Music Banter - View Single Post - Bulldog's Armchair Guide To Elvis Costello

Bulldog · 11-13-2008, 03:59 PM

Get Happy!! (Side A)
1980, F-Beat Records, Wisseloord Studios

What happens the majority of the time after an artist releases and finishes touring a commercial hit of a record, he/she/they follow it up in one of two ways. 1 - give the fans the same sound as a proven success formula or 2 - use the money and backing of the label from that hit record to take a step in a new artistic direction. Fortunately, the follow-up to Armed Forces, Get Happy!! falls into the latter category.

Following his rapidly getting bored of the new-wave tag the press had applied to him and the music associated with it, Costello chose to look for inspiration to reinvigorate him as an artist. This inspiration came from nothing but cheap, second-hand Stax and Motown singles and compilations. The result of this was an intriguing genre-experiment producing a hybrid of new-wave and classic soul/r'n'b, and even an album pressed in the style of any Motown hits compilation of the day (the long tracklisting of 2-3 minute songs and the tacky sleeve-art being fair indicators of this).

On top of all that, the resulting album is a brilliant piece of work, and the first in a trio of such records too.

1. Love For Tender
With this as the opening track another Elvis Costello album is kicked into action with another furiously up-tempo opener. In this case it's with punchy, infectious and organ-driven tune, and one which bears the closest resemblance to the new-wave antics of Armed Forces. 9/10

2. Opportunity
This here is one of the more obvious blue-eyed soul experiments on the album - a slow number driven by the talents of Bruce Thomas on bass (which anyone familiar with this album will agree is a notion which unifies this particular one). 8/10

3. The Imposter
And the pace is picked right up again by another hyperactive organ-driven cut, with Bruce Thomas again shining bright with the bassline. On top of that it's home to another sharp and witty Costello lyric ('you've never been this far, always been too smart, and you know all our boys are, really girls at heart'). 8/10

4. Secondary Modern
And again, it's an upbeat song sat just in front of another slow, mournful soul ballad, coming in the shape of band performance not so far removed from one you'd expect from an Al Green cut, with a very fine vocal performance from Costello to top it up. 9/10

5. King Horse
Another frenetic, upbeat number here. Bruce Thomas and Steve Nieve shine in particular here, leading the song onwards and upwards with tight yet memorable performances. It's also a resting place for yet one more of my favourite Costello lyrics - 'he'd seen the bottom of a lot of glasses, but he'd never seen love so near, he'd seen love get so expensive, but he'd never seen love so dear'. 7/10

6. Posession
Another typically snide and witty lyric ('if there's anything that you want, if there's anything that you need, there's no need to be evasive, money talks and it's persuasive' really cuts to the bone for me) is supported by another one of the brightest spots in Costello's back-catalogue. Another almost uplifting piece of bass and piano-led blue-eyed soul, and one of the album highlights without a doubt. 10/10

7. Men Called Uncle
And that particular vein of songwriting is nicely carried over to the subsequent track, Men Called Uncle. A similar song to Possession although slightly faster and with a mix which places more emphasis on Nieve's piano. 8/10

8. Clowntime Is Over
And this trio of soul-tinged tracks is brought to a close by the gorgeous, bass-driven ballad Clowntime Is Over. Slow-burning, deep-cutting, emotional, thought-provoking and another wonderfully-crafted song (the vocal mixing for the line 'who's making lover's lane safe again for lovers?' is just such a great moment). 10/10

9. New Amsterdam
Something of a red herring on this album, the acoustic strumming of New Amsterdam is something you won't hear anywhere else on this record. That and the fact that the Attractions are barely noticeable (except for the flourishes of Nieve's organ) kind of catch you by surprise. To these ears it's another great song but even if it doesn't really suit any listener's taste, given the shortness of the running time it just drifts by and doesn't exactly hang around too long (which is both a strength and weakness of this album). 8/10

10. High Fidelity
Side A is drawn to a close by a glorious piece of piano-led r'n'b and a superb choice for a single. Yet another highpoint of this wonderful album. 10/10

[Stay tuned for a nice pretentious elaboration of my thoughts on Side B and the album outtakes ]

11-13-2008, 03:59 PM	#14 (permalink)
Bulldog why bother? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: UK Posts: 4,840	Get Happy!! (Side A) 1980, F-Beat Records, Wisseloord Studios What happens the majority of the time after an artist releases and finishes touring a commercial hit of a record, he/she/they follow it up in one of two ways. 1 - give the fans the same sound as a proven success formula or 2 - use the money and backing of the label from that hit record to take a step in a new artistic direction. Fortunately, the follow-up to Armed Forces, Get Happy!! falls into the latter category. Following his rapidly getting bored of the new-wave tag the press had applied to him and the music associated with it, Costello chose to look for inspiration to reinvigorate him as an artist. This inspiration came from nothing but cheap, second-hand Stax and Motown singles and compilations. The result of this was an intriguing genre-experiment producing a hybrid of new-wave and classic soul/r'n'b, and even an album pressed in the style of any Motown hits compilation of the day (the long tracklisting of 2-3 minute songs and the tacky sleeve-art being fair indicators of this). On top of all that, the resulting album is a brilliant piece of work, and the first in a trio of such records too. 1. Love For Tender With this as the opening track another Elvis Costello album is kicked into action with another furiously up-tempo opener. In this case it's with punchy, infectious and organ-driven tune, and one which bears the closest resemblance to the new-wave antics of Armed Forces. 9/10 2. Opportunity This here is one of the more obvious blue-eyed soul experiments on the album - a slow number driven by the talents of Bruce Thomas on bass (which anyone familiar with this album will agree is a notion which unifies this particular one). 8/10 3. The Imposter And the pace is picked right up again by another hyperactive organ-driven cut, with Bruce Thomas again shining bright with the bassline. On top of that it's home to another sharp and witty Costello lyric ('you've never been this far, always been too smart, and you know all our boys are, really girls at heart'). 8/10 4. Secondary Modern And again, it's an upbeat song sat just in front of another slow, mournful soul ballad, coming in the shape of band performance not so far removed from one you'd expect from an Al Green cut, with a very fine vocal performance from Costello to top it up. 9/10 5. King Horse Another frenetic, upbeat number here. Bruce Thomas and Steve Nieve shine in particular here, leading the song onwards and upwards with tight yet memorable performances. It's also a resting place for yet one more of my favourite Costello lyrics - 'he'd seen the bottom of a lot of glasses, but he'd never seen love so near, he'd seen love get so expensive, but he'd never seen love so dear'. 7/10 6. Posession Another typically snide and witty lyric ('if there's anything that you want, if there's anything that you need, there's no need to be evasive, money talks and it's persuasive' really cuts to the bone for me) is supported by another one of the brightest spots in Costello's back-catalogue. Another almost uplifting piece of bass and piano-led blue-eyed soul, and one of the album highlights without a doubt. 10/10 7. Men Called Uncle And that particular vein of songwriting is nicely carried over to the subsequent track, Men Called Uncle. A similar song to Possession although slightly faster and with a mix which places more emphasis on Nieve's piano. 8/10 8. Clowntime Is Over And this trio of soul-tinged tracks is brought to a close by the gorgeous, bass-driven ballad Clowntime Is Over. Slow-burning, deep-cutting, emotional, thought-provoking and another wonderfully-crafted song (the vocal mixing for the line 'who's making lover's lane safe again for lovers?' is just such a great moment). 10/10 9. New Amsterdam Something of a red herring on this album, the acoustic strumming of New Amsterdam is something you won't hear anywhere else on this record. That and the fact that the Attractions are barely noticeable (except for the flourishes of Nieve's organ) kind of catch you by surprise. To these ears it's another great song but even if it doesn't really suit any listener's taste, given the shortness of the running time it just drifts by and doesn't exactly hang around too long (which is both a strength and weakness of this album). 8/10 10. High Fidelity Side A is drawn to a close by a glorious piece of piano-led r'n'b and a superb choice for a single. Yet another highpoint of this wonderful album. 10/10 [Stay tuned for a nice pretentious elaboration of my thoughts on Side B and the album outtakes ] Last edited by Bulldog; 11-13-2008 at 04:18 PM.