Costello - When I Was Cruel: a return to form?

New "Elvis Clostello has glawsses without any actual glawss in them" answers.

I liked his Bacharach gig

The title track is really really good, as are Tart, Alibi and Oh Well. The rest I found kind of blaahh. I don't get any 70's Costello vibe off of it at all, but the tracks I like most seem to be a highly pleasing cross between Dylan circa Blood On The Tracks and Costello circa Blood and Chocolate.

If I had to compare it to any other Costello album, I'd say it was similar to Mighty Like A Rose, except he's used samples and modern studio trickery instead of just stealing all of Tom Waits' musicians. There are about as many boring songs as were on MLAR, but the good songs that are on the new record are VERY good.

Also, he's very bald now, so that's kind of distracting when you read the sleeve notes.

Haven't delved real deep, but "Tear Off Your Own Head" is all I like so far. One of the things that's been annoying about Costello for a long time--and *This Years Model* and *Armed Forces* were KEY records in my life (at the age of 14 I followed him and his mates to the Holiday Inn in London, Ontario so he could sign TYM!)--has been his voice. Can't think of a smart or clever way to put it--he just overdoes it. He's got such a seductive, sibilant voice (noone's ever pronounced S's better), I don't know why he feels the need to swallow or eat or belch on the microphone. He's better when he's pent up than when he releases (lyrically *and* vocally, actually). It's also why *Blood and Chocolate*--which I got excited about at the time--hasn't mostly held up for me (a few songs excepted), and after that, I stopped trying altogether...well, no, I tried with *Spike*, but it was a lot of work.

But, yeah, "Tear Off Your Own Head" is great. He should cover "Bills Bills Bills" in concert, though--I don't mean that facetiously. I'll listen to the album some more.

s'Okay. Closer to Mighty Like a Rose than Blood and Chocolate.

(My little bro ran into Elvis Costello in Manhattan yesterday.)

I've got a review of it coming out in a couple of days, but the gist is that he's been spending so long doing genre-exercise projects that this one feels like an exercise in the "old Elvis Costello & the Attractions" genre. A couple of primo songs (esp. the title track), but the attitude is really irritating.

Live last week he was ace, though--besides the songs from the new record, the repertoire was entirely from the first two albums, Imperial Bedroom and Blood & Chocolate.

i can't upload "last 5 bought" on this computer, but the answer = when i was cruel (& original pirate material)

this way i get to argue out my ACTUAL "is [xx] rock" question w.someone whose every song is a question of that form, instead of you soppy lot (yr boredom w.my question = yr boredom with EC, and fair enuff possibly)

I think it's surprisingly good. Of what I've bought lately, it's probably stuck the most. Tart, 15 Petals, and Spooky Girlfriend are great, as well as the title track and Episode of Blonde, which prove this is not an exercise in old Elvis, but an exercise in fucking Dylan.

an exercise in fucking Dylan

So long as he practiced safe exercise.

J Blount is OTM. Critics have described every one of EC releases since "Goodbye Cruel World" as a "return to form." Don't be fooled. I love 'im, and there's some okay stuff on this one, but it's not one of the great ones (TYM, "Get Happy," "Imperial Bedroom," "Armed Forces," "King of America") by a long shot. This is third-tier EC, like "Mighty Like a Rose" and "Punch the Clock."