Although some listeners may be put off by the eclecticism of the arrangements and instrumentation, the one and only Elvis Costello has done it again in Spike — but a little differently this time.
Making excellent use of such guest musicians as Paul McCartney, Roger McGuinn, T Bone Burnett (the album co-producer) and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Big E has fashioned 13 riveting songs of anger, toward the rich and rotten in "This Town"; passion, against capital punishment in "Let Him Dangle"; and almost pure pop, the senile woman's memories that are the subject of "Veronica," a tuneful triumph written with McCartney.
Other rewards include "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror," a wallpaper-peeling request for gritty self-examination; "God's Comic," an amusing double-meaning narrative that includes comments by the deity; and "Tramp the Dirt Down," an earthy diatribe against England and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that's musically reminiscent of Richard Thompson's darker Celtic urges.
"Pads, Paws and Claws" is another highly melodic collaboration with McCartney that enlivens Costello's favorite topic: the "female tormentor." And "Baby Plays Around," written in a pristinely woeful country vein with his wife, ex-Pogue Cait O'Riordan, is an instant ballad classic.
Only the self-indulgent stretch of "Stalin Malone," a wayward instrumental featuring the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and "Chewing Gum," an unnecessary foray into white-hot funk territory, come up more than a little short.
While echoes of previous Costello albums — My Aim Is True, Imperial Bedroom and King of America — surface in the mix, one of the world's great singer/songwriters shows he's unafraid and quite accomplished at climbing out on more than one new limb at a time.
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