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mujerdee 's review for:
Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink
by Elvis Costello
I haven't enjoyed an autobiography as much this in, well, forever. Partly it's my being the right age to remember the tunes, personalities and attitudes of the grungy, anarchic 70s and shinier, shallower 80s in Thatcherite Britain and Reagan's America. But I think it's mostly because the writing is AMAZING: I've heard that Elvis did his own writing, which is as articulate and literary as his lyrics. Costello is a damned good storyteller, as well as poetical wordsmith.
Elvis shares his adventures on and off stage in the skyrocket that was his early career, as well as what he's been doing since. Names drop like overripe fruit, but never in a showy or falsely humble manner. It's like having a quiet evening by the fire, drinks in hand, with a buddy you haven't seen for a long while, beguiling you with anecdotes of people you both know. Dylan, Debbie and Danko, as well as Bowie, Bruce (yes, that one), Burt, Bonnie Raitt and T Bone Burnett. There are also a stunning number of country music personalities who turn up for musical collaborations with Costello. They share whiskey, wisdom and warbling, often in that order. Elvis binds all these seemingly disparate strands, and they come together to make sense, despite being diluted by skinny ties, funny ankle dancing and drunken shenanigans.
Some things about Elvis I found revelatory: the profound impact of his Catholicism and his Irish heritage were much deeper than I'd have guessed. Surprisingly shy and wary about a curious number of things (flying, small talk, American Southerners), it's sometimes hard to square the narrating Elvis with the edgy, provocative one fans saw in his performing life.
He comes from solid musical stock: both dad and a granddad were in the biz. Into his personal remembrances and professional triumphs, Costello weaves the tales about the lives of his father and grandfather, both itinerant musicians. He speaks alternately with exasperation and compassion about his progenitors as well as himself: the good and bad that comes with this lifestyle choice. He was raised by his primarily by his mother after dad abandoned them for a life on the road, and ultimately another family. Mom filled the home of the young Elvis with musical standards that gave him an encyclopedic and well-rounded musical education. He freely owns "sampling" (before it was even a thing) the melodies of both peers and the grand old songwriters of an earlier generation, both in his earlier pop songs as well as his more recent compositions.
Beginning with the accidental death of schoolmate, the book starts as a meditation on mortality. Ultimately, it becomes a tribute to his father. Elvis Costello reached professional heights his dad chased but never managed to catch. Elvis subtly turns on himself the same lens though which he examines his father. He neatly draws unflattering but clear-eyed parallels. He meticulously unpacks his ownership in failed relationships and the sticky guilt of absentee fatherhood. He gives a short but awestruck summary of his second chance at both with jazz singer Diana Krall.
The thing best about this book is the backstory Costello provides to his own most popular songs. Having these literary and often impenetrable lyrics explicated by the author is an absolute treat.
My sole reason for giving this book four rather than five stars is the nonlinear method Costello unspools his life. Had I the hard copy of the book (rather than the audiobook) I might have been able to easily thumb back to clarify my fuzzy mental timeline of details. But the prospect of hearing the book read by Costello in his own signature rasp, was too tempting.
Peace.
Elvis shares his adventures on and off stage in the skyrocket that was his early career, as well as what he's been doing since. Names drop like overripe fruit, but never in a showy or falsely humble manner. It's like having a quiet evening by the fire, drinks in hand, with a buddy you haven't seen for a long while, beguiling you with anecdotes of people you both know. Dylan, Debbie and Danko, as well as Bowie, Bruce (yes, that one), Burt, Bonnie Raitt and T Bone Burnett. There are also a stunning number of country music personalities who turn up for musical collaborations with Costello. They share whiskey, wisdom and warbling, often in that order. Elvis binds all these seemingly disparate strands, and they come together to make sense, despite being diluted by skinny ties, funny ankle dancing and drunken shenanigans.
Some things about Elvis I found revelatory: the profound impact of his Catholicism and his Irish heritage were much deeper than I'd have guessed. Surprisingly shy and wary about a curious number of things (flying, small talk, American Southerners), it's sometimes hard to square the narrating Elvis with the edgy, provocative one fans saw in his performing life.
He comes from solid musical stock: both dad and a granddad were in the biz. Into his personal remembrances and professional triumphs, Costello weaves the tales about the lives of his father and grandfather, both itinerant musicians. He speaks alternately with exasperation and compassion about his progenitors as well as himself: the good and bad that comes with this lifestyle choice. He was raised by his primarily by his mother after dad abandoned them for a life on the road, and ultimately another family. Mom filled the home of the young Elvis with musical standards that gave him an encyclopedic and well-rounded musical education. He freely owns "sampling" (before it was even a thing) the melodies of both peers and the grand old songwriters of an earlier generation, both in his earlier pop songs as well as his more recent compositions.
Beginning with the accidental death of schoolmate, the book starts as a meditation on mortality. Ultimately, it becomes a tribute to his father. Elvis Costello reached professional heights his dad chased but never managed to catch. Elvis subtly turns on himself the same lens though which he examines his father. He neatly draws unflattering but clear-eyed parallels. He meticulously unpacks his ownership in failed relationships and the sticky guilt of absentee fatherhood. He gives a short but awestruck summary of his second chance at both with jazz singer Diana Krall.
The thing best about this book is the backstory Costello provides to his own most popular songs. Having these literary and often impenetrable lyrics explicated by the author is an absolute treat.
My sole reason for giving this book four rather than five stars is the nonlinear method Costello unspools his life. Had I the hard copy of the book (rather than the audiobook) I might have been able to easily thumb back to clarify my fuzzy mental timeline of details. But the prospect of hearing the book read by Costello in his own signature rasp, was too tempting.
Peace.