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Elvis Costello, rock's favorite angry young man, is turning into a pussycat. At the Cape Cod Coliseum last Sunday, a cheering, sold-out crowd was treated to a smiling, amiable Elvis, one who came not to incite, but to please.
Costello (real name: Declan MacManus) has been a mysterious figure ever since bursting upon the music scene in 1977. His outrageous moniker seemed part boast, part joke. He was called a punk Buddy Holly, but in truth, Costello looked more like Woody Allen. But there was nothing funny about Costello. He seemed to personify punk rock anger.
Rock critics praised the punk movement, and Costello in particular, for putting spunk back into rock 'n' roll. Despite these plaudits, Costello remained largely unknown in middle America until 1979, when some nasty, drunken remarks about Ray Charles, followed by a brawl with singer Bonnie Bramlett in an Ohio motel, put him in the news.
Now, still dogged by an unsavory reputation, Costello is the current Rolling Stone magazine cover boy. The headline announces: "Elvis Costello Repents." And so he has. It seems he really loves black American music and he's sorry he said those stupid things.
In concert, Costello took a no-frills approach. Dressed in a black suit, gray shirt and white shoes, he presented his songs without special effects and with a minimum of patter. Costello is not mistaken in believing that his music is strong enough to stand on its own.
He and his three-piece band, The Attractions, careened non-stop from one song to the next. He wasted little time getting to songs from Imperial Bedroom, his new album which consists largely of moody, off-beat ballads that are closer to cabaret than rock.
This was a typically boisterous Coliseum crowd and you had to wonder how they'd take to Costello's mellow crooning. Well, they liked it just fine. Thanks to Costello's skillful blending of old and new material, of slow songs and rockers, the audience didn't have a chance to get impatient. They whooped and screamed enthusiastically and continuously.
In two hours, the crowd got to hear more than 30 songs, including a broad sampling of Imperial Bedroom, and such Costello standards as his best-known song, "Alison" (Linda Ronstadt covered it), "Watching The Detectives" and "The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes."
The crowd brought Costello back for three encores, and he ended the show with a particularly impressive and eclectic segment. He did a bluesy version of Percy Mayfield's "Danger Zone" ("The whole world's in an uproar, looks like we're in a danger zone"), and followed it by asking "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." This was topped by a rousing version of his own "Radio, Radio."
But there was more. Turning to his Trust album, Costello did the kinky "Big Sister's Clothes." Then he closed with a song by a man who liked to wear his big sister's clothes in reality: Little Richard. Costello's version of Richard's "Slippin' and Slidin' " was a joy, an affirmation of his love of and connection with the roots of rock 'n' roll.
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