Tear Out the Page

One of the most intriguing projects Elvis Costello has mentioned over the past few years is his stage musical adaptation of A Face in the Crowd, a 1957 film from director Elia Kazan and screenwriter Budd Schulberg. It tells the story of a folksy drifter (Andy Griffith) who becomes a nationwide radio and TV star after being groomed by a savvy radio producer (Patricia Neal). The movie’s sitting on my DVR right now; based on descriptions and criticism, it’s a highly relevant parable for our modern age, given the parallels with today’s plethora of media-made “pundits.” 

“Burn the Paper Down to Ash” is one song from Costello’s libretto, which received a live debut at a show in Boise, ID in 2016. In total, he’s played something like 11 songs from the work at various concerts (details as always courtesy of the indispensable Elvis Costello Wiki). 

As Costello explained when he introduced the song in Dallas (captured on video and embedded below), this tune belongs to Marcia Jeffries, the radio producer who discovers the story’s central character, Larry Rhodes, in an Arkansas jail. Jeffries is also the one who acts as puppetmaster to transform Rhodes from a mildly entertaining radio performer to a hypnotic demagogue. 

The terrific EC Song By Song blog goes deep on the Face in the Crowd project and how the songs may fit together; “Burn the Paper Down to Ash” could be Marcia’s introductory character song, or it could come later as she considers all she’s done to create the monster Rhodes eventually becomes. Marcia is either standing on the precipice of a decision that will upend her life, or she’s looking back after the upending is done. Either way, Costello captures this woman’s deeply mixed feelings with a longing beauty.  

Costello has been writing songs for characters since the start of his career, so it’s not a stretch for him to write for the stage. Because of the demands of a stage musical, his lyrics here are direct, but never simple; he has mastered the ability to infuse wordplay and unexpected phrasing into his work, whether he’s writing four-word lines or extending out his melody lines to cram as many words as possible into each one. In other words, his economy doesn’t come at the expense of emotional complexity. 

Gorgeous lead vocals on the performance below come courtesy of Rebecca Lovell, one-half of Larkin Poe, a duo that has toured with EC as support act over the past few years. Her sister Megan contributes the achingly beautiful pedal steel.