Bulldog

By 1982, the year of this record's release, Elvis Costello had enjoyed an amazingly accelerated lifespan for such a relatively young musical career. By this time he'd released no less than 6 albums in as many years, all of which still stand up as, in my opinion of course, truly great albums (with the exception of the patchy, overcooked 'Armed Forces'). Each album has a unique identity of its own and was a brave step away from the one which preceded it, and 'Imperial Bedroom' is no exception to this. The reason I've chosen to review this album is the fact that for me it represents Costello's magnum opus as he began to enjoy the kind of creative freedom in the studio which he'd probably longed for since becoming a professional musician. It's also a horribly undervalued piece of work and a constant fixture in any top 10 albums list that I'd care to map out.

The album is basically Costello taking a much more cautious and compositional approach to music in the studio, and it results in simply one of the finest examples of careful, overdub-heavy songcraft paying dividends when it comes to good old-fashioned musical quality. Anyway, here we go Track-by-track time;

1. Beyond Belief
A sombre, brooding, slightly cold and somewhat down-tempo piece of rock here which sets the mood nicely for most of the rest of the album, all the while revolving around a terrific performance by drummer Pete Thomas. 8/10

2. Tears Before Bedtime
And here we see keyboardist Steve Nieve becoming noticeable all of a sudden. His organ-line underpins another marvellous band performance and very well-written song. It's the closest this album comes to the new-wave Costello was previously renowned for. 9/10

3. Shabby Doll
Another pretty cold song with another bitter, sneering lyric ('being what you might call a whore - always worked for me before' being just one of its many delights). It certainly sounds a lot more like a spontaneous jam than its finely-toned bedfellows on this album, and is for me probably the weakest part of it. 6/10

4. The Long Honeymoon
Here we have the first truly adventurous artistic endeavour on the album. Beneath a wonderful lyric, about the narrator thinking her lover's with her best friend but can't bring herself to pick up the phone and find out, this slow-burning song is led on by a beautifully haunting accordion wailing away, as well as quick bursts of guitar from Costello himself. The french horns bring a majestic end to a majestic song. 10/10

5. Man Out Of Time
With its furious, berserk intro, this number just leaps out of the ol' stereo speakers and really grabs the listener's attention, before slowing down into a gorgeous, mid-tempo, piano-led tune, and then speeding right up again during the fadeout. Another album highlight, if not one of the man's career highlights. 10/10

6. Almost Blue
Bizarrely named after his country & western covers album of the year before, to this point in his career this was as deeply emotional, gentle and at points depressing as Costello had ever been. A truly remarkable, old-fashioned torch-song led by another brilliant piano performance from Steve Nieve (which is mostly the common denominator with this album). 10/10

7. ...And In Every Home
And if the previous 3 were major artistic departures for Elvis Costello and the Attractions, then this song gets on the plane to Timbuktu and never comes back. It's basically Costello singing over a madly ambitious string arrangement composed by Nieve and some bloke called George Martin. 9/10

8. The Loved Ones
Back we go to good old piano-led rock 'n' roll. Certainly one of the more accessible numbers on the album, it's still another highlight, worth a 10 for the inhuman keyboard-bashing in the bridge alone. 10/10

9. Human Hands
This one's easily the catchiest, most hummable track on show here. Led by what sounds like a heavily-treated guitar motif before each verse, as well as an all-round white-hot backing band, it's another terrific song. Features one of Costello's most ambitious vocal performances as well. 9/10

10. Kid About It
From the raucous, up-tempo nature of the three songs before it, here we're taken right to the other side of the speedometer with a somewhat jazzy slow-burner. Not one of the best on the album upon the first listen, but it's certainly a grower. 6/10

11. Little Savage
And from there on in the general mood of the album in a musical sense gets a lot darker, this organ-led, maybe even slightly doomy-sounding song being a prime example of that. The lyrics, such as 'you do something very special to - Mr. Average - now the lamb lies with the lion - he's just a little savage' are nicely reflected musically, particularly by the moody organ solo after the second verse. 8/10

12. Boy With a Problem
A companion-piece to the similarly slow-burning piano ballad 'Almost Blue', it's not quite as emotional and touching as that song, but it's yet another beautifully well-structured song with some great lyrics too. It's something about hearing Costello sing 'came home drunk - talking in circles - the spirit is willing but I don't believe in miracles' which gets to me every time I hear it. 9/10

13. Pidgin English
Another very ambitious composition. The labyrinthine vocal overdubs, bass, horn arrangement, the Spanish guitar solo, the lyrics, occasional flourishes of creepy organ-lines, the majestic fadeout, it all just falls into place perfectly. 10/10

14. You Little Fool
This 'ere merry ditty, with a harpsichord underpinning another mazy studio production, is as close to psychedelic as Costello would ever get. It's return the mid-tempo antics and gorgeously cynical lyrics of earlier parts of the album, and a very fine song indeed on top of all that. 9/10

15. Town Cryer
And it's all rounded off by one of the most soaringly beautiful curtain-closers on any album. Steve Nieve's contribution is the simply perfect piano introduction to an absolutely sublime slow-burner is definitely one of the high points of the album. And also, if the string arrangement during the fadeout doesn't get to you at all, frankly you're not human! 10/10

So there you go. My first attempt at a review. I probably went on a bit, but this is simply one of favourite albums of all time, so I thought it deserved it.

10/10

Molecules

I can't really think of anything wrong with that album either. Geoff Emmerich, you bloody genius. 'And In Every Home' is still mind-boggling to me... A nice concise review, I'm not sure where the Costello fans are on MB... I know Waspstar is into him..?

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Eff em
free post-punk for the people

Demonoid

I really do need to get more of his stuff...All I have is a compilation and I remember liking it. Nice review(although I've listened to only couple of songs from it) and thanks for the reminder

WaspStar

This is the only great album Costello ever made without the help of Nick Lowe. Even the weaker tracks (Boy With A Problem, Shabby Doll) have their merits. Town Cryer might be my favorite Costello song. As you said, Nieve's string arrangement is phenomenal.

I read a review that said something along the lines of "this is brilliant pop music, if an album this deep and disturbing can be called 'pop' music." That basically sums it up.

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"This sure doesn't look like 'Crazy Ernie's Emporium of Total Bargain Madness!'"

Bulldog

Thanks for the feedback guys

I'm a massive fan of Spike and Mighty Like a Rose myself, but otherwise I agree

WaspStar

I used to think Spike was the great underrated Costello album. I still enjoy it, but I've lost a lot of love for it. This Town..., Veronica, Coal Train Robberies, and a few others are real classics. I still can't decide if the stylistic diversity is an asset or a drawback.

To be honest, I sort of strained my definition of "help of Nick Lowe" by including Brutal Youth (produced by Mitchell Froom, but Lowe plays bass on half of the tracks), which I love.

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"This sure doesn't look like 'Crazy Ernie's Emporium of Total Bargain Madness!'"

Bulldog

Costello is the man, simple as. I'd recommend starting with My Aim Is True, This Year's Model and maybe Brutal Youth before you move onto this album though

Brutal Youth is an excellent album, if only for that tempo-change in the middle of My Science-Fiction Twin alone. Took me a few listens to get into it, but I soon came to my senses!

As for Spike, I've loved it from the word go really. I saw the video for Veronica on youtube once and hunted it down religiously from there. Brilliant album. I'd review it here, but I think I'll leave it 'til I've covered a few more artists first