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Elvis Costello has always fascinated me. His punk beginnings remain what I turn to first, but that period passed in the blink of an eye. In fact, it lonely lasted about three years. He arrived in 1977 with My Aim Is True, and by 1980 the music that had made him famous began to disappear. While that change became apparent with 1981’s album Trust, it was in 1982 when the true shift occurred impacting the entirety of an album. The record Imperial Bedroom would forever change what we might expect from Elvis Costello.
Upon release it was gloriously received among critics. Even the crank Robert Christgau found a way to bestow a rare measure of praise to its musical arrangements – even if he found the lyrics to be pretentious. In its entirety, the record presented a notably different Elvis. Much of that began with the fact that it was the first album without Nick Lowe at the producing helm. Without him around, Elvis was free to explore things musically that he felt would simply annoy Nick. In Nick’s place was Geoff Emerick, who ironically did double duty at Air Studios working on both Bedroom, and Paul McCartney’s forthcoming release Tug of War. The result of THIS change is impossible to miss. Not only are the songs more jazz to pop relevant, the productions are prone to disjointed segways and impromptu interludes. Think Sgt. Peppers without the grandeur. On songs like And In Every Home this is perhaps most evident. On others like Man Out Of Time the impact is less powerful and the music sounds more akin to Wings.
While there is a collective theme to be found in the lyrics the symmetry kinda ends there. This feels more experimental where songs never begin and end with the clarity you apply if you are looking to create hits. In turn, there weren’t any to be found. Sure, songs like Human Hands and Tears Before Bedtime demonstrate that the Attractions still know how to rock. But it seems like the thrill for Elvis was playing with things like a walking bass line found on The Loved Ones. It wasn’t that the element is so foreign to the listener. It just is when you were asked to consider that the source in 1982 was Costello.
There were other firsts. Instead of composing with guitar in hand, here he set out to build songs at the piano. A method he stays with to this day, and perhaps why so few of his songs retain any of that early day grit.
This was the record Elvis Costello made to prove that he was more than a punk rocker. It worked. The albums that followed pulled him even further way from the raucousness of Peace Love and Understanding and closer to concept records like The Juliette Letters.
I don’t always love the results, but I admire the fire that drives the work. I also don’t share most people’s opinion about Imperial Bedroom. It’s a bit too disjointed for me, a bit too much experimental. In that regard I’m alone. While it has never sold many copies, it is regarded today among many to be one of the finest albums of the 80’s. Considering a good amount of the material that became popular then, maybe Imperial Bedroom really ain’t that bad!
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