Remember when the U.S. Postal Service gave people a chance to vote which image of Elvis they wanted on the Presley stamp? And the younger Elvis won by a margin wider than the older Elvis' waistline? Well, on his new disc, Costello gives his long-suffering fans a choice, too; several choices in fact. His 17th studio album has six new tracks and six songs that were originally written by Costello for other singers. (Some — Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney and Sam Moore never released their versions and some did — Roger McGuinn issued "You Bowed Down" on his last solo album, and 'Til Tuesday put out "The Other End of the Telescope" in 1988).
This time, it's a split decision whether the younger Elvis deserves the nod again. The aching heart shriveling beneath 'The Other End of the Telescope" and the curdled dreams and loss of integrity in the Byrdsy "You Bowed Down" are Costello creations of the first order, but they are equalled by the petulant "Little Atoms," with its pulsing Floydian keyboard, and "It's Time," where Elvis uses a hip-hop (!) rhythm track to finish off a relationship "where passion is squandered and money is spent."
Of course, Beauty contains a few beasts: the listless "Distorted Angel," the nonsensical "Complicated Shadows" and the downright goofy "Starting to Come to Me" among them. At times, Costello sounds so self-involved, you imagine him twirling in circles to a tune only he can hear. But Beauty is far from useless — at least when all those critics and record store clerks wax effusive about this new Elvis disc, their noses won't grow much longer.
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