Word: costello
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Elvis Costello is a British rocker in the grand tradition of his namesake, but he infuses that tradition with a deep and unsubtle sense of '70s neurosis. Look at his picture; listen to his lyrics. He is (or would have us believe he is) far gone in bitterness and anger at the world--so far gone, in fact, that he can sit back more or less comfortably and point an accusing finger at the rest of us. His vantage point is that of the observer once as deeply embroiled in craziness as the people he castigates but now above...
This perspective comes across strongly in Costello's lyrics. "Welcome to the Working Week," the album's opening track, is at 1:22 its shortest cut and an introduction to what's to come. A driving middle-tempo rocker with drums mixed way up and biting guitar riffs, it's an ironic salute to a friend's new success. The message is clear--"Deal with it if you can." Blame It On Cain" shows a strong persecution complex ("Blame it on Cain, don't blame it on me..."); "Sneaky Feelings" is a bouncy, silly tune about paranoia and screwed...
...doesn't have to look too hard, obviously, to see where Costello's coming from. The only problem with such a direct and insistent attack is that the listener may well find himself sated with the singer's cynicism before long. In this case, that would be a real shame--there's more to this album than the crazed rumblings of an embittered anachronism. There are three cuts, especially, that deserve a careful second listening. They're not only the record's most interesting expressions of Costello's viewpoint--they point up strengths, both lyric and musical, obscured elsewhere...
MYSTERY DANCE," a one-and-a-half minute gem, is straight-ahead rock and roll, the kind of fast, urgent and purely visceral rock where the cleverness of the lyric is no more than a pleasant but totally superfluous surprise. Costello proves here that his singing is equal to the trickiest tempo and the rawest lyrics; his guitar playing is a wonder, a crashing solo in the best '50s tradition. "I'm Not Angry" gives further evidence of his instrumental strength; here too the guitar work is excellent, searing and fluid in a more contemporary style. It's a truly...
...apocalyptic and dark-sounding song, reminiscent of Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower," and Costello proves in it that his music is more than just a clever recreation of vintage rock...