Elivs Costello is one of those guys that has been around so long that people talk seriously about his collected output as a whole rather than on a record by record basis. This is silliness, of course, because an artist makes a record like they do when they do because they want to do it at that time. Of course, you know that. But I just wanted to get that point out there before I said something you might think was critical laziness: This record harkens right back to the best pop amazingness of his early years.
There have been points in his career when this guy has taken himself way too seriously, releasing records that were, well, pretentious and full of some goofy sense of self-importance. Some would buy that stance, others wouldn’t. But for me the best of this major artist’s work stems from the times when he just lets it be and goes with the moment. This is one of those records. It’s rockin’, jazzy, uncomplicated fun that sounds like a Carnival of Costello inside your skull. There’s enough here to keep you amused for hours on end. Many songwriters hope for their entire careers to write one song as good as any of these. Fantastic.
Track Listing:
01 45
02 Spooky Girlfriend
03 Tear Off Your Own Head (It’s A Doll Revolution)
04 When I Was Cruel No. 2
05 Soul For Hire
06 Petals
07 Tart
08 Dust 2…
09 Dissolve
10 Alibi
11 …Dust
12 Daddy Can I Turn This?
13 My Blue Window
14 Episode Of Blonde
15 Radio Silence
keepsmealive 