Elvis Costello Spectacle debuts tonight

[Simon_Cowbell]

On Sundance Channel.

Elton John, who made it happen, is his guest for debut.

It's like James Lipton's show, if I read right, only musically inclined.

And Elvis performs in each one.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Damn - thanks for reminding me. This instantly goes to the top of my DVR list.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

Two are in the books, Elton John and Lou Reed (with a drunken, amazingly revealing visit from Reed good friend Julian Schnabel).

Bill Clinton is Wednesday.

What I love about the show is that the musicians are being asked probative questions by a person who is a) very intelligent, b) understands the the how of making music and c) isn't some starstruck Chris Farley Show type. Even James Lipton isn't exempt from this criticism.

Both interviews have had moments you would never see anywhere else (Elton John explaining how lucky he was to have Bernie, and how all the "she" elements evaporated from Bernie's lyrics when Elton came out of the closet; and the usually insular Lou Reed with the emotional-piquing account of how Save The Last Dance For Me was written by Doc Pomus, and Julian Schnabel relating the story of when his dad died and he asked Lou Reed to hold his hand).

I hope Elvis puts in a few years doing this. It is truly, in moments, a unique historical document.

 

[Football_Bat]

Will Mr. McManus play his own show?

Early Elvis: Awesome.

Elvis post-1983: Meh.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

Will Mr. McManus play his own show?

Early Elvis: Awesome.

Elvis post-1983: Meh.

Love both eras

For a ballad, I'll put She up there near the top my short list of the best

 

[PCLoadLetter]

I've been waiting for this since it was announced.. and now I apparently no longer have the Sundance Channel. Grrrr. I'll have to find the episodes online.

I'm a huge Elvis fan - seen him live 7 or 8 times - but I have to say, I think his work post-King of America is really hit-or-miss. "Painted From Memory" is brilliant. "Spike" is excellent. The best parts of "Mighty Like a Rose," "Brutal Youth" and "When I was Cruel" are very good. At the same time, "North" is utterly unlistenable, "The Delivery Man" has one or two good songs, and "Momofuku" sounds like it was tossed off in a day or two - which it was.

"Get Happy!!" is on my very short list of the greatest albums ever, and "Imperial Bedroom" isn't far behind.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

I've been waiting for this since it was announced.. and now I apparently no longer have the Sundance Channel. Grrrr. I'll have to find the episodes online.

I'm a huge Elvis fan - seen him live 7 or 8 times - but I have to say, I think his work post-King of America is really hit-or-miss. "Painted From Memory" is brilliant. "Spike" is excellent. The best parts of "Mighty Like a Rose," "Brutal Youth" and "When I was Cruel" are very good. At the same time, "North" is utterly unlistenable, "The Delivery Man" has one or two good songs, and "Momofuku" sounds like it was tossed off in a day or two - which it was.

"Get Happy!!" is on my very short list of the greatest albums ever, and "Imperial Bedroom" isn't far behind.

I've gotta say, I may be the only person I know who loves Mighty Like a Rose nearly from start to finish, with the exception of one track.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

And in the studio band, Allen Toussaint!
I want this show to last forever.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

I've been waiting for this since it was announced.. and now I apparently no longer have the Sundance Channel. Grrrr. I'll have to find the episodes online.

I'm a huge Elvis fan - seen him live 7 or 8 times - but I have to say, I think his work post-King of America is really hit-or-miss. "Painted From Memory" is brilliant. "Spike" is excellent. The best parts of "Mighty Like a Rose," "Brutal Youth" and "When I was Cruel" are very good. At the same time, "North" is utterly unlistenable, "The Delivery Man" has one or two good songs, and "Momofuku" sounds like it was tossed off in a day or two - which it was.

"Get Happy!!" is on my very short list of the greatest albums ever, and "Imperial Bedroom" isn't far behind.

I've gotta say, I may be the only person I know who loves Mighty Like a Rose nearly from start to finish, with the exception of one track.

To be fair, that's a pretty damn good album. I think you've got me beat by one; I don't like "Playboy to a Man" or "Broken," but the rest is very good. Love the guitar work in "Sweet Pear." especially.

 

[Sgt. Bilco]

First saw Costello in 1983. Saw him all three nights of the 'Spinning Wheel' tour in 1986 in Chicago. Believe I've seen him more than 20 times all told, though age has deprived of me of both that precise number or the energy to be concerned with how many times I've seen him. My ultimate point: to me, Costello is god, period. And so, while I can appreciate that people prefer early Elvis, I'm willing to argue that each of his last three albums contains some of the best stuff he's ever done.

Frankly, I think Mamafukme (or whatever the **** it's called -- my blind devotion stops at silly **** like that name) is damn near fantastic, all the more so precisely because it was churned out with all deliberate speed (and with just one 'clunker'). And I also think the Mighty Like a Rose is damn good, with, again, just one certifiably crappy song. And his take down of Bruce Thomas is right up there with Lennon's 'How Do You Sleep.'

I think the 'willingness' to dismiss North is symptomatic of one's age. I may not be able to articulate this, but my point is this: I'm into my 40s, I have two kids, one of whom is about to be Bar Mitzva'd. Twenty five years ago, I got hammered and screamed at the top of my lungs through the 'Goodbye Cruel World' tour. I got older. I began to appreciate quieter music (though I will say that I think 'American Idiot' is one of the 25 best albums of the last 35 years and even better when the volume is at 11) and I began to appreciate maturity even more -- North came from a place rock music doesn't. It's excellent for what it is, perhaps not if you're desperate to hear 'Get Happy!' again.

A propos of nothing and further indication of the toll that years, alcohol and drugs have taken on me: last time I saw Costello, at NJPAC. He steps in front of the mic and sings a cappella (yes, the name of the song escapes me -- shoot me). Filled the hall and was, quite simply, among the coolest ****ing things I've ever seen in concert.

Of course, I'm an easy ******* to please, so...

 

[imjustagirl]

Is this what the show's called? I looked for it on my Tivo, and the only thing that showed up was some live Costello show. So I went to 'record by channel' and went through like a week of Sundance and never saw it.

Help?

 

[ArnoldBabar]

I'm a huge Elvis fan - seen him live 7 or 8 times - but I have to say, I think his work post-King of America is really hit-or-miss. "Painted From Memory" is brilliant. "Spike" is excellent. The best parts of "Mighty Like a Rose," "Brutal Youth" and "When I was Cruel" are very good. At the same time, "North" is utterly unlistenable, "The Delivery Man" has one or two good songs, and "Momofuku" sounds like it was tossed off in a day or two - which it was.

Agree almost word for word.

Can't wait for this show -- I'm an enormous fan. People who were here for the Seattle thing might have seen the framed picture of me with him, along with a 45 autograped by Elvis and Steve Naive.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

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.

 

[Sgt. Bilco]

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 ...

 

[PCLoadLetter]

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.

 

[ArnoldBabar]

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.

 

[Sgt. Bilco]

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

 

[Huggy]

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.

 

[dooley_womack1]

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.

 

[imjustagirl]

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