Elvis Costello - When I Was Cruel

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• COSTELLO ELVIS WHEN I WAS CRUEL

Music reviews of When I Was Cruel

Music Review: (4 & 1/2 stars) Fantastic, but NOT "This Years Model II"
Rating: 5 Stars

The latest album to receive this backhanded accolade by critics is "When I Was Cruel." What these critics fail to consider is that Costello has been a chameleonic artist from day one. (We're talking about a guy here who, as early on as his fourth record "Get Happy!!," temporarily abandoned traditional "rock" entirely in favor of a Motown/Stax sound). What's most irritating to me about the "return to form!" declarations is that it also discredits anything the man has done in the past 15 years or so as weak and compromised. But, in my opinion, any artist worth their salt will constantly reinvent themselves.

Moreover, "When I Was Cruel" is simply not a "rock" record at its heart. Costello himself will tell you that the new record is too diverse and complicated to be closely allied with such works as "This Years Model." There is no doubt that he knows it is indeed edgy, and that it contains some of his hardest rocking songs in years (Costello carefully dubs the album a "rowdy rhythm record"), but what it is is not "This Years Model: Part II". What it is is something uniquely Costello and, like just about everything else in the man's immense canon of work, something different. Most importantly, "When I Was Cruel" is something really quite wonderful.

The man gazes at you in half silhouette from the back cover, a-la "With The Beatles." Here is Costello, matured, but still partially obscured. While there are moments of sunshine here and there, and also a few nods to the past, the soul of "When I Was Cruel" lies somewhere in the darkness, and in the future. While his targets do tend to be the same as in his youth (relationships, the media), Costello's had a lot more to say in recent years, and much of it isn't black or white or easily ingested. The back cover hints at this: the familiar looking Costello, clad in hornrimmed glasses, but sporting facial hair and wearing a slight grin. Certainly a bit of a departure from the open-mouthed screamer of "Blood And Chocolate," the maturing but unamused headmaster look from "Imperial Bedroom" or the scowler of "My Aim Is True."

Another thing that sets this record apart from many others is the sheer variety of sounds contained within. Brass, drum loops, different instruments and samples abound. While 2/3rds of the Attractions return--pianist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas--this is clearly not an "Attractions" record. One reviewer correctly pegged the record as a hybrid between 1986's jagged, skeletal "Blood And Chocolate," and 1989's eclectic "Spike." A case could be made that it is a sequel to his unofficial trilogy of "rowdy rhythm records": "This Years Model," "Blood And Chocolate" and "Brutal Youth." But while the ethos might be similar, the sound is simply too different to pigeonhole.

"45" is easily the most straightforward rock moment on the album (next to a surprisingly earnest love song to wife Cait "My Little Blue Window"). And bassist Davey Faragher has some absolutely beautiful descending bass lines that recall former Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas. But as early as track two, we're already moving into different territory. Hinged on a funky drum loop, the mood of "Spooky Girlfriend" is downright...well...spooky. The bass, playing fifths, slithers underneath like a serpent.

The single, "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)" does hearken the past, but more "Brutal Youth"-Costello's first quasi-Attractions reunion album-than "This Years Model." The phasing on the bass takes the song into another interesting territory that's relatively unchartered for Costello: psychedelia.

Perhaps the most retro moment on the record is the superb "Alibi," a seven minute opus in which Costello spews out every conceivable alibi you know, all to a backing that sounds like the distant cousin of "I Want You" off of "Blood And Chocolate." It is a rare moment in that it features a more prosaic Costello lyrically, and musically does not hesitate to look to the past for its references.

"When I Was Cruel No. 2" is arguably the highlight of the album. With a slow groove and exotic backing based on a sample from opera singer Mina, the mood is seedy and breathtaking. Nieve's tasteful piano fills are simple and mesmerizing. Costello's lyrics are extraordinarily colorful, as the speaker ruefully observes a gaggle of materialistic people in a scene seemingly right out of a Hollywood wedding.

"15 Petals," apparently a paean to Cait, is an incredible experiment with Latin rhythms and guitar playing, featuring a slightly Middle Eastern melody. A brass section shows up to add some strident licks. "Episode Of Blonde" is an amazing, swirling jazz experiment, hearkening Costello's "Clubland" off of his 1981 album "Trust." It's another cataloging experiment of the evils of the world, akin to "Tokyo Storm Warning" off of "Blood And Chocolate." Costello sing-speaks the verses like a demented fairground barker and Nieve's tinkly piano takes the song into night club territory, while dirty brass punches in and out for the duration. It might be the most daring moment on the album...particularly for Costello's long time fans.

What all this adds up to is something that simply must be heard to be believed. Don't believe the hackneyed critics, with their simplistic "return to form!"/"next 'This Years Model'" pablum. What "When I Was Cruel" is is a dark, textured work, Costello's most diverse record since "Mighty Like A Rose," one of his more consistent releases and living proof that Elvis still contains a fair amount of venom, vim and vigor. But most importantly, it shows that Costello simply refuses to record the same album over and over again. Now listen for yourself.

Description of When I Was Cruel

Alternative Rock CDs

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• Rock