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| Elvis Costello
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Biography |
When Elvis Costello's
first record was released in 1977, his bristling cynicism and anger
linked him with the \punk and \new wave explosion. A cursory listen
to My Aim Is True proves that the main connection that Costello had
with the \punks was his unbridled passion. He tore through \rock's
back pages taking whatever he wanted, as well as borrowing from
\country, \Tin Pan Alley pop, \reggae, and many other musical
genres. Over his career, that musical eclecticism has distinguished
Costello's records as much as his fiercely literate lyrics. Because
he supports his lyrics with his richly diverse music, Costello is
one of the most innovative, influential, and best songwriters since
Bob Dylan.
The son of British bandleader Ross McManus, Costello
(born Declan McManus) worked as a computer programmer during the
early '70s, performing under the name D.P. Costello in various \folk
clubs. In 1976, he became the leader of \country-rock group Flip
City. During this time, he recorded several demo tapes of his
original material with the intention of landing a record contract. A
copy of these tapes made its way to Jake Riviera, one of the heads
of the fledgling independent record label Stiff. Riviera signed
Costello to Stiff as a solo artist in 1977; the singer/songwriter
adopted the name Elvis Costello at this time, taking his first name
from Elvis Presley and his last name from his mother's maiden
name.
With former Brinsley Schwarz bassist Nick Lowe producing,
Costello began recording his debut album with the American band
Clover providing support. &"Less Than Zero," the first single
released from these sessions, appeared in April of 1977. The single
failed to chart, as did its follow-up, &"Alison," which was
released the following month. By the summer of 1977, Costello's
permanent backing band had been assembled. Featuring bassist Bruce
Thomas, keyboardist Steve Nieve, and drummer Pete Thomas (no
relation to Bruce), the group was named the Attractions; they made
their live debut in July of 1977.
My Aim Is True, his debut
album, was released in the summer of 1977 to positive reviews; the
album climbed to number 14 on the British charts but it wasn't
released on his American label, Columbia Records, until later in the
year. Along with Nick Lowe, Ian Dury, and Wreckless Eric, Costello
participated in the Stiffs Live package tour in the fall. At the end
of the year, Jake Riviera split from Stiff Records to form Radar
Records, taking Costello and Lowe with him. Costello's last single
for Stiff, the \reggae-inflected &"Watching the Detectives,"
became his first hit, climbing to number 15 at the end of the
year.
This Year's Model, Costello's first album recorded with the
Attractions, was released in the spring of 1978. A rawer,
harder-rocking record than My Aim Is True, This Year's Model was
also a bigger hit, reaching number four in Britain and number 30 In
America. Released the following year, Armed Forces was a more
ambitious and musically diverse album than either of his previous
records. It was another hit, reaching number two in the U.K. and
cracking the Top Ten in the U.S. &"Oliver's Army," the first
single from the album, also peaked at number two in Britain; none of
the singles from Armed Forces charted in America. In the summer of
1979, he produced the self-titled debut album by the Specials, the
leaders of the \ska revival movement.
In February of 1980, the
\soul-influenced Get Happy!! was released; it was the first record
on Riviera's new record label, F-Beat. Get Happy!! was another hit,
peaking at number two in Britain and number 11 in America. Later
that year, two collections of B-sides, singles, and outtakes called
Taking Liberties was released in America; in Britain, a similar
album called Ten Bloody Marys and Ten How's Your Fathers appeared as
a cassette-only release, complete with different tracks than the
American version.
Costello and the Attractions released Trust in
early 1981; it was his fifth album in a row produced by Nick Lowe.
Trust debuted at number nine in the British charts and worked its
way into the Top 30 in the U.S. During the spring of 1981, Costello
and the Attractions began recording an album of \country covers with
famed Nashville producer Billy Sherrill, who recorded hit records
for George Jones and Charlie Rich, among others. The resulting
album, Almost Blue, was released at the end of the year to mixed
reviews, although the single &"A Good Year for the Roses" was a
British Top Ten hit.
Costello's next album, Imperial Bedroom
(1982), was an ambitious set of lushly arranged \pop produced by
Geoff Emerick, who engineered several of the Beatles' most acclaimed
albums. Imperial Bedroom received some of his best reviews, yet it
failed to yield a Top 40 hit in either England or America; the album
did debut at number six in the U.K. For 1983's Punch the Clock,
Costello worked with Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who were
responsible for several of the biggest British hits in the early
'80s. The collaboration proved commercially successful, as the album
peaked at number three in the U.K. (number 24 in the U.S.) and the
single &"Everyday I Write the Book" cracked the Top 40 in both
Britain and America. Costello tried to replicate the success of
Punch the Clock with his next record, 1984's Goodbye Cruel World,
but the album was a commercial and critical failure.
After the
release of Goodbye Cruel World, Costello embarked on his first solo
tour in the summer of 1984. Costello was relatively inactive during
1985, releasing only one new single (&"The People's Limousine,"
a collaboration with singer/songwriter T-Bone Burnett released under
the name the Coward Brothers) and producing Rum Sodomy and the Lash,
the second album by the \punk-folk band the Pogues. Both projects
were indications that he was moving toward a stripped-down, \folky
approach and 1986's King of America confirmed that suspicion.
Recorded without the Attractions and released under the name the
Costello Show, King of America was essentially a \country-folk album
and it received the best reviews of any album he had recorded since
Imperial Bedroom. It was followed at the end of the year by the edgy
Blood and Chocolate, a reunion with the Attractions and producer
Nick Lowe. Costello would not record another album with the
Attractions until 1994.
During 1987, Costello negotiated a new
worldwide record contract with Warner Bros. Records and began a
songwriting collaboration with Paul McCartney. Two years later, he
released Spike, the most musically diverse collection he had ever
recorded. Spike featured the first appearance of songs written by
Costello and McCartney, including the single &"Veronica."
&"Veronica" became his biggest American hit, peaking at number
19. Two years later, he released Mighty Like a Rose, which echoed
Spike in its diversity, yet it was a darker, more challenging
record. In 1993, Costello collaborated with the Brodsky Quartet on
The Juliet Letters, a song cycle that was the songwriter's first
attempt at \classical music; he also wrote an entire album for
former Transvision Vamp singer Wendy James called Now Ain't the Time
for Your Tears. That same year, Costello licensed the rights to his
pre-1987 catalog (My Aim Is True to Blood and Chocolate) to Rykodisc
in America.
Costello reunited with the Attractions to record the
majority of 1994's Brutal Youth, the most straightforward and
\pop-oriented album he had recorded since Goodbye Cruel World. the
Attractions backed Costello on a worldwide tour in 1994 and played
concerts with him throughout 1995. In 1995, he released his
long-shelved collection of covers, Kojak Variety. In the spring of
1996, Costello released All This Useless Beauty, which featured a
number of original songs he had given to other artists, but never
recorded himself. Painted From Memory, a collaboration with the
legendary Burt Bacharach, followed in 1998. ~ Stephen Thomas
Erlewine, All Music Guide
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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