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First things first — the beard is gone! It's long been a pet theory of mine that the growth of facial hair indicates a proportionate decline in ability when applied to rock 'n' roll.
Even the greats headed for Bord na gCon stadia when the facefluff reached critical status — the rationale being that if you don't care what you look like then why the hell should you care what you sound like.
But despair not; the process is reversible, with a perfect example of the connection between shaving and success provided by Elvis Costello's latest album Brutal Youth.
Shorn of the Rasputin-like beard he sported for Mighty Like a Rose, Elvis is in sparkling form as he sits sipping tea in a Shelbourne Hotel suite. He's talkative and, despite the toll a full day's interview schedule demands of the interviewee, extremely "up."
This mood is certainly reflected in the vibrant and committed performances on the new album, which reunites him with his stupendous backing band, The Attractions, for the first time since I986's Blood & Chocolate.
"It wasn't a case of sitting down and thinking 'Yeah, let's get The Attractions together for old times' sake'," he says, displaying no signs of boredom at fielding a subject he's had pitched at him a hundred or so times in the previous few weeks. "I just felt that the batch of songs I'd written for this album would sound better played by a small combo, and what better combo than The Attractions?
"It originally began with myself and Pete (Thomas, drummer) doing demos in the small studio where I'd recorded My Aim Is True. I called Nick Lowe in to do some of the bass parts; he suggested that Steve (Nieve, keyboards) would be the best man for some of the piano parts and Bruce (Thomas, bass) sort of drifted in by some form of osmosis towards the end of the sessions."
If anything it was the recruitment of the latter which caused the biggest surprise, as back in 1990 Bruce published The Big Wheel, a slightly surreal and largely uncomplimentary account of various incidents on the road with The Attractions over the years. "The Singer," as EC was referred to throughout the book, and "The Bass Player" didn't speak to each other for years. As they're due to go back on the road together in May, will that literary lashing leave any lingering hostilities?
"No, I don't think so." says Elvis, diplomatically. "We're grown men and capable of burying our differences. The thing about that book, apart from the fact that I didn't think it was very well-written, is that it gave the impression that he didn't enjoy himself for all those years in the band.
"We had a ball; went completely over the top, debauched ourselves totally, and went around the world three times in three years! It was great fun and we were making great records into the bargain, but anyway... that's all in the past."
For long-term fans of Costello, Brutal Youth comes as a scintillating reminder of the man's talent. This isn't merely because he's reunited with The Attractions and the record sounds like it could have been made in 1979, but that after the inconsistencies of Spike, Mighty Like a Rose and The Juliet Letters (made with The Brodsky Quartet and although including some fine tracks, basically a noble diversion), the songs and arrangements on the new record are very clearly focused.
Paradoxically, while he's funny and open in the interview, he sounds angry as hell on the album: a reaction to the criticism he's shipped in the past three or four years?
"I certainly feel that Mighty Like a Rose was misunderstood to a certain extent," he says. "Certainly, there were a lot of songs which were highly detailed and complex, but there was also quite a bit of sparse, combo stuff like 'So Like Candy,' 'After the Fall' and 'Hurry Down Doomsday,' but that tended to be overlooked.
"I'm still very proud of the record, as I am of The Juliet Letters, and although I perhaps reacted a bit too strongly to certain criticism of the latter (he penned a particularly vitriolic letter to Vox magazine) I felt obliged to do that more on behalf of The Brodsky Quartet than myself. The Brodsky Quartet are extremely talented musicians in their field and it was a case of my past being used by a handful of journalists as a stick to beat them with, which was extremely unfair."
Elvis followed up his classical collaboration by spending a weekend (yep, that long!) penning an entire album for former Transvision Vamp singer Wendy James which, while not entirely successful ("Both she and I know she's not Dusty Springfield" is his diplomatic comment), at least proved our hero could work fast when put to the pin of his collar.
"It depends on the day that's in it," he says, laughing. "For example, one day during the writing of this record I came up with the music for five songs in a single day. You feel you've earned some time in the pub after a run like that! Other days you just look out at the Dublin mountains and annoy yourself playing the piano."
One of the songs which came into being on the day his muse went into megadrive is perhaps the strongest song on Brutal Youth. "Kinder Murder" catalogues a series of everyday human tragedies and culminates in a runaway father's callous dismissal of the abduction and murder of his child.
It's brutal (dictionary definition, not Dubbalinese) and compelling, and the chorus of "She could have kept her knees together, Should have kept her mouth shut" should certainly wind up a few people.
"I've never believed that subjects should be taboo for songwriters," asserts Elvis. "These things happen on a daily basis around the world, and while that song takes a handful of incidents and sticks them together, I don't think anyone could accuse me of merely courting shock value... think I'm a bit beyond that.
"As for the chorus: that's not me speaking, but I defy anyone to try and tell me that there aren't men who think that way. I mean, have you ever seen a gang of squaddies together in a pub? The Political Correctness Police can go to hell as far as I'm concerned. As a songwriter, if you can't reflect what's happening in society — good and bad — then you may as well pack it in.
"So in that respect, I shall remain resolutely Politically Incorrect," he adds with a laugh.
Welcome back Elvis... it's like you've never been away!
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