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You don't have to listen to the music of Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus in London) to know he's obsessed with Americana. First, there's that stage name. Next, you have the clues from the songs he's written (or covered): "Eisenhower Blues," "American Without Tears," and "American Gangster Time." In his spare hours, Costello is also a cheerleader for country music history. This decade, he petitioned the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to admit early trailblazer Wanda Jackson. Country — and red-white-and-bluegrass — also appear to have inspired his latest album, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, which boasts bar after bar of mandolin, fiddle riffing and Louvin Brothers-like vocal harmony. Though it would be a mistake to label the 13-song set a narrow genre exercise. The shadow Nashville casts over Costello is a slightly more complicated affair.
At the table of style, Costello has long been a gourmand hungry for almost any form he encounters. He frustrated some of his original New Wave–era fans in the '80s and '90s by contemplating his diverse fascinations — R&B, Beatlesque art pop, country covers and string-quartet writing — one entire album at a time. But on Sugarcane (as well as on his previous record, Momofuku), Costello is displaying a newfound talent for making his many influences work together in compelling ways.
In their melodic structure, Costello's latest Americana tunes bear little resemblance to the countrified tones of his 1986 release King of America (both albums were produced by T Bone Burnett). The new song "She Handed Me a Mirror" was originally drafted as part of an orchestral commission Costello received from Copenhagen, which explains why it modulates between several more key signatures than your average Nashville number — and why it calls to mind Elvis's collaboration with Burt Bacharach. This isn't pure country, but it's not advertised as that, either. Costello has reverence for many American genres, yet pledges allegiance to none. Best, then, to forget the labels. In the end, this is sharp music, from a polymath at the top of his game. Something of a music critic himself, Costello told Newsweek that President Obama should name Stevie Wonder the country's "musical laureate," given the singer's influence on artists across genres. But as long as we're handing out titles, how about making Costello an honorary American? A record like Sugarcane, sweet with the lyricism of many styles, could serve as the loyalty oath.
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