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He is not by any stretch of the imagination your typical rock idol. Yet that is what Elvis Costello is becoming in spite of his crew cut, rimmed glasses, and Salvation Army suits.
On the surface, Costello looks like just another harmless jerk. After hearing his music it becomes obvious that his appearance is a facade, a mockery of the people and things that his music satirizes.
Costello first came to the attention of the American public a few years ago with the release of his first album, My Aim is True. Although he was for a time lost In the influx of British new wavers, he quickly distinguished himself through his unique style. Costello's success stems from the fact that he manages to be intellectual without being boring.
His songs are short with witty lyrics and catchy tunes, a combination which is rare among the "socially conscious" musicians with which he is usually associated. His music seems to bridge the gap between the often pretentious New Wave sound and the mindless droning of most top forty tunes.
Above all else Costello is consistent. His two previous albums, My Aim Is True and This Year's Model were both critical as well as commercial successes, and his latest release, Armed Forces seems destined to be the same.
In some ways Armed Forces is Costello's best album yet. While it lacks some of the slickness and polish of the first album, it makes up for it with a power that is unmatched in either of his earlier works.
Costello attacks everything with an anger which has become characteristic of his music. In "Senior Service" Costello is blatantly hostile as he shouts, "I want to cut off your head and watch it roll into the basket." Throughout the rest of the album Costello is a bit more subtle, but his anger is always there.
One of Costello's favorite themes is the shallowness and futility of relationships between men and women. Many of the songs on the new album deal with this topic.
Two of the best, "Party Girls" and "Two Little Hitlers," are slower numbers similar to his "Alison," which has recently become a hit for Linda Ronstadt.
"Busy Bodies," one of the most obviously direct songs on the album, also concerns itself with relationships on a more superficial level.
Costello expands on the shallowness and futility theme in "What's So Funny About Peace, love, and Understanding," a song which basically deals with the futility of life in general.
As a bonus, the first two-hundred thousand copies of Armed Forces include a special LP entitled Live at Hollywood High.
Actually recorded at Hollywood High School, the record contains three Costello songs, "Watching the Detectives," "Accidents Will Happen," and "Alison." Though the record is of absolutely no use on a turntable, due to the inferior technical quality of the recording, it would probably make a good frisbee.
It is impossible to single out one or two cuts from Armed Forces as being the best. Each of the album's twelve songs has its own certain quality that makes it special, and a few will surely become Costello classics. Once again, Elvis Costello has proven that he has the potential to become a major influence in rock music.
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