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Elvis Costello, the one true artist to emerge from the late 70s punk explosion, enters a new phase of his career with Spike, his 12th album and yet another EC masterpiece.
Gone are the Attractions, Costello's longtime band, replaced by a host of collaborators from Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Similarly, the album has no unified theme or sound. Abandoning much of the personal introspection that has characterized his earlier work, Costello looks at mail-order brides, old folks, British criminals and God in typically quirky, but brilliant lyrics.
Soundwise, Spike is a scattershot stylistic explosion. There's pop and rock here, but also some jazz, Brit funk and even Irish music.
All this adds up to a near-flawless record that has to be evaluated song by song.
Opening the album is "This Town," a rant of frustration and bitterness at industry in general that's easily seen as a Costello shot at the music world.
But "Let Him Dangle," a dark retelling of a famous British tale about the hanging of the wrong man for a murder, changes the tone of the album.
"Deep Dark Truthful Mirror," a parable of sell-examination, sounds like a Van Morrison Celtic soul song highlighted by beautiful piano from Allen Toussaint.
Co-written by McCartney, "Veronica," is the first single from Spike, a lively pop-rocker about bouncing through memories with an old woman.
In the haunting "God's Comic," a fool for the Lord meets the Big Guy himself while "Chewing Gum" takes a Brit-funk look at the exploitation of mail-order brides.
"Tramp the Dirt Down" is scathing political balladry attacking the Thatcher regime with lines like: "When England was the whore of the world, Margaret was her madam."
"Stalin Malone" is a jazz-funk instrumental featuring some serious work by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
"Satellite," perhaps the best single track on the record, is a delicate piano-and organ-dominated look at a sleazy, anonymous high-tech affair featuring backing vocals by Hynde.
"Pads, Paws and Claws," another McCartney pairing, is a clanging rocker about a tormenting wife that harkens back to Costello's early work while "Baby Plays Around," an acoustic jazz-inflected torch song written by Elvis' girlfriend, Cait O'Riordan, showcases Costello's vulnerable, aching vocals.
"Miss Macbeth" is a Beatlesque look at a childhood witch. "Any King's Shilling" features Irish harp and Uilleann pipes in a song based on the life of Costello's grandfather.
Despite its diversity, Spike never falters and Costello continues to impress both as a vocalist and songwriter.
Spike is one of the best records ever from Costello, who shows here that he is the musical genius of his generation.
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