The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
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sweetest punch
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
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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sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews ... s_costello
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
The Boy Named If
By Matthew Berlyant
At this point in Elvis Costello’s long, storied, 45 year professional career, it’s a cliche to label any new album of his that sounds like this to be his best since *fill in the blank* or his first “rock” album since that same *fill in the blank* or a different, earlier album. In this case, though, it must be acknowledged that this brand new album by Costello and his long-running (since 2001) backing band, The Imposters (which is really just three fourths of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Elvis Costello & The Attractions with bassist Davey Farragher replacing Bruce Thomas), will remind many listeners of earlier works from this quartet, particularly 2004’s The Delivery Man (the first album officially credited to Elvis Costello & The Imposters) and to a lesser extent, 2008’s excellent follow-up Momofuku. While those two albums are full of social and political lyrics, the lyrics here seem to be more abstract personal observations focusing on relationships with the exception of “Mistook Me for a Friend,” with its references to “a pocket full of Presidents” and “petty cash and criminals,” but even then, there are few explicit references to what has been going on in the world in recent years.
Though it doesn’t really showcase that album’s country/roots influence nearly as much, the parallels to The Delivery Man, in particular, are noticeable. “What if I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” will remind listeners of that album’s “The Name of This Thing is Not Love.” Elsewhere, “The Death of Magic Thinking” reminds of Momofuku’s “No Hiding Place,” another lament on the loss of wonder, innocence, and privacy in the modern age. “The Difference” even reminds of “My Little Blue Window” from 2002’s When I Was Cruel, the first album to feature The Imposters as Elvis’ backing band.
It must be said that for those longing for the classic late ’70s Elvis Costello & The Attractions sound, The Imposters have now been a unit for decades, long enough for them to also reference their earlier work just like The Attractions did on 1994’s Brutal Youth, an brilliant album by the then 40-ish Costello also considered a return to form at the time. The last few songs provide a necessary sonic balm from all of the sturm and drang as they are both beautiful ballads, penultimate “Trick Out the Truth” reminding of Momofuku’s “Mr. Feathers.” All in all, this is yet another strong album in a career full of them and while he doesn’t reinvent the wheel or break much new ground here, any chance to hear the master play the style he’s so good at is not to be missed. (www.elviscostello.com)
Author rating: 7/10
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
The Boy Named If
By Matthew Berlyant
At this point in Elvis Costello’s long, storied, 45 year professional career, it’s a cliche to label any new album of his that sounds like this to be his best since *fill in the blank* or his first “rock” album since that same *fill in the blank* or a different, earlier album. In this case, though, it must be acknowledged that this brand new album by Costello and his long-running (since 2001) backing band, The Imposters (which is really just three fourths of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Elvis Costello & The Attractions with bassist Davey Farragher replacing Bruce Thomas), will remind many listeners of earlier works from this quartet, particularly 2004’s The Delivery Man (the first album officially credited to Elvis Costello & The Imposters) and to a lesser extent, 2008’s excellent follow-up Momofuku. While those two albums are full of social and political lyrics, the lyrics here seem to be more abstract personal observations focusing on relationships with the exception of “Mistook Me for a Friend,” with its references to “a pocket full of Presidents” and “petty cash and criminals,” but even then, there are few explicit references to what has been going on in the world in recent years.
Though it doesn’t really showcase that album’s country/roots influence nearly as much, the parallels to The Delivery Man, in particular, are noticeable. “What if I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” will remind listeners of that album’s “The Name of This Thing is Not Love.” Elsewhere, “The Death of Magic Thinking” reminds of Momofuku’s “No Hiding Place,” another lament on the loss of wonder, innocence, and privacy in the modern age. “The Difference” even reminds of “My Little Blue Window” from 2002’s When I Was Cruel, the first album to feature The Imposters as Elvis’ backing band.
It must be said that for those longing for the classic late ’70s Elvis Costello & The Attractions sound, The Imposters have now been a unit for decades, long enough for them to also reference their earlier work just like The Attractions did on 1994’s Brutal Youth, an brilliant album by the then 40-ish Costello also considered a return to form at the time. The last few songs provide a necessary sonic balm from all of the sturm and drang as they are both beautiful ballads, penultimate “Trick Out the Truth” reminding of Momofuku’s “Mr. Feathers.” All in all, this is yet another strong album in a career full of them and while he doesn’t reinvent the wheel or break much new ground here, any chance to hear the master play the style he’s so good at is not to be missed. (www.elviscostello.com)
Author rating: 7/10
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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sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.demorgen.be/tv-cultuur/inge ... ~b1f5abf6/
ELVIS COSTELLO - THE BOY NAMED IF ****
Zo’n dertig albums ver keert Elvis Costello terug naar kindertijd en jeugd, waarin hij de angry young boy van weleer tegen het vergrootglas houdt. Dat de stijl en sound van The Boy Named If nogal neigen naar zijn gloriejaren met The Attractions mag niet verbazen. De rammelende gitaren worden niet geschuwd, de punk en de passie evenmin. Maar Costello liet zich ook altijd voorstaan op kwikzilveren melodieën, en ook nu contrasteren die heerlijk met de messcherpe teksten. De titel van deze plaat verwijst naar het ingebeelde vriendje, waarop kinderen hun schelmenstreken en kemels afschuiven. Voor deze prachtplaat kan alleen Costello tot de orde geroepen worden, maar een spontane verlenging van zijn carrière lijkt ons noch hem een straf.
ELVIS COSTELLO - THE BOY NAMED IF ****
Zo’n dertig albums ver keert Elvis Costello terug naar kindertijd en jeugd, waarin hij de angry young boy van weleer tegen het vergrootglas houdt. Dat de stijl en sound van The Boy Named If nogal neigen naar zijn gloriejaren met The Attractions mag niet verbazen. De rammelende gitaren worden niet geschuwd, de punk en de passie evenmin. Maar Costello liet zich ook altijd voorstaan op kwikzilveren melodieën, en ook nu contrasteren die heerlijk met de messcherpe teksten. De titel van deze plaat verwijst naar het ingebeelde vriendje, waarop kinderen hun schelmenstreken en kemels afschuiven. Voor deze prachtplaat kan alleen Costello tot de orde geroepen worden, maar een spontane verlenging van zijn carrière lijkt ons noch hem een straf.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
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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taramasalata
- Posts: 75
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
NZZ (Zurich, CH), 19.01.2022
http://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/elvis-cost ... ld.1665230
Elvis Costello rockt wieder: Um frisch zu bleiben, geht der Sänger vorwärts und zurück
Mit Punk hat Elvis Costello begonnen. Seither lässt er sich einerseits auf neue musikalische Abenteuer ein. Andrerseits holt der Brite immer wieder Anlauf in den eigenen Anfängen.
Ueli Bernays
19.01.2022, 05.30 Uhr
Elvis Costello wechselt in seiner Musik geschickt zwischen Herkunft und Zukunft ab.
Viel Lärm und Lust gleich zu Beginn. Die Band ist eine Rasselbande mit Sinn für präzise Kanten und Schnitte. Und ihr Sänger brilliert mit der fiebrigen Glut seines kehligen Falsetts. Willkommen im Rock’n’Roll-Theater von Elvis Costello und den Imposters. Die Musiker mögen weit über sechzig sein. Ihr neues Album, «The Boy Named If», aber wirkt zeitlos frisch.
Braucht es im Alter noch Idole? Man würde das zunächst verneinen. Vorbilder sind für die Jungen, die noch nicht recht wissen, ob sie mit Jeans oder Jupe, mit Locken oder Strähnen durchs Leben gehen sollen. In reiferen Jahren hingegen hat sich die Identität gefestigt, Pläne sind verwirklicht, Träume verwirkt. Man weiss jetzt selbst, wo’s langgeht.
Ein wacher Geist
Wer dann mal Zeit findet, ein paar Gedanken an die Vergangenheit zu verschwenden, wird verdriesslich staunen: Die Jahre der Experimente und Überraschungen verblassen in weiter Ferne. Gerade in Momenten melancholischer Einkehr aber könnte man von einem vitalen Geist wie Elvis Costello profitieren, der in seiner Musik geschickt abwechselt zwischen Herkunft und Zukunft.
Ob sich der britische Barde in der Rolle des Idols wohl fühlen würde, ist allerdings fraglich. Der Mann mit der schweren Hornbrille, der unter seinen Hut unterdessen fast alles bringt, was tönt und trommelt, lässt sich nicht gerne binden. Es sich bequem zu machen in einem Programm oder Stil, passt nicht zu seinem Charakter.
Elvis Costello ist das Paradebeispiel eines Künstlers, der sich in Mäandern verwirklicht. Album für Album kommen neue Facetten seiner Musikalität zur Geltung, die ihm wohl schon in die Wiege gelegt worden ist. Costellos Grossvater trompetete einst auf Ozeandampfern, der Vater war als Sänger mit Big Bands unterwegs. Es überrascht wenig, dass auch Declan McManus alias Elvis Costello im Teenageralter seinen Sinn für Melodie und Rhythmus entdeckte.
Ein nimmermüder Schüler
Aber Talent ist lediglich eine Seite dieser Wandelbarkeit. Fast noch wichtiger scheinen in Costellos Fall der Wille, die eigenen Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten ständig zu erweitern, und die Bereitschaft, sich dabei auf die Expertise von Spezialisten einzulassen. So mag er auf der Bühne als eitler Charmeur und selbstverliebter Zyniker in Erscheinung treten. Sein musikalisches Werk hingegen weist Elvis Costello als demütigen und nimmermüden Schüler aus.
Mit dem Debütalbum, «My Aim Is True» (1977), hat sich Costello mit Pub- und Punkrock in Szene gesetzt. Punk war eine Spielart, die er sich anverwandelte. Seine Musikalität war damit nicht erschöpft. Der Rocker hat sich eine gewisse Schärfe im Tonfall bewahrt, aber die musikalische Entwicklung führte ihn bald in neue Gegenden. Dabei wurde die Aneignung des Neuen stets von informierten Partnerinnen oder Partnern moderiert: An der Seite von Allen Toussaint ging’s in den Rhythm’n’Blues von New Orleans, mit dem Gitarristen Bill Frisell in den Jazz, mit Burt Bacharach entdeckte er das Easy Listening, mit der Band The Roots tauchte er in den Hip-Hop, mit dem Brodsky-Streichquartett in die neue Klassik, mit Anne Sofie von Otter in den Operngesang.
Er mag nicht immer gefeit gewesen sein gegen Klischees und Manierismus. Bei aller Vielfalt hat sich Elvis Costello aber nie in Beliebigkeit verloren. Das ist zunächst durch seine Stimme, seinen Gesang zu erklären. Das vokale Repertoire ist reduziert, aber gerade die Reduktion macht es zum Markenzeichen. Und der metallische Druck seiner Kopfstimme ebenso wie die lockere Artikulation in tieferen Lagen bewähren sich als klangliche Signatur in unterschiedlichen Klangbildern.
Zum andern hat Elvis Costello immer wieder einmal Anlauf in seinen Anfängen geholt. Das gilt für Alben wie «Brutal Youth» (1994) oder «When I Was Cruel» (2002). Und das zeigt sich auch wieder auf seinem neuesten Werk, «The Boy Named If», auf dem sich Costello mit seiner Jugend auseinandersetzt. In den dreizehn Songs geht es um erste sexuelle Erfahrungen und künstlerische Versuche, aber auch um Kleinkriminalität, Missbrauch und Desillusionierung.
Gitarre, Bass und Schlagzeug finden hier zusammen wie alte Freunde am Bartresen. Gleich im Opener, «Farewell, OK», werden die Saiten heftig angerissen. Fast ist man erschreckt ob der Raserei der Achtel. Zum Glück sorgen Bass und Schlagzeug trotz stiebender Aggression für den ordentlichen Groove, über dem sich der Sänger in suggestivem Zorn auslässt. Piano und Farfisa-Orgel bringen derweil eine ironische Note in den Sound.
Der Groove variiert
Von Eintönigkeit kann allerdings nicht die Rede sein. Der Gitarren-Sound dominiert zwar auf «The Boy Named If», der Groove hingegen wechselt zwischen gradlinigem Rock’n’Roll, Heavy-Walzer und Ballade. Bisweilen fängt sich die Erinnerung in einem hymnischen Refrain, dann wiederum tanzt sie aus der Form einer lustigen Marschmusik heraus.
Die Erinnerung sucht sich aber auch in Sprache und Sound unterschiedliche Formen. Elvis Costello lässt sich in dialogischen Moritaten und erzählerischen Elegien vernehmen. Dann wiederum überrascht er mit Poesie, die an kindliche Abzählverse erinnert. («While Beckett in blue and Ruth in red, might for all I know be dead.»)
So gibt die Vergangenheit also nochmals den Ton an auf «The Boy Named If». Ist das nicht doch ein nostalgisches Ruhebett, in das sich Elvis Costello auf seinem neuen Album gelegt hat? Tatsächlich lässt sein Retro-Sound eher an eine Sprungfeder denken. Oder an einen Jungbrunnen. In Rock und Punk findet Elvis Costello zur eigenen Geschichte zurück. Diese Art vitaler Selbstvergewisserung trägt in sich jedoch das Versprechen auf neuerliche Abenteuer.
http://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/elvis-cost ... ld.1665230
Elvis Costello rockt wieder: Um frisch zu bleiben, geht der Sänger vorwärts und zurück
Mit Punk hat Elvis Costello begonnen. Seither lässt er sich einerseits auf neue musikalische Abenteuer ein. Andrerseits holt der Brite immer wieder Anlauf in den eigenen Anfängen.
Ueli Bernays
19.01.2022, 05.30 Uhr
Elvis Costello wechselt in seiner Musik geschickt zwischen Herkunft und Zukunft ab.
Viel Lärm und Lust gleich zu Beginn. Die Band ist eine Rasselbande mit Sinn für präzise Kanten und Schnitte. Und ihr Sänger brilliert mit der fiebrigen Glut seines kehligen Falsetts. Willkommen im Rock’n’Roll-Theater von Elvis Costello und den Imposters. Die Musiker mögen weit über sechzig sein. Ihr neues Album, «The Boy Named If», aber wirkt zeitlos frisch.
Braucht es im Alter noch Idole? Man würde das zunächst verneinen. Vorbilder sind für die Jungen, die noch nicht recht wissen, ob sie mit Jeans oder Jupe, mit Locken oder Strähnen durchs Leben gehen sollen. In reiferen Jahren hingegen hat sich die Identität gefestigt, Pläne sind verwirklicht, Träume verwirkt. Man weiss jetzt selbst, wo’s langgeht.
Ein wacher Geist
Wer dann mal Zeit findet, ein paar Gedanken an die Vergangenheit zu verschwenden, wird verdriesslich staunen: Die Jahre der Experimente und Überraschungen verblassen in weiter Ferne. Gerade in Momenten melancholischer Einkehr aber könnte man von einem vitalen Geist wie Elvis Costello profitieren, der in seiner Musik geschickt abwechselt zwischen Herkunft und Zukunft.
Ob sich der britische Barde in der Rolle des Idols wohl fühlen würde, ist allerdings fraglich. Der Mann mit der schweren Hornbrille, der unter seinen Hut unterdessen fast alles bringt, was tönt und trommelt, lässt sich nicht gerne binden. Es sich bequem zu machen in einem Programm oder Stil, passt nicht zu seinem Charakter.
Elvis Costello ist das Paradebeispiel eines Künstlers, der sich in Mäandern verwirklicht. Album für Album kommen neue Facetten seiner Musikalität zur Geltung, die ihm wohl schon in die Wiege gelegt worden ist. Costellos Grossvater trompetete einst auf Ozeandampfern, der Vater war als Sänger mit Big Bands unterwegs. Es überrascht wenig, dass auch Declan McManus alias Elvis Costello im Teenageralter seinen Sinn für Melodie und Rhythmus entdeckte.
Ein nimmermüder Schüler
Aber Talent ist lediglich eine Seite dieser Wandelbarkeit. Fast noch wichtiger scheinen in Costellos Fall der Wille, die eigenen Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten ständig zu erweitern, und die Bereitschaft, sich dabei auf die Expertise von Spezialisten einzulassen. So mag er auf der Bühne als eitler Charmeur und selbstverliebter Zyniker in Erscheinung treten. Sein musikalisches Werk hingegen weist Elvis Costello als demütigen und nimmermüden Schüler aus.
Mit dem Debütalbum, «My Aim Is True» (1977), hat sich Costello mit Pub- und Punkrock in Szene gesetzt. Punk war eine Spielart, die er sich anverwandelte. Seine Musikalität war damit nicht erschöpft. Der Rocker hat sich eine gewisse Schärfe im Tonfall bewahrt, aber die musikalische Entwicklung führte ihn bald in neue Gegenden. Dabei wurde die Aneignung des Neuen stets von informierten Partnerinnen oder Partnern moderiert: An der Seite von Allen Toussaint ging’s in den Rhythm’n’Blues von New Orleans, mit dem Gitarristen Bill Frisell in den Jazz, mit Burt Bacharach entdeckte er das Easy Listening, mit der Band The Roots tauchte er in den Hip-Hop, mit dem Brodsky-Streichquartett in die neue Klassik, mit Anne Sofie von Otter in den Operngesang.
Er mag nicht immer gefeit gewesen sein gegen Klischees und Manierismus. Bei aller Vielfalt hat sich Elvis Costello aber nie in Beliebigkeit verloren. Das ist zunächst durch seine Stimme, seinen Gesang zu erklären. Das vokale Repertoire ist reduziert, aber gerade die Reduktion macht es zum Markenzeichen. Und der metallische Druck seiner Kopfstimme ebenso wie die lockere Artikulation in tieferen Lagen bewähren sich als klangliche Signatur in unterschiedlichen Klangbildern.
Zum andern hat Elvis Costello immer wieder einmal Anlauf in seinen Anfängen geholt. Das gilt für Alben wie «Brutal Youth» (1994) oder «When I Was Cruel» (2002). Und das zeigt sich auch wieder auf seinem neuesten Werk, «The Boy Named If», auf dem sich Costello mit seiner Jugend auseinandersetzt. In den dreizehn Songs geht es um erste sexuelle Erfahrungen und künstlerische Versuche, aber auch um Kleinkriminalität, Missbrauch und Desillusionierung.
Gitarre, Bass und Schlagzeug finden hier zusammen wie alte Freunde am Bartresen. Gleich im Opener, «Farewell, OK», werden die Saiten heftig angerissen. Fast ist man erschreckt ob der Raserei der Achtel. Zum Glück sorgen Bass und Schlagzeug trotz stiebender Aggression für den ordentlichen Groove, über dem sich der Sänger in suggestivem Zorn auslässt. Piano und Farfisa-Orgel bringen derweil eine ironische Note in den Sound.
Der Groove variiert
Von Eintönigkeit kann allerdings nicht die Rede sein. Der Gitarren-Sound dominiert zwar auf «The Boy Named If», der Groove hingegen wechselt zwischen gradlinigem Rock’n’Roll, Heavy-Walzer und Ballade. Bisweilen fängt sich die Erinnerung in einem hymnischen Refrain, dann wiederum tanzt sie aus der Form einer lustigen Marschmusik heraus.
Die Erinnerung sucht sich aber auch in Sprache und Sound unterschiedliche Formen. Elvis Costello lässt sich in dialogischen Moritaten und erzählerischen Elegien vernehmen. Dann wiederum überrascht er mit Poesie, die an kindliche Abzählverse erinnert. («While Beckett in blue and Ruth in red, might for all I know be dead.»)
So gibt die Vergangenheit also nochmals den Ton an auf «The Boy Named If». Ist das nicht doch ein nostalgisches Ruhebett, in das sich Elvis Costello auf seinem neuen Album gelegt hat? Tatsächlich lässt sein Retro-Sound eher an eine Sprungfeder denken. Oder an einen Jungbrunnen. In Rock und Punk findet Elvis Costello zur eigenen Geschichte zurück. Diese Art vitaler Selbstvergewisserung trägt in sich jedoch das Versprechen auf neuerliche Abenteuer.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/234346/9
Elvis Costello - The Boy Named If (Album Review)
Thursday, 20 January 2022 Written by Jacob Brookman
Elvis Costello’s 32nd studio album is great: a spiky, literate five course meal of a record created over the tail end (we hope) of lockdown with longtime bandmates Pete Thomas (drums), Steve Nieve (keys) and a relative newcomer in Davey Faragher (bass). It demonstrates the ongoing imagination, hunger and skill of the English songwriter, who at 67 continues adding to a rich catalogue of intelligent, storied, genre-defying pop music.
Unlike early records, which were sometimes hostage to fads in music production, ‘The Boy Named If’ is a tonal bullseye in balance, voicings and mixing, with Costello’s own driving guitar squirting out between Nieve’s fairground Wurlitzer organ and a hugely versatile rhythm section.
Mistook Me For A Friend demonstrates this ably: a bitter song full of energetic ingenuity and rhythmical variation that, were it spooled out for longer, could probably be called prog-rock.
Actually, this track is one of the most gloriously throwback on the album, with sections knowingly resembling his classics Radio, Radio and Pump It Up, a particular favourite at US sports games.
Another wonderful song is the languorous shuffler What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love? This is songwriting gold even by Costello’s standards. The chord changes and melodies are bewitchingly stitched together with zeal and panache, and the Fender Rhodes-voiced keys add warm tinkling to the blood and thunder of the lyrics.
Costello is at his best when he is investigating emotions other songwriters do not touch: complex feelings of betrayal and resentment. Like a documentary filmmaker, it is often the subject matter itself that makes his work so rich—the nuts and bolts of creating the artwork can feel secondary when you're wrapped up in these stories.
In this regard, ‘The Boy Named If’ is a musical journey in the truest sense. The cogency with which Costello jinks from power ballad to pub rock to chamber pop is intoxicating, and his lyricism may have actually improved over lockdown. While contemporaries’ output withers on the vine, this punk poet continues to find new ways to innovate. It’s his best album in years.
Elvis Costello - The Boy Named If (Album Review)
Thursday, 20 January 2022 Written by Jacob Brookman
Elvis Costello’s 32nd studio album is great: a spiky, literate five course meal of a record created over the tail end (we hope) of lockdown with longtime bandmates Pete Thomas (drums), Steve Nieve (keys) and a relative newcomer in Davey Faragher (bass). It demonstrates the ongoing imagination, hunger and skill of the English songwriter, who at 67 continues adding to a rich catalogue of intelligent, storied, genre-defying pop music.
Unlike early records, which were sometimes hostage to fads in music production, ‘The Boy Named If’ is a tonal bullseye in balance, voicings and mixing, with Costello’s own driving guitar squirting out between Nieve’s fairground Wurlitzer organ and a hugely versatile rhythm section.
Mistook Me For A Friend demonstrates this ably: a bitter song full of energetic ingenuity and rhythmical variation that, were it spooled out for longer, could probably be called prog-rock.
Actually, this track is one of the most gloriously throwback on the album, with sections knowingly resembling his classics Radio, Radio and Pump It Up, a particular favourite at US sports games.
Another wonderful song is the languorous shuffler What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love? This is songwriting gold even by Costello’s standards. The chord changes and melodies are bewitchingly stitched together with zeal and panache, and the Fender Rhodes-voiced keys add warm tinkling to the blood and thunder of the lyrics.
Costello is at his best when he is investigating emotions other songwriters do not touch: complex feelings of betrayal and resentment. Like a documentary filmmaker, it is often the subject matter itself that makes his work so rich—the nuts and bolts of creating the artwork can feel secondary when you're wrapped up in these stories.
In this regard, ‘The Boy Named If’ is a musical journey in the truest sense. The cogency with which Costello jinks from power ballad to pub rock to chamber pop is intoxicating, and his lyricism may have actually improved over lockdown. While contemporaries’ output withers on the vine, this punk poet continues to find new ways to innovate. It’s his best album in years.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
Do we know of any reviews anywhere that don't start with this line? Given the different criteria you could use, and the different ways you could count them, it's quite remarkable that every reviewer has counted to exactly the same total.sweetest punch wrote:Elvis Costello’s 32nd studio album...
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
I love some of Elvis' guitar "impersonations" sprinkled throughout. Guitar figures in "The Difference" that remind me of Marc Ribot. Short solos at the end of "Mr. Crescent" that sound so much like George Harrison. There are probably more.
Elvis has always been a good guitar mimic. I love his Hendrick impersonation in "Earthbound"
Elvis has always been a good guitar mimic. I love his Hendrick impersonation in "Earthbound"
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sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
Sold out in the UK: https://shopuk.elviscostello.com/*/*/ST ... 7NN0000000sweetest punch wrote:The CD book is selling fast!
Sold out in the US: https://shop.elviscostello.com/
Sold out in Belgium / The Netherlands: https://musicstation.be/collections/elvis-costello
Only a few left in the UK: https://shopuk.elviscostello.com/
Available in Germany: https://store.udiscover-music.de/p51-i0 ... index.html
Available again for pre-order in the US: https://shop.elviscostello.com/products ... ck-book-cd
Avalable again in Belgium / The Netherlands: https://musicstation.be/collections/elvis-costello
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.google.be/amp/s/amp.smh.com ... 59oqu.html
Elvis Costello’s new album a reminder of the old fire of yesteryear
Elvis Costello & The Imposters, THE BOY NAMED IF (EMI), ★★★★
In Stardust Memories, Woody Allen played a film director visited by aliens who told him they were fans of his films, “particularly the early, funny ones”. When Allen questioned whether he should be doing something more meaningful with his life, they encouraged him to tell funnier jokes, as that’s what people wanted. Elvis Costello could probably relate, as critics often wish he’d make albums like his early, angry ones.
While his 32nd album is not too angry, it certainly contains plenty of the old fire. Last year’s Hey Clockface, his first lockdown record, was a varied but disjointed experience that included everything from blaring junkyard rock to spoken-word poetry over orchestration. Although Costello and each of his band members recorded their parts for The Boy Named If separately in three different countries, it is more cohesive and satisfying.
A concept album of sorts, it investigates the passage from childhood to adulthood, from innocence to experience, and the rocky road that can be. And there’s no better way to announce it than Farewell, OK, which opens with a squall of overdriven noise from Costello’s Fender Jazzmaster, then slams into the kind of vein-popping rock he hasn’t indulged in so well since 1986’s Blood & Chocolate. Costello has often gently poked fun at his guitar skills, famously saying he has little hands of concrete, but he shines on the angular Marc Ribot-style curlicues of The Difference or the heavy riffing on What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.
The Imposters respond in kind, Pete Thomas’s seemingly ageless dynamic drum style in full effect, keyboardist Steve Nieve sounding like a carnival one moment and a one-man spy-theme factory the next, and bassist Davey Faragher really coming into his own, finding the nexus between nimble and beefy.
Speaking of innocence and experience, Costello has now conquered so many styles that some of his work could become florid and over-cooked. Although he ranges across psychedelic pop (Penny Halfpenny), bruised balladry (Paint the Red Rose Blue) and a dash of theatrics (The Man You Love to Hate), there’s a directness here that prevents the songs wandering too far into “look at me!” territory. If you want parallels from his past, Imperial Bedroom, Blood & Chocolate and Trust are the closest ancestors. And as the aliens would attest, they’re some of his best “early, funny” ones.
Elvis Costello’s new album a reminder of the old fire of yesteryear
Elvis Costello & The Imposters, THE BOY NAMED IF (EMI), ★★★★
In Stardust Memories, Woody Allen played a film director visited by aliens who told him they were fans of his films, “particularly the early, funny ones”. When Allen questioned whether he should be doing something more meaningful with his life, they encouraged him to tell funnier jokes, as that’s what people wanted. Elvis Costello could probably relate, as critics often wish he’d make albums like his early, angry ones.
While his 32nd album is not too angry, it certainly contains plenty of the old fire. Last year’s Hey Clockface, his first lockdown record, was a varied but disjointed experience that included everything from blaring junkyard rock to spoken-word poetry over orchestration. Although Costello and each of his band members recorded their parts for The Boy Named If separately in three different countries, it is more cohesive and satisfying.
A concept album of sorts, it investigates the passage from childhood to adulthood, from innocence to experience, and the rocky road that can be. And there’s no better way to announce it than Farewell, OK, which opens with a squall of overdriven noise from Costello’s Fender Jazzmaster, then slams into the kind of vein-popping rock he hasn’t indulged in so well since 1986’s Blood & Chocolate. Costello has often gently poked fun at his guitar skills, famously saying he has little hands of concrete, but he shines on the angular Marc Ribot-style curlicues of The Difference or the heavy riffing on What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.
The Imposters respond in kind, Pete Thomas’s seemingly ageless dynamic drum style in full effect, keyboardist Steve Nieve sounding like a carnival one moment and a one-man spy-theme factory the next, and bassist Davey Faragher really coming into his own, finding the nexus between nimble and beefy.
Speaking of innocence and experience, Costello has now conquered so many styles that some of his work could become florid and over-cooked. Although he ranges across psychedelic pop (Penny Halfpenny), bruised balladry (Paint the Red Rose Blue) and a dash of theatrics (The Man You Love to Hate), there’s a directness here that prevents the songs wandering too far into “look at me!” territory. If you want parallels from his past, Imperial Bedroom, Blood & Chocolate and Trust are the closest ancestors. And as the aliens would attest, they’re some of his best “early, funny” ones.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.musikexpress.de/reviews/elv ... -named-if/
Elvis Costello & The Imposters - The Boy Named If
Der legendäre Brillenträger kehrt zum ekstatischen Postpunk-Sound seiner frühen Tage zurück.
Das großartige LOOK NOW von 2018 war Burt-Bacharach-Pop und Motown-Soul, der Nachfolger HEY CLOCKFACE rückblickend eine Art Übergang: Elvis Costellos neues Album THE BOY NAMED IF ist jetzt, zumindest in großen Teilen, eine Rückkehr zum ekstatischen Postpunk seiner frühen Jahre. Das Aufgekratzte und Abgehackte, die gezackten Gitarrensolos und Yeah-Yeah-Yeahs: alles da.
Songs wie „Farewell, OK“ oder „Magnificent Hurt“ sind nicht so weit weg von denen der späten 70er. Mehr als einmal denkt man zwischendurch an „Pump It Up“, „Alison“, „Watching The Detectives“. „She was a parttime waitress with a dream of greatness“, startet das einnehmende „My Most Beautiful Mistake“: Am Ende steht trotzdem nicht sie als Klischee da, sondern der Kerl, der sie vor seiner Kamera hat und dabei „action“ und „that’s a take“ ruft, „there’s a hand that lingers a little too long“.
Auch „The Difference“ handelt von toxischer Männlichkeit, dort endet es mit einem Messer. „Kindergeschichten“ nennt Elvis Costello das Album im Untertitel. Ja, weil es hier um „Penelope Halfpenny“ geht, um romantischen Kitsch, aber auch um verlorene Unschuld, Desillusion, kurz: den Einbruch einer Realität. „He had the wildest of dreams, but he rarely remembered them“, heißt es im traurig dahinschaukelnden „Paint The Red Rose“. Statt wilder Träume die Erkenntnis: „It’s a sin to tell a lie until we trick out the truth.“ Das Maliziöse und das Melancholische, stampfender Rock und Pop-Sensibilität: im Grunde eine typische Costello-Platte.
Elvis Costello & The Imposters - The Boy Named If
Der legendäre Brillenträger kehrt zum ekstatischen Postpunk-Sound seiner frühen Tage zurück.
Das großartige LOOK NOW von 2018 war Burt-Bacharach-Pop und Motown-Soul, der Nachfolger HEY CLOCKFACE rückblickend eine Art Übergang: Elvis Costellos neues Album THE BOY NAMED IF ist jetzt, zumindest in großen Teilen, eine Rückkehr zum ekstatischen Postpunk seiner frühen Jahre. Das Aufgekratzte und Abgehackte, die gezackten Gitarrensolos und Yeah-Yeah-Yeahs: alles da.
Songs wie „Farewell, OK“ oder „Magnificent Hurt“ sind nicht so weit weg von denen der späten 70er. Mehr als einmal denkt man zwischendurch an „Pump It Up“, „Alison“, „Watching The Detectives“. „She was a parttime waitress with a dream of greatness“, startet das einnehmende „My Most Beautiful Mistake“: Am Ende steht trotzdem nicht sie als Klischee da, sondern der Kerl, der sie vor seiner Kamera hat und dabei „action“ und „that’s a take“ ruft, „there’s a hand that lingers a little too long“.
Auch „The Difference“ handelt von toxischer Männlichkeit, dort endet es mit einem Messer. „Kindergeschichten“ nennt Elvis Costello das Album im Untertitel. Ja, weil es hier um „Penelope Halfpenny“ geht, um romantischen Kitsch, aber auch um verlorene Unschuld, Desillusion, kurz: den Einbruch einer Realität. „He had the wildest of dreams, but he rarely remembered them“, heißt es im traurig dahinschaukelnden „Paint The Red Rose“. Statt wilder Träume die Erkenntnis: „It’s a sin to tell a lie until we trick out the truth.“ Das Maliziöse und das Melancholische, stampfender Rock und Pop-Sensibilität: im Grunde eine typische Costello-Platte.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/ve ... nvier-2022
Elvis Costello, une célébration : d’autres voix que la sienne
Very Good Trip termine en beauté sa semaine par une célébration ultime du talent d’Elvis Costello. Et ce seront ses chansons à lui qu’on va entendre mais, le plus souvent, interprétées par d’autres voix que la sienne.
« The Comedians », une des chansons les plus mémorables de ce qui fut l’ultime album du grand chanteur texan Roy Orbison.
« Mystery Girl » devait marquer le grand retour d’Orbison. Il préparait une grande tournée pour l’année 1989. Tragiquement, l’infortuné mourut d’un infarctus deux mois juste avant sa sortie, à un âge relativement peu avancé, cinquante-deux ans à la fin de l’année 1988.
Un an auparavant, il avait donné un concert dans une luxueuse boîte de nuit, le Coconut Grove, un décor évoquant un James Bond des années soixante, qu’abritait encore l’hôtel Ambassador à Los Angeles, sur Wilshire Boulevard. Les musiciens accompagnant Roy Orbison, toujours vêtu avec une austère sobriété, s’étaient mis sur leur trente et un. Il y avait là Bruce Springsteen, dont la vocation était née, en grande partie, grâce à Roy Orbison, Tom Waits, aussi, dans un coin, l’excellent musicien texan T Bone Burnett, une sorte de conservatoire des musiques traditionnelles américaines à lui tout seul, et, dans un coin, un peu empesé, comme intimidé par l’enjeu, l’Anglais Elvis Costello.
Elvis Costello était l'un de ceux qui avaient eu le privilège de composer une chanson pour l’album « Mystery Girl », qui avait aussi accueilli une composition inédite de U2, « She’s a Mystery to Me », à mon sens leur plus belle création.
Dès ses débuts, en 1977, je vous en parlais avant-hier, mardi soir, beaucoup ont remarqué le talent d’Elvis Costello pour composer des chansons. Parolier percutant, bon, parfois verbeux, on a aussi pu dire ça de Bob Dylan, et excellent mélodiste.
D’autres interprètes se sont vite emparés de ses chansons. Le guitariste Dave Edmunds, du groupe Rockpile, a eu un tube au Royaume Uni avec « Girls Talk » en 1979, un rock’n’roll à la Buddy Holly. La star du country rock californien Linda Ronstadt a repris sa ballade country soul « Alison ».
Roy Orbison : « The Comedians » extrait de l’album « Mystery Girl »
Los Lobos : « Uncomplicated - Original Version » EP « Ride This - Covers EP »
Elvis Costello & the Imposters :« There’s a Story in Your Voice » (featuring Lucinda Williams) extrait de l’album « The Delivery Man »
Calexico : « Shabby Doll » EP « Maybe on Monday EP »
Diana Krall : « The Girl in the Other Room » extrait de l’album « The Girl in the Other Room »
Robert Wyatt : « Shipbuilding - Remastered in 1998 » extraitde l’album « EPs »
Elvis Costello and Bill Frisell : « Love Field » extrait de l’album « Deep Dead Blue - Live 25 June 1995 »
Fiona Apple & Elvis Costello : « I Want You »
Anne Sofie von Otter meets Elvis Costello : « Baby Plays Around » extrait de l’album « For the Stars »
Alison Krauss : « The Scarlet Tide » extrait de l’album « A Hundred Miles or More : a Collection »
Elvis Costello, une célébration : d’autres voix que la sienne
Very Good Trip termine en beauté sa semaine par une célébration ultime du talent d’Elvis Costello. Et ce seront ses chansons à lui qu’on va entendre mais, le plus souvent, interprétées par d’autres voix que la sienne.
« The Comedians », une des chansons les plus mémorables de ce qui fut l’ultime album du grand chanteur texan Roy Orbison.
« Mystery Girl » devait marquer le grand retour d’Orbison. Il préparait une grande tournée pour l’année 1989. Tragiquement, l’infortuné mourut d’un infarctus deux mois juste avant sa sortie, à un âge relativement peu avancé, cinquante-deux ans à la fin de l’année 1988.
Un an auparavant, il avait donné un concert dans une luxueuse boîte de nuit, le Coconut Grove, un décor évoquant un James Bond des années soixante, qu’abritait encore l’hôtel Ambassador à Los Angeles, sur Wilshire Boulevard. Les musiciens accompagnant Roy Orbison, toujours vêtu avec une austère sobriété, s’étaient mis sur leur trente et un. Il y avait là Bruce Springsteen, dont la vocation était née, en grande partie, grâce à Roy Orbison, Tom Waits, aussi, dans un coin, l’excellent musicien texan T Bone Burnett, une sorte de conservatoire des musiques traditionnelles américaines à lui tout seul, et, dans un coin, un peu empesé, comme intimidé par l’enjeu, l’Anglais Elvis Costello.
Elvis Costello était l'un de ceux qui avaient eu le privilège de composer une chanson pour l’album « Mystery Girl », qui avait aussi accueilli une composition inédite de U2, « She’s a Mystery to Me », à mon sens leur plus belle création.
Dès ses débuts, en 1977, je vous en parlais avant-hier, mardi soir, beaucoup ont remarqué le talent d’Elvis Costello pour composer des chansons. Parolier percutant, bon, parfois verbeux, on a aussi pu dire ça de Bob Dylan, et excellent mélodiste.
D’autres interprètes se sont vite emparés de ses chansons. Le guitariste Dave Edmunds, du groupe Rockpile, a eu un tube au Royaume Uni avec « Girls Talk » en 1979, un rock’n’roll à la Buddy Holly. La star du country rock californien Linda Ronstadt a repris sa ballade country soul « Alison ».
Roy Orbison : « The Comedians » extrait de l’album « Mystery Girl »
Los Lobos : « Uncomplicated - Original Version » EP « Ride This - Covers EP »
Elvis Costello & the Imposters :« There’s a Story in Your Voice » (featuring Lucinda Williams) extrait de l’album « The Delivery Man »
Calexico : « Shabby Doll » EP « Maybe on Monday EP »
Diana Krall : « The Girl in the Other Room » extrait de l’album « The Girl in the Other Room »
Robert Wyatt : « Shipbuilding - Remastered in 1998 » extraitde l’album « EPs »
Elvis Costello and Bill Frisell : « Love Field » extrait de l’album « Deep Dead Blue - Live 25 June 1995 »
Fiona Apple & Elvis Costello : « I Want You »
Anne Sofie von Otter meets Elvis Costello : « Baby Plays Around » extrait de l’album « For the Stars »
Alison Krauss : « The Scarlet Tide » extrait de l’album « A Hundred Miles or More : a Collection »
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.trouw.nl/cultuur-media/inte ... ogle.be%2F
Intense, energieke plaat van Elvis Costello is simpelweg een feest
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
The Boy Named If (Universal)
★★★★
Elvis Costello probeert graag iets nieuws uit. Zelfs als hij daarmee misschien wel een groot deel van zijn fans in het harnas jaagt. Jazz. Soul. Country. Klassiek. Ja, wat heeft hij eigenlijk niet gespeeld? Maar nu keert hij met The Boy Named If in zekere zin terug naar zijn leest, naar eind jaren zeventig, naar een mix van punkrock en new wave.
En ook nog eens met zijn band van weleer, The Attractions, al heten ze nu The Imposters. Bassist Bruce Thomas speelt niet mee, maar drummer Pete Thomas mept er weer flink op los en ook toetsenist Steve Nieve is terug, met zijn vrolijk dreinende en geflipte spel.
En Costello moppert heerlijk. De Londense artiest zingt bozig, geïrriteerd, precies zoals je wilt dat hij klinkt. Zoals in het rockende openingsnummer Farewell, OK. Of in de single Magnificent Hurt, die zo een Costello-klassieker kan worden.
Maar het kan ook nog altijd zoet, bitterzoet eigenlijk, melancholisch, zoals in Paint The Red Rose Blue. Hij zingt over iemand die de wildste dromen had, maar die inmiddels bijna vergeten is. Soms hint Costello’s zang wat naar David Bowie – ook in zijn latere jaren. Een beetje hees en geknepen. Zoals in Penelope Halfpenny. Of Mistook Me For A Friend.
Nee, The Boy Named If is misschien niet zo goed als zijn klassieker This Year’s Model uit 1978. Maar dat de inmiddels 67-jarige zanger nog zo’n intense en energieke plaat kan toevoegen aan zijn toch al zo rijke oeuvre, mag simpelweg een feest heten.
Intense, energieke plaat van Elvis Costello is simpelweg een feest
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
The Boy Named If (Universal)
★★★★
Elvis Costello probeert graag iets nieuws uit. Zelfs als hij daarmee misschien wel een groot deel van zijn fans in het harnas jaagt. Jazz. Soul. Country. Klassiek. Ja, wat heeft hij eigenlijk niet gespeeld? Maar nu keert hij met The Boy Named If in zekere zin terug naar zijn leest, naar eind jaren zeventig, naar een mix van punkrock en new wave.
En ook nog eens met zijn band van weleer, The Attractions, al heten ze nu The Imposters. Bassist Bruce Thomas speelt niet mee, maar drummer Pete Thomas mept er weer flink op los en ook toetsenist Steve Nieve is terug, met zijn vrolijk dreinende en geflipte spel.
En Costello moppert heerlijk. De Londense artiest zingt bozig, geïrriteerd, precies zoals je wilt dat hij klinkt. Zoals in het rockende openingsnummer Farewell, OK. Of in de single Magnificent Hurt, die zo een Costello-klassieker kan worden.
Maar het kan ook nog altijd zoet, bitterzoet eigenlijk, melancholisch, zoals in Paint The Red Rose Blue. Hij zingt over iemand die de wildste dromen had, maar die inmiddels bijna vergeten is. Soms hint Costello’s zang wat naar David Bowie – ook in zijn latere jaren. Een beetje hees en geknepen. Zoals in Penelope Halfpenny. Of Mistook Me For A Friend.
Nee, The Boy Named If is misschien niet zo goed als zijn klassieker This Year’s Model uit 1978. Maar dat de inmiddels 67-jarige zanger nog zo’n intense en energieke plaat kan toevoegen aan zijn toch al zo rijke oeuvre, mag simpelweg een feest heten.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/musiqu ... y-named-if
The Boy Named If, Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Depuis le jour où il décida qu’Elvis Costello, appellation improbable et absurde (roi du rock + covedette de duo comique), lui convenait mieux que Declan McManus pour affronter le monde, l’irréductible binoclard a eu les coudées franches. Le suivre est passionnant et déroutant : on ne sait jamais où il en est. Les dernières fois, il a été plus qu’éclectique (Hey Clockface), puis carrément incongru (ressortir This Year’s Model, pareil sauf les voix, chantées par autrui en espagnol…). Et ce coup-ci ? Un disque pop-punk très années 1970 (orgue Farfisa compris) avec ses Imposters, mais au service de chansons… pour enfants. Qui n’en sont pas vraiment. Ces « children’s tales » parlent en fait de tout ce que les enfants vont vivre (subir ?) en grandissant, et c’est pas joli joli. Mais ça fait de formidables chansons : Magnificent Hurt, Penelope Halfpenny, Mistook me for a Friend sont impitoyablement belles. Dangereusement mélodiques. Merveilles toxiques. Une œuvre de jeunesse actuelle ET décalée pour commencer l’année.
The Boy Named If
★★★★ 1/2
The Boy Named If, Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Depuis le jour où il décida qu’Elvis Costello, appellation improbable et absurde (roi du rock + covedette de duo comique), lui convenait mieux que Declan McManus pour affronter le monde, l’irréductible binoclard a eu les coudées franches. Le suivre est passionnant et déroutant : on ne sait jamais où il en est. Les dernières fois, il a été plus qu’éclectique (Hey Clockface), puis carrément incongru (ressortir This Year’s Model, pareil sauf les voix, chantées par autrui en espagnol…). Et ce coup-ci ? Un disque pop-punk très années 1970 (orgue Farfisa compris) avec ses Imposters, mais au service de chansons… pour enfants. Qui n’en sont pas vraiment. Ces « children’s tales » parlent en fait de tout ce que les enfants vont vivre (subir ?) en grandissant, et c’est pas joli joli. Mais ça fait de formidables chansons : Magnificent Hurt, Penelope Halfpenny, Mistook me for a Friend sont impitoyablement belles. Dangereusement mélodiques. Merveilles toxiques. Une œuvre de jeunesse actuelle ET décalée pour commencer l’année.
The Boy Named If
★★★★ 1/2
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/ ... e/13723586
Elvis Costello on The Friday Revue with Jacinta Parsons and Brian Nankervis
With a career that spans 45 years and 32 albums, Elvis Costello has produced yet another stunning album, The Boy Named If. Joined by his longstanding collaborators, The Imposters, Elvis Costello shares with Brian and Jacinta that it was sitting by his mother’s bedside when she was unwell that took him back to his love of illustrating. The album is accompanied by an 88-page hardback storybook and stories that extend and evolve the 13 tracks.
Duration: 18min 55sec
Broadcast: Fri 21 Jan 2022, 12:30pm
Elvis Costello on The Friday Revue with Jacinta Parsons and Brian Nankervis
With a career that spans 45 years and 32 albums, Elvis Costello has produced yet another stunning album, The Boy Named If. Joined by his longstanding collaborators, The Imposters, Elvis Costello shares with Brian and Jacinta that it was sitting by his mother’s bedside when she was unwell that took him back to his love of illustrating. The album is accompanied by an 88-page hardback storybook and stories that extend and evolve the 13 tracks.
Duration: 18min 55sec
Broadcast: Fri 21 Jan 2022, 12:30pm
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
-
sweetest punch
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... -costello/
Elvis Costello shows no signs of slowing, not with so many stories swirling around in his brain
Elvis Costello isn't just still in vogue. He's just released his best album to date. On the release of The Boy Named If (And Other Children's Stories), it's impossible not to draw up a chair and listen with intuitive respect at the wonderment.
Not now, not at 65 and certainly not when the entire record was composed and listened to far away from those Imposters of his, otherwise known as one of the world's greatest backing bands.
Because they have been playing together for so long, the album resonates with familiarity and togetherness. It's as if they were all in the one room, slamming it out with someone at the other end of the studio booth.
The record is written like a single performance against an idea, extending from his attempt to get to know the vibrant, as-yet-unexplored world of imaginary friends.
Crumbling through a zoom call, leaning in with passion and commitment as he explained the process, the excitement is real, his passion no less - perhaps more than it has ever been.
"You know, I never actually had an imaginary friend," he says. "So I am imagining the imaginary friend, but I know they exist. And when they brought me up as a young Catholic boy, I was told I had a Guardian Angel. You know, that was supposed to be keeping you from doing the bad stuff that other kids blamed imaginary friend for."
It's a true COVID-19 album, in the best sense, made in the same conditions many lock-down explorers have been through. Think of the passionate moments of release, when thoughtful folk began to question why life ever needed to be the way it was.
"It must have been cycling around some of these thoughts about leaving, childhood, wonder and innocence and imagination, and the ability to dance and sing and skip," he says.
"And, you know, invent fantastic things that only Leonardo da Vincis do. Like fantastic machines and things, all of the things you can do in your childhood that you become quickly too self-conscious to do when you're gripped with carnal desire as a teenager."
Effectively putting himself in an author's mindset, detailing the characters in his head, and blasting them out with force, the drive behind this creation is obvious.
"Therefore, we catch up with some characters along the way that you know, are part of this somehow. A woman who's based on a teacher I had. Not obviously," he says. "Not that person, but a romanticised version of her. The sort of person who comes into your life, that you're not so much having desire for them, but curiosity about a life that she suggests."
Dipping back in to a common experience, "I have this teacher who seemed to have stumbled into teaching from some other kind of life that she might have rather been in...being a crime reporter and Korean espionage. She had ended up teaching English to a bunch of, you know, indifferent teenagers.
"But it was the fact that she talked about her own life, and that she was a real flesh-and-blood person with a fashionable style as opposed to a person covered in chalk dust who was prematurely middle-aged. That was like a door to a party that we could never go into. So that's why I wrote that song... everything she suggested was just out of reach."
And then of course we have the man you love to hate, who appeared in Costello's thoughts because there was a wrestler in his youth who shared his family name.
"It drove my whole family mad that we were constantly asked if we were related to him," he says. "He was called the Dulwich Destroyer, whose tag line was 'The Man You Love to Hate'."
Creatively, Costello has been pulsing. He has shed weight as a musical thinker, and the magic of creativity shivers through his discussion of the album's composition.
"Because it was written sort of quite close together, I suppose I have a guitar in my hand and put it down," he says.
"I had been writing songs of the previous couple of years at the piano - that colours it differently and tends to make the songs more slow mid-tempo. I think it's much easier to write cliche with the guitar, because you don't go to the same patterns."
Born from the immediate need to keep himself limber, drummer Pete Thomas next caught up with the leading man to talk shop. Having played through all of their records, some Motown hits, and the entire Beatles catalogue, "He likes to play all the time," Costello says.
"He has this wonderful old Gretsch kit that he played on, this year's model, in his basement, and plays every day for hours."
Sending him a song to listen to, without any idea of what was to come, "Within an hour, he sent it back to me with drums on it."
Despite the process, with everybody doing their parts separately, the record sounds alive. Costello credits co-producer Sebastian Krys for stitching in the component parts.
But the rest remains the musician's responsibility. In a brand new context - everything was possible.
Elvis Costello shows no signs of slowing, not with so many stories swirling around in his brain
Elvis Costello isn't just still in vogue. He's just released his best album to date. On the release of The Boy Named If (And Other Children's Stories), it's impossible not to draw up a chair and listen with intuitive respect at the wonderment.
Not now, not at 65 and certainly not when the entire record was composed and listened to far away from those Imposters of his, otherwise known as one of the world's greatest backing bands.
Because they have been playing together for so long, the album resonates with familiarity and togetherness. It's as if they were all in the one room, slamming it out with someone at the other end of the studio booth.
The record is written like a single performance against an idea, extending from his attempt to get to know the vibrant, as-yet-unexplored world of imaginary friends.
Crumbling through a zoom call, leaning in with passion and commitment as he explained the process, the excitement is real, his passion no less - perhaps more than it has ever been.
"You know, I never actually had an imaginary friend," he says. "So I am imagining the imaginary friend, but I know they exist. And when they brought me up as a young Catholic boy, I was told I had a Guardian Angel. You know, that was supposed to be keeping you from doing the bad stuff that other kids blamed imaginary friend for."
It's a true COVID-19 album, in the best sense, made in the same conditions many lock-down explorers have been through. Think of the passionate moments of release, when thoughtful folk began to question why life ever needed to be the way it was.
"It must have been cycling around some of these thoughts about leaving, childhood, wonder and innocence and imagination, and the ability to dance and sing and skip," he says.
"And, you know, invent fantastic things that only Leonardo da Vincis do. Like fantastic machines and things, all of the things you can do in your childhood that you become quickly too self-conscious to do when you're gripped with carnal desire as a teenager."
Effectively putting himself in an author's mindset, detailing the characters in his head, and blasting them out with force, the drive behind this creation is obvious.
"Therefore, we catch up with some characters along the way that you know, are part of this somehow. A woman who's based on a teacher I had. Not obviously," he says. "Not that person, but a romanticised version of her. The sort of person who comes into your life, that you're not so much having desire for them, but curiosity about a life that she suggests."
Dipping back in to a common experience, "I have this teacher who seemed to have stumbled into teaching from some other kind of life that she might have rather been in...being a crime reporter and Korean espionage. She had ended up teaching English to a bunch of, you know, indifferent teenagers.
"But it was the fact that she talked about her own life, and that she was a real flesh-and-blood person with a fashionable style as opposed to a person covered in chalk dust who was prematurely middle-aged. That was like a door to a party that we could never go into. So that's why I wrote that song... everything she suggested was just out of reach."
And then of course we have the man you love to hate, who appeared in Costello's thoughts because there was a wrestler in his youth who shared his family name.
"It drove my whole family mad that we were constantly asked if we were related to him," he says. "He was called the Dulwich Destroyer, whose tag line was 'The Man You Love to Hate'."
Creatively, Costello has been pulsing. He has shed weight as a musical thinker, and the magic of creativity shivers through his discussion of the album's composition.
"Because it was written sort of quite close together, I suppose I have a guitar in my hand and put it down," he says.
"I had been writing songs of the previous couple of years at the piano - that colours it differently and tends to make the songs more slow mid-tempo. I think it's much easier to write cliche with the guitar, because you don't go to the same patterns."
Born from the immediate need to keep himself limber, drummer Pete Thomas next caught up with the leading man to talk shop. Having played through all of their records, some Motown hits, and the entire Beatles catalogue, "He likes to play all the time," Costello says.
"He has this wonderful old Gretsch kit that he played on, this year's model, in his basement, and plays every day for hours."
Sending him a song to listen to, without any idea of what was to come, "Within an hour, he sent it back to me with drums on it."
Despite the process, with everybody doing their parts separately, the record sounds alive. Costello credits co-producer Sebastian Krys for stitching in the component parts.
But the rest remains the musician's responsibility. In a brand new context - everything was possible.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
Just entered the UK album chart at number 6. How lovely, biggest hit since Brutal Youth.
Number 2 based off physical sales.
Number 2 based off physical sales.
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
For anyone who wants to flip through the book from the comfort of your own home without actually buying it, you can via this "unboxing" video:
https://superdeluxeedition.com/video/el ... d-unboxed/
(Obviously a misnomer, but these videos are part of the site's series of "unboxing" videos which typically look at box sets.) It's HD and if you're fine with pausing frequently, you can read the entire thing.
https://superdeluxeedition.com/video/el ... d-unboxed/
(Obviously a misnomer, but these videos are part of the site's series of "unboxing" videos which typically look at box sets.) It's HD and if you're fine with pausing frequently, you can read the entire thing.
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
so - I've got to ask -- I haven't seen any posts about the absence of lyrics and credits with the standard cd version of TBNI - I got mine from Amazon, made in Mexico... anyone else without lyrics/credits booklet ???
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
Still playing it. Every play reveals something new and laugh-out-loud good. Whether it's some bit of timed phrasing, the way he changes the vocal effect for particular line, a drum-fill here, a keyboard riff there...good God, there's a John Dryden reference in the first line of 'Mr Crescent'. The lyrics just tumble out of him, it's hard to keep up. The pacing, the rhyming, his vocal performance. I don't want to get too hyperbolic But I'm on the verge of suggesting that this is the perfection we knew was there, but have waited 45 years for it to happen? Has he made his best LP at 67? 
Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
Yes, I believe he has.Hawksmoor wrote:Still playing it. Every play reveals something new and laugh-out-loud good. Whether it's some bit of timed phrasing, the way he changes the vocal effect for particular line, a drum-fill here, a keyboard riff there...good God, there's a John Dryden reference in the first line of 'Mr Crescent'. The lyrics just tumble out of him, it's hard to keep up. The pacing, the rhyming, his vocal performance. I don't want to get too hyperbolic But I'm on the verge of suggesting that this is the perfection we knew was there, but have waited 45 years for it to happen? Has he made his best LP at 67?
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Re: The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022
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.
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.
Can't you see I'm trying to change this water to wine