40 DAYS OF ELVIS COSTELLO: A Countdown To WISE UP GHOST

[cwr]

DAY 38: SECRET, PROFANE & SUGARCANE


http://connorratliff.tumblr.com/post/61 ... -sugarcane

[Jack of All Parades]

This one still fails to connect with me- just a big 'snore'. The only song I play with any regularity is "Change Partners" and he did not write it. Like EC, I am a sucker for its sentiment. Only wish the reverse had come true and that the next release had achieved the modicum of sales success that this one did. "What Lewis Did Last" is a revelation as I had never heard it before- combined with "Omie Wise" it would have made a welcome addition to NR. Will never understand why some things remain on the recording floor.

[strangerinthehouse]

Thank you Connor for describing exactly the best thing about SP&S: Despite all the varied and unrelated origins for the songs, it's a surprise the whole album works and it does so because of the great instrumentation and musical performances.

I can't say i enjoy it more than Momofuku but I will say that I like just a bit more than National Ransom. The fact that the same musicians perform in each song and in somewhat the same genre, gives SP&S a well-rounded sound that would be forgotten in NR.

I've been enjoying your write ups and specially the links to all those little songs that always seem to fall through the cracks.

[Lester Burnham]

Sugarcane was an album I very much enjoyed at the time, but the magic of the performances – and they are lovely – dissipated once I discovered the backgrounds of the songs. To me, it's a lot like the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You: excellent songs, excellent performances, but I can't get over knowing that all but two of the songs were discards going back to 1973. Same with Sugarcane: it's a sublime, daring record, especially on the heels of the "return-to-form" Momofuku, but knowing that four of those songs were for The Secret Songs, two were written in the 1980s for Johnny Cash (one of which was already released in a superior form), and one was for the unrealized Delivery Man concept left me rather cold.

That being said, the new songs I enjoy the most, especially Wine & Spirits, I Felt The Chill, Sulphur to Sugarcane, and The Crooked Line. Changing Partners is lovely, and the Secret Songs adapt well to their new format (though I find She Handed Me A Mirror to be too plodding, and is the weakest song on the album for me), but it's still not one of my favorites of EC's career. And I for one enjoyed the C&W/bluegrass thing he was doing, and saw him with the Sugarcanes in June '09, which was a wonderful concert, whereas a lot of people balked at the "new direction", as they so often like to say.

[cwr]

I think I personally get a little too hung up on the origins of the songs, but I can't help it. But I increasingly feel like it doesn't matter all that much.

(I'm not bothered, for instance, by Trust having songs on it whose origins pre-dated My Aim Is True.)

Some of it is just because Costello draws attention to it-- he talked about "The Delivery Man" for years as if it was going to be something more than a handful of songs on a regular album filled with other songs.

And on SP&SC, he labels all the songs as being from The Secret Songs, The Delivery Man, etc., so it's not as if he regards that kind of info as irrelevant.

"Red Cotton" and "She Was No Good" both feel like songs torn from their original context. "How Deep Is The Red," however, is a song that I think stands on its own brilliantly. I truly think that's one of the finest tracks he's recorded in the past decade, and it doesn't feel like it's a fragment of some larger, unexplained thing.

Same for "I Dreamed Of My Old Lover Last Night." I'm actually glad he held this one back from TDM because the way it's recorded on SP&SC is perfect. Lauderdale's harmonies are perfect.

Wine & Spirits and Sulphur To Sugarcane are two of the most purely lighthearted songs he's ever written. Their is an air of whimsy to both of them that I can't think of a precedent for in any earlier record. (Songs that come close all have an edginess that these two songs lack, at least to my ears...)

[Poor Deportee]

This is a rare instance of Jack and I completely disagreeing. Well, not completely; I'll meet him halfway and concede that the first half of the album is mostly pointless, reaching a plodding nadir with the dire "She Handed Me a Mirror." Once the tumbling beauty of "I Dreamed of My Old Lover" though, makes its appearance, the disc is pretty much solid gold. I can't think of another EC album which I divide so radically into two halves: the first desultory, the second excellent.

Part of it is just the sheer sound of the songs. I love the record sonically, and once we get past the mediocre retreads and bores like "All Time Doll" and "Mirror," the songs are sufficiently strong to allow that sound to shine through. The other aspect is the richly detailed historical narratives that proliferate here - regardless of when the songs were composed, all put together on record they constitute a kind of beautiful tapestry, and a step forward in terms of EC's narrative voice, building on TDM and going deeper back in time. The second half of this album really takes me somewhere (that world of crumbling riverboats, civil war and abolition, pious opera singers on "American tour," community dances, and leering rakes) - a broadening out of the lyrical experience which I love.

My only qualm on this lovely second half is the problematic "Red Cotton." It's a good song that wants to be a great song, partly compromised by inauthenticity (why is P.T. Barnum so "English" in his reference-points?) and its excessively drawn-out and weak-rhyming coda. The latter flaw is, however, heavily mitigated by the devastating final couplet; and again, it has many good bits and sounds terrific, so its not one to skip despite its imperfections.

[Neil.]

I'm a huge fan of 'How Deep Is The Red'. If I had to choose one song per album, this would be my choice for SP&S. Musically, it's the offspring of The Beatles' 'Michelle' and The Kinks' 'Sunny Afternoon'. But there's something about the atmosphere it creates that goes right to the heart of life and death - the wonder and horror of it all - partly to do with the elliptical lyrics, but also that combination of sounds. It's life-affirming and frightening at the same time.

It's a tough call choosing this over 'Red Cotton', though! What an astounding epic - I remember being amazed when it came out, as PD says, that Elvis, so late in his career, seemed to have upped his game, lyrically (as if he needed to!). How wide the sweep of the lyric is (especially coupled with 'She Was No Good') - the pileup of characters, images and locations, all crammed into a relatively short space - it's like a sonic Bayeux tapestry!

And 'The Crooked Line' - aw, you gotta love 'The Crooked Line': it's the hoe-down version of 'What a Friend We Have In Jesus'. As Connor says, it's one of the happiest-sounding songs Elvis has recorded, and there's a generosity and kindness in his vocal - a far cry from the more famous sneer.

[CJP52]

The Ommie Wise/What Larry Did Last mentioned by Connor can be seen on the Harry Smith Project DVD. I've put that clip on youtube

Elvis Costello sings The Butcher's Boy and What Larry Did Last (with K&A McGarrigle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVWNEFfLsm0

Elvis also performs What Larry Did Last on the Total Meltdown show compared by John Peel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Royal Festival Hall. This was shown on BBC a few years ago. The link to that clip on youtube is below

Total Meltdown Elvis Costello performs What Lewis Did Last

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWha8F3E_eQ

Enjoy
MrCjp52

[John]

Could never understand his distaste for "Party,Party". Back in the day, I played that single to death to the point where my wife hid it on me for some time. It should have made the cut for his "In Motion Pictures" release of last year. God, I love this record.

There's a nice quality version here just in case anyone's partner has hidden their seven inch. Bizarre.

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

[Jack of All Parades]

[quote="CJP52"]The Ommie Wise/What Larry Did Last mentioned by Connor can be seen on the Harry Smith Project DVD. I've put that clip on youtube

Elvis Costello sings The Butcher's Boy and What Larry Did Last (with K&A McGarrigle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVWNEFfLsm0

Elvis also performs What Larry Did Last on the Total Meltdown show compared by John Peel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Royal Festival Hall. This was shown on BBC a few years ago. The link to that clip on youtube is below

Total Meltdown Elvis Costello performs What Lewis Did Last

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWha8F3E_eQ

Thank you for sharing that material. I have long felt that had SP&S had more of that sound and authenticity I would have been more entranced by the record. For an album that strives to have an authentic, homeland sound it was too often inauthentic in its presentation for my ears-much too polished. EC always seemed to inhabit the story/lyric, not the characters. The album would have benefited from a large dose of what this singer/songwriter possesses in spades as shown here-the ability to inhabit a character and lose oneself[that is why NR is such a revelation for me]

http://youtu.be/DvZoQhHi65Q

[cwr]

DAY 39: NATIONAL RANSOM

http://connorratliff.tumblr.com/post/61 ... lowing-the

[Jack of All Parades]

How often does one see an instance when a 56 year old 'pop' star puts out a record that has the power and depth of his prime years? Too few that I have encountered. This is a special record and one that I treasure. I often feel like I am a member of a small, dedicated cadre of fans when it comes to this record and its failure to connect beyond that fan base. I say so be it. That is their loss.

I remember the admiration I felt as I listened to this record initially. Here was a new way of songwriting for EC- historical breadth and developed characters through which I could connect with their pain and pathos. Jimmie, DR. Watson, the soldier and widow in "You Hung the Moon" are peak songs in his canon- the album, as a whole, has few missteps. The title song is one- it is a rant that never rises above that quality- it lacks subtlety and finesse. And then there is the delightful end song which never fails to pull me out of the dumps where a good deal of this album often places me.

I sincerely hope EC takes immense satisfaction in this record and the way he took his writing to another level. That it failed to chart or sell beyond the loyal fan base is a fact. That it may well be in the top five records in his catalog is another. How many 56 year olds can put that on their resume?

[jardine]

I'm with you, Jack. Top five, and I'm still thinking that he just may have done it again at 59.

[Poor Deportee]

NR represents the culmination of that historical-narrative voice hinted at on TDM and further developed on SP & S - but also an unexpected rediscovery of that spirit of overflowingly joyous creative energy (inspiration!) that we hadn't really seen from EC, at least on record, for the preceding 15 years or so. I'll grant that it's a slightly uneven record with a lame title track and an unfortunate dip in quality as it pushes toward its conclusion ("Spell," "Part of Him," and "Jezebel" are all eminently forgettable; had he only excised this trio, we could say without hesitation that this is, if not his greatest album, easily sharing the summit). What makes such reservations academic is that the record contains a huge clutch of songs that are some of the best he's ever written. We may quibble over which ones qualify, but my choice goes as follows:

Jimmie
Church Underground
You Hung the Moon
Bullets for the New Born King
Dr Watson
All These Strangers
A Voice in the Dark

Any of these stand comfortably with his very finest moments. This is an amazing number of jaw-droppingly great songs, the profusion rivalled only by KOA; and "Jimmie," "Watson," and "Voice" are to me la crème de la crème, drenched in pathos, compassionate humanity, profundity and (in the case of the latter) sheer exuberant virtuosity. Add to that a few fine "lesser" songs (Josephine, Five Small Word, I Lost You; and while I personally can't stand "Stations of the Cross," it does seem to be well-regarded by everyone else, so I'll include it here) and you've got a remarkable late-career resurgence. What a joy this record is.

The only downside is how it puts other recent efforts in the shade. Momofuku, for instance, really dropped in my estimation after NR came out and I was forcibly reminded of the difference between EC at his inspired peak and EC telling himself he is.

[sweetest punch]

For me "Condemned Man", released on National Ransack, is also one of the highlights of the National Ransom sessions.

[taramasalata]

("Spell," "Part of Him," and "Jezebel" are all eminently forgettable; had he only excised this trio, we could say without hesitation that this is, if not his greatest album, easily sharing the summit).

The only downside is how it puts other recent efforts in the shade. Momofuku, for instance, really dropped in my estimation after NR came out and I was forcibly reminded of the difference between EC at his inspired peak and EC telling himself he is.

Agree with you except for:
"That's not the part of him you're leaving" to me belongs among the ones you rank highest on NR, with the other two I agree though I think these mid-tempo Rock'n Roll songs like the fine "Five small words" and "I lost you" and the two weaker ones you mentionned help to create the natural flow of this masterwork.
I don' t like it to admit, but you may be right with your statement about MOMOFUKU dropping a bit in retrospect after NR, but that's bearable, the stuff he has released in the last five years up to WUG is such a pleasure, amazing.

[Lester Burnham]

A splendid record, practically flawless, apart from My Lovely Jezebel and The Spell That You Cast. In fact, if you removed those two and replaced them with Condemned Man and Poor Borrowed Dress, respectively, then it becomes flawless.

Even the title track has grown on me in recent years. I didn't like it at first, considering it throwaway B-side status at best, but repeated listens have somehow made it better.

Also agree with taramasalata on That's Not That Part Of Him You're Leaving; it's one of my favorites on the album.

I was always so disappointed that National Ransom didn't get more attention. I think its relative failure hurt Elvis more than he cared to admit, and while it might be easy for us to wish he'd say "screw it, I'll still make records!" I think he had devoted a lot of time and attention to National Ransom, considering it one of his best works (perhaps of all time?), and its failure took a lot of his confidence in record-making with him. Hopefully Wise Up Ghost revitalizes his passion.

[strangerinthehouse]

This could be the result of me agreeing with myself while mowing the lawn so I apologize in advance for the long post, but I can understand why National Ransom didn't fare as well and why I think it was missed opportunity.

The songs were all written for this specific album but they sound like they could belong in so many other places and in a different, less jarring, sequence.

It's kind of funny, because I remember EC raving against the whole shuffle culture and explaining why sequencing is important in the Reverend Quickly interviews. He was talking about why vinyl was a better setting for these songs and, as he has before, how the idea that people can reorder the tracks on an iPod is disheartening.

Unfortunately, this ended up working against the album. While the album is definitely a much better experience on vinyl, I often find myself enjoying one or two sides (always Side A) and rarely wanting to move on to the next.

I do enjoy the songs much more whenever they come up individually on shuffle. For me, listening to the CD, which is probably how many critics did, turns into a chore halfway through, no matter how much I enjoy "All These Strangers," "Dr. Watson" and even "That's Not the Part of Him."

Some of the songs from the National Ransack EP would have fit better here than "You Hung The Moon" and "A Voice In The Dark" - two great songs that sound a bit out of place.

Can you imagine how powerful the sequence of "Bullets for The New Born King", "One Bell Ringing" and "Condemned Man" would be?

Also, and this is something I noticed as I've been reading Connor's posts and reactions on the board, sometimes hearing the live versions of a song tends to spoil the finish recordings for some of us.

It looks like it that was the case with "Alibi" and "45" in WIWC and it goes back all the way to hearing that first live version of "High Fidelity" and being disappointed with the studio recording.

Following live recordings of the Sugarcane tour and seeing them perform some the songs live myself, definitely did that for "The Spell That You Cast," "I Lost You," "Five Small Words" and "The Part of Him"

I think there two albums-worth of great songs in National Ransom and if it had been sequenced better and if certain songs had been left out, saved for later or released a bonus tracks, National Ransom could have been much more successful and critically acclaimed than SP&S.

[cwr]

Ooh! A lively convo for this one.

I'd agree that NR is a great record AND that it can be kind of a heavy lift for any kind of casual listener. "Bullets For The New-Born King" and "Dr. Watson, I Presume" are both such great songs, but maybe the song has so many great songs of this nature that it can be too much to take in during a single listening.

There is an element of the Beatles' White Album problem to NR-- we can all debate for days about which songs might have been included or left off!

I'd agree that "The Spell That You Cast" is far less of a song than "Condemned Man" but I can also see an argument that the record maybe couldn't possibly bear the load of both "One Bell Ringing" AND "Condemned Man"!

I've always felt in the minority on this forum w/r/t the title track: I think it's far from lame, I think it's tremendous and that the album would be severely lacking without it. Everyone else seems to think it's lame and mediocre and sounds bad, but I love it from start-to-finish.

I do truly think that if Starbucks had pushed this the way they had with the previous year's SP&SC, this album would've sold a lot better. The cover art alone is so great that all it needed was to be seen by more people.

I'd also agree that it kind of DOES diminish both Momofuku and SP&SC, but I tend to experience that more as a good thing for this album than a bad thing for those two. I think the best songs on either album would have fit in on NR, and there are songs on NR that aren't as good as "Stella Hurt" or "How Deep Is The Red." NR just went for it in a much bigger way than either of those albums did. One was done practically on a whim and the other was a 3-day session where he was largely recording older material, whereas this was a much more considered effort: 16 all-new songs using carefully thought-out configurations of players. NR was Costello actively setting out to make a Major Album, and he did it.

[Neil.]

Thanks again, Connor - another great summing-up. I was quite moved by the National Ransom piece! It really is one of his greatest albums - such a shame it didn't find a bigger audience. I'm really moved that this man has provided the soundtrack to my life, and still manages to move me, even up to the current release. I have to confess that, though I love a lot of classic-era Bowie, I haven't taken time to follow his later albums, and I'm not even aware that I've heard even one of the songs he brought out earlier this year.

Does he or any of rock's other elder statesmen produce work as good as Elvis, this far on down the line?

[Poor Deportee]

A lot of talk, in this context, about EC's understandable frustration with the commerical evaporation of this great record. And that's fair. But it's also worth noting that he is hardly the first musician to release terrific work and have it ignored by the broader public; and there might be just a smidgen of entitlement in his attitude that, just because he made a magnificent album, it should have hits and sell a lot. Well - why you, and not Ron Sexsmith or any of the other talents toiling in the wilderness?

Just a thought.

[Neil.]

I'm talking from my point of view, not Elvis's - it's a shame that the public don't know these songs, when so many shite songs seem to be massive, worldwide hits. I wish Ron's marvellous gems were widely known, too!

[Jack of All Parades]

Thanks again, Connor - another great summing-up. I was quite moved by the National Ransom piece! It really is one of his greatest albums - such a shame it didn't find a bigger audience. I'm really moved that this man has provided the soundtrack to my life, and still manages to move me, even up to the current release. I have to confess that, though I love a lot of classic-era Bowie, I haven't taken time to follow his later albums, and I'm not even aware that I've heard even one of the songs he brought out earlier this year.

Does he or any of rock's other elder statesmen produce work as good as Elvis, this far on down the line?

Well the aforementioned artist along with Mssrs Zimmerman, Lowe, McCartney, Waits, Young and Cohen for starters. EC hardly has sole possession of that quality stage at that 'stage' of life.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Neil: I know devotees of 70s Bowie who won't go near his current stuff, but I would cite Where Are We Now? as the best song I've heard this year. Certainly the most moving. You should get The Next Day. It's not up there with the earlier stuff, but it works well as a whole and has several great songs, but for me isn't up there with Heathen, which for me was probably the best since Scary Monsters.

I disagree with the NR/Momofuku argument. For me NR is definitely too long, and I totally agree with SITH that it's actually better sampled piecemeal, e.g. via one of the 4 sides of vinyl or via shuffle, than as a whole. I only remember getting through it all once in one go and it was a real chore. More was less. I missed some of the throwaway breeziness of Momofuku by comparison.

NR indeed contains some great songwriting, but I'd describe it as a fans' record. It was highly unlikely to win many new admirers. And I agree too that some of it comes across better live than on the record. Jimmy Standing In The Rain just comes into its own when you see it as a solo performance in the middle of an Imposters show.

The other song that stays with me from the album is Stations of the Cross, not lyrically, but melodically. It's one of those songs where I find I couldn't care less what he's singing, I just love the sound of it. The bridge to the chorus, for example, knocks me out, but I can never remember what he's saying and nor am I inclined to try to. And the version with the Roots linked to there is sublime (though it could do without John MacLaughlin showing off boringly).

Also, One Bell Ringing, with its gorgeous sense of contrast between the miserable demise of Menezes for absolutely no reason whatever on the underground and the lush tropicalia of his roots.

The title track is pretty decent. Certainly not 'lame', that's a word I'd reserve for the likes of Monkey To Man.

I admire the album more than love it. There's just too many songs, too much variety of theme and tone and style, it's all a bit overwrought. A surfeit. A banquet. I'm hoping that some of the rougher, grimier vibe that comes with the Roots will be something of a corrective to this. Walk Us Uptown certainly indicates that, and excites me way more than anything off NR.

[bronxapostle]

i freaking LOVE the latest BOWIE lp....THE NEXT DAY! i'll go one step further and say it's his BEST since SCARY MONSTERS! though i too loved HEATHEN!