Sept 5 release of The Right Spectacle?

Pretty self-explanatory
sweetest punch
Posts: 5962
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
Location: Belgium

Post by sweetest punch »

Amazon in the UK has this DVD for preordering:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 37-6941404
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
Posts: 5962
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
Location: Belgium

Post by sweetest punch »

This website (with connections in the industry) has a release date (september 6th) and a label (Rhino, as was to be expected) for this DVD for the USA.

http://www.geocities.com/ned3705/whatsnew.html
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
whar
Posts: 188
Joined: Fri May 06, 2005 9:06 pm

Post by whar »

The UK version is Region 0 anyway- so anybody can buy and enjoy it.
Oy with the poodles, already!
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

Word , Aug. 05
( scanned from print edition)
David Hepworth reviews new music DVD releases-

(extract)

Well away from the whiff of seared tuna in the corporate hospitality area comes Rough Cut And Ready Dubbed (ILC), an intriguing documentary shot on three-minute Super-8 cassettes by Hasan Shah and Dom Shaw during that period at the beginning of the ‘8os when the tide of punk had gone out and left the likes of the Cockney Rejects and Sham 69 on the beach trying to work out what had changed. The interviews with Garry Bushell, John Peel and Tony Wilson at the time are fascinating. What’s even more interesting is the fact that they’ve gone back and spoken to as many of them as possible again. It all seems like a postcard from a world as vanished as the Edwardian Age, as do the live TV performances accompanying The Right Spectacle - The Very Best Of Elvis Costello’s Videos (Demon Vision). Too many of his promo clips seem like uncalled-for comments on pieces of music that would have been better left alone. The live stuff is not only frequently electrifying; it’s also the carrier of the DNA of the times, times when the attention span had not been drastically abbreviated. The studio audience pressed up against the stage in his recording for The Tube in 1983 are listening, not whooping or texting or trying to draw attention to themselves.
User avatar
ahawkman
Posts: 82
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:49 pm
Location: San Diego,CA

Post by ahawkman »

Word said: "Too many of his promo clips seem like uncalled-for comments on pieces of music that would have been better left alone."

I have to agree that many of the EC videos I've seen are pretty weak, at least in comparison to how great the music is. I was always exctited to see him on MTV or whatever, but I remember always being disappointed, thinking, "Dang, Elvis, this was your big chance to convert the unwashed masses and you came up with this??!!"

I will still be buying TRS as soon as it comes out.... it will be great to have all the videos together in a clean format, and the other live footage will be extra sweet! Can't wait!
Chrille
Posts: 525
Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2005 8:03 pm
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Post by Chrille »

Haha, I just downloaded the video for Love For Tender and it was hilariously bad. Especially the parts where E.C half-heartedly dances along the pier and the attractions walk past looking really bored. The part where E.C plays guitar when there is none in the music is also a classic!

E.C should be ashamed! However it was very entertaining (due to the fact that it was so bad), and I sort of hope the rest are this funny too, as I'm mainly gettng the DVD for the tv-performances and audio commentary. I seem to remember the video for Accidents Will Happen being quite good though.

Edit: Having watched Pump It Up and High Fidelity as well it seems playing guitar where there is none is a trend in these videos, they're almost as fun though. Looking forward to seeing them all on the dvd.
User avatar
Extreme Honey
Posts: 622
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:44 pm
Location: toronto, canada

Post by Extreme Honey »

You gotta remeber it was the 80's, Chrille. But Elvis has a whopping amount of videos for a guy who released a country and a classical album! Anywho, I wonder if Elvis scored some cash with any of these vids? I wonder if they ever made it to MTV or shows like that (I mean after PTC, Elvis became the "King of UnAmerica")? This just further proves my point that Elvis is somewhere between Underground and Mainstream :!:
Preacher was a talkin' there's a sermon he gave,
He said every man's conscience is vile and depraved,
You cannot depend on it to be your guide
When it's you who must keep it satisfied
User avatar
verbal gymnastics
Posts: 13637
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 6:44 am
Location: Magic lantern land

Post by verbal gymnastics »

The videos are ironic. In the 1980s it bacame the norm for bigger artists to have £1million to spend on videos - Duran Duran, The Police and yet Elvis went to France and shot about four on the cheap. The videos are obviously tongue in cheek - witness the dancing on I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down, the awful acting at the end of Peace, Love & Understanding etc. Elvis and the boys were never exactly heartthrobs were they?

I don't see why Elvis should be ashamed but I will be interested to listen to the commentary of each video when The Right Spectacle comes out. Elvis has always been badly marketed. The original video that came out had a Godawful drawing fo Elvis which they should have saved for Sir Robin Day as it looks more like him.
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

Uncut , Sept. '05

The Right Spectacle


COSTELLO’S VIDEOS OFTEN seemed the most disposable aspect of his art, from an otherwise driven perfectionist. But this collection, stuffed with barely seen curios and half remembered gems. and featuring a typically acerbic commentary from Costello himself, indicates otherwise.

The videos fall into distinct phases. From 1978 to 1980, they’re essentially the products of drunk punks, with more pressing concerns than visual posterity. It was a case of. “Fill them with vodka and let them loose,” as Costello recalls on the commentary, the band furiously knocking out clips two or three at a time, sometimes straight after a gig. The end results have a pre MTV rawness that Iooks genuinely shocking even now.

On “Pump It Up”. Costello is all comic derision and pop art fury. Behind him the Attractions bash away so aggressively they look in danger of damaging themselves and their instruments. No one seems to know that they only have to mime.

Even after Stateside success in 1979 allowed for location shoots in the south of France the Attractions attitude remained unchanged. On the likes of I Can’t Stand Up...”. they’re caught in vodka paralysed states or seconds after theyve fallen out of bed. These early clips now function as fascinating visual mementoes of a band physically disintegrating in the face of pop expectations.

Later, Costello treated the Attractions as expendable employees (his bitching on the commentary about loathed ex-bassist Bruce Thomas is a treat), but here they’re clearly a tight knit gang.

For all their frenetic charm, these early videos don’t engage with the content of the songs. The lone exception is”Accidents Will Happen” (1979) in which future Max Headroom creators Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel use primitive computer animation to slice Costello’s image, paralleling the song’s alienation. But it wasn’t until the late Barney Bubbles’ two 1981 promos that a director finally captured the knotted , vengeful feel of Costello. “Clubland” , in particular, is sleazy Brit neon noir, with judges’ drunk daughters recruited as extras for a seedy nights work.

Evan English, meanwhile, created the two truly essential promos in Costello’s canon. “I Wanna Be Loved” (1984) captures Costello at a rare moment of emotional vulnerability. His marriage was disintegrating, he was drinking way too much, and he knew Goodbye Cruel World the album he was promoting at the time, was a dud. English ruthlessly
and brilliantly exploited his star’s turmoil. Refusing to let him sleep the night before the shoot, he put him into a photobooth and made random strangers shove their heads in to kiss him. Staring into the camera, Costello’s response was to weep. overcome by the song and his own emotions, flinching at each new intrusion It’s almost too painful to watch, a glimpse of the artist on the edge of collapse.

“Veronica” (1989), inspired by the final years of his Alzheimer’s afflicted grandmother, finds Costello caught up in genuine emotion once again. Delivering the song to an elderly woman who bears a close resemblance to his late grandmother, the promo perfectly captures the lyric’s sentiment. Costello was finally taking full advantage of the format just as his time as a pop star came to an end. Perhaps ironically, it even won MTV’s Best Male Video award . Nothing else here quite matches it. But there are enough game pop moments to keep the viewer entertained. Add in an hour of riveting TV footage. and this makes for a revealing document of Elvis, and the Attractions, in their prime.
NICK HASTED

( Sidebar , with comments , taken , presumably , form the DVD soundtrack. )

OLIVER’S ARMY

COSTELLO:This was the first video we did where we tried to act anything out. Made on location in Hawaii. The record was a big hit in England, probably because people liked to see the scenery. There was some idea behind my act in it. I was supposed to be an arms dealer or a guy who would hire mercenaries.

I WANNA BE LOVED

This was shot in Melbourne, Australia. And it’s probably my favouritevideo of any that we’ve ever made. It wasn’t really the happiest time in my life, I was going through a lot of difficult thingsand I was very far from home.The director set it up that I was supposed to be in this photo-booth. I was very tired and overwrought. What you see in the video isn’t actually acting, it’s genuine emotion . Forwhat it’s worth. Maybe that’s ridiculous to the viewer. It’s the truth, nonetheless.

VERONICA

This had my grandmother in mind, in the last few years of her life, when the Alzheimer’s started to scramble her conversation. The eeriest thing for me was that the director had picked an actress to play the Veronica character who resembled my grandmother uncannily, even though he’d never met her.

THE OTHER SIDE OF SUMMER

When this video was first aired in the Warner Brothers conference room ne of the senior executives jumped to his feet and yelled:
“What’s with the beard?” I can’t honestly tell you, except that I grew it to frighten people, and it seemed to work. It’s probably not my finest hour, in terms of fashion and personal hygiene.
User avatar
verbal gymnastics
Posts: 13637
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 6:44 am
Location: Magic lantern land

Post by verbal gymnastics »

johnfoyle wrote:Uncut , Sept. '05

The Right Spectacle

Later, Costello treated the Attractions as expendable employees (his bitching on the commentary about loathed ex-bassist Bruce Thomas is a treat), but here they’re clearly a tight knit gang.
Hands up those who are shocked by this :lol:

Elvis can't resist a dig can he? If he ever gets around to writing an autobiography who knows what he'll say about Bruce there. If he ever gets around to writing that novel then what's the odds on a character being based on Bruce?
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

Elvis can't resist a dig can he? If he ever gets around to writing an autobiography who knows what he'll say about Bruce there. If he ever gets around to writing that novel then what's the odds on a character being based on Bruce?
I reckon it's all a double bluff. What if Elvis 'n Bruce are still great friends , Bruce couldn't be arsed doing all this touring stuff, Elvis says lets spin a yarn about the two of us hating each other , Bruce says yeah that would be fun.......and so Elvis just keeps making these comments when we just know that he is clever enough to know that if he said nothing it would all just go away. Or something like that.
User avatar
verbal gymnastics
Posts: 13637
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 6:44 am
Location: Magic lantern land

Post by verbal gymnastics »

Interesting theory. If this were true you'd have still expected Elvis to have "graciously" allowed Bruce to play at the Hall of Fame Induction.

Elvis obviously can't slander or libel Bruce and he is certainly clever enough to choose his words carefully.

Who fancies putting this theory to Elvis himself? :lol:
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
User avatar
Extreme Honey
Posts: 622
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:44 pm
Location: toronto, canada

Post by Extreme Honey »

Dave seems to be doing a good job, but it's a long way to learn all the Costello catalogue songs! As for this dvd, i'd rather buy it for double it's value if it included ALL his videos and extra video footage (like biography and such). But I'll probably buy it anyways.
Preacher was a talkin' there's a sermon he gave,
He said every man's conscience is vile and depraved,
You cannot depend on it to be your guide
When it's you who must keep it satisfied
User avatar
verbal gymnastics
Posts: 13637
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 6:44 am
Location: Magic lantern land

Post by verbal gymnastics »

Dave? Have I missed something?
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/artic ... 1001014358


Costello Commentary Spiffs DVD Retrospective



By Greg Prato, N.Y.



Originally expected earlier this year, the DVD "The Right Spectacle: The Very Best of Elvis Costello -- The Videos" will arrive Sept. 6 in the United Kingdom via demonVision. A North American release date has not yet been finalized for the project, which rounds up all of the artist's classic promo clips plus a wealth of rare European TV appearances.

Of perhaps most interest to fans is the fact that Costello provides commentary for each of the 27 videos, including such early MTV favorites as "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding" and "Everyday I Write the Book."

But securing the artist's services for the project nearly didn't happen, according to DVD producer Sophie Coolbaugh. "Elvis was completely booked up last summer and no matter how we looked at his schedule, there was no way he could spare us a few hours," she tells Billboard.com. "We had given up on the idea when the call came late on a Thursday afternoon -- we could have him for a couple of hours on the following Sunday in New York."

Due to short notice, the producers were forced to rent a studio without air conditioning "on a muggy September evening," Coolbaugh recalls. "Elvis had not dabbled in the art of the DVD audio commentary before, and he took to it like a fish takes to water. It is both witty and interesting, and definitely a key highlight of the disc."

Coolbaugh delighted in "finding bits and pieces that we knew no one had seen in over 20 years, if at all," including an extra song from a 1983 performance on the U.K. show "The Tube" and clips from Holland's Pink Pop Festival ("fabulous pink suit").

However, one classic piece of film eluded "The Right Spectacle." Says Coolbaugh: "The master of Elvis' first-ever TV appearance [performing 'Alison' for 'Granada Reports' in July 1977] has gone missing sometime between 1977 and now. It was very, very lucky that the producers of [the show] 'So It Goes' lifted a clip from it for their show later that year, so the excerpt we have on the disc is the only surviving clip from [Costello's] TV debut."

Since there are no U.S. TV appearances on the collection, could a follow-up "Elvis in the U.S." compilation see the light of day in the future? "We had access to a large number of archives and in the end it was a question of finding clips that were most representative of the period," Coolbaugh says. "Who knows what the future holds -- there are certainly plenty of great clips to consider for a follow up."
User avatar
bambooneedle
Posts: 4533
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 4:02 pm
Location: a few thousand miles south east of Zanzibar

Post by bambooneedle »

Can't wait to check out the tv performances - 18 songs in total. Too bad that full clip of Alison was lost and somebody didn't make a copy, but good on them for getting the rest otherwise they'd probably never be seen again. The fact that these clips will be on the DVD should also ensure easier access for other tv sources who may consider airing them.
User avatar
LessThanZero
Posts: 1119
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 10:26 pm
Location: Kalamazoo
Contact:

Post by LessThanZero »

You know, there's a clip of just Elvis playing Alison live on my History of Rock and Roll DVD set. I wonder if it's the same thing? The footage isn't that good, but the dvd says it's a historic piece of film.

I, personally can't wait for this DVD. I really haven't seen much of the early stuff. I remember seeing the SNL performance of Watching the Detectives, where Elvis is stumbling around the stage with locked legs, foaming at the mouth...it was WONDERFUL!
Loving this board since before When I Was Cruel.
User avatar
snarling pup
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2003 11:04 am
Location: FL, USA

Right Spectacle US

Post by snarling pup »

Amazon US is now taking pre-orders, with Rhino's release date posted as September 27, 2005.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 15-6334540
User avatar
ahawkman
Posts: 82
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:49 pm
Location: San Diego,CA

Post by ahawkman »

14 bucks, that's cheap! Do they know how much people like us would pay for this? I guess they have to price it with non-fanatics in mnd as well.
martinfoyle
Posts: 2502
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:24 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Contact:

Post by martinfoyle »

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/revi ... 80,00.html

Elvis Costello 'The Right Spectacle' (Demon Vision)
£17.99

There are only so many clips of chaps in skinny ties goofing around in the vicinity of a jerky camera that anyone can watch, and that number is certainly lower than the 27 Costello videos here. While these may outstay their welcome, fans should still get this for the groundbreaking 'Accidents Will Happen' and, more importantly, for the 70 minutes of live Attractions from a number of European TV shows - more proof, if it were needed, that in the early Eighties they were untouchable as a live band.
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

Re-reading the press release for this I see a rather vague dating of one of the TV appearances -

http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases ... stello.htm

Revolver (UK)
Early to mid 78, TV studio
This Year's Girl, Radio Radio

An article in the Costello fanzine Beyond Belief was more specific -


http://www.btinternet.com/~perrymp/bb/bbhome.htm

Beyond Belief - The Elvis Costello Newsletter: Issue 15 (March 1998)


Costello On British Television:
The First Five Years (1977-81)
by Tony Sacchetti


( extract)


Revolver August 5, 1978

“Peter is the Greatest!” is the chant you hear from the crowd patronizing host Peter Matthews before EC & the A’s take the stage for live performances of “This Year’s Girl” and “Radio Radio.” As the band kicks in to “This Year’s Girl,” some visual effects appear. A five-part split screen is imaged with Elvis being filmed live in the middle screen, or box, surrounded by four boxes which alternate images of girls and women to correspond with the song. This is an interesting effect, reminiscent of the “Pump It Up” promotional video, but makes for frustrating viewing if you’re just interested in seeing the band play. For the next song, Elvis introduces “Radio Radio” and the image shifts to a proper full screen shot. This straight ahead rendition meets with audience approval as there is a mass pogo scene in front of the stage. Traditional cinematography is deviated from once again by utilizing a vision mixer to provide special effects. These effects briefly freeze certain motions as the live performance continues, creating a triple or quadruple exposure “swirling movement” look. An ominous looking portrait of Peter Matthews hangs to Costello’s right.


Similarly Demon say -


Granada Reports / So It Goes (UK)
Filmed at Eric's, broadcast October 1977
Alison [Excerpt], Lip Service, No Dancing

Tony says -

So It Goes
December 3, 1977

EC & the A’s recorded live from Eric’s in Liverpool on August 2.

.....and , Demon -

What's In (UK)
16.3.81, TV studio
Shot With His Own Gun

Tony -

What’s On
March 16, 1981

Elvis and Steve give us a live performance of "Shot With His Own Gun."
User avatar
snarling pup
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2003 11:04 am
Location: FL, USA

Right Spectacle US

Post by snarling pup »

Both Deep Discount DVD and Amazon US now show Sept 20 2005 as the US release date.

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemid=RHI970409

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 3D11249766
30/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-3928015-6334540

$11.97 postpaid is the best price I've seen so far!
User avatar
Who Shot Sam?
Posts: 7097
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
Location: Somewhere in the distance
Contact:

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Goody. I'm definitely getting this one.
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
sweetest punch
Posts: 5962
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 5:49 am
Location: Belgium

Post by sweetest punch »

The US release date has moved back to september 27.

See:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ance&s=dvd

And see:

http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/artic ... 1001052055


"The Right Spectacle: The Very Best of Elvis Costello - The Videos" will be released Sept. 27 in the United States via Rhino Home Video. As previously reported, the DVD collection will emerge Sept. 6 in the United Kingdom through demonVision.

The disc pairs all of the artist's classic promotional clips with rare European television appearances. Additionally, Costello adds commentary for the 27 music videos included on the set.

-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
User avatar
DrJ
Posts: 618
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 6:47 pm
Location: London, apparently.

Post by DrJ »

Hmmm, I went to pre-order this of http://www.play.com yesterday and they seem to be shipping it already, checking my account and yup, they sent it just after I ordered it - here it comes! Cheap too.

DrJ
Tlentifini Maarhaysu
Post Reply