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Elvis Costello, one of the most unlikely rock stars to emerge in the late '70s, made his fourth Twin Cities appearance over the weekend in a sold-out concert at Northrop Auditorium.
As things are going, however, Costello is beginning to seem likely. That is, if Dustin Hoffman — no matinee idol he — can be a movie star, why can't Elvis Costello, who looks like the late Wally Cox's kid brother, be a rock star? Horn-rimmed glasses and a quirky, irascible persona are no bar to fame and fortune anymore. If the 26-year-old, London-born Costello can sell out Northrop Auditorium this year, perhaps next year — who can say? — it will be Met Center.
Even sartorially, Costello seems ready for success: He wore a junior executive's three-piece suit with hand-painted silk tie at Northrop, which made those many who showed up dressed in late '70s punk garb (narrow ties, over-sized sport coats, clashing pinks and greens) look silly. That, after all, is what Costello used to wear.
Still, even in 1977, the year Costello's debut album, My Aim Is True, was released in this country, he seemed destined for success. His songs were as quirky as the Costello persona: clever, unconventional in syntax and full of bitter ironies and not always lucidly constructed metaphors — certainly a cut above the punk reductionism with which he was originally (and wrongly) associated. Revenge and denunciation were his major themes and seemed to be the emotions that inspire him.
Moreover, he was (and continues to be) prolific; two 20-song Costello anthologies were released in this country last year. A lot of those songs were throw-aways. But one of them, a bittersweet ballad, "Just a Memory," is one of his best. It comes from the Taking Liberties album and is what Costello opened his set with at Northrop.
His nasal singing voice remains an acquired taste and one not all of us have acquired yet. But he uses his limited vocal resources to wide effect. The sheer intensity of his singing (the vocals mixed higher than normal on this occasion so that none of the lyrics was lost) covers many of his flaws.
The set itself included a number of the better-known Costello songs: "Accidents Will Happen," "Green Shirt," "Hand In Hand," "Radio, Radio" (Costello's fierce denunciation of sterile broadcast policies), and, in the six-song encore set, "Pump It Up," many of these dressed up in new arrangements. The closing number was "Alison," a Costello song that Linda Ronstadt has recorded.
The focus of the set, however, was on new material, songs from Costello's forthcoming album, Trust. And there were a few additional surprises in songs by Patsy Cline and Sonny Boy Williamson.
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