get happy (1980) – elvis costello and the attractions: columbia records, JC-36347

In three short years (and three amazing albums) Elvis Costello had gone from complete unknown to one of the kings of the punk music scene. Fans and critics were stumbling over themselves trying to find new ways to heap praise on his work, and his first three albums were already considered among the most influential and important of the new punk oeuvre.

The problem was, Elvis (like many other new musicians in the late 70’s & early 80’s) was lumped into the punk category because of convenience rather than merit – at least depending on how one defined punk.

Strictly speaking, punk rock was the reaction to the overproduced and overly embellished style that had come to dominate music, bringing back very basic 4/4 time signatures, uncomplicated three-chord structures, and a stripped-down guitar-bass-drum instrumentation (very much like the sound coming from the British Invasion of the 60’s). The songs were short, loud, and often dealt in very simple terms with themes of alienation, dissatisfaction, and disillusion. The music could be quite insightful and resonant, but its core punk was unpretentious and primitive: two words that could never be applied to Elvis Costello.

However, although Elvis used keyboards (not a punk instrument), wrote some incredibly biting, multi-faceted, verbally adroit, and complex lyrics, and employed musical styles ranging from reggae (Less Than Zero, Living In Paradise) to torch song (Alison), his intensity, odd appearance, confrontational attitude, and unconventional sound meant he was considered punk.

So, it was actually quite an audacious act when, in 1980, Elvis released his decidedly non-punk album, Get Happy!!

Side 1: I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down Black & White World 5ive Gears In Reverse B Movie Motel Matches Human Touch Beaten To The Punch Temptation I Stand Accused Riot Act
Side 2: Love For Tender Opportunity The Imposter Secondary Modern King Horse Possession Man Called Uncle Clowntime Is Over New Amsterdam High Fidelity

The big backstory to Get Happy!! concerns some ill-considered and rather vulgar comments a very drunk Elvis made to some very drunk members of Stephen Stills’ band one night in a bar in Columbus, Ohio, where Elvis referred to James Brown as a “jive-arsed n****r”, and Ray Charles as an “ignorant n****r”, and some have considered the clear R&B groove on Get Happy!! to be an effort at making amends.

Now, Get Happy!! definitely has a different sound than Elvis’ first three albums. However, the truth is that Get Happy!! is less about atoning for ugly racist comments and more about Elvis’ paying tribute to his personal musical influences (even the cover art has a throwback feel to it, hinting that this is an album paying respect to the past). Elvis’ father was a band singer specializing in pop music, and he grew up listening to a lot of American vocalists, particularly Motown acts and the Memphis soul of Stax Records. In fact, one can hear that Motown/Stax R&B groove in Steve Nieve’s keyboards from the beginning.

Regardless of the intent of the album, Get Happy!! marks a transitionary phase from the aggressive, sardonic, snarling Elvis we knew, to the softer, more musically open, contemplative Elvis of Trust, Almost Blue, Imperial Bedroom, Punch The Clock, and Goodbye Cruel World. Musically, Get Happy!! has the guitar recede to the background (almost to the point of disappearing) and puts the organ and bass front and center, while lyrically it retains much of the verbal dexterity of Aim, Model, and Forces, but softens the delivery.

But none of that mattered for me. I was fully bought into this album before it was even released. Leaving aside the fact I was a huge Elvis fan ever since I first heard My Aim Is True, Elvis had a great way of promoting Get Happy!! – a ridiculously silly spoof of those K-Tel record television commercials, complete with Elvis holding a clipboard:

There was clearly no way I wasn’t going to get this album. And I was glad I did. In 1980 I was 16, and still too young to have the inflexible attitude that artists shouldn’t evolve and have their style change, and so I heard the songs without the prejudice of demanding they have the same sound as earlier material (sadly, I’ve lost some of that elasticity, and frequently find myself playing the cantankerous old coot, bellyaching about how rotten a band’s new music is compared to their old stuff before rushing out my door to shoo children off my lawn). Which is good, because I really like this album. Also, Get Happy!! was released during the dawn of the music video, when the production value was low, the artist had influence, and the video makers had to be creative to compensate for miniscule budgets and minimal resources. Because of that, I can never hear I Can’t Stand Up (For Falling Down) without seeing a remarkably dorky looking Elvis and the Attractions engage in some hilarious dancing across Amsterdam vistas, and enjoying a plate of Fish & Chips. See for yourself!

Get Happy!! is one of those albums that I have played over and over again since I got it, and it always seems fresh and enjoyable. This listen was no different. From the second the needle dropped, I found myself singing along with the songs and just feeling fresh and, well, happy. It’s just a great album.

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