40 Years Ago
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Re: 40 Years Ago
https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/the ... s-of-1980/
The 10 Best Albums of 1980
We take a look back on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades.
(...)
7. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Get Happy!!
In the saga of the punk-rock upstart who shocked critics by going all Lennon-McCartney on their asses, the blue-eyed soul of Elvis Costello’s Get Happy!! is typically considered a genre detour, more like 1981’s country-themed Almost Blue than the classic pop triumvirate of Armed Forces, Trust, and Imperial Bedroom. But you need only compare it to Young Americans, Bowie’s misguided stab at R&B from five years earlier, to see how sincerely Costello inhabits the style’s past and present. Costello may have set out to show how much he knew about soul, but what he actually proved was how much he loves it.
(...)
The 10 Best Albums of 1980
We take a look back on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades.
(...)
7. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Get Happy!!
In the saga of the punk-rock upstart who shocked critics by going all Lennon-McCartney on their asses, the blue-eyed soul of Elvis Costello’s Get Happy!! is typically considered a genre detour, more like 1981’s country-themed Almost Blue than the classic pop triumvirate of Armed Forces, Trust, and Imperial Bedroom. But you need only compare it to Young Americans, Bowie’s misguided stab at R&B from five years earlier, to see how sincerely Costello inhabits the style’s past and present. Costello may have set out to show how much he knew about soul, but what he actually proved was how much he loves it.
(...)
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
- docinwestchester
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Re: 40 Years Ago
Is Young Americans really misguided? I respectfully disagree.
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Re: 40 Years Ago
While I wouldn't call it Bowie's best work or even upper tier Bowie, I certainly wouldn't call it misguided either.
- docinwestchester
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Re: 40 Years Ago
I think it's underrated, but most Bowie fans vehemently dislike it.chickendinna wrote:While I wouldn't call it Bowie's best work or even upper tier Bowie, I certainly wouldn't call it misguided either.
Same for Pin Ups, which I enjoy.
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Re: 40 Years Ago
Not a bad album at all. Like a space funk style. Win is superb. Pin Ups is also a fun listen too.
Who on earth is tapping at the window?
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Re: 40 Years Ago
Pin Ups is wonderful. Ziggy and the Spiders do the hits of Swinging England. What's not to like?docinwestchester wrote:I think it's underrated, but most Bowie fans vehemently dislike it.chickendinna wrote:While I wouldn't call it Bowie's best work or even upper tier Bowie, I certainly wouldn't call it misguided either.
Same for Pin Ups, which I enjoy.
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Re: 40 Years Ago
https://www.spin.com/2020/03/difficult- ... pearl-jam/
Difficult Fourth Albums: The Mid-Career Hurdle That Challenged Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco and Pearl Jam
The fourth album was an important turning point for Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead and Kanye West
(...)
Elvis Costello – Get Happy!! (1980)
Elvis Costello’s steady commercial ascent over the course of his first three albums was interrupted, at least temporarily, by an April 1979 incident where the arrogant young singer-songwriter slurred black musicians in an argument with Stephen Stills. And that controversy hung ominously over Costello’s next album, though he’d already decided to make it a loving homage to classic soul records from Stax and Motown before it acquired an unpleasant new subtext. The lead single for Get Happy!! was a cover of “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down,” an old Sam & Dave side for Stax, but even originals like “Love For Tender” and “Possession” were arranged in the style of ‘60s soul stompers. Where the most difficult fourth albums are downtempo and experimental, Get Happy!! is fast, frenetic, and affectionately retro, with 20 short songs stuffed into the album at a breakneck pace. While it didn’t perform as well as the trio of albums that kicked off Costello’s career, Get Happy!! has taken its place among his most admired records, while the single “High Fidelity” inspired the name of the Nick Hornby novel (and its subsequent film and television adaptations).
(...)
Difficult Fourth Albums: The Mid-Career Hurdle That Challenged Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco and Pearl Jam
The fourth album was an important turning point for Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead and Kanye West
(...)
Elvis Costello – Get Happy!! (1980)
Elvis Costello’s steady commercial ascent over the course of his first three albums was interrupted, at least temporarily, by an April 1979 incident where the arrogant young singer-songwriter slurred black musicians in an argument with Stephen Stills. And that controversy hung ominously over Costello’s next album, though he’d already decided to make it a loving homage to classic soul records from Stax and Motown before it acquired an unpleasant new subtext. The lead single for Get Happy!! was a cover of “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down,” an old Sam & Dave side for Stax, but even originals like “Love For Tender” and “Possession” were arranged in the style of ‘60s soul stompers. Where the most difficult fourth albums are downtempo and experimental, Get Happy!! is fast, frenetic, and affectionately retro, with 20 short songs stuffed into the album at a breakneck pace. While it didn’t perform as well as the trio of albums that kicked off Costello’s career, Get Happy!! has taken its place among his most admired records, while the single “High Fidelity” inspired the name of the Nick Hornby novel (and its subsequent film and television adaptations).
(...)
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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Re: 40 Years Ago
40 years ago today
I attended my second ever Elvis Costello concert at the Great Hall at Exeter University in Devon. I'd graduated and left London to return home and spent a long time hunting for a local job unsuccessfully (thanks Maggie) and reverted to doing voluntary work. I lived 40 miles away still with my parents but traveled up to Exeter on 28th January to visit my brother who worked in Exeter and I took the chance to get him to take me to the university to book my tickets. They were rather splendid on green card about 4 inches by 5 inches with the "10 Bloody Marys" image of Elvis playing the double bass on the right hand side and and cost the princely sum of £3 in advance. Sadly on entering the hall, the ticket was ripped in half and we only retained the lower portion.It's a unique ticket and I've never seen once since. I went with 2 friends on a Monday night and drove up in my old Renault 12 across the moor and parked securely on the campus and then I went in with a Boots the Chemists own brand cassette recorder stuffed up inside my anorak ( yes I know it's hard to believe a fashion icon like myself could have owned an anorak !) We decided we would stand in the arena and endured Dave And the Mistakes, the support band from Sweden who were like a tribute Meatloaf with not a lot of musical expertise to commend them and then waited for Elvis. When he appeared, the roar was deafening and one of my friends who had never been to a rock or pop concert before, soon decided it was too much for her ears and we retired to the balcony. I remember seeing Elvis' silver shoes reflecting the lights on the stage and Bruce looking really miserable whilst Steve leapt around like his pants were on fire all the time ! My diary recalls "he was absolutely brilliant starting with one I didn't know ( not Shot With His Own Gun or Just A Memory) then Accidents with Strict Time 4th and a whole lot from Trust and Get Happy! My recording was thwarted for the first 45 minutes (might have been a lot longer) because the microphone lead became detached and I only reconnected it towards the end and caught the encores." I finally wrote " nothing else to report today, everything else pales into insignificance after seeing Elvis!"
As it turned out, I also had the playback volume turned up on the recorder and the whole of the recording I made was heavily distorted and very rumbly so much so that I never shared it apart from a few select trading friends. Last year whilst attempting to clean up the audio, the cassette tape itself snapped over a stretch of about one minute so I'm not using that but my duplicate minidisc copy.
I wrote a setlist down a couple of days later so it's probably not that accurate apart from the known recorded songs but here goes :
Unknown song ( maybe Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down- as it opened in Birmingham 2 night later)
Accidents Will happen
Opportunity
Strict Time
Wednesday Week (?)
Big Tears
the Imposter
This Year's Girl
Hand In hand
You belong To me
Clowntime Is Over (slow version)
Temptation
Secondary Modern
King Horse
Possession
Clubland
Lovers Walk
Watch your Step New lace Sleeves
White Knuckles (?)
Human Hands
Little Sister
2 unknown songs
- and the the known ones from my recording
High Fidelity
From A Whisper To A Scream
Big Sisters Clothes
Encore 1
Watching The Detectives - Masterblaster
Oliver's Army
Encore 2
Mystery Dance
Alison
I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down)
Pump It Up
I probably went through the albums picking out tracks that I thought I'd heard so the order after Strict Time is a bit unreliable but I'm intrigued that back then both White Knuckles and Wednesday Week should have stuck in my mind and no doubt I worked out Human Hands from the lyrics - one of the first songs from Imperial Bedroom to get an airing live.
And so from this small beginning a lifetime of devotion to the music and the collecting of recordings began .............................
I attended my second ever Elvis Costello concert at the Great Hall at Exeter University in Devon. I'd graduated and left London to return home and spent a long time hunting for a local job unsuccessfully (thanks Maggie) and reverted to doing voluntary work. I lived 40 miles away still with my parents but traveled up to Exeter on 28th January to visit my brother who worked in Exeter and I took the chance to get him to take me to the university to book my tickets. They were rather splendid on green card about 4 inches by 5 inches with the "10 Bloody Marys" image of Elvis playing the double bass on the right hand side and and cost the princely sum of £3 in advance. Sadly on entering the hall, the ticket was ripped in half and we only retained the lower portion.It's a unique ticket and I've never seen once since. I went with 2 friends on a Monday night and drove up in my old Renault 12 across the moor and parked securely on the campus and then I went in with a Boots the Chemists own brand cassette recorder stuffed up inside my anorak ( yes I know it's hard to believe a fashion icon like myself could have owned an anorak !) We decided we would stand in the arena and endured Dave And the Mistakes, the support band from Sweden who were like a tribute Meatloaf with not a lot of musical expertise to commend them and then waited for Elvis. When he appeared, the roar was deafening and one of my friends who had never been to a rock or pop concert before, soon decided it was too much for her ears and we retired to the balcony. I remember seeing Elvis' silver shoes reflecting the lights on the stage and Bruce looking really miserable whilst Steve leapt around like his pants were on fire all the time ! My diary recalls "he was absolutely brilliant starting with one I didn't know ( not Shot With His Own Gun or Just A Memory) then Accidents with Strict Time 4th and a whole lot from Trust and Get Happy! My recording was thwarted for the first 45 minutes (might have been a lot longer) because the microphone lead became detached and I only reconnected it towards the end and caught the encores." I finally wrote " nothing else to report today, everything else pales into insignificance after seeing Elvis!"
As it turned out, I also had the playback volume turned up on the recorder and the whole of the recording I made was heavily distorted and very rumbly so much so that I never shared it apart from a few select trading friends. Last year whilst attempting to clean up the audio, the cassette tape itself snapped over a stretch of about one minute so I'm not using that but my duplicate minidisc copy.
I wrote a setlist down a couple of days later so it's probably not that accurate apart from the known recorded songs but here goes :
Unknown song ( maybe Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down- as it opened in Birmingham 2 night later)
Accidents Will happen
Opportunity
Strict Time
Wednesday Week (?)
Big Tears
the Imposter
This Year's Girl
Hand In hand
You belong To me
Clowntime Is Over (slow version)
Temptation
Secondary Modern
King Horse
Possession
Clubland
Lovers Walk
Watch your Step New lace Sleeves
White Knuckles (?)
Human Hands
Little Sister
2 unknown songs
- and the the known ones from my recording
High Fidelity
From A Whisper To A Scream
Big Sisters Clothes
Encore 1
Watching The Detectives - Masterblaster
Oliver's Army
Encore 2
Mystery Dance
Alison
I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down)
Pump It Up
I probably went through the albums picking out tracks that I thought I'd heard so the order after Strict Time is a bit unreliable but I'm intrigued that back then both White Knuckles and Wednesday Week should have stuck in my mind and no doubt I worked out Human Hands from the lyrics - one of the first songs from Imperial Bedroom to get an airing live.
And so from this small beginning a lifetime of devotion to the music and the collecting of recordings began .............................
Re: 40 Years Ago
Thanks for sharing sulky!
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Re: 40 Years Ago
Cheers, krm,krm wrote:Thanks for sharing sulky!
hope you and yours are still safe and well!