The genius of this comes in making the narrator sympathetic. Of course none of us would ever become the jackboot of the regime. None of us would join the SS or the CIA, but somehow lots of people do. Elvis takes us right to the brink, and lets us see just the point where it seems like a plausibly defensible idea. Yeah, ok, I can see how I might have talked myself into some evil crap like this when I was 18. Would I have had the strength to refuse? I'd like to think so, but I can see just how easy it would be to go along.
The Attractions really earned their keep on this recording. The bass line was particularly outstanding. It just boils, churning with his anxiety in a perfectly melodic way while being the relentless main anchor of the groove. Those beautifully painful organ chords in the extro give perfect voice to the death throes of the narrator's conscience.
Article comments
1 - Bill Sherman
From individual Zappa tracks to Costello cuts: you've managed to hit two of my personal pleasure buttons. Keep 'em coming!