Review of When I Was Cruel
Rolling Stone, 2002-05-09
- Barry Walters
Elvis Costello When I Was Cruel
RS Rating: 4 stars
SONGS
45 | Spooky Girlfriend | Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)
| When I Was Cruel No. 2 | Soul For Hire | 15 Petals | Tart | Dust 2...
| Dissolve | Alibi | Dust, ... | Daddy Can I Turn This? | My Little
Blue Window | Episode Of Blonde | Radio Silence
(Island Records - 2002)
As its title suggests, When I Was Cruel hearkens back to those bitter
days when Elvis Costello was as vicious as the punks with whom he was
first lumped. You know the man is back on track on "Alibi,"
when he conjures a sentiment that sums up the central conflict of nearly
all his greatest songs: "I love you just as much as I hate your
guts." He spews it in that vengeful, articulately unhinged manner
that only he can muster.
It can be a problem for rockers with extraordinary talent who don't
self-destruct: Costello still records each new release with care and
creativity, yet he has lately faltered at funneling his considerable
skills into something that resonates on the same scale as his abilities.
But his first solo album in seven years does exactly that. When I Was
Cruel is a collection of tough tunes and textures that recalls -- but
doesn't recycle -- the records that endeared him to his earliest admirers.
Because he's so lyrically pointed and so melodically sophisticated,
Costello doesn't often get credit for his similarly cranky way with
a guitar. Cruel could change that. The insistent rhythms igniting immediate
monsters such as 1978's This Year's Model have finally returned, this
time taking their cues from retro-electronicaheads like Ocean's Eleven
composer David Holmes. Loyal Attractions Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve
play hip-hop beats as if they were punk, jagged and jabbing. "She
slaps your face like a tambourine," Costello observes in "Daddy
Can I Turn This?" while he and the band bang out garage rock. Elsewhere,
horns blare, vibraphones tickle, and his singing is the sharpest and
most emotional it's been in ages. Generous in its cruelty, Costello's
latest album makes a master's gifts matter again.
BARRY WALTERS
(RS 895 - May 9, 2002)
