Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elvis grows into his songwriting, May 5, 2007
After three brilliant albums of tart, taut albums fueled by incessant touring and the excesses of rock living, Elvis Costello made the headlines with a single regrettable drunken utterance. Before anyone knew what was happening, he became better known than most pop artists of the day, and for all the wrong reasons. It forced him to a place that made him reevaluate his career to that point, and "Get Happy" began to emerge. He immersed himself in a stack of his old favorite soul records (Booker T, Four Tops, Stax/Volt albums), and emerged a different songwriter. "Get Happy" was the album where EC challenged himself to move beyond a public's expectation and led to his forth five star record.
While Elvis and the Attractions weren't completely r'n'b and alcohol saturated, some of Elvis' songs here do show the frenzy that they were recorded in. He once said that Nick Lowe's attitude toward production was "a fader in one hand an a vodka bottle in the other." The result was that these songs were frequently written and recorded in canon blasts, like the boast of "Possession" being written in five minutes after an afternoon's infatuation with a cocktail waitress. The band was challenging itself to pound out as much music as possible, as if every idea could be turned into a song. It created a wealth of material, as evidenced by the original album's sonic blast of twenty songs.
It also meant that EC's vocal performances were sometimes given all the nuance of a party reveler standing astride the jukebox ("I Stand Accused" and "Possession" being two obvious violators). On the other hand, there are some stunners here that point at the upcoming "Trust" and EC's vocal growing sophistication, as in the brilliant "Riot Act." It didn't stop the compositions from frequently striking the bull's-eye, and to this day I am amazed that the twenty multiple genre hook heavy songs on "Get Happy" somehow couldn't produce one radio single. (Also of interest is that "The Sopranos" lifted "High Fidelity" as one of the songs for an episode about Tony and Carmella's marital dysfunction.)
All told, Elvis, along with the invaluable input of The Attractions and Nick Lowe, rose to the occasion to make an album that shattered boundaries. Soul, ska and country (as well as the trademark "new wave" sound) still effortlessly roll from the grooves of "Get Happy."
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
C'mon Get Happy, January 15, 2009
After three brilliant albums of tart, taut albums fueled by incessant touring and the excesses of rock living, Elvis Costello made the headlines with a single regrettable drunken utterance. Before anyone knew what was happening, he became better known than most pop artists of the day, and for all the wrong reasons. It forced him to a place that made him reevaluate his career to that point, and "Get Happy" began to emerge. He immersed himself in a stack of his old favorite soul records (Booker T, Four Tops, Stax/Volt albums), and emerged a different songwriter. "Get Happy" was the album where EC challenged himself to move beyond a public's expectation and led to his forth five star record.
While Elvis and the Attractions weren't completely r'n'b and alcohol saturated, some of Elvis' songs here do show the frenzy that they were recorded in. He once said that Nick Lowe's attitude toward production was "a fader in one hand an a vodka bottle in the other." The result was that these songs were frequently written and recorded in canon blasts, like the boast of "Possession" being written in five minutes after an afternoon's infatuation with a cocktail waitress. The band was challenging itself to pound out as much music as possible, as if every idea could be turned into a song. It created a wealth of material, as evidenced by the original album's sonic blast of twenty songs.
It also meant that EC's vocal performances were sometimes given all the nuance of a party reveler standing astride the jukebox ("I Stand Accused" and "Possession" being two obvious violators). On the other hand, there are some stunners here that point at the upcoming "Trust" and EC's vocal growing sophistication, as in the brilliant "Riot Act." It didn't stop the compositions from frequently striking the bull's-eye, and to this day I am amazed that the twenty multiple genre hook heavy songs on "Get Happy" somehow couldn't produce one radio single. (Also of interest is that "The Sopranos" lifted "High Fidelity" as one of the songs for an episode about Tony and Carmella's marital dysfunction.)
All told, Elvis, along with the invaluable input of The Attractions and Nick Lowe, rose to the occasion to make an album that shattered boundaries. Soul, ska and country (as well as the trademark "new wave" sound) still effortlessly roll from the grooves of "Get Happy."
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A heaping helping of Costello's greatness., December 12, 2007
Get Happy may not be entirely free of filler, but there's still enough great stuff here to make your head spin. Costello's fourth album is a twenty-track tour-de-force that sees him nodding to the visceral new wave punk of This Year's Model while further expanding his musical vocabulary. He builds on Armed Forces' pop influences, incorporating them into a vision that now includes soul, punk, folk, classicist rock `n' roll, as well as references to reggae, disco, and whatever else he can get his hands on. Get Happy is more noticeably soul-influenced than his previous records, but it's more than just a genre exercise- Costello builds on the Stax/Volt sound, using its raucous and hook-filled ideals as the basis for some of the most creative songs ever written or performed: The music is smartly built, catchy in every way imaginable, and performed with the kind of breathless urgency that is the Attractions' (Costello's backing band at the time) trademark. Lyrically, this disc features some of Costello's most scathing wit and cutting observations. His poetry is wry and acidic, barbed and evocative, hilarious and brutal.
Which makes for some great material- highlights include the smoldering, bloody-minded sarcasm of "Opportunities," and the surprisingly tender (but subtly barbed) reverie of "New Amsterdam." "Beaten To The Punch" is a raw soul screamer that shows off Costello's raucous vocal skill, and "King Horse" is a smug stab at mach male aggression. "Love For Tender" is a rip-roaring barrage of puns and great melodies, and "The Imposter" is a runaway musical freight train. "B Movie" is full of tense, squirming dub-reggae, and a cover of the old r&b chestnut "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" bristles with throat-shredding soul.
But there is some filler (and with a twenty-track album, how can there not be some?)- Nothing truly horrible, but tracks such as "Clowntime Is Over" and "Temptation" do cause the record's momentum to drag somewhat. Nonetheless, this is still classic Costello, and a great addition to his gem-stuffed catalogue.
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~ Elvis Costello
~ Elvis Costello
~ Elvis Costello
~ Elvis Costello
~ Elvis Costello
by Elvis Costello & The Attractions 
