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There are few contemporary songwriters as prolific — or as consistent — as Elvis Costello, so his decision to release an album consisting entirely of other people's country songs can be construed as not just daring but downright perverse. I am pleased to report that, at the Palladium on New Year's Eve, Costello kept the country material to a minimum — about 40 minutes' worth at the end of the first set of a two-set, two-hours-plus evening, during which much of the audience was seen to nod out. I am even happier to report that he unveiled a lot of new material, and that it is some of the most sophisticated and moving stuff he has come up with yet.
The rest of the set was, if somewhat eccentrically paced, a mostly inspired mixture of old and new material. Costello opened with a blistering "Lipstick Vogue," closed with powerful versions of three songs from his first album ("Mystery Dance," "The Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes," and — what else? — "Alison"), and emerged after intermission at the stroke of midnight, clad in a tuxedo, to wake everybody up with "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?"
Costello's band, the Attractions, has developed into a very tight and very effective unit, and Costello himself has developed into a most persuasive performer. To make the evening even better, Costello had the good taste to choose the incomparable NRBQ, a band for which I have always had an inexplicably intense fondness, as his opening act.
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