Whatever happened to rock's most elusive genius? I've panned him, pummeled him, and plastered him, and now the time has come to praise him.
A slice scooped from Blood & Chocolate, his forthcoming album, finds Elvis at his sharpest and acidic best. One monotonous drumbeat slugs its way through "Tokyo Storm Warning" to startling grim effect. Swirling keyboards and ragged guitars herald the return of The Attractions and clearly show that EC creates his best rock when accompanied by them. This single almost bleeds with Costello's laconic ungainly grace. He's still in danger of becoming slightly ridiculous — trapped as he is perpetually between his roles as rock superstar and pithy rebel — but boy can he turn out a lyric: "In Stanley or in Puerto Margarita / She's the sweetest and the sauciest / The loveliest and the naughtiest / She's Miss Buenos Aires in a world of lace and lingerie..."
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