In the liner notes to Paul Simon's 2011 album So Beautiful Or So What, his good friend and lifelong admirer, Elvis Costello, describes him as "a man in full possession of all his gifts, looking at the comedy and beauty of life with clarity and the tenderness bought by time". They're traits which liberally pepper the elder man's work throughout a professional career stretching back six decades, and that have clearly influenced his younger acolyte's writing.
Arguably, the first illustration of Simon's fingerprints on the Costello songbook can be detected listening to prefame acoustic demos aired on Radio London in 1976, and more pointedly on the following year's single, the nakedly emotional Alison. They crop up time and again in the more confessional corners of the Costello catalogue (Simon's pensive, nostalgia-tinged state-of-the-nation paean American Tune from '73 is arguably the touchstone for Costello's Peace In Our Time a decade later); eloquent parallels that make their kindred spirit connection no surprise.
Although they've known each other on a personal level for more than 30 years, their shared professional ground is comparatively sparse. Elvis has thrice covered Paul's songs (see panel), but the only musician they have in common is the late Larry Knechtel, a regular presence on Simon & Garfunkel records, perhaps most notable for his Grammy-winning piano arrangement of Bridge Over Troubled Water, and who was part of Costello's touring band The Rude 5 between 1989 and '91.
A year after the release of So Beautiful Or So What, both men were on the voting jury for the inaugural PEN New England Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence award (the offshoot of a longer-established award for novelists and poets). Famously, jury chairman Simon chose not to use his casting vote to split a tie, resulting in the gong being shared between Chuck Berry and Leonard Cohen.
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Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Record Collector.
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WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
At the peak of their powers in the early 70s, by 1975 there were signs that Led Zeppelin were burning out, and their legendary appetite for excess, not to mention stadium-straddling, mythically charged, epically inclined hard rock, might be waning.
HI-FIDELITY?
Running a record shop is a dream for many music aficionados. Steve Burniston investigates how to run a successful one
THE ENGINE ROOM
The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music
UNDER THE RADAR
Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention
45 SHEFFIELD 45s
Continuing our celebrations of RC's 45th birthday and following on from our look at the best 45s to come out of Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow, we focus on the urbanisation formerly known as Steel City: Sheffield. Close to the (Nether) Edge: Jeremy Allen
Finished Symphonies
In the late 80s, Shelleyan Orphan made rarefied, ravishing, precious (both meanings) baroque pop, all chamber quartet accompaniment and literary reference points, like an 18th century Cocteau Twins.
"BLACK BRITISH PEOPLE HAD SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT"
Breaking new ground for black music in Britain from his teenage years in Matumbi in the early 70s, Dennis Bovell went on to become one of reggae's most highly regarded producers, helping popularise lovers rock. He also played a pivotal role in post-punk's experimental incorporation of dub influences on records like The Slits' Cut and The Pop Group's Y. As new compilation, Sufferer Sounds, reaches back to his early days to compile some of his best early dub plates, Lois Wilson gets the full backstory from one of British music's most enduring forces.
FRENZY REUNITED
Swindon's finest musical export, XTC were also one of the most quietly influential British bands, setting a template for Britpop while pioneering a brand of left-field guitar pop – from herky-jerky invention to consummate craftsmanship – that has spawned many imitators.
Paperback Blighters - The books every record collector should read.
The books every record collector should read. Vinyl, you may have heard, has made a big comeback. In 2022, sales of vinyl albums surpassed compact discs (CDs) for the first time in more than three decades in terms of global revenue, racking up more than $1.2bn.
"Beware the Savage Lure/of 1984..." - David Bowie is one of the most venerated musicians ever. But even he had his bad periods.
David Bowie is one of the most venerated musicians ever. But even he had his bad periods. For many, 1984 remains the nadir of his Phil Collins” phase; an artistic/sartonial/tonsorial disaster area. But was it really that awful? Forty years on, Matt Phillips explores Bowie's so-called annus horribilis.
