Interview: Elvis Costello

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Elvis Costello for my "Anatomy of a Song" column in the Wall Street Journal (go here) on one of his most fascinating songs—(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes. Elvis wrote it during the last 10 minutes of a three-hour train ride from London to Liverpool in 1976 on his way to visit his mother. The song then appeared on his first album, My Aim Is True. Elvis is a fascinating artist. He's polite, low key and a wonderful storyteller. He's also honest about himself, humble and insightful. I hope you enjoy my exploration into the mind of a leading songwriter.

So you have the background, here are the song's lyrics...

Oh, I used to be disgusted
And now I try to be amused
But since their wings have got rusted
You know, the angels want to wear my red shoes
But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain
That's when I knew that I could not refuse
And I won't get any older, now that angels want to wear my red shoes

Oh, oh, I was watching while you're dancing away
Our love got fractured in the echo and sway
How come everybody wants to be your friend?
You know that it still hurts me just to say it

Oh, I know that she's disgusted (oh, why's that?)
Because she's feeling so abused (oh, that's too bad)
She gets tired of the lust (oh, I'm so sad)
But it's so hard to refuse
Can you say that I'm too old
When the angels have stolen my red shoes?

Oh, oh I said, "I'm so happy I could die"
She said, "Drop dead, " then left with another guy
That's what you get if you go chasing after vengeance
Ever since you got me punctured, this has been my sentence

Oh, I used to be disgusted
But now I try to be amused
But since their wings have got rusted
You know, the angels want to wear my red shoes
But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain
That's when I knew that I could not refuse
And I won't get any older, now that the angels want to wear my red shoes

Oh, I won't get any older, now the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes

Here's a video of Elvis performing (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes...

And here's Elvis and Burt Bacharach on their song, Toledo. This is from Painted From Memory (1998), a must-own album that shows off the American Songbook genius of these two artists working together...

Want another? Here's the Costello-Baracharch song The House Is Empty Now...

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Elvis Costello

MUSIC INTERVIEWS Elvis Costello: 'There Is No Absolute Right And Wrong About Music'  Throughout his memoir, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, Costello grapples with parallels to his father's life. "In the end, music was playing in the room when my father left this earth," he says. Read this story

Elvis Costello and Chet Baker - You don't know what love is

Take a spin with Elvis Costello at the Bob Carr

Forget about dying messy and young, or flogging your hits on an endless series of "legacy" tours. Every musician wants to be Elvis Costello when they grow up. From new wave to jazz to roots music, the erstwhile Declan MacManus has never seemed to be "reinventing himself" — just exploring, with a genuine and infectious curiosity.

All this musical spelunking has given us so many tunes that even Elvis himself can't seem to decide what to play. Hence the Spinning Songbook that he'll break out once again on his "Revolver" tour, allowing lucky fans to spin a wheel that will pick the set list from decades of hits.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-07-14/entertainment/os-elvis-costello-orlando-20110714_1_hard-rock-live-advance-sale-today

Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello On Piano Jazz

by Alfred Turner
August 26, 2009 - As part of the celebration of 30 years of Piano Jazz, Marian McPartland has asked some of her favorite musicians to guest host. Singer-songwriter Elvis Costello sits down with music legend Allen Toussaint in this installment of Piano Jazz. Like Toussaint, Costello has crossed many genres in his career, working with the likes of producer/composer Nick Lowe, trumpet great Chet Baker, legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach and his own wife, jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall.

Photo: Douglas Mason/Getty Images Entertainment

Allen Toussaint (left) and Elvis Costello.

Toussaint is one of New Orleans' most revered musicians, working since the late 1950s as an arranger-producer while writing songs like "Working in a Coal Mine," "Southern Nights" and "Ride Your Pony." These days, he performs his music around the world, and even joined Costello to record the 2006 album The River in Reverse. In this session, Costello introduces Toussaint as "a living embodiment of the rich musical heritage of the Crescent City."

Here, Toussaint performs "Mother-in-Law," "Fortune Teller" and a very personal version of "Southern Nights," a hit single for country/pop great Glen Campbell. Toussaint takes the song back to its roots, recalling the nights when his father took him to the country to visit "the old Creole people." Then he brings his New Orleans-born rhythmic and harmonic sensibilities to the standards "Singin' the Blues," a song closely associated with Marian McPartland and her late husband, cornetist Jimmy McPartland.

The lively conversation covers early influences on Toussaint's music: jazz, blues, boogie-woogie, church music and "hillbilly music." Talk changes to the great storm Toussaint calls "the booking agent Katrina." It actually helped him move into a rewarding new phase in his career.

In the final selection, the duo plays a medley of piano legend Professor Longhair's "Tipitina" and the Toussaint-Costello song "Ascension Day." Over Toussaint's rolling, bluesy piano, Costello's lyrics paint an anguished picture of the empty streets they found shortly after Katrina, when they came to New Orleans to finish The River in Reverse. There is hope in the song's ending, though: "But I know they will return / Like they've never gone away / Come Ascension Day."

Originally recorded April 17, 2009. Originally aired Aug. 26, 2009.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112183772

Marian McPartland On Piano Jazz, (Part One) - Elvis Costello Guest Hosts

by Grant Jackson
January 8, 2010 - This week's installment of Piano Jazz marks a true milestone, as host Marian McPartland appears as a guest on the program with guest host Elvis Costello. In part one of this all-new interview, McPartland and Costello recount some memorable moments from the program's 30-year (and counting!) run. The session opens with a mainstay of Piano Jazz: the duet. In a fitting tribute to the program's 30th anniversary, Costello serenades McPartland as she plays "Our Love Is Here to Stay." Afterwards, McPartland adds, "That was a treat! I seldom get a chance to accompany you." Photo: Tim Hall

The First-Ever Guest On Piano Jazz
Turning toward the subject of guests on the program, McPartland and Costello discuss the very first guest on Piano Jazz: Mary Lou Williams. "I picked the wrong guest," McPartland says. "I adored her playing, but she was very tough." Williams displays some apprehension in the interview clip played here. But Costello looks on the bright side. "At the end, you had really won her over — she audibly relaxes," he says. "You actually did cajole her to vocalize, although she was not known as a singer."

Pianist Bill Evans also appeared on that first season, and gave an in-depth demonstration of rhythmic displacement in Cole Porter's "All of You." Throughout the program's history, McPartland has interviewed many great players at length on the topic of technique. For musicians, it's an invaluable aspect of the program. "It's extraordinary to hear someone of Bill Evans' level discuss the mechanics which go into the magic that we hear," Costello says.

The Story Of The Song
Next, McPartland and Costello discuss the opportunity to bring singers on to the program. When McPartland's friend Rosemary Clooney, appeared, she addressed the challenges of raising a family and maintaining her career. "When I first started, I had five children in five years, and my work always involved a lot of travel," Clooney said. "Now, they're all grown, and I can really concentrate."

Clooney sang the Cole Porter tune "Don't Fence Me In" with accompaniment by McPartland, who added, "I just think you're better than ever." Costello notes McPartland's attraction to lyrics. "You frequently comment on the story of the song, and particularly the melancholic romanticism," Costello says before singing another McPartland favorite, Rodgers and Hart's "Dancing on the Ceiling," with pianist Pete Malinveri.

Musical Portraits
The first installment of this interview ends with clips of two other regular Piano Jazz features: McPartland's on-the-spot musical portraits of her guests and improvisational invitations to them. McPartland describes her first-ever portrait, created for pianist Chick Corea (hear that full show here). "I'll tell you the ingredients: A lot of strength, humor, energy, a lot of creativity, love, kindness," McPartland says. "I'm not going to have time for all of this!" Finally, Teddy Wilson plays a brief sequence of five notes, which McPartland uses to improvise a heartfelt tune.

"Listening to your portraits and your five-note compositions reminds me of when people speak about 'soul' in relation to music," Costello says. "It seems to me quite possible that everyone we have ever known or loved through music is with us in the chance turn of a phrase or a signature rhythm. I think you certainly have captured many of the ingenious personalities in this series so that they will be forever enduring." Tune in next week for part two of this special session, featuring performances by Marian McPartland with husband Jimmy McPartland, Dizzy Gillespie and more. This program will also feature guest host Costello as he unveils a new tune, "You Hung the Moon."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122322432&ft=1&f=24
 

Elvis Costello & Diana Krall

Elvis Costello & Diana Krall walk the Red Carpet at the 2009 Junos in Vancouver

Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello On Piano Jazz

August 26, 2009 - While host Marian McPartland is out, singer-songwriter Elvis Costello sits down with music legend Allen Toussaint in this installment of Piano Jazz. Like Toussaint, Costello has crossed many genres in his career, working with the likes of producer/composer Nick Lowe, trumpet great Chet Baker, legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach and his own wife, jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall.

Toussaint is one of New Orleans' most revered musicians, working since the late 1950s as an arranger-producer while writing songs like "Working in a Coal Mine," "Southern Nights" and "Ride Your Pony." These days, he performs his music around the world, and even joined Costello to record the 2006 album The River in Reverse. In this session, Costello introduces Toussaint as "a living embodiment of the rich musical heritage of the Crescent City."

Here, Toussaint performs "Mother-in-Law," "Fortune Teller" and a very personal version of "Southern Nights," a hit single for country/pop great Glen Campbell. Toussaint takes the song back to its roots, recalling the nights when his father took him to the country to visit "the old Creole people." Then he brings his New Orleans-born rhythmic and harmonic sensibilities to the standards "Singin' the Blues," a song closely associated with Marian McPartland and her late husband, cornetist Jimmy McPartland.
The lively conversation covers early influences on Toussaint's music: jazz, blues, boogie-woogie, church music and "hillbilly music." Talk changes to the great storm Toussaint calls "the booking agent Katrina." It actually helped him move into a rewarding new phase in his career.

In the final selection, the duo plays a medley of piano legend Professor Longhair's "Tipitina" and the Toussaint-Costello song "Ascension Day." Over Toussaint's rolling, bluesy piano, Costello's lyrics paint an anguished picture of the empty streets they found shortly after Katrina, when they came to New Orleans to finish The River in Reverse. There is hope in the song's ending, though: "But I know they will return / Like they've never gone away / Come Ascension Day."
Originally recorded April 17, 2009. Originally aired Aug. 26, 2009.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112183772&ft=1&f=10002