The Resurrection Of Rust

ELVIS COSTELLO, Rusty

Released on 2022-06-10 by EMI
Main artists: Elvis Costello Rusty
Genre: Rock

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Practically every musician of note was in a short-lived band early in their career, one that broke up after a few months of bar gigs that earned them practical experience and little else. Not many decide to put the old crew back together to cut their belated debut EP five decades after the fact, but Elvis Costello is no ordinary guy. In 1972, Costello -- then still known as Declan MacManus -- was in a duo called Rusty with fellow singer, guitarist, and songwriter Allan Mayes, and they made the rounds of folk clubs and pubs for roughly a year and a half before Costello left their native Liverpool to try his luck in London. In 2021, on a lark, Mayes contacted Costello to ask about doing a one-off Rusty reunion show. Costello countered with a proposal that they make a record, and The Resurrection of Rust is a six-song EP in which the duo run through some songs that were in their repertoire back in the day -- four covers and two originals. This doubtless sounds noticeably different than a Rusty gig would in 1972, since both Costello and Mayes have gained a lot of experience since they were scuffling on the edges of the pub rock circuit. Costello is a far more accomplished and nuanced singer in 2022 than he was when he cut My Aim Is True in 1977, and by all logic the same would be true of Mayes, who has remained a working musician and still gigs regularly in his adopted home of Austin, Texas. Instead, this sounds like two old friends taking a musical trip down memory lane and having a ball doing it. While the production clearly favors Costello's tastes (and several members of his band the Imposters sit in), Allan Mayes turns out to be a great vocal match for Costello -- a bit less graceful but full of gravitas, and his leads sound strong and authoritative (especially on Jim Ford's "I'm Ahead If I Can Quit While I'm Behind"), while their harmonies are rough but spirited. And when they run through the covers that were their bread and butter ages ago, they sound like they're having a blast, loping through a Neil Young medley and a joyous take on the Brinsley Schwarz classic "Surrender to the Rhythm" (with Brisney's keyboard man Bob Andrews re-creating his original organ part). As for the originals, "Warm House" and "Maureen & Sam" sound like they came from guys who were still learning their craft, but for the work of callow youngsters, they show that the talent was always there, if in very raw form. The Resurrection of Rust doesn't suggest the world lost a potential classic when Rusty failed to make a record in 1972, but as a glorious recollection of a youth well misspent, it's hard not to love if you care about Costello at all.
© Mark Deming /TiVo

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The Resurrection Of Rust

Elvis Costello

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Surrender To The Rhythm