"Momofuku" review

Pretty self-explanatory
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by pophead2k »

I usually try to hold off on my Costello reviews because I'm a complete geek fan who usually likes everything the man does. Having said that............. Momofuku is a stone cold classic. Five listens through and these songs already feel like old friends. The melodies are inventive but comfortable, the instrumentation is very interesting, and the production is raw and present. I haven't even begun to digest the lyrics, but the opener, No Hiding Place has a great words and Stella Hurt is just one of the best rock songs I've ever heard. This is going to be a great summer!!
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jh ... cds103.xml

Daily Telegraph
My 3 '08

Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Momofuku
Lost Highway, £11.99

The title comes from the inventor of Pot Noodles, Momofuku Andy (1910-2007). The inference is that Costello's new album was an instant concoction, stirred up in the studio. Disillusioned with developments in the music business, Costello threatened never to add to his discography of 32 original albums, but you can't keep a hyperactive motormouth down.

Momofuku was thrown together in a few hastily convened sessions and rush released, and is all the better for it. There is an energy and commitment reminiscent of his new wave heyday, although the sound is actually more slapdash and grungier, with fuzzed up guitar and dinky organs.

Costello's singing, rather rough of late, has a high, pure tone. He spews vitriol with the rancour of an old punk but melody and wisdom soften the attack. For old fans rather than new ones, there is enough here to demonstrate why Costello should still be regarded as one of our greatest and most original songwriters.

Neil McCormick
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by wardo68 »

Early (gushing) review from the All Music Guide:

http://blog.allmusic.com/2008/05/02/elvis-costello/
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by Miclewis »

One of my only complaints with the album is the nearly mono sound of some of the tracks.

I am all for a "quick and dirty" sound (very rock n' roll), but songs like American Gangster Time are just barely in stereo. The song feels like classic Attractions from This Years Model. But, This Year's Model sounds fantastic in comparison.

One could make a case why songs like Flutter & Wow and Go Away are practically in mono, in order to get an old song feeling. But Harry Worth and Drum & Bone?
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by scielle »

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 20649.html

Just add hot water and stir...
The Independent, Simmy Richman
Sunday, 4 May 2008

Let's get the trivia out of the way first: Momofuku Ando is the recently deceased inventor of the cup noodle. In naming this record after him, Costello wants us to know that the album was made in a week, and that it is an easy, breezy, instant and, perhaps, disposable affair.

He does himself a disservice. Because what 'Momofuku' demonstrates is that Costello is happiest when he is creating literate and snappy pop with added MSG (mostly spontaneous glee). Made with the aid of a cool-kid bunch of Californians (Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley, her beau Johnathan Rice, drummer Pete Thomas's daughter Tennessee), 'Momofuku' is the sound of Costello in satisfied (rather than self-satisfied) mode.

It is a cavalcade of clever songs that recall any classic Costello you care to mention. It is also an intensely personal and honest record. ("It's not very far/From tears to mirth/There are not many moments/That will capture your breath" he advises a newlywed on "Harry Worth".) After all those starchy collaborations with the Bacharachs, Brodskys and von Otters, the Costello we knew and loved is finally reborn by the simple act of making music for fun rather than favour. There's a moral in that for all of us.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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http://blog.masslive.com/playback/2008/ ... ill_s.html

The Republican - MassLive.com

Kevin O'Hare, Playback

May 04 '08

Elvis Costello and the Imposters, "Momofuku" (Lost Highway) 3.5 stars.

Released initially as a good old-fashioned, warm-sounding double-LP, Elvis Costello's latest album with the Imposters is a straight set of rock 'n' roll, short on frills, but filled with a workman-like approach to the songwriting craft he's mastered through the years.

It will soon be available for downloading and also as a standard CD, but it's fun just taking the shrink wrap off and letting Costello and his bandmates take the turntable for a ride on early cuts like "No Hiding Place," and "American Gangster Time," the latter which showcases the forever cheesy Vox continental organ work of Steve Nieve.

The album was recorded quickly in January and February of this year, a sidestep of sorts while Costello was working with Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis on her upcoming solo album. She appears on vocals on several songs here, arguably most memorably on the jazzy, lyrically intriguing "Harry Worth," and other titles like the pedal-steel backed "Song With Rose," the latter of which features lyrics co-written by Costello and Rosanne Cash. Costello also teamed with country legend Loretta Lynn to pen "Pardon Me Madam, My Name is Eve."

"Momofuku," is the Imposters' follow-up to "The Delivery Man," and its strengths lie - not surprisingly - in the consistency of the songwriting and the smart arrangements. While Costello takes few chances here, he does deliver some sturdy additions to his overflowing catalog, particularly "Flutter & Wow," one of several songs featuring David Hidalgo on guitar, and the touching ballad "My Three Sons."
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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A syndicated version of this review credits 'Ben Ratliff' as the writer.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/li ... t=&sid=101

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/arts/ ... 5choi.html

THE NEW YORK TIMES
May 5, 2008

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS
“Momofuku”
(Lost Highway)

Elvis Costello can write a well-wrought song with ease, but he usually doesn’t just throw records out there. “Momofuku,” which takes its name from the inventor of instant noodles, is different. It’s effortfully tossed off; it’s a middling record battling against his built-in high standards.

Verifiable news about “Momofuku” first surfaced on Mr. Costello’s Web site, elviscostello.com, the day of the album’s release on vinyl two weeks ago. (It comes out on CD this week.) The album started, Mr. Costello wrote in his post, when he contributed vocals to Jenny Lewis’s next record, which also included Davey Faragher, Mr. Costello’s regular bass player.

Mr. Costello then brought his drummer, Pete Thomas, into the picture and made his own record in a week, finishing the job less than three months ago. It involved a few other helpers, including Ms. Lewis, the singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice (Ms. Lewis’s boyfriend) and Mr. Thomas’s daughter Tennessee Thomas (also a drummer). Steve Nieve, another member of the Imposters, joined them on keyboards.

From time to time it sounds like Mr. Costello’s early work. “No Hiding Place,” a song about the loss of dignity in the world, flashes the wit and ill-humor of his younger days, though this is a middle-aged man’s complaint. (“You can say anything you want to in your fetching cloak of anonymity,” he sings. “Are you feeling out of breath now, in your desperate pursuit of infamy?”) The Vox organ suffusing “American Gangster Time,” and its drum rhythm, recalls “Radio Radio,” from Mr. Costello’s 1978 album “This Year’s Model”; the “In the Midnight Hour” bass line in “Go Away” sounds like something from “Get Happy!!” from 1980. There are hints of bossa nova and country and sophisticated ’70s pop, though nothing here is a real genre exercise; the album is too low key for that.

For a record bashed out in a week — the kind of album in which the singer says, “Are we rolling?” and indicates to his band when to go to the bridge — “Momofuku” is not bare-bones. It has up to four backup singers and nine musicians at any given time, and sometimes a bit of space noise and backward effects in the guitars — the kind of thing done by indie-rockers with some time on their hands. But Mr. Costello determinedly allows imperfection with a small and squalid electric-guitar tone, his voice cracking and occasionally turning flat.

He is playing from within his own tradition and seemingly trying to make the act sound average and workaday. “Maybe this is nothing but drum and drone,” he sings at one point. “Wanna beat it till I get unknown.”

NATE CHINEN
Last edited by johnfoyle on Tue May 06, 2008 12:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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Strange review. I'm surprised they didn't have Pareles review it.

Then again, The Times' pop music coverage is abysmal.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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Don't know where this guy is coming from but this is a lazy review. The reviewer seems to be stuck on the idea that because this was recorded quickly, it has less merit than something that takes longer to record All of his criticisms are based on this argument. "Workaday" and "middling" are two words I would not associate with this album.

I would be very surprised and disappointed if the mainstream media at large takes this attitude towards what is obviously a very strong album.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news ... eb&k=37345


CD review: Momofuko by Elvis Costello - back in rock and roll mode

John Mackie, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, May 05, 2008

MOMOFUKU
Elvis Costello
Lost Highway/Universal
4 stars


Elvis Costello does things differently.

A couple of months ago, he went down to Los Angeles to guest on a new solo record by Jenny Lewis, the singer in Rilo Kiley. He got inspired, wrote a bunch of songs, called in his bandmates, then recorded his own record in six days

Two weeks ago, the record was released without any fanfare or hype - but only as a vinyl LP and digital download. This week it comes out on compact disc, still without any fanfare or hype.

Given the bang-bang way it came together, it's not all that surprising that it's a bit of a bang-bang record: Elvis is back in rock and roll mode.

Well, at least on some songs - Elvis Costello records tend to be stylistically varied. The opening No Hiding Place is a stomper with a wicked guitar line, while the raucous American Gangster Time could be an outtake from This Year's Model, propelled by some wonderful new wave-'60s organ from Steve Neive. The nastiest number is Stella Hurt, which is as gnarly and lowdown as anything Costello has ever recorded.

On the flip side, volume-wise, there's a lovely ballad about fatherhood called My Three Sons which features Elvis at his most tender and lyrically direct. Song With Rose (co-written by Rosanne Cash) has a majestic feel enhanced by the use of 12-string and steel guitar, while Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve is a slinky, slow-burning ballad (the title came from Loretta Lynn, who Elvis recently wrote some songs with).

Jenny Lewis chips in some harmonies, and her band joins Costello's Imposters on a couple of songs, making for a nine-piece ensemble (a nonet). In a release Elvis describes the resulting sound as "a fine old noise," an apt description for all of Momofuku.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news ... f1f6600f24

Elvis Costello: Some facts
John Mackie, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, May 05, 2008


. The title Momofuku was inspired by Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen noodles. "Like so many things in this world of wonders, all we had to do to make this record was add water," Costello claims in a press release for the new album. Ando died in January 2007, at the age of 96.


. Costello's long-time drummer Pete Thomas is joined on the album by his daughter Tennessee, a drummer for Los Angeles band the Like.


. Costello and the Imposters are opening for the Police's summer stadium tour. The closest they'll get to Vancouver is at the Gorge near Seattle July 12.


Costello now lives much of the time in the Lower Mainland with his wife Diana Krall and their twin sons (the couple also has a place in New York). He is handled by local managers Steve Macklam and Sam Feldman; Colin Nairne, guitarist for Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts, handles most of his day-to-day business.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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johnfoyle wrote:Costello now lives much of the time in the Lower Mainland
Lower Mainland!?! Cheeky Canucks!

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Re: "Momofuku" review

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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... _exam.html


Give Costello an A for this vinyl exam

Tuesday, May 6th 2008, 4:00 AM

Jim Farber , New York Daily News.


Elvis Costello. "Momofuku." (Lost Highway Records)

Elvis Costello forced his fans into the wayback machine for his latest release.

Over the last two weeks, devotees could only hear the new music by buying it on vinyl - an ancient substance known only to those over 50 or anyone employed as a hip-hop DJ.

Starting today, Costello lets the rest of humanity fast-forward to the modern age. Finally you can download the disk to your heart's content, or even buy it in the moderately old-fashioned form of a CD.

As a Luddite protest - or an attention-getting gimmick - Costello's move shows pluck and resolve. The stunt also has the scope of conceptual art, allowing listeners to ponder the past as they fondle the gaping gatefold package of "Momofuku" and listen to wizened needles scrape through its modern grooves. To ensure the best possible sound - regardless of how stinky the system that we play it on - Costello released the songs on two vinyl slabs, letting the grooves breathe and resonate.

Costello didn't only reference the past in the album's form, but in its content (remember content?). "Momofuku" sounds a lot like an Elvis Costello album from his own vinyl age. A hard-rocking record, the disk could be slipped right between "Get Happy" and "Trust" (circa 1981) and not be out of place.

That's got to be a good thing. Here's an even better one: Costello didn't just try to re-create an older sound. For this project, he gathered a bunch of younger artists (including the wonderful couple Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice) to warble along, forming a choir that gives the songs a rich new sheen. Think "Trust" as backed by Fleetwood Mac.

Costello and the gang wrote and recorded these pieces in a flash, which explains why he named the album after the guy who pioneered the fast-food phenom of ramen noodles.

Luckily, the resulting disk doesn't feel tossed off, but fresh. Its brisk tunes, dense lyrics and passionate performances would excite listeners no matter how they hear them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/2008 ... -revi.html

U.S.A Today

May 6 '08


Elvis Costello, Momofuku: * * * 1/2 -- Noodles & needles

In naming his new album after instant noodle inventor Momofuku Ando, Elvis Costello may be suggesting parallels to the project’s simple recipe and quick completion.

While whimsical and easy to digest, Momofuku is anything but hot-plate dorm grub (though its initially pressing is on old-fashioned platters, vinyl lovers will be thrilled to learn). Costello has crafted a batch of substantial, personal, clever, melodic songs that fit comfortably alongside his most serious work.

Only this isn’t his most serious work. A sense of glee permeates every track, seeping even into the bile and rumination of reflective passages. Costello seems revitalized, brimming with mirth and mischief, in scrappy rockers (the funk-plied Stella Hurt), soulful romantic ballads (Flutter & Wow) and loping singer/songwriter yarns (Song With Rose). He’s not just using his noodle. He’s stirring it up. — Edna Gundersen

>>Download: Turpentine, Stella Hurt, American Gangster Time, Harry Worth >>Consider: Mr. Feathers, No Hiding Place, Drum & Bone
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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http://www.uwire.com/Article.aspx?id=859280

All that and a cup of noodles with Costello's 'Momofuku'
By Zachary Herrmann
May 06, 2008


Never mind his Irish-British heritage, Elvis Costello truly is the King of America, or at least American music, as his 1995 album implies. Master of the poisonous put-down, wielder of heartbreak melodies - he is equal parts Buddy Holly, Burt Bacharach and Gram Parsons, with a patented sneer that has aged in its sweet bitterness like fine wine. His continued musical impact has gone light years beyond even his namesake's influence.

Still, at this point in Costello's career, it would be unfair to expect of the man anything as raw and rapturous as "This Year's Model" or bruised and delicately crafted as "Blood & Chocolate." But as his latest album confirms, Costello has absolutely no intention of resting on his laurels.

"Momofuku," curiously named for the inventor of instant noodles, finds Costello relevant as ever. Opting for a non-traditional release (as so many artists have of late), he chose to release the album on vinyl two weeks prior to today's CD release, offering purchasers a download code to go with their long players.

Whatever your preferred format might be, Costello's latest surpasses his post-"Attractions" output as the most cohesive album he has cut in over a decade. Back together with The Imposters (which features two of his original Attractions members), the 53-year-old musician comes across invigorated and ready to challenge himself.

In what could turn out to be 2008's most musically beneficial reciprocation, "Momofuku" came out of Costello's involvement with the forthcoming Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) solo album. Welcoming the new blood, The Imposters integrate Lewis and her guitarist/beau Johnathan Rice on several tracks. Be it Costello's or the Lewis/Rice camp's influence, Momofuku sounds as if a fresh set of ears had some input in shaping the songs.

The album is both cohesive and exhaustive in covering Costello's many faces. There is a discerning adoration for his best work applied throughout, with the benefit of hindsight and just the right amount of tinkering.

Aging gracefully does not mean turning the amps down or forgoing exploration. "Stella Hurt" rages its way into a swirl of reverberated organs and guitars, pounding away into a deep, hypnotic groove. Pushing the six-minute mark, "Turpentine" stretches out over a pseudo-Bo Diddley beat into a psychedelic mash-up.

"You did everything to me that stops short of murder," Costello sings. His caustic wit has not been dulled in the slightest by the years passed. The somewhat inevitable notes of middle-aged nostalgia and sentiment creep in on "My Three Sons," as Costello imparts some fatherly love and wisdom. The lyrical content of the song diverts from the rest of the material, not to mention its relative weakness.

After 30 years of elevating his craft, it is pretty safe to say Costello has earned the right to a musical Hallmark moment here and there. And as far as indulgences go, "My Three Sons" is nothing extravagant. Elsewhere on "Momofuku," the man is all business.

On "American Gangster Time," Costello and Imposters members Steve Nieve and Pete Thomas revisit their fantastic late-'70s output. The warm analog recording and the singer's well-weathered voice completely belie the time passed in between The Attractions' earlier albums and "Momofuku."

The piano-led number "Mr. Feathers" could have easily been a stripped-down demo from the Imperial Bedroom sessions, while the mournful Americana on "Song with Rose" (co-written with Rosanne Cash) recalls King of America with a dose of Roy Orbison added to the mix. Touches of teary pedal-steel (courtesy of Lewis associate "Farmer" Dave Scher) connect the dots across Momofuku, adding a bit of musical continuity to the eclecticism.

Just within the opener alone, "No Hiding Place," Costello flips through nearly every page in his hefty songbook. Lewis, Rice and company lend their vocals here and through most of the album, rounding out the collaborative feeling. The young guns could not feel any more natural rubbing elbows with the old-timers, especially when Lewis harmonizes on the chorus of album closer "Go Away," a simple classic of a Costello tune.

Any diehard Costello fan could fantasize endlessly over the possibilities of any continued Lewis collaborations - live duets on "I Want You" or "Indoor Fireworks," anyone? Hopefully they will cross those bridges when they come to them, but for now, the fruitful "Momofuku" is plenty to be thankful for.

No less impassioned a performer than he was three decades ago, Costello clearly has plenty left to offer. He has inspired punk rockers, barroom crooners, shit-kickers with acoustic guitars and almost everyone else in between. "Momofuku" is simply one more incredibly enjoyable reason Costello is pop music.

"I'm a limited, primitive kind of man," he sings on the barebones tune "Drum and Bone." Self-effacing humor or not, the statement could not be farther from the truth.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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http://www.kentucky.com/714/story/396102.html

Critic's pick: Elvis Costello and the Imposters
By Walter Tunis Contributing Music Critic

If we are to believe the very prolific words that Elvis Costello has posted on his Web site, Momofuku takes its name from Momofuku Ando, the inventor of the cup noodle.

OK. Why?

”Like so many things in this world of wonders, all we had to do to make this record was add water,“ he writes.

Well, in truth, Costello simply added some musical acquaintances new (Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis) and longstanding (Los Lobos' David Hidalgo) as well as the support of his band, the Imposters, which is really his career-defining band, the Attractions, with flexible bassist-vocalist Davey Faragher as the only modification. Costello recorded and mixed the album in a week, then made it initially available, in this download age, only as a vinyl album. The CD version of Momofuku hits stores Tuesday.

The recording process aside,Momofuku is no retrofest. Admittedly, hearing Steve Nieve's cheesy organ runs whip around the album's opening tunes like a Jack Russell terrier conjures thoughts of the wondrously obstinate music that the Attractions cut, amazingly, three decades ago. But Momofuku is as instinctual as any record Costello has made. It boasts a mix of pop smarts and coarse rock 'n' roll cunning that brings to mind such great upstart Costello albums as Mighty Like a Rose and Blood and Chocolate. But even those comparisons trivialize the sparks that fly off these tunes.

As usual, Costello is a sucker for stories of dark melody and even darker wit, as in the way the Dickensian badlands of Harry Worth — where ”streets are paved with heaven's penance, gutters are full of suicide“ — are given mighty shoves from Nieve's piano-pounding jabs and loads of jagged, fuzzy guitar.

”I rather go blind for speaking my mind,“ Costello sings earlier in American Gangster Time, a tune whose vintage Attractions attack, along with Lewis' vocal support, creates a sense of pop urgency that is familiar yet vitally new.

And then there are instances when Costello blithely takes on the essentials of the human condition.

On Drum and Bone, he sings unapologetically over a spry acoustic shuffle from the standpoint of ”a limited, primitive kind of man.“ But on Pardon Me, Madam, My Name Is Eve, the unrest goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. There, jealousy and hypocrisy are no match for the burdens of the waiting world (”there's always someone on the outside doing all the suffering“).

A lighter turn is taken on My Three Sons, a tune that is tender in tone and autobiographical in subject matter. It's not exactly an ode to the generations-old Fred MacMurray TV show of the same name. But it's equally wholesome.

The journey concludes with Go Away, a subtle little rave-up/kiss-off rocker built around a deliriously static drum and organ roll that recalls the 1960s single 96 Tears. It's the kind of melody that will stick in your brain for days.

In the end, Momofuku comes off like a movie set on fast-forward that manages to make perfect sense. There's color, noise, passion, regret, humor, joy, melody and an incredible sense of motion. Just don't forget to add water.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by spooky girlfriend »

strangerinthehouse wrote:“Mr. Feathers” is the Imposters at their best, they are amazing throughout the whole momofuku but this just sounds like a classic Imposters song. It has this ongoing piano melody, reminds me of something from Spike, maybe a bit like God’s Comic.
I was listening to this in the car today and thought the very same thing. Many of the other songs sound to me like some cross between The Delivery Man and Imperial Bedroom.

Still lovin' it.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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johnfoyle wrote:A syndicated version of this review credits 'Ben Ratliff' as the writer.


Elvis Costello can write a well-wrought song with ease, but he usually doesn’t just throw records out there. “Momofuku,” which takes its name from the inventor of instant noodles, is different. It’s effortfully tossed off; it’s a middling record battling against his built-in high standards.
Mr. Ratliff is evidently a mediocre record reviewer working for a substandard publication of little merit. He appears to be so far up his own anal orifice that he cannot discriminate between said orifice and the hinged joint between his humerus and radius and ulna. He purports to take a haughty stand against the merits of the record release by Mr. Costello but one does wonder whether his auditory canals are in fact obstructed by cotton or wool or some other fibrous material. His manner of writing would suggest that he has difficulties with defaecation. I would recommend immediate detox and the more enemas the better.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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Fishfinger king wrote:
johnfoyle wrote:A syndicated version of this review credits 'Ben Ratliff' as the writer.


Elvis Costello can write a well-wrought song with ease, but he usually doesn’t just throw records out there. “Momofuku,” which takes its name from the inventor of instant noodles, is different. It’s effortfully tossed off; it’s a middling record battling against his built-in high standards.
Mr. Ratliff is evidently a mediocre record reviewer working for a substandard publication of little merit. He appears to be so far up his own anal orifice that he cannot discriminate between said orifice and the hinged joint between his humerus and radius and ulna. He purports to take a haughty stand against the merits of the record release by Mr. Costello but one does wonder whether his auditory canals are in fact obstructed by cotton or wool or some other fibrous material. His manner of writing would suggest that he has difficulties with defaecation. I would recommend immediate detox and the more enemas the better.
Strange. Ben Ratliff generally covers jazz for the Times, not pop music.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by Mike Boom »

As usual, Costello is a sucker for stories of dark melody and even darker wit, as in the way the Dickensian badlands of Harry Worth — where ”streets are paved with heaven's penance, gutters are full of suicide“ — are given mighty shoves from Nieve's piano-pounding jabs and loads of jagged, fuzzy guitar.
Get the songs right sunshine - your describing "Stella Hurt" ! :twisted:
echos myron like a siren
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but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by johnfoyle »

Elvis' official site has a link to quotes from reviews. It's interesting to see what has been highlighted - even a line from the NYT one!

I can't a paste a link 'cos this crappy computer in the Holiday Inn, Cardiff , Wales ( the only 'net facility available in town , it seems, to someone without a PC) doesn't have a 'right click' facility.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by Neil. »

My copy still hasn't arrived yet! Gah! John Foyle, supreme Costello archivist, what's your take on the new album? Don't think I've seen your review here yet!
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by VonOfterdingen »

Here's a review from a very respected Danish critic: http://ibyen.dk/musik/cd-beat/article505777.ece

I'm not quite sure what I think of the album yet. Got it tuesday and I was actually a bit disappointed to my own surprise. But it's getting better, moving in the right direction for me. And the sound of the album is much better than the murky River in Reverse (great album though)
I'm not buying my share of souvenirs
invisible Pole
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by invisible Pole »

Momofuku pops up on Metacritic with a current average of 76 points.

http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists ... s/momofuku
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Neil.
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by Neil. »

Mine finally arrived yesterday and I listened with headphones in bed when I got home - from the pub! Okay, not ideal - but here goes!

First listen, I was disappointed, but I then I always am after my first spin of an Elvis album: Get Happy!!! and Blood & Chocolate, my two favourites, I hated the first time round. I absolutely love them now.

So, on Momofuku, on first listen, the only song that really blew me away was the last one, Go Away, which I thought had a proper, instant-fix melody.

What was also great about it was that Elvis's voice was properly part of the mix, rather than sitting on top of it, dominating it. He's doing this too much now, I think - giving his voice prominence above everything else (e.g. In Harry Worth, Steve's grand piano, which should be loud and, well, grand, is held back, almost as though Elvis is afraid it might upstage him. Same thing happened in London's Brilliant Parade. I'm not sure why he does this, as his voice has nothing to fear from Steve's amazing flourishes, as it can hold its own, having, as we all know, bags of personality and character.

The close mic, front-of-the-mix voice can make the songs feel really claustrophobic and not 'open' - it takes away any expansiveness. I think he did the same thing with '45' on WIWC - the live version we heard in the Steve/Elvis tour sounded expansive and joyous; the close, in-your-face mix on the actual record made the song sound more aggressive - to its detriment, I think. I still yearn for a joyous, expansive sound from Elvis over a whole record (Brilliant Mistake, You Bowed Down etc) - a truly summery, shimmering, 'light' sound. He's so good at melody, he can do it.

Some of the aggressive stuff felt a bit like posturing on this first listen. I just worry that he might by overplaying the aggressive vocal mix and singing style - lots of over-dramatic, growly, snarly singing - to make people think he's not an old duffer. But obviously, Elvis must've wanted it to sound like that.

But anyway, that's why Go Away stands out for me - his voice is part of the mix, rather than something that feels like it's placed on top of it.

No Hiding Place seems pretty promising, but the rest haven't made their mark yet, really. I got a general impression of too many words, and some too-blatant sneering, when he's better at witty, underhand sneering. Some line about 'you bitch, you snitch, that's rich' sounded a bit too on-the-nose - but lots of lines jumped out as having the usual amazing Elvis wit - can't remember many of 'em at the mo, but when I've given it a good few listens I'll being raving about 'em, no doubt.

Nothing much else to say until I've given it a few more listens. Looking forward to grappling with it! He's still the best songwriter Britain's produced since Lennon/McCartney, and a lot of his stuff's even better than theirs. Gotta love the guy.
johnfoyle
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Re: "Momofuku" review

Post by johnfoyle »

Translation please!

http://www.abcnyheter.no/node/66439

Tekst: Tom Skjeklesæther

Lørdag, 10.05.08 kl. 11:45


Elvis Costello And The Imposters: «Momofuko» (Lost Highway/Universal)

For mye Elvis?

Elvis Costello må ha ADHD eller ha falt i speedgryta som barn. Han er sjelden borte fra den musikalske offentligheten mange måneder av gangen. Enten dreier det seg om musikalske samarbeid med andre artister, turneer, gjenutgivelse av gamle plater (med stadig nye bonusspor), ambisiøse symfoniske prosjekt, TV-show (han skal snart være vert i egen TV-serie der han intervjuer andre artister) og relativt ofte plateutgivelser med sitt faste band, nå kalt The Imposters. Der to veteraner fra hans gamle band, The Attractions, fortsatt er med; trommeslageren Pete Thomas og keyboardisten Steve Nieve.

Spørsmålet som melder seg når jeg hører Costellos nye plate er følgende; Hvor mange melodier har en sanger og låtskriver i seg?

Er det slik at den melodiske åren har en begrenset kapasitet og når den er tom så går man over til å komponere varianter av det man hadde inne?

Elvis Costello var allerede fra sin første plate en tekstforfatter av det ustoppelige slaget. Sangene hans var veritable vårflommer av ord, stappet med observasjoner, dobbel og trippelbunnet ironi og en udiskutabel evne til treffende formuleringer.

Jeg har ingen grunn til å tro eller mene at «Elvis way with words» har blitt svekket med årene. Evner en å ta inn over seg (alt) det han hiver ut av seg, er jeg rimelig sikker på at en tar del av perspektivet til en av samtidens smarteste engelskmenn.

Men de siste årene har jeg bare unntaksvis maktet å holde tritt med Elvis. Da han dukket opp på slutten av 70-tallet, gjorde han det lettere for oss. Da kom nemlig verbalmitraljøsesalvene montert på melodier som ofte gjorde det lett å svelge unna. Rett og slett superfengende sanger på rekke og rad.

Det er ingen av melodiene på «Momofuku», visstnok oppkalt etter en restaurant på Manhattan, som er like sterke som for eksempel «Watching The Detectives», «Oliver's Army» eller «Alison».

Det betyr ikke at The Imposters, der bassisten Davey Faragher også er sentral, og musikalske venner som Los Lobos' David Hidalgo og steelgitaristen «Farmer» Dave Scher, ikke gjør godt fra seg. Aller best på valsen(!) «Flutter & Wow», der Costello befinner seg tilbake i terrenget han befant seg med new wave/soul-platen «Get Happy» fra 1980. Nedstrippede og rolige «Mr. Feathers» og «My Three Sons» understreker at Elvis Costello er klart best når han makter å legge bånd på seg selv.

Jeg vet ikke om det skyldes Elvis eller meg, men for tiden må jeg ta Elvis i relativt små doser av gangen.
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