‘IT'S THAT ALL-IN-lT-TOGETHER
Dan er man
When Craig McLean met ELVIS COSTELLO he found that rather than mellowing him, age has only made him more ambitious.
|\i.\ (‘oxtello is talking about him he toured l’orttigal reeentl}. .-\l‘ter the lirst night‘s shim. a
eltap from the record label ga\ e him a bunch of
Portuguese reeordx. ()n the dri\e l'roin Porto to Lisbon. he listened to the \ttil'l'. all intense halladr).
.-\ smitten ('oxtello promptl} programmed a new set list. eoniprixing l7 minor ke_\ songs. 'and went doun to Lisbon and ahxolutel} killed it. The Portuguese are into that inelaneholia. and He got a lot of those songs. We just made them more intense and the more intense it got. the more dark it got. and the more \\ e enjo} ed it. It \xaxn’t a miserable eoneert. It had pou er. But onl_\ heeause \\ e \\ ere all in it together. :\titl it‘s that all-in-it- together thing that'\ sometimes missing in some eulturex.~
\Vhat (‘oxtello is it'd/Ii talkittg about here is eritieal orthodo\'\. and him hateliul and restrietn e he finds it. \Vh} does guitar-haxed roek ha\ e to he the onl_\ north} outlet for a popular inuxieian‘.’
He has an me to grind here: the last deeade or so has seen the littt'lttet‘ .\'e\\ \Va\e hero LIIIICI\C\I ttttd ol‘ten nioeked for his more outre ltllhlettl proieetx. \\ltether his albums \xith the Brodxk) Quartet. ine//o-\oprano .-\nne Sofie Von ()ttei' or. last autumn. his first orehextral \\ot‘k. ll Sogiiu. written for an Italian ballet eoinpan}.
‘(‘ritieal orthodo\} is not real.’ say ('oxtello. ‘lt‘x like gold ~ it's onl_\ \aluahle heeauxe \\ e all think it‘s Valuable. It's just sill}. It‘s so far from the realit). 'l'he l'reneh like .lohnn) llallida}. ('aii )tiii e\plain it'.’ I ean‘i. The} itlxtt like .lerr) l-e\\i.\. It‘s different e\ er} \\ here. And it _\ou’\'e tra\el|ed the \wrld ;t\ l lime and had the fortune to plat} and make friends in lots of different plaees. _\ou learn about a different outlook. l ean go and
66 THE LIST .4 "‘13-:
THING THAT'S SOMETIMES
MISSING IN SOME CULTURE'
pla_\ regional theatres in ltal_\ and Spain. pla_\ing the most ohseure repertoire. and hold the stage l'or t\\o-;tttd- a-hall‘ hours. If I tried to do the same thing in lingland I‘d get hooed (III...
l‘air point. llappil} tor the le\\ eulturall} eoxmopolitan t_\pes in Blight}. on his upeoining tour (‘ostello has another new set of songs to perform. The lh'lii't'rr .I/(lll “as released on the same da} as l/ Strum: and couldn‘t come from a more distant point on the eultural \peetruin than a elaxxieal pieee inspired h} .-l .lIit/xiiiiimt'r'x .\'ig/it Dream. Reeorded in Mississippi nith appropriate roots} Viltex it'\ the ntth itt\ igorated that (‘oxtello has \ounded in wars.
'l‘}piea|l_\. he initially had grander plans than an album of pleaxingl) thumping eountryroek and soulful poreh ltttllttds. Ili\ original idea “as to \\ rite a set of" \ongs from the points of \‘ie\\ of a east of eharaeters. Then he deeided \tor_\telling alhuinx ‘ha\ e a limited appeal'. Rather than _\oke exer} eonipoxition together. he “(this people to be able to enjo} them 'jttst its a song'.
.\'o\\ don’t go thinking that (‘oxtello is entering a next populist phase in his middle-age. He has a neu projeet on the go for 2005. an opera L‘Ulilliil\\l()llcd h} the guardians of Denmark's high eulture to mark the hieeittenar} ol‘ Ham (‘hrixtian Andersen‘s hirth. Ills eurrent roek alhunt elearl} l'loatx his boat: it uouldti't sound so good other“ ixe. But ('oxtello positirel} \hi\er\ “IIII relish \\ hen Lli\L‘lt\,\llig \ueh — you might \a} more lol't} —- artistie e\eur\ion\.
'\\'hen )ou ha\e 7t) people pla}ing together it's a \xondert'ul thing. There's so much danger in it?‘
Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Mon 14 Feb.
Hayseed Dixie Finally. we all have a place to hear classic rock anthems from AODC. Motbrhead and Aerosmith. interpreted by a shit hot bluegrass quartet of hillbilly bad boys. Yee Haa! Garage. Glasgow, Sat 5 Feb: Liquid Room. Edinburgh, Sun 6 Feb. (Rock 8 pop, Folk)
Brian Kellock Mo Last year was a relatively quiet one for the pianist while he worked on his Creative Scotland project. but his trio remains a consistently exciting outlet for his work. Henry '3 Jazz Cellar, Edinburgh, Sat 5 Feb; Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Sun 6 Feb, (Jazz)
Green Day Can scuzzy snot punks really do concept albums and high falutin’ gigs? Berkley. California's finest (pictured). would reckon so. SOLD OUT. SECC, Glasgow. Thu 70 Feb (Rock 8 Pop)
3 Men and Black Some of the founding fathers (and mothers!) of British ska converge for an accoustic 2— Tone show. Pauline Black of the Selecter performs with Roddy Radiation (the Specials). Dave Wakeling (the Beat) and Nick Welsh (Bad Manners). Sub Club. Glasgow, Fri 77 Feb; Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Sat 72 Feb. (Rock (2 Pop)
Trianglehead Another welcome outing for the original and creative improvising trio of Martin Kershaw (saxeS), Paul Harrison (piano) and Stuart Ritchie (drums). Henry's Jazz Cellar. Edinburgh, Sun 73 Feb. (Jazz)
Elvis Costello & the lmposters See preview. left. Usher Hall. Edinburgh, Mon 74 Feb. (Rock 8. Pop)
'- Rambling Jack Elliot Last here in the 608. Rambling Jack Elliot collaborated with Woody Guthrie. was a mentor to Dylan, a drinking pal of Kerouac's. and he’s still a spellbinding performer. Catch this rare one-off date. Pleasance, Edinburgh, Thu 77 Feb. (Folk)