Elvis Costello

It’s difficult to ignore one’s own mortality when confronted with grey hair and empty seats at an Elvis Costello concert.  Emerging from the late 70’s British new wave and punk scenes he’s not close to the ‘classic rock’ era of Clapton and the Stones; you know, the nonstop barrage still coming from KTYD as if it’s new.  Yet he’s been a musical force of nature for over 30 years now, and inarguably one of the most influential artists of his era.  In fact, he’s been around so long that he’s already inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The last time this reviewer saw Elvis Costello solo was in 1989 in Washington D.C.  He had a game show wheel behind him with names of his bigger hits listed.  Spin it and, well, you get the picture.  Even at that point, only 15 years into his multidimensional career, he had so much material to choose from that the wheel was an inadequate snapshot of the depth of his musicality.

Elvis Costello and the Attractions were a tour de force from the late 70’s thru the early 80’s, turning out an astonishing amount of original music in a short time:  My Aim Is True, Armed Forces, Get Happy!, Trust, Imperial Bedroom…then things started to get weird to his fan base.  Almost Blue started it, when the British rocker crooned Hank Williams.  Twenty-five years since then it’s been a wild and welcome musical journey of partnering with seminal artists like Burt Bacharach, Allen Toussaint (and he played “River In Reverse” Tuesday night), and the classic Brodsky Quartet.  Still, the core sound of the Attractions emerges occasionally re-energized (now as the Imposters), as in great recent albums The Delivery Man and Momofuku.

Now he’s even a statesman.  His recent cable music show Spectacle on the Sundance Channel has been a great success both in highlighting the guests he hosts and also underscoring the depth of his own sophistication and relentless inquisitiveness.  An encyclopedic mind for all things musical, he’s played with the likes of Smokey Robinson, Bruce Springsteen, John Prine and Herbie Hancock.  I challenge any of them to mix styles as seamlessly.

Looking trim (a relief, after looking quite rotund on Spectacle), Elvis took the stage in a sharp suit and tie, his signature black-rim glasses and a wide-brimmed straw hat.  (Interestingly, Bob Dylan in recent years has sported similar head ware, perhaps that of a southern gentleman?)  His voice is better than ever, as the years have been kind to his tenor, and his range has dramatically improved with the catalogue of song styles that he has incorporated.

With seven guitars as the key stage props, as well as a chair and sheet music for the more ‘serious’ songs, Elvis kicked things off nicely with “45” from When I Was Cruel, a brave choice simply because recorded it’s such an electric rocker.  What’s exciting about this one-man tour is seeing Elvis with his sonic signature sound of cheesy keyboard and feedback guitar toned down, if not entirely turned off (after all, Elvis with a guitar will thankfully never be James Taylor).

Costello has stated that a major goal for this solo tour is to seamlessly incorporate the old and new stuff, so that the audience can’t tell the difference.  This worked to great affect, as he blended the sounds and styles with the appropriate Gibson guitar in his hands.  One of the least appreciated things about Elvis Costello is his guitar playing.  It’s fantastic and diverse.  And mesmerizing.  For the most part he preferred those Gibsons, including a classic rockabilly electric model that he used for an edgy and distorted “Watching the Detectives.”

Speaking of edgy, when Elvis bookended “Radio Sweetheart” and “God’s Comic”… for those die hard fans, you know how cool that is.

The strength of his new, unreleased material cannot be underestimated.  The several songs he played were very, very good, a bit on the folksy, rootsy side of country and blues, including “Sulphur to Sugarcane” from his most recent album - The Secret, Profane and Sugarcane.

With a back catalogue of hundreds of songs, he jumped back and forth through the years.  From the American roots-based album King of America he played “Brilliant Mistake.”  From 82’s Imperial Bedroom, “Man Out of Time.”  “Everyday I Write The Book,” a song he admits he’d long forgotten until Ron Sexsmith beautifully revived it recently on Spectacle, was interpreted different a quarter century later – now, it’s less catchy 80’s pop and more sweeping Bacharach.  Late in the show, the expected “Allison” emerged, slower and more mature, much like a Nick Lowe torch song.  (Speaking of Nick Lowe, we didn’t get “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding,” Elvis’s big hit penned by that fine Englishman and early Elvis mentor and producer.  Wish we had.)

But again, the diversity of his musical styles astonishes, effortlessly taking him to Brazilian Bossa Nova, the American songbook standard “All Or Nothing At All,” even Van Morrison’s “Jackie Wilson Says.”  In all cases, he made them his own.

So, for nearly two hours one man with seven guitars entertained.  Nobody left the theater during the new songs, and time flew by.  He sang and played, chatted and hammed it up with bravado poses during applause, seeking mock adulation.  With no Attractions.  No Imposters.  But still the Elvis way, with a deep note, fearlessness and a tinge of irony.

And, it’s safe to say, his career is just getting started.

Post Script:  There must have been something in the water of British/Irish aspiring rockers in the mid-1970’s.  Gordon Sumner, Paul Hewson, Declan MacManus.  What gems, the lot of them.  Sting, Bono….Declan MacManus, you say?

Yep.  Elvis Costello’s birth name.  But hey, unless you’re going to play jigs and reels in a pub what are you going to do with that name?  So, yes, Elvis created a stage name.  And it juxtaposes the complexity of the guy with his commercial instincts.

A toast to you Declan, you’ve come a long way.  A drink to you Elvis, may this King play on another 30 years.