St. Petersburg Times, March 25, 1994

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It feels a lot like old times

Elvis Costello / Brutal Youth

Wayne Garcia

On Brutal Youth, Elvis Costello and his old band sound pretty much like their late '70s selves.
4-star reviews4-star reviews4-star reviews4-star reviews

It's time for another abrupt turn for the Prince of Angry Young Men, the King of America, Declan MacManus, aka Elvis Costello.

There were the low-key efforts with T Bone Burnett in the producer's chair, which produced excellent, if not exactly memorable, music. Most recently came Costello's weird foray into pseudo-classical music with a set of songs he did with the Brodsky Quartet.

Unlike his previous derivations, Costello pushes forward into the past with Brutal Youth, his first effort in years with the Attractions, the organ-pumping, drum-pounding unit that helped forge such great Costello discs as This Year's Model and Armed Forces.

The result: It feels like 1979 all over again.

Costello has told interviewers that he got the bug to reunite with the Attractions in the past few years as he wrote a number of pop tunes for singer Wendy James. He originally thought about recording this disc and putting it out along with the Brodsky disc.

It is really nice to hear that classic Costello pop sound on such songs here as "Pony St." and "13 Steps Lead Down."

Other songs sound more like his later works, such as the slower-paced "This Is Hell" and "Still Too Soon to Know."

Throughout, Costello keeps his knife sharp-ened, his biting observations cuddled in melodic counterpoints that would make Kurt Weill proud. "This is all your glorious country thinks of your life," he sings on "20% Amnesia." "Strip jack naked with a stanley knife."

Or check out the bitterness with which Costello spits out "All the Rage," its lyrics set to a loping organ and doo-wop melody. "The twitching impulses to speak your mind / lend you my microscope and maybe you will find it / Is it in that ugly place that's just behind your face / Where you keep my picture still despite the fact that you had me replaced."

It certainly is a strong return to form for Costello, who seems to acknowledge this multiple-personality surfacing with the song "My Science Fiction Twin."

The Attractions provide a comfortable feel without sounding old and stale. Pete Thomas is on drums, Steve Nieve on piano, organ and harmonium and Bruce Thomas on bass, although only on about half the disc. Nick "Cruel to Be Kind" Lowe contributes bass on the rest of the album but doesn't sing or help in the songwriting. Too bad.

What remains to be seen is whether this will be a new direction for Costello or just a blast from the past. Even the title Brutal Youth leaves that question unanswered.


Tags: Brutal YouthThe AttractionsPete ThomasSteve NieveBruce ThomasNick LowePony St.13 Steps Lead DownThis Is HellStill Too Soon To Know20% AmnesiaAll The RageMy Science Fiction TwinDeclan MacManusT Bone BurnettKing Of AmericaThe Brodsky QuartetThis Year's ModelArmed ForcesWendy JamesKurt WeillCruel To Be Kind

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St. Petersburg Times, March 25, 1994


Wayne Garcia reviews Brutal Youth.

Images

1994-03-25 St. Petersburg Times, Weekend page 15 clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.

Page scans.
1994-03-25 St. Petersburg Times, Weekend page 01.jpg 1994-03-25 St. Petersburg Times, Weekend page 15.jpg

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