UNLIKE THE FIRST ELVIS, this one swivels from the knees. Clever, this move: with the moniker and the spiteful little persona, it seems intended to give a rough approximation of the distance we’ve traveled, (some of us, anyway) since Presley pushed the pelvis button back in 1956. From desire to frustration, Costello is saying, from lust unbounded to tearful rage; from sexual revolution to civil war. This is the man who said in one of his rare interviews that the only two things that matter to him are “revenge and guilt.” (“Love? I don’t know what it means, really, and it doesn’t exist in my songs.”) According to reports, he even keeps a little black book for all his enemies in the music business – right down to the poor schmucks who’ve gotten free tickets to his concerts and then failed to show. Weird stuff — although none of it would matter if he weren’t so inspired.
It’s interesting that one of the most exciting rock heroes to emerge in years is also the most unlikely looking. Physical resemblances to Woody Allen and Buddy Holly have already been noted: he reminds me more of a new wave Mehachem Begin, especially as regards the embattled set of the jaw. Yet he makes music that’s clever, concise, bouncy, explosive, dangerous, unforgettable, and so precisely structured as to have an almost architectural presence. At his best, Costello gives the impression of advancing knock-kneed on the world at the head of a pulsing phalanx of sound. I think he has a vision of himself as the Avenging Dork.

Photo: Chuck Pulin