The "Comments" section of this blog is the place for suggestions, arguments, and criticisms, and I encourage you to take advantage of it. Every week, I'm bound to omit something blindingly obvious. What's that? I'm an idiot because I forgot to mention the Zombies during Best Rock Harmonies Week? Go ahead, point it out. It'll make us all feel better to get it out in the open.
For instance, during last week's exploration of posthumously released albums, I failed to mention Roy Orbison's hugely successful Mystery Girl. Luckily for me, one track off of Mystery Girl fits in with this week's topic.
"The Comedians," written by Elvis Costello, originally appeared on his LP Goodbye Cruel World. The album, which Costello has identified as his worst, was an overproduced, synthesizer-soaked '80s mess, and its failure inspired the former Declan MacManus to stay silent for a couple of years. He rebounded in 1986 with not one but two of his best records: Blood and Chocolate and King of America. Goodbye Cruel World is remembered, if at all, as the album that forced Costello to get his act together.
Costello's recording of "The Comedians" is early '80s pop with some lite jazz touches thrown in. Costello sings the song too quickly, and its sweeping melody never takes hold. The lyrics are obtuse without being interesting.
Orbison's version, produced by the great T-Bone Burnett, is grander and more dramatic. Costello's rewritten lyrics tell the story of a romantic loser (the Orbison archetype) stuck on a metaphorical ferris wheel, while his rival on the ground gets the girl. The song starts slowly with shuffling drums and elegant electric guitar, building to a stunning, orchestrated crescendo. And of course, Orbison's magnificent croon is what really sells it.
Johnny Cash once advised a young Roy Orbison to sing in a lower voice, and for God's sake, change that awful last name. Good thing Roy was too stubborn to listen.
TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "The Comedians" by Roy Orbison
AVAILABLE ON: Mystery Girl; iTunes
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