After 32 albums of quality guaranteed music, Elvis Costello pulls out all the stops and returns to his raucous best with ‘The Boy Named IF’. It’s a highly charged set of rock tales, reminiscent of his very first albums with The Attractions, that bought him to public attention back in the late 70s.
It seems strange writing this, but he’s been giving us fantastic tunes and barbed commentary over 44 years. Always varied, sometimes controversial, never less than compelling, Elvis Costello is rightly regarded as one of the major artists in the world, and this album shows why, with a collection of songs that are right up there with his finest. The ‘IF,’ of the title explained by Elvis is a nickname for your imaginary friend; your secret self, the one who knows everything you deny, the one you blame for the shattered crockery and the hearts you break, even your own.
Tales of experience, of coming to maturity, wrong turns, and blame to be appropriated, to himself or others. As always with Costello, people will scrutinise the lyrics, looking for clues to form insight into the songs and the artist himself, and there is a real joy in these layered stories that will reward such scrutiny. But, the album hits with an immediacy with some of the best rock sounds in his glorious back catalogue.
Kicking off with the rowdy, rambunctious ‘Farewell OK’, to the last reverb on ‘Mr. Crescent’, there is no need for any quality control, as Elvis hits the target, time after time on 13 stellar songs.
From the magnificence of ‘Alison’ on ‘My Aim Is True’, Costello has always penned beautiful ballads, with aching melodies and ponderous words, and this album is no exception, with the lilting and intriguing ‘Paint The Red Rose Blue’.
He haunted the shadows and waited until they had secrets to sell him and some practical skill. Theatrical blood is convenient to spill. He turned on the light and watched her undress. Oh, you’d never guess what came next, unless.
The themes of sex, deceit, and guilt are entwined throughout the album.
There is real energy and vigour to the delivery of the music here. Backed by the mighty imposters of Pete Thomas on fierce sounding drums, Davy Faragher on bass, and Steve Nieve laying atmospherics all over on keyboards, it is truly a rich and varied cache of sheer excellence.
So many of these songs could sit easily in setlists of fan-favourites, and hopefully will in gigs to come in the not too distant future.
‘The Boy Named IF’ is a collection filled with witty epithets, caustic put-downs, killer lines, ear-worm tunes, and good old-time Elvis Costello rock throughout, as he releases his best album in decades.