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Much has already been written about Elvis Costello, the latest savior of rock 'n' roll. The rock press has come down squarely on his side with the Village Voice's panel of New York critics giving him top honors in a recent poll. My Aim Is True, his first album, seems almost certain to pop up on many best-of-the-year lists and — more importantly for Costello and his label, Columbia — it has surfaced among the top 100 selling albums after only two weeks.
All of this must be pretty heady for a 22-year-old Buddy Holly look-alike who was turned down by nearly every British record company less than eight months ago. After listening to My Aim, though, one wonders whether Costello might also be just a bit bemused by it all. Clearly, rock is not something the artist takes too seriously. It's supposed to be simple and fun — precisely the attitude Costello strikes on My Aim.
While he's a long way from, say, Randy Newman in the wit and wisdom department, Costello displays a sharp sense of the absurd on My Aim. The musical structure may be basic three-chord rock — although delivered with style, not stupidity — but the lyrics often leave teenage dreams in the dust. In that regard, Costello may be closer to someone like Dwight Twilley — the fine pop-rocker — than to fellow Britishers like Graham Parker who continue to adopt a John Osborne stance on love and life.
Not that Costello is a spoof. He takes the heritage of rock seriously, reverently recreating old Chuck Berry riffs on tunes like "Mystery Dance" and "Less Than Zero." To the extent that he pays homage to the formalities of early rock, he most resembles American Robert Gordon whose reworkings of old rockabilly numbers were so refreshing on his debut album of early this year.
Costello hardly seems to have the stuff of which great trend-makers are made, however, and even groups like the Sex Pistols probably have more to say about the future shape of rock. Even so, he is a winning new artist and his My Aim Is True is something for all those who still love good, basic rock 'n' roll.
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