Wilfrid Laurier University Cord, March 9, 1989

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Costello's 'Spike' palatable venom


Neville Blair

It has already become a bit of a cliche; each time Elvis Costello releases an album, a feverish pack of critics descend on the work, wielding obtuse adjectives and drooling uncontrollably. For despite his well-earned reputation as the tortured enfant terrible of the music industry, Elvis Costello is also the teacher's pet; a darling of the critics.

Of course, that's exactly the way it should be. And Spike proves why.

Last we heard from the Little Hands of Concrete, he had exposed a raw, painful nerve on the bombastic 1986 release, Blood & Chocolate. The album — which had followed quickly on the heels of the folkish King of America — had been recorded with Costello's original backing band, The Attractions, and had utilized the production abilities of another old friend, Nick Lowe. The critically acclaimed album was seen as a return to the Elvis of yore. Gone were the baroque undertones of Imperial Bedroom, the bounding beat-box mix of Punch The Clock; this was the caustic, unruly bad-boy of My Aim Is True and This Year's Model. It seemed that everything had come full circle. Enter Spike.

This album is perhaps Costello's most musically ambitious and is a startling reminder of the sheer scope of Costello's genius as a songwriter. Time has lent maturation and sophistication to the music but has not mellowed Costello's attitude noticeably. Instead, the venom has fermented; making for a slightly more palatable yet equally potent elixir.

The individual songs are as surprisingly disparate as the artists Costello recruited to record this album. Paul McCartney — who also shares two songwriting credits on Spike — appears along with Roger McGuinn (founding member of the Byrds), Chrissie Hynde, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Steve Wickham (of The Waterboys), Cait O'Riordan (formerly of The Pogues — currently Mrs. Costello), Marc Ribot and Michael Blair (from Tom Waits' band). The final result is a patchwork of textures, giving the album an expansive, epic quality. The opening number, "...This Town...," is a poppish swipe at the self absorption of Costello's ambitious characters. He mocks their self-serving behaviour by taunting, "You're nobody 'til everybody in this town thinks you're a bastard."

"Let Him Dangle" and "Tramp The Dirt Down" are the most blatantly political numbers on Spike. The first, an anti-hanging ballad, is based on a true-life 1952 murder trial in which a man was wrongfully hanged. "Tramp The Dirt Down" is a restrained condemnation of Britain's treatment of her poor. The song pulls no political punches as Costello plaintively informs us, "When England was the whore of the world / Margaret was her madam." A variation on the "Little Palaces" theme of King of America, the number is a deeply saddening portrait of a country's betrayal of the less fortunate. Costello doesn't mask his disenchantment with empty rhetoric but wishes vindictively for the demise of those political leaders responsible, so that he may "Tramp The Dirt Down" on their graves.

"Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" marks the first appearance of New Orleans' Dirty Dozen Brass Band on Spike and the effort is auspicious, to say the least. The song is a introspective ballad counterpointed beautifully by the skillful work of pianist Allen Toussaint. Costello's imagery is peerless: "The sky was just a purple bruise, the ground was iron..." or "You chase down the road 'til your fingers bleed / On a fiberglass tumbleweed..." The chorus is a heartfelt, cathartic cry of frustration matched by soaring horns.

The two numbers penned with McCartney bear the melodic signature of the ex-Beatle but retain the intense fervour indicative of Costello's best work. "Veronica" — the first single released from the album — is a likable, hook-laden song, but it is the curious "Pads, Paws and Claws" that captures the listener's attention. Starting off with something described in the liner notes as a "Martian dog bark," the number staggers through a stop-and-start melody line about a "feline tormentor." Costello performed this number on the Letterman show last Friday evening with only an acoustic guitar as back-up and the effect was riveting.

The marriage of Costello and McCartney as songwriting partners has created a pair of excellent hybrids. It will be interesting to hear what the duo has come up with for McCartney's new album, due to be released in the early summer.

The true centrepiece to Spike, however, is the immaculately conceived "God's Comic." Rolling Stone critic, David Wild, praised the song as one worthy of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht; and that lofty reference point doesn't seem at all presumptuous.

Assuming the identity of a character somewhat reminiscent of Graham Greene's "whiskey priest" in The Power and The Glory, Costello tells of his ascendance to heaven. He finds the Almighty recumbent on a waterbed, drinking a cola and listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem — although He voices a preference for "the one about my son" (Jesus Christ Superstar). The narrative is engaging and a prime example of Costello's fertile imagination at work on a surrealistic landscape.

Like fellow musicians David Byrne and John Hiatt, Elvis Costello's nominal following has always struck me as a bit of a mystery. Although critical recognition and commercial success are rarely amiable bedfellows, intelligently created albums like Spike deserve wider exposure; not because Elvis Costello needs the money or the notoriety, but because albums such as this are occasionally capable of elevating popular music to the status of an art form.


Tags: SpikePaul McCartneyRoger McGuinnThe ByrdsChrissie HyndeDirty Dozen Brass BandSteve WickhamCait O'RiordanThe PoguesMarc RibotMichael BlairTom Waits...This Town...Let Him DangleTramp The Dirt DownMargaret ThatcherLittle PalacesDeep Dark Truthful MirrorDirty Dozen Brass BandAllen ToussaintVeronicaPads, Paws And ClawsLate Night With David LettermanGod's ComicKurt WeillBertolt BrechtAndrew Lloyd WebberLittle Hands Of ConcreteBlood & ChocolateKing Of AmericaThe AttractionsNick LoweImperial BedroomPunch The ClockMy Aim Is TrueThis Year's ModelDavid ByrneJohn Hiatt

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The Cord Weekly, March 9, 1989


Neville Blair reviews Spike.

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1989-03-09 Wilfrid Laurier University Cord page 17 clipping 01.jpg
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1989-03-09 Wilfrid Laurier University Cord page 02.jpg 1989-03-09 Wilfrid Laurier University Cord page 17.jpg

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