Stanford Daily, October 7, 1980

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Elvis sinks Lowe on new album


Brad Brockbank

Elvis Costello is just plain bitchin'.

Sorry if that's unprofessional and all that bull, but I'll risk it. With the recent release of Taking Liberties, we now have available five (count 'em) albums from Elvis. If you have any pretentions about having a "cool" record collection, you'd better own every one of them.

For a guy who's only been on the music scene since 1977, Elvis' discography has been an impressive one. His first release, the unpretentious and simple My Aim Is True, won him instant acclaim, vaulting him into the forefront of the British New Wave invasion. The second album, This Year's Model, was equally successful and hinted at the maturity that flowered in his third effort, Armed Forces.

This last was hailed by critics and fans as a unique achievement, for, unlike his previous LPs, Elvis demonstrated deep social and political concerns in his lyrics. Songs such as "Two Little Hitlers," "Oliver's Army," "Chemistry Class" and "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding" are classic examples of the social criticism and moral revulsion of contemporary society that has been a prerequisite for credibility among rock purists since the '60s.

Having made his political statement in no uncertain terms, Elvis followed Armed Forces with Get Happy, an unparalleled landmark in rock album production. Twenty songs, all vintage Elvis, grace the album, proving that the man is not only prolific, but believes in giving you more than your money's worth. These days, integrity has been almost a non-sequitur among the hordes of greedy record company and all-flash-no-substance, pre-fab rock groups. The best of punk and New Wave has been, in part, a rejection of this. Get Happy has only been the most vivid example.

All of which brings us (finally) to Taking Liberties. And, surprise! Twenty more songs on a single album. Most of them have been previously released on the other side of the Atlantic as the "B" sides of various singles, EPs, etc. A few of them have found their way onto the airwaves of progressive FM stations such as our beloved KZSU.

But for most people, Taking Liberties is another unique excursion into the world of Britain's answer to Neil Young.

The overriding features of this album are twofold: first, it contains a majority of songs produced by Elvis himself, instead of Nick Lowe. Lowe's productive genius, which deserves a great deal of credit for Elvis' current stature, is clearly evident in the more pop-oriented cuts on the album. Now for the first time on an Elvis album; we finally get a clear sense of Elvis himself, without Lowe's "midas touch." The result is a diverse compilation of hits with styles ranging from the gentle "My Funny Valentine" produced by Elvis, to the more slick, fine-tuned "Radio Sweetheart" which bears Lowe's unmistakeable marks.

The other noticeable feature of Taking Liberties is the way in which it showcases Elvis' considerable versatility as a songwriter. With the exception of an excellent cover of Van McCoy's "Getting Mighty Crowded," all the songs on the album are — as usual — written by Elvis. But whereas past Elvis albums have tended to maintain a certain internal consistency in songwriting styles, this is clearly not the case on Liberties. Styles range from the hard-driving rock tempo of "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" to the melodious, country-western feel of "Stranger In The House" to the iron-hand-in-velvet-glove approach of "Hoover Factory."

This diversity even cross-cuts the differences imbued in the album by the dual production of Lowe and Costello, in some cases even clouding the distinction. Songs such as "Crawling to the U.S.A." and "Ghost Train," though produced by Elvis, have a smoothness and polish reminiscent of Lowe's productive hand.

But where songs such as the Rockpile-esque "Clean Money" bespeak the depth of the Lowe-Costello marriage, there are also moments that are purely Elvis. If you thought "Clowntime Is Over" and "Black And White World" on Get Happy weren't slow or gutsy enough, then you'll probably enjoy the versions on Liberties which are free from Lowe's pop-oriented acceleration.

On the whole, Taking Liberties is another excellent, well-balanced album which is likely to only intensify the debate among Costello-philes as to which of the five albums is the best.

Which do I like the best?

What side of the bed did I get up on this morning?

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The Stanford Daily, October 7, 1980


Brad Brockbank reviews Taking Liberties.

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1980-10-07 Stanford Daily page 07.jpg

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