Frank tells the story of Frank Sidebottom, the comedic persona of Chris Sievey who performed as a musician and entertainer for over 25 years from 1984 to Sievey’s death in 2010. At least, I thought that’s what it was going to be, mainly because I didn’t read the synopsis. I was quite confused when one of the main characters started Tweeting.
It turns out that it’s a story only partly inspired by the Frank Sidebottom story, but any fans of the infamous persona will be sadly disappointed. It is based on the memoirs of Jon Robson (author of The Psychopath Test), covering his time in the Oh Blimey Big Band with Sidebottom. Frank in this film is a distant relative of the real Frank, and the action is set firmly in modern Ireland and USA rather than 1980s Greater Manchester.
Frankly a disappointment
It is a big-name cast for what is essentially quite a small story. Michael Fassbender plays the unstable titular role; Domhnall Gleeson plays the ambitious musician Jon (the equivalent of Jon Ronson); and Maggie Gyllenhall plays Clara, a pivotal band member. There are two Academy Award nominees there and the film at times risks feeling a little like it had been over-cast.
I didn’t really enjoy much of it, if I’m being brutally honest. The music around which the story is built seemed a little contrived. I get that they had to replace the original Frank Sidebottom songs for the modern settings, which have ended up occupying a similar plane without using the songs in any way, and I suppose there isn’t a place for “I’m In Love With The Girl On A Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk” in a film like this. Yet it begs the question: was it relevant to feature the likeness of Frank Sidebottom when the final result has nothing to do with the character? I find it unfair that Chris Sievey worked his whole life to create a celebrated persona, only for the world view of it to be irreparably altered by a film release that essentially has nothing to do with the subject.
Thankfully, a truer reflection of the man inside the mask will be available when Steve Sullivan’s crowd-funded film Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story is released later this year. Inevitably it won’t be as popular – it won’t have Michael Fassbender to help sell it – but at least a truer reflection of the story will be told.
Frank is available on Blu-ray and DVD now, as well as on Netflix.
Main Setlist:
Buffalo
Sub Divider
Seven Walls
The Girl Who Fell To Earth
Needle’s Eye
One of These Days
White Noise
Hot Fruit
20/20
Detroit
The English Ruse
To The Wire
Encore:
Matador
Break the Silence
What an amazing time of it Gaz Coombes is having right now. Having seen his band unexpectedly dissolve back in 2010 following a couple of unfairly overlooked albums, he released his cinema-inspired debut album in 2012 – Gaz Coombes presents Here Come The Bombs. However, this again failed to significantly ignite interest from either critics or music buyers. But then Matador happened, and he’s ridden his the wave of good press straight to the Queen Elizabeth Hall with a fully-packed audience eager to see his live treatment of the the new songs for the first time (and more than likely the songs from his debut solo release).
The headline set is kicked off with the epic Buffalo, also the lead track from the latest album. With its mysterious piano-led riffs and digital ambience building to a blasting chorus, it’s the perfect way to announce himself to an audience perhaps unaware of exactly what to expect.
Only three songs survive from his debut album: White Noise, Break The Silence and the roaring second song Sub Divider. One of the best-received songs of the night was One Of These Days, a song released as a double-A-side release with Break The Silence in 2013. It’s a wonderful song that would have been right at home on his latest album but was a good early glimpse of where he was heading, and served as a huge contrast to some of the tracks from the debut album.
He boldly chooses to play no Supergrass hits tonight, a slight change from his last tour where he snook in Sitting Up Straight and Moving as encores. This departure from his past shows a desire to be taken seriously in his own right, with no need for the songs that brought him fame but essentially come from a very different stage in his life.
But the stage is brought to life most when he launches into the songs from the latest album, still fresh in their minds and also to the audience. You can never underestimate the joy of seeing a band on a tour for a specific album, as you’re going to see songs that may only get a run out for one tour. I for one was thrilled to see tracks like Seven Walls and The Girl Who Fell To Earth in this grand hall, probably for the first and last time. The same probably can’t be said for 20/20 and Detroit, both of which are songs right up there with the best of his career (which it’s easy to forget is now in its third decade). These tracks won’t go away easily and will inevitably stick around for a while on his live setlist.
The evening of top quality entertainment has just served as yet another reminder of how much talent Mr Coombes has. The reinvention process is now officially complete and I’m glad to see this new-found maturity seeping into his music. I think we all hotly await his next move, but we’ve got one of the albums of the year to comfort us for a good while yet.
Gaz Coombes is still on tour, with the following dates yet to come:
Monday 9th February – Glee Club, Birmingham, UK
Tuesday 10th February – Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, UK
Wednesday 11th February – Gorilla, Manchester, UK
Friday 13th February – Rock Café St. Pauli, Hamburg, Germany
Saturday 14th February – FRANNZ Club, Berlin, Germany
Monday 16th February – Bitterzoet, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tuesday 17th February – Botanique – Rotonde, Brussels, Belgium
Wednesday 18th February – La Maroquinerie, Paris, France
Sunday 22nd February – BBC Radio 6 Music Festival, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
24th May – Sound City Festival, Liverpool, UK
There are five songs nominated in the shortlist for the Best Original Song Oscar. Here’s my take on them.
Everything Is Awesome (from The Lego Movie) Music and lyric by Shawn Patterson
Performed by Tegan & Sara feat The Lonely Island
Total YouTube views as of 26/01/2015 = 28,675,867
Well, I think this is the one song on the list that you already know. If you’ve not seen this film, then you can bet someone else you know has. And if they have, they will undoubtedly have sung you some or all of this song. It’s catchy as hell. I’m amazed it has been nominated to be honest, but it is a just nomination and it would be a worthy winner. Before the nominations were released I had never heard of the other four songs on this list and if recent track records are anything to go with then the most popular song always wins (see the wickedly talented, the one and only Adele Dazeem’s “Let It Go” in 2013* and Elvian Conchords Brett McKenzie’s “Man or Muppet” in 2012). The best thing about this winning would be Andy Samberg’s acceptance speech, which, if track record is anything to go by, would be awesome.
Glory (from Selma) Music and lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
Performed by Common and John Legend
Total YouTube views as of 26/01/2015 = 1,613,740
John Legend has provided a quality chorus and backing track here, the “One day, when the glory comes” refrain more than catchy enough to stay in my head for a while. I have to say though, Common’s rapping leaves a lot to be desired. Music lovers in the UK may be forgiven for not knowing Common. He’s really a lot more well known in the US. It’s weird though, because here he has the look and feel of a middling defence lawyer in a low-budget made-for-TV courtroom drama. Don’t get me wrong, the words he has written are powerful enough, but the way they’re delivered just left me feeling a little indifferent. Mind you, I haven’t bought a hip-hop album since Mos Def’s 1999 hit “Black on Both Sides”, so maybe this just isn’t aimed at me.
Grateful (from Beyond The Lights) Music and lyric by Diane Warren
Performed by Rita Ora
Number of YouTube views as of 26/01/2015 = 331,107
By far and away the worst song on the list. I’ve no idea how this got nominated. If there was a special award for Best Diane Warren Song of 2014 it wouldn’t even win (remember Paloma Faith’s “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” was released in 2014). The film isn’t even very popular. Baffling really.
I’m Not Going to Miss You (from Glen Campbell … I’ll Be Me) Music, lyric and performance by Glen Campbell
Total YouTube views as of 26/01/2015 = 6,858,585
This would be a good shout for the win. The film Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me has been making waves across the regions it has been available. It charts Glen Campbell’s journey suffering from Alzheimer’s, which is noble subject matter for a film. I’m yet to see it, but this song (Campbell’s last recording) is staunch reminder of his talents. It isn’t by any means his greatest work, but it is proof that the magic is still there as his condition worsens. It’s sad to listen to and should the Academy want to avoid a popular but jokey winner then this will be the one they go for.
Lost Stars (from Begin Again) Music and lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois
Performed by Adam Levine
Total YouTube views as of 26/01/2015 = 20,025,920
There’s a clear reason for this being nominated: TV viewing figures. These award ceremonies are often quite uncomfortable affairs. Neil Patrick Harris will inevitably deliver a well-polished and sharp performance as presenter this year, but more often than not the links and prize giving segments are awkward, silence-filled affairs that leaves the audience begging for reprieve. When Adam Levine takes to the stage we will at least know he’ll nail this song. Taken from Begin Again, a film in which he stars alongside Keira Knightley and James Corden, this is actually a solid power-ballad, the type for which Maroon 5 have become household names. It’s one of the better ones too. It has been included on the reissue of their latest album V, which will help boost sales. I don’t think he’ll be gutted when he finds out he hasn’t won – he’ll be more bothered about how critics react to his first major acting role (quite well, I might add)**. If I were choosing and wanted a serious option, this is the one I’d go for.
* If you’ve not heard this song yet, it’s quite the song. You should check it out. If only it was more popular.
** Critics have been widely accepting-to-encouraging of Levine’s big screen acting debut. That will come as a relief to Levine, who was so desperate to land the role he agreed to do it for free. As a business-minded individual I’m sure it was a calculated risk. He’s singing half of the soundtrack so at worst it will serve as a money-maker for the royalties from he’ll get from the OST, whilst he will also get a welcome boost of interest in their latest album V. Clever boy.
I’ll throw it out there – I’m a huge, huge Elvis Costello fan. I can’t pinpoint an incident that served as a catalyst to get into him. As a 30-year-old Brit, the only major hit of his I remember is the Charles Aznavour cover “She” from the Notting Hill soundtrack, which, I think it’s fair to say, probably isn’t a great representation of his fantastic and varied body of work. Yet somehow the songs seeped into my psyche and I now rate him as one of my favourite artists.
This documentary serves as a biography of sorts, albeit potted around some key periods of Costello’s life. Aspects covered include his upbringing, his hometown, the politics of his lyrics and a small selection of his songs. Some huge guests are interviewed, including Paul McCartney, Mark Ellen and Nick Lowe.
Each element that is picked out is tended to perfectly. In particular, the collaborations with Paul McCartney really ignited my enthusiasm to seek out more information. Kidel has managed to get all this contributors to talk really enthusiastically about their part in the Elvis Costello journey and I as a viewer found myself swept along with it.
Unfortunately, the documentary length doesn’t allow too much delving into each topic, whilst the shear bredth of his career means that a lot of his life is skipped over. It’s an impossible balance to achieve because his life and background are both so interesting, and perhaps his story is instead worthy of a series. Or perhaps that’s just the inner fan getting the better of me and I should just make do with what I’ve got.
The one lasting impression you get after watching this film is that Elvis Costello is overly enthusiastic about everything he has done. Be it having a string of top 10 albums, releasing an album of jazz soul music with Allen Toussaint, collaborating with one of the greatest songwriters of all time or creating an ill-received classical string album with The Brodsky Quartet, he has continually done so enthusiastically and been hugely successful in a variety of ways with every genre he has tried his hand at.
If you’re willing to be enthused by one of Britain’s greatest ever songwriters then check this out. Otherwise, the limited storytelling might have you searching for a biography that has a bit more detail.
Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance is available on the BBC iPlayer in the UK until 20th November 2014.
Cinema, etc. 