Camden Courier-Post, February 28, 1978

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New punk rocker offers the best of his craft


Kevin Smith

Incredibly there may be hope for new wave music, and that hope is Elvis Costello.

Costello looks nothing like a rock star — certainly not a punk rock star.

Badly dressed with a crumpled shiny old suit haircut and Woody Allen hornrimmed glasses straight out of the '50s, what he looks like is a stereotype of the frustrated, brooding computer analyst in London that he was until last year when he began a full time career in rock music.

A year ago he was an unknown in the United States. Six months ago his debut album, My Aim Is True, hardly made a ripple on the American music scene. Friday night, Elvis Costello sold out the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pa. That may not be a sign that punk rock is making the big times, but it is a sign that Costello himself is gaining quite a following.

Elvis Costello is not fun to watch. His motion is jerky and uncoordinated, his walk is more of a swagger and the man is arrogance personified. He ;mows he is good, and only a fool in the audience might question whether his attitude is justified.

Costello doesn't leave a standing ovation in question, he has the audience on its feet before he begins his final number so that any applause will be a standing ovation. And the audience is more than willing to give that kind of recognition after the hard rocking performance typified by the one Costello gave at the Tower.

Lyrics set him apart from better known and more publicized punk rock bands like the Dead Boys and the Sex Pistols. While Costello's lyrics are angry and harsh, they show a fair degree of professionalism. The anger is a part of the song, it is a part of the message and is not there merely to shock.

In "Radio Radio" Costello takes a shot at the Top 40 conservatism and the people that run pop music radio. The song says: "The radio's in the hands of such a lot of fools. Trying to anesthetize the way you feel."

And in "Angry," a song about cheating, he concludes that it is not unusual and shows no imagination: "I know what you're doing. I know just where you've been. Cause there's no such thing as an original sin."

The music is probably more exciting and listenable in person when the lyrics are not so easy to decipher. And with a little effort, a rock and roll fan can tune them out altogether and enjoy the driving beat of Elvis' music. It draws on the primitive style of early rock and roll — and the founders of rock and roll music such as Bill Haley and Chuck Berry.

The entire concert had only one Costello song that didn't move along at the frenzied pace of early rock and roll, and that song merely gave the audience a chance to catch its breath before the last few songs picked up the pace again.

The fans loved the whole show, the arrogance, the beat. the volume and even the lyrics. And signs seem to point to a solid future in music for the 23-year-old newcomer. His album is receiving a lot of airplay in the area, and the professionalism of Costello's act seems to point to a greater staying power than other new wave artists have exhibited.

The future doesn't really look great for new wave music — even though the industry is pumping millions into the hype. The industry hopes that this will be the new pop explosion that has never quite come in the '70s Elvis Costello might make it big enough to last even if punk music doesn't.

In one song he says "sometimes I feel almost like a human being." Sometimes Elvis Costello looks like he might make it as a star.

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The Courier-Post, February 28, 1978


Kevin Smith reviews Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Friday, February 24, 1978, Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

Images

1978-02-28 Camden Courier-Post page 20 clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.

Page scan.
1978-02-28 Camden Courier-Post page 20.jpg

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