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The rap on Elvis Costello has always been that he's terrific on vinyl but lousy in concert.
From all indications, that rap is gradually being lifted. Elvis surely hopes to prove that when he and his super backup band, the Attractions, drop by Convention Hall in Asbury Park Sunday and the Mann Music Center the following evening as the headliner for Aztec Camera.
Things have changed for the man who burst onto the music scene at the dawn of the punk era as rock 'n' roll's "angry young man."
Costello is no longer angry, nor is he a punk. In fact, he never was a punk at all. But for lack of categorization, Costello was grouped among those rebellious British types upon the release of his debut LP, My Aim Is True, in 1977 — when the term "new wave" really meant just that. We all know by now that new wave music is nothing more than rock 'n' roll. And Elvis Costello (ne Declan MacManus) was one of the artists most responsible for bridging that gap. He is a survivor — and for good reason.
At the ripe old age of 28, Costello is one of the few true artists in rock music today. He is a certified composer. There is no one who can do things with the English language the way Elvis does when he writes lyrics that convey everything from humor to anger to social commentary. And he's consistently carried that ability through his ninth album, Punch the Clock (Columbia), released just a couple of weeks ago.
Consider this verse from "Pills and Soap" off the new release and you'll know what we're talking about:
"Four and twenty crowbars jemmy your desire
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
The king is in the counting house
Some folk have all the luck
And all we get is pictures of Lord and Lady Muck
They come from lovely people with a hard line in hypocrisy
There are ashtrays of emotion for the fag ends of the aristocracy
Give me the needle, Give me the rope
We're going to melt them down for pills and soap
"Pills and Soap" was actually released prior to the album on the Imp label. Costello's name appears nowhere on the disc's red label. Instead, the artist getting the credit is "The Imposter" — but we all know who that is, don't we?
Punch the Clock is the second chapter of a new beginning for the Buddy Holly lookalike that began with last year's Imperial Bedroom. On Punch the Clock, Elvis, a guitar player, dispenses with guitars entirely, relying more heavily on a horn section and a pair of female backup vocalists. Imperial Bedroom marked an innovation in the use of other stringed instruments, mostly through, the cooperation of Geoff Emerick, who also engineered the Beatles highly technical Sgt. Pepper's and Abbey Road LPs.
In the interim, he experimented with an unsuccessful attempt at country three years ago by making a jaunt to Nashville to lay down the tracks for the Almost Blue LP. Well, he tried, didn't he?
Elvis' new material is a far cry from the hard rockers that came from his first rash of albums — the now almost-classic "(Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," "Watching the Detectives," "Radio, Radio," "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?," "Less Than Zero" and "Moods for Moderns" — mostly produced by former Rockpile member Nick Lowe.
Elvis has proven he can produce as well by adding his handiwork to Squeeze's best album of their short-lived career, East Side Story. He also did background vocals on "Black Coffee in Bed," Squeeze's last hit before their breakup.
Costello can also write ballads with the best of them. One of them, "Alison," was covered on a Linda Ronstadt album, as was a lighter number, "Girls Talk."
Because he rarely concedes to interviews, Costello still remains better known through his music. Surely he prefers it that way. Having listened to his material from Day One, there are no complaints here.
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