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Published in 1989, "Spike" symbolically marks the beginning of a new era in Elvis Costello's career.
An intriguing and stimulating journey that will continue unchanged in several subsequent works, during which the multifaceted English artist will showcase all his musical eclecticism and his overflowing personality by embracing different styles and often surrounding himself with illustrious guests and collaborators. In its author's intentions, "Spike" is meant to be a majestic work of sophisticated pop, brilliant and varied, which, however, tends to suffer from an exaggerated redundancy of musical styles that at times make it seem inconclusive.
When Costello begins to record this album, he has so many ideas in mind that he could create at least five albums. "Spike" thus gathers five different concepts into a single album and probably for this reason comes across as slightly disjointed. What "Spike" genuinely lacks is a slight touch of spontaneity in its arrangements. A bit more humility in the sound, at times emphatic, would have certainly made it a great album given the excellence of the individual tracks that compose it. Spontaneity, in fact, Elvis Costello finds only in the much-discussed and publicized collaboration with Paul McCartney, which gifts "Spike" the successful single "Veronica", a splendid, driving, and refined beat track, and the daring psychedelic experiment of "Pads, Paws And Claws".
Remarkable as well is the opener "This Town", a lively track, a torrent of Rickenbacker with two exceptional guests: former Byrd Roger McGuinn with his twelve-string guitar and McCartney himself on bass. Unique and original is also the sound emanating from the theatrical cadence of "Let Him Dangle", narrating the story of two young people who turn a prank into a tragedy, made effective thanks to the experimental guitar of the very talented Marc Ribot and the piano of Benmont Tench. At this point, the already rich palette of "Spike" further enriches itself with various new nuances that make it brilliant, varied, but also slightly verbose.
Elvis Costello unveils the best part of his musical egocentrism and offers his listeners new oblique paths that touch upon various corners and aspects of his infinite artistic creativity. "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" is a journey to New Orleans in the company of pianist Allen Toussaint and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who also appear in the electrifying swing of "Stalin Malone". Particularly bizarre and quirky are the Waits-like "Chewing Gum", the Pepper-esque witch "Miss Macbeth", and the jazzy "God's Comic" with its singular and fantastic heavenly tale. In the other episodes present on the album, Costello retraces already trodden paths, providing moments ranging from pure romanticism to political indictment.
"Satellite" is a sensual ballad with a significant vocal contribution from Chrissie Hynde, "Baby Plays Around" is genuinely sad, while "Last Boat Leaving", with its sentimentality, beautifully concludes the album. Also highly moving are the two magical Celtic lullabies "Any King's Shilling" and the evocative "Tramp The Dirt Down" where, accompanied by Steve Wickham's violin, Costello directly targets former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the explicit lines "When England Was The Whore Of The World, Margaret Was Her Madam".
In its never hidden multifaceted nature, "Spike" proves to be yet another work that showcases Declan Patrick MacManus's enormous talent and musical taste. A pleasantly challenging record that, carried by the pop-beat of the single "Veronica", manages to climb the charts, becoming Elvis Costello's most successful album alongside "Almost Blue".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Veronica (03:09)
Is it all in that pretty little head of yours?
What goes on in that place in the dark?
Well I used to know a girl
And I could have sworn that
Her name was Veronica
Well she used to have
A carefree mind of her own and
A delicate look in her eye
These days I'm afraid
She's not even sure
If her name is Veronica
CHORUS:
Do you suppose,
That waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs
At those who shout
Her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica
Did the days drag by?
Did the favours wane?
Did he roam down the town
All the while?
Will you wake from your dream,
With a wolf at the door,
Reaching out for Veronica
Well it was all of sixty-five years ago
When the world was the street
Where she lived
And a young man sailed on
A ship in the sea
With a picture of Veronica
On the "Empress of India"
And as she closed her eyes
Upon the world and
Picked upon the bones
Of last week's news
She spoke his name out loud again
Repeat chorus
Veronica sits in the favourite chair and
She sits very quiet and still
And they call her a name
That they never get right and
If they don't then nobody else will
But she used to have
A carefree mind of her own,
With devilish look in her eye
Saying "You can call me
Anything you like,
But my name is Veronica"
Repeat chorus
06 Chewing Gum (03:47)
With their cardboard hands by their sides,
here's a naked man and lady
And they're yours to cut out and keep
So you can dress them up maybe
They don't know just who they are, or who they're supposed to be
You can make them happy or sad
Or assume their identity
So here they are in the departure lounge
It's the "Gateway to the East"
She is just another mail-order bride
She doesn't know he's a kinky beast
So he gives her a picture of Maradona and child
She wants to "roll and rock"
As he spills his beer over her, bumps and he
grinds, as he repeats "Bang-Cock"
Chorus:
There must be something that is better than this
It starts with a slap and ends up with a kiss
Begins with you bawling and it ends up in tears
Oh my little one, take that chewing gum out of your ears
She might as well be in the jungle
She might as well be on the moon
He's away on a business trip, in Dusseldorf, but she's becoming immune
To the lack of glamour and danger in a West-German city today
The nearest she comes to the "Dynasty" he promised her
Is a Chinese takeaway
Chorus
Though he only taught her three little words, it
doesn't matter if they're dirty or clean
He can only control what they look like
He can never possess what they mean
Now he wants to whisper in her ear
All the shrinking nothingness
But something always comes between them,
I wonder if you can guess
Chorus
08 Stalin Malone (04:09)
I'm going to make you even fear the dream you dream
So don't even think about it don't make a wish
You think that I don't see you as you trawl those young weak fish
Hooked on those poor wonders, 'til they want you alone
Though they can't tell a cuckoo-clock from the squeals of saxophones
That's when they'll fear my name
Stalin malone
I'm telling you the day will come when this man gets what he merits
Though people still wear animal skins to ward off evil spirits
Only wife-swapping and witchcraft woke the dormitory town
'til horse's heads up in the trees came dripping down
Yes, horse's heads up hung in the trees after the bird had flown
Did you wonder of my whereabouts as the barrack-room was blown
Did anybody call my name?
Stalin malone
In a room called creation, where you all obey my laws
Where seconal is gravity and pain is like applause
You think that this phenomenon is some coincidence
But I've got people everywhere, you're under
My surveillance, in the pocket of my pants
Okay, she left me, but I'll soon get over that
Falling out of the "blood tub" and rolling, on my back
Waking up to the one o'clock gun with a punch and judy bird
Reaching out for a gelignite beer that fills me up with murder
To overhear forbidden songs her lover must have known
Between the pity and advice...
"there's no one here to help you now, but speak after the tone"
Leave for me a message of hope
Stalin malone
Now the church door is a roller-shutter with padlocks and keys
Just like all of the other dispensaries
The saloon is like a casket, stained wood and human dust
Stale with conversation that hangs on your clothes like smoke
The wooden clock said she would dance dressed only in flower
As the jazz band drowns the hysterical bird that it spits out on the hour
I'd drop out of sight and disappear, turn up in another town, but somehow
I just can't seem to put it down, put it down, put it down
I just want to hold her now in that I'm not alone
But do I have to see her fall into his arms before I can atone..
Get my jacket on, get my story straight, I'm leaving on my own
09 Satellite (05:44)
She looked like she learned to dance from a
series of still pictures
She's madly excited now, she throws her hands
up like a tulip
She looks like an illustration of a cocktail party
Where cartoon bubbles burst in the air,
champagne rolls off her tongue
Like a second language
And it should have been her biggest night
The satellite looks down on her as she begins
to cry
All over the world at the very same time people
sharing the same sorrow
As the satellite looks down her darkest hour is
somebody's bright tomorrow
He pulled on a cigarette, in the crook of his
first finger
Felt the static electric charge of her perfect
hour-glass figure
As he undressed her with his eyes her weakness
was his talent
How could she know as she stepped through
the lights, that her dress would become
transparent
And with his face pressed to the screen, he
muttered words he'd never dare to say if she
could see him
All over the world at the very same time
People sharing the same cheap sensation the
thrill of watching somebody watching those
forbidden things we never mention
The satellite looks down right now and forever
What it has pulled apart let no man tether his
own body to his dream,
His dream to someone else
Oh no, oh no.
She went back to a pitiful compromise
He'd go back to his family
But for the matter of a thousand miles that
separated them entirely
In the hot unloving spotlight, with secrets
it arouses
Now they both know what it's like inside a
pornographer's trousers
And in a funny way it's anonymous, the satellite
it blesses us and makes these dreams come
true... All over the world
The satellite looks down right now and forever
What it has pulled apart let no man tether his
own body to his dream,
His dream to someone else
Oh no, oh no.
10 Pads, Paws and Claws (02:56)
She's a feline tormentor, not any vaudeville wife
But with a drunk-town lament he leads her a miserable life
But when he's full of that beer-champagne
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
And if he should wake up in some terrible dive
And he don't know if he's so-so
But he's so surprised he's alive
"Come on little honey, let me under your hive"
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, pads around the bedroom, practicing ways to flirt
He paws, pours another drink and anything in a skirt
Anything wearing a necklace
He thinks of claws scratching his back he's
going out there he's not coming back
She's got spider-leg fingers, sharpened whenever he strays
And she carries a bird-purse, with all of her womanly ways
'Til he's drinking hairspray, she knows that he never would dare
She could be in pictures if she wasn't all covered in fur
He's coming home now and here's the surprise
You wouldn't believe the lies that he tries
She cut him down to her favourite size
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
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