Costello's Get Happy Or Taking Liberties Or Almost Blue Or Imperial Bedroom—A Nuevo- Country "Motel Matches" About T
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JOHN WESLEY HARDING:Here Comes tbe Groom back. Now, John Wesley Harding's got me doin' Sire/Reprise 26087- I(LP), -2 (CD'). Barry Farmer, Mark that funky chicken again., Lineo. engs.; Andy Paley, Ttim Robinson, John Wesley Harding, from Hastings, UK, of 1066 and all Harding, prods. AAA /AAD. TB: 5E28, 64,38* that (his real Methodist name is Wesley Harding JOHN WESLEY HARDING: God Made Me Do It— The Christmas EP Stace; he answers to "Wes"), is also the reason Sire/Reprise 26093- l(LP), -2 (CD). Andy Paky, Itromped the mile to the office this morning Robinson, prods. AAA/AAD. TT: 24:44 chanting "I won't do aJon Landau, Iwon't do aJon Landau, Iwon't do aJon Landau." Roll- ing Stone critic Jon "I have seen the future of Costello's Get Happy or Taking Liberties or rock'n'roll, and it is Bruce Springsteen" Lan- Almost Blue or Imperial Bedroom—a nuevo - dau, that is. Landau and his Boss have been liv- country "Motel Matches" about the Cohabi- ing it down ever since. tation Blues: "I don't wanna push, Idon't So Itake it all back, sort of. Even though you wanna pull, we rented this room together" And could make apretty good argument that he's that voice. .. ! the next Elvis Costello, John Wesley Harding Igrabbed the little booklet. Backup band? is not "the next Dylan," the "next" Springsteen, Pete and Bruce Thomas of The Attractions, the new John Lennon of the "new Beatles." Costello's old band (though here, rounded out Apart from That Voice. .. !, what he has in by Kenny Craddock, Steve Donnelly, and Pete common with Costello is that he's all of those Case, they're called "The Good Liars"). Label? "mitts" and "news," depending on which level Jake Riviera's Demon Records in the UK, WEA of which song you're listening to and how in the US—same as EC. Music publishing com- much you want to sloganeeringly flatten your pany? Plangent Visions, same as—you guessed own experience to two-dimensional journalis- it. Lyrics? Rich, clever but not coy, honest, tic fatuities. Don't do it. direct, real & surreal, endless wordplay, pun- Rock reviewing these days is mostly listing gent phrases sticking out all over like needles what some interesting new singer reminds you in an acupuncturist's dummy, just like Declan of, then trying to forget all that so you can hear Patrick Aloysius MacManus his very self. Music? what, if anything, is left after all the influences Astounding fluidity of phrase and serpentine are canceled out. Wes is not at the mercy of his song structure, great melodies and rhythms, the forebears. He's no retread. There's a loving only rocker besides Himself who sounds like quality, avibrance, aboyish, barely repressed asuper-condensed living history of rock'n'roll laughter in everything the guy sings that I exploding right there before your very ears. haven't heard hitched to this kind of talent And, last but most, that voice. ..! At first, before—a "Lemme at it!" approach to song second, and third hearings Harding sounds so and living. The music is deceptively simple, much like Costello Ikept thinking of vocal and the whole album's agale of air so fresh cloning. The impression fades after awhile, but you'll catch cold. The band is tighter than a slowly. It's not just the vocal quality—it's that Libertarian's government budget, and, except amazing, facile flexibility, that doubled-up for the vocals, all recorded live in the studio. phrasing, that heavy metal croon, that folky And sounding it. You are there in that garage belt. Ibegan to feel the sneaking thrill of great- (actually, Tom "Glad To Be Gay" Robinson's ness, the slow dawn of realizing that someone studio). Real drums and no synthesizers. A real who sounds this close to Costello in all respects band sounding real, sounding capable of any- has to be just as good as Costello himself (who, thing at all. Just like. ..Well, it just makes you if you don't know by now, is, to me, the quin- wonder how much of Harding's and Costello's tessential marriage of musical and lyrical rock mutual wonderfulness can be laid at the six or brilliance). And Harding just might be better— four feet of the Attractions and their clean, his full-length-and-then-some-album, Here exacting, simple-sounding arrangements. Comes the Groom, has just been released, and God Made Me Do It's songs are considera- it's abetter debut album than My Aim Is 73-ue bly more direct than Here Comes The Groom's. was. And very different. Ienvy all of you who Besides "The Rent:' there are, in addition to "A have yet to hear it for the first time. Cozy Promotional Chat," an interview with a How sharp is my envy? Every once in avery sodden-sounding Vivian Stanshall (formerly great while, something happens to remind me of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band): the acoustic why, 23 years ago, after astrictly classical musi- "Talking Christmas Goodwill Blues," in clas- cal upbringing, Iever started listening to rock sic "Bob Dylan's Dream" style, complete with music in the first place. Then it was Dylan, the Beatles, the Stones, Joni Mitchell, Zappa, The Band. Thirteen years ago, when I'd retreated 11n fact, Ijust called the guy who introduced me to Costelkis music, so Icould return the favor via Harding; hadn't talked sideways into jazz, Elvis Costello brought me to him in ten years. Stereophile, May 1990 171 .