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Elvis Costello the man who brought you such contemporary hate anthems as "I'm Not Angry" and "Waiting for the End of the World", has released his
fourth album and it's called Get Happy!! (??) The eight exclamation points on the jacket of the new album should be enough to tip you off that
Elvis is in better spirits lately.
Long time fans and usually supportive critics have complained that the lyric quality of the new record is not as meaty as previous efforts. While this may be true, they are missing the point. Get Happy!! is obviously dance music — Costello style. He has taken the dominating organ sound of This Years Model, combined it with the pop qualities of Armed Forces, and turned out twenty short, no-nonsense songs along the lines of the quickies on My Aim Is True.
Some lyrics are, to be frank, embarassing. "New Amsterdam" in particular has several dumb lines including "Shall I speak double-dutch to a real double dutchess." Most of the other words are inaudible.
Hey! But this is great music! A strong Motown/Stax influence runs throughout the album, giving it a neat soul flavor. Even the cover art looks like the kind of hokey, 60's, covers that Otis Redding used to get stuck with. Nick Lowe does another incredible job with the production, and the Attractions are sharp and punchy, pounding out swirling rhythms and snappy beats.
"Man Called Uncle" and "King Horse" recall the pop sensibility of "Oliver's Army", while "Love For Tender" and "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" (Costello's hit single in Britain) are the kind of rhythmic rockers that infested This Year's Model.
But don't get the wrong idea, these songs are not re-hashes of old ideas. Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe have compressed familiar moments into a new sound. Each Costello album has its own distinct musical approach, and this record is no exception.
Get Happy!! is no less important than any of Costello's other albums, just because the emphasis has switched from lyrics to music. He continues to be one of the few musicians to rise from the ashes of the punk movement, and steadily forge ahead with new concepts in popular music.
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