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Girls Talk (Elvis Costello song)

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"Girls Talk"
Single by Dave Edmunds
from the album Repeat When Necessary
B-side"Bad is Bad"
Released25 May 1979
Recorded1978
Genre
Length3:25
LabelSwan Song
Songwriter(s)Elvis Costello
Producer(s)Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds singles chronology
"A1 On The Jukebox"
(1979) 		"Girls Talk"
(1979) 		"Queen of Hearts"
(1979)
"Girls Talk"
Single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions
A-side"I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down"
ReleasedMarch 1980
Recorded1979
Length1:56
LabelF-Beat (UK)
Columbia (USA)
Songwriter(s)Elvis Costello
Producer(s)Nick Lowe
Elvis Costello and the Attractions singles chronology
"Accidents Will Happen"
(1979) 		"Girls Talk"
(1980) 		"High Fidelity"
(1980)

"Girls Talk" is a new wave song written by Elvis Costello and first recorded by Dave Edmunds in 1978. Costello gave an early version of the song to Edmunds, who reworked the song and released it on his album Repeat When Necessary. Edmunds' version peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and number 12 in Ireland, becoming one of Edmunds' most successful career singles.

Costello later released his version of the song as a B-side to his version of "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down", a rendition featuring a soul-inflected arrangement with a prominent bass line performed by Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas. Both Edmunds' and Costello's versions have attracted critical acclaim.

Background

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In the liner notes for the 2002 Rhino reissue of Get Happy!!, Costello stated that the record was about women's gossip.[2]

The most successful version of the song was by Dave Edmunds, to whom Costello says he donated the song "in a moment of drunken bravado."[2][3] Edmunds said, "Elvis came to the studio one day, and he said, 'I've got a song for you.' And he gave me a cassette. Now, it wasn't very good - it was just him on a guitar, and he was rushing through it at a furious pace. At first I couldn't see it. I really liked the complete new arrangement and feel that I put to it. I'm not sure Elvis liked it, mind you. He's quite an intense person and he's quick to point out things that he doesn't like."[4]

Released in June 1979, Edmunds' version charted at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart,[3] spending 11 weeks on the chart. It was his final top ten hit in that country.[5] The single additionally reached number 65 on the US Hot 100, a rare commercial success for Edmunds there. The success of Edmunds' version also boosted Costello's reputation as a coverable songwriter; Edmunds later joked while introducing the song at a concert, "Here's a song by Elvis Costello, and he thanks you from the bottom of his wallet."[6]

Costello recorded a version which was released as the B-side of his single "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down",[7] and was a fixture of the set lists for his tours for some time after it was recorded.[8] Bassist Bruce Thomas commented that it started out as a "country song" before the band rearranged it around Thomas' bass line,[9] which Costello compared to the bass part from "A Love Supreme".[10]

Music video

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A music video was produced for the song. It features Edmunds and Rockpile playing on the roof of the Warner Brothers Records building in Midtown Manhattan as well as assorted shots of people walking through Manhattan.[11]

Critical reception

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"Girls Talk" has seen critical acclaim since its release. In a 1979 article, The New York Times wrote of Edmunds' version, "Mr. Edmunds tackles the sort of airy pop lyricism that is Mr. Lowe's specialty with consummate taste and skill."[12] The Miami Herald opined in 1980, "When Edmunds did 'Girls Talk,' he stole the song away from Costello and made it his own."[13] AllMusic referred to the Edmunds take as a "classic" in a retrospective review.[14]

Costello's version has also attracted acclaim. Stewart Mason of AllMusic gave the song a positive review retrospectively, complimenting the tone of "suppressed menace", and saying that "it features some of his sharpest lyrics of the era".[8] In addition, Debra Rae Cohen of Rolling Stone said that although Edmunds' version was "cocky [and] rowdy", "Costello restores the tune's paranoiac underpinnings with the nervous quaver of his voice and soft keyboard parts that echo like footfalls".[15] Musician Aimee Mann included Costello's version on her list of "songs that made her," commenting, "I used to cover 'Girls Talk' live for a while. I was so crazy about that song."[16]

Other versions

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Linda Ronstadt recorded a version of "Girls Talk" for her 1980 album Mad Love, which contained three songs composed by Costello. Pop duo Tegan and Sara recorded a version of the song for the series finale of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in 2023. Edmunds' version was also featured as the end credits song in the pilot.

Chart history

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References

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  1. ^ Molanphy, Chris (November 19, 2022). "Angry Young Men Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Get Happy!! (Inset). Elvis Costello and the Attractions. US: Rhino Entertainment. 2003. R2 73908.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ a b "Costello Reissues Explode With Bonus Tracks". Billboard. July 22, 2003. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  4. ^ Carl Wiser. "Dave Edmunds". Song Facts.
  5. ^ "DAVE EDMUNDS | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  6. ^ Birch, Will (2019-08-20). Cruel to Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-306-92197-1.
  7. ^ Franklin Bruno Elvis Costello's Armed Forces 2005 p.132 "This was another Stax cover, Sam and Dave's "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down," backed with "Girls Talk," a song EC had given away to Dave Edmunds (whose version hit #2 earlier in the year)."
  8. ^ a b Song Review by Stewart Mason. "Girls Talk - Elvis Costello,Elvis Costello & the Attractions | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  9. ^ Forte, Dan (March 1987). "Bruce Thomas Pumps It Up". Guitar Player.
  10. ^ Get Happy!! (Liner notes). Elvis Costello. 1994.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Tune In... To 1979. 8 May 2015. Vintage TV.
  12. ^ Palmer, Robert (July 22, 1979). "A trend‐setting English musician". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Palmer, Robert (October 5, 1980). "Costello takes too many liberties with 'white elephant' album". Miami Herald.
  14. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Repeat When Necessary – Dave Edmunds". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  15. ^ Rae, Debra (1980-12-11). "Elvis Costello Taking Liberties Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  16. ^ "Aimee Mann on the Music That Made Her". Pitchfork. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1979-12-08. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Girls Talk". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  20. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  21. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 29, 1979
  22. ^ "Kent Music Report No 288 – 31 December 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1979". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
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