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"20 Hits! 20!!"
— Sticker on album cover.
On Elvis' fourth American release, we find him in a cafeteria of musical choices. The album jacket's assortment of competing and clashing greens, blues and orange and three identical. juxtaposed images of our hero foreshadow the eclectic mix within Unfortunately. he can't decide what the main course is on Get Happy!!
Warning: The pogo hits are rare. He jumps from soul to country to a waltz and occasionally gives something to support a mindless frenzy. More slow- and medium-tempo ballads are on this record than any of his previous ones. While versatile and even sincerely emotional in places, the album lacks the energy of the three previous releases.
Here we see some drastic departures from his previous works. Steve Naive's keyboards dominate to a greater extent than ever before. The organ work varies from the earlier one-dimensional, unmodified Farfisa/surf/Merseybeat tradition that's become a new wave cliche. Almost all of the organ on Get Happy!! sounds like a larger console with a whirling, pulsating Leslie sound more native to rhythm & blues.
Acoustic piano is even there in many places. Some songs use acoustic guitar and jazzy chords. These radical changes in the use of keyboards show a pop influence that's probably the product of producer Nick Lowe. Two songs are even in 3/4 time — quite a switch from the consistent 4/4 tunes Costello's given us so far.
But while all of Elvis' albums have been distinct and exciting new works, not all of Get Happy!! works as well as a longtime fan would expect.
The longest song is 3:36. Most are so short as to seem like excerpts. Brevity is effective in powerful, uptempo rock 'n' roll numbers made for grinding your feet into the floor. Yet most of the album is not as fast, so many tunes sound underdeveloped.
Lyrics are, as usual, cryptic and coated with perceptive metaphors which is consistent with the near total lack of information released with the record. Figure it out yourself, he seems to tell the audience.
Motown and R&B artists influenced the compositions and the production of the record more than anything. Hearing the soul-inspired introduction of "Love for Tender," on side one, an unsuspecting listener might expect the Supremes or Little Stevie or Mary Wells to sing any moment.
Enter Elvis' plaintive voice. It's a non sequitur at first. Even the background vocals sound like an older soul song. But the singer comes off like the only white man in the crowd. It's a decent song, but the British singer's skill at rhythm & blues is not convincing.
In "Love for Tender," as in almost all of the brief tunes on Get Happy!!, Elvis dwells on a theme of dissatisfaction with sexual relationships he defined so well in "Busy Bodies" on the Armed Forces album. But sometimes he preaches. "The wages of sin are an expensive infection," he tells a professional lover in the song whose title bears an uncanny and distorted resemblance to Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender."
Two other soul-influenced songs — the two on the album that he didn't write — have similar shortcomings. A rushed version of "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down," the current single, is a great song for Sam & Dave but not Elvis. And he renders a mediocre and detached version of "I Stand Accused," a tune rhythm & blues artist Jerry Butler recorded in the '50s.
Sex themes keep emerging throughout the album, particularly his criticism of what he appears to consider society's preoccupation with physical attraction at the expense of human understanding. In "Possession," a catchy tune that is unable to build momentum because of its short life, he sings, "You lack lust, you're so lacklustre. Is that all the strength you can muster?"
In "Man Called Uncle," which builds to the frantic level of emotional tension for which Elvis is famous, he sings to a woman attracted to an older man who gives insincere compliments:
"Look at the men that you'd call uncle
Having a heart attack round your ankles
When you wake up with X-rated eyes
When you wake up still shaking
In "Clowntime Is Over," one of the most mood-altering songs he's done, a haunting organ almost cries and envelopes the melody, while he sings, in search of romance: "While everybody's hiding under covers / Who's making lover's lane safe again for lovers?"
In "High Fidelity," with a piano that begins like an early Supremes tune, he feels guilt, even though he and his lover are both with other people, and sings: "High fidelity. Can you hear me, can you hear me... Maybe you're only changing channels."
The guilt theme emerges again in "Motel Matches," a 3/4 time country and western song:
"Falling for you without a second look
Falling out of your open pocketbook
Giving you away like motel matches
Brilliant lyrics, along with Costello's imagery at its best, make this a powerful song.
Elvis quickly switches to a bouncing, syncopated carnival beat with punchy, staccato organ in the next cut, "Human Touch," which is reminiscent of Doug Sahm's "Mendocino." Here, he succumbs to the lust he previously questioned:
"But when she's laying stretched out on the floor
It's no mystery to me anymore
...I need, I need, I need the human touch.
Then he almost falls in love in "New Amsterdam," a bona fide European waltz. An ethereal, pulsating organ with foot pedals and synthesized bass provide a powerful bottom to support this lyrical masterpiece on which he seems to drop all protective barriers.
"New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double Dutch to a real double duchess
The most overwhelming song on the album, "Five Gears in Reverse," is the most danceable. With the pounding drums and primitive organ and the electric guitar and bass charging up the rhythm, it is a "Pump It Up" without the rough, punkoid edges. The mindless lyrics ("Five Gears in Reverse?" What?) and a cryptic medical topic support a good two minutes of irresponsible behavior.
But there's not enough power in the album as a whole. The abbreviated tunes just don't stick with you like those of his earlier works. It's a good album, but his least successful. Get Happy!! is tasty, but not delicious.
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