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Ladataan... Elvis Is King: Costello's My Aim Is TrueTekijä: Richard Crouse
Books Read in 2015 (2,210) Ei tämänhetkisiä Keskustelu-viestiketjuja tästä kirjasta.  evil_cyclist | Mar 16, 2020 |   Richard Crouse’s Elvis is king. Costello’s My Aim is True was written for ECW Press’s Pop Classics series. Crouse tells us of Declan MacManus, his transformation to Elvis Costello and the making of his first album, My Aim is True. To me, Crouse and many others, it has become a true classic. Elvis Costello grew up in London, son of Ross MacManus, a musician, and Lillian MacManus, manager of the record shop at Selfridge’s department store. Growing up in a musical family, he listened to many types of music, and by age 15 was writing his own. He debuted in his first band, Rusty, when he was 17. While working as a computer operator, he hooked up with Stiff Records, and the rest was history. My Aim is True, produced by Nick Lowe, was recorded at Pathway Studio in virtually 24 hours. My Aim is True came at a time which was ripe for a transition in music. Many bands were more interested in themselves than their audience and were beginning to play in large stadiums instead of intimate settings. Rock of the time included lengthy guitar solos. Punk was just coming into being partly as a reaction to this. Elvis Costello’s music was neither rock nor punk but had early rock influences, as well as punk, reggae and jazz influences. Although none of the songs on the album became number one hits, they are all definitely hit worthy and spoke to many of us in the late 70’s who were looking for a different sound. Richard Crouse’s book is an easy-to-read and well-written and researched story of how My Aim is True came to be. It is very easy to tell that he loves the album as much as I do, and I learned quite a bit about one of my favorite musicians. My Aim is True is probably still one of my favorite albums, and I never get tired of listening to these songs. If you have not heard this album, download and listen as soon as you can, then go and read this book because you will want to know more. I received this book from GoodReads First Reads in exchange for an honest review. (  ) rretzler | Apr 30, 2015 | näyttää 2/2
This review is a first for me. I am going to review two books, but I decided to review them together, at the suggestion of my wife, Stacy, who came up with the idea. I am blessed by that fact that she is not only my wife, but someone canny enough to see that putting these two books together gives me a rare opportunity; this review can not only inform you about these books, but can also tell you a bit about the artists who inspired them. So, here are two books, as different as night and day, about artists as different as night and day. Rock-n-roll fans, I give you a dream concert: Elvis Costello and David Bowie. **** If you are like me, you might remember how it felt when you first heard Elvis Costello. My Aim Is True was a record that changed my view of the world, that made me punch out windows and shout out loud. Well, maybe not literally, but when I first heard “Blame It On Cain” I did kick an old Adirondack chair, damaging the leg. My dad always wondered how it got broke. What you have to understand is that the radio was full of disco and the Bee Gees, and that if you wanted to hear someone like the Ramones or The Dead Boys or Richard Hell, you had to search for it. What Elvis Is King does so well is capture the spirit of that time. Mr. Crouse obviously loved the time, the music, and the people who made it. He understands what made Elvis so special is that he had the angst and anger of other bands, but he also had a rare sense of melody and craft, along with smart lyrics. He does an exceptional job of showing how Elvis’ sensibilities were formed, and how he, and others like Nick Lowe and Ian Drury helped make an exciting new twist on a very old form. Mr. Crouse makes the details come alive, with stories about the size of the stories and the size of the performer’s egos. All in all it’s an intimate and scrappy love-note about how and when an artist found his voice and started his career. Elvis Is King makes the case that My Aim Is True was a truly rare phenomenon, and an album that was absolutely the right sound at the right time. This book is not that, but it’s pretty darn close. *** There are few characters in the rock-n-roll world as interesting as David Bowie. His changing personas are legendary, but more importantly, his music has changed as much. The one constant is that it is always interesting. In Bowie on Bowie it’s easy to trace the evolution of Bowie’s character, but the music isn’t there. It is a thought provoking work, because Bowie has always been an excellent subject for interviewers, but Sean Egan’s brief introductions don’t really add too much to make us see behind the interviews. That Bowie is smart and compelling always comes through, but for some reason, the music isn’t evoked, giving this book an unfinished feel. In addition, I know that the book has to have some editing, but there are some excellent interviews left out, ones so good that I actually remember them, and I was looking forward to re-reading. Still, any Bowie is better that no Bowie. Review by: Mark Palm Full Reviews Available at: http://www.thebookendfamily.weebly.co... Kuuluu näihin kustantajien sarjoihin
Before Elvis Costello was one of Rolling Stone's greatest artists of all time he was Declan P. McManus, an office drone with a dull suburban life and a side gig in a pub rock band. In 1976, under the guidance of legendary label Stiff Records, he transformed himself into the snarling, spectacled artist who defied the musical status quo to blaze the trail for a new kind of rock star with his debut album, My Aim Is True. Here Richard Crouse examines how the music of this arrestingly original album smashed the trends of the era to bridge the gap between punk and rock 'n' roll. Kirjastojen kuvailuja ei löytynyt. |
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 Google Books — Ladataan...LajityypitMelvil Decimal System (DDC)782.42166092The arts Music Vocal music Secular Forms of vocal music Secular songs General principles and musical forms Song genres Rock songs History, geographic treatment, biography BiographyKongressin kirjaston luokitusArvio (tähdet)Keskiarvo: (2.8)
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I found several interesting things in this book. Being the same age as the author and raised just on the other side of the border we would seem to have some things in common. Crouse seems to have taken to the British side of rock where I was raised on the American side. We both seem to be trapped in "what is punk rock." Clearly the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. Elvis Costello gets put in that New Wave, but not really category. He is punk rock in a suit, a Patti Smith with shaved armpits, the attitude without the punk image.
Crouse covers the life of Elvis Costello from when he was Declan Patrick MacManus to when he got banned from Saturday Night Live. The book also gives a good history of Stiff Records and other musicians of the period like Nick Lowe and Ian Dury. Crouse explains the making of My Aim is True and also details the songs. My favorite from the album is "Watching the Detectives." It received the most airplay from my hometown Station of WMMS in Cleveland.
The book is written in two different styles. For the most part, Crouse relies heavily on stringing source material together which can be a bit dry at times. Other times Crouse reminisces and adds his opinions and thoughts on the music which are quite good. It is good to see what effect the music had on the person writing biography. I remember watching with the same excitement of Crouse had when Elvis Costello appeared on Saturday Night Live. There is a special connection when to the book when it deals with shared experiences rather than third party source material.
Elvis Is King is a fair biography that covers more of the events of the time than of the subject of the book. Parts of the book seem almost cut-and-paste mass market while other parts seem to be written by a passionate fan. It is a good book for the die hard Elvis Costello fans, but average for those with only a passing interest. (