I wanna know about the mystery dance
This is a thing that is important.
Few rock artists have had as auspicious a debut as Elvis Costello. The young Brit emerged in ‘77 with a first record so powerful, melodic, and well-written it was astounding. At least, that’s what I’m led to believe happened; I wasn’t alive at the time.
My audio professor in college, the man who taught me everything I know about recording studios, tape splicing, and multi-tracking, is possibly the world’s biggest fan of Elvis Costello….’s first album. He once explained how high a regard he holds the album by emailing me the follow chart:
At the far left is a vertical line representing the quality of My Aim Is True. The descending 45 degree line represents the continually-diminishing quality of every subsequent album Costello has put out since. That’s Bob’s opinion. Ever the optimist, he continues to this day purchasing releases that promise to recapture the magic of that first album. Of course they never do, but now we might have the next best thing: an incredibly engaging live release that captures the unyielding melody of My Aim Is True, the fervor and energy of the fans seeing those songs performed live for the first time, and the furious momentum that would carry Costello into the release of This Year’s Model (which would come out days after this album was recorded in Toronto).
Perhaps its that period of transition that makes Live at the el Mocambo as blistering and joyous as it is. This is the Attractions, Costello’s famed backing band, coalescing for the first time and firing on all cylinders. The rhythm section of Bruce and Pete Thomas pushes the tempo and keyboardist Steve Nieve’s fingers are flying at the appropriate times. Costello himself is out front, stabbing at his guitar strings and emoting for the audience.
The first track is a rollicking take on Aim’s “Mystery Dance,” as good an example as any of the influence Costello had on punk rock and vice versa (although not as good as the version of “Radio Radio” that comes later in the set). Slower-tempo tracks like “I Don’t Want To Go To Chelsea” (not originally released in North America for some mind-boggling reason), “Little Triggers,” and the reggae-tinged “Watching The Detectives” give the audience and the band some moments of respite even while Costello squeezes every agonizing drop of earnestness from each line.
Some of his stage banter is classic pithy Costello. He informs the crowd that he’s come to Canada to, “ask for the country back.” What appears to be either an encore or the beginning of a second set kicks off with Costello chastising American audiences on the tour for not moving to the front of the stage or standing and dancing during the sets. He’s smart enough to further his own cause by launching immediately into the lively “Radio, Radio.” He’s also smart enough to ignore the ladies in the audience that spend the whole set screaming for him to play “Alison,” which he does not do. That’s good — it might be the big hit, but it would absolutely ruin the flow and energy of the set.
The light-speed toms of “Lipstick Vogue” carry into the rest of the encore, with the audience’s audible delight building and building and building until the climax, a jumped-up take on “Pump It Up” that ends with a minute and a half of a crowd that will never be satiated crying out for more. Their fervor suggests that this set could have been twice as long and they still wouldn’t be satisfied. They, and the record, only stop when the stage manager gets on the mic to tell them to clear out.
I suppose a big part of why I love this album is hearing not only another take on songs that I’ve gotten to know so well over the years. The muscle and enthusiasm of the young Costello’s voice is also exciting to witness, especially given some of his wilting, meandering old man projects in the last decade (collaborations with Burt Bacharach, Diana Krall, and Tony Bennet come to mind). Its as invigorating to me now I’m sure his music was to Bob when it was new.
Be it a window in time or just one really good night in Toronto, this is a pretty illuminating recording. I’m glad to see it refreshed for today’s market and it has me genuinely excited for the future live/re-issues Costello has planned.
Elvis Costello - Radio, Radio (live at the el Mocambo) [3:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Elvis Costello - I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea (live at the el Mocambo) [3:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Elvis Costello - the Beat [3:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadElvis’ site at Lost Highway Records points to Amazon, so here’s the Canadian link. iTunes has it as well. Look anywhere, really, and you’ll find some Costello material to buy, regardless of whether its a physical or digital outlet.
