It was time to take stock. He went out on the road for his first solo tour, armed with a couple of guitars and a vast array of songs. Touring with T-Bone Burnett, he started to develop material for his next album, which would be a marked departure from his previous two albums with Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The new songs delved into hearfelt balladry, rock-a-billy, and 'roots' rock, and each tune begged for a simple, straightforward approach than his most recent work with The Attractions. The album would turn out to be one of the best of Costello's entire career. Released in 1986, KING OF AMERICA was credited to "The Costello Show Featuring The Attractions and Confederates," a billing which is somewhat misleading. Costello's original plan was to record half of the album with each backing band, but the balance quickly shifted in favor of The Confederates (a floating cast of U.S. session players including James Burton, Jim Keltner, Mitchell Froom, Jerry Scheff, Micheal Blair and others). The sessions with The Attractions did not go well, and in the end their only contribution to the album is one superb performance, on "Suit Of Lights." The band would regroup to record another album that year, after which they would split up for nearly a decade. In many ways, EC's work on AMERICA marks the genuine beginning of "The Beard Years," an often dismissive label for much of EC's work in the late 80s and early 90s. Firstly, there is EC's picture on the album sleeve-- it was a subtler beard than he would sport in the 90s, but it was a radical physical departure from the Buddy Holly image that he had maintained since his debut. Second, Elvis was working with new musicians, many of whom would help build the musical landscape on albums like SPIKE, MIGHTY LIKE AROSE, and KOJAK VARIETY. As a songwriter, this album returned Costello to the heights of ambition that IbMePdErRoIoAmL had reached. Songs like "Brilliant Mistake," "I'll Wear It Proudly," and "Sleep Of The Just" were instant classics, and Costello seemed to be rejuvinated by his new musical collaborators. Some of the material harkens back to the style of MY AIM IS TRUE, while songs like "Our Little Angel" and "Indoor Fireworks" are Costello's best efforts at Country music to date. If some of the tracks are less ambitious than others, it is a minor complaint, and the performances are passionate throughout. It's
a shame that the album has always been more of a critical favorite than
a commercial success, but an acoustic folk album was more than a little
out of fashion in the mid-80s. Hopefully, it will remain an album
that new listeners will continue to discover for years to come-- a classic.
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