From The Elvis Costello Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
—
|
Armed Forces
Elvis Costello
Picks and Pans
|
Elvis Costello has a '50s look, an early-'60s lover-boy voice and a '70s punk attitude. The combination is not only harmonious but totally original: When the Britisher's first album came out in 1977, the critics went crazy. He still has the stuff two albums later. Although his three-man band makes use of New Wave's characteristic driving beat, it rocks out as well. Many of the tunes are easygoing and melodic, and much of Costello's appeal lies in the deliberate contrast between soft sound and steel-edged lyric (as in "Accidents Will Happen"). Even harsher is the metaphor of militarism for the sexual battleground. Tunes are named "Oliver's Army," "Two Little Hitlers," "Goon Squad." On the liner Costello elaborates his concern: "emotional fascism." If that seems unusually cerebral for rock 'n' roll, that's exactly why Costello and Armed Forces take over without a struggle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
External links
