London Daily Mail, January 9, 2022

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London Daily Mail

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Elvis: OAP who's still an angry young man


Tim De Lisle

Elvis Costello & The Imposters
The Boy Named If
5 stars (out of 5) reviews5 stars (out of 5) reviews5 stars (out of 5) reviews5 stars (out of 5) reviews5 stars (out of 5) reviews

Long ago, Elvis Costello released a single called "45." Now, aged 67, he has reached his 45th year as a recording artist. He's an old-age pensioner who still reserves the right to be an angry young man.

His career has been a game of rounders with a stop at almost every base — post-punk rock, power pop, Nashville-style country, New Orleans jazz, a chamber opera (never performed) and a brand-new musical (coming soon).

His co-writers have included Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Carole King and the Brodsky Quartet. He has even worked with Richard Curtis, who persuaded him to croon Charles Aznavour's "She" for the film Notting Hill.

Somewhat perversely, this is Costello's most popular song on Spotify.

Now, finally completing his rounder, he has returned to the sound that set him on his way. His 32nd studio album is mostly fast and often furious. If you loved This Year's Model — or its sparkling Latin spin-off, Spanish Model — you're going to have a lot of fun with The Boy Named If.

The music is full of fierce energy, then sudden tenderness. Recorded remotely by Costello's band The Imposters, it feels as it was bashed out in a heaving club at midnight.

The band are disciplined and committed, leaving the flourishes to Steve Nieve's freewheeling organ.

It's a concept album, of sorts. The "If" in the title stands for "imaginary friend," and Costello says it's about "the time when you're just leaving childhood," with a few biting observations on the childishness of grown men. Does he mean us?

As on all the best concept albums from Sgt Pepper onwards, every song has its own personality. You can tell that from the track list alone: "Penelope Halfpenny," "Magnificent Hurt," "Mistook Me For A Friend."

The lyrics and vocals are vintage Costello. He punches out the puns and the paradoxes ("You could be the game that captures the hunter"). Every lyric tells a story: there's even a book of the same name, written and illustrated by Costello himself.

One song depicts a murder, as seen by the killer, which is as close as Costello will ever get to singing "Delilah."

When the adrenaline abates, he turns formidably pensive. "Paint The Red Rose Blue" is a pain-drenched ballad dealing with bereavement — something too many people now know too much about.

Then there's a track called "Trick Out The Truth." "Resting in the parlour," Costello gleefully sings, "playing cards with Gustav Mahler." It's bizarre, it's addictive, it's Randy Newman meets Kurt Weill, and it's the first great song of 2022.

In a perfect world, his fans would all play it on Spotify and knock "She" off her perch.

Costello is touring in June with The Imposters. When I saw them just before lockdown at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, they were on fire. Singing 17 songs from his first six albums (1977-81), Costello was back in his barnstorming heyday.

Soon he'll be playing those classics again — and throwing in several new ones that are just as good.


Tags: The Boy Named IfThe ImpostersSteve NieveMagnificent HurtPenelope HalfpennyMistook Me For A FriendPaint The Red Rose BlueTrick Out The TruthGustav MahlerRandy NewmanKurt Weill45This Year's ModelSpanish ModelPaul McCartneyBurt BacharachCarole KingThe Brodsky QuartetCharles AznavourSheNotting Hill: Music From The Motion PictureMayflower TheatreSouthampton

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The Mail on Sunday, January 9, 2022


Tim De Lisle reviews The Boy Named If.

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