U2, Costello share stories at Spectacular love-in

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From left, The Edge and Bono chat with Elvis Costello on Spectacle. ( )

For fans of rock 'n' roll, pop-music history and just plain good conversation, this is about as big a Christmas present as one could wish to find in the television listings.

CTV briefly interrupts its schedule of festive-TV offerings this week to serve up a sneak peek at the second season of Spectacle: Elvis Costello With ... (Friday at 9 p.m.) that features U2 co-frontmen Bono and The Edge. It's an hour of music, reminiscence and rock-related chatter that will leave TV viewers nearly as slack-jawed as it did the lucky few hundred who grabbed seats at the show's top-secret taping in Toronto last September.

As was the case through the entirety of Spectacle's first season (which was released on DVD last month), this new instalment is elevated by host Elvis Costello's deep knowledge of his subject matter and his ability to make his guests feel comfortably inclined to share stories and insights about their careers and craft.

In the case of his sit-down with Bono and The Edge, Costello benefits even more from his shared history with his countrymen; each can remember the time, place and lasting inspirational impact of the first time he/they saw the other perform live.

"You blew our minds," Bono recalls of his first exposure to Costello and the Attractions in an Irish nightclub. "And everybody who was there formed a band."

There's an intriguing discussion of U2's musical roots -- more influenced by Euro-continentals like Kraftwerk than by any of their British contemporaries -- and some rare insights by the U2 lads regarding the guidance offered by studio magicians such as Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois during the band's early recording sessions.

"We had no history of musicianship; remember, we formed the band before we could play," Bono says of Lanois's educational imprint. "Meeting someone who really knew how to hold an instrument, let alone squeeze sparks out of it, was a study."

Interestingly -- again, full credit to Costello for making his interview subjects feel like they're in a living-room confab rather than a taped-for-TV session in front of a large audience -- the Bono we see in this hour is far more expansive and casual than the agenda-driven activist who has become omnipresent in big-issue, save-the-planet discussions in recent years.

Some attention is paid to U2's political activities, but Bono and The Edge are equally inclined to talk about the delicate democracy within their band, the enduring influence of family and the unexpected showbiz friendships they created with the likes of Johnny Cash, B.B. King and Frank Sinatra.

The performances in the episode -- including Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Stay (Faraway, So Close), Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad (which was written for Sinatra) and the rousing show-closer, Pump It Up/Get on Your Boots -- are fully deserving of the descriptive used in the series' title.

The rest of Spectacle's sophomore season, which will arrive early in 2010 as part of CTV's mid-season schedule, promises to be equally impressive, with the guest list including Bruce Springsteen, John Prine, Lyle Lovett, Neko Case, Levon Helm, Richard Thompson, Sheryl Crow, Ray LaMontagne, Nick Lowe, Ron Sexsmith, Alain Toussaint and Jesse Winchester.

Spectacular pretty much sums it up.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

TV WORTH WATCHING

Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special (Sunday at 9 p.m. ABC/CTV) -- The queen of all media sits down with the leader of the world's last remaining superpower for the first Oprah/Obama interview since the U.S. president took office last January. The special also showcases the White House staff's festive preparations.

Christmas Dreams (Wednesday at 8 p.m., CBC) -- Cynthia Dale, Tom Cavanagh, Henry Czerny and Ed Asner star in this new entry into the festive TV-movie field, which focuses on an eccentric shopkeeper who uses a special brand of Christmas magic to help a young girl find the perfect gift for her sister.

TV on DVD

Lost -- The Complete 5th Season: The Journey Back (release date: Dec. 8) -- Just in time to alleviate (or perhaps accentuate) viewers' bewilderment before the series' sixth and final season premieres on Feb. 2, this five-disc set revisits Lost's time-shifting 2009 campaign. Also available: the more elaborate (and pricey) Lost -- The Complete 5th Season: The Dharma Initiation Kit.

Top TV shows

1. CFL Grey Cup (TSN) -- 5,087,000

2. House (Global) -- 2,911,000

3. Criminal Minds (CTV) -- 2,700,000

4. NCIS (Global) -- 2,587,000

5. Dancing With the Stars (CTV) -- 2,498,000

6. C.S.I. New York (CTV) -- 2,455,000

7. Amazing Race 15 (CTV) -- 2,419,000

8. C.S.I. Miami (CTV) -- 2,308,000

9. Dancing With the Stars (CTV) -- 2,270,000

10. CFL Grey Cup Countdown (TSN) -- 2,227,000 

-- BBM Canada, week of Nov. 23-29

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 10, 2009 E6