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Elvis Costello's latest effort, Spike has the distinct feel of a comeback album — even though the singer never really went away.
When Costello was first unleashed in 1977 it was as if he had been created by mad scientists. They took Presley's first name, added Buddy Holly's glasses and John Lennon's seething rage.
Though he was often mistakenly grouped with the punk bands who also rose from the muck that year, Costello's initial sound was much closer to the early '60s British Invasion groups. (Compare the cheesy organ on Costello's "Less Than Zero" with the Tornados' Telstar.)
While the punks used the Texas-chainsaw approach to wail against the hyprocrisy of the world, Costello's attack was as precise as Jack the Ripper's. You could sing along and you could understand most of the lyrics.
Costello's first three albums, My Aim Is True, This Year's Model and Armed Forces were masterpieces that set the world aflame.
But then, he fizzled. Once again rock fans were asking "Elvis, what happened?" Some blame it on a 1979 barroom brawl in which he was kicked by Bonnie Bramlett, who was angered when Costello made a racist remark about Ray Charles. (I have often fantasized about the ultimate version of "Ebony and Ivory" with Costello harmonizing with Charles. But my fantasy always ends in a razor fight.)
Nonetheless, Costello's star faded. It is not that his muse failed him. He has done a number of great songs since then. And he has released eight or nine albums since Armed Forces, so he has hardly been reclusive.
But somehow Costello's new stuff lacked the raw urgency of his first three albums. Nothing on the '80s albums seemed to matter as much as "Goon Squad" or "Watching the Detectives" or "Hand in Hand."
Hopefully Spike will make people listen again.
Ironically, the effort is significantly aided by another English rock star in major need of a comeback — Paul McCartney.
The cute Beatle cowrote two songs on the album with Costello — The magnificent "Veronica" and "Pads, Paws and Claws."
The Paul and Elvis team is a more natural pairing than one might imagine. As McCartney proved quite nicely with a man named John, he does his best work with someone a little nastier, wilder and more neurotic. Costello fits the bill nicely.
"Veronica" is an upbeat, pretty pop song that on first listen sounds like it might be just another silly love song. But the lyrics tell of an old woman who has become senile.
The song is sentimental — "She used to have a carefree mind of her own, with a devilish look in her eye..." At the same time it rages against the inevitability of aging and death.
McCartney's influence can be heard even on numbers he had nothing to do with. The best example is "God's Comic." The chorus is straight out of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
It is the best satirical song about the Supreme Being since the Creator of Randy Newman's universe explained why he loves mankind.
"I've been wading through all of this unbelievable junk and wondering if I should have given the world to the monkeys," Costello's God says. "Sometimes you mistake me for Santa Clause / It's the big white beard I suppose."
"Tramp the Dirt Down" is a bitter tirade against Margaret Thatcher. Costello's political songs are interesting because he doesn't just put bumper-sticker slogans to music. He gets personal.
Reacting to a baby-kissing newspaper photo of Thatcher, Costello says, "Can you imagine all the greed and avarice coming down on that child's lips?"
Perhaps coincidentally, the melody of this song is very similar to Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely."
One beauty of Spike is that Costello is not trying to recapture his old sound. He is looking forward and around, but not looking back. This year's model is not This Year's Model.
Impressive is the sheer variety of styles that Costello covers. Chieftain harpist Derek Bell (who looks like Larry "Bud" Mellman and plays like an angel on high) and uileann pipe (Irish bagpipes) player Davy Spillane help make "Any King's Shilling" sound like an ancient Irish air.
There's "detective-show" jazz in "Stalin Malone," an instrumental number written by Costello and performed by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. "Baby Plays Around" is lounge music with a vengeance, while "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" sounds like Van Morrison and The Band trying to sound like Bobby "Blue" Bland.
It is doubtful that Spike will put Costello back on the center stage of rock 'n' roll — at least not commercially. A business that honors the likes of George Michael and Phil Collins doesn't deserve an Elvis Costello.
But for his old fans — especially those of us who have forgotten him in the last decade — Spike is a powerful reminder of Costello's importance.
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