The Various Phases of Elvis Costello

It's an interesting exercise to compare the Elvis Costello of today to the incarnation from days gone by. When Costello first started way back in the mid-1970s, the Woody Allen lookalike was a virtual, virulent firebrand, spewing bitter yet witty diatribes at such diverse subjects like conservative politics, prevalent racism, unrequited love, and working-class tedium.

However, as time went by, Costello began to incorporate a wider range of styles into his musical palette (and acquired a sharper fashion sense in the process). Absorbing everything from twangy country, Brill Building pop and modern classical to bouncy reggae, lilting folk and fervent R&B, Costello also began collaborating with luminaries of the genres like Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Roy Orbison and even opera diva Anne Sofie von Otter.

Here's a brief sampling of the various artistic phases of one of the sharpest pop geniuses of recent times:

ALISON (1977)
Costello's love songs are usually sugar-coated poison pills, and this one is no exception. A pensive mid-tempo ballad that hides some of the nastiest lyrics that he has ever penned, this bittersweet ode to romantic betrayal and illusory happy endings is the perfect flip side to The Police's equally vicious stalker anthem "Every Breath You Take".

I DON'T WANT TO GO TO CHELSEA (1978)
A ska-influenced rocker that is arguably one of the most tightly wound numbers in Costello's vast repertoire, this refreshing blast takes careful aim at the trends of the day, targeting in particular transitory fashion fads and the superficialities of skin-deep beauty.

OLIVER'S ARMY (1979)
By the time of his third album (1979's utterly brilliant "Armed Forces"), Costello had taken on a decidedly leftist political stance. A pointed, barbed attack on hawkish Tory conservatives, their manipulative values, and the ways and means by which they control the thoughts of the ordinary working stiff, this bitter diatribe (highly applicable in this post-9/11 climate of religious ultra-fundamentalism and superpower-endorsed neo-conservatism) is paradoxically and brilliantly set to a jaunty piano riff and some marvellous harmony vocals.

EVERYDAY I WRITE THE BOOK (1983)
Costello goes the new wave route, with production help from the dynamic duo of Langer and Winstanley. While the tune is a tad polished, and the arrangement just a little too ornate (as befits the Langer and Winstanley approach), it's still a commendable update of classic late-1960s Motown grooves. The presence of the Afrodiziak singers on backing vocals is a nice finishing touch.

VERONICA (1989)
A nice little straightforward pop number that became a modest hit in the US, this Paul McCartney-assisted bauble is a sympathetic analysis of growing old and attendant forgetfulness, with a steady backbeat reminiscent of mid-period Beatles.

THE BIRDS WILL STILL BE SINGING (1993)
The Brodsky Quartet collaborated with Costello on this minimalist-informed piece, a deceptively calm paean to suicide. The surfeit of strings does threaten to overwhelm the proceedings, but it's redeemed by Costello's unerring sense of melody.

MY DARK LIFE (1996)
An edgy electronica-inspired ditty taken from "The X-Files" TV soundtrack, this Brian Eno-assisted effort is remarkable in its use of ambient-style patterns and Numan-esque synth effects. Not to mention the decidedly surreal lyrical imagery.

PAINTED FROM MEMORY (1998)
Costello is in a rare open-hearted mode on this measured chamber-pop collaboration with veteran pop classicist Burt Bacharach. Adorned with an archetypal Bacharach string arrangement and boasting a nicely matured Costello vocal, this is exactly the sort of composition that could never be attempted by the Elvis Costello of the nascent years.