Boston Globe, March 30, 1979: Difference between revisions
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Curiously, Costello's latest tantrum comes in the wake of his most mature and sanguine album, ''Armed Forces'', which has been hovering in the Top Ten throughout the country and has finally catapulted him out of obscurity. The album reveals a depth of songwriting and hawk-eyed observation that is far more compelling than the sometimes psychiatric-couch mentality of his first two American releases. | Curiously, Costello's latest tantrum comes in the wake of his most mature and sanguine album, ''Armed Forces'', which has been hovering in the Top Ten throughout the country and has finally catapulted him out of obscurity. The album reveals a depth of songwriting and hawk-eyed observation that is far more compelling than the sometimes psychiatric-couch mentality of his first two American releases. | ||
Apart from the discordant haze cast by his racial slurs, last night's show was Costello's best in Boston. It contrasted with the unadulterated weirdness of his | Apart from the discordant haze cast by his racial slurs, last night's show was Costello's best in Boston. It contrasted with the unadulterated weirdness of his [[Concert 1977-12-09 Boston (early)|initial]] Paradise appearance and the relentless one-dimensional tumult of [[Concert 1978-05-04 Boston|last year]]'s Orpheum show with Mink DeVille. This time Costello demonstrated superior pacing, much more professional lighting and yes, he even smiled. | ||
Wearing a pink tie and his infamous checkerboard coat, Costello and his band, the Attractions, played for more than an hour (he has done a few 45-minute shows lately that have outraged ardent fans), focusing on songs from ''This Year's Model'' and ''Armed Forces'', intermixed with four new numbers. | |||
Three of the four new songs (especially "Opportunity" and "B{{nb}}Movie") had an intensity akin to "Pump It Up" from his second album. Another, the aptly-named "High Fidelity" (with a chorus of ''"Can you hear me?"''), was in keeping with the depth of ''Armed Forces''. It started with an eerie synthesizer intro from Steve Naive and worked up to a drowning man's wail from Elvis. | Three of the four new songs (especially "Opportunity" and "B{{nb}}Movie") had an intensity akin to "Pump It Up" from his second album. Another, the aptly-named "High Fidelity" (with a chorus of ''"Can you hear me?"''), was in keeping with the depth of ''Armed Forces''. It started with an eerie synthesizer intro from Steve Naive and worked up to a drowning man's wail from Elvis. |
Revision as of 23:12, 25 March 2019
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