Elvis Costello's Spinning Songbook is a win-win
It's hard to imagine any other musician in the world playing the show that Elvis Costello did Thursday night at the Trib Amphitheater.
While donning several fedoras -- one of them a dashing leopard number -- Elvis wore any variety of hats, including game show host, carnival barker, standup comic, balladeer, guitar hero and sneering punk rocker.
At one point he even jumped into the antique go-go dancer cage with the girls!
The occasion was the Spinning Songbook Tour, on which pieces of the setlist are left to chance. To Elvis' left was a giant wheel of fortune stocked with 40 song titles, concepts or Joker spots. Fans, mostly willing young women, were plucked from the audience with the pressure of spinning the wheel and determining the song.
But first, Elvis and the Imposters hit the stage in brash late '70s mode slamming through five songs, starting with a desperate-sounding "I Hope You're Happy Now," the frantic "Mystery Dance," "Radio Radio" and an "Uncomplicated" whose percussive ending couldn't help but lead them into Junior Walker's "Shotgun." Adding to the spectacle was a Rihanna look-alike writhing in the go-go cage.
Then, Elvis ran off, changed and returned in the guise of game-show host Napoleon Dynamite, promising "songs about love, songs about sex, songs about death, and dancing, but not necessarily in that order." The first spin, in the rain, from Katie, came up on the "You Tripped At Every Step," and so it went, with "Every Day I Write the Book" from Haley, and old frat-rock fave "Pump it Up" (a Joker "request" spin from Amy).
Spinners had the choice dancing the cage or sitting at the lounge with the sexy blonde hostess for what Elvis called a "fine colored drink." Fortunately, Jack from Cleveland, who hit the Joker and requested "Spooky Girlfriend," chose the latter, while the Imposters (including brilliant Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas) ventured into the twisted, dissonant love song from "When I Was Cruel."
Elvis' own spin brought up "Party Girl," the old torchy ballad that shows off a voice that's lost none of its power over his 35-year career. Same goes for "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstand," tacked onto the end of "Sulky Girl."
At times, Elvis veered away from the wheel, like on the lovely "All Grown Up," with Nieve flashing some of his most lyrical playing. Just past the midway point, with the rain stopped, Elvis came back in a new guise, decked out in plaid, for his old-timey acoustic swing takes on "Slow Drag with Josephine" and "Jimmie Standing in the Rain.
Hit Songs Of The 70 S - News
Fans, mostly willing young women, were plucked from the audience with the pressure of spinning the wheel and determining the song. But first, Elvis and the Imposters hit the stage in brash late '70s mode slamming through five songs, starting with a
Even, though he never hit the road much, even in his '70s heyday. "I can't stand packing, especially in a hotel," said the man who's now comfortably ensconced in Tennessee amidst horses and, presumably, other four-legged creatures.
It also hit No. 7 on the R&B charts and No. 2, his highest entry yet, on Billboard's rap charts. The chorus hook samples the '70s soul classic "Ooh Child" by the Five Stairsteps. Nas guests on this posthumous release, which peaked at No.
'70s hit on tap “still feels as good as the first time we played it.” With that came the familiar opening sounds to the top 10 hit “She's Gone,” continuing what was a 90-minute show filled with some of the most memorable and top-selling rock songs
The arrangements were generally loyal to the well-remembered hits from the '60s and '70s, though with a more anemic beat than Motown's usual two-drummer foundation. It was up to the singers to personalize them, for better and worse.
24 Number One Songs That Are 1970s One - Top One-Hit Wonders
Cartoons.
Listen to A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy
16. Disco Duck by Rick Dees (1976)Another novelty song that is a pure product of its times. “Disco Duck” started as a radio gag and translated into successful radio DJ Rick Dees’ only Billboard Top 40 hit. His only mistake? Choosing to not have “Disco Duck” included on the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. TV series on the radio and at #1 for multiple weeks back in 1977. It’s a sensitive love song, but not quite as sensitive as “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone that topped the Billboard charts just a few months later.
Listen to Don’t Give Up on Us by David Soul
18. Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) by Bill Conti Few songs have inspired as many people to swallow raw eggs, run thankless miles in solitude, punch defenseless cow carcasses in a freezer or sprint up the city hall steps in Philadelphia as “Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti. The theme from the Academy Award-winning movie, Rocky HM Insulators, Thanks for keeping me honest. I had it right on the Debby Boone page but wrong on the list. I’ve fixed it now. “You Light Up My Life” is definitely on many people’s lists of “most reviled” songs. Two people in my office debated the merits of the “Escape” by Rupert Holmes yesterday. They called him a one-hit wonder and I said, not so fast, remember “Him.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Hit Songs Of The 70 S - Bookshelf
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Richie, who wrote and published many of his hit songs, is still raking in big ... He arrived on the music scene in the '70s as lead singer of the R&B group, ...Vibe
"Heartburn," produced by Keys and Tim- baland, freaks the funky '70s with its ... that she arranged and played gospel-style piano on many of her hit songs? ...Day-by-day Info Directory
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Lawrence Welk 0001 Episode Guide: Hit Songs of the '70s - TVGuide.com
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