British new wave rock king Elvis Costello has packed 20 tunes onto his new single disc album, Get Happy!! (Columbia JC 36347). That's about 14 songs too many.
A little of Costello's eccentric style goes a long way and this album seems to go on forever, despite the fact that almost all of the songs are under three minutes in length. After a while, the tunes begin to sound very much alike thanks to the use of the same, spare instrumentation (mostly organ, bass and drums) on every cut.
Costello's strained, nasal singing voice is not easy to listen to either, and his working class British accent and the generally rapid tempo make it difficult to understand his angry, cynical lyrics.
That's too bad, because his acid wit and deft use of puns are an interesting change from the usual rock lyrics. Good examples are the monetary play on words in "Love For Tender" and the lyrics of "New Amsterdam."
A few songs do stand out in the pack. Interestingly, most of them are the ones that depart from the album's breakneck pace. These include "New Amsterdam," with its almost classical organ line and "Riot Act," featuring an eerie keyboard backing.
"Opportunity," a midtempo song with a slight reggae influence, is best of all. You believe it when Costello says of a rival, "I'd like to be his funeral director."
Unfortunately, the rest of the album is a let-down. A typical case is "I Stand Accused," one of two non-original songs done here. Costello races through it so fast that he ruins what could have been a good song for him.
New wave aficionados may love it, but the general musical public will find little to be pleased with in Get Happy!!
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