#106
March 1985
Graham Parker and the Shot
Steady Nerves
Genre: Pop Rock
4.25 out of 5
Highlights:
Break Them Down
Lunatic Fringe
Wake Up (Next To You)
It’s really incredible how Elvis Costello got all the accolades and Graham Parker (Who I am still not convinced isn’t actually Elvis irl) languishes in the margins of rock history. I mean…seriously, they sound exactly the same and write songs that sound just like each other. Listen to “Canned Laughter” and tell me which Costello it sounds like (Answer: A lot of them…or do they sound like Parker???)
I admit bias. It took this project’s inception for me to give Parker a try. Squeezing Out Sparks, The Up Escalator, Another Grey Area…all superb. In fact, pound for pound, they give Costello a run for his money. It was on 83’s The Real Macaw that he was felled, like Costello would be in 84.
But, this comeback is better than I expected. A solid record for Mr. Parker.
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