Elvis Costello & Dave Edmunds // "Girls Talk"

It’s really rare that I like covers better than originals.  I think this happens more often than I’d like to admit, but I just have this innate notion to always favor the original version of a song.  It probably comes from growing up in Boston and rooting for the Red Sox (the underdogs)!  Anyways, as hesitant as I am to admit it, Dave Edmunds’s cover of Elvis Costello’s Girls Talk takes the song to another level.

My favorite thing about this song is the sarcasm in the lyrics.  When Costello sings the song, it’s a little anxiety-ridden.   However, when Edmunds covers it he adds that necessary sarcastic tone to go along with the lyrics and (as the charts demonstrated) and turn it into a hit song.   He adds a bounce and up-beat aspect that the song needs. 

To me, this seems like one of those songs that would be written in a moment of thought.  As if Costello was sitting in a café or on a train and looking around at girls gossiping and, as we tend to do, assuming that they were talking about him.  Yet, it is vague who the lyrics of directed at and who the victim is.  Of course, it just wouldn’t be an Elvis Costello song without a few vicious remarks (You may not be an old-fashioned girl / But you're gonna get dated").  Note the pronunciation of dated!

This is one of those songs that I imagine would be universally liked.  Check out both versions, below:

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An Introduction to Gang of Four

In the rock community – or really any community other than the Justin Bieber community – you constantly hear people going on rants about all the underappreciated bands that don’t have the recognition they deserve.  For me, the band that describes this to a T is Gang of Four.  They only had one album that was great, so this is perhaps why they don’t have the legacy of other bands.  Regardless, this album was rated #490 on the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums List and is one of my favorites of all time.

Gang of Four is a band that I find authentic.  They began in Leeds, England in 1977 and are comprised of lead singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham.  When their debut album, Entertainment!, was released in 1979 it seemed like they would be working their way up to the likes of the Rolling Stones or the Clash in no time.  The reason I call them authentic (although, some might choose to replace that word with stupid) is because when they had the opportunity to perform on a hit BBC music program, they refused.  They did this because BBC deemed their second single, “At Home He’s A Tourist” too risqué and requested the band sing the word “packets” in lieu of the word “rubbers”.  This moment played a huge part in cementing Gang of Four as a cult band.  While their potential success was never achieved, they still produced a stellar album that really defines the post-punk era.

This album is one of the most motivating albums I’ve ever heard, both lyrically and musically.  Regardless of your political options before listening to this album, by the end you will genuinely want to get up, punch the wall, quit your job and start a revolution.  Each song makes you want to get up and do something in a really unique and unsuspecting way.  I think a lot of post-punk bands attempt to give you the same feeling, but end up just sounding like they’re trying to force their own political and social views down your throat.  Gang of Four doesn’t appear to be doing this, and I definitely don’t get that feeling – I get inspired.

In line with their lyrics, it almost seems like guitarist Andy Gill is trying to do the opposite of anything that any producer told him with a jagged (a little sexy?) sound.  Gang of Four’s mix of Gill’s unique sound and Jon King’s voice is truly an iconic post-punk sound.  I think a lot of indie bands now try to accomplish the complex chemistry of Gang of Four – but none thus far have come close.

My Top 5 songs from Entertainment! (in no particular order)

-       I Found That Essence Rare

-       Ether

-       Damaged Goods

-       5-45

-       Return the Gift

-       At Home He’s a Tourist (okay I had to add one more…)

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Chet Baker & Elvis Costello // "Almost Blue"

“Almost Blue” is one of those songs that has the lyrical complexity to deliver a custom message to each individual listener.   While this is hardly unusual in Elvis Costello’s work, (something I find particularly eminent in “Man Out of Time”), the rarity of it in modern artists deems it something to be treasured in people like Costello. 

I first discovered Costello through my mother, who initially introduced me to “Pump It Up” and “Watching the Detectives”.  As I subsequently searched through my parent’s CD collection, hoping to find one or two albums by him, I overzealously discovered more than 10 albums of both his solo work and Elvis Costello & the Attractions.  With the mountain of albums in hand, I devoted an entire summer to picking apart every rhyme, subtext, theme and meaning, feeling particularly proud of myself when a bit of research allowed me to correlate themes in the songs to those in his own life.

So through all this, I discovered the song “Almost Blue” and soon found Chet Baker’s interpretation as well.  I find it difficult to compare the two, as they so vastly differ from one another, but rather prefer to listen to them side by side.  The authenticity of Baker’s live performance of “Almost Blue” stands out immediately and reminds his listeners of what pure talent really is.

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