CD Reviews: Wise Up Ghost and Seasons Of Your Day

Listen to more samples and get Wise Up Ghost (Deluxe) here



Listen to more samples and get Seasons Of Your Day here

TJR Reviews Elvis Costello - Sweet Profane and Sugarcane & Momofuku

Artist: Elvis Costello
Album's: Momofuku and Sweet, Profane, and Sugarcane.
Worth Buying: Yes to both if you are alreay an Elvis fan. Yes to Momofuko is you are not a fan of Elvis but love rock / Yes to Sugarcane if you are not a fan of Elvis but love country and bluegrass
You might be interested in these albums if you are a fan of: Elvis Costello, Good Songwriting, Bluegrass Americana and Garage Rock.

Tell Me More: in the space of one year. Elvis Costello Has released two albums. The latest: Sweet Profane and Sugarcane is a solid Roots Americana bluegrass album. The later: Momofuku is a return to the kind of
Rock'n'Roll that made him famous in the first place.

These albums couldn't be more different from each other in terms of style (Momofuku was recorded in Los Angeles, and Sugarcane in Nashville).....and yet at times they are amazingly similar.

Each one was recored very quickly.....but they don't sound like they where recorded quickly.

Each one features originals by elvis, and a few collaborations. On Momofuku he collaborates with Lorretta Lynn and Rosanne Cash. On Sugarcane with Lorretta Lynn (again) and producer T-Bone Burnette.

But each album (while sonicly different) features Elivis's noir style lyrics filled with characters both seething and desperate (punctuated with moments of sad reflection).

Both albums are good and worth buying, but if I had to choose between the two, the choice (for me) would be Momofuku. Momofuko is a return to what I like to call "The original Elvis Costello". The rock'n'roller whose music was filled with angry piss and vinigar. Before he started branching off into experiments and collaborations into Jazz, Country, Classical, etc.

But I do like Sugarcane too. For me Momofuku is like the big meal when you haven't had anything to eat in a while. Sugarcane is that glass of wine that you have afterwards to reflect on. They go well together.

If you are fan of Elvis, you will certainly enjoy both albums. Even if you are not, fans of rock will find plenty to enjoy with Momofuku and if you love bluegrass and/or tradditional country you will find a lot to enjoy with Sugarcane.

FINAL THOUGHT: I have to admit that as a fan, Elvis lost me for a while when he experimented with other styles. I could repect what he was doing, but I just wasn't that interested in listening to it. Of course a man grows older and his tastes (hopefully) expand. After listening to these two albums I think that maybe I should go back and check out some of those albums that I passed on earlier.

WHAT ABOUT THE PACKAGING? Momofuko comes in a digipack, and while I prefer digipack to jewell case, the CD does not come with any lyrics book or additional materials. Sugarcane however is beautifully packaged in a nice mini LP gatefold case. The cover is beautifully illustrated in color by Comics artist Tony Millionare. Stapled inside is an equally beautiful lyrics book with additional illustrations by Millionare.

Get Sweet Profane and Sugarcane in Mp3 foramt (with bonus track)

Get Sweet Profane and Sugarcane on CD (No bonus track)

Get Momofuku on CD

Get Momofuku in Mp3 format

WHAT IF I AM NOT READY TO BUY THE WHOLE ALBUM? Try Turpentine on Momofuku and/or Sulphur to Sugarcane on Secret Profane and Sugarcane

Music worth buying: 01/21/09 One you might have missed: Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True

Artist: Elvis Costello

Album: My Aim is True

Worth Buying: The Whole Album

You will be interested in this album if you are a fan of:  early rock from the 50's, blues, R&B from the early 60's and great songwriting.

I remember turning on the TV one late night to watch Saturday Night Live. The week before it had been announced that the Sex Pistols would be the musical guests. But the Pistol's must have backed out or something, because instead  the musical guest was this guy that I had never heard of (till then anyways) named Elvis Costello.

At the time music was the domain of bands like Led Zeppelin,  and Van Halen. Long hair and looking like you where the bad ass who got kicked out of school was look that most Rock musicians went for. And I of course was into these bands. So here was this guy who at first glance looked to me more like the school bookworm than a rock star (and back then I was still to musically uneducated to realize that Elvis was riffing on Buddy Holly's look).

Today, most people remember this first US TV appearance by Elvis Costello for the song "Radio Radio". He launched into the performance by playing "Less than Zero", a few bars in he stopped the band, apologized to the audience and played Radio Radio (a scathing attack on the radio industry. In doing this one simple thing, He went against what his record label wanted, and he and was banned by SNL for 12 years.....But what really grabbed me about this guy was his performance of "Watching the Detectives". I couldn't get over how intense and angry this guy came off.

If I thought he looked like a bookworm at first, I quickly changed my mind. Suddenly he looked like a bookworm who would crunch your nuts and then walk off with your woman. he looked like this angry M.F. who wanted to stick his middle finger in the face of every long haired Robert Plant Wannabe in the world.

I was immediately taken by his intensity and went out and got his first album "My Aim is True". It is still to this day one of my favorite albums and a real turning point for me as it signaled the expansion of my musical palate beyond just Hard Rock and Heavy Metal (although I still love both of those genres).

I remember some of my "rocker" friends made fun of me for getting this record. That's because all they had seen was the cover with this bookworm looking guy holding a guitar in a funky pose. They hadn't seen him live. They didn't realize how intense he was. This guy was as angry as me, and I loved him for it.

Looking back now, it's amazing who timeless all these songs sound. There is a strong influence of Motown, R&B, Blues, and 50's Rock'n'Roll. Elvis took all these genres and put new spins on it. He wrote songs with strong hooks and clever, intriguing lyrics.....AND IT WAS ONLY HIS FIRST ALBUM!

Listening to this album with the benefit of hindsight, it's amazing to consider that as awesome a songwriter as he was, he was only going to get BETTER as the years went on.

lines like "I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused" from the song "Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes", became slogans that people put on bumper stickers and buttons.

Major music stars of the time started covering his songs.

If you haven' heard My Aim is True. Now is the time to see where he started

Since then Elvis has stopped being as angry (so have I, come to think of it). But he's never stopped being one of the rock and pop's best songwriters.

Listen My Aim is true and buy in Mp3 format

On CD with extra tracks

http://www.amazon.com/My-Aim-True-Elvis-Costello/dp/B000UAE86C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1232567022&sr=1-3

Deluxe CD edition