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In the late '70s Elvis Costello emerged from the English New Music scene as the most intellectual singer/songwriter of the bunch. Reviewing and comparing two early albums and one of his later works — all now available on Compact Disc — gives an interesting picture of a maturing talent and an evolving musical style.
My Aim Is True, his first recording, is the product of a pioneering artist at a time when conscious efforts were being made to change the sound of popular music. Costello is clearly rooted in several musical traditions, and the conflicts among them is one of the things that makes this CD so interesting.
The styles range from the raw rockabilly of "Mystery Dance" to the Linda Ronstadt-style romanticism of "Alison" to the bouncy, finger-snapping pop of "Sneaky Feelings." Only a couple of songs go to the heart of what eventually became the recognizable Costello musical style: "Watching the Detectives" and "I'm Not Angry."
My Aim Is True does not include his band, The Attractions. Instead, the band on this CD was a group called Clover, headed by a fellow named Huey Lewis.
Unfortunately, the sonic quality of the recording is not up to the level of the musicianship. It was not especially fashionable in the early days of the new music scene to pay a lot of attention to technical detail. In retrospect, that's a real shame because My Aim Is True could have been much better, given the talents that worked on it. Hiss is bad throughout, though it diminishes toward the end of the disc. The sound is clangy, and sometimes harsh and compressed.
Politics and Pop
Armed Forces (1978), Costello's third recording, shows him near the peak of his songwriting talents. And the production approaches the best that producer Nick Lowe ever recorded.
The presence lent by the digital medium adds a welcome edge to the recording. The opening two notes of "Accidents Will Happen" are sung a cappella and leap out of the speakers. Unlike the analog version, the digitally mastered CD reveals the production trick used to make the odd sound of the arpeggio on "Senior Service."
The CD consists of a main section of 11 Costello-written tracks plus an encore of the classic "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?," by Nick Lowe. Several of the songs contain direct quotes from the Beatles, most notably from Abbey Road.
Armed Forces is also Costello's most socially conscious album. While the typical Costello song deals with emotional betrayal and violence, Armed Forces contains songs of political betrayal and violence. Topics include the moribundity of the civil service, mercenary warfare, and fascism — not your standard pop music fare.
If My Aim Is True earned Costello the recognition of rock audiences, and if Armed Forces got the attention of the rock music world, it was 1983's Punch the Clock that put him in front of the mainstream cultural critics. Punch the Clock was reviewed favorably in the Atlantic Monthly, of all places, giving credence to Costello's stated ambition to be the Cole Porter of the late 20th century.
Cole Porter He's Not
If Costello's goal on Punch the Clock was to emulate Cole Porter, he failed. The songs, good as they are, do not have the universal melodic, lyric, or topical content to survive being covered by another artist. They are far too personal, too quirky, and too obscure. Even so, Punch the Clock is one of the better Costello albums and is yards ahead of most serious rock music — let alone the mass of junk the industry churns out every month.
Themes range from tortured love songs ("Mouth Almighty" and "Everyday I Write the Book") to legitimate social commentary ("Shipbuilding," "The Invisible Man," "Pills and Soap"). It's difficult writing, and not at all the bubbly stuff of a Cole Porter.
The music itself is more upbeat, often acting as a counterpoint to the grim words. Costello brought along a killer horn section on Punch the Clock, and Steve Nieve's piano supports the music even better than Costello's guitar.
In terms of production standards, the differences between this 1983 recording and My Aim Is True are astounding. On Punch the Clock, the sound is opened up, the soundstage is better represented, and there is far less ambient noise. The cymbals are still harsh and there could be more low end (likely, both flaws are attributable to the limitations of analog recording), but the horns and vocal come through well and have reasonable presence.
The clarity of all three CDs removes a common complaint about Costello: His singing is unintelligible and buried beneath layers of production techniques. Digital remastering has improved all three albums' sound so much that it appears Costello previously was victimised by indifferent post-production.
These three CDs, for different reasons, are difficult to listen to, but each shows an unusual talent making uncommon and provocative music.
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