mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
|
painted from memory (with burth bacharach)
Painted From Memory (with Burt Bacharach) Released: 1998 Rating: 9/10 Track listing: 1. In The Darkest Place / 2. Toledo/ 3. I Still Have That Other Girl/ 4. This House Is Empty Now/ 5. Tears At The Birthday Party/ 6. Such Unlikely Lovers/ 7. My Thief/ 8. The Long Division/ 9. Painted From Memory/ 10. The Sweetest Punch/ 11. What’s Her Name Today/ 12. God Give Me Strength You know, Elvis Costello is one hell of a singer. After hearing this ballad-filled album there should not be the slightest of doubt from any listener. Perhaps more importantly is that he also has great material to work with. It all boils up to a fantastic and amazingly emotional listening experience. The closing track, “God Give Me Strength” defines everything that this album is about. So carefully produced and while there are tons of instruments, the arrangement never seems blown up (like Spector’s “The Long And Winding Road”) but rather fragile and just perfect for the song’s melody and dead sharp written lyrics. With Costello’s marvelous vocals on top of it, it is really more than any feeling person should be able to bear. Even though every song here deals with the classic subject lost/forgotten/dead-love, it doesn’t seem very cliche or generic. Once again, it’s mostly thanks to the singer whom makes the songs come alive, but also because the lyrics manage to take it a bit further than the teenage popstars. I mean, how can you go wrong with lines such as:
‘Maybe I was washed out like a lip-print on his shirt
‘ But it's no use saying that I love you
‘Meanwhile all our friends must choose That’s some great writing. Really. I’m not sure how much Burt Bacharach was involved, but if I got the facts right, Costello and Bacharach more or less wrote everything together. Lyrics and music. And it sounds like that too. You can’t put your finger on anything and say ‘This is Costello’s writing’ or the other way around, as you can with, say, Beatles-tracks. They all flow very well with each other and maybe that’s the only thing looking anywhere near like a complaint towards the record. It’s not very diverse, which doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but unfamiliar listeners might lose interest towards the end. Anyway, whatever your ideas are of cheesy Bacharach or “too-clever-for-his-own-good” Costello, one thing is certain. Forget it. I think both of the artists are bringing the best out of each other. Overall Painted From Memory is a pretty smart album with nice melodies and interesting chord changes, but the brains never pushes the emotions out of the spotlight. I leave you with three words to sum things up: Aching, Beautiful, Stunning.
|