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The King comes out of the closet
Damian VanDenburgh
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Discussing Elvis Costello never seems to be a simple thing. I find that people either love the guy or they wish they had been Bonnie Bramlett when she punched him. I like Elvis
Costello — I admit it. Granted I’m not a rabid devotee (although I’ve been known to foam at the mouth slightly during “Radio Radio”) but I don’t think that one would
have to be to enjoy his new album, Imperial Bedroom. It is his best album to date and without stretching the boundaries of credibility too far, one of the best albums of
this year.
A friend of mine told me that he thought Costello was a little too clever for his own good. He claimed that he was so impressed
by his own wordplay that it got in the way of him ever really saying anything — he became cute and witty instead of incisive
and introspective, and that the music was just an excuse for him to get to sing his lyrics. O.K. fine. Everybody is entitled to
their opinion (even if it is closeminded and preposterous). I refuse to defend things that I like simply because I don’t feel there’s a need to. But this album is an exception for me. Someone who goes out on the proverbial limb needs a little moral support now and then, With this album, Elvis Costello is bypassing the limb completely and diving for the best apple on the tree.
Just when everybody gets on to the synthesized band wagon, Elvis Costello decides to use a small orchestra for back up and when It looked like melody was about to be replaced by monotone drones Elvis Costello comes up with his prettiest (yes Elvis Costello con be pretty) music yet. For such a sweeping, sometimes soft sound, he’s never sounded gutsier.
From the opening cut “Beyond Belief” to the closing song “Town Cryer” Elvis and
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