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Elvis lives on courtesy of D.P. Costello, himself. With the two singles out previous to this L.P., Elvis needed one hell of an album to follow them and here it is in all its glory.
The album opens with one of its weaker cuts "Welcome To The Working Week" which is a bit short for an opener, but it leads nicely into "Miracle Man." "Never asked me what I wanted, You only asked me why, I never thought that so much trouble, Rested on my reply," one example of the excellent lyrics which along with his superb melodies puts him alongside Nick Lowe (the producer of Aim) as the best pop songwriter around today. Along with "Alison," "Blame It On Cain" is the other outstanding track on the first side, a catchy song with snappy, defensive lyrics, but "Alison" is still in a class of it's own.
"Red Shoes" kicks off side two, the new single, and it lives up to the standard of "Less Than Zero" and "Alison," and it deserves to make the charts. "Less Than Zero" is next with yet another studio cut of this song, the third in all, but who cares if the bass sounds wrong a couple of times. After "Mystery Dance" comes my three favourite tracks off the L.P., all of which could be a single. "Pay It Back" is a jumpy song with an excellent production, and singalong chorus, and again amazing lyrics: "When the lights went out, I didn't know what to do, If I could fool myself, Maybe I could fool you." "I'm Not Angry" spotlights Elvis' pet subjects, women, and his unsuccessful attempts at trying to keep one for himself, leads to him telling himself he's "Not Angry" anymore. "Waiting For The End Of The World" leaves me waiting for the start of his next album. It is the best song on the album rivaling "Radio Sweetheart" for his best song ever. Come on Stiff we want more!!!
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