You Little Fool

Last updated
"You Little Fool"
You Little Fool - Elvis Costello.jpg
Single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions
from the album Imperial Bedroom
B-side
  • "Big Sister"
  • "The Stamping Ground"
Released18 June 1982
Recorded AIR Recording Studios, London, 1982
Genre
Label F-Beat (UK)
Songwriter(s) Elvis Costello
Producer(s) Geoff Emerick
Elvis Costello and the Attractions singles chronology
"I'm Your Toy"
(1982)		"You Little Fool"
(1982)		"Man Out of Time"
(1982)

"You Little Fool" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and performed by Elvis Costello and the Attractions on their 1982 album, Imperial Bedroom . The lyrics detail a teenage girl's romantic encounter with an older man.

Contents

The song was released as the first single from Imperial Bedroom, reaching number 52 in the United Kingdom. The song has since seen positive reception from critics and has been performed live by Costello.

Background

Costello has described "You Little Fool" as being "about a teenage girl surrendering to an unworthy, older man". [1] The bridge of the song features lyrics that Costello explains represent the bad advice that the girl is being given by her mother; he explained in an interview:

This mum actually thinks she's being really liberal and is really giving her girl actually no help ... It's the mums that read too many Cosmopolitan magazines and start feeding the kids, you know, "Yeah, read this, read The Sensuous Woman". It's a load of bollocks. [2] [3]

Costello also recalled that, on the song, he attempted to sing in a "slimy-sounding voice" to play the man taking advantage of the girl, noting, "The guy on the chorus sounds like a real horrible person". [2] During a 2016 concert, Costello stated the song was prompted by "romantic misery". [4]

"You Little Fool" features baroque stylings that distinguished the song from his earlier output, most notably through Steve Nieve's harpsichord performance, which was partially dubbed backwards onto the track's closing segment. [5] [6] Costello said of the song's arrangement, "'You Little Fool' sounds wrong when you try to play it with fuzzy guitars. Like what Chuck Berry said, it lost the beauty of the melody". [7] In another interview, Costello emphasized that the song "was deliberately meant to sound archaic, with a harpsichord and 12-string guitar, this phoney kind of... I wanted it to sound like "Vanity Fair" or Left Banke or someone". [8]

Release

At the insistence of Costello's record company, "You Little Fool" was released as the first single from Imperial Bedroom in June 1982. The choice of the song as a single was against Costello's wishes; he had wished to make a "bolder statement" with a song more representative of the album, such as "Beyond Belief" or "Man Out of Time". [5] [9] He explained, "'You Little Fool', which is one of the brightest-sounding tracks until you listen to lyrics, was released purely because it had a hook. I kept saying, 'Well, 'Man Out of Time' is what the album is about, that's the heart of the record'". [9] The two songs on the B-side of the single were the non-album tracks "Big Sister" and "The Stamping Ground". The latter was credited to "the Emotional Toothpaste," which was a pseudonym for Costello. [10]

"You Little Fool" was considered a commercial disappointment, reaching number 52 in the UK. The single was accompanied by a music video, where Costello and the Attractions act in roles relating to the song's lyrics. [11]

Reception

"You Little Fool" has generally seen positive reception from critics. At the time of its release, Scott Isler of Trouser Press wrote that the song's "mixture of pathos and contempt will be more reassuring to inflexible Costello fans". [12] Dave McKenna of The Washington Post named the song as one of the tracks on Imperial Bedroom that "were blessed with hooks so memorable they took fans right back to that time they first heard them" at a 2016 concert, while Blender named it one of the songs to download off of Imperial Bedroom. [13] [14] Martin Chilton of The Daily Telegraph ranked the song as Costello's 33rd best. [15]

Live history

Costello has performed "You Little Fool" regularly since its release. The song was one of the tracks that Costello performed in a solo acoustic form during his 1986 tour with the Attractions. [16] During performances in 2019, the echoed vocals that Costello overdubbed on the studio version were performed by backing vocalists Briana Lee and Kitten Kuroi. [17]

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) [18] 52

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvis Costello</span> English singer-songwriter (born 1954)

Declan Patrick MacManus, known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including two Grammy Awards in 1999 and 2020, and has twice been nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Costello number 80 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

<i>Imperial Bedroom</i> 1982 studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Imperial Bedroom is the seventh studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his sixth with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was released on 2 July 1982 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. Recording took place at AIR Studios in London from late 1981 to early 1982 with production handled by Geoff Emerick. Placing an emphasis on studio experimentation, the album saw the group use unusual instruments, including harpsichord, accordion and strings arranged by Nieve. Songs were rewritten constantly while Costello tinkered with the recordings, adding numerous overdubs.

<i>Get Happy!!</i> (Elvis Costello album) 1980 studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Get Happy!! is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his third with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was released on 15 February 1980 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. Produced by Nick Lowe and engineered by Roger Béchirian, the sessions began in London but moved to the Netherlands after Costello found the material derivative of his previous album Armed Forces (1979). The sessions were problematic but amassed a large number of songs; the final album contains 20 tracks across a single LP.

<i>Punch the Clock</i> 1983 studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Punch the Clock is the eighth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his seventh with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was released on 5 August 1983 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, the album was Costello's attempt at making a commercial record following years of dwindling commercial success. It was recorded at London's AIR Studios in early 1983 and features contributions from the TKO Horns and Afrodiziak.

<i>Trust</i> (Elvis Costello album) 1981 studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Trust is the fifth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his fourth with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was released on 23 January 1981 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom. His fifth consecutively produced album by Nick Lowe, who was assisted by engineer Roger Béchirian, the album was recorded in London from October to November 1980 between DJM and Eden Studios. The sessions were riddled with alcohol and drug issues and tensions were high between the band members. Squeeze vocalist Glenn Tilbrook and the Rumour guitarist Martin Belmont made guest appearances on "From a Whisper to a Scream".

<i>Blood & Chocolate</i>

Blood & Chocolate is the eleventh studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in the United Kingdom as Demon Records XFIEND 80, and in the United States as Columbia 40518. It is his ninth album with his long-standing backing band known as 'The Attractions'. After his previous album King of America with producer T-Bone Burnett and different musicians, this album reunited him with producer Nick Lowe and his usual backing group the Attractions. It peaked at No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart, and No. 84 on the Billboard 200. In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Blood & Chocolate finished at number 9. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2000 it was voted number 475 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Attractions</span> UK musical group

The Attractions were an English backing band for the English new wave musician Elvis Costello between 1977 and 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996. They consisted of Steve Nieve, Bruce Thomas, and Pete Thomas (drums). They also released one album as an independent entity, without Costello, in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver's Army</span> 1979 single by Elvis Costello

"Oliver's Army" is a song written by Elvis Costello and performed by Costello and the Attractions, from the former's third studio album Armed Forces (1979). The song is a new wave track that was lyrically inspired by the Troubles in Northern Ireland and includes lyrics critical of the socio-economic components of war. Costello had travelled to Northern Ireland and was influenced by sights of British soldiers patrolling Belfast. Musically, the song features a glossy production and a keyboard performance inspired by ABBA, creating a juxtaposition between the lyrics and music that both critics and Costello have pointed out.

<i>Goodbye Cruel World</i> (Elvis Costello album) 1984 studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Goodbye Cruel World is the ninth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his eighth with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was released on 18 June 1984 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who returned from 1983's Punch the Clock, the album was recorded at London's Sarm West Studios in March 1984 during a period of turmoil for the artist. The problematic sessions included disagreements between Costello and the producers over the album's direction and high tensions amongst the Attractions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio Radio</span> 1978 single by Elvis Costello

"Radio Radio" is a song written by Elvis Costello and performed by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The song originated as a Bruce Springsteen-inspired song called "Radio Soul" that Costello had written in 1974. In 1977, Costello reworked the song to feature a more aggressive arrangement and more direct, sarcastic lyrics that criticized the commercialism of English radio. Costello and the Attractions recorded the song around the time of his second album, This Year's Model.

"Almost Blue" is a song recorded by English group Elvis Costello and the Attractions from their sixth studio album, Imperial Bedroom (1982). Written by Costello and produced by Geoff Emerick, the track shares the name of the group's previous 1981 studio album. It was released on 2 July 1982 along with the rest of Imperial Bedroom, and would later be included on side two of The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1985). A traditional pop song, "Almost Blue" contains lyrics that compare a former relationship to a present one.

<i>Out of Our Idiot</i> 1987 compilation album by Elvis Costello

Out of Our Idiot is a 1987 compilation album of rare and previously unreleased recordings dating back to 1979 by Elvis Costello, which was released in the UK on Demon Records. It was only available as an import in the USA and other markets. The album was credited to "Various Artists" rather than to Costello because the tracks were recorded and credited under a variety of names, including The Costello Show, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Elvis Costello and the Confederates, The Coward Brothers, Napoleon Dynamite, The Emotional Toothpaste and The MacManus Gang. The songs featured a variety of collaborators, including Jimmy Cliff, Nick Lowe and T-Bone Burnett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Man Out of Time</span> 1982 single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

"Man Out of Time" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and performed by Elvis Costello and the Attractions on their 1982 album, Imperial Bedroom. With lyrics detailing a political scandal, "Man Out of Time" features a lush arrangement that was a conscious departure from the aggressive style of Costello's previous work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">From a Whisper to a Scream (song)</span> 1981 song by Elvis Costello

"From a Whisper to a Scream" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and performed by Costello and the Attractions on their 1981 album, Trust. With lyrics referencing drinking, the song notably features a guest vocal from Squeeze frontman and songwriter Glenn Tilbrook as well as a guitar part from ex-Rumour guitarist Martin Belmont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Only Flame in Town</span> 1984 single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

"The Only Flame in Town" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and recorded by Costello with his backing band the Attractions. The song appeared on Costello's 1984 album, Goodbye Cruel World. Originally written in the style of a classic torch song, "The Only Flame in Town" was reworked by producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley in a more pop-friendly style. This final version features Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates on backing vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want You (Elvis Costello song)</span> 1986 single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

"I Want You" is a song written by Elvis Costello and recorded with his backing band the Attractions. It was released on his 1986 album Blood & Chocolate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Hope You're Happy Now (Elvis Costello song)</span>

"I Hope You're Happy Now" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and recorded by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The track was released on his 1986 album Blood & Chocolate after several failed attempts to record the song for earlier releases.

"New Lace Sleeves" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and performed by Costello and the Attractions for his 1981 album Trust. The first version of the song was written by Costello in 1974 and featured post-war themed lyrics that were largely scrapped in the final recording. In the final version of the song, Costello included lyrics about seduction and power. Musically, the song was performed at a slower tempo and features a band performance praised by Costello. Pete Thomas notably performed a drum beat inspired by songs from Devo and Stevie Wonder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Shirt</span> 1985 single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

"Green Shirt" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and recorded by Costello with his backing band the Attractions. The song appeared on Costello's 1979 third album, Armed Forces. Lyrically inspired by the influence of the National Front and the Quisling Clinic in Wisconsin, "Green Shirt" features a vocal recorded by Costello after a "night of carousing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beyond Belief (song)</span> 1982 song by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

"Beyond Belief" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and recorded by Costello with his backing band the Attractions. The song appeared on Costello's 1982 album, Imperial Bedroom. With vague, hazy lyrics, "Beyond Belief" features an active drum line from a hungover Pete Thomas as well as a frantic vocal line Costello composed after the backing track was completed.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Costello 2016, p. 67.
  2. 1 2 Ratcliff, Connor. "Some fascinating insight into Costello's approach to singing songs "in character," specifically the "creep" in "You Little Fool"". Twitter. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  3. ↑ Ratcliff, Connor. "Costello has tended to criticize this song as a timid choice to be the single for such an adventurous album, but I've always thought "You Little Fool" was one of the most underrated pop songs in his catalog". Twitter. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  4. ↑ Hochanadel, Michael (27 October 2016). "Elvis Costello pays tribute to 1982 album in Palace show | The Daily Gazette". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 Imperial Bedroom (Liner notes). Elvis Costello. 1994.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ Pinnock, Tom (27 August 2019). "Elvis Costello by Elvis Costello: "Time is going backwards!"". Uncut. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  7. ↑ Finn, Timothy. "Elvis Costello on bringing something old that's something new to Crossroads KC". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Spencer, Neil (30 October 1982). "A man out of time". New Musical Express. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  9. 1 2 Mervis, Scott. "One on one: Elvis Costello and the making of his masterpiece, 'Imperial Bedroom'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  10. ↑ Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970-1982. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN   978-0-87930-848-3.
  11. ↑ Ratcliff, Connor. "In the music video for "You Little Fool," Elvis & all three Attractions play supporting roles, some quite dramatically! Who gives the best performance?". Twitter. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  12. ↑ Isler, Scott (October 1982). "Not so silly love songs". Trouser Press. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  13. ↑ McKenna, Dave (4 November 2016). "Elvis Costello returns to the Warner Theatre 38 years after a legendary performance". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  14. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (March 2005). "Elvis Costello: Imperial Bedroom". Blender . Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Chilton, Martin (26 August 2015). "33 - You Little Fool. Elvis Costello's 40 Best Songs". The Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  16. ↑ Holden, Stephen (28 October 1986). "Music: Elvis Costello". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  17. ↑ Willman, Chris (5 June 2017). "Concert Review: Elvis Costello Goes Baroque to the Future With 'Imperial Bedroom' Show". Variety. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  18. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.