It’s been well over 35 years since Elvis Costello, then a 27-year-old angry young man born Declan Patrick MacManus, teamed up with Attractions Bruce Thomas (bass) Pete Thomas (drums) Steve Nieve (keyboards) and Beatles Sgt Pepper engineer Geoff Emerick to help realize the embattled landscape of post relationship heartbreak, drama and romance of Imperial Bedroom (1982) the 7th Elvis Costello album in five years following the explosive 1977 debut LP My Aim Is True. Now a senior citizen, the 64-year-old Costello is back with his 30th studio album in 41 years, returning once again to the familiar fertile writing ground that helped inspire much of Imperial Bedroom but from the perspective of a happily married family man and father of twins.
Produced by 5 time Grammy Award winning audio engineer and record producer Sebastian Krys Look Now clocks in at a manageable 47 minutes with 12 tracks in total, three expertly co-written by the master himself Burt Bacharach and a fourth by Bacharach’s Brill Building contemporary, the legendary Carole King who also provided inspiration for a 20-year-old Elvis track (Unwanted Number) originally heard in the fictionalized Carole King bio pic Grace Of My Heart (1996). Costello reunites with Attractions alumni Steve Nieve and Pete Thomas in the form of The Imposters, essentially The Attractions without the banished Bruce Thomas on bass. Davey Faragher, who helped found 90s alt rock outfit Cracker from the ashes of a disbanded Camper Van Beethoven, has been holding down his end of the Imposter’s rhythm section on bass for close to 20 years now.
In its weaker moments Look Now unwisely employs the services of an overzealous chorus of backup singers (Why Won’t Heaven Help Me?) with the unfortunate effect of making certain tracks sound like overblown numbers from a flop Broadway musical. A curiously engaging listen Look Now works best as brilliantly orchestrated adult contemporary pop. The soulful Suspect My Tears and I Let The Sun Go Down both harken back to a golden-age era of easy listening 70s pop championed by Karen Carpenter and brother Richard in The Carpenters. Bacharach’s piano ballads Don’t Look Now and Photographs Can Lie highlight some of the most achingly beautiful moments of the album and are two of the finest things the 90-year-old composer has written in decades. These tracks alone are worth the price of admission here.
Rating 7.5/10 Star
Rating 3.75/5
2018 Song Of The Day Club Album Review 40/52