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Elvis Costello has been called a musical genius by many critics in his 12-year career.
He has an answer for them. "There are no geniuses in this business. if there were, they wouldn't he in this business."
An interviewer quickly discovers that Costello has an opinion about everything. But that doesn't come as a surprise. Costello's albums display his acute observations of the human condition. Spike, his 12th, and first on Warner Brothers Records, is no exception.
It was No. 30 and climbing on the Cashbox magazine March 25 best-selling album chart.
The record tackles such topics as God, Margaret Thatcher, coal-train robberies and capital punishment, as well as problems with personal relationships. If that weren't enough, it contains two songs written with another famous Liverpudlian, Paul McCartney.
"McCartney called and asked if I'd be interested in writing a few songs," Costello says. "It was lyric pingpong. You go back and forth with each other. We'll just have to wait and see if it works." One of the songs they co-wrote is "Veronica," the album's first single. McCartney also plays bass on the track ",..This Town..." Another song, "Baby Plays Around," was co-written by Costello and his wife, Cait O'Riordan, formerly of the Pogues, an Irish band,
"Cait wrote it while I went out to buy a paper," Costello says, emphasizing how small his contribution was. "It was all there on tape. All I did was some musical editing."
He continues: "This album took a bit more planning. I knew the players on the other records and they were familiar with the sound. In this case, we put the musicians together "
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