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He's a street singer who hates the street, a rocker who hates hard-rock, an inspired musician whose only faith remains in his own talent.
Elvis Costello is only 24 and his career has just played its first chords. Already he's been compared to Graham Parker and Bruce Springsteen and has two hot albums, the first of which (My Aim Is True) was selected best album of the year in 1977 by Rolling Stone magazine.
But the London-born Costello is not excited by the comparisons; in fact, he doesn't even want to talk about them. If his music is distinctively popular rock, his style and attitude are typically punk.
Costello's second United States tour includes a stop at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic tonight at 8 p.m. with an all-star punk-fringe show that includes Mink DeVille and Costello's producer, Nick Lowe, with Rockpile.
Elvis (born Declan Patrick MacManus) looks somewhat like Buddy Holly or even a Woody Allen type with a guitar, but his music and lyrics are among the most original rock variation in years.
Several music critics, though, have compared Costello to fellow countryman Graham Parker. Costello finds this irritating.
He appreciates the comparison with Parker only in that he'd rather be compared to Parker than to John Denver or Tom Jones.
Costello told the British magazine Melody Maker in a rare interview last June that if his album had come out before Parker's the situation might have been reversed.
"The people who're saying that I sound like Parker are the same people who said Bruce Springsteen sounds like Van Morrison, who are the same people who said that Van Morrison sounded the same as Bobby Bland or whoever. You know, the people who never listen to the fucking music."
Costello's lyrics, which range from acerbic to tender to complete put-ons, have made light of top-40 radio, yet his songs are prime candidates for that medium — short, rhythmic head-stickers.
The lyrics satirize and reflect on insecurities and infidelities of relationships and working class drudgery; some are even variations on the standard love ballad. Most of his "punk" attitude is unleashed not on stage, where he rarely speaks, but instead in the rare interview, where a disdain for the press, record companies, and the present state of rock 'n' roll is usually unleashed.
"There are going to be no fucking soloists in my band," he insisted to Melody Maker. The songs are the most important thing. It's just that too much rock has cut itself off from the people. There's a lot of rock music that's become exclusive and it's of no use to anyone. Least of all, me."
And like many rough and tumble idealists before him, Elvis socks it to rock 'n' roll materialism:
"I don't want to be successful so that I can get a lot of money and retire to a house in the fucking country. I don't want any of that rock and roll rubbish. I don't want to go cruisin' in Hollywood or hang out at all the star parties. It's the arse end of rock and roll that I'm interested in playing."
Sound familiar?
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