Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True

I stumbled onto Elvis Costello only a few weeks ago. Until that point, I’d always assumed he was too punk, too experimental, or too idiosyncratic for my tastes. As it turns out, those labels can only be applied to his lyrics (if that). Musically, he’s a throwback, rearranging the first 20 years of rock history here into a dozen mostly terrific songs. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t find this record sooner.

The first song, “Welcome to the Working Week”, is a perfect way to open an album. It’s all handclaps and backup singers tucked behind an instantly catchy melody, and it’s over in 1 minute and 23 seconds. I’ve probably played this song 90 times since I bought the record a week ago. It’s so good, it prompted me to make an impromptu list of the best first tracks on debut albums. I came up with:
Guns N Roses – “Welcome to the Jungle” from Appetite for Destruction (obvious)
Boston – “More Than a Feeling” from Boston (undeniable)
Bloc Party – “Like Eating Glass” from Silent Alarm (anthemic)
Oasis – “Rock N Roll Star” from Definitely Maybe (audacious)
Weezer – “My Name is Jonas” from the blue album (nerdy)
Andrew W.K. – “It’s Time to Party” from I Get Wet (personal fave)

My buddy Kevin came up with a few more:
D’Angelo – “Brown Sugar” from Brown Sugar (freaky)
Interpol – “Untitled” from Turn on the Bright Lights (I’m not familiar with this one)
Massive Attack – “Safe from Harm” from Blue Lines (great)
U2 – “I Will Follow” from Boy (memorable)

“Working Week” belongs in this company.

Beyond the opening track, there’s plenty of good stuff here. “Alison”, “Less Than Zero”, and “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” were the singles I’d heard of before I bought the CD, and they’re as good as advertised. But “Sneaky Feelings” and “Blame it On Cain” are stellar songs as well.

Besides the songwriting, I’m most impressed with Costello’s voice. His phrasing and improvisation sound like someone who’d been performing for years, rather than someone recording his debut record on the cheap during weekends and holidays. “Sneaky Feelings”, for example, has no discernable melody. The verse is simply Costello vamping. The notes are different from verse to verse, and he alters the rhythm, too. The end result is a song that’s basically impossible to sing karaoke.

Perhaps it’s not a huge surprise that I liked this album, as praise for it is nearly universal. It’s just odd to me that such a good album wouldn’t be more popular. Why haven’t I heard “Less Than Zero” on the radio? Maybe I wouldn’t have avoided his work for so long.