|
SAN FRANCISCO — After Elvis' American debut at the Old Waldorf Tuesday and Wednesday the word will be spreading that Elvis is indeed the king. But this time around he looks like a cross between Buddy Holly and Woody Allen with a crewcut.
Another underground hero whose time seems to have come, Elvis was preceded to these shores by rumors of his greatness. He recorded an album for England's counterpart to Beserkley, Stiff Records, which sold briskly in the Bay Area. And while he comes at a time and from a place where punk and new wave is the thing, Elvis bears little resemblance.
With his three-piece band the Attractions (bass, drums and combo organ), Elvis stood stage center Wednesday night, dressed in plain sport coat and Stratocaster guitar, whipping out 15 songs in less than an hour's time, to an over-packed night club audience. There were no instrumental solos, just straightahead playing on Elvis' songs.
The songs were almost self-explanatory in their titles: "Welcome to the Working Week," "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," "Waiting For the End of the World," "Mystery Dance," "(Walking on Water Won't Make Me a) Miracle Man." The music was original, but was aligned with Graham Parker and Southside Johnny vocally, with traces of Them, the Animals, the Doors, Bob Dylan, the Stooges. But don't forget that while Elvis owes a debt to the musicians of the past 10 years for his sound, the Beatles and Rolling Stones started out playing American blues and rock originally made one and two decades earlier.
"There's nothing glamorous or romantic about the world at the moment," Costello said recently. If so, his music is the antidote to a planet gone bland. And, while Elvis would be the first to deny any claims to being the future of rock, his acutely crafted approach to songs is a philosophical lyric discussion of teenage traumas and life dilemmas, often with conclusion that everything means "Less than Zero." In "Alison" Elvis sings the line that titled his album, My Aim Is True (just released in America on Columbia Records).
And that's where Elvis comes out on top. Not only was his Old Waldorf appearance some of the best music I've ever heard on that stage, but his lyric vision is more clearly defined than other contemporaries. His aim is true, and he speaks with the conviction of knowing he's right.
Elvis claims to be 22, married and not interested in success; only in playing music. But then, he also says that Elvis Costello is his real name.
Regardless of the details, Elvis' show packs a wallop that can't be explained in words. Good as the album is, the show rocks better. Of the many new musicians touring these days, Elvis is the one who seems to be offering the most promising future for rock 'n' roll.
It seems strange that Costello (a former computer analyst), would happen on the scene just in time to watch the demise of the old king. The new king of rock may be among us now. If so it should be a good reign, for Costello's main goal is to have a good time.
| 
