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There's a school of rock music that considers any song longer than two-and-a-half minutes to be not only boring but pretentious too. And the undoubted leading light of this New Wave philosophy is one Elvis Costello.
At his weekend Manchester Apollo concert there was no ceremony, no flash, no posturing. Costello and his excellent band, the Attractions, walked on stage and proceeded to play upwards of 30 numbers at blistering paces.
Cutting a slightly ridiculous figure in dark glasses and drape jacket, he delivered his brand of raw, aggressive power-pop with only a little more mellowness than in the frustrated, angry days of '76.
The staccato guitar chops and searing keyboards lent a hard, tense edge to the set. Even the slower songs came with pent-up clench-fisted ferocity.
But the virtue that stands Costello apart from his more primitive New Wavers, his use of twisting, unexpected and surprising melody, ran throughout a breathtaking performance.
As one song ended another began without a break for a packed house to applaud, the excitement feeding upon itself.
With such a formula, many of the songs are ultimately disposable. But the likes of "Watching The Detectives," "Oliver's Army" and the get-out-and-get-at-'em opener "Pump It Up" are as fine a reflection of their time as anything current in rock.
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