Elvis Costello Spectacle debuts tonight

Sarge,

Great to hear from another devotee.

My guess would be that the a capella song was "Couldn't Call it Unexpected #4." That's typically how he's performed that one over the last few years.

In the big picture I get what you're saying about "North." In this case, as a guy who's also in his 40s with 2 kids... I just don't think it was very good. I thought the songs were generally pretty lifeless. I've enjoyed most of his side trips into other genres, like "Almost Blue" and "The Juliet Letters." I think "Painted From Memory" is the best thing he's done since "King of America." But, for me, "North" was virtually tuneless.

One side note - I've found it sort of odd that Elvis' later work has been so glowingly reviewed while Joe Jackson slipped into obscurity. I think JJ's last album, "Rain," is better than anything Elvis has done in years but it slipped by virtually unnoticed.

 

PC: Yeah, 'Couldn't Call It Unexpected,' that was it.

Admittedly, I haven't listened to 'North' since it was issued, nor do I feel any great call to. However, I do recall finding it a bit more appealing than 'unlistenable.' (I love 'Almost Blue,' 'Painted From Memory,' and 'All This Useless Beauty,' which I've been playing repeatedly of late) And, with all due respect, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the matter of his recent work. While none of it might be as 'accessible' as any of the first four or five albums, I honestly think they're each quite, quite good.

I'm interested to hear the comment on Joe Jackson, a guy I loved back in the day -- is it the opening to 'Look Sharp' that I recall as being one of the great opening rifs in rock history? 'Rain' is that good? Perhaps I shall purchase it ...

 

Yeah, clearly there's something to Elvis' recent stuff that I'm just missing. They've all been released to glowing reviews, but just haven't worked for me.

 

Another a capella song he sometimes does is "I Want You," and it's absolutely chilling. I saw him close a show with it once, and you could have heard a pin drop in the place.

 

'I Want You' is an incredible, haunting song. I'd kill to hear that a cappella....

 

I wish we could see this show up in Canuckistan but alas...more of a fan of EC's early stuff but his new album and The River In Reverse are damn good records.

As for Joe Jackson, a really underrated artist, his debut is a great album and "I'm The Man" is one of great lost songs of the late 70s, early 80s.

 

I guess I don't go much deeper than My Aim Is True as far as Elvis Costello goes. But he, like Joe Jackson, is a musician's musician who had to strike a pose to get noticed, then when he got to the point where he could do what he really wanted to do, people largely stopped noticing. But sounds like an interesting show with a clearly intelligent host.

 

Ah, google tells me it's actually called "Spectacle." So thanks!

 

I need to check this out. And the rest of his albums ... I, for whatever reason, stopped after Armed Forces.

 

Just set my DVR to record the 5:10 am ET airing on Sundance West.

The Clinton Spectacle airs Wednesday at 9 pm ET. James Taylor's will air near the end of the month.

As far as Costello's music goes, there's not a lot that I don't like from him. "Everyday I Write the Book" is what I first remember and that's just because of the Charles and Diana video. "Allison" and "I Want You" are good songs as well.

But my favorite has to be the collaboration between Elvis and Burt Bacharach, "Painted from Memory." Every song on that album is excellent.

 

Joe Jackson ... now there's another good one. I have his greatest hits CD. Granted, most of those are UK hits since he only had 4 Top 40 hits here. But not a real clunker in the lot.

 

Elvis Costello=vastly overrated.
The only thing he's done that I'm impressed about is to bag Diana Krall.