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In fifteen months, Elvis Costello has released three albums. No small feat when you consider the two years it takes bands like Boston and Foreigner to come up with an album that sounds just like the one before it. In these days of performers who are more concerned with the technology and hype that goes into a record than with the quality and immediacy of the material, Elvis Costello is a rare and refreshing artist.
Armed Forces, Costello's latest album, is different from his last record, This Year's Model, in much the same way that album was different from his debut, My Aim Is True. The raw freshness of the first album and the streamlined punch of the second have given way to a deeper and more conventional sound. There is much more instrumentation on Armed Forces, most notably the use of a concert piano on several of the tracks.
The piercing organ of Steve Naive, the throbbing yet melodic bass of Bruce Thomas, and the energetic drumming of Pete Thomas all stand out from the dense mix of producer Nick Lowe, but it is Costello's voice that jumps out and grabs the listener's attention. The vocals are strong and distinctive, but Costello doesn't seem to have the same menacing edge that he did on the other albums. The slightly commercial production may have robbed Elvis of some of his impact Whatever the reason, he just isn't as threatening on the new album when he cries in "Senior Service," "I want you dead / I want to chop off your head and watch it roll into the basket" as he is on This Year's Model's "Lipstick Vogue" ("You wanna throw me away / Well, I'm not broken").
Lyrically, Costello's finest moments on Armed Forces occur in "Oliver's Army" and "Two Little Hitlers." The former is a stab at the conditions in South Africa ("If you're out of luck or out of work / We can send you to Johannesburg" and "Only takes one itchy trigger / One more little one less white nigger"). "Two Little Hitlers" is the album's most humorous track. Against a subtle reggae guitar lick, Costello spits out one-liners about wanting to join the party but not being invited. When discussing his "new Valentine," he says the situation is "all so calculated / She's got a calculator."
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