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Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus, eh?
Yes, it's true. Elvis Costello has reverted to his original name, adding Aloysius (the middle name of the late British comedian Tony Hancock) to the lilt and the Costello Show to the billing (to appease CBS, who were not too keen on his original idea, the MacManus Gang).
What this would indicate is a fresh start, a chance for Declan to be the person he was, er, is, before he became this less savory character named Elvis.
And sure enough, King of America is the most natural-sounding record he has written since his first one, 1976's My Aim Is True.
Significantly, that LP marked the debut of the newly christened Elvis and his songs. Now, a decade later, this T Bone Burnett-produced LP introduces the rechristened Declan and his songs. In the intervening years, the writer recorded and performed with his band, the Attractions, acquiring a stylized, automated and not necessarily honest way of working. After the Imperial Bedroom LP, Costello's records paid diminishing dividends, culminating in the symbolically titled Goodbye Cruel World — the last Elvis Costello LP.
In the 18 months since that album Declan has been recharging his batteries, having toured solo and recorded with Burnett as the Coward Brothers (their single, "People's Limousine," is great), produced the Pogues' Rum, Sodomy and the Lash and fallen in love with that band's bassist, Caitlin O'Riordan.
His new vitality shows itself in "Brilliant Mistake," the opening track whose multi-layered themes are propelled by a warm, stately rock, in "Lovable" (written with Caitlin), and in "The Big Light," a speedy drinking song recorded with members of the original Elvis (Presley) band.
Even with the detours taken by cover versions of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "Eisenhower Blues," the 15 songs hold together more cohesively and more intensely, than any LP after Imperial Bedroom, and the the one song featuring the Attractions, "Suit of Lights" (partly autobiographical) is one of their best tracks since "Man out of Time."
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