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Rock in the Eighties presents a blurred focus. The homogenized and diversified product of market surveys obscures the recognition of a leading light, such as a Dylan or a Beatles. Taking Liberties, the newest album by Elvis Costello, proves that this poet of excitement, pleasure and consternation deserves such status today.
Talking Liberties, something of an excuse for a new album, containing 20 songs recorded over the last three years which have not previously been available on LP in North America, shows the depth and richness of Costello's commitment to the pop music tradition. Costello's main topics are drawn from the essential male pop composition as it has continued for decades — women and the social relationships between women and men. From there the fascination with sexual politics seems to transfer out into the material world on occasion, in songs like the excellent "Night Rally" or "Hoover Factory's on Taking Liberties. But Costello always returns to the heart and mind's involvement in love and passion, going ever deeper. That "there are some things you can't cover up with lipstick and powder" as he puts it in "Girls Talk" here, seems the essence of Costello's inspiration.
The new album offers a unique perspective on Costello's work, spanning his entire career from an early Stiff Records B-side, "Radio Sweetheart," to three new songs released several months ago in England on an extended play single.
Besides proving that Costello can come up with a better record from his scraps than most groups produce in their entire careers, the record underlines the diversity and will to advance and experiment that Costello carries almost alone these days. "Radio Sweetheart" and "Stranger in the House" (from the This Year's Model phase) are legitimate Country music, without a hint of parody. "Hoover Factory" and the recent "Dr. Luther's Assistant" show Costello at the fringes, playing with song structures and recording equipment, as if he wanted to see just how far he could twist them out of shape. "My Funny Valentine" offers an impeccably classic yet subtly modernized reading of the Rodgers and Hart standard; a version of Van McCoy's "Getting Mighty Crowded" and a half-speed out-take of Get Happy!!'s "Clowntime is Over" show Costello completely comfortable with the nuances and spirit of classic soul music; and "Tiny Steps" and Big Tears" (the latter featuring Mick Jones of The Clash on lead guitar) present a glorious, sweeping rock sound that is unique to Costello and his excellent backup group The Attractions.
As is to be expected on an album which is mainly composed of B-sides and by-the-way singles, there are some weaker moments. "Sunday's Best," a number in the classic style of carnival music culled from the English version of Costello's least successful album Armed Forces, which never really gets off the ground. "Talking in the Dark" and "Wednesday Week" also seem a bit artificial, rote and overly self-conscious, although the latter contains one of Costello's best lines of love in the modern world: "You're fantastic, you're terrific / Your excellence is almost scientific...". Still, three unexciting tracks out of 20 make for a minor complaint.
Taking Liberties, unlike most similar compilations such as The Who's Odds and Sods, is a consistently rewarding album. It's the perfect stopgap to make up for the lack of a North American tour by Costello this year, and a nice trailer to the next new album, scheduled for release in January. Costello is obviously going to be around for a very long time as an artist whose wealth and breadth of talent is only beginning to display itself, and is represented best on the Taking Liberties retrospective. He stands with Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, and very few other groups as an essential, mature and still promising creative force in pop.
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