Elvis Costello & Bill Frisell: "If I Only Had a Brain"

[perrypful]

Lots of class - style and sensitivity. (Respect).

[JeffTele]

If you haven't discovered Bill Frisell yet, there's a whole new world out there waiting for you.

[doubleotwentyone]

Beautiful...and that ending, love it...

[Drewster58]

That is a great croon by Elvis and a tasty minimalist guitar by Bill. I have not pursued listening to Bill F., but I may have to try a dip in his musical water after all.

[mprsops10]

More Bill. Less Elvis. Nothing against Elvis.

[NESavoth415]

why the fuck does every video on youtube have late sound?!??????????

[poetryandbeyond]

I can hear how this influenced Elvis' own songwriting. It's my favorite Wizard of Oz song.

[noodlesmealey]

bill frisell & scofield awesome,dudes & dudettes

[jasonkops]

you know, for all you negative people who call this 'drivel' or want to bash the artists, i think you are the ones who need a brain, or a heart, or the nerve. i find this to be quite classy and the nostalgia it evokes is amazing. my only complaint is the brevity of this video. i would have totally been down for all three verses.

[youaergay]

has a guitar player iv got to say that was awesome

[14luisalonso]

perfect voice for the lyrics and perfect guitar performance to keep it together. This performance flatters the song.

[faopus14]

@MrRoycam  you seem to be very familiar with being a fraud

[AbstractMan23]

bill frisell, wow

[YULgal]

Pure voice & guitar. 

[JLtheP]

Bill Frisell has a very distinguishing sound. You can spot him anywhere. Love it.

[ClueSign]

The BRILLIANCE of Elvis seeing the BRILLIANCE of E.Y. Harburg.

[manuscriptreplica]

That's some frustratingly classy, tasteful, timeless guitar, Effin' Bill.

[zootalluresmdp]

frisell rules

[chaosIsTheOnlyPower]

Elvis is absolutely dripping with talent. Think of all those fabulous lyrics from punk, to new wave, to new ---whatever--- with a bleedin string quartet. We should all be so gifted.

[Brothergeppetto]

@chaosIsTheOnlyPower too bad we're not.

but thank god he is!

[XpLdR]

Does anybody got the lyrics after Bill solo please?

[BlackCatCadillac]

@XpLdR yeah, it's sad believe me, missy, when you're born to be a sissy, without vim and verve. but i could show me prowess, be a man, not a mouse, if i only had the nerve; if i only had the heart, if i only had the brain.

[IM4DEL1991]

Fabulous! There's a quality in Elvis' voice that I just adore. He's so versatile. I don't think there's a genre that doesn't suit his voice.

[Ntimitree]

guitar comping in its best!

[Vitotesta]

If anything Elvis Costello is underrated

especially considering what passes for music these days. He is by far one of thee

most interesting, versatile, and imaginative writer/performers of the past 30 years. I can't think of anyone I'd rather listen to in pop music. Overrated...?...ask

Diana Krall!

[kingofskateop]

lol Wizard of Oz!!!

[kjmo34]

Overrated? Does selling lots of albums for 40yrs. mean he's pretty good? Yeah, I think it does.

[awesomewelles90]

Elvis Costello is completely overrated. But Bill is pretty cool.

[nburmandesign]

Bill... wow. I could listen to that solo all day.

[VigorousVixen]

I love that guys surf green telecaster!

[2ChukBuk]

Charming AND extraordinally TASTY.

[SoundPlanner]

Great great stuff, deep

[whalestail1955]

Declan McManus and his tenor singing american show tunes, could life be more perfect?

[greenvii]

holy wow

[Batchylnuevos]

Those Irish hats are THE BOMB.

[ejc1974]

Bill Frisell is completely tasteful here. Sometimes he's tastefully coming from another planet. Wherever, he's always sounding good. Great tone.

[jsmurfy89]

haha well put

[mrfish60035]

the resonance he gets is just insane one the best most individual sounds out there right now and elvis does an amazing job with the vocals!

[benchinho]

in my opinion, although it seems simple, the guitar playing is perfect. the phrasing, the note choices, the use of staccato and legato in exactly the right places. he´s playing around with the harmony, he isn´t repeating anything and still he manages to support the vocals very tastefully.

[betalive]

i dont know if frisell was ready to solo because he skips a beat before he starts playing

[mucanamnam]

great performance!

[Countrydave70]

Genius + Genius = Wow!

[doctorcostas]

Some people miss the point even when it is held up in front of them, this is an outstanding performance with or without the red hat. Hopefully the pseudo-critics will find their own brain some day.

[GravityJim]

Jazzyteach: it's been my experience that people on line who use the word "jazz" in their handles are, in fact, jazz wannabes. Your lack of appreciation of Elvis Costello's songwriting makes this patently obvious in your case. as for those of you who think this song is beneath Elvis, you should learn a little about where his influences lie.

[3xp3dition13]

eat shit jazz snob

[kevinm4435]

great naked city quote

[raekpenis]

Looks like he's playing the accordion!!

[twangbarfly]

@Jazzyteach65 If you have to ask what Bill Frisell is doing here, you should pull your fingers out of your cloth ears, and if you still can't work it out, then you ought to retreat to your bebop ghetto and stay put. Bill doesn't need an imprimatur from jazz majors or anyone else for that matter to decide who he should or shouldn't be playing with.

I am not the biggest Costello fan myself, but who cares? The fact I don't like someone doesn't automatically make them an idiot....

[Steakfinger]

Bill Frisell is an absolute WIZARD. As for this being drivel, without the rich history of songs like this informing his craft, Elvis' music would be immensely diminished. Fool. There's so much more to life than anger.

[warpar]

I love when Frisell plays that tele.

[dakcz]

Oh yeah :-)

[Dubhlais]

Nothing with Declan Patrick McManus is drivel, ever. Blow it out your ass grouch.:P

[deerfried]

There you go! Thanks Duhlais....Every Elvis has his army!

[Skybar99]

Thanks, Dubhlais!

Elvis is unbeatable when he sings Standards like this. I wish he would do it more. He has the perfect voice for it & obviously a lot of love & respect for these songs.

I was in the audience for this show & this song was STUNNING live. I had chills.

And not for nothing...Hello? A red fur pimp hat with a rhinestone skull & crossbones on the side? How insanely cool is that? It was hidden behind his back & he put it on his head right when he started to sing. Wonderful!

[PeelTower]

Oh for goodness sake, we all like elivis but this is drivel.

[miktimrob]

is "Drivel" the new way to say "completely awesome"?

[dakcz]

Wow. Finally i got a chance to see these two performing together. Thanks for sharing.