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HAMPTON — Poor Elvis Costello. The original angry young man of the New Wave and one of rock's most brilliant lyricists is growing up these days and trying to become an accomplished pop singer.
Like fellow countryman Joe Jackson, he's lately taken to writing jazzy songs, many of them ballads, that easily could be performed in a smoky cabaret. As his most recent LP, Goodbye Cruel World, shows, this savvy British rocker is intent on stretching out and reaching an older, wider audience.
But unlike Jackson, who succeeds because he has a delicate musical touch that comfortably lends itself to romantic pop, Costello is having a hard time breaking free from his innate rage. He never quite manages to cut it as a pop ballad singer. And the reasons were apparent at Hampton Coliseum Thursday night.
Backed by his tight band, the Attractions, Costello sounded great when he flew through his earlier material like his sensational first LP, My Aim Is True, and tunes from last year's Punch the Clock.
But when he tried putting over his latest batch of tunes, many of them bleak songs about illusory love and individual alienation, it was no go. These new songs were weak, and sung by Costello in his typical snarling fury, whatever sweetness the music had was mostly lost.
This was a shame, because Costello is a thrilling singer when he sets his mind to it. When he and the Attractions cut loose Thursday night, they didn't let down the 3,000 or so fans who crowded the stage at the coliseum. Costello sang brilliant versions of tunes like "Watching the Detectives," which started slow and funky and went through all sorts of time changes before building to a wild, stunning crescendo.
The Attractions wailed with wonderful fury on "Mystery Dance," one of the hottest rock tunes Costello ever has written.
On these and other songs, Costello's voice had a nervous edge to it, an almost harassing power that occasionally sent shivers up my spine.
In fact, fans wanted nothing so much as to hear Costello rock out Thursday night. A mostly adoring crowd, they cheered wildly after most songs, and Costello played a long 95-minute set.
But for my money, this British rocker let down his audience. Graciously, he played three long encores, but instead of playing his strongest rockers to close out the evening (how could he not include "Less Than Zero" or "Waiting for the End of the World"?), he did numerous mopey ballads from his latest album.
But Costello restored my faith up with "Pump It Up." He gave the song, one of his personal favorites, a fiery power that showed why he is such a captivating performer.
Nick Lowe and his Cowboy Outfit, who opened the show, turned in a swinging rock 'n' roll performance. The band breezed through "Half a Boy and Half a Man." a hilarious lampoon of androgyny, the latest "scam" in the world of rock music, and served up plenty of raw rockabilly.
But the treat of their set was former Squeeze keyboardist Paul Carrack, who sang soulful versions of his "Tempted" and "How Long Has This Been Going On?" This band is hot and sharp, and the crowd obviously loved them, for Lowe and company got wild whoops and had to do an encore.
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