Elvis Costello has spent most of his career living down the tremendous impact of his arrival in the late '70s. The Costello of My Aim Is True and This Year's Model was rock's last angry young man, the emotional and intellectual spearhead of every criticism new wave aimed at the establishment. Costello's influence was powerful because he refused to sublimate his protest in nihilism and solipsism like so many of his punk/new wave contemporaries. Costello articulated his complaints, and in doing so became the voice of fan resentment on songs like "Radio, Radio." In wielding such bluntly political (instead of theatrical) power, Costello created some powerful enemies as well a fundamental misconception about himself.
The dust cleared to reveal Elvis Costello as musician, songwriter and concerned rock aficionado, but the audience kept waiting to pounce, pro or con, on his next outrageous move. By the time of Get Happy! it was clear that Costello had rejected his initial pose and taken as his subject matter love, emotion and interpersonal relationships, the same progression that Bob Dylan had undergone in the '60s. Nevertheless, Costello's experiments with genres and song formats like the country & western tribute, Almost Blue, met with resistance and even hostility from some of the same people who had at first championed him.
Costello's determination has come to mean being true to himself, and on Imperial Bedroom he keeps the promise with a dense, demanding record of cameo portraits. His subjects are a wide range of people from all strata of society, united by a common bond: the search for love. Costello's finely tuned storytelling illustrates love's universal elusiveness. The road traveled in this quest is littered with broken promises, false hopes and bitter arguments. Costello twists these ideas into a myriad of shapes, all highlighted and punctuated by alternately brooding and majestic musical settings. He delivers a virtuoso vocal performance on the ambitious "Beyond Belief," switching tones and intonation recklessly from line to line in a dizzyingly emotional style. Some of the old bitterness creeps into "Man out of Time" and "The Loved Ones," but there's a quiet acceptance in songs like "Kid About It" and "Town Cryer" that suggests Costello has made peace with himself.
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