Momofuku Poll #2 - Whaddya think?

[migdd]

Not me, VG!! Totally agree with you on the two tracks from WIWC. They shoulda just been left off the album and put on Cruel Smile as "outtakes".

[StrictTime]

Wasn't Oh Well on Cruel Smile? *goes to check* Yep, on my copy at least. Unless you guys have some superultradeluxe copy of WIWC that I don't. But definitely a point about Soul For Hire, although I do enjoy the song. I can't imagine anything else before 15 Petals, though, and When I Was Cruel right into 15 Petals might be too much awesome smushed together.

[spooky girlfriend]

And that's why I love you StrictTime. You talk my language.

[strangerinthehouse]

When I first got the album, I wasn't crazy about "Song with Rose." I thought it was a weak track with not very much going for it but lately it has been the one that I keep coming back to it. I like the whole album but I think "Song with Rose" offers something relatively new, not quite alt-country or straightforward rocker. Just a bit past melancholy and regret but the anger, a costello staple, is still there.

I loved "Pardon me Madam, My Name is Eve" since I first heard it.

Agree about "Oh Well" but I don't think "Soul For Hire" is as bad other tracks on WIWC like "Dissolve," the two Dusts and I can't stand "Radio Silence."

[Otis Westinghouse]

J'adore 'Radio Silence'. As someone wrote recently, one of his best album closers. give me that over 'Go Away' any day, which I continue to find is the song here that does the least for me, less than 'Drum & Bone'. I haven't played any of the record since the weekend, but I have had 'Pardon Me...' in my head all week. I like this aspect of the record - some songs were immediate, others took more time, 'Song With Rose' too.

[migdd]

Wasn't Oh Well on Cruel Smile? *goes to check* Yep, on my copy at least. Unless you guys have some superultradeluxe copy of WIWC that I don't. But definitely a point about Soul For Hire, although I do enjoy the song. I can't imagine anything else before 15 Petals, though, and When I Was Cruel right into 15 Petals might be too much awesome smushed together.

Somehow, I've got the import version of WIWC, which actually includes Oh Well, tracked right before Episode of Blonde! I'll bet VG has this version too. But you're right - it WAS on Cruel Smile as well! My memory's going in my advanced age!

[bambooneedle]

Worst song on the album is American Gangster Time by a mile, I find it downright annoying. Second last is Go Away, for being so pedestrian. They're about the only two I don't like much. Out of the rest I'm not exactly blown away by a few others, but:

Drum & Bone - is quite fun. One of those songs that may seem like a bit of fluff but that is also underpinned by something deeper. Waaay superior than AGT, anyway.
Song For Rose - don't really relate to the heaviness of it emotionally but it's not a bad song. Can probably dig it later, find somehow to relate to it.
My Three Sons - nice sentiments. I'm no dad but it does make me think of my dad. Probably won't endure frequent listens.
Pardon Me Madam - makes me cringe because I feel for Cait and autobiographical parallels could easily be made, but looking at it aside from that it's pretty good. I like EC's female, the older person phrasing, and the imagery.

The rest of the songs I don't have as many quibles about and I like them more than these. "To the bridge" in F&W is a big turn-off.

[verbal gymnastics]

Wasn't Oh Well on Cruel Smile? *goes to check* Yep, on my copy at least. Unless you guys have some superultradeluxe copy of WIWC that I don't. But definitely a point about Soul For Hire, although I do enjoy the song. I can't imagine anything else before 15 Petals, though, and When I Was Cruel right into 15 Petals might be too much awesome smushed together.

Somehow, I've got the import version of WIWC, which actually includes Oh Well, tracked right before Episode of Blonde! I'll bet VG has this version too.

You're right - I do have the import version of When I Was Cruel.

I think it's fair to say the general concensus of this album is that it's a good one!

[VonOfterdingen]

I still havent figured out my opinion about Momofuku. Rated it "it's quite good" but I find it hard to get to know some of the songs.

No Hiding Place, American Gangster Time, Drum and Bone, Flutter and Wow and Stella Hurt are favorites so far.

I can't get my head around Turpentine and Song with Rose. I keep skipping them, which may not be such a good idea. I will get back to them for sure.

[Otis Westinghouse]

SWR is a definite grower, I think. Very much an LP to play in its entirety or its two halves as it works well that way but especially as many of the less immediate tracks the get well lodged in the head.

[verbal gymnastics]

Very much an LP to play in its entirety or its two halves as it works well that way

Again whilst speaking with Sulky Lad his belief is that the four sides of vinyl makes the album lose its continuity because there are only three songs per side.

[A rope leash]

Elvis has certaintly proven he can make it up as he goes along. Even his wife can't do that.

Ever try one of them Heineken mini-kegs?

[migdd]

Hot damn, rope, good to hear from ya! Hope life is treating you less miserably. So does this mean you like MF? It's only sold about 12 copies so far so life is good, right?

[A rope leash]

Like it?! Like what? Elvis?

Hell, what do I know about it? What do you want, an OPINION?!

Here's one...

Cats could pull more weight!

[migdd]

Welcome back.

[A rope leash]

Thanks for the welcome, mig. But where the hell is everybody? They must have ran for the exits when they saw me coming!

This is a snappy little album, but is is chock full of cliches. I expect more of a challenge from Elvis. Any release that contains a na na na chorus is usually rejected out of hand by me. Only Elvis can get away with this.

I'm hoping it's a big enough flop that he will give up on pop, and get into jazz. That wife of his has been no help, in my view. He needs to add some more to his band...Steve is the perfect pianist for a new genre...with some horns and fiddles they might arrive at a breakthrough, because let's face it, Rock is dead.

We need a new form!

[LessThanZero]

But Rope, at least he made a pun out of the na na na chorus!!

[A rope leash]

Pun or not, the damn thing is stuck in my head. I hate that about na na na...!

[verbal gymnastics]

My favourite songs at the moment are Flutter & Wow and My Three Sons which reflects how soppy I am getting in my old age. Fortunately after playing these I play Stella Hurts to get me back on track

[King of Confidence]

Finally got this, and thought I would chime in on the old board. .... hey, my avatar is gone.

In rough order of preference:

No Hiding Place -- vintage EC
AGT -- good, just missing great. I want the first phrase of the chorus to repeat before going down. Dig Steve's classic GH sound on it.
Harry Worth -- like it, but his phrasing could be tighter. I find myself thinking "sing these words faster, dammit"
Stella Hurt -- killer
Pardon Me -- complex, good, a grower
Turpentine -- not sure where to put it, maybe too low here, but I don't think it's going to wear well on me
Drum and Bone - it's fine
My three Sons -- nice, I guess
Mr. Feathers -- hasn't made an impression on me
Flutter & Wow -- meh
SWR - meh no. 2, but I think I need to give this a few listens
Go Away -- sounds unfinished, a little out-takey

Dig the backing vocals.

So far, it's about on par with TDM for me. Good for a while, probably won't be listening to it much in a year. But kudos to Elvis for still being able to do it on this level.

[Poor Deportee]

"No Hiding Place" - and we're off. The "na na na" chorus is terrific too, one of EC"s innumerable thrown-away killer hooks. (If you don't like pop, then why are you an Elvis Costello fan?) My only beef, really, is the "disgrace" line - that's writing by rote.

"American" - sounded great at first, but I find it wears badly, probably because the chorus is not as exciting as the verses, but also because the song as a whole lacks much insight. We've heard it all before, lyrically and sonically - and hence unlike most, I am disappointed in SN's keyboard part, which sounds like thoroughly pointless nostalgia to me. On the whole, the tune is agreeable enough to listen to, just callow and ultimately unnecessary. Contrast this with Tom Waits's "Hoist That Rag" and there's simply no comparison.

"Turpentine" - a tough one, with much to like about it. There are a few too many bars in the chorus (the "accident in chemistry" part probably seemed like a good idea at the time but carries it on too long, I find), and the drumming gets a bit monotonous. One of EC's patented "weird" pop/rock confections, I'll probably never fully make up my mind about it, but it certainly bears repeated listening.

"Harry Worth" - I really enjoy this one. Think about the ambiguity around the refrain (which can denote the bride's naive inability to realize how precious her love is, or the bride's own uncertainty on the question, or snide irony, or a reference to the inadequacy of the divorce settlement, all depending on the context and the listener's interpretation). And then there's the unusual degree of empathy in EC's presentation; the way he keeps dropping into their lives. This is masterful songwriting, but on a modest, human scale. Frank Sinatra shoulda sung it.

"Dust and Bone" - the mix is a bit wrong on what seems to be a crack at a Los Lobos song, but the deeper problem is that songs about writing just aren't that interesting. Fine hook, though. My guess is he had the "limited/primitive" hook for a while and sort of willed a song around it, with predictably lacklustre results - not that it's all that bad.

"Flutter and Wow." Again, masterful. Yes, "to the bridge!" is a blemish, although the real mistake is not the utterance but shouting it directly into the microphone. That makes it sound like a conscious attempt to gee things up instead of a spontaneous instruction to the band (which it probably was). Great song.

"Stella Hurt." POW!!! A home run. It's amazing what you can do with two chords. Love the "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" sudden cut at the end, too.

"Mr Feathers" - I can't fathom why people seem so lukewarm to this. It's truly classic Elvis: the perfect fusion of McCartneyish melodic sensibility with grotesque Lennonish lyrics. This, to me, is the synthesis that fundamentally defines Elvis as a pop artist (combining Lennon and McCartney in one person) and this song executes the trick as well as anything he's ever done. An unqualified delight.

"My Three Sons" - anyone with a child must appreciate the feeling here. Simple, truthful, lovely.

To me, the above four songs are the heart of the record and are what definitively settle the question of its merits. They're the foundation, rock solid.

"Song for Rose" - yes. It grows on you and the lyrics really are first-rate. However, he oversings it, especially in the choruses, which is the fly in this ointment. Oversinging has been a bit of a recurring problem with EC since MLAR. You get used to it...but you shouldn't have to. The man who sang "Almost Blue" and (live, at least) "Kid about It" had more taste, frankly. This one is crying out to be covered and hopefully will be. Allison Krauss, you listening?

"Eve" - another oversung number, and this one without the redeeming strength of "Rose" as a composition. The "torn out of his side" line, which carries so much weight, is just too much of a cliche to do the job. (Compare that with the genuine zing of the old folk tune "Adam and Eve in the Garden" - "Eve says to Adam go sleep in the crib/ Adam says Eve I'm gonna sleep with my rib"). The one song I now skip.

"Go Away" - hey, he's channeling the 60s with that organ and that danceable beat. I'll grant that the vocals are mixed a bit too low and that a little more development lyrically would add interest, but this remains a fun closer. "Please don't start confessing!!" really hits home.

Overall, the theme is urgency of execution and relative modesty of aim. The album is full of good, well-crafted, intelligent pop songs rather than big show-stoppers. I like records like that immensely, and wish EC would make more of them, because he does them better than anyone else.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Good comments. I don't agree with all you say, but I likes yer style!

[A rope leash]

"(If you don't like pop, then why are you an Elvis Costello fan?)"

Is that some kind of jab at me? What a ridiculous statement!

I likes the record okay, but you should work for the fucking Rolling Stone !

[A rope leash]

I apologize for the previous post. They won't let me smoke pot anymore, so I've gone back to drinking.

Take that, society!

[johnfoyle]

Listening to 'fuku for the first time in a few weeks , I was struck by how quietly Elvis sings some of the songs. The vocal on Flutter and Wow is practically whispered and mixed up , same with Mr Feathers. Overall, I'm still lovin' the album, 'specially Stella Hurt - I hear 'new' keyboard sounds every time . And , gosh, but isn't Turpentine so close to the bone in describing ( perhaps!) how bizarre his relationship was with Cait.


Looking back on all stolen time
Back when I was drinking turpentine
Don’t blame me
I only took you in
It takes time to do the poisoning
So let’s close the door on this and lock it