The gift of song from Elvis to Edmunds results in a fully-realized production I'm wondering if Costello ever envisioned. Then, Linda tries to de-throne Chrissie Hynde & Patti Smith as New Wave Queen!
Cool article, diving into a scene that included many of my favorite artists of that era. I had the luck to catch some of them (Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, Aynsley Dunbar) when they made a swing through California back in the mid 80's. They weren't using the Rockpile or Rumour name but just touring under their own names. Bunch of us found out by accident that they were converging in a tiny venue in Santa Cruz, and on impulse we just went. It was a phenomenal evening for sure. Would have loved it if Edmunds had been there. He was as emblematic of that sound as any of them--straddling punk and new wave on a classic rock foundation.
I am a big fan of your ‘inside track’ articles, by the way! I love hearing the history of particular songs and the many iterations they’ve taken through the years
I hadn’t heard the Ronstadt version before, which is great. I am unsure if I heard Costello‘s version or Edmunds’ version first, but I know that I’ve played Elvis‘s version a lot more. From all accounts, he was definitely a bit of -- more than a bit of -- a jerk back then; he would probably agree with that assessment. He does seem very humble and musician supporting through his last couple decades.
I first heard Dave Edmunds during the early days of MTV. "Slipping Away" got a decent amount of airplay, and I like the music and the cars (had I been a little older, the woman in the video would've had my attention as well!). Nick Lowe soon followed with "Cruel to be Kind." I came into Rockpile, Costello, Graham Parker and the rest in that same orbit a few years later.
It's already been mentioned here, but I'll second the recommendation to check out Lowe's "I Knew the Bride When She used to Rock and Roll."
Brad, I loved this latest “Inside Tracks” article especially because it puts a spotlight on, in my humble opinion, one of the most innovative and daring songwriters in the history of rock music, Elvis Costello. Girls Talk is not my favorite Elvis Costello song but I see why it gets attention and gets covered. It’s well crafted in Costello’s inimitable style. Next to Dylan and Lennon I don’t know a better lyric writer.
I must confess and I’m sure this will put me in the penalty box with many of your readers but I am not familiar with Dave Edmunds music or his career. I've heard of him and Nick Lowe of course but never really sought out the music. This was my first rodeo with Dave thanks Inside Tracks.
I will say that his cover (sorry Dave) of Elvis’s Girls Talk is, for me, a bit lackluster compared to the songwriter’s original version (sorry again, Dave). Costello has a biting, sardonic vocal presence that Edmunds misses in the interpretation. His voice has a sweetness that somehow gets in the way of the intention of such poke-you-with-a-stick lines as:
“Don't come any closer, don't come any nearer
my vision of you can't get any clearer.”
Edmunds’ musical bed (the mix of guitars, drum, bass, and keys) is a bit grittier than his vocals and when he started singing it surprised me. Like I said I don’t know his work very well. I’m open to suggestions on what I should listen to that might make me a Dave Edmunds fan. Girls Talk didn't quite get me.
Then, of course, we have Linda Ronstadt’s version, which I really like a lot. Yes, her voice is sweet but she made the song about her with slight lyric deviations and I bought it. It worked. She convinced me. She’s clearly not punk or new wave just as she wasn’t really a 40’s torch singer or a Mariachi or Rancheros singer. But she can take a song like this and make it her own. She is simply a fantastic interpreter of song and style…like Sinatra.
I’m just glad Frank didn’t attempt a version of “Girls Talk”…although the Chairman Of The Board might have been able to pull it off.
And in October of this year, nearly 40 years since the album was released, Costello - by now, of course, an elder in transatlantic singer-songwriting circles - admitted as much. He began an essay he wrote about Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice thusly: "In very different times, my reaction to having my songs recorded by other singers was downright suspicious, territorial and, at times even a little hostile. To say the least, I lacked grace.”
Cool article, diving into a scene that included many of my favorite artists of that era. I had the luck to catch some of them (Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, Aynsley Dunbar) when they made a swing through California back in the mid 80's. They weren't using the Rockpile or Rumour name but just touring under their own names. Bunch of us found out by accident that they were converging in a tiny venue in Santa Cruz, and on impulse we just went. It was a phenomenal evening for sure. Would have loved it if Edmunds had been there. He was as emblematic of that sound as any of them--straddling punk and new wave on a classic rock foundation.
I am a big fan of your ‘inside track’ articles, by the way! I love hearing the history of particular songs and the many iterations they’ve taken through the years
I hadn’t heard the Ronstadt version before, which is great. I am unsure if I heard Costello‘s version or Edmunds’ version first, but I know that I’ve played Elvis‘s version a lot more. From all accounts, he was definitely a bit of -- more than a bit of -- a jerk back then; he would probably agree with that assessment. He does seem very humble and musician supporting through his last couple decades.
I first heard Dave Edmunds during the early days of MTV. "Slipping Away" got a decent amount of airplay, and I like the music and the cars (had I been a little older, the woman in the video would've had my attention as well!). Nick Lowe soon followed with "Cruel to be Kind." I came into Rockpile, Costello, Graham Parker and the rest in that same orbit a few years later.
It's already been mentioned here, but I'll second the recommendation to check out Lowe's "I Knew the Bride When She used to Rock and Roll."
Brad, I loved this latest “Inside Tracks” article especially because it puts a spotlight on, in my humble opinion, one of the most innovative and daring songwriters in the history of rock music, Elvis Costello. Girls Talk is not my favorite Elvis Costello song but I see why it gets attention and gets covered. It’s well crafted in Costello’s inimitable style. Next to Dylan and Lennon I don’t know a better lyric writer.
I must confess and I’m sure this will put me in the penalty box with many of your readers but I am not familiar with Dave Edmunds music or his career. I've heard of him and Nick Lowe of course but never really sought out the music. This was my first rodeo with Dave thanks Inside Tracks.
I will say that his cover (sorry Dave) of Elvis’s Girls Talk is, for me, a bit lackluster compared to the songwriter’s original version (sorry again, Dave). Costello has a biting, sardonic vocal presence that Edmunds misses in the interpretation. His voice has a sweetness that somehow gets in the way of the intention of such poke-you-with-a-stick lines as:
“Don't come any closer, don't come any nearer
my vision of you can't get any clearer.”
Edmunds’ musical bed (the mix of guitars, drum, bass, and keys) is a bit grittier than his vocals and when he started singing it surprised me. Like I said I don’t know his work very well. I’m open to suggestions on what I should listen to that might make me a Dave Edmunds fan. Girls Talk didn't quite get me.
Then, of course, we have Linda Ronstadt’s version, which I really like a lot. Yes, her voice is sweet but she made the song about her with slight lyric deviations and I bought it. It worked. She convinced me. She’s clearly not punk or new wave just as she wasn’t really a 40’s torch singer or a Mariachi or Rancheros singer. But she can take a song like this and make it her own. She is simply a fantastic interpreter of song and style…like Sinatra.
I’m just glad Frank didn’t attempt a version of “Girls Talk”…although the Chairman Of The Board might have been able to pull it off.
And in October of this year, nearly 40 years since the album was released, Costello - by now, of course, an elder in transatlantic singer-songwriting circles - admitted as much. He began an essay he wrote about Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice thusly: "In very different times, my reaction to having my songs recorded by other singers was downright suspicious, territorial and, at times even a little hostile. To say the least, I lacked grace.”