• About Me

Poprock Record

~ Songs with a hook

Poprock Record

Tag Archives: Elvis Costello

The single file: Elvis Costello, Paul Collins and The Maureens

05 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

20 Years For the Company, Elvis Costello, In and Out of My Head, Look Now, Out of My Head, Paul Collins, Something in the Air, The Maureens, Unwanted Number

singlsA new feature of sorts, a tribute to the almighty single! In this age of catastrophic change in music consumption the single is back as a way of teasing interest in an artist and their new releases. It is now fairly conventional for artists to release a single well ahead of the album. Take this first round of singles – all precede their designated albums by many months. And, frankly, I can’t wait around to feature these talents!

Look NowTime it was that I waited on every Elvis Costello release like the second coming of rock and roll’s savior. And then post-Spike, I got a bit more choosy. I mean, I totally support artists going beyond whatever they’ve done in the past and Elvis clearly had many more roads left to explore. They just weren’t always my thing. But like every George Jones record, there’s seldom lacking at least one truly great cut on any given EC album. It looks like Costello’s to-be-released new album will be no exception. “Unwanted Number” is a pre-release cut from Look Now and it’s a winner. Think Imperial Bedroom meets Painted From Memory. The piano and songwriting are reminiscent of the songs from that great Costello keyboard period stretching from Imperial Bedroom through Punch the Clock and Goodbye Cruel World. Meanwhile the bridge captures the feel of the work he did with Burt Bacharach on songs like “Toledo.”

CollinsNext up is the criminally under-appreciated Paul Collins, veteran of so many great acts like the Nerves, the Breakaways, and, of course, the Paul Collins Beat. What is striking about Collins is the quality of his songwriting output over a four-decade period. His new single shows he’s still got it. “In and Out of My Head” is the pre-release single from his upcoming album, Out of My Head. The rumbly guitar is wonderfully retro yet freshly deployed on a tune that sounds like it belongs on a Roy Orbison album.

MaureensDescribed as “Califorian pop from sunny Utrech, the Netherlands” on their website, The Maureens have a keen ear for a melodic blend of country folk and poprock sounds. 2015’s Bang the Drum was a solid release, oozing hooks and harmonies. Now they’ve released “20 Years for the Company” from the to-be-released Something in the Air and it’s a blast of harmony-drenched goodness. Speaking to the economic insecurity of times, the song nonetheless gives off a positive vibe with it’s captivating mix of male and female vocals.

Singles only rise in the charts if people give them a listen. So get in on the ground floor of these new releases from Elvis Costello, Paul Collins and The Maureens.

Legends of poprock: Elvis Costello – the early years

12 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Artist Spotlight

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Accidents Will Happen, Armed Forces, Blame it on Cain, Elvis Costello, Get Happy!!, My Aim is True, New Amsterdam, Taking Liberties, This Year's Model, You Belong to Me

dyk39fzjckdlk1epaakpA lot of words have been written about Elvis Costello (the artist himself added a few hundred thousand in his recent autobiography Unfaithful Music) but little has been said about just how melodic his music can be.  His early years, roughly the period from his 1977 debut My Aim is True to 1980’s Taking Liberties, are crammed with hooky numbers.  “Blame it on Cain” is my favourite from the debut, with its leisurely swing and Steely Dan guitar lines, but frankly it’s a pretty close contest with just about every other track from the album.  My Aim is True is a miracle of synthesis, taking inspiration from an impossible range of sources: Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, mainstream seventies rock, the emerging punk scene, and arguably Costello’s father, Ross MacManus, a well known singer in the UK.  The record also represents an interesting artistic negotiation between Costello as an emerging singer/songwriter and his amazing pick up band, the American pub rock group Clover. https://poprockrecord.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/blaim-it-on-cain.mp3Blame it on Cain

this-years-modelsThings changed dramatically with album number two, now backed by Costello’s defiant new band, the Attractions.  This Year’s Model charges out of the gate, its stripped-down, in your face rock and roll delivered with a crisp ferocity unmatched by any of Costello’s other recordings.  This is the critics’ favourite album for a reason.  I like it less than the debut but still love it, particularly the catchy lead guitar line on “You Belong to Me.”  Elvis dials back some of the attack on his third album, Armed Forces, letting the listener in on some impressive aural landscapes that illustrate his talent for arranging his music.  This is captured nicely on the single, “Accidents Will Happen.”https://poprockrecord.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/06-you-belong-to-me.m4aYou Belong to Me

r-1579497-1288764112Get Happy!! and Taking Liberties were both released in 1980, the latter a compilation of B-sides (released as Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How’s Your Fathers in the UK).  With each record topping out at 20 songs, together they represented a cornucopia of poprock.  What is striking here is the restraint, the subtle hooks of “B Movie,” “New Amsterdam” and “Secondary Modern” on Get Happy!! or “Radio Sweetheart” and “Hoover Factory” on Taking Liberties. One almost gets a sense that the songs were chiseled into shape, worked over until every detail reflected the light just so.  Of course, there were also more raucous examples like “Possession” or “Crawling to the U.S.A.”

While critics often highlight the venom and sneer of Elvis’ early recordings, these songs demonstrate his capacity for sweetness, melody, and hooks.  His penchant for poprock shifts considerably in his middle and later periods, but more on that to come.  And he had a sense of humour.  Check out this hilarious send up of K-tel commercials from the 1970s to pitch Get Happy!!

Looking for Elvis?  Forget that supermarket in West Vancouver, you can find him here.

Edward O’Connell’s dumb luck

05 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Artist Spotlight

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Edward O'Connell, Elvis Costello, Every Precious Day, I'm the Man, Nick Lowe, Our Little Secret, Pretty Wasted, Tom Petty, Vanishing Act

Our_Little_Secret_Back_CoverSure, when you first hear Edward O’Connell you get the Costello vibe, you get it bad (by which I mean you get something good).  You might even think “Hey, this guy is putting out the albums I wish Elvis Costello would …”  But the seemingly familiar Costello ring to the songs, to the vocals, to the turns of phrase is so much more than simply reminiscent.  O’Connell has taken the inspiration and made it his own.  And there is so much more influence afoot in his two albums of material: a bit of Matthew Sweet, a dash of Peter Case, even some Marshall Crenshaw and, of course, Nick Lowe and Tom Petty.

3401450His debut record from 2010, Our Little Secret, is a solid start: a host of great tunes and a cover riffing off of Nick Lowe’s Jesus of Cool album and the unknown comic.  “I Heard It Go” has a great turnaround in the chorus, “Cold Dark World” has wonderfully shimmery vocals, “We Will Bury You” is trademark Costello country, while “All My Dreams” sounds like a lost track from Imperial Bedroom.  But the standout song on this album for me is the majestic “Pretty Wasted.”  A real gem that exudes equal parts Elvis Costello and Graham Parker, with a lovely Nick Lowe lyrical sleight of hand with the line ‘She’s pretty wasted … pretty wasted on you.’https://poprockrecord.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/06-pretty-wasted.m4a Pretty Wasted

Edward-OConnell-7-1Four long years passed before O’Connell’s sophomore effort, Vanishing Act, emerged in 2014, but it was worth the wait.  The album kicks off with strong material in “My Dumb Luck” and “Lonely Crowd” but the third tune, “Every Precious Day,” is a master class in poprock songwriting: killer guitar riff opener, great Tom Pettyish vocals, with just a hint of Crowded House in the swirling organ and guitar work at the 2/3 mark.  Other highlights include “Severance Kiss” (with another great guitar opener), “Odds Against Tomorrow,” “Yesterday’s World,” and “Last to Leave” with its exquisite low tempo atmosphere.  “The End of the Line” deserves to be featured if only for its surprisingly aggressive guitar opener that then melds seamlessly into a super midtempo poprock number. But my favourite song on the record is the witty Nick Lowe-ish “I’m the Man,” a sad tale of a man who ‘should have seen it coming’ with his death-obsessed partner.

Besides the music, the best thing about O’Connell is the back story: intrepid university lawyer by day, poprock genius by night.  Here’s a guy who trolled in the Washington D.C. rock and roll scene for decades, playing back up for various people, while holding down a legal day job, but finally decided to put his own creative efforts at the forefront rather late in life (at least according to the standard rock and roll biography).  Better late than never, indeed.

Looks to be a strong live performer as well: here you can see him doing “Lonely Crowd” solo in Bethesda, Maryland.

Find out more about Edward O’Connell on his website and Facebook page.

Blogroll

  • Absolute Powerpop
  • I Don't Hear a Single
  • Mufoandthings
  • Pop Goes Crunch
  • Power Pop News
  • Powerpopaholic
  • PowerPopSquare
  • Powerpopulist
  • Sweet Sweet Music
  • The Best Indie Songs

Recent Posts

  • Spotlight single: Phil Keaggy “I Always Do”
  • Coming full Cyrkle: Cut Worms, The Maple State and The Young Veins
  • Around the Dial: Be Like Pablo, Michael Rault, Death by Unga Bunga and Tim Jackson
  • Breaking news: The Maple State, Juliana Hatfield, The Vapour Trails, Steve Gunn and The Popravinas
  • Foreverly Yours: The Cactus Blossoms, Billie Joe + Norah, and Motel Mirrors

Recent Comments

Dennis Pilon on Should be a hit single: Wyatt…
bfunderburk on Should be a hit single: Wyatt…
Dennis Pilon on Should be a hit single: Wyatt…
drew on Should be a hit single: Wyatt…
Dennis Pilon on Telephonic poprock!

Archives

  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015

Categories

  • Around the Dial
  • Artist Spotlight
  • Breaking News
  • Poprock Themepark
  • Should be a Hit Single
  • Spotlight Single
  • Uncategorized

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Posts

  • Spotlight single: Phil Keaggy “I Always Do”
  • Coming full Cyrkle: Cut Worms, The Maple State and The Young Veins
  • Around the Dial: Be Like Pablo, Michael Rault, Death by Unga Bunga and Tim Jackson
  • Breaking news: The Maple State, Juliana Hatfield, The Vapour Trails, Steve Gunn and The Popravinas
  • Foreverly Yours: The Cactus Blossoms, Billie Joe + Norah, and Motel Mirrors

Recent Comments

Dennis Pilon on Should be a hit single: Wyatt…
bfunderburk on Should be a hit single: Wyatt…
Dennis Pilon on Should be a hit single: Wyatt…
drew on Should be a hit single: Wyatt…
Dennis Pilon on Telephonic poprock!

Archives

  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015

Categories

  • Around the Dial
  • Artist Spotlight
  • Breaking News
  • Poprock Themepark
  • Should be a Hit Single
  • Spotlight Single
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel