Music Banter - View Single Post - Bulldog's Armchair Guide To Elvis Costello

Bulldog · 12-18-2008, 08:02 AM

Goodbye Cruel World
1984, F-Beat Records, Air Studios

For the followup to Punch the Clock, Elvis Costello took to more or less the same songwriting and production strategies which defined that album but would try and shape a darker record to suit his mood (at the time he was in the midst of lengthy divorce proceedings with his then-wife). This saw the Clanger and Winstanley team called on again in order give Goodbye Cruel World the same mass appeal as the album which preceded it, only this time 'round there were a few changes. Basically, neither the TKO Horns nor Afrodiziak were called on again for these sessions, which instead led the hiring of guest musicians for the first time on any Costello album.

The results are a very very far from spectacular, such to the extent that I'd happily call this Costello's worst album. Now, let's find out why...

1. The Only Flame In Town
The album is kicked into life by a Gary Barnacle (a hired hand for David Bowie, the Clash, Public Image Limited and Bjork down the years) sax solo, who continues to punctuate a chirpy little slice of soulful pop (which features guest vocals from a certain Daryll Hall). Hardly the most offensive song here, but it's a sign of things to come. The video's just as daft as they all were back in the day as well. 6/10

2. Home Truth
Definitely one of the better songs on show here, this slow and moody song is certainly one of a precious few which doesn't suffer from the overproduction that a lot of the rest of the album does. Lyrically the man's on form, telling a morbid and grim tale of a couple falling out of love (the couplet 'is it the lies I tell you, or the lies that I might?' is probably my favourite little segment), with a decent enough performance from the Attractions (and no session musicians) to back it up. 6/10

3. Room With No Number
The gunshot-style percussion and the flourishes of Steve Nieve's keyboard may as well date-stamp this lively cut to a certain week in 1984. That'd be reason enough to dismiss this song entirely but, on the other hand, the songwriting behind this tune is very strong to the point that you can virtually hear it crying out for a more laid back and stripped-down arrangement. 7/10

4. Inch By Inch
A slower and slightly jazzy cut, it was reworked from a much better song called Little Goody Two-Shoes (an outtake from Imperial Bedroom). Listen to those two songs back to back and you'll see exactly how this highly-polished, glossy song should have been presented in its final version. 5/10

5. Worthless Thing
A combination of two seperate home demos, as a result we have some more great lyrics ('you can live forever in a split-second of fame' and 'how many times can you jump out of the cupboard, before someone gets suspicious or someone gets discovered?' being a couple of highlights) swamped by the clash of Costello's clear desire to write a slow, mournful song and the producers' intent to keep things upbeat. A pretty weak song then. 3/10

6. Love Field
The opening synth-loop dates this song horrifically, and the fact that it's not a very good piece of songwriting (as the rather lame title might suggest) makes for another very weak item. 4/10

7. I Wanna Be Loved
A cover of a Teacher's Edition B-side this, as the second single from the album, made use of the talents of Green Gartside on backing vocals (not that you'd really notice of course). Although it's certainly the most flat-out emotional and up-front moment on the album, it really hasn't dated very well at all and, as with a lot of the album, the Attractions can only offer rather flat and dull performances as a band. The video, though, is brilliant - one of those very rare ones which actually improves on the song it intended to promote. 2/10

8. The Comedians
Another tune which was intended as a slow and sorrowful ballad but the final result of which is a bizarre attempt to give the song too much pace. Costello subsequently gave Roy Orbison the song for his Mystery Girl album, who would make much better use of it. 4/10

9. Joe Porterhouse
Not such a bad song this, but unfortunately there's really not all that much to deem it as anything more though. Again, it just lacks the fire and punch which was once what the Attractions were renowned for. It does contain the wonderful line 'now what is left for me, among the broken branches of the family tree?' though. 5/10

10. Sour Milk-Cow Blues
Easily the pick of the litter here. Like Room With No Number, it's dated as well as a month-old carton of milk, but again the songwriting behind this furiously disenchanted song is very strong indeed. It's a fine example of how, despite any reservations we may or may not have of them, the studio techniques used in a lot of mainstream 80s rock can actually enhance a song sometimes. That and the fact that we're treated to a fiery and passionate vocal performance from Costello and fittingly good contributions from the Attractions really allow this song to rise above the mire. The lyrics, about simply not being able to recognise someone you've adored for so long, are absolute gold too;

You wear a different size and style of shoe
I think that someone must be poisoning you
To replace you with a living double
Get out of my life right now and save them all of the trouble
They changed your complexion and your personality
Somebody's putting ideas in your head
They took the girl of my dreams and left you here instead
Sour milk-cow blues

So, yeah, erm... 8/10

11. The Great Unknown
But here, we once again see the flipside of the coin. Initially demoed as a beautiful and emotional acoustic ballad, here's another song which has had the life squeezed out of it by its studio treatment. 3/10

12. The Deportee's Club
The same can be said for the song which follows it. Re-recorded two years later as an acoustic ballad, it's clear from the outset that the attempt to twist this into a hard-rocking number was very misguided. 4/10

13. Peace In Our Time
Overproduced, dated, misguided - again, this song just cries out for a stripped-down and rootsy reading. 4/10

The Outtakes

I Hope You're Happy Now: A much more promising song than a lot of the ones which made the album, this would thankfully make it to a much better album than this one.

Get Yourself Another Fool: What you'd expect from any album outtake - not all that spectacular really.

Withered and Died: An acoustic and therefore somewhat effective and emotional ballad, this cover version (I forget who wrote it originally) should really have made the album.

She Loves the Jerk: An acoustic demo which which was (presumably) never given the studio treatment, it works well enough on its own.

Mystery Voice and Blue Murder On Union Avenue: Both of these home demoes were reworked into Worthless Thing. That said, they do stand up on their own; especially Mystery Voice, which boasts an interesting ska guitar-motif and some great lyrics.

So, summing up then...

Perhaps with a bit more thought and a different studio approach, this album could have ended up a lot better than it actually is. That said though, in a fair few places the songwriting is fairly below-par and weak. All in all, this was definitely the nadir of Costello's career, being very poorly received upon release. The events that followed it though would lead to some of the best moments of Costello's recording career. That and the inevitable breakup of the Attractions.

2/10

12-18-2008, 08:02 AM	#30 (permalink)
Bulldog why bother? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: UK Posts: 4,840	Goodbye Cruel World 1984, F-Beat Records, Air Studios For the followup to Punch the Clock, Elvis Costello took to more or less the same songwriting and production strategies which defined that album but would try and shape a darker record to suit his mood (at the time he was in the midst of lengthy divorce proceedings with his then-wife). This saw the Clanger and Winstanley team called on again in order give Goodbye Cruel World the same mass appeal as the album which preceded it, only this time 'round there were a few changes. Basically, neither the TKO Horns nor Afrodiziak were called on again for these sessions, which instead led the hiring of guest musicians for the first time on any Costello album. The results are a very very far from spectacular, such to the extent that I'd happily call this Costello's worst album. Now, let's find out why... 1. The Only Flame In Town The album is kicked into life by a Gary Barnacle (a hired hand for David Bowie, the Clash, Public Image Limited and Bjork down the years) sax solo, who continues to punctuate a chirpy little slice of soulful pop (which features guest vocals from a certain Daryll Hall). Hardly the most offensive song here, but it's a sign of things to come. The video's just as daft as they all were back in the day as well. 6/10 2. Home Truth Definitely one of the better songs on show here, this slow and moody song is certainly one of a precious few which doesn't suffer from the overproduction that a lot of the rest of the album does. Lyrically the man's on form, telling a morbid and grim tale of a couple falling out of love (the couplet 'is it the lies I tell you, or the lies that I might?' is probably my favourite little segment), with a decent enough performance from the Attractions (and no session musicians) to back it up. 6/10 3. Room With No Number The gunshot-style percussion and the flourishes of Steve Nieve's keyboard may as well date-stamp this lively cut to a certain week in 1984. That'd be reason enough to dismiss this song entirely but, on the other hand, the songwriting behind this tune is very strong to the point that you can virtually hear it crying out for a more laid back and stripped-down arrangement. 7/10 4. Inch By Inch A slower and slightly jazzy cut, it was reworked from a much better song called Little Goody Two-Shoes (an outtake from Imperial Bedroom). Listen to those two songs back to back and you'll see exactly how this highly-polished, glossy song should have been presented in its final version. 5/10 5. Worthless Thing A combination of two seperate home demos, as a result we have some more great lyrics ('you can live forever in a split-second of fame' and 'how many times can you jump out of the cupboard, before someone gets suspicious or someone gets discovered?' being a couple of highlights) swamped by the clash of Costello's clear desire to write a slow, mournful song and the producers' intent to keep things upbeat. A pretty weak song then. 3/10 6. Love Field The opening synth-loop dates this song horrifically, and the fact that it's not a very good piece of songwriting (as the rather lame title might suggest) makes for another very weak item. 4/10 7. I Wanna Be Loved A cover of a Teacher's Edition B-side this, as the second single from the album, made use of the talents of Green Gartside on backing vocals (not that you'd really notice of course). Although it's certainly the most flat-out emotional and up-front moment on the album, it really hasn't dated very well at all and, as with a lot of the album, the Attractions can only offer rather flat and dull performances as a band. The video, though, is brilliant - one of those very rare ones which actually improves on the song it intended to promote. 2/10 8. The Comedians Another tune which was intended as a slow and sorrowful ballad but the final result of which is a bizarre attempt to give the song too much pace. Costello subsequently gave Roy Orbison the song for his Mystery Girl album, who would make much better use of it. 4/10 9. Joe Porterhouse Not such a bad song this, but unfortunately there's really not all that much to deem it as anything more though. Again, it just lacks the fire and punch which was once what the Attractions were renowned for. It does contain the wonderful line 'now what is left for me, among the broken branches of the family tree?' though. 5/10 10. Sour Milk-Cow Blues Easily the pick of the litter here. Like Room With No Number, it's dated as well as a month-old carton of milk, but again the songwriting behind this furiously disenchanted song is very strong indeed. It's a fine example of how, despite any reservations we may or may not have of them, the studio techniques used in a lot of mainstream 80s rock can actually enhance a song sometimes. That and the fact that we're treated to a fiery and passionate vocal performance from Costello and fittingly good contributions from the Attractions really allow this song to rise above the mire. The lyrics, about simply not being able to recognise someone you've adored for so long, are absolute gold too; You wear a different size and style of shoe I think that someone must be poisoning you To replace you with a living double Get out of my life right now and save them all of the trouble They changed your complexion and your personality Somebody's putting ideas in your head They took the girl of my dreams and left you here instead Sour milk-cow blues So, yeah, erm... 8/10 11. The Great Unknown But here, we once again see the flipside of the coin. Initially demoed as a beautiful and emotional acoustic ballad, here's another song which has had the life squeezed out of it by its studio treatment. 3/10 12. The Deportee's Club The same can be said for the song which follows it. Re-recorded two years later as an acoustic ballad, it's clear from the outset that the attempt to twist this into a hard-rocking number was very misguided. 4/10 13. Peace In Our Time Overproduced, dated, misguided - again, this song just cries out for a stripped-down and rootsy reading. 4/10 The Outtakes I Hope You're Happy Now: A much more promising song than a lot of the ones which made the album, this would thankfully make it to a much better album than this one. Get Yourself Another Fool: What you'd expect from any album outtake - not all that spectacular really. Withered and Died: An acoustic and therefore somewhat effective and emotional ballad, this cover version (I forget who wrote it originally) should really have made the album. She Loves the Jerk: An acoustic demo which which was (presumably) never given the studio treatment, it works well enough on its own. Mystery Voice and Blue Murder On Union Avenue: Both of these home demoes were reworked into Worthless Thing. That said, they do stand up on their own; especially Mystery Voice, which boasts an interesting ska guitar-motif and some great lyrics. So, summing up then... Perhaps with a bit more thought and a different studio approach, this album could have ended up a lot better than it actually is. That said though, in a fair few places the songwriting is fairly below-par and weak. All in all, this was definitely the nadir of Costello's career, being very poorly received upon release. The events that followed it though would lead to some of the best moments of Costello's recording career. That and the inevitable breakup of the Attractions. 2/10