Palm Beach Post, January 10, 1979: Difference between revisions
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Still, there were reasons both for his success with new-wave fans and the hipper writers and FM programmers, and those same reasons help explain his lack of massive success. Costello is hardly dulcet as a singer; his voice is harsh and husky, and for ballads especially (e.g., "Alison") the results could grate the ear. In addition, he stuck severely to starkly simple. hard-edge arrangements. and he seemingly refused to polish his music in any way that could be considered a sellout to blandness. His songs themselves, both lyrically and musically, were remarkable, and his personal passion went a long way toward making them work in concert. On record that same passion could sound hectoring, and his well-publicized anger about everyone and everything severely limited his appeal. | Still, there were reasons both for his success with new-wave fans and the hipper writers and FM programmers, and those same reasons help explain his lack of massive success. Costello is hardly dulcet as a singer; his voice is harsh and husky, and for ballads especially (e.g., "Alison") the results could grate the ear. In addition, he stuck severely to starkly simple. hard-edge arrangements. and he seemingly refused to polish his music in any way that could be considered a sellout to blandness. His songs themselves, both lyrically and musically, were remarkable, and his personal passion went a long way toward making them work in concert. On record that same passion could sound hectoring, and his well-publicized anger about everyone and everything severely limited his appeal. | ||
All of which makes his third and latest album, ''Armed Forces'' (it's due to be released this week), all the more interesting. It was said that Nick Lowe, the producer, Costello and his band, the Attractions, had spent a full month in the studio — short for your typical superstar, but downright finicky by his own previous standards. Word had leaked that he had changed the title from | All of which makes his third and latest album, ''Armed Forces'' (it's due to be released this week), all the more interesting. It was said that Nick Lowe, the producer, Costello and his band, the Attractions, had spent a full month in the studio — short for your typical superstar, but downright finicky by his own previous standards. Word had leaked that he had changed the title from ''Emotional Fascism'' to the still-clever, but safer, ''Armed Forces''. Maybe Costello was capitulating to the star system and record-company pressure he had so virulently denounced, a suspicion reinforced by reports that he seemed to be carrying on a lifestyle not much less luxurious than that indulged in by those he had been denouncing just a few months before. | ||
Well, on a first few hearings, ''Armed Forces'' would seem to resolve rather neatly whatever contradictions may exist between purist passion and greater accessibility. If anything, this is still more passionate than accessible. The songs are strong, lyrically, and Costello's voice is no more soothing than before. What's different are the arrangements, cleverer and more complex than ever before.. But they're genuinely clever: Costello is really masterly in creating hook-filled settings that stick in the mind. Since his musical range is as wide and inventive as ever, this becomes a disk that anyone interested in where rock is going must hear. | Well, on a first few hearings, ''Armed Forces'' would seem to resolve rather neatly whatever contradictions may exist between purist passion and greater accessibility. If anything, this is still more passionate than accessible. The songs are strong, lyrically, and Costello's voice is no more soothing than before. What's different are the arrangements, cleverer and more complex than ever before.. But they're genuinely clever: Costello is really masterly in creating hook-filled settings that stick in the mind. Since his musical range is as wide and inventive as ever, this becomes a disk that anyone interested in where rock is going must hear. | ||
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'''Palm Beach Post, January 10, 1979 | '''Palm Beach Post, January 10, 1979 | ||
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[[John Rockwell]] reviews ''[[Armed Forces]]''. {{ | [[John Rockwell]] reviews ''[[Armed Forces]]''. | ||
{{John Rockwell-NYT-1979-AF}} | |||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} |
Latest revision as of 22:52, 6 May 2019
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