Word: nicking
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Although the show's plot improves dramatically in the second act from the pun-fest of the first, it is merely a showcase of the characters and an occasion for the show's 15 musical numbers. The author, Nick Vanderbilt, throws in a few good lines between the songs, though...
...Satanic Majesties' Requests, the Beatles' "Revolution #9," or anything by Led Zeppelin, Public Image suffers from too much unearned self-seriousness. "A man's reach should exceed his grasp," Browning wrote, "or what's a heaven for?" Well, not for rock and roll. Sid Vicious got out in the nick of time...
...commercial wisdom that would advise against that title. Costello hasn't completely given up on womankind, but his misogyny makes way for the paranoia here, and the music reflects the change. It's less straightforward, a bit less dynamic, and relies heavily on the work of studio whiz Nick Lowe...
...album there are signs of his evolution towards more versatile music-making. He's always had a touch of the middle-of-the-road about him--he recorded a Burt Bacharach number on a live anthology last year. "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding," a Nick Lowe song which Costello belts out on Armed Forces, brilliantly parodies good-hearted, wide-eyed lyrics with a seductive pop melody...
...trend on Armed Forces he should guard against is the over-production that seeps into the album. Nick Lowe has produced all of Elvis Costello's albums, and has always done right by his music, but on Armed Forces the fiddling just begins to interfere with his simple music formulas. Costello's voice may not be beautiful, but it's strong, warm, and conveys angry emotion better than any other popular singer's today. There's no need for it to be buried in muddy mixing, bounced from one stereo channel to another, or treated with synthetic echo...