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In direct contrast to Billy Joel is Elvis Costello, easily the best and most consistent songwriter in rock today. Although he has not been recording as long as Joel, he shows no signs of succumbing to the trappings and limitations of success.
Costello's new album is Get Happy and despite its misleading title it is another chronicle of the singer's anger, fear, and frustration. Costello's emotions, unlike Joel's, have always been reactions to things he sees inside himself, not around himself. Therefore the emotional outlet Costello finds in his songs sounds as real to us now as it did on his first album four years ago. Costello's anger has always been directed at things that success could never change, his failure in relationships, and the insecurity caused by these failures. Now that he has become artistically and financially successful, his songs are still not contrived; he obviously feels and believes in the things he sings about.
Musically, Get Happy is a step up from the general sameness of the songs on last year's Armed Forces, hut he has yet to top the brilliance of his second album, This Year's Model. Get Happy is a swing back to the small band sound which made This Year's Model so great. Once again keyboards play an important role within the band and the songs are much shorter and more to the point than those on Armed Forces.
Costello has a great gift for writing melodies. Many of his songs, including "Clowntime is Over" and "New Amsterdam" from Get Happy, have the freshest and most interesting melodies found in today's
music. Each song sounds like a million old tunes yet none can be
compared to any specific old song. He does not copy any one particular style but copies them all, while blending them into his own unique
style.
On Get Happy, Costello continues to prove his ability as a songwriter. Each of the twenty, yes twenty, songs on the album has some lyrical or musical hook that distinguishes it from the others. The keyboard line on "Beaten to the Punch," the acoustic guitar on "New Amsterdam," and the simple sixties-style phrasing on "Possession" and "Temptation" are all devices Costello uses to make sure that once you hear his songs you never forget them.
Get Happy proves once again that each Costello album will be worth the wait, and that's something you can say about only a precious few.
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