National Ransom - November 2010

[Jeremy Dylan]

I find a lot of the new songs amazing: Stations To The Cross, Dr. Watson, I Presume, Jimmy Standing In The Rain, A Slow Drag With Josephine, A Condemned Man, The Part Of Him You're Leaving,...
Anyone agrees?

I agree. Particularly Jimmie, Josephine and Five Small Words. I expect I've Lost You will grow on me once I've heard a boot where I can understand the lyrics a little better.

[migdd]

In his recent interview on KFOG, Elvis confirmed that some songs were recorded recently in Nashville with a combination of the Imposters and the Sugarcanes, presumably for the upcoming album. In addition, he states that for his appearance at the Sonoma Jazz Festival, Pete Thomas will join the Sugarcanes.

[blureu]

http://www.directcurrentmusic.com/dc-mu ... ng-pr.html

Elvis Costello: New "American Ransom" Due October 5; New Song Preview
Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 5:04PM

Elvis Costello is set to return October 5 with the new album American Ransom, his second studio project for the Concord/Hear Music label and first since last summer's Americana-flavored, Nashville-recorded album Secret Profane and Sugarcane. Costello will also see the July 13 release of Pomp and Pout: The Universal Years -- a new retrospective covering the 1998-2008 albums he recorded with Univesal Music labels Island, Lost Highway and Verve Forecast. The title comes from a line in his song "Monkey Man" from the 2004 album The Delivery Man.

As noted in an earlier post, Costello has had a particularly busy year, touring behind his last album, overseeing the release of some rare live albums (most recently January street of the Live At Hollywood High recordings from 1978) and wrapping up his second (and it would appear final) season of his "Spectacle" music/interview series on The Sundance Channel. He also recently debuted a new song "Jimmie Standing In the Rain" during a four-song performance on The Prairie Home Companion

[migdd]

I like the title of the album. Very Costelloesque. . .

. . . Costello-like . . .

. . . Costelloish . . . ?

[Jeremy Dylan]

Elvish?

[migdd]

Elvin?

[Jeremy Dylan]

Declanian?

[Neil.]

Good old Elvis! An album a year - how many artists manage that, these days? And the quality's still amazing!

[Jack of All Parades]

Not all that impressive, if you really think about it, as I would expect nothing less from a performer who regularly refers to himself as a 'working musician'; an album a year should be expected. As well, he keeps pretty 'august' company with the likes of Dylan, Neil Young, Clapton, McCartney, REM, Van Morrison, Hiatt, Richard Thompson, Willie Nelson[shall I keep listing,etc], all equally 'working musicians' and equally prolific. It definitely is nice that he can be listed with such company.

[alexv]

I take your point, CS, but...with the exception of Dylan, who is one of a kind, what differentiates EC from the rest of the folks on your list (I'm a fan of all of them except for Neil Young, whom I just have never gotten) is that the music he's been making on a yearly basis is somehow more vibrant and relevant, even for folks like me who prefer the earlier stuff. You get the sense that the guy is crazy enough, or so intent on acclaim (not just cult acclaim), that he just keeps working at a mad clip trying, almost with desperation, to come up with something new. And every attempt yields some gems. The guys on your list, Van, REM, Hiatt and Thompson in particular, are just plugging along doing what they've always done. Van is different, clearly, but even though he tries, it's still Van. Nelson and Macca have been on well deserved creative sabbaticals for a while (and they've earned them). Along with Van and Dylan they're on a whole other level from our EC. And think about his contemporaries. Most of them are retired. I do think EC is different.

[Jack of All Parades]

Alexv, will continue to feel that he shares that podium with the listed artists. I will never be convinced that pumping out an album a year is particularly impressive from a real 'working artist'. As to vibrancy and relevance, all can lay claim at any given moment to such claims. Your feeling toward EC, which mirrors mine, can be attributed to any fervant fan of any of the other artists. The point is they all can occupy the pantheon platform. Just because you cannot listen to Neil Young does not mean that he doesn't merit being in this group. Even poor Willie still challenges himself-just listen to the albums of recent years-they cross multiple genres and each has a few nuggets that merit repeated listens. Mc Cartney continues to grow. Witness the reinvigorated songwriting on "Memory Almost Full", the experiments with sound and rhythms on "Electric Aruguments", the eye opening bass work on "Driving Rain", the beautiful ballads, "Jenny Wren" and "Riding to Vanity Fair" on "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard". Richard's imaginative "1000 years of Popular Ballads is a hoot. Have you paid attention to "Front Parlor Ballads" or "Sweet Warrier"? John Hiatt has just put out his most 'vibrant' album in years to my ears. The point is everyone of these artists is still making music on a consistent basis that stimulates their fan base and, I believe, even the fringe listeners willing to give them a listen, though I will concede that Van may be coasting but there always is a nugget or two on each record.

Your notion that every album has a few memorable nuggets was never opposed by me[in fact it is a given for me]. I share that notion and extend it to all the artists, because it holds true for all. It is what makes the impending "Pomp & Pout" album interesting for me. It will be fun to see what are deemed 'nuggets' by Universal. As to comtemporaries an argument as well can be made for Sting or David Byrne, just for starters. Nuggets galore and productivity which includes vibrancy and relevance.

EC is up there; he just shares the stage on any given day. Now for the real question that matters- How will Roger fare this fortnight?

[The imposter]

Its not just that he’s “averaging an album per year” although for some time it’s been slightly less than that. It’s the diversity across those albums, both in “genre” and personnel that is remarkable. Then when you also consider that about 60% or more of what Elvis is about musically isn’t even represented in his album output (which could be safely doubled if desired) the incessant touring with a myriad of line ups, a couple of TV series, plus countless guest appearances and I think that’s more prolific than most. ( Frank Zappa perhaps excepted ?)

Apart from the Nashville Sessions earlier this year, didn’t he also squeeze in another recording session on his day off (his birthday !) between dates in Vancouver and Illinois last August ?

One thing for sure you can bet there’s more than an albums worth of songs in the can.

Roger Who?

[Lester Burnham]

I remember him saying in an interview late last year (or maybe a bit earlier, definitely in 2009) where he said he has a cache of music that could amount to about five album releases, or something along those lines.

[wardo68]

I also remember him saying that "This House [pointing to his head] Is Empty Now".

One album a year is all I ask. I'm trying not to get too excited about this one.

[Jack of All Parades]

Imposter, that would be the amazing Mr. Federer-knowing Alexv's admiration for his game and the game in general from previous postings on this forum-am hoping for an inspired riff or two on the great Roger-what is his streak now 44 or more semi finals in matches and 21 finals in the last majors?- going back at least 5 years-incredible and probably never to be witnessed again. Would welcome his intelligent comments on what to expect in the next two weeks at Roland Garros[hence the fortnight].

[The imposter]

-am hoping for an inspired riff or two on the great Roger-.

I've never heard his band. Or is Roger a guitar?

[alexv]

CS, Roger Federer has one of the most impressive records in sport: he has reached at least the semifinals of every Grand Slam tennis tournament over the last 6 years. I belive it's something like 23. I call him The Beautiful One. His tennis is an aesthetic marvel.

Imposter, Roger Federer is a Les Paul come to life, and wields a tennis racket like...well, I don't know much about guitarists, but it would have to be a really, really good one.

Unfortunately, CS, I think this French Open, the one that's going on right now, will mark the end of the Fed's streak. He's not playing too well these days.

Cs, I don't go on about EC's relevance and amazing productivity simply because he "pumps out an album a year". My point is that the artists you bring up, and others who are EC contemporaries do not put out work that is as "vibrant and relevant". For the record, I think that willie and macca are greater artists than our EC will ever be, a whole other level (EC will readily admit that, I bet). But, and this is the point, they've been coasting for years. They have more musical talent than EC can ever dream of having, and can spit out a tune that EC can't imagine could exist, at any time, and once in a while they do, but the records they put out are, overall, formulaic and uninspired. Their commitments to their careers, at the stage they are in, is not just what EC's commitment is.

Richard Thompson and Hiatt are doing the same kind of stuff they've always done. In Hiatt's case, he's at least a couple of levels below EC musically, unlike the guys mentioned above. I like him, always have, but he hasn't put out a great record, or a very good record in years. At his best, he's no EC. Thompson is, but whether he's singing a song from the middle ages or making fun of Janet Jackson in song, it's still Richard Thompson with the guitar thing and the voice and the beret and the cynicism. I like him a lot, by the way.

EC, successful or not, is going at it harder than any of those guys, and harder than Bruce, Joe Jackson, David Byrne and a whole lot of guys from his era. Going harder not just by making lots of records, but by striving, in his crazy manic way, to do things differently. As I've said before, his last great "ec" record, for me, was the BB collaboration, and that was a long time ago, but each record since then has some nuggets and a whole lot of ambition, hard work, musical curiosity and plain old sweat. That's what I admire.

But as one of those Middle East nuts said, we are just EC groupies.

[invisible Pole]

How about Paul Weller ? I'm not a big fan of his solo output, but his latest albums get rave reviews, and plenty of them say how vibrant and inspired his music still is, contrary to his contemporaries.
Example :
"Weller has outlasted his contemporaries, and is still producing forward-thinking work into the fourth decade of his career"

[Jack of All Parades]

IP-great suggestion and I think easily supported in an argument-solo work and all. As I said, 'for starters' in compiling comparable artists.

Alexv- wonderful metaphor and a nice tribute to the recently deceased artist linking him with another superb 'artist'-after all both utilize or utilized stringed instruments. Nice 'riff'. One area where EC does stand out for 'vibrancy' is keeping up with young twins. I am of comparable age and cannot imagine the stamina needed to run with them. Bless him and his boys.

[cwr]

I think the thing that sets EC apart from a lot of those other artists is the way Costello works to avoid repeating himself. He didn't like it when The Guardian once referred to him as a "genre tourist" (admittedly, a somewhat dismissive label), but there's no denying that he seems to never sit still within one particular musical style for more than one album.

Now, obviously he's not alone in this-- The Beatles sort of set the template for him in this regard-- but Costello has made a lot more records than The Beatles did, and over a much longer period of time-- and he's only one man! Who knows how long The Beatles would have been able to maintain that kind of quality if they'd remained a group...

How many singer/songwriters out there have albums as disparate as Armed Forces, Punch The Clock, King Of America, The Juliet Letters, Painted From Memory, When I Was Cruel, North... (and that's just picking some albums as they popped into my head!) And how many of them are STILL trying new things in the fourth decade of their recording career, AND doing it with such impressive results? Even looking at Dylan's streak of quality albums since Time Out Of Mind, he seems to have settled into a comfortable and familiar groove in his old age, compared to the wild experimentation that marked his earlier decades. And there's nothing at all wrong with that-- I love these latter-day Dylan albums-- but I think the variety and the quality and the frequency work in combination to set EC apart from the pack.

The only record in recent years that comes close to EC returning to anything familiar would be Momofuku-- that album, fun as it is, feels closest to the type of thing that one might expect of a longtime recording artist. That was almost like what it feels like to me to get a Costello version of a late period John Hiatt or Richard Thompson album. Secret, Profane & Sugar Cane, on the other hand-- which was recorded VERY close to the time of Momofuku and wasn't released until over a year later-- wasn't like any record he'd made before, except in terms of its high quality.

Now, it could be that American Ransom will be Secret, Profane and Sugar Cane Part II. It's entirely possible-- and that could potentially mark EC making a transition into being an artist more like a lot of those other older artists mentioned, who found the groove that they liked and decided to just keep working in that style. But up to this point, he's almost always zigged when other artists might have zagged...

[alexv]

IP, I'm not saying that EC is the only artist of long standing out there making vibrant ambitious music in his 50s. I was reacting to CS's allusion that there are lots of guys like EC (old, established, well-thought of guys) out there doing their thing. I just don't think there are lots of them, and certainly not the group that CS cited, with due respect to CS. But surely there are some, and Weller may well be one of them. I'm not a big Weller fan. I actually got into his stuff only through The Style Council. I love the early SC records, and one of my most enjoyable concert-going experiences was seeing The Council in a small venue in Manhattan in the mid-80s. A great show. But The Jam and his solo stuff doesn't do it for me, although as with Neil Young, whose stuff also escapes me, I readily admit that people with great musical taste like him and probably for good reason. I get the sense, however, that he is not as prolific as our EC. I could be wrong, but is he a case of someone, like Bruce, say, who comes out with a record, well received, about once every three years or so and then disappears? Don't know. In any case, as I said I am sure that EC is not unique as a vibrant, energetic 50ish rock dude, supplying loyal fans with interesting, if hit-and-miss, new product usually packaged with new musical twists.

Let's throw out some other names as candidates:

Morrissey?
Joe Jackson?
Graham Parker?
Sting?
Bruce?
REM?
U2?
Tilbrrook?
Difford?
Partridge?
Prince?
Roddy?
Paddy?
Byrne?
Finn?

What we are looking from these veterans is lots of records, constant touring, gems sprinkled among other stuff (the more gems the better), and records that show the kind of restless musical curiosity we know and love (well, at least appreciate) in our EC. I am happy to be englightened. Really. From my list (done in a minute or two) I can only come up with two: U2 and Prince (he's crazy and a genius, like Dylan, so he's automatically on even if all his stuff is just Prince-like).

[migdd]

Graham Parker.

[wordnat]

GP = EC minus the range.

[migdd]

GP = EC without the proper financing.

[alexv]

Migdd, I wouldn't say current GP compares to current EC. I like GP. The list I threw out includes, intentionally, only artists I like. GP is one of them, but where he falls short, in my opinion, of EC-type relevance is on two levels: (1) there is no variety in GP's stuff: GP has one style, which he's good at, and all his records are done in that vein, no matter what the subject matter. Are there any collaborations? forays into different musical arenas? signs of musical ambition (coupled with that crazy EC careerist streak)?; (2) GP's career, probably due to the lack of financing, has stalled. He's still putting out records, but is reduced to performing in small venues, and for free at various local spots throughout, predominantly, the Northeast. There's no comparing that kind of career with EC's, at this point. Ec, in addition to pumping out product, is constantly touring, before large crowds, all over the world. To be doing all that, plus TV shows, and collaborating, and putting out a record a year would probably send GP to the nut house. Not blaming him. And, personally, I think his recent stuff is not as good as EC's recent stuff, even though in both cases I would take the old stuff in a heartbeat over any of their recent material.