New album for 2013: "Wise Up Ghost" (with The Roots!)

[monkey2man]

has anyone given the lyrics a crack yet? can't wait to read along while i listen!

[sweetest punch]

Review from American Songwriter: http://www.americansongwriter.com/2013/ ... -up-ghost/

Elvis Costello & The Roots
Wise Up Ghost
(Blue Note)
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Elvis Costello has collaborated with a lot of artists throughout his career, so it carries serious weight to say that his new album with The Roots is the very best of those musical chemistry experiments. Wise Up Ghost is fierce and unrelenting, both musically and lyrically, the sound of artists trying to take the temperature of the times in which we live and getting pretty steamed in the process.

Born of a Costello appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, where The Roots are the house band, the album was originally going to be a reworking of Elvis classics. That idea was shelved in favor of a more original project, although there are a few songs that are essentially mash-ups of old E.C. lyrics. For example, “Wake Me Up” combines “Bedlam” and “The River In Reverse” into stinging funk, while “Stick Out Your Tongue” takes a heaping helping of Costello’s proto-rap “Pills And Soap” and a dash of the recent diatribe “National Ransom” and concocts a slinky groove from that wordy stew.

These tracks are clever and animated, but the profound stuff really takes place when Elvis, Roots drummer/bandleader Questlove Thompson, and producer Steven Mandel start from scratch. Opening track “Walk Us Uptown” sets the menacing tone with strangled computer blips, a downcast piano riff, and a skittering bass line. Costello, in his most cutting voice, castigates not only those who inflict the damage in society but also those who sit back and let it happen to them: “And we’ll stand in the light of your new killing ground and we won’t make a sound.”

That theme permeates the album, as Costello constantly brings to light both the devious methods of supposed leaders of men and the damaging silence of the bystanders who keep score of the carnage but don’t voice their disgust. Such a confluence of behavior has consequences, such as the portents of chaos that shadow “Sugar Don’t Work” or the figurative and literal battlefields that haunt the the margins of “Tripwire.”

None of this would be as affecting without the endlessly ingenious musicianship of Thompson and The Roots. “Sugar Don’t Work” opens up from a sludgy groove into a pretty, string-filled chorus, while the lullaby-like “Tripwire” builds from a sample of Costello’s “Satellite” with mournful horns and layered backing vocals. Heck, Elvis could be singing Pig Latin on “Come The Meantimes” and the song would still sizzle thanks to Questlove’s machine-gun snares.

The title track is a tour de force, as the band throws everything but the kitchen sink at Costello and he stands amidst the cacophony urging on a revolt of apparitions. The implication is that we, the human race, will be the ghosts if our vigilance falters. On the heels of that maelstrom of sound and fury, the coda is simply Costello, accompanied by piano, belting out “If I Could Believe,” an ironic gospel song that suggests unwavering faith can only be achieved through willful ignorance.

As dark as the subject matter can be at times, the vibrancy of the music never allows this to be a downer. Wise Up Ghost is a fearless, invigorating gut-punch of a record, one that never settles and surprises from start to finish. Elvis Costello spews pissed-off eloquence, while The Roots make even his wordiest diatribes alternately funky and soulful. One listen to this album, and you won’t be wondering how in the world this collaboration took place. You’ll be wondering why it hadn’t happened sooner.

[And No Coffee Table]

Drum Magazine video: How To Play Like Questlove On “Come The Meantimes”

[verbal gymnastics]

Are me, Sulky and Otis the only board members who haven't heard Elvis' new product?

[docinwestchester]

Are me, Sulky and Otis the only board members who haven't heard Elvis' new product?

Is that by choice?

The full album is streaming at NPR.org: http://www.npr.org/2013/09/08/219316721 ... e-up-ghost

(Was it always supposed to start streaming now, or was this prompted by the leak?)

[Yanyna]

Are me, Sulky and Otis the only board members who haven't heard Elvis' new product?

I haven´t heard it either. I wanted to experience for the first time in my life the speciality of going to record store at the day of release and hear it from vinyl for the first time

[bronxapostle]

REFUSE TO BE SAVED is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jack of All Parades]

Are me, Sulky and Otis the only board members who haven't heard Elvis' new product?

I haven´t heard it either. I wanted to experience for the first time in my life the speciality of going to record store at the day of release and hear it from vinyl for the first time

No you can count me amongst your group of four- I have the discipline to wait and hopefully be surprised on the 17th and in turn possibly place a few sheckles in the artist's pocket when the physical product is purchased.

[strangerinthehouse]

I've been enjoying it a lot though sometimes I wonder what it would be like to hear it as someone who's never listened to an Elvis Costello song in his or her life.

The whole album sounds really good and I'm sure it'll be pretty rewarding on vinyl. I can understand the disappointment of hearing the same lyrics in many of the song but the musical approach and the idea of remixing them with other songs is so different that it really becomes a completely new song.

I love "Refused to Be Saved" and when I first heard it I thought my head was going to explode while I was trying to place where all the references came from. It was kind of joyful but I doubt the experience would be the same for someone who's never heard "Invasion Hit Parade" and "Broken Promise Land."

Despite all the allusions to past songs, the whole album sounds new to me in a brooding, dark yet soulful way that's very contemporary. It's like the perfect way to dance into the apocalypse - Case in point - "Viceroy's Row" and "Come The Meantimes."

There are a lot of similar sounds but I think that works in creating a very cohesive album. "She's Pulling Out the Pin" is one song that never did anything for me and I'm still getting used to it in it's new incantation. But I do enjoy the call back in the title track, somehow that feels just right.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Drum Magazine video: How To Play Like Questlove On “Come The Meantimes”

Fun - I'lll look forward to having a goo at that with the headphones on in the near future.

Yes, not hearing it is very much by choice. I'm Old Skool. CD at the shop on Monday. haven't even been back to the YouTube clip of Walk Us Uptown in a few weeks

[cwr]

In my 20 years of EC fandom, I think I've only been truly, completely, day-of-release Old Skool on a few occasions.

When BY came out, I had heard almost every track on the local Costello-friendly radio station, which had been playing tracks from it for a solid month. I had a cassette tape with I think 8 or 9 of the songs on it, captured from radio!

I got KV as "Barbados Mega Mixes" a few months later, on the way to my first-ever Costello concert (Tinley Park, Chicago, 1994), a full year before it would be released.

I remember all of WIWC showing up on Soulseek at least a few weeks before the release date.

In recent years, I think even aside from "leaks" there has at bare minimum been some kind of legit "stream" of new records like SP&SC and NR, right?

The one time I KNOW I had the Old Skool experience was Momofuku-- buying the whole LP on vinyl and not having heard a single track from it was weird!

Even if I had avoided the leak this time, I don't think I'd be able to resist the stream...

Even the 3 bonus tracks are going to be heard by me the night before, since I'll be getting a copy of the Deluxe CD edition as part of my ticket to the Brooklyn Bowl show!

[Neil.]

I haven't heard it yet, not out of an abhorrence to streaming, but purely cos I haven't had time - working full time and drinking in the evenings leaves little time even for Elvis's new album! I have the CD on order so I'll whack that on when it arrives. I'll adopt my usual way of playing a new Elvis album for the first time: lying in bed, in total darkness, with headphones on full blast!

[docinwestchester]

Even the 3 bonus tracks are going to be heard by me the night before, since I'll be getting a copy of the Deluxe CD edition as part of my ticket to the Brooklyn Bowl show!

If you bring your Sony CD Walkman, you can listen to the 3 bonus songs before the show starts.

[docinwestchester]

I'll adopt my usual way of playing a new Elvis album for the first time: lying in bed, in total darkness, with headphones on full blast!

If you indeed do that, you will be blown away by Wise Up Ghost.

[sheeptotheslaughter]

VG I have only heard the single, and a couple of the other tracks. Tried listening to it on the train but the buffering is getting on my nerves.

I may well wait for the cd and blast it out from there. A treat for all the family

[Neil.]

I'll adopt my usual way of playing a new Elvis album for the first time: lying in bed, in total darkness, with headphones on full blast!

If you indeed do that, you will be blown away by Wise Up Ghost.

Oh God, I hope so. I'm really nervous as the reviews seem mixed!

[cwr]

Don't be too nervous. The reviews for almost every Costello album are mixed, at least at first. (Once you get past the first few, that is.)

[Lester Burnham]

I'll adopt my usual way of playing a new Elvis album for the first time: lying in bed, in total darkness, with headphones on full blast!

If you indeed do that, you will be blown away by Wise Up Ghost.

Oh God, I hope so. I'm really nervous as the reviews seem mixed!

Don't listen to them, even my initial reservations. The album with headphones is amazing. I was listening to it at the gym yesterday, and then again before I fell asleep, and the difference is astounding. But it's also a great driving album, too.

After about a dozen listens, I'd say the entire album is great, though I'm not sold on Grenade. It's interesting that EC has turned She's Pulling Out The Pin into a song about a suicide bomber, unless I missed that interpretation back in 2004!

[Neil.]

It's interesting that EC has turned She's Pulling Out The Pin into a song about a suicide bomber, unless I missed that interpretation back in 2004!

No, She's Pulling Out the Pin always had the suicide bomber lyrics! Outrageous humour: "As the band play Hey Good Looking... can you hear something ticking?"!

Wow, am excited now after your enthusiasm for the album!

[Lester Burnham]

I guess I always thought it was about an old-timey burlesque dancer who set the fellas' tongues a-flappin' when she let her hair fall down! Man, that country-ish arrangement really threw me off!

[invisible Pole]

I am loving the new album.
Funky, moody, it’s got infectious grooves, pulsating bass lines, and plenty of little touches – horns, piano and guitar riffs, tinkles - that make the musical side of the album so much fun.
And I love Elvis’ voice – restrained, but at the same time emotional : at one time angry and cutting, at another intimate and soulful.
Great collaboration.

Can’t wait to get my hands on the CD.

[Natasha]

Ok.. now that I am almost recovered from this album and can finally find the words to talk about it:

Does anyone else think that this may be the freshest thing he's ever done? I didn´t follow any of his previous releases (I became a fan after National Ransom and I don´t know if the Spinning Songbook counts) but Wise Up Ghost is so relevant it hurts!

I was in doubt if I should listen to it on the bus because traffic is always too noisy and stressful, but I may now have found a perfect way to get away from the 4 hours of traffic I get stuck in everyday, at least mentally. It´s specially relevant to walk through a city like Rio or São Paulo (birthplace of the best of brazilian hip hop) listening to it. It fits so well in the urban atmosphere! The cars, the people, everything around seems to make some sense suddenly. This is officialy my album for the dead hours on the bus.

"Come The Meantimes" is definitely my favorite song as it reflects my exact feelings at the moment (although I can´t understand all. Lyrics please!) I see myself in São Paulo's subway listening to this one - But there is only one person on this Forum who will get the reference.

By the way, I find very brave that you guys will wait to listen to it in your own particular way. I am sure you will not regret it. Be it in traffic, locked in your room with lights off, on stereo, on headphones, on CD, on vinyl... this album is a sensational experience.

I loved it since Walk Us Uptown came out and, although I didn´t expect less, the first time I listened to the whole album was like I was getting drunk from it, if that makes any sense. "Sugar Don't Work" brings exactly that feeling. In fact I suggest you have a glass of wine at hand while listening to it. And what to say about "Refuse to be saved", "Wake Me Up" and "Stick Out Your Tongue"? I have only two words: Dance floor. I can seriously hear all DJs in town playing these.

Not to mention all references and "easter eggs". I am also big fan of the mashup culture and I love that Elvis decided to explore some part of it.

What more can I say? I´m in love.


PS. "Wise up Ghost", the title track, gives me goosebumps.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents ... e.22118898


Elvis Costello and The Roots, Wise Up Ghost (Blue Note)

Keith Bruce
Arts Editor
The Herald, Scotland

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Given the punk era's "back to basics" ethos, it is a paradox that the two most significant figures from that time - David Byrne in the US and Elvis Costello in the UK - have proved to be the most creative in their musical colloborations, most inventive in making best use of developing technologies, and most adept at revisiting their own back pages in revealing ways, while the previous generation (The Stones, Dylan) have ploughed a much narrower furrow.

In partnership with Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, Costello has made an album that sounds absolutely contemporary with its looping beats and samples, but on which the dominant instrument is often a Fender Rhodes piano, and which is packed with references to his long career that will surely continue to reveal themselves. Sugar Won't Work nods to his post-Katrina New Orleans excursion with Allen Toussaint, while Stick Out Your Tongue explicitly reworks Pills and Soap, a song released under alias The Imposter exactly 30 years ago.

My current favourite, Wake Me Up, perfectly deploys horns and guitar, but it will be succeeded soon by another on a collection packed with riches.

[johnfoyle]

http://bloggerhythms.blogspot.ie/2013/0 ... ghost.html


Charlie Ricci

Wednesday, September 11, 2013


I just listened to tracks from the highly anticipated Elvis Costello and The Roots album, Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs, and they are about what I expected: totally tuneless dirges with vocals that try one's patience. If Costello writes insightful lyrics they've yet to penetrate my soul because the sounds the veteran rocker produces never allow me to get that far.

There are bad singers, like Bob Dylan, who I have no problem listening to because they write melodies with interesting arrangements. Others, such as Bruce Springsteen and Larry Kirwan of Black 47, can't sing either but their respective bands are so musical I actually care what their songs have to say. Unfortunately, not even Questlove's highly versatile outfit can save this new release.

I'll admit to a few exceptions. Costello's cover of Nick Lowe's "What's So Funny about Peace, Love, and Understanding" is a fine, rocking track that manages to hide his vocal liabilities. "Alison" takes on a whole new dimension when covered by someone like Linda Ronstadt despite the nasty things the British star said about her version. I also like "Watching the Detectives," but not much else.

David Lee Roth once said that the reason most music critics like Elvis Costello and hate Van Halen is because most critics look like the Elvis Costello. There could be some truth in Roth's words because it certainly can't be the music the highly prolific performer makes.

What is it about this guy that people love? Is Costello just a critic's darling? Do ordinary music listeners like him? Help me out here and tell me if I'm wrong.

[invisible Pole]

What a jerk!