Get Happy
Costello continued his most-prolific-man-alive act with the 20-trackGet Happy!!, his fourth album in 30 months. He says what he has to say and shuts up--only a small handful of cuts approach or go over the three-minute mark--often in a pile-driving style inspired by Stax/Volt. (Sometimes loosely inspired; his version of the Sam & Dave ballad "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" is played in a rush.) Costello's wordplay is at a height here, but it doesn't divert the eye from the emotional wreckage behind the scenes: as he sings on "Human Touch," "What the makeup hides can't be made up with a kiss." The Rykodisc CD adds 11 bonus tracks, including a suitably fragmented (and unlisted) demo of "Love for Tender."--Rickey Wright