Revisiting an old Pal...

Occasional Albums Thing 084 - Elvis Costello & The Attractions “Trust”

We covered Elvis Costello (& The Attractions in part) first three albums waaaaay back in April/May 2023 (start here and work forward a few days). I love those those first 3 records still but as I said about “Armed Forces” back then “I pretty much stopped buying his records after this one, don’t know why that’s just the way it worked out”. I bought the single from this album, “Clubland”, but that was it. So then, why have I suddenly retaken an interest and dived back in ? It wasn’t a conscious thing, a friend of mine (Hi Chris) bought himself a copy of this album and on getting it home realised he already had it and asked me if I wanted this one…free records, you bethcha !

“Trust” is EC’s 5th album, released in 1981, the follow up to “Get Happy”. Until the end of 1980 and the “Armed Force” period Elvis had been a hit making machine, culminating in “Oliver’s Army” reaching in #2 in the UK. That slowed after “Get Happy” (although a cover of Sam & Dave’s “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down” did reach #4 in 1980) and “Trust”s lead single, “Clubland” only managed #60. So what changed ?

Well…”Get Happy” had been influenced by the soul and R&B of the 1960’s. The idea for “Trust” was to hitch “Get Happy”s rhythm to “Armed Forces” melody and I think perhaps the idea got a little lost somewhere inbetween. There are hints of Jazz, Rock & Roll and Country within, was Elvis having a crisis about what he wanted to do or where he wanted to go with his music (his next album was a Country & Western record ! See also “Different Finger on this record) ? Well, throw in the rumoured drug and alcohol usage that may or may not have affected these sessions and confusion seems to have reigned.

“Clubland” kicks things off, the verses have hints of “Watching the Detectives” about them and break out into an eminently hummable extended chorus. The next song that hooked me in was…well it was a long wait but “New Lace Sleeves” kicks off Side 2 and struck me as an interesting song that suffers from this albums insipid instrumentation and production. The guitars finally make an appearance on “From A Whisper To A Scream” as does Squeeze’s Glen Tilbrook, and I really have nothing more to say about it than that. The sound of EC & The Attractions I’d enjoyed before almost breaks out during “White Knuckles” but feels held back, like the band are “scared” to let go. Final mention goes to “Big Sisters Clothes”, there’s seemingly a song hidden in there amongst that bloody awful arrangement, whoever decided to clothe it like that needs to have a word with themselves.

There are 14 tracks on “Trust”, packin’ ‘em in, which means the album is concise, none of the songs outstay their welcome, which is a relief to be honest. Overall the sound is small, claustrophobic in comparison to “This Years Model” and “Armed Forces” much .more expansive mixes. The songs are, opin the main, very piano-centric which makes me miss the guitars of previous records. There is also a grab-bag of styles going on that sounds like someone feeling about in a fog for a style rather than trusting what they were doing on previous albums.

I’ve never really held Elvis in the same regard as Weller or Strummer from the same period (and I know that may not sit well with some people), I understand what a truly fantastic songwriter he is but his message didn’t hit as hard with me as those others. What he did early on pushed a button that worked for me and if you know this record well and like it then there’s proof that we all have different ears. Hearing this record sheds a little light on why I stopped buying Elvis Costello records. I don’t need to dig any deeper than this. 

White Knuckles - https://youtu.be/gbZ6TkpflKc?si=2_UbMad1I7_dUNIC