The 1970s in Britain was a decade of unemployment, labour unrest and massive inflation. In short, a breeding ground for pissed off youth with no money, no hope and a hell of a lot of time on their hands.
The decade of discontent spilled into the music world as big, bombastic rock bands grew physically distant from their fans as they played larger and larger arena shows. People began for searching something that spoke to their anger and frustration.
Enter snarly, stripped down sounds played by guys named Rat Scabies and Johnny Rotten and women like Poly Styrene… READ THE WHOLE THING HERE!
“It is indeed a pretty flawless account of all things MAIT, before , during and after it’s release. Richard has a clear, succinct style. Part of the acknowledgments goes ‘ to those who declined to talk to me , Jake Riviera, Tony Parsons, and Nick Lowe, among others, for making me rethink the approach to the book.’ There is a lengthy analysis of the songs – making all kinds of comparisons, including one to Whitney Houston – but otherwise it is a straight narrative of events. I’m , of course, too close to the subject matter to tell if it will cause a new wave (ha!) of interest in the album but it is certainly recommended as a introduction to it. The writer doesn’t bang on to much about his reaction to the album as a teenager but what he does is touching and evocative. There’s a especially vivid description of watching the SNL appearance in Dec. ’77 in his father’s tv store , with rows of tvs showing it at top volume.”
Richard’s new book, Elvis is King: Costello’s My Aim is True, has a four out of five star rating on Goodreads!
“Richard Crouse analyzes and explains the meaning of the songs on the album, as well as detailing the events leading up to the release of the album. The highlight of the book is the description of the songs’ meaning within the context of the time they were written. Some 40 decades later, I finally understand a lyric I have listened to hundreds of times – “Now that your picture’s in the paper being rhythmically admired…” Think about it!”
“Richard Crouse’s book is an easy-to-read and well-written and researched story of how My Aim is True came to be. It is very easy to tell that he loves the album as much as I do, and I learned quite a bit about one of my favorite musicians. My Aim is True is probably still one of my favorite albums, and I never get tired of listening to these songs. If you have not heard this album, download and listen as soon as you can, then go and read this book because you will want to know more.”
“The author keeps his adoration for the album—”Elvis’s raw energy and anger… spoke to me in a way nothing had before”—confined to the introduction, though there is little doubt the entire project is a labor of love that many readers will find [as] contagious as listen[ing] to My Aim Is True again or for the first time.” – Publisher’s Weekly
From Paul Myers, author of A Wizard A True Star: Todd Rundgren In The Studio:
“Everybody knows that My Aim Is True is a classic album, but now Richard Crouse makes the definitive case for Elvis Costello’s landmark debut, with a narrative that’s as fast-paced and literate as the album he celebrates. With all the toe-tapping passion of a true music fan, Crouse demystifies the man behind the mystery dance, while simultaneously allowing himself to play the enlightened fan boy. Going in, I thought I knew a lot about Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and the audaciously brilliant world of Stiff Records, but Richard’s book proved to me that I clearly knew less than zero!”
From Barry Avrich, director of The Last Mogul and Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story:
“As a film director who has chronicled the famous and infamous, Richard had me at hello with this book. Elvis pioneered a sound and style that was the alchemy of hip, attitude and talent. This book is an extraordinarily entertaining autopsy of a great career. This book is the new king of music biographies.”
SYNOPSIS: This is the story of how Elvis Costello got his start, and the story of the making of his critically-acclaimed debut album My Aim is True.
His real name was Declan MacManus. His mom worked at the Selfridges department store. His dad was a trumpeter and singer.
Declan worked as a computer operator.
It sounds like any bland life of a typical 9-to-5er. Except that this was a man with a talent.
Richard Crouse details how Declan MacManus convinced an indie record company to believe in him, how they created Elvis Costello, and how a hit album was recorded in just 24 hours.
MY THOUGHTS: Crouse says he loves Costello’s story. Well, he makes you, the reader, love Costello’s story.
Here was a guy with a boring day job who had dreams of something bigger. But what would have happened if he had not decided, while riding the tube one day, to call in sick and keep going an extra couple of stops to drop off a tape at this newly-opened Stiff Records? What if he knocked on the company’s door six months later?
Crouse puts it all into context and asks the “what ifs.” He not only tells Declan MacManus’ story, but also explains the 1970s environment that helped push him forward.
There’s also a personal aspect to the book. It’s a topic that Crouse is passionate about because he grew up listening to My Aim is True… in a tiny room with a shag carpet. It’s something you can relate to no matter who your musical inspiration was in your teenage years (memories of boy bands and 90s punk rock flooding back…).
Liverpool, Nova Scotia, is the hub of the Lighthouse Route’s scenic drive along the province’s South Shore. Blessed by Mother Nature, it’s picturesque, book-ended by beautiful beaches, parks, and forests. As the home of the third oldest lighthouse in the province, it’s also rich in history but not exactly the center of the pop culture universe.
Even less so in the 1970s when, as a music and movie obsessed kid, I went to Emaneau’s Pharmacy every week to pick up magazines like Hit Parader and Rona Barrett’s Hollywood. Perhaps because I grew up in a renovated vaudeville theater (it’s true!) I was deeply interested in a world that seemed very far away, and those weekly and monthly magazines were my only connection to music and movie stars.
Liverpool wasn’t on the flight plan for the people I saw in those pages.
Sure, there were rumors that James Taylor and Carly Simon had a beach house nearby, but nobody ever saw them at Wong’s Restaurant, the only eatery in town. And Walter Pidgeon was thought to have come to visit an old friend, but the Mrs. Miniver star, who was born in 1897, wasn’t quite cool enough to be on my list of must-meets or even must-get-a-glimpse-ofs.
Those magazines were my only source. The local movie theater—a gigantic reno-ed opera house—was months behind in getting the new releases, and local department stores like Steadman’s and Metropolitan (known locally as the Metoplitan because of the blown-out “r” and “o” bulbs on the sign that was never repaired) didn’t carry the LPs I was reading about. On paper, I read about The Ramones, Television, the Sex Pistols, learning everything there was to know about the brash new music coming out of New York and London—Johnny Rotten said “fuck” on national television!—before I had ever heard a note of their music. Somehow, though, I knew I would love it…
What was it like the first time you heard My Aim Is True?
Hearing My Aim Is True for the first time was one of those aha moments for me that changed everything. From the opening chord of “Welcome to the Working Week,” I knew this record was something special. By the time I got to track four, “Blame It on Cain,” I knew I never had to listen to Pablo Cruise or REO Speedwagon ever again. Someone out there was making music that spoke to me and it hit me like a punch in the gut. I heard the snarl in Elvis’s voice, the cynicism dripping off every line and for me that was the noise that art made. It was liberation from my small town.
When was the last time you listened to My Aim Is True?
While I was writing the book it was on constant replay but it would not be a stretch to say that barely a week has gone by since I first heard the record that I have not listened to at least part of it. “Welcome to the Working Week” is my unofficial anthem and is in heavy rotation around the House of Crouse… Read the whole thing HERE! Buy the book HERE!
Before Elvis Costello was one of Rolling Stone’s greatest artists of all time, before he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was Declan P. McManus, an office drone with a dull suburban life and a side gig in a pub rock band. In 1976, under the guidance of legendary label Stiff Records, he transformed himself into the snarling, spectacled artist who defied the musical status quo to blaze the trail for a new kind of rock star with his debut album, My Aim Is True. In Elvis is King: Costello’s My Aim Is True, Richard Crouse examines how the man, the myth, and the music of this arrestingly original album smashed the trends of the era to bridge the gap between punk and rock ’n’ roll.
The book will be hot off the press in April 2015. Find out more HERE!
