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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I must admit that I knew virtually nothing about Costello when I started this book and probably wouldn't have recognized any of his songs out of a radio playlist although I do recall having seen him on SNL back in the day. I happened to be in an independent bookstore, and, looking for something to buy in order to support the business rather than out of any immediate need for something to read, I picked up Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink. Being vaguely aware of Costello's connections with musicians with whom I am familiar and whom I respect, probably through photos and articles in Rolling Stone, I found myself intrigued by the numerous blurbs on the cover and inner pages praising the book as one of the best musical memoirs written. I wasn't disappointed and have spent a fair amount of time recently listening to early Costello, planning to move on over time.
Costello's take on his both lengthy and impressive musical career is filled with his witty writing, personal pictures, interesting stories and of course lyrics. Fans of his music will love this inside look into both his personal and professional life. Costello talks about his experiences candidly with the reader and keeps you interested because of the way he skips, very jarringly from place to place. I most enjoyed the different ways Costello talks about writing his lyrics. It's fascinating to me that some of his songs came out almost fully formed, melody and all, while others he put together piece by piece, transferring them from notebook to notebook. I highly recommend this book if you want the true details of the life of such an amazing musician.
Costello's long, rambling and sometimes maddeningly out-of-sequence memoir offers plenty of insights and anecdotes that make it worth sticking out to the end, at least for longtime fans. It's probably best tackled in smaller chunks: The way Costello's approached the book makes it possible to skim certain sections, or put it down for a while and pick up later from where you left off (or elsewhere), pretty much without missing a beat. In the end, what it lacks in cohesion it makes up in wry humor and fascinating observations from a long and winding career.
This book is a bit like listening to a friend tell a story at a bar- engaging, disjointed at times, and most effective when supported by pictures or ( in this case ) songs ( and song lyrics). It is not a conventional autobiography- there is a timeline structure but it jumps around a lot and the reader has to "work". It is actually an interesting example of reading comprehension at work - if you don't have a schema for Elvis' stories (i.e., if you don't already know the characters/singers in his stories), this would be a tough haul. Strongly recommend buying the iTunes collection associated with the book, it would be great if the book had an index to support matching the songs to the stories.
Wow, a VERY thorough self-analysis and first-person narrative by the artist better known as Mr. Elvis Costello. Often informative and very educational but never didactic, Costello takes the opportunity here to tell us everything that happened, and how and when it happened, in his entire life and career. Such is the nature of entertainment, the first half of the book is more interesting than the second, but he manages to make it always accessible.
A fabulous autobiography by one of my all-time favorite musicians. A captivating read. Costello shares a lot about his musical experiences and his musician father; he is somewhat guarded about other relationships and areas of his life, which is quite likely wise. Costello's enthusiasm for music, as well as his great admiration for the great artists with whom he's worked (Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, etc.) comes through as genuine. One could, as I intend to do, go back through the book and compile quite a long playlist of songs Costello admires. The writing is very good, as one would expect from a lyricist of Costello's caliber, with only a few clunky passages along the way. The final pages are particularly poignant and moving. The whole book is a wonderful glimpse into the life of a hard-working and talented musician; it is a story I could read again.
This book is rich with musical references and familiar names. I tend to prefer to read books. In this instance I shifted to listen to the audio which Elvis Costello reads beautifully. He progresses through time is a nonlinear way. Most of his stories focus on music. He writes about his grand parents and parents but doesn’t share much about his personal life. This is a musical tell-all book
Not a short and sweet biography this tome covers some of Elvis Costello's family genealogy. A musician and prolific songwriter this book read quiet poetically. I enjoyed his unapologetic approach to the subject matter of his life.
Good read. Very interesting and comprehensive autobiography. My big complaint is that he jumps in the timeline pretty frequently, which can make it hard to follow at times. And with a book as long as this one, the constant jump in timeline can be a bit frustrating.
It was interesting the things in his life he focused on, and the things he didn't expand on at all. Like, there is quite a lot about his first wife, Mary, a fair amount about Diana Krall, and just 2 or 3 pages about Cait O'Riordan. Their relationship was long enough, I guess I expected more on that, particularly since he seems to have had a different frame of mind during that relationship.
He tells some interesting anecdotes. He sounds confident, but gives false modesty each time he is "surprised" by an interaction with a famous person - Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Allen Toussaint, etc. But those characters in the story pop up frequently.
The book also made me aware of a personality quirk - he seems to love quoting lyrics, even his own. He mentions numerous time where he quoted an artists' lyrics back to him. The book exposed what a huge music fan Elvis is, and I loved reading the passages where he would discuss musicians or music. He's a fan.
I also thought it was interesting how much more of the book was devoted to his father, rather than his mother, particularly since he mentions on numerous occasions his father's philandering and that his father was gone a lot. Reading this made me feel like he was the more important person to Elvis, but frankly, I found his mother to be the more interesting and compelling person in his life. It was pretty clear he desperately wanted his absent father's approval. It made me kind of sad.
It was interesting the things in his life he focused on, and the things he didn't expand on at all. Like, there is quite a lot about his first wife, Mary, a fair amount about Diana Krall, and just 2 or 3 pages about Cait O'Riordan. Their relationship was long enough, I guess I expected more on that, particularly since he seems to have had a different frame of mind during that relationship.
He tells some interesting anecdotes. He sounds confident, but gives false modesty each time he is "surprised" by an interaction with a famous person - Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Allen Toussaint, etc. But those characters in the story pop up frequently.
The book also made me aware of a personality quirk - he seems to love quoting lyrics, even his own. He mentions numerous time where he quoted an artists' lyrics back to him. The book exposed what a huge music fan Elvis is, and I loved reading the passages where he would discuss musicians or music. He's a fan.
I also thought it was interesting how much more of the book was devoted to his father, rather than his mother, particularly since he mentions on numerous occasions his father's philandering and that his father was gone a lot. Reading this made me feel like he was the more important person to Elvis, but frankly, I found his mother to be the more interesting and compelling person in his life. It was pretty clear he desperately wanted his absent father's approval. It made me kind of sad.
I rarely complain about books being too long, but wow this was epic. It has so many great stories from Costello's career, so there's plenty to like. I'm just not sure I needed to know this much. Still, it's definitely worth a read if you're a big fan or just want to know a lot about Costello's background and music.