[jackman]

I have to run so I'll keep this as short as possible.  I picked up this CD along with the new Nora Jones.   At first, I listened to both of them streight through and found the Jones effort much more accessable.  I really like the sophomore effort of Nora and expect great things from this very talented new artist as she matures as a musician.  

Okay, what does that have to do with the other Elvis?  At first, I admit that I like the Jones album much more. It has some catchy tunes and is well recorded.  After listening to the Elvis' North a couple times this has become one of my favorite CD's in years.  He's not as accessable and the songs take a while to really sink in (this is the case with a lot of recordings that have become my favorite like Van Morrison's Astrel Weeks).   There are very few people who could make an album like North.  Elvis is an amazing song writer and everything comes together on this simple and very personal recording.  All of the songs are great and it's best to listen to late at night to get the full effect.  

North is a simple record with very simple arrangements (all ballads) that feature piano and string orchestrations.  Elvis' voice is perfect for this type of music.  His lyrics are extremely personal and melonchole (sp?).  It's good to hear the newly "Mr. Diana Krall" (I think they are married) is sounding so great.  I give this record 4/4 stars, however only after listening to it about ten times.  It's not leaving my CDP for a while.

Cheers,


Jack

[MaxCast]

Thanks for the review, Jman.  I will get this disc sooner or later because of it.  I really like Elvis' lyrics and his sarcastic/ironic songs reach out and bite you sometimes.  Similar to Joe Jackson...speaking of JJ, doesn't he have a new cd out?

[jackman]

Hi Max,
This Elvis disc is very different from his previous work, especially the stuff with the Attractions.  It's very introspective and a bit "raw" dispite the strings.  No guitar at all on the whole record and it takes a couple listens but his lyrics are amazing.  I love Elvis Costello as an artist.  

Hope you like it.

Jack

[Gordy]

MaxCast

Joe J has a live album, Afterlife(?), due in three or four weeks.

[Tbadder1]

I think the important thing here is that the best Cds are those that slowly creep up on you, that stand the test of time, that are given the time and attention to really understand and appreciate.  I distrust any music that is A) really popular, the culture demand for agreement is much too strong in America, or B) sounds great outta the box, usually fad music, flavor of the day (read Norah Jones) that will one day embarrassingly disappear from our collections.

I think it says a lot about you, that a Cd so miserably reviewed and so poorly selling, is appreciated so much.  Bravo for understanding rather than simple emotional attachment.  Bravo for intelligence and quality of material over immediacy and quality of recording.

[MaxCast]

MaxCast

Joe J has a live album, Afterlife(?), due in three or four weeks.

Thanks Gordy!

[Rob Babcock]

I've learned not to dismiss artists simply because they're popular, Tbadder1.  Certainly there's a lot of crappy stuff that's popular, but what about the Beatles, The Who & Led Zep?  Sure, some stuff if popular because it appeals to the lowest common denominator, but some things are popular because they're so good that they cut across the grain of the public consciousness:  ie they're Classic.

I'm also not convinced Jones' music will quickly be forgotten.  After two solo discs and one she recorded with Peter Malik, I think she's a pretty impressive talent.  Of course that's neither here nor there.

There are some things that I didn't initially like but later warmed up to.  Those things are no dearer to me now than the things I liked immediately.  As they say, YMMV- maybe I just approach the music differently.

The professional reviews I've read of Mr. Krall...er, Costello's new album have been uniformly lukewarm to poor.  Again, neither here nor there.  But the most damning of the indictments I've consistantly seen is that his stuff is playing safe- that he's run out of ideas.  

I've been a fan of his somewhat, on and off, for years, so I'll probably check this one out eventually.

[Tbadder1]

The years I worked in the record industry have no doubt jaded me, but I beg all to please beware of the popular.  If you don't think that the industry is in a constant state of trying to organize taste, to force subpar artists on mass culture, to control the dialogue of what is quality by offerring artists and groups that are easily definable and repeatable, then you, me, we are extraordinarily naive.  

I'll never forget the head of Columbia addressing our national convention one year with the suggestion that the best case scenario for any company was to release exactly one album a year, an album that everyone on the planet would buy, and that companies could then control and shape the demographics of an entire population.  Scary stuff.  

Norah is a case in point.  I enjoy Norah, a lot, but she really isn't very good.  A pleasing rehash, a wonderful facsimile, of other pop/jazz crossover singers.  What's not to like?  Nothing--that's what!  And therein lies the problem.  My guess is, and it's only a guess, is that she will be a fortunate footnote, unimportant, contributing next to nothing to serious, artistic music that moves the genre to explore new territory, to challenge listeners, to leave a lasting impression.

Rejecting someone because they are popular is nonsense.  There is plenty of evidence to the contrary, but there more evidence that says the popular isn't as liable to be long lasting.  Because for every Who and Beatles (I'm not sure about Zep--there more of a culmination of a movement than an original, artistic expression) there's ten Brittanys or Connies or Sedakas (sic) or Boones or the countless other drivel.

Please don't take my original comments as any thing other than praise for your willingness to be convinced in the face of rejection.  I salute open mindedness, and most of all those who can separate what they enjoy from what is good--too often everyone (including myself) mistakes these two compunctions as analogous.

[Carlman]

I think what Tbadder and Rob are defining is enjoyment vs. objectivity.  Tbadder's digression is its own topic.  I don't know of many people that determine if music is good based solely on its popularity.  That would be teenagers.  Hence, pop=teenagers.  I could go on and on about the other side of that coin and how more good 'unpopular' music is making it to the public's ears... but, this thread is about Elvis.  (the REAL Elvis in my opinion... )

I had the pleasure of seeing him in concert with Steve Nieve, all acoustic.  Great show, my favorite in fact.  His voice sounds so much better now than the older 'ooooo-iiiiii' stuff from 20+ years ago.  He sounds so much smoother and ....well, better.

I saw him about a year ago in Philly at a Tower record store promoting the Doll Head album (can't remember the name).  I really didn't care for it.  It's clear he's just having some fun, doing his own thing... and yes, had run out of ideas.  I'd like to hear the North album to see if it's still part of this recent trend of generic rockabilly sound he's into... I hope not.  His recordings have always been crap.  So, hopefully things will have improved a bit on North.  They weren't bad on the Cruel Smile or Cruel whatever album but, the music didn't need to be well recorded.

Nothing's worse than suffering through Oliver's Army or Spike... great music but, I have to listen to it in the car.  It's just too awful on a mediocre or better hifi.... even the vinyl sucks.

If there is a live recording from his acoustic stuff with Steve Nieve, I would love to have it.  It's the best EC has done... in addition to his stint with Burt Bacarach sp?...

Anyway, EC has always been out there and most people love or hate his music.  I like some of it, can't stand some of it, and love other stuff.. I hope the new North album is a keeper.

-C

[Rob Babcock]

I hate to regress to the simplistic, but I guess "if it sounds good, it is good."  When it comes to popular music, not classical, only a miniscule amount of it is challenging or "culture bearing," IMO.  I'll continue to enjoy Jones' music- I only wish I didn't now know is isn't any good!   It's pointless to argue a matter of taste, so I won't.  More musically astute professional critics than I have sung her praises, and I'm sure a few have panned her, too.  For those out there who haven't decided whether to buy it or not, I say if you liked the last one, you'll probably like this one, although it shows  more country influences than the previous one.

No one argues that the music industry isn't headed up by a bunch of chode slurping weasels- that's not the point.  I'm merely trying to point out that trying to determine the quality of something by tracking it's sales in Billboard is putting the cart before the horse.

What I think is funny is how thoroughly wrong the record companies usually are.  Tbadder, you probably know the figures far better than I, but don't 95% of the albums released each year lose money for the company?  I read some very illluminating statistics but I can't recall all the details.  Under that antiquated business model being used currently, their stratagey isn't really working that well.

That opens a new can of worms:  does pop music mostly suck because the Big Five are foisting crap upon us or is the consumer demanding crap?  Are the recording companies leading us to bad music or merely responding to our demand for it?  I think it's maybe 35% the former and 65% the latter.  But that's a topic for another post.

Sorry to derail the discussion, especially since I'm not really all that interested in Elvis' music.  We can now resume todays regularly scheduled discussion, already in progress!

[jackman]

Jesus H....

This is one F'd up thread.  Everyone has different tastes in music.  I don't recall saying this one will oust Revolver in the list of great albums.  I'm an Elvis Costello fan and really like this recording.  Another record I really like is Lucinda Williams' latest work "World WIthout Tears".  Is it as good as "Car Wheels"?   Who gives a damn?   It's just good and I like it.  

North is a very personal album with simple arrangements.  It was recorded in a very short period and has a "stream of consciousness" type of flow that I really like.  I like things that aren't big production numbers.  It's also perfectly understandable if someone listens to it and doesn't like it.  It may not be for everyone.  

Also, I wasn't slamming Nora Jones (although if I wasn't married, and given the opportunity... ) but it would be cool to hear her take more chances.  I love the Townes Van Zant tune with Dolly Pardon.  Dolly has a very angelic voice and is an amazing performer.  I don't have any of her records but have seen her live (against my will admittedly at first) and she has a wonderful voice.  I commend Nora Jones for making a record like her second one although I'd love to see her "stretch" a bit more.  Any Cassandra Wilson fans will know what I'm talking about.  I picked up all of Cassandra's records over the past few months (some were burned from the local library CD collection).  She takes loads of chances and has a really cool voice and a great band.  I'm a huge fan.

Adios,

Jack

[orthobiz]

This rambling post goes well with this f'ed up thread!

I own the North CD, listened partly once in the car, figured it was like a whole album of the song "Almost Blue" and never listened again. I was one of the most diehard early fans, falling off the wagon around the Everyday I Write The Book phase. As a result of this thread will listen to it and also to the Tear Off Your Own Head  CD that I also own but listened once.

I seem to accumulate more music than I have time to listen to. Kinda like Zevon's quote of some literary guy who suggested that no one buys a book without expecting to "have bought" the time to read it. I think I should be immortal by now!

Meanwhile, most popular stuff is pretty bad, some of it is OK, just have to pick and choose. F'rinst, I'm a total ABBA freak (so is Elvis!). Who cares what the companies throw at the masses? It must be what they want otherwise why would they download 99 cent songs at 128 kbps compression on iTunes?

Had a weird pop experience with my 14 year old daughter recently. I bought a Best of Sweet compilation and she has become so hooked on "Little Willie" that I actually liked it (much to my wife's dismay). Listening through my daughter's ears made me realize what a pop gem it was, but when it came out I couldn't stop retching long enough to change the channel fast enough!

Go to pitchforkmedia.com and popmatters.com every single day and you will realize there's lots of stuff out there that's worthwhile.

biz

Yo Jackman, I don't think anybody was attacking your position, anyway!

[jackman]

Hey!  I was just goofin' around.  I must confess that I didn't read through the posts fully.   Half the time when I post things like that last post, I'm laughing and it doesn't show through in the writing.  

It's only a CD for God's sake.  I have much more important crises (is that the plural for crisis?) to deal with at the moment.

Cheers!

Jack

[Rob Babcock]

I have a couple of Cassandra Wilson's CDs, and that does seem to be the knock on her latest stuff:  playing it safe.  Haven't had the chance to hear the new one, but the *reviews* I've read say she's just coasting.  My fave was New Moon Daughter, BTW.

Guess we shoulda spun this off into a different thead; didn't mean to hijack it, JMan.  I don't think this thread's really too F'd up- everyone has an opinion on music, and I don't think anyone's really crossed the line into being disrepectful.  I do find TBadders "insider" view of the industry pretty interesting.

[Tbadder1]

Let me be perfectly clear about one thing here--Costello is awesome, a true artist, acerbic and funny, enjoyable on so many levels it's scary.  And Cassandra Wilson, okay I'd leave my wife right now for her!!!  Going to see her in Milwaukee on March 21st!  Yeah!!!  Elvis has had a few bumps in the road, but he keeps trying to push pop music forward in an intelligent way. A major, all-time artist.  New Wave's Bob Dylan.  An eclecticist supreme.

[Rob Babcock]

I hope your wife doesn't frequent AC, Tbadder1!     I dunno how old your wife is, but I don't think Wilson has too many *good* years left in her, from an, uh, "non musical" standpoint.   She's lookin' pretty good still for now, but I think she's 43 yrs old...

[jackman]

I'm with Rob on this one.  One of my favorite singers of all time is Ella...but I wouldn't think of trading her (even if she was alive) for my wife!  yow!  Cassandra Wilson sings beautifully, I like her music better than Nora or Diana, but I'd take the other two if the category was "Singers you'd be trapped on a deserted island with...".

  J