My Top 20 albums from 1980 No 19

GET HAPPY!!
Year Of Release: 1980
Now how come they constantly blast Mick Jagger for putting on blackface and this guy keeps staying clean?..
Best song: RIOT ACT
Track listing: CD I:
1) Love For Tender;
2) Opportunity;
3) The Imposter;
4) Secondary Modern;
5) King Horse;
6) Possession;
7) Men Called Uncle;
8) Clowntime Is Over;
9) New Amsterdam;
10) High Fidelity;
11) I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down;
12) Black & White World;
13) 5ive Gears In Reverse;
14) B Movie;
15) Motel Matches;
16) Human Touch;
17) Beaten To The Punch;
18) Temptation;
19) I Stand Accused;
20) Riot Act;
CD II: 1) I Stand Accused (alt. version); 2) So Young; 3) Girls Talk; 4) Human Touch (alt. version); 5) Temptation (alt. version); 6) Motel Matches (alt. version); 7) Clowntime Is Over No. 2; 8) B Movie (alt. version); 9) Girls Talk (alt. version); 10) Getting Mighty Crowded; 11) From A Whisper To A Scream (alt. version); 12) Watch Your Step (alt. version); 13) Dr Luther's Assistant; 14) Ghost Train; 15) New Lace Sleeves (alt. version); 16) Hoover Factory; 17) Just A Memory; 18) I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down (alt. version); 19) New Amsterdam (alt. version); 20) Black & White World (demo); 21) Riot Act (demo); 22) 5ive Gears In Reverse (demo); 23) Love For Tender (demo); 24) Men Called Uncle (demo); 25) King Horse (demo); 26) Seven O'Clock (demo); 27) High Fidelity (live); 28) Opportunity (live); 29) The Imposter (live); 30) Don't Look Back (live).

This entire album is a self-imposed penalty - after the infamous Ray Charles-related debauchery which nearly cost Elvis his hard-earned good reputation (I suppose everyone is already familiar with the story, so I won't get into details) he had to somehow state it loud and clear that racism and New Wave have nothing to do with each other. One possible way of demonstrating this could be to sing a duet with Michael Jackson, but upon careful consideration this was rejected, as the consequences of such a hazardous superposition of sonic waves were much too unpredictable and could involve, among other things, tornadoes, tsunamis, and the abolition of ethnic and sexual minority rights.
Thus a much less risky approach was chosen, the main point of it being as follows: Elvis would continue doing his usual thing, but this time the 'thing' would be made to sound like a soul/R'n'B album with echoes of Stax/Volt, Motown, and whatever else comes to mind in the 'cool black music' department. (No blues or jazz, though - not the kind of genres the Attractions would be ready to handle well). In order to accomplish that, some of the modernistic New Wave trends of the last two albums would have to be cut short, but, of course, Get Happy!! would never really pretend to be a full-scale imitation of classic American R'n'B all the same. It's still a Costello album first and foremost.
And it's good, because, in all honesty, if there's anything to let me down here, it's the "soul" aspect of the record. Or, to be more precise, Costello's singing in those moments when everything depends on the voice rather than on the music. The "squeaky door" aspect has always been a problem, but on Get Happy!! it's more than a problem, it's like a disease. In Elvis' own words, 'I can't stand any more of that mechanical grace'. In all honesty, it took me quite a few listens to get past the negative shock of the opening lines of 'Love For Tender'. It's phenomenal, yes, that Costello can take the style of Martha & the Vandellas and write a song almost every bit as good as 'Heatwave', but it's also moments like these that make me think he'd have been much better off as a backstage corporate songwriter.
Which is not to say that his singing is always atrocious, mind you. From time to time, he finds a perfect groove across which his phonations slide easily and gracefully, be it the human tenderness of 'Secondary Modern' or the intelligent melancholy of 'Clowntime Is Over'. And he also hits it on the head when the time is ripe for desperation ('Riot Act'). It just sort of frustrates me that, being endowed with what is definitely not the worst set of vocal cords in the world, he so frequently makes me believe the opposite. And I cannot subscribe to the philosophy that he's being 'special' with this approach. It was ugly on Armed Forces, it's even uglier now, and it's not artistic ugliness, it's just ugliness. Don't do it if you can't do it.
However, any complaining on my side stops short when we get down to the actual songs. Twenty of them, over the course of fourty-eight minutes, and this ain't the Ramones or Wire, either: not a single tune really flaunts its minimalism at the listener. They're just... short. Short, like a normal short pop single ought to be, like back in those times when you had, uh, 'Please Please Me' clocking in at 2:03 and no one ever complained about it being way too brief. Yet back in those days you also had, at best, 14 of them; with the current 20, it provides plenty of ammunition for the DJ in the radio ad tacked at the end of the bonus disc, including dubious 'pearls' like 'there are three kinds of people who like the album - people under 21, people over 21, and people who turned 21 during the record'.
I certainly will not go over each one of them track by track because it's one of those worst albums ever... for reviewing purposes, that is. What am I expected to do - comment upon the particular chord sequences and vocal hooks that constitute the primary focus of every song? Forget it. Just believe me when I say that the only track on here that still sounds completely hookless to me is 'B Movie', and even that one isn't really bad, it's just that it's "ska-funky" flavor, which is technically pulled off pretty well - the bass line alone is priceless - sort of bereaves it of general memorability. Everything else is at least interesting, and at best written so perfectly that... ah well, if not for the voice...
I do have to specially commend the Attractions for basically breaking their necks with the sole aim of becoming Britain's tightest, best-oiled, and most perfectly motivated four-pack ensemble of the moment, if only for that one particular year. Nick Lowe's production leaves a lot to be desired, with the sound being neither too rough nor too clean, but the band more than make up for it by sounding like they really really mean it. Bruce Thomas' bass is a joy to behold, and I'm not really Mr Bass Guy - but his lines on many of the tracks usurp the melody so boldly and rule it so wisely you'd think he was the leader of the pack or something. Listen to 'Love For Tender', for instance, which is sort of pop-punk in essence, but the bass is one hundred percent jazz, and so does the whole song become weirdly jazzy when you least expected it. Pete Thomas seriously gets into the DIY spirit, as if the idea of cramming 20 songs into one album actually converted into "we're going punk!" somewhere inside his head, and the result is the most energetic drumming ever captured on an EC record.
The most overwhelming presence, however, is unquestionably Steve Nieve's. His riffs, solos, textures, atmospheres are everywhere, and stylistically he pushes apart the limits of Armed Forces and shows that be it New Wave, Motown or traditional Britpop, it's all capturable with just a pair of hands and a pair of dusty keyboards. Elvis himself, on the contrary, steps back as far as playing is concerned - it's hardly a coincidence that he has his hands buried deep in his pockets on the front cover - and lets Nieve rule the world even tighter than he did on Armed Forces. And although I'm not really Mr Keyboard Guy either, I'm not complaining; in fact, I'm not even sure the opening riff of 'Clowntime Is Over' could have been theoretically played with more feeling on a string instrument.
Lyrically Get Happy!! is, as far as first impression goes, sort of a step back from the socially conscious sneer of the two previous albums: lots of these texts sound smart and educated but ultimately turn out to be of the usual girl-and-boy variety. Still, kudos to E. C. for still being able to find new unpredictable twists on the same old story and then again, the lyrics aren't this particular album's driving point. This particular album's driving point is, how do I say it? Exquisite brute force, well calculated spontaneity and sincerely faked energy. (And that's not denigrating, it's just to distinguish this from simply "brute force, spontaneity and sincere energy", which describes Motorhead).
Okay, highlights that should be in everybody's collection: 'High Fidelity', 'The Imposter', 'King Horse', 'Clowntime Is Over', 'Temptation' - all impeccable power-pop songs that show Elvis in firm command of the 'big sound', even if it doesn't really sound like Motown at all. But he really breaks away from that winning formula only once, with the demo-quality (and therefore self-produced) ballad 'New Amsterdam' where the keyboards are, for once, relegated to the background in favour of a soft, lulling acoustic guitar rhythm. It's probably not an acoustic masterpiece, but it's a very nice conclusion as far as side closers go. As for the 'authentic' stuff, he really 'goes Motown' only once - on an upbeat, vivacious rendition of Sam & Dave's 'I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down'.
It's also a lot of fun for 'classic rock' lovers to trace the guy's subconscious influences and all; for instance, the guitar break at the end of '5ive Gears In Reverse', which is so very much Keith Richards in his Aftermath period, or the frantic rock'n'roll of 'Beaten To The Punch' which does not differ much from the basic melody of 'I Saw Her Standing There', and I think there was a bit of Kinks ripping-off somewhere out there in the jungle, but I'm too exhausted to dive into it again and besides I've lost my pith helmet. But whatever be the case, there's so much real creativity out here that holding any of this against him would be the acme of ridiculousness.
It all culminates in 'Riot Act', the most delicious little bit that Elvis was wise enough to save for dessert - and knock you off your feet with one last punch when you were instead waiting for just one more harmless kick. This is the album's most soulful moment, yes, but also Costello's crowning vocal achievement as he accumulates enough bitter sarcasm and artistic desperation to get over his limits and make you stand in awe at the sound of his voice. A few additional, perfectly placed backup vocals complete the picture and provide even more epic flavour. The entire album, want it or not, gives the impression of superbly lightweight - but it is 'Riot Act' that completely turns the tables on that impression, much like 'A Day In The Life' does for many people.
In short (yeah yeah I know), I do not believe that there is a better album than Get Happy!! if you want to have a convincing audio illustration of the "Elvis Costello is a really talented son of a bitch" principle. And there's really not much more you can say about Elvis Costello, or is there?..
[The actual release I am reviewing is the recent 2-CD one, including a whoppin' 30 bonus tracks, but nobody except a pedantic Costello historian really needs more than just a few, namely, B-sides and select rarities from the epoch, such as 'Girls Talk' and 'Getting Mighty Crowded'. On the other hand, even if I'm the farthest person from a Costello historian, it was interesting to check out some of these early demos and witness how much more "soul" (and also "ska") it was initially intended to be - 'I Can't Stand Up', for instance, is three times as slow and 'passionate' as the final version and sucks quite drastically, and practically the same goes for 'Clowntime Is Over'. Whaddaya know - speed does matter.]

Featured Tracks
New Amsterdam
I Can't Stand Up For Falling Dow