Elvis Costello
King of America

THE REVIEW

What do the '80s, country music, Elvis Costello, and the classic "Don’t let me be misunderstood" have in common? Well, this album, of course.

After some purely new-wave experiments, Costello (born Declan MacManus) decides to return to territories more suited to his attitude as a tireless manipulator of traditional musical genres; in this case, genuine country, but also a good dose of pure rock 'n' roll, all of it laced with touches of Dylan-esque folk-rock.

The result is this album, one of the cornerstones of English singer-songwriter music, as well as the undisputed masterpiece of Costello's artistic maturity (along with "Imperial Bedroom"). Despite, as previously mentioned, the album primarily traveling on country-rock tracks, the influences are manifold, and songs like the beautiful "Brilliant mistake" refer back to the exquisitely pop atmosphere of "Get happy!", even though the notable calm and restraint with which Costello interprets the piece in question appear almost entirely unprecedented. Other gems include "Indoor fireworks", "Sleep of the just", "Shoes without heels" (which seems to hark back to the typically "Nashvillian" country tradition, much like "They’ll never take her love from me").
Pieces more connected to rock 'n' roll, like "Lovable" or "The people’s limousine", deserve a separate discussion, as they seem to emerge from the 1950s Carl Perkins recording sessions.

The album contains twenty tracks, yet, to be honest, there isn't a single episode that isn't perfectly written and arranged or that reveals a lack of attention to detail; a small mention should be made of the arrangements, sparse and essential as in the best folk-rock tradition, seemingly designed mainly to highlight the beautiful melodies of each song. The only regret one might have when listening to this immense album again is the (true) thought that Costello will never again reach the heights of these recordings in the future (except possibly for the collaboration with Burt Bacharach thirteen years later in “Painted from memory”), but soon the melancholy will disappear, giving way to the exaltation for a work that over time reveals a depth and freshness as few others do.