Melody Maker, November 28, 1987

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Melody Maker

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Idiot winds


Jonh Wilde

Elvis Costello
Out Of Our Idiot

A sack of moon rocks for the title alone. Surely to God. Completely meaningless and utterly marvellous. A title full of irrational petulance that breaks on the shore with a doltish smirk and announces another hodge-podge of Elvis Costello's loose ends, split ends and rear ends.

One expects it to have a few screws slack. Anyone as copious with their art form as Costello is inevitably going to give birth to the occasional gorgon. His disguises, alter-egos and smoke-screens have, over the years, seemed like blatant devices in ventilating his less-than-thermonuclear material without actually hanging his own reputation on the curtain rod. Out Of Our Idiot, the many faces of Elvis Costello, is a remarkable testament to how bloody unremarkable Elvis Costello can be when he puts his mind to it.

It is not without its gold foil moments. The Coward Brothers shuffle through "The People's Limousine" as gracefully as their yokel truss will permit. Costello's "American Without Tears No 2 (Twilight Tears)" is a lovelock revisited, metamorphosised into something altogether brisker and wearing a brand new snarl for the occasion. The Attractions join him for an inspired reading of Smokey's "From Head To Toe," the 1982 single that was criminally ignored, one of those foolishly rapturous songs about the joy that lies in complete surrender (Jane Austen Sings Motown And Ruins Her Brand New Slacks By The Second Verse Vol One).

The Confederates hop aboard for the plaintive country curtsey of "Shoes Without Heels," a song about rejection, Costello doing his George Jones bit with the Stetson skewered to his ample bosom. Let's not forget that Almost Blue is second only to the almost holy Get Happy!! in the Costello scheme of things.

At this point, the bartender points meaningfully to his stopwatch and I feel a few two-a-penny efforts coming on. "Seven Day Weekend" (featuring Jimmy Cliff) and "Baby's Got A Brand New Hairdo" are both piddling pub-rock squawks, the kind of meaty snots that Elvis is rather partial to from time to time. "Black Sails In The Sunset," "Heathen Town" and "So Young" are undoubtedly the kind of slender young things that this luvvable scene shifter can rustle up in the time it takes an average human-being to wince. As songs go, they have quicksand in their bloodstream and turn-ups on their Y-Fronts.

We are all prone to lapses of course. Did we all evacuate the premises when Sherbert, those sagacious Australians, followed up 1976's "Howzat" with a pale rendition of "There Was A Young Lady From Cheadle"? Hardly. Out Of Our Idiot gives us Elvis Costello The Thimblerigger. Sideburns, oily skin, wrinkles, knobbly knees, bad breath, bunions, rectum warts and all. It's much nicer being a genius than an automobile accident if you think about it. Scrappy Costello, occasionally marshland Costello, but sometimes genius Costello. That's still a great gush of a comfort. Good on ya, fatty.


Tags: Out Of Our IdiotThe Coward BrothersThe People's LimousineAmerican Without Tears No. 2The AttractionsSmokey RobinsonFrom Head To ToeShoes Without HeelsGeorge JonesAlmost BlueGet Happy!!Seven Day WeekendJimmy CliffBaby's Got A Brand New HairdoBlack Sails In The SunsetHeathen TownSo Young

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Melody Maker, November 28, 1987


Jonh Wilde reviews Out Of Our Idiot.

Images

1987-11-28 Melody Maker page 32 clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.

Cover and page scan.
1987-11-28 Melody Maker cover.jpg 1987-11-28 Melody Maker page 32.jpg

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