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Elvis Costello, the new critics' darling, has been through a few changes lately, but with Armed Forces he reinforces his position as the leading exponent of the New Wave assault on North America.
My Aim is True, recorded in 1977 with Clover, initiated a fanatical following Stateside but yielded only a few FM raves ("Alison," "Red Shoes").
Last year's This Year's Model expanded the Costello audience but failed to elicit much response from the record-buying public, despite a much-acclaimed North American tour. Let's hope his new disc changes all that.
Costello's punchy songs of hate and unrequited love, once recorded in a minimalist manner, have been given a lusher, layered sound by producer Nick Lowe.
The Attractions are much tighter on this LP; Steve's acoustic piano stylings on several of the songs seem both inappropriate and perfect, and Pete's tommy-gun percussion wraps the backup into a cohesive unit.
Costello certainly seems to have his problems with women. In "Moods for Moderns" he always "gets hit looking for a Miss" and can't seem to get the girl in his "Chemistry Class" to come across: "you don't know what you started when you mixed it up with mine." Sometimes, though, he wants to get rid of the "Busy Bodies" who are "nothing but a nuisance ... getting nowhere."
The lyrics are at once witty and silly. The puns in "Chemistry Class" are almost unforgivable ("are you ready for the final solution?") and the switcheroos of other songs ("death worse than fate," "grip-like vise") conjure up zany images. The Love-and-Crime duality begun with "Watching the Detectives" on the first album is carried through continuously here.
Elvis' sandpaper psycho voice is marvelously complemented by the stunning music. "Busy Bodies" mixes reggae fills with 60's soundtrack rushes and Beach Boys harmonies, and "Party Girl" fades with a beautiful rip-off of the closing of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun." The wall-of-sound production on "(What's so Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" could easily fit on Springsteen's Born to Run.
Included with the initial North American release of Armed Forces is an extended-play single including "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison" and "Watching the Detectives." These songs, recorded live at Hollywood High School, present intriguing variations of Costello standards, and the piano-accompanied vocals on "Accidents Will Happen" are simply stupendous. Costello's rather choppy performance on Saturday Night Live is long forgotten thanks to the inclusion of the EP.
It's not too clear which direction Elvis and the boys are going, but Armed Forces proves it's worth staying on the ride to find out.
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