Elvis Costello has never released a poor album. This fact is due partly to producer Nick Lowe's method — "bashing" out songs until there is enough good material to fill an album. The rest is Elvis' superb writing and musicianship. The band, the Attractions, also helps to mold the product to a perfect whole.
Trust, Elvis' sixth American album, is nothing less than perfect. Trust contains 14 excellent cuts (as opposed to last year's Get Happy and Taking Liberties, both of which had 20). Where Happy had some mediocre tunes, and Liberties had some too-short ones, Trust is definitive of the state of Costello's art.
Elvis' trademark is the updated version of the original Motown sound — spunk incarnate. Though Costello leans towards this pulsating style of music, he is comfortable with any style: "Different Finger" is countryeish, "Shot With His Own Gun" is somewhat mellow; and "From a Whisper to a Scream" is a no-holds-barred rocker. Two of the best cuts are "Clubland," in which Costello sings about rising in the music industry, and "You'll Never Be a Man," in which El touches on the subject of sex-changes.
Elvis Costello is possibly the finest young musician in the business today; he deserves to be heard. KSCL-FM will be featuring the new album, Trust, on the album hour, tonight at 10 p.m. 91.3 FM.
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