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There's music that entertains and there's music that instructs. Once in a great while, there's music that does both. Now, there's nothing wrong with pure entertainment and anyone can see the merits of instruction. But when the music lacks a certain sincerity, then it's so much pap. And the pap in pop music can smother the most intrepid fan. How do you avoid choking on such fluff? Here are some clues:
If you're already an Elvis Costello fan, then Spike, his new album from Warner Bros. Records, will delight you. But if you're not, then pick one of his other albums, say Punch The Clock (you remember "Everyday I Write the Book," don't you?) or his The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions. They'll give you an easier introduction. See, his is an an acquired taste. Costello is more or a storyteller than a hitmaker, and he's a prolific one at that. Spike, his twelfth album, offers 14 (15 on CD) more examples of Costello's craftsmanship. Now, this isn't dance music and it ain't garage rock. And it isn't meant to be. It is, however, exactly what you want if what you want is the kind of pop that wraps its punches in jazzy velvet gloves, that justifies its cliches with genuine nostalgia, and that provokes as much as it entertains.
Spike has its quirks, though. Costello's voice can be irritatingly cheesy at times, especially on "Satellite," a particularly tedious ballad that plods despite Chrissie Hynde's help on the chorus. And his penchant for balladry can get in the way, with lyrics that are a bit too verbose to be, well, lyrical.
But with such stellar guests as Paul McCartney, T-Bone Burnett, T-Bone Wolk and Benmont Tench, Costello manages to produce more than a few genuine gems like "Veronica," the album's catchiest tune, which explains its being the first single to be culled from this collection. Other notables include "Pads, Paws and Claws," a song with hints of rockabilly that tells the story of a drunkard coming home to his angry wife, and "Tramp The Dirt Down," a vitriolic lambasting of Margaret Thatcher.
Spike is a mature album from a versatile artist who isn't a slave to radio whimsy and who doesn't particularly care about progress. He remembers a more wholesome time when cultivating and displaying one's roots wasn't frowned upon, when progress meant adapting the old forms, not denying them. Don't look for innovation when you're listening to Spike. Instead, look for music that embraces older values while keeping an open eye on the world around it, registering its observations in honest, sometimes catchy, terms.
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