"Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" docu.

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the_platypus
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by the_platypus »

I got the BBC iPlayer to work in Argentina, but I can only find the 60 minute version. Could somebody please link to the 90 minute version?
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

A long week and a knee injury meant I was lying down and nodded off c an hour into it, but I loved what I saw. For me no surprise at all that a docu made with his extended involvement (and you almost got a sense of hanging out with Elvis from all the in-car footage) should not focus on Dublin/Cait in any way other than make it sound as if his relationship with Krall was the best thing ever and the past before it darker than it ever seemed at the time. Nor would I be surprised if he said the same thing in ten years time if that one goes pear-shaped! Also, I'd father have the significant focus on his family and youth than on his adult relationships.

I thought this was fantastic (though, yes, guilty of some sins as Caliban says above, e.g. chronology being skewy in places, and a curious lack of focus on Oliver's Army as his biggest hit, apart from She or something, but with so many riches on display, who cares? I was amazed by the amount of good stuff, a bit like with the fabulous Bowie Five Years docu earlier this year. I don't know as I'm not in the obsessive completist league how much of this was not previously seen, but loads of it was for me (gorgeously documented by JF above). 60 min version sounds like it's not worth bothering, only for the casually interested. Would love a 2 hour version with bonuses on DVD!

Not to be missed by anyone who loves Costello.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

the_platypus wrote:I got the BBC iPlayer to work in Argentina, but I can only find the 60 minute version. Could somebody please link to the 90 minute version?
No sign of it on BBC site that I can see, only the 60 min.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Dr. Luther »

johnfoyle wrote: ...A lot of a demo from that period of a song called 'I Can't Turn It Off' is played....
:shock:


Oh, Man -- I'd like to hear all of that.
I love that song.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by the_platypus »

Otis Westinghouse wrote:
the_platypus wrote:I got the BBC iPlayer to work in Argentina, but I can only find the 60 minute version. Could somebody please link to the 90 minute version?
No sign of it on BBC site that I can see, only the 60 min.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by verbal gymnastics »

I haven't watched this yet but a 90 minute programme can't be expected to cover everything. What some people think is of significance will not be of significance to someone else. It does seem a bit odd to mention Bruce but not the Attractions.

Anyway perhaps I'd better watch it first. If sulky is shown from Birmingham 2012 then surely his uglier partner in crime is there somewhere too :lol:
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Neil. »

I've watched the 90-min version - for me it didn't capture how exciting Elvis's records are. Half the stuff featured seemed to be demos, and there was a really long bit of Elvis listening to some new doodlings on his iphone. Why? I was hoping it would be a real hook to drag in new fans, but I can't quite see how it would do that.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by verbal gymnastics »

So my appetite was whetted and I'm now watching this...

I remember Elvis saying that some of the words from Watch your Step came from a song he had written years before. That song was I can't turn it off.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by verbal gymnastics »

Watching the credits I see Steve plays the "ogan" :roll:

I thought it was enjoyable. There's a lot of music left out but I guess we'll have to wait for the director's cut.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by johnfoyle »

Chalkie Davies messages me via f/book -

If you get to watch it again, look carefully for a photo of a sleeping EC on a plane in '78. It's his favourite photo and we have waited 35 years for the right context in which to use it.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

I haven't seen the credits, but it seems less important a point than the words EC speaks about having them as a backing band, naming them individually and speaking highly of their powers. And there's some lovely footage of them in action. Seems perfectly balanced to me. Not sure I'd heard Nieve talk before. Sounded a bit northern, but I believe he's a Londoner. I think the rich vein of demos and obscurities make clear this is one for the fans over one to convert people, especially in 90 min format. Fine by me!
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by MistakenForLilies »

krm wrote:60min version available on kickass.to now!
Yes, thank you so much! :) Here's hoping the 90 min. version will follow as well!
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by docinwestchester »

johnfoyle wrote:Chalkie Davies messages me via f/book -

If you get to watch it again, look carefully for a photo of a sleeping EC on a plane in '78. It's his favourite photo and we have waited 35 years for the right context in which to use it.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Ulster Boy »

Otis Westinghouse wrote:I haven't seen the credits, but it seems less important a point than the words EC speaks about having them as a backing band, naming them individually and speaking highly of their powers. And there's some lovely footage of them in action. Seems perfectly balanced to me. Not sure I'd heard Nieve talk before. Sounded a bit northern, but I believe he's a Londoner. I think the rich vein of demos and obscurities make clear this is one for the fans over one to convert people, especially in 90 min format. Fine by me!
I have a VHS1 documentary from 1994 somewhere, about 20 minutes long, where each of the Attractions and EC are interviewed (separately) about the early days, and the coming together for Brutal Youth, I'll try and dig it out for youtube.

Given ECs involvement (editorial control?) the new doc was always going to be a bit sanitised, a la the official Beatles anthology. If there was enough motivation I'm sure posters to this forum could compile a comprehensive fan documentary given the wealth of archive material already available.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by charliestumpy »

Dr. Luther wrote:
johnfoyle wrote: ...A lot of a demo from that period of a song called 'I Can't Turn It Off' is played....
:shock:


Oh, Man -- I'd like to hear all of that.
I love that song.
San Francisco - 2007-11-08 evening

Allegedly often shared - like right now - many UK W/D mornings Soulseek - lovely, as is the 'Mystery Dance' doc ...
Last edited by charliestumpy on Fri Nov 15, 2013 4:11 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by docinwestchester »

Ulster Boy wrote:If there was enough motivation I'm sure posters to this forum could compile a comprehensive fan documentary given the wealth of archive material already available.
Already done. Connor's 40 Day Countdown to Wise Up Ghost is THE definitive review of EC's career. No talking heads, but very insightful analysis by cwr.

I liked the BBC doc, but at 60 minutes it can only offer a glimpse.

Someone suggested Ken Burns. Maybe he could do better than Connor, but I'm not sure.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by cwr »

Nice of you to say so, doc!

I do wish that someone else had, at some point, been allowed to chronicle the making of an entire Costello album the way the South Bank Show did with Almost Blue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOTsMK7oCnk

The fact that this single album has its own hour-long doc puts into perspective how difficult it must have been to make a 60 or 90 minute film about Costello's entire career. (I did 40 days of lengthy posts and STILL found myself leaving stuff out!)
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by krm »

Connor - your efforts and work are fantastic! regardless if there are things left out. I think it is called prioritize :-)
Ulster Boy
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Ulster Boy »

docinwestchester wrote:
Ulster Boy wrote:If there was enough motivation I'm sure posters to this forum could compile a comprehensive fan documentary given the wealth of archive material already available.
Already done. Connor's 40 Day Countdown to Wise Up Ghost is THE definitive review of EC's career. No talking heads, but very insightful analysis by cwr.

I liked the BBC doc, but at 60 minutes it can only offer a glimpse.

Someone suggested Ken Burns. Maybe he could do better than Connor, but I'm not sure.
Conor's blog was great, but I was thinking more of a video-based version, utilising the range of video clips and contemporary interviews etc.

My other comment on the BBC coverage (and some explanation for those outside the UK) - for other artists, the beeb have put together a compilation of said artists archive appearances, plus maybe a full live show. What we got was the one hour version go th 1996 Later special, already available on DVD. They could have been a bit more creative, compiled eg TOTP clips, the Spike documentary, etc
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Pigalle »

1h 28' 33" version on iPlayer here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... ery_Dance/
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by buzz »

I felt the 90m version was a good stab at what is a long, complex and sometimes chaotic career and I learnt some new stuff and it made me think of other parts of his career differently. I was livid at the omission in the "For the Stars" cover on the album sleeve montage as this was a sloppy mistake. The absence of Emmylou in the 60m version was sad but their rendition of Scarlet Tide in the 90m show was moving. His work with Sofie VO is stunning in its audacity and sublime in execution and shows him at the top of his prowess. So 4/5 from me.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Jeremy Dylan »

cwr wrote:Nice of you to say so, doc!

I do wish that someone else had, at some point, been allowed to chronicle the making of an entire Costello album the way the South Bank Show did with Almost Blue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOTsMK7oCnk

The fact that this single album has its own hour-long doc puts into perspective how difficult it must have been to make a 60 or 90 minute film about Costello's entire career. (I did 40 days of lengthy posts and STILL found myself leaving stuff out!)
The thing with doing a life and times style documentary is that it can naturally expand or contract to fill the space provided. I've seen five minute profiles on Elvis in news magazine programs, and that South Bank Show only covers a single album - and not even all albums he released in that year. The trick is choosing the right story for your format. I haven't seen the Mark Kiddel film yet, but it sounds like the story he's chosen is one about the influence of Elvis's father and how that carried through his career. This would have presumably dictated a lot of choices on what to include or exclude. For example, the interviews are largely with mentor figures or people who Elvis idolized as an adolescent, then later collaborated musically - McCartney, Nick Lowe, Toussaint, Emmylou, etc. This would also dictate the exclusion of other elements which aren't relevant to that particular story - interband tension with Bruce Thomas, for example.

There are plenty of other stories to tell about the man, and potentially other films to be made, but this seems like a worthwhile and substantive one to tell that provides a good frame for a career overview.

A film about Elvis's country influence, for example, would've probably skipped over most of the records with the Attractions and featured much more emphasis on Almost Blue, King of America, the Coward Brothers, recording with George Jones, writing for Johnny Cash, the Sugarcanes, etc.
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

buzz wrote:I was livid at the omission in the "For the Stars" cover on the album sleeve montage as this was a sloppy mistake. The absence of Emmylou in the 60m version was sad but their rendition of Scarlet Tide in the 90m show was moving. His work with Sofie VO is stunning in its audacity and sublime in execution and shows him at the top of his prowess. So 4/5 from me.
A bona fide FTS fanatic! Personally I would describe the omission of said cover as sensible editing! :lol:

Thanks for the 90 minute link, Pigalle. Very annoyingly my Virgin TV iPlayer lists the 60 min one x 2, but no 90 min one, so it's good to know it's online and I can compensate for passing out at 12.45 on Saturday night!
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by docinwestchester »

90 minute version now available as a torrent:

https://kickass.to/bbc-elvis-costello-m ... 60175.html
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Re: "Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance" - docu. - BBC4 Nov. 8 '1

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Thanks, Doc. Very useful. Downloading now.
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