elvis has taken the bait. Part of it is that I just have no clue where to start; I always find myself wanting to convey the totality of his capabilities, and there's just no way to do that without giving someone more CD's than they can process at once. I think I've made some decent mixes over the years, but apparently none successful enough to achieve their ultimate goal. I've managed to sell my wife on a few songs, though--she likes "Slow Drag With Josephine" (when I took her to the Spinning Songbook in May, she commented "I bet it's hard to whistle that well"), and "Watching the Detectives," though I suspect that's at least 75% due to its use as the theme music for 'History Detectives.' As with all my favorite artists, I plan to have my children indoctrinated by the time they reach puberty.

(Great piece of writing too, I have to add: you should go into music journalism.)

Thanks very much, I really appreciate that. I actually moonlight as something like a music journalist; I write for a couple publications, either pro bono or for pay so meager that it's almost more insulting than pro bono. I keep a blog here (http://kevinpauldavis.blogspot.com/) where, along the way, I've posted links to most if not all of my pieces that have appeared online, as well as some ramblings unique to the blog itself. I think there's something on "National Ransom" in there if you troll back far enough through the archives. I'd love to make a full-blown career out of it, but at this point the conflict between it and my other lifelong dream of being run ragged in low-level retail management is too significant to ignore.

[Neil.]

Great stuff, Kevin. I think there's a post here somewhere along the lines of 'How you got into Elvis', but in case I can't find it...

When I was about 13/14, my dad had a compliation tape of Elvis songs, and one night I listened to it in bed in the dark. I'd heard the songs in the car before and didn't mind them, but I wouldn't say I'd got into them either. But listening to those songs in the dark, with no distractions, made them leap out at me - nobody else seemed to be doing anything as vivid!

My brother already had Trust and This Year's Model, so I then ate them up, and then it was a matter of devouring everything else. PTC and GCW were his next albums, and when they didn't measure up, I was worried that my hero's career was over. Thank God for King of America and Blood and Chocolate a couple of years later. And he's still delivering the goods - amazing.

Good luck with the writing - I'll have a look at the blog - and LOL to the retail manager joke!