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NEW YORK — Of all the British punk pub new-wave rockers, Elvis Costello — who will headline Wednesday night at the University of Cincinnati's Wilson Auditorium — has been about the most successful.
Graham Parker and the Sex Pistols have won as much critical praise, but Costello (who was born 23 years ago as Declan Patrick MacManus) has sold better than they have and has received his lavishly fair share of critical approval, too. As well he should. His first record last year blended new-wave intensity with a strength and metaphorical richness of lyrics that surpassed any of the competition.
As a live performer, Costello was slightly less convincing, at least in his New York debut a few months ago at the Bottom Line. His bug-eyed, water-boy image with its out-of-date, several-sizes-too-big jacket, looked more mannered than compelling, his band sounded rough, and his set wasn't very well paced.
But there was much of the intensity that's on the records, as well, and his live shows have been favorably reviewed since. In addition, his new album is not only as fine as the first, but shows him evolving stylistically without any sacrifice in intensity.
Costello's current tour — he has been performing in this country off and on (mostly on) since early November — found him in Montreal the other day, and he reported that, by and large, things were going quite well.
"We've sold out a lot of the big cities," he said, "but you have things like the boxoffice in Mobile, Ala., being open for a week without selling a ticket. Or Detroit: English people are filled with myths about America.
"We imagined something violent in Detroit, but we played a suburb, and we had a really apathetic audience. We don't want to be a success in just the hip towns. We want to hit the cities in between."
Costello's band, the Attractions, appeared on a bit of the first album and all a the second, and while it seemed less than fully assured at the Bottom Line, it sounds very good indeed on disk.
"When we find we can do a perfect set every night, it will be time to quit," said Costello. "People say these odd things to us, like 'You're very professional!'
"They think we're anarchists. We don't do solos, and I'm not the greatest guitarist, but the others are very good. And as we play more together we get better as a band,"
While Costello's music has been widely praised, his image as a person has emerged through his rare interviews rather more problematically. Several of his interviewers paint a picture of a strange and bitter man, given to lurid denunciations and provocative condemnations.
"It's a difficult problem," said the singer, "because it crosses that borderline between the personal and the professional. From a professional point of view.
"I understand it's important for journalists to grasp the most vivid aspect of a personality to make good copy. From a personal point of view I find it annoying. People really think I'm some sort of psychotic weirdo hung up on revenge and guilt. It's really up to me to undermine that image now."
Surely he, himself, contributed to his image with some deliberately provocative remarks — things like Fleetwood Mac being "a washed up old blues group" or, "America never contributed one good band to the world."
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