King Of America Reviews
All-Music Guide (Stephen Thomas Erlewine)
Stripping away much of the excess that cluttered Punch The Clock and
Goodbye Cruel World, Elvis Costello returned to his folk-rock and
pub-rock roots with King Of America, creating one of his most affecting
and personal records. Costello literally took the album as a return to roots,
billing himself by his given name Declan MacManus and replacing The
Attractions with a bunch of L.A. session men (although his old band appears on
one cut), who give the album a rootsy but sleek veneer which sounds remarkably
charged after the polished affectations of his Langer/Winstanley productions.
And not only does the music sound alive, but so do his songs, arguably his
best overall set since Trust. Working inside the limits of country,
folk and blues, Costello writes literate, introspective tales of loss,
heartbreak and America that are surprisingly moving -- he rarely got better
than Brilliant Mistake, Glitter Gulch, American Without
Tears, Big Light and Indoor Fireworks. What separates
King Of America from the underrated Almost Blue is that
Costello's country now sounds lived-in and worn, bringing a new emotional
depth to the music, and that helps make it one of his masterpieces.