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

Bulldog · 11-25-2008, 06:39 PM

Imperial Bedroom
1982, F-Beat Records, Air Studios

Following an exhausting schedule of recording and touring, Elvis Costello and the Attractions took to the studio for the seventh time The initial sessions which took place in Air Studios were far from harmonious though; resulting with a tired, dull and hungover imitation of Trust as the band tried to beat the songs into submission somewhat.

Midway through this chaotic round of recording sessions (presumably as a result of some good old-fashioned sober reflection), a radically different direction for the album was opted for. This basically saw a much more careful, pensive and compositional approach to writing and recording. This way of thinking and the hiring of one Geoff Emerick as producer saw an album's worth of songs be completely re-written and, along with a few more songs being thrown into the mix, results in not only one of Costello's finest albums but (arguably) one of the very best albums of all time.

1. Beyond Belief
A sombre, brooding, slightly cold and somewhat down-tempo piece of rock here which sets the mood nicely for most of the rest of the album, all the while revolving around a terrific performance by drummer Pete Thomas. 8/10

2. Tears Before Bedtime
And here we see keyboardist Steve Nieve becoming noticeable all of a sudden. His organ-line underpins another marvellous band performance and very well-written song. It's the closest this album comes to the new-wave Costello was previously renowned for. 10/10

3. Shabby Doll
Another pretty cold song with another bitter, sneering lyric ('being what you might call a whore - always worked for me before' being just one of its many delights). It certainly sounds a lot more like a spontaneous jam than its finely-toned bedfellows on this album, and is for me probably the weakest part of it. 6/10

4. The Long Honeymoon
Here we have the first truly adventurous artistic endeavour on the album. Beneath a wonderful lyric, about the narrator thinking her lover's with her best friend but can't bring herself to pick up the phone and find out, this slow-burning song is led on by a beautifully haunting accordion wailing away, as well as quick bursts of guitar from Costello himself. The french horns bring a majestic end to a majestic song. 10/10

5. Man Out Of Time
With its furious, berserk intro, this number just leaps out of the ol' stereo speakers and really grabs the listener's attention, before slowing down into a gorgeous, mid-tempo, piano-led tune, and then speeding right up again during the fadeout (the live version in the below video skips the said tempo-changes btw). Another album highlight, if not one of the man's career highlights. 10/10

6. Almost Blue
Bizarrely named after his country & western covers album of the year before, to this point in his career this was as deeply emotional, gentle and at points depressing as Costello had ever been. A truly remarkable, old-fashioned torch-song led by another brilliant piano performance from Steve Nieve (which is mostly the common denominator with this album). 10/10

7. ...And In Every Home
And if the previous 3 were major artistic departures for Elvis Costello and the Attractions, then this song gets on the plane to Timbuktu and never comes back. It's basically Costello singing over a madly ambitious string arrangement composed by Nieve and some bloke called George Martin. 10/10

8. The Loved Ones
Back we go to good old piano-led rock 'n' roll. Certainly one of the more accessible numbers on the album, it's still another highlight, worth a 10 for the inhuman piano solo in the bridge alone. 10/10

9. Human Hands
This one's easily the catchiest, most hummable track on show here. Led by what sounds like a heavily-treated guitar motif before each verse, as well as an all-round white-hot backing band, it's another terrific song. Features one of Costello's most ambitious vocal performances as well. 9/10

10. Kid About It
From the raucous, up-tempo nature of the three songs before it, here we're taken right to the other side of the speedometer with a somewhat jazzy slow-burner. Not one of the best on the album upon the first listen, but it's certainly a grower. 6/10

11. Little Savage
And from there on in the general mood of the album in a musical sense gets a lot darker, this organ-led, maybe even slightly doomy-sounding song being a prime example of that. The lyrics, such as 'you do something very special to - Mr. Average - now the lamb lies with the lion - he's just a little savage' are nicely reflected musically, particularly by the moody organ solo after the second verse. 8/10

12. Boy With a Problem
A companion-piece to the similarly slow-burning piano ballad Almost Blue, it's not quite as emotional and touching as that song, but it's yet another beautifully well-structured song with some great lyrics too. It's something about hearing Costello sing 'came home drunk - talking in circles - the spirit is willing but I don't believe in miracles' which gets to me every time I hear it. 9/10

13. Pidgin English
Another very ambitious composition. The labyrinthine vocal overdubs, bass, horn arrangement, the Spanish guitar solo, the lyrics, occasional flourishes of creepy organ-lines, the majestic fadeout, it all just falls into place perfectly. 10/10

14. You Little Fool
This 'ere merry ditty, with a harpsichord underpinning another mazy studio production, is as close to psychedelic as Costello would ever get. It's return the mid-tempo antics and gorgeously cynical lyrics of earlier parts of the album, and a very fine song indeed on top of all that. 9/10

15. Town Cryer
And it's all rounded off by one of the most soaringly beautiful curtain-closers on any album. Steve Nieve's contribution is the simply perfect piano introduction to an absolutely sublime slow-burner is definitely one of the high points of the album. And also, if the string arrangement during the fadeout doesn't get to you at all, frankly you're not human! 10/10

The Outtakes.

The Land Of Give and Take: An early version of Beyond Belief, it's much more studio-enhanced and is slightly angrier than its final cut (which incidentally scraps a massive part of its original rendition's structure), and is therefore possibly slightly better than its later incarnation.

Little Goody Two Shoes: An absolute gem this. A slow, bass-heavy and jazzy number, it could easily have been slipped into the tracklisting in the place of Kid About It or Shabby Doll.

The Town Where Time Stood Still: Another great tune and one that could easily have made the album this. Upon rejection here this song would be re-recorded, considered and subsequently rejected from several albums to follow this one.

I Turn Around: Again, a very strong cut, but nevertheless below the par set by the album.

Imperial Bedroom: The elusive title-track here is another great tune and could easily have been stuck on at the end of the tracklisting.

World Of Broken Hearts, Really Mystified, Night Time and the Stamping Ground: A selection of covers which were presumably just recorded as studio workouts for Costello and the Attractions, as none of them are really very remarkable.

Town Cryer (disco version): A bit of a novelty here. It's very well-played, catchy and fun, but wouldn't really have fitted on the album.

So, summing up then...
This is one of my favourite albums of all time, no doubt about it. Like Trust before it, it's such a complex, diverse and well-written album, and you can find something new to love about each song on it upon repeated listening. The labyrinthine, overdub-heavy studio approach makes it sound kind of more fully realised as a work of art than Trust does. As a result its a piece of work that's definitely one of the most criminally overlooked albums ever. I therefore do not hesitate to give it the following rating...

10/10

11-25-2008, 06:39 PM	#26 (permalink)
Bulldog why bother? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: UK Posts: 4,840	Imperial Bedroom 1982, F-Beat Records, Air Studios Following an exhausting schedule of recording and touring, Elvis Costello and the Attractions took to the studio for the seventh time The initial sessions which took place in Air Studios were far from harmonious though; resulting with a tired, dull and hungover imitation of Trust as the band tried to beat the songs into submission somewhat. Midway through this chaotic round of recording sessions (presumably as a result of some good old-fashioned sober reflection), a radically different direction for the album was opted for. This basically saw a much more careful, pensive and compositional approach to writing and recording. This way of thinking and the hiring of one Geoff Emerick as producer saw an album's worth of songs be completely re-written and, along with a few more songs being thrown into the mix, results in not only one of Costello's finest albums but (arguably) one of the very best albums of all time. 1. Beyond Belief A sombre, brooding, slightly cold and somewhat down-tempo piece of rock here which sets the mood nicely for most of the rest of the album, all the while revolving around a terrific performance by drummer Pete Thomas. 8/10 2. Tears Before Bedtime And here we see keyboardist Steve Nieve becoming noticeable all of a sudden. His organ-line underpins another marvellous band performance and very well-written song. It's the closest this album comes to the new-wave Costello was previously renowned for. 10/10 3. Shabby Doll Another pretty cold song with another bitter, sneering lyric ('being what you might call a whore - always worked for me before' being just one of its many delights). It certainly sounds a lot more like a spontaneous jam than its finely-toned bedfellows on this album, and is for me probably the weakest part of it. 6/10 4. The Long Honeymoon Here we have the first truly adventurous artistic endeavour on the album. Beneath a wonderful lyric, about the narrator thinking her lover's with her best friend but can't bring herself to pick up the phone and find out, this slow-burning song is led on by a beautifully haunting accordion wailing away, as well as quick bursts of guitar from Costello himself. The french horns bring a majestic end to a majestic song. 10/10 5. Man Out Of Time With its furious, berserk intro, this number just leaps out of the ol' stereo speakers and really grabs the listener's attention, before slowing down into a gorgeous, mid-tempo, piano-led tune, and then speeding right up again during the fadeout (the live version in the below video skips the said tempo-changes btw). Another album highlight, if not one of the man's career highlights. 10/10 6. Almost Blue Bizarrely named after his country & western covers album of the year before, to this point in his career this was as deeply emotional, gentle and at points depressing as Costello had ever been. A truly remarkable, old-fashioned torch-song led by another brilliant piano performance from Steve Nieve (which is mostly the common denominator with this album). 10/10 7. ...And In Every Home And if the previous 3 were major artistic departures for Elvis Costello and the Attractions, then this song gets on the plane to Timbuktu and never comes back. It's basically Costello singing over a madly ambitious string arrangement composed by Nieve and some bloke called George Martin. 10/10 8. The Loved Ones Back we go to good old piano-led rock 'n' roll. Certainly one of the more accessible numbers on the album, it's still another highlight, worth a 10 for the inhuman piano solo in the bridge alone. 10/10 9. Human Hands This one's easily the catchiest, most hummable track on show here. Led by what sounds like a heavily-treated guitar motif before each verse, as well as an all-round white-hot backing band, it's another terrific song. Features one of Costello's most ambitious vocal performances as well. 9/10 10. Kid About It From the raucous, up-tempo nature of the three songs before it, here we're taken right to the other side of the speedometer with a somewhat jazzy slow-burner. Not one of the best on the album upon the first listen, but it's certainly a grower. 6/10 11. Little Savage And from there on in the general mood of the album in a musical sense gets a lot darker, this organ-led, maybe even slightly doomy-sounding song being a prime example of that. The lyrics, such as 'you do something very special to - Mr. Average - now the lamb lies with the lion - he's just a little savage' are nicely reflected musically, particularly by the moody organ solo after the second verse. 8/10 12. Boy With a Problem A companion-piece to the similarly slow-burning piano ballad Almost Blue, it's not quite as emotional and touching as that song, but it's yet another beautifully well-structured song with some great lyrics too. It's something about hearing Costello sing 'came home drunk - talking in circles - the spirit is willing but I don't believe in miracles' which gets to me every time I hear it. 9/10 13. Pidgin English Another very ambitious composition. The labyrinthine vocal overdubs, bass, horn arrangement, the Spanish guitar solo, the lyrics, occasional flourishes of creepy organ-lines, the majestic fadeout, it all just falls into place perfectly. 10/10 14. You Little Fool This 'ere merry ditty, with a harpsichord underpinning another mazy studio production, is as close to psychedelic as Costello would ever get. It's return the mid-tempo antics and gorgeously cynical lyrics of earlier parts of the album, and a very fine song indeed on top of all that. 9/10 15. Town Cryer And it's all rounded off by one of the most soaringly beautiful curtain-closers on any album. Steve Nieve's contribution is the simply perfect piano introduction to an absolutely sublime slow-burner is definitely one of the high points of the album. And also, if the string arrangement during the fadeout doesn't get to you at all, frankly you're not human! 10/10 The Outtakes. The Land Of Give and Take: An early version of Beyond Belief, it's much more studio-enhanced and is slightly angrier than its final cut (which incidentally scraps a massive part of its original rendition's structure), and is therefore possibly slightly better than its later incarnation. Little Goody Two Shoes: An absolute gem this. A slow, bass-heavy and jazzy number, it could easily have been slipped into the tracklisting in the place of Kid About It or Shabby Doll. The Town Where Time Stood Still: Another great tune and one that could easily have made the album this. Upon rejection here this song would be re-recorded, considered and subsequently rejected from several albums to follow this one. I Turn Around: Again, a very strong cut, but nevertheless below the par set by the album. Imperial Bedroom: The elusive title-track here is another great tune and could easily have been stuck on at the end of the tracklisting. World Of Broken Hearts, Really Mystified, Night Time and the Stamping Ground: A selection of covers which were presumably just recorded as studio workouts for Costello and the Attractions, as none of them are really very remarkable. Town Cryer (disco version): A bit of a novelty here. It's very well-played, catchy and fun, but wouldn't really have fitted on the album. So, summing up then... This is one of my favourite albums of all time, no doubt about it. Like Trust before it, it's such a complex, diverse and well-written album, and you can find something new to love about each song on it upon repeated listening. The labyrinthine, overdub-heavy studio approach makes it sound kind of more fully realised as a work of art than Trust does. As a result its a piece of work that's definitely one of the most criminally overlooked albums ever. I therefore do not hesitate to give it the following rating... 10/10 Last edited by Bulldog; 12-19-2008 at 08:47 PM.