Veronica＠Spike＠『Auribus oculi fideliores sunt.』

https://tokumei10.blogspot.com/2022/03/blog-post_79.html

Spike is the 12th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, and his first since My Aim Is True without the Attractions, released on compact disc as Warner Brothers 25848. It was his first album for the label and peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It also reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200 thanks to the single and his most notable American hit, "Veronica", which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the US Modern Rock chart. In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Spike finished at No. 7.^[12]
In 1987, Costello began writing with Paul McCartney for the latter's Flowers in the Dirt album. They composed a dozen songs together, which showed up on multiple albums by McCartney and Costello.^[13]^: 3 Two of those songs appear on this album, "Pads, Paws and Claws" and the hit single "Veronica".
As his first album for a new label, in his own words Costello had the budget of "a small independent movie", and having in mind the blueprint for five different albums, decided to make all of them.^[13]^: 4 He brought back his foil from King of America, T Bone Burnett, to facilitate the sessions and produce the album. Studio time was booked in four different locations: Ocean Way in Hollywood; Southland Studios in New Orleans; Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin; and AIR Studios in London.^[13]^: 25 Four different groups of musicians were assembled in each location. Writing credits on the album are given to both Elvis Costello and Declan MacManus, Costello's birth name.
The single "Veronica" peaked at No. 31 on the UK singles chart and at No. 19 in America, his best showing ever on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached No.1 on the US Modern Rock chart. "This Town" was also released as a single but missed both of the main singles chart in both nations. An extended play single was also released for "Baby Plays Around", peaking at No. 65 in the UK.
The second track, "Let Him Dangle", is a protest song opposing capital punishment, recounting the 1953 conviction and execution of Derek Bentley.
The seventh track, "Tramp the Dirt Down", is a fiery lament, depicting Costello's anger at the Thatcher government and its effect on Britain's society. In the song, Costello expresses his desire to live long enough to see Margaret Thatcher die and vows, "I'll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down." "I wish I'd written 'Tramp the Dirt Down'," said singer Natalie Merchant.^[14] The song reached No. 79 on the iTunes chart following Thatcher's death in April 2013.^[15] In addition, he played this song at Glastonbury 2013 having previously performed it there on the Pyramid Stage in 1987.
Lyrics are given in the booklet for the eighth track, "Stalin Malone", but the album recording is an instrumental and does not include vocals. A version with a recitation of the lyrics as poetry appears on the 2001 bonus disc.

"Veronica" is a single from Elvis Costello's 1989 album Spike, co-written by Costello with Paul McCartney. The song "Veronica" was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Kevin Killen, and features Paul McCartney on his iconic Höfner bass. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly voted it one of Costello's top ten greatest tunes.^[1]
"Veronica" was also Costello's highest-charting Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, No. 1 on its Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and No. 10 on its Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.oman who has experienced severe memory loss. Costello's inspiration for this song was his grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's. When talking about the song on a VH1 interview, Costello reminisced about his grandmother having "terrifying moments of lucidity" and how this was the inspiration for "Veronica". In his 2015 autobiography, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, Costello wrote of his collaboration with McCartney, "I'd brought an early version of 'Veronica' that you would have recognized. . . . All the words I'd already written were about my paternal grandmother, Molly, or more formally, Mabel Josephine Jackson. In fact, her Catholic confirmation name, Veronica, provided the very title of the song."^[2]