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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Following a string of tasteful but sometimes bloodless collaborations with Sophie Van Otter, Bill Frisell and the London Symphony Orchestra, Elvis Costello delivers his most visceral and satisfying album in years with When I Was Cruel. Reunited with half the Attractions, Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve, Costello sticks relatively close to the sharp new-wave melodies that sealed his reputation in the late 1970s and 80s, but infuses them with powerful sonic touches: a hypnotic loop of Italian pop singer Mina that carries the title track, the melodica that casts an eerie glow over "Soul for Hire" and the frenetic, klezmer-inspired horns that drive "15 Petals". Costello's guitar is frequently drenched in tremolo, and his lyrical wit hasn't been this consistently spiky and unforced since Blood & Chocolate.
Compared to some of his more uptown adventures, When I Was Cruel may seem at first a kind of semi-nostalgic slumming, but the opposite may be the case: like the film-maker Woody Allen, Costello is at his most artful when he produces perfect pop trifles that will almost certainly outlast his more self-conscious "serious" work. --Keith Moerer
Product Description
ELVIS COSTELLO When I Was Cruel (2002 UK Special Edition enhanced 17-track CD and the first album to feature Elvis new band The Imposters. Includes the CD-Rom video When I Was Cruel No.2 - filmed live at the Q Awards 2001 alongside the singles45 and 15 Petals. With original picture sleeve)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ALARMINGLY GOOD...,
By A Customer
This review is from: When I Was Cruel (Audio CD)
Why is Elvis Costello still making albums this good? By all rights, he should be an embarrassment by now, a faded punk rock icon whose time has long passed. Instead, he is outpacing most of the younger guys in terms of output, energy, quality and passion. This album is the work of a man who loves music, and loves discovery, someone who is hell bent on creating something new and exciting even if it costs him the affections of fickle-minded listeners and journalists. I don't know how he does it. This album is a tour de force, like Dylan's Time Out Of Mind but more playful and full of dark fun. Run out and get it, put it on, and howl at the moon...
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
50,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong!,
By david@vance171.fsnet.co.uk (Belfast, N.Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: When I Was Cruel (Audio CD)
"When I was cruel" signals Costello doing that which he does best. It is in turns stroppy, sensitive, dense, simple, and mostly inspired.After the beard years and the ballad years we now have a return to the noisy years. Much of the musical sound on this record is reminiscent of Attraction era music. Studio layering does little to enhance this, though Elvis obviously thinks otherwise. The best songs, as always,are the most simple. 45, Alibi, My Little Blue Window, to name a few are classis Costello. Lyrically taut, musically soaring, a perfect reason to buy this. The title track, When I was Cruel, carries sonic echoes of "I want you". Brooding, repetitive, and vintage! Indeed this new release represents not so much a return to form as evidence that he has always been on form. Episode of Blonde carries Elvis into new territory and works superby well. The latin shuffle of the verse and the pop lushness of the chorus combine into a veritable tour de force. Live it must be a wonder to behold. Of course there are a few songs which don't work. "Daddy can I turn this" and "Soul for Hire" are messy, and unsatisfactory. But Elvis has always had a few dud tracks on every release he's ever made. The man, fans must remember, is not perfect. "Maintaining Radio Silence" brings the recording to a perfect end. Costello's enunciation is spine-chilling, and the lyric follows in a tradition of diva last-album songs.(I want to Vanish, Forever, Waiting for the end of the world, etc) Repeated listening brings its rewards. "When I was Cruel" shows Costello to be in a league of one. He is funny at times, cruel at times (despite protests to the contrary) and achingly tender at times. Buy "When I was Cruel" and prepare to be entranced by the beloved entertainer!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Oh look - another great Costello album,
By A Customer
This review is from: When I Was Cruel (Audio CD)
Elvis Costello's problem is that he has produced so many great albums over the years that he finds himself judged by his own very high standards. We expect outstanding music from him, and sometimes feel a little disappointed, even when he produces albums which almost nobody else can rival.When I Was Cruel is a case in point. It's a marvellous album, showcasing most of the styles which EC has mastered over the years. I can't think of another British artist who could hope to rival this. If you like EC, you'll like this. Oh, and it is NOT a 'return to form'. This implies that EC was 'off form' with his last couple of albums. That was emphatically not the case. All This Useless Beauty and Painted From Memory were outstanding albums. If you haven't got them, put them in your shopping basket with this... Four stars, then. I can't give it five because it's not his absolute best work. It's those high standards, you see...
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