Pop Rock Special, Spring 1981

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Pop Rock Special Scanning errors uncorrected... Okay, this guy's put on three records so far and each one has been even more terrific than the one before it, and he still ain't a superstar! What gives? I'm talking about Elvis Costello, the guy who's done more for eyeglasses in rock than anybody since Buddy Holly. He's never written a bad song, he has more energy than any six Framptons any day of the week, and he's got one of the coolest looking bands around. Come home, Elvis, we love you! Now you take "Alison," for example. Everybody I talk to says, "Oh yeah, isn't that a Linda Ronstadt song?" No it's not a Linda Ronstadt song! Elvis wrote that one. All Linda did was ruin it. Yes, that's what I said. Elvis was singing to a lost love, this girl that had a really unhappy life since they split up. It's a song about pity, revenge and sorrow. So when a girl sings it to a girl, what does it mean. I'll tell you right now, it don't mean . . . . nothin'. Not that Linda doesn't have a good voice, or anything, but it really doesn't sound like she listened to what the song is about. A great singer should be able to act as well as sing, when you get right down to it. Am I right, or what? So Elvis appears on the scene back in 1977 — which really seems like ages ago, doesn't it? — with "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives," and "Mystery Dance"; just all these fabulous songs. And all the magazines go haywire, and everybody talks about the Second Coming and everything, and then the album doesn't sell all that well. Now, you folks out there just aren't doing your job as consumers and we expect you to shape up. His second album did the exact same thing, but everybody agrees that it was one of the best albums of last year. That's the album that introduced the Attractions. Elvis introduced them to us as Steve, Pete and Bruce. No last names, no information about what instruments they play, nothing. "They know who they are," he said. Well, confidentially, and just between you and me and a couple of thousand other readers (who are probably not even hip enough to read this article), the folks involved are: Steve Naive, keyboards; Bruce Thomas, bass guitar; and Pete Thomas, drums. Okay? Now don't say we never did anything for you. Now go out and impress your friends. After seeing Elvis and the Attractions in concert, you become convinced that they're the greatest rock and roll band you ever saw. They do a pretty short show, but you feel like your money's been well spent, and how often do you feel that way? They rip through the numbers at double speed — and they were fast to begin with — and with more action than you ever would expect to see at a rock concert. Then they slow the pace down to do one of Elvis's hauntingly beautiful ballads. After that, it's back to the power-rock of the Attractions. Pete Thomas might be the only worthy successor to Keith Moon's crown. He's an incredible drummer. The third album by Elvis and the A's is called Armed Forces, and it's the best one yet. For the first time the group's name is right up there with Elvis's, so they're not just a star and his back-up band anymore, it's a group. Their sound pours out of the speakers of your record player like molten lava — fast, smooth and hot. It's one of the most listenable, danceable, jump-around-able records you're likely ever to be lucky enough to buy. I dare any of you to play it loud and sit still. If you can do it, you're beyond help. So there. Okay, now we've got to get down to it, as they say. What is this Elvis dude trying to do? If he wanted hit singles, you can bet he'd have 'em by now, so that must not be what he wants. What does he want? Elvis grows out of the same tradition as the Sex Pistols and other punk groups — even though he's not punk. And what all of them want, in the immortal words of Mick Jagger, is, "satisfaction." They see problems in the world, well they just want to correct Remaining text and scanner-error corrections to come... Pop Rock Special, Spring 1981 Pop Rock Special profiles Elvis Costello. Images Page scans. Page scans. Photos. Cover and contents page.