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There is a difference between synthesizing a new sound and an old production style, and simply dropping the sound into an old-time hat. There's nothing directly indicating it, but Elvis Costello spun his time machine dial again for his newest album and the year 1966 or so came up. Get Happy!! (Columbia, JC 36347), recorded in Holland, sounds more like it was done in Memphis and is a sharp departure, both in production values and content, from last year's masterpiece, Armed Forces.
Your friend Nick Lowe, again producer, promises us ten tracks a side and "no loss of sound quality due to 'groove cramming.'" Aside from whether EC is trying to out-niceguy The Clash (who released the double lp London Calling at a reduced price), this approach has serious problems. The audio is too bright — the high end (hi-hats, cymbals, guitars, what have you) is so magnified that the treble control must be set way back to make the record listenable to these 1980 ears. So much indiscriminate echo (as opposed to the carefully controlled stuff on End of the Century) on a studio album hasn't been heard since Dylan's Desire, and the effect is not nearly as pleasant.
There is a major musical shift with Steve Naive's organ changing from a distinctive, wanky, reedy sound to more of a tremolo. This is a clue to other subtle shifts in a song like "Temptation" which sent me scurrying back to the dusty pile of 45s in the corner. There I retrieved the third record purchased in my young life, Booker T. and the MGs' "Time Is Tight," a Stax classic from which Costello and the Attractions have seemingly lifted and altered — or at least looked to for inspiration — the bass line, the rhythm guitar and even the final organ riff. Who knows, maybe Elvis wants to be the new Smokey Robinson — with a twist, of course.
The twist is in the vocals. Without liner lyrics and considering Elvis' usual adenoidal crooning (not to mention muddy vocal mixing) it's as hard to figure these out as early Joe Strummer. Get Happy!! seems scarcely the right title, since the subject matter is one of Costello's favorites, misogyny. Y 'know, boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-tells-girl-to-go-jump. It seems to be present throughout, be it overt on "5ive Gears in Reverse" and "Hotel Matches," or simply alluded to on others. What's amazing is Elvis' ability to spin off so many upbeat melodies and varied lyrics from this topic — one which spans back to the first lp.
Just to get an idea of how inventive he is, try "Secondary Modern" and "New Amsterdam," both on the second side. The former is very restrained, with a churchy organ burbling along and Elvis abandoning his usual slightly strangled piping for a quiet, human tone. The latter is an engrossing waltz-tempo tune with a typically witty Costelloism: "Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches / I speak double Dutch to a real double dutchess." What double-crossed affair Elvis had in the Netherlands we can only surmise.
There's always a danger with Elvis Costello albums. They're very reluctant to make your acquaintance, though the rewards follow on later listenings. A good guess is that Elvis is biding his time with this record, as recent contractual hassles are solved and he concentrates on new recording projects. The Specials' lp he produced shows real promise for them and him.
So for now, Get Happy!! lies nice and flat on my turntable, but it doesn't seem very much at home.
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