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The furious sage he is, Elvis Costello is nobody's fool and no one's patriot.
We're not having to deal, though, with a finicky, perplexed young rebel this time around. In his most recent and most passionate — album, Armed Forces, the cries are no longer whimpers and the pointed finger is aimed with more know-how and with a lot less implied tongue-lashing.
But even if we regard him as a prodigy of the New Wave, Costello is deserting this category with each work. He is wanting to say more, while the New Wave would rather loiter in distress than blurt out their quirks in some attractive harmony, as Costello does.
The surfacing testimony of his true, progressing range in Armed Forces is Costello's characteristic use of 12 (and sometimes more) swift songs, here in which the velocity and pulsation make it his best effort. Costello shows consistency and a mature attempt at slipping in tones and traces of mellowness. We know that this is not expected, so it reveals, particularly in "Party Girl" and "Two Little Hitlers," why he's been hoisted as an honest go-between of the Rock and New Wave threats.
Costello's soul searching has payed off. Even though Costello never intends to overuse his precious group, The Attractions, They direct many of his spasmic tantrums (which have been selected and tamed) and keep him from crying Wolf. Those guitar repititions and the understressed. organ are mixtures that allow Costello to add and subtract any harshness and whisperings of his adolescent soprano. This is to the point where his scoldings now seem quite parental. But again, he is in the driver's seat and is no longer banging his head, wanting to redeem the world.
If greed is a goal, Costello does a good job of masking it. I don't think he's racing to collect Platinums but if they persist, three more singles are destined to be classics before he turns 26. "Accidents Will Happen" favors "any people we can add to our collection." Some nice jolting guitar and percussion blends give Costello time to pause-and-then-soar.
"What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding" delivers the ultimate Costello sermon, while the baritone groans (thanks to studio overdubbings) beautifully kick out a dominant Costello voice — and no hoarseness to shiver through.
Why this album wasn't entitled "Elvis Costello: Scourge of the Earth" is simple. His hate for human pushiness is just a jittery fear of getting upset so easily. He even confesses: "I need my head examined/ I need my eyes exited / I'd like to join the party / but I was not invited."
But the new Elvis has moved from Private Sour-Grapes to General-of-Today's-Perplexities, resulting in less bigotry and more heartfelt spirit. And with a bigger bite than bark now, Costello is in command apart from other New Wavers who haven't made it out of bootcamp.
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