‘Brilliant Mistake’ – Elvis Costello, 1986
On his tour of America in 1979, a brash young songwriter by the name of Declan MacManus made some unfortunate comments about James Brown and Ray Charles while out drinking. Costello’s statement that Charles was nothing but a “blind, ignorant nigger” was intended to provoke Stephen Stills’ entourage, whom Costello and bass player Bruce Thomas had encountered in a hotel bar. But when one of Stills’ crew went to the papers, and Costello displayed an abrasive attitude and unwillingness to apologise at a subsequent press conference, his Stateside career was over. Albums continued to be released, but to diminishing returns.
Seven years later, after a couple of duds, Costello returned with the King of America album. The opener, ‘Brilliant Mistake’, is a classic Costello song, albeit in a polished 1980s production. The opening lines seem to recount Costello’s ego and the pride before the fall:
“He thought he was the King of America,
Where they pour Coca-Cola just like vintage wine”
Mixed in with this reflection of past glories is the lovesickness that defines early- and mid-period Costello:
“I wish that I could push a button,
And talk in the past and not the present tense”
As usual, his lyrics are poetic and strong on turn-of-phrase. Musically, the standout instrument is acoustic guitar, which drives the song along in a way that’s very similar to Dylan’s ‘Tangled Up In Blue’. In fact ‘Brilliant Mistake’ shares a lot with Dylan’s classic, with a regretful backward glance betrayed in the need to keep looking forward. Drums, a nice bassline (always important to me) and some accordion that gives the song a C&W feeling to it.
As the song concludes, Elvis gets comfortable with a career on the margins (or ‘the ditch’, as Neil Young put it), and sums up his position:
“I was a fine idea at the time,
Now I’m a brilliant mistake”
Here’s the best video I can find of it on YouTube. Check Last.fm, or just download it.
