With his continued songwriting collaboration with Paul McCartney and echoes of "Don't Let Me Down" in his music, Elvis Costello's psychic connection with John Lennon is strong.
Yet Costello punctures it with one shattering line: "Was it a millionaire who said, 'Imagine no possessions?'"
That's the Costello of Mighty Like a Rose vintage: angry, questioning and even nasty. The combination makes for some of his best music, but you're going to have to tough it out. Mighty Like a Rose is not an album that rewards easy listeners.
Rose is a musical marriage of the offbeat, stellar instrumentation of Spike with the weary tunefulness of Blood & Chocolate.
Costello shows his mastery at combining bitter stones with smooth melodies McCartney would feel comfortable with on such songs as "The Other Side of Summer" and "Georgie and her Rival."
"How to Be Dumb" and "Invasion Hit Parade" match paranoid lyrics with more appropriately ominous music. "Dumb" is one of Costello's best outright rockers in years, while the latter seems to dissect the inhumanity of the Gulf War "seems" is a necessary qualifier since Costello's anger is more like a random, drive-by shooting than a mob hit.
|