In the first three albums, Elvis didn't let go too much; he was beyond disgust, he claimed, he was only amused, it was safer to sneer than sob. Perhaps sensing his emotional limitations, Elvis recorded "Big Tears" on a single last year, in which he accused his partner of calculated crying, empty tears, while dissolving into sobs himself. It was a pretty good song (though not good enough for inclusion on Armed Forces, undercut by an unexpansive melody and Costello's lack of vocal control). The concept reappears on Get Happy!! in "B Movie," this time with a meaner, more controlled vocal; but the style, the emotion, is successfully rendered in "Riot Act." Hanging on every heavy, condemnatory thump of Pete Thomas's drum as he is led into custody, Elvis makes a last-stand plea on behalf of emotion to a cold, insolent spouse. Elvis climaxes musically by extending the verse just short of the chorus, tension building as he fights to squeeze more and more lines into the measures until he rams against the downbeat and spills over, sobbing, into the refrain (which, incidentally, makes no sense).
No one could look upon Elvis Costello's vision as anything but limited. But few would look for a comprehensive overview in August Strindberg, either. Immature and oversensitive, Elvis dehumanizes to keep from being dehumanized; he gives us nothing less than the genesis of evil. What we have in the music of Elvis Costello is an extraordinarily detailed delineation of the twists and turns of a single tortured, adolescent mind. It's not us, but it's not that far removed; you may feel it next time you masturbate. In "High Fidelity," Elvis gives us, for once, a moral afterthought, a vicious vision of silliness; two people cheating on each other, bugged by each other, hating each other, communicating foggily through the airwaves:
High fidelity
Can you hear me
Can you hear me
Can you hear me
This is the greatness of Elvis Costello--despite the slurred, flat, off-speed, exhausted delivery, we can hear him. The signal is fuzzy; the aim is true.