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Finally, finally. Third-generation rock 'n' roll has been invented.
The musical form that began in the '50s when Elvis Presley melded the influences of hillbilly, black R&B, Delta blues and heaven knows what else, has been seriously improved on only once before.
That was in 1963, with the advent of a British quartet from Liverpool. If Elvis wrote the laws of rock 'n' roll energy, the Beatles put them to work.
But by 1970, that era, too, began to fizzle. The Beatles were no more, and the insipid '70s cast a pall over rock for seven long years. A choking pall that, in many ways, is stronger today than ever before.
Music became product, feeling was subordinated to production, excitement segued to lascivious album covers. Rock 'n' roll became schlock 'n' roll.
But, in late 1976, the first tremor of a new rock 'n' roll volcano began in England on a small but flexible local label called Stiff Records. And now, two albums and several singles later, the future of rock has erupted, and it is with Elvis Costello & the Attractions.
Using words like a cunning ad man, Costello evokes chilling results with his latest effort. Armed Forces, his third Columbia album (JC-35709), is the consummation of his talent.
Originally titled Emotional Fascism — a phrase that had Columbia executives calling in the Allies — the album cover is schizophrenic, with a Jackson Pollack-ish abstract on the front and a very, bad painting of a herd of emaciated elephants on the back.
The music inside suffers no such identity crisis.
Costello's message is cleverly delivered. The lyrics are elusive enough to appear at once clear as crystal and undecipherable. The music is slick and obvious. Isolated instrumentation and up-front special effects give the album a sinister, yet comfortable, tone.
Included with the first 20,000 albums is a live EP, Elvis Costello - Live From Hollywood High. It features three tunes, including "Alison," done less effectively by Linda Ronstadt, who was in the concert audience and declared herself "mesmerized" by the performance.
The essence of Elvis Costello is in his lyrics. For example, "Senior Service," apparently based on a British program for the elderly, contains these biting bits:
"Because there's always another man who'll chop off your head and watch it roll into a basket. And if you should drop dead tonight, then they won't have to ask you twice... It's the breath you took too late... It's the death that's worse than fate.
Costello's sense of unknown, ominous forces, sometimes referred to as "Them" is part of his appeal. From "Oliver's Army":
"Hong Kong is up for grabs. London is full of Arabs. We could be in Palestine. Overrun by the Chinese line. With the boys from the Mersey on the telly and the Times, All it takes is one itchy trigger. One more widow, one less white nigger.
But Costello is most effective when he creates vapor-like images that roll out of your grasp like a faint smell that reminds you of a pleasant experience long forgotten. From "Accidents Will Happen":
"There are so many fish in the sea that only rise up in the sweat and smoke like Mercury. But they keep you hangin' on. They say you're so young. And its the damage that we do and never know. And it's the words that we don't say that scare me so.
Elvis Costello & the Attractions will appear in concert at the Victory Theater on March 17. Tickets will go on sale this month.
One final note: I would recommend Costello's two previous records, My Aim Is True and This Year's Model, as primers for his latest assault. They'll help give you a better picture of his intentions — and they're fun to listen to.
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