Elvis Costello, rock's Angry Young Twerp, has released what may be his best album, Get Happy, and this record is a surprising improvement.
With last year's Armed Forces he seemed to have reached his limit with the Costello persona. The songs on that album only rehashed the sketches of sexual warfare and romantic betrayal that he presented in his first two works. They lacked the musical edge needed to underscore the mocking lyrics.
Although fast moving, catchy songs like "Oliver's Army," and Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" made Armed Forces Costello's best selling record, the tracks seemed pretty, too hit-bound to support the singer's neurotic yet distinctive vision. His band, the Attractions, had lost some of the energy they displayed in the second album This Year's Model.
In Get Happy, Costello and the Attractions have found their manic power again. Through 20 brief tracks, Costello almost overwhelms the listener with an abundance of material and his crazed intensity. Costello jumps in, makes his point and leaves before you can get a chance to get comfortable.
The music here isn't pretty — cheesy organ lines and short grating guitar solos fill the arrangements. But in the finest tracks ("Beaten to the Punch," "King Horse" and "I Stand Accused" especially) Costello and the band hit like amphetamines.
Costello's vision of the modern treadmill world is aesthetically attractive because the singer never fails to sound totally committed to the music, and the band always retains a high degree of musical craft. When a composition like "The Imposter" demands a feeling of chaos the Attractions can carefully orchestrate the sense without relying on raw energy alone.
This is a wonderful album, a fusion of musical and lyrical strengths I thought Costello had lost for good. I recommend it.
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