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In the past decade Elvis Costello has changed from New Wave bad boy to godfather of a new generation of British rockers. King of America, his latest album, reflects his maturity, but also his age. It displays the meticulous craftsmanship which has made even the worst Costello albums good, but little of the fire which made his best great.
In the latest episode of what is now officially billed as The Costello Show, our star rejects both his pseudonym (all songs are now credited to Declan MacManus) and the pop sound he fashioned on his last album. In spite of its commercial failure, Goodbye Cruel World raised cries of "sell out."
King of America is a roots return of the sort now fashionable in the English and American underground. Costello and co-producer T-Bone Burnett have fashioned an impressive, stripped down fusion of country, blues and folk. The Attractions, Costello's backing band of the last eight years, play on only one track. In their place are the Confederates, a group of American musicians Burnett and Costello brought together in Los Angeles, where the album was recorded.
But all this self-conscious tinkering with style reflects the same deficit of basic rock and roll drive which plagued Cruel World and Costello's other recent albums. Ever since 1981's Trust, Costello has relied increasingly on finesse to generate the power which used to come from youthful passion. The results have been as fine as Imperial Bedroom and Punch the Clock, but he has never quite made up the difference.
King of America falls far short of even that standard, but is still in many ways an impressively accomplished record. Costello's singing is smoother and more subtle than ever — barely a hint remains of the punky whine of This Year's Model. The performances are tight; particularly impressive is quick-picking guitarist James Burton, who deserves better than lame rockabilly numbers like "The Big Light" and "Glitter Gulch."
Costello's songwriting skills, at this point, seem better applied to country ballads and mid-tempo rockers. "Poisoned Rose" and "Our Little Angel" rank with his best country work. Particularly touching is the latter, an enigmatic tale of a heartbroken femme fatale. Costello's simple, beautiful tune and Burton's weeping guitar and dobro set the mood for a lyric which is characteristically tricky, but genuinely empathic: "I've seen the disappointment on her face / and the collection of engagement rings on her right hand / She sits alone apart from the crowd / In a white dress she wears like a question mark / Friends speak of her fondly / Enemies just think out loud." It is the album's best sustained performance.
Elsewhere good ideas and hooks too often fail to become good songs, or simply get stretched farther than they should go. "Indoor Fireworks" is a one metaphor song, a formula Costello used to tremendous effect on one of his best albums, 1980's Get Happy. But the phrase doesn't sustain the three verses he heaps on it, and the effect is vitiated. "Jack of All Parades" features a poignant lyric and a fine chord progression, but dragged out to five minutes the song reaches the point of sheer boredom.
The bulk of the album is filled with mid-tempo country and folk rock numbers, like "Little Palaces" and "Brilliant Mistake," which are neither annoying nor particularly inspiring. Costello's best early work was both.
Two covers, the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," and J.B. Lenoir's "Eisenhower Blues" give Costello a chance to stretch his performance skills a bit, but are otherwise unmemorable.
The only other buried treasure is the three-minute ditty, "Lovable," the one song where Costello really rocks out. It would sound right at home on Trust.
After wandering considerably over the course of the last five years, Elvis Costello seems to be searching for a worthwhile new direction. Unfortunately, King of America's stylistic changes are largely cosmetic, and in the end can't conceal the fact that he has nothing much new to say. It appears that Costello could go on indefinitely, refining his musical skills and producing pleasant albums. Perhaps at this point that's all we can expect from him.
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