Tag Archives: Elvis Costello Songs

“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” (Elvis Costello Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to another all-new Laptop Session, brought to you by the music blog devoted to great new rock music. My acoustic cover song tonight is not a new rock song, but it is a classic by an artist that did release an excellent album this year. That artist is Elvis Costello and the song is “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding.” I had actually planned on recording (and did, in fact) record a different song for my session tonight, but after I finished that one, I went on to this Elvis Costello tune and liked how it came out so much that I had to post it tonight. For whatever reason (the amount of time that I had been singing previously, the air conditioning taking all the moisture out of the air in the house, or my allergies), my voice was somewhat rough for this recording. Normally, that would be enough for me to put down the guitar and wait for another day. However, I think it worked for the emotion that is supposed to be conveyed by this track. Aside from the very end of this take when my voice is simply too shot to hit the notes I wanted to hit (please feel free to laugh at the ridiculous look on my face), I’m happy with how it came out.

This is one my favorite Elvis Costello songs of all time, and it’s a perfect track to bring to this music blog, as it has been recorded as a cover song previously by such bands as the Wallflowers. It’s a fairly simple song with simple chords, simple but great lyrics, and a simple message that I know Ringo Starr would love, and it translates very well to acoustic guitar. That being said, Jim and I did some research tonight and were shocked to find that although he is listed as #80 on the list of best rock artists ever, he has had very few songs chart well, especially on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s amazing that his most popular songs really aren’t as successful as you might expect for an artist of his standing. That either says something about him or, more likely, the system. (Especially considering that this is a system that barely recognizes the existence of such talented and influential acts as the Moody Blues…)

If you’re a regular viewer of the Laptop Sessions, you’ll get another dose of Elvis Costello very soon — his new rock music on this year’s Momofuku is some of my favorite from him and is easily in my personal top four or five albums of the year (and this is saying alot, as I’ve heard somewhere approaching fifteen new albums this year already!).

Whatever you do, don’t go too far…

See you next session!



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The Guest Sessions: Fall 2011 Season kicks off

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Fall 2011 Season:  Every other Friday

Run Dates:  September 9th – December 30th

Coming Attractions:

This season includes nine episodes and a wide range of talent — by far, the best series of Guest Sessions ever released heretofore on the Laptop Sessions blog.  Performers range from individuals in their bedrooms to full bands performing.  The artists being covered run the gamut as well: from Elvis Costello to Wiz Khalifa, and Sam Cooke to Phish.  For the first time ever in Laptop Sessions history, we will feature an acoustic cover song music video performed in a different language.

PLUS:  We were still waiting for the perfect video for our December 30th season finale when this was written.

All this and more came every other Friday for the rest of that year:

You won’t want to miss even one episode of the Fall 2011 season of the Guest Sessions cover song music video series!

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Elvis Costello’s “National Ransom” (2010) – YES, NO, MAYBE SO?

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Elvis Costello’s National Ransom (2010) – MAYBE NOT

National Ransom (Elvis Costello, 2010)

National Ransom (Elvis Costello, 2010)

(November 2, 2010)

Review:

Aside from a few sparking moments and a couple notable tracks, National Ransom feels more like a collection of sixteen songs that didn’t make the cut for Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane, which was in every way a more engaging, dynamic, and cohesive effort.

Top Two Tracks:

“A Slow Drag With Josephine” & “Five Little Words”

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“Alison” (Elvis Costello Cover)

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For Elvis Costello chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Good evening and welcome to another week of all-new Laptop Sessions posts!  Today was busy, and although I had a lot of work to do around the condo, I was able to finally relax a bit and begin enjoying being here.  Since tonight marks my first cover song music video since the move, you’ll notice a new backdrop.  It’s a bit plain, since we’re still unpacking boxes and hanging up posters, etc.  In fact, I’m not entirely sure where I want to play my sessions here.  Although I miss having the “wall o’ CD’s” in the background as I did when I lived in the apartment, I do like the light and acoustics of the living room here at the condo.

Still, the visuals should come second to the song at hand.  My session tonight is a cover of Elvis Costello’s “Alison” from his classic 1977 debut album My Aim is True.  As for how I’ve never recorded this song before, I really don’t have an explanation.  This is widely considered Costello’s best known and best loved recording, second only to “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?”  There are certainly other Costello songs that are more rocking, more complex, or simply better, but this heartbreaking tune is a wonderful little song.  Although I’ve loved Elvis Costello and the Imposters since Delivery Man, I’ve only recently gotten into his older material (via Live at Hollywood High – CLICK HERE for the full review).  Even still, I’ve always loved “Alison.”

I’ve been thinking recently about why it took me a while to warm to Costello’s material, and my best guess is the way his “best of” is compiled.  The Very Best of Elvis Costello, the quintessential EC greatest hits that was released in April 2001, is a two-disc set with virtually no booklet to speak of.  This, to me, is a cardinal sin — how could one, as an album designer, decide to disconnect a “best of” compilation from the appropriate context?  Instead of liner notes, there is a series of the same photo of Costello colorized in different shades.  And, really, I would have been happy with any type of text: brief notes about each song, an essay about Costello, or even a message/reflection from the man himself.

And what really surprised me years ago when I opened this CD on Christmas morning was that it was a Rhino release.  Anyone who’s ever bought an album release from Rhino knows that they’re typically very generous with booklets and other packaging.  At least, that’s the experience that I’ve had.

Regardless, I picked up Live at Hollywood High, an Elvis Costello and the Attractions concert from 1978, out of curiosity, and I actually felt a little guilty about spending money on it.  After all, the last time I had listened to his early songs, I hadn’t been overly interested.  But it has also been a good number of years since I had heard them.

The concert is fantastic.

I went back last week and listened to all 140 EC songs on my iPod and five-starred the songs I really liked.  In the end, I was left with a 36 song playlist that I’ve been listening to in shuffle mode constantly for days.  (And, since there’s no new music of interest coming out this week, it’ll have to sustain me for another seven days.)  Not surprisingly, several of the live versions of his songs made the playlist over the studio versions.  Typically, I opt for studio recordings, but this was one of those cases where the live versions are sometimes just better — more catchy, passionate, etc.

The studio recording of “Alison” is classic, though.

I’m posting late tonight because I had a faculty meeting today, followed by a trip to a fancy locale known as K-Mart (remember those??) to pick up a dinette set with the help of my parents, and I’ve been building the chairs ever since.  You can’t believe how many nuts, bolts, washers, spring washers, screws, and other little pieces go into the assembly of these things.

It’s been so much work that I might record my session next week at the dining room table just to feel like it was for a purpose…

Seriously though, it’s actually been a lot of fun just building this set while watching season five of The Office.  Of course, it wouldn’t be exciting without an issue.  In this case, I unpacked the pieces to find that the table has a six-inch crack down the center of it.  They’re getting more in on Friday, so I’ll be able to complete the building then, but I just have to wonder…  why did it have to be the BIGGEST piece that’s broken?  Couldn’t it have been something like one of the chair spindles?

Until next week, I want to remind you to stay tuned here all week for some great new posts.  There are more Laptop Sessions to come, as well as music reviews and more.  And the Guest Sessions submissions have been multiplying recently, which I couldn’t be more thrilled about, so once I review those videos, you can look forward to the cream of that particular crop over the next few weeks.

See you next session!

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