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| ARTIST: |
Elvis Costello
(Google this artist) |
| ALBUM: |
When I Was Cruel |
| LABEL: |
Island Records |
| RELEASED: |
2002 |
The career of the great Elvis Costello has taken more directions than an
understudy in "A Chorus Line." Yet for all his creative exploration, his most
satisfying works tend to stay close to his rock & roll roots, whether it's
the biting This Year's Model, the folk and R&B-influenced King of America
or his latest release, When I Was Cruel, his first band-oriented record
since the pre-Monica heyday of the Clinton administration.
Yet to call When I Was Cruel a simple return to old-school rock isn't
completely accurate. The underlying beauty of the record lies in the way it
subtly incorporates many of the musical offroads he's traveled along the
way. So while the "Paperback Writer"-esque "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a
Doll Revolution)," would be at home on Armed Forces, "When I Was Cruel #2,"
has a chamber pop feel that clearly shows the influence of Painted From
Memory, his 1998 collaboration with Burt Bacharach.
His famous way with a lyric has lost none of its edge over the years.
Instantly memorable couplets are strewn all over When I Was Cruel: "I can't
hear you/'Cause we're breaking up;" "Every Elvis has his Army/Every
rattlesnake has its charm;" "I love you just as much/As I hate your guts."
And Costello may be the only writer who would dare undertake a song-length
triple entendre. But he does so winningly in the opening track, "45," which
refers to the year World War II ended, the RPM of vinyl singles and the age
he turned the day he wrote it, all with great economy.
Elvis has said he felt the time was right for a "rowdy rhythm record."
When I Was Cruel proves that his timing, like his music, remains exquisite.
review by Steve Walsh
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Figgle 2001-2007