interviewer’s chair struck a chord with Warden, and it became
obvious to him that elvis was the guy for the gig.
“It’s a very short list of people who could pull this off,”
says Warden.
In part that’s because Spectacle strives for a different
stylistic approach than on the talk show circuit. according
to costello, the interviews are not intended as a vehicle for
artists to promote their lat-
est work. rather, the idea is
to delve into discussion of
popular music in an in-depth
and entertaining way not
typically seen on television.
In this more customized set-
ting, costello seems to relish
the role of interviewer, if in
decidedly low-key fashion.
(“I’m not trying to be a pro-
fessional tV presenter,” he
says.) the exchanges often
play like a jovial tête-à-tête
between him and fellow mu-
sic devotees—those who also
Sir Elton John happen to be some of the big-
gest names in the business.
not every moment is
enthralling, but the casual
air and lengthy chat seg-
ments pay off with colorful
and illuminating anecdotes.
John and costello commiser-
ate about early ambitions for
creating alternate personas,
discussing how they each
went about adopting stage
Tony Bennett names in lieu of their equally
uncool given ones (reginald
Kenneth dwight and declan
patrick MacManus, respec-
tively). looking back over
his career, John notes that
the 1970 album Tumbleweed
Connection was “when we
really first found our sound.”
on working with his long-
time lyricist Bernie taupin,
he admits, “even though we
Lou Reed were living in the same place,
there was never any collabo-
ration at all writing the songs. We’ve never been in the same
room, ever, writing a song. he would probably kill me; I would
probably kill him. I’ve never questioned it.”
It’s these kinds of moments, accentuated by the intermittent performances, that may make Spectacle the most resounding music show to appear on television in some time. costello
has had his share of musical misses (a requisite, essentially,
of any ambitious and enduring artistic career). But with this
major new effort to transcribe the world of pop music for t V
audiences, his aim looks true.
Guests
of Honor
